The ground beyond Harken trembled under synchronized footsteps.
Thirty human knights advanced in layered formation, shields interlocked, blades glowing faintly with reinforced mana. Ten elven mages walked behind them in two casting rows, staffs humming with synchronized resonance. Above, five dragonoid combatants circled in widening arcs, scales shimmering as heat gathered in their throats. Three spirit healers drifted low near the rear, translucent bodies pulsing with restorative light.
Tenmaru stood at the front, cloak fluttering faintly as Volic's barrier receded behind him. Aspen rested his sword against his shoulder. Rin and Blist stood several steps back, tension written plainly across their faces. Misha hovered beside Tenmaru, crystalline eyes gleaming with interest.
"So," she said lightly, "thirty knights, ten elves, five lizards, and three floating medics. No angels. How considerate."
The human knight commander raised his blade.
"Demon prince," he called. "By order of the Zonac Alliance, Harken is to be purged."
Tenmaru's expression did not change.
"We surrender to no one."
The commander lowered his sword.
"Advance."
The battlefield ignited.
The elven mages struck first.
"Combined Spell—Sylvan Convergence: Verdant Breaker!"
Compressed mana lanced forward, striking Volic's barrier in layered waves. The ground shuddered as cracks spiderwebbed across the defensive field.
"Dragonoids!" the commander barked.
The five aerial combatants descended sharply.
"Unique Skill—Dragonic Flame Burst!"
Twin spirals of superheated fire tore downward, colliding with the barrier as human knights surged forward beneath the cover.
Volic grimaced, hands glowing.
"Barrier Integrity at sixty-eight percent," he warned.
Tenmaru raised his hand.
Blue flame ignited—dense, silent.
"Spell Invocation," he said calmly.
"AVOGON NOVA."
A sea of blue fire surged outward, swallowing the incoming flames and slamming into the advancing knights. Shields glowed violently as impact rippled through the formation.
"Hold!" the commander shouted.
"Defensive Art—Iron Faith Phalanx!"
The knights locked tighter, mana reinforcing their shields as the fire washed over them. Several were blasted backward—but none fell.
"They endured that?" Rin whispered.
"They're not here to die," Aspen said grimly. "They're here to grind us down."
The elven mages moved again.
"Spell Chain—Cryptic Mazilator!"
A compressed gravitational mass formed midair, distorting space itself. Fire, debris, even sound bent toward its pull.
Before Aspen could react, Misha vanished.
"Dimensional Technique—Refraction Skip."
Her form fractured into shards of blue light as she slipped inside the gravitational field. The spell destabilized instantly, collapsing inward with a violent implosion that tore a crater into the battlefield.
Misha reappeared above it, landing lightly.
"Honestly," she said, unimpressed. "Is that the best you elven mages got."
The clash devolved into chaos.
Aspen surged forward.
"Sword Art—Demonic Breaker: Severance Form."
His blade cut through three knights in rapid succession, demonic pressure crushing armor and bone alike. Yet spirit healers reacted instantly.
"Restoration Chant—Ethereal Mend."
Wounds sealed. Fallen knights rose again.
"Damn healers," Aspen growled.
Dragonoids dove again, this time targeting Tenmaru directly.
"Transcendent Skill activate: The Creator — Mana Override."
The incoming flames bent—then dispersed entirely, swallowed by his presence. The dragonoids faltered midair, eyes widening.
"That's not elemental negation!" one roared.
It was then that Rin screamed.
A knight had broken through the flank, blade shaking with desperation. Instinct moved her body before thought.
Her hand pierced his chest.
The knight froze.
Then dissolved.
Mana, skills, and memories flooded into Rin at once. She staggered back, clutching her head as foreign emotions crashed through her mind.
"Why—" she gasped. "Why do I remember his mother?"
Misha appeared instantly.
"Supreme Skill Manifestation," she said sharply.
"Gluttony."
Rin's mana exploded.
A crimson aura radiated outward, warping the battlefield. Enemy spells weakened. Spirit constructs flickered violently.
Rin stood slowly, eyes burning.
"I won't let anyone else die," she said quietly.
She moved.
Every enemy she struck was stripped bare—skills devoured, mana drained, techniques collapsing mid-cast. The elven mages screamed as their spell matrix unraveled.
"What is she?!" one shouted.
"Hunger given form!" another cried.
The battle tilted.
Then Blist stepped forward.
His eyes shimmered violet.
"Supreme Skill—Lust."
The world slowed.
Enemy movements glowed with weak points and fractured intent. Emotional cracks, unstable mana paths, buried fear—all exposed.
"Technique—Desire Thread Execution."
Blist moved like a phantom, striking precisely where resistance failed. Knights collapsed without knowing why. Dragonoids lost aerial coordination, crashing violently into the ground.
Blood streamed from Blist's nose. His breath hitched.
"Too much…" he muttered. "I can see everything…"
Tenmaru stepped forward.
"Enough," he said.
His presence stabilized the battlefield.
"Advance."
Aspen roared.
"Demonic Army Art—Castod Umbreaker!"
His sword struck the ground, demonic energy surging outward. The earth collapsed beneath the Alliance's remaining formation. Knights fell. Elves scattered. Spirit healers were overwhelmed as Rin's hunger disrupted their restoration.
The Alliance broke.
"Retreat!" the commander screamed.
Too late.
Blue fire surged—not to annihilate, but to dominate.
The battlefield fell silent.
The demons had won.
Then—
The sky split.
Golden light descended slowly, parting clouds like silk.
A figure emerged.
Two pairs of golden wings unfolded gracefully. Silver hair flowed untouched by wind. Green eyes surveyed the battlefield with quiet authority.
She wore a white gown bound in gold.
The air itself bowed.
She smiled faintly.
"Oh?" she said, voice clear and cutting. "You demons still have some fight in you, it seems."
Misha's expression hardened. "Tch. So the Celestial bureaucracy finally shows its face."
The angel's gaze flicked toward her briefly before returning to Tenmaru.
"I suppose sending a battalion without an angel was indeed useless," she continued calmly. "An oversight on our part."
Tenmaru stepped forward.
Blue flames gathered around his body, dense and silent, heat distorting the air itself. The ground beneath his feet began to blacken.
"I take it you're here to finish what they failed to do," he said evenly.
The angel's wings spread wider.
"Yes," she replied. "I am."
Tenmaru smiled—slow, sharp.
"Good."
The flames surged higher.
"I hope," he said, eyes locked onto hers, "you're not all bark and no bite."