When Lightning Fell and Mercy Died
Sage, Hydron, and Valkyrie stood within the ring, forming a tense triangle.
No one spoke.
The barrier surrounding the arena pulsed faintly, struggling to contain the pressure already building inside.
Sam raised his hand.
"Begin."
The word had barely left his mouth—
When Valkyrie vanished.
In a blink, she appeared beside Hydron's unicorn, driving her blade straight toward its neck. The strike was clean, vicious—but Hydron reacted at the last possible moment, twisting free and leaping away.
The unicorn screamed, riderless.
Before Valkyrie could follow up, the sky above the arena darkened unnaturally.
Hydron lifted his spear.
Clouds folded inward. Thunder rolled. The stone embedded in the spear ignited, lightning wrapping around the weapon like living veins.
"This ends now," Hydron growled.
He hurled the spear.
A bolt of destruction tore through the air toward Sage and Valkyrie.
Valkyrie twisted aside on instinct, the lightning tearing past her shoulder.
Sage didn't move.
He raised his sword and swiped—casually.
The lightning changed direction, bending unnaturally before dispersing harmlessly into the barrier.
Hydron froze.
He reflected it… effortlessly?
Sage didn't look at him.
Instead, he turned to Valkyrie.
Purple light surged along his blade as he activated one of his core techniques.
Heart Sword.
The strike didn't aim for flesh.
It pierced her nervous system.
Valkyrie blocked with her daggers—but the pressure slammed through her defenses. Pain exploded across her body. Blood spilled from her lips as she staggered back.
High above—
Hydron summoned again.
A second unicorn formed beneath him, lightning cascading around its spectral body.
Sam narrowed his eyes.
How does he still have this much energy?
Beside him, Meera gripped his hand tightly. "Sam… what is happening?"
Sam stayed silent.
Because he knew the truth.
They've all started using what they swore never to reveal.
On the battlefield, Valkyrie struggled to hold her ground.
Sage advanced relentlessly, every strike precise, emotionless, devastating. His Heart Sword technique attacked her nerves again and again, slowing her reactions, breaking her rhythm.
Then—
The air screamed.
Hydron appeared directly overhead.
He leapt from the unicorn mid-air, eyes blazing with lightning. The stone on his spear shone like a falling star.
It looked like an asteroid wrapped in thunder, descending at impossible speed.
There was no time.
Valkyrie transformed instantly—daggers dissolving into a greatsword, full armor snapping into place around her body.
At the same moment, Sage thrust his blade outward, compressing violet energy into a dense sphere and throwing himself clear.
The spear struck.
The explosion swallowed the arena.
When the dust cleared, a massive crater scarred the center of the ring.
Valkyrie knelt near its edge, armor cracked, one side shattered completely.
Sage stood opposite her, blood running from multiple wounds, breath heavy.
Hydron's unicorn caught him mid-air again.
He dove once more.
Straight for Sage's back.
This time—
Sage snapped.
His eyes turned cold, merciless. The purple glow around his sword deepened, distorting the air itself.
As Hydron drove the spear forward, Sage turned and swung.
One strike.
The unicorn's head separated cleanly from its body.
"No—!" Hydron screamed as the summon dissolved into lightning and ash.
He landed hard, fury erupting uncontrollably.
Lightning surged violently into his spear as he charged Sage head-on.
Steel and lightning collided.
The shockwave blasted both warriors backward, carving deep trenches into the stone as they slid apart.
Hydron panted, eyes burning.
Then he turned to Valkyrie and shouted—
"Valkyrie! Enough!"
"Team up with me—now. Kill Sage first. We'll settle our score later!"
Valkyrie stood still.
Armor broken. Blood dripping. Breathing heavy.
She looked at Hydron.
Then at Sage.
Then she smiled.
Slow.
Dangerous.
"…Fine," she said softly.
"For now."
Sage straightened, wiping blood from his mouth.
For the first time—
He smiled back.
Three Powers, One Survivor
Sage's stance shifted.
A fraction tighter.
A fraction lower.
He knew what came next.
One versus two.
The thought barely finished forming—
Valkyrie vanished.
She reappeared in front of Sage in a burst of super-speed, her greatsword screaming through the air. The edge brushed his throat—
Sage blocked by instinct alone.
Steel crashed against steel. The impact numbed his arms.
There was no time to breathe.
A spear punched through his armor.
Lightning detonated inside his chest.
Sage staggered as thunder ripped through his body, shattering the remaining plates of his armor. Pain surged—violent, absolute. Every nerve screamed.
Hydron didn't pause.
Valkyrie didn't hesitate.
Attacks rained down from both sides—slashes, thrusts, shockwaves—each one timed to deny Sage any opening. He was driven back step by step, holding on by nothing but discipline and will.
From the stands—
Yaksh leaned forward, eyes burning.
"If you lose," he shouted, voice sharp with promise, "I'll end you myself, Hydron."
Elsewhere, Beast King glanced sideways. "What do you think?" he asked Zingari.
Zingari smiled softly. "Anyone could still win."
A scoff followed.
Dragon King sneered. "Why ask the weak one? I'll tell you—Hydron wins."
Beast King's gaze hardened. "From what I saw, you lost to that 'weak one.'"
Zingari laughed—light, musical.
Dragon King's aura flared in rage. Dark pressure rolled outward.
"Enough," Yaksh said coldly, stepping forward. "Touch him and we end you—here."
Others stirred in agreement.
The tension climbed—
"FOCUS."
Sam's voice cut through the stands like a blade.
Silence fell instantly.
All eyes returned to the ring.
Sage was on one knee.
Blood dripped from his chin. His breathing was ragged.
Then—
He stood.
Dark purple light surged from his body. His horns deepened in color, shadow bleeding into violet. The wounds across his body sealed rapidly, flesh knitting with unnatural speed.
Power condensed.
His sword began to hum—not loudly, but with terrifying density.
Sage raised it.
A massive sphere of violet energy formed before him, expanding until it swallowed half the ring.
Hydron's eyes widened.
He lifted his spear, roaring as lightning poured into it. The embedded stone blazed like a newborn sun, thunder spiraling around the weapon.
Valkyrie straightened.
Her armor shattered—and reformed.
Red.
Deep. Regal. Infernal.
She became something else entirely.
A Hell Queen.
Dark crimson energy gathered in her raised hands as she closed her eyes, face calm, lethal.
Sam exhaled once. "So she does have that form."
Three powers peaked.
Sage released first.
Hydron answered with lightning.
Valkyrie unleashed crimson ruin.
The energies collided.
The world turned white.
Heat surged outward—enough to erase existence itself. The barrier screamed, layers cracking under the pressure.
Then—
Silence.
When the light faded, the ring was gone.
In its place lay scorched stone and black ash.
Hydron lay collapsed, armor melted into slag. One arm was severed cleanly, lightning flickering weakly around the stump.
Valkyrie lay unconscious nearby, Hell Queen form fading as her body finally gave in.
And at the center—
Sage stood.
His chest was destroyed, a hollow crater revealing shattered bone and exposed ribs. His body should not have been able to stand.
Yet he did.
Sword planted into the ground.
Hands trembling.
Eyes unyielding.
Sam rose.
"If Sage falls," he said evenly, "the match is a draw."
Sage did not fall.
Sam lowered his hand.
"Winner—Sage."
The barrier disengaged.
Healers rushed in.
As Sage finally collapsed, still gripping his blade, the Endless Abyss fell into stunned silence.