The battlefield lay in smoldering ruins, the echoes of Rocky's confrontation with Lucifer still reverberating through the air. Dust and ash floated like ghostly remnants of the previous fight, and the lingering heat of colliding powers scorched the earth. Rocky stood with Sylvia and Risha, breathing heavily, his aura flickering as he assessed the world around them. They had survived the impossible, defeated the legendary summoner, and rescued Sylvia from the depths of darkness.
But the air had changed.
A chill crept over the battlefield, unnatural and suffocating. Shadows lengthened across the fractured stones and scorched earth, curling like living serpents around the ruins. Rocky's instincts flared—he had faced incredible threats before, but this presence was unlike anything he had sensed. Even the lingering echoes of Lucifer's power paled in comparison.
Risha's ears twitched as she stiffened, her crimson eyes narrowing. "This… this isn't Lucifer's residual energy. Something else is here. Something far worse."
From the horizon, darkness rose like a tide. Mountains warped, twisted by an unnatural force, and clouds gathered overhead in violent spirals. A deep, resonant laugh rolled across the battlefield, carrying the weight of a thousand armies. It was not the laugh of a man, or even of a demon—it was the voice of a ruler, a being whose very existence threatened to crush all who stood in its way.
"Ah… so this is the famous Rocky," the voice purred, rich and commanding. "The summoner who dared defy Lucifer. The boy who struck down a legend in three blows."
From the dark horizon, a colossal figure emerged. Armored in black and crimson, with spikes jutting from every angle and a presence that warped reality itself, he moved with deliberate grace. Carbrarra, the Demon Lord, had arrived. Each step made the ground quake.
Behind him, seven silhouettes stepped from the shadows. The Seven Generals, elite enforcers of Carbrarra's will, radiated an aura that made even the battlefield seem insignificant. They moved in perfect unison, weapons drawn, eyes glowing with malice. One's sword radiated frozen darkness, another's claws burned with molten fire, a third emitted a toxin that rotted the earth beneath them. Each General was a walking disaster, a force designed to crush any opposition.
Sylvia staggered slightly, still recovering from her injuries. "Rocky… who are they?" she asked, voice trembling but steady.
Risha's tails bristled. "The Demon Lord Carbrarra… and his Seven Generals. Even Lucifer never reached this level. This is… a threat beyond what we can handle right now."
Rocky's jaw tightened. His aura flared instinctively, shadows twisting around him, lashing outward like living blades. "We can't let them reach the lands beyond this battlefield," he muttered. "But… I can feel it. We're too weak. Too weak to fight them head-on."
Carbrarra's gaze swept over them, golden eyes like molten metal piercing the dust. "Ah… so the legendary summoner and his little companions dare face me. Brave… but foolish. Do you truly think you can challenge the Demon Lord? My generals have never failed."
The Seven Generals shifted, weapons glinting, their power radiating in waves that made the dust quake. Rocky's adaptive aura flared in instinctive defense, creating jagged shadows around him and his companions, but even this effort made the ground beneath them crack.
Risha hovered higher, wings of shadows snapping open. "Rocky… even if we fight, we'll be annihilated. We need to retreat."
Sylvia's golden eyes met his, fear and determination warring within her. "But we can't just run… not after everything we've fought for."
Rocky clenched his fists, aura swirling violently. He could feel the power of Carbrarra and his Generals—it was suffocating, absolute. Every instinct in his body screamed to fight, to strike, but he also knew the truth: they were outmatched.
"This isn't the time to die," he said, voice firm. "We'll retreat, survive, and come back stronger. But if we fight here, we'll all be destroyed."
Risha's grin was sharp, but approving. "Finally, some sense. Let me handle the path out."
With that, Rocky wrapped his aura tightly around Sylvia, lifting her slightly as shadows laced around them both. Risha flared her power outward, creating a corridor of protective darkness through the battlefield as the Seven Generals surged forward, closing in with terrifying speed.
Carbrarra's laughter echoed. "Run if you must, summoner… but you cannot escape your destiny. The world will fall before me, and your defiance will be your last act of pride."
The trio moved as one. Rocky blurred across the shattered landscape, shadows forming wings and afterimages to block debris and monster remnants. Each leap, each dash, was a precise calculation, avoiding the strikes of Carbrarra's generals as they swarmed. Every attack that reached them was countered or deflected by Risha's shadow magic, while Sylvia, exhausted but determined, swung her sword to disrupt the Generals' formations whenever possible.
Still, the sheer force of the Demon Lord and his seven champions made each step perilous. Jagged spikes of ice, molten fire streams, and corrosive waves of poison tore through the battlefield, forcing Rocky to constantly adapt, every muscle and every bit of aura stretched to its limit.
At one point, a massive claw of molten fire swung toward them. Rocky's afterimages scattered, and in one impossible motion, he intercepted it with a shadow appendage that absorbed part of the energy, throwing it back as a protective barrier for Sylvia. "Hold on!" he shouted.
Sylvia, gripping his arm, nodded, feeling the warmth of his aura stabilize her trembling limbs. "I trust you… always."
They reached the outer wall of the ruined battlefield, and Rocky focused all his remaining aura to propel them skyward. Risha's shadows stretched beneath them, carrying them over the collapsing ground as the Seven Generals struck at the last possible moment, claws and blades tearing at the wind around them.
Carbrarra raised his hand, energy radiating outward in waves that could level mountains. "You can flee this day, summoner… but the Demon Lord never forgets. You will face me again."
Rocky's aura flared one final time as they passed out of immediate range. "And we'll be ready," he said, voice calm but fierce. "We'll come back stronger… and next time, it won't be you who survives."
Below them, the battlefield erupted in a controlled storm of destruction, shadows and corrupted magic painting the ground with chaos. But above it all, Rocky, Sylvia, and Risha ascended toward safety. They had survived, but the world had just shown them the true scale of threats beyond Lucifer.
As they reached a ridge overlooking the ruins, Rocky landed, holding Sylvia steady as she recovered her breath. Risha hovered beside them, her expression unreadable but tense. "We can't fight them now," she said. "But we can train. Prepare. Adapt. The Demon Lord won't make the same mistake twice."
Sylvia rested her hand lightly on Rocky's arm, looking at him with a mixture of fear and admiration. "We survived… thanks to you."
Rocky's shadows settled, aura dimming slightly, but his golden eyes burned with resolve. "This is only the beginning. Carbrarra, his generals… they're strong. But they don't know what we're capable of yet. And next time, we won't run. Next time, we fight."
Risha's grin widened, a mixture of approval and challenge. "Finally… now I can see some real fun coming."
As the trio turned away from the battlefield, the dark clouds above began to swirl ominously, a reminder that the Demon Lord and his Seven Generals were watching, waiting, and planning their next move. But Rocky, his aura still faintly glowing, had already made a promise to himself: he would return stronger, and when that day came, no darkness in the world would stand in his way.
The ruins behind them smoked and groaned, but the horizon ahead promised preparation, growth, and a chance to rise above even the strongest of enemies. The war was far from over—and the true battle against Carbrarra was only just beginning.