The forge breathed again.
Golden flames surged through the sanctuary as the shattered darkness retreated.
Renzo stood calmly.
Chrono Fang rested in his hand.
Its blade shone with a soft golden light.
Across from him—
Corvus remained motionless.
The Devourer's crimson eye stared at the severed darkness surrounding the battlefield.
For the first time—
Its Authority of Oblivion had been damaged.
Silence lingered between them.
Then Corvus spoke.
"What did you do?"
Renzo answered honestly.
"I cut it."
The Devourer's eye narrowed.
"No."
"You cut an authority."
"That is impossible."
Kensei-Ryu smiled faintly.
"It is impossible."
"For everyone except a true swordsman."
Corvus slowly raised its black blade.
Darkness gathered around it once more.
But this time—
The darkness hesitated.
As if it remembered being cut.
The Devourer laughed quietly.
"Interesting."
"Very interesting."
The black blade dissolved.
Then reformed.
Longer.
Sharper.
More condensed.
The surrounding space began collapsing toward it.
Vulcanos' expression became serious.
"He is compressing his authority."
Corvus pointed the blade at Renzo.
"Then I shall simply create an authority you cannot cut."
The darkness vanished.
Renzo's instincts screamed.
He turned.
Too late.
Corvus appeared behind him.
No movement.
No sound.
No warning.
Only a sword.
Renzo twisted instinctively.
Chrono Fang met the black blade.
CLANG!
The impact shook the entire forge.
Renzo was forced backward.
Corvus pressed forward relentlessly.
One slash.
Then another.
Then another.
The attacks were unbelievably fast.
Every strike targeted a vital point.
Neck.
Heart.
Eyes.
Joints.
Kensei-Ryu spoke calmly.
"Do not block."
Renzo immediately changed.
Instead of meeting the attacks directly—
He moved through them.
A single step.
A slight turn.
The smallest possible motion.
Flow Form.
Zero-Point Reaction.
One Thought, One Cut.
The three techniques merged perfectly.
Corvus' blade missed by centimeters.
Renzo retaliated.
A single slash.
Corvus blocked.
Golden sparks erupted.
The Devourer immediately countered.
A thrust.
Renzo tilted his body.
The blade passed through his afterimage.
Corvus' eye widened.
"You're reading me."
Renzo remained silent.
He wasn't reading the attacks anymore.
He was reading intention.
The moment Corvus decided to attack—
Renzo already knew.
The duel accelerated.
They disappeared.
The battlefield became a storm of black and gold.
Across the restored forge—
The two sovereigns clashed.
Above molten rivers.
Across collapsing bridges.
Through ancient furnaces.
Every collision sent shockwaves across the sanctuary.
Ignis watched silently.
Hephaestion watched silently.
Even Vulcanos remained silent.
This battle had surpassed power.
It had become a battle of mastery.
Corvus suddenly smiled.
"Then let us remove intention itself."
Darkness exploded.
The forge disappeared.
The sky disappeared.
Everything disappeared.
Renzo stood within an endless black void.
No sound.
No light.
No direction.
A system warning appeared.
Authority of Oblivion
Second Form:
Concept Erasure
Kensei-Ryu spoke quietly.
"This is dangerous."
Renzo looked around.
Even his connection to the forge had weakened.
Corvus appeared before him.
"In this world…"
"…there is no creation."
The Devourer attacked.
Renzo swung.
Chrono Fang passed through empty space.
Corvus vanished.
A slash struck Renzo's shoulder.
Blood spilled.
Renzo stepped back.
His regeneration had slowed.
Corvus attacked again.
Another wound.
Then another.
The darkness was interfering with reality itself.
Kensei-Ryu suddenly asked,
"What is a sword?"
Renzo blinked.
"Now?"
"Yes."
"What is a sword?"
Corvus continued attacking.
Renzo dodged desperately.
"It's a weapon."
"No."
"A blade."
"No."
"A tool."
Kensei-Ryu's voice remained calm.
"The sword is not steel."
"It is not edge."
"It is not shape."
"The sword…"
"…is decision."
Renzo froze for a fraction of a second.
Corvus' blade pierced his side.
Pain exploded through his body.
The Devourer smiled.
"Too slow."
Renzo ignored the pain.
Decision.
The sword was decision.
One Thought.
One Cut.
The blade merely followed.
Renzo closed his eyes.
The void disappeared.
Not physically.
Mentally.
He no longer searched for Corvus.
He searched for the decision to erase him.
There.
He found it.
A single thread.
The intention behind the authority.
Renzo opened his eyes.
Chrono Fang rose.
He did not swing at Corvus.
He swung at the thread.
SHING.
The void cracked.
A thin golden line stretched across the darkness.
Corvus' expression changed.
"No—"
The Authority of Oblivion split apart.
The black world shattered.
Reality returned.
Golden flames flooded the forge once more.
Corvus staggered backward.
A deep wound had appeared across its chest.
Dark blood poured from the cut.
More importantly—
The crimson eye at the center of its chest had cracked.
A system notification appeared.
Authority of Oblivion
Integrity: 68%
Kensei-Ryu smiled.
"There."
"You did not cut the authority."
"You cut the decision to maintain it."
Corvus stared at the wound in disbelief.
For thousands of years—
No one had ever damaged its authority.
Yet a Level 38 mortal had done exactly that.
The Devourer slowly began laughing.
A quiet laugh.
Then louder.
Then louder still.
The entire forge shook.
"Excellent."
Darkness erupted from its body.
Its aura multiplied.
The cracked crimson eye opened completely.
A terrifying pressure descended upon the sanctuary.
Vulcanos' expression darkened.
"He's abandoning his vessel."
Hephaestion looked toward Renzo.
"Be careful."
Corvus raised both hands.
The heavens above the forge split open.
An endless ocean of darkness poured through the crack.
"If a sword can cut concepts…"
The Devourer smiled.
"…then I shall become a concept that cannot be severed."
The crack expanded.
Something vast moved within the darkness beyond reality.
Renzo slowly tightened his grip on Chrono Fang.
The duel was over.
The war had just begun.