The impact was catastrophic, the force of it detonating outward from the point of contact and blasting chunks of stone and earth high into the air. The ground ruptured, pieces of the crater floor tearing free and raining upward before beginning to fall back down. Those who could use magic reacted on instinct, throwing up barriers to shield themselves and the others from the debris.
"Is… is it over?" Zee asked aloud, her voice shaky as the dust began to settle.
As the haze thinned, the center of the crater came into view, and all eyes locked onto what stood there. The Beast remained upright, unmoving, its form framed by the settling debris, and beneath it, pinned in place, was King Domine. Its feet had driven straight through his stomach, anchoring him to the ground.
"I… that looks pretty over to me," Lia said from beside her, uncertainty still lingering in her tone despite what she was seeing.
The Beast moved again. It leaned forward, its claws hooking into the Demon King's shoulder, digging in before it hauled him upward and forced him onto his knees. Domine's body sagged under the motion, but he still tried to speak. "What… what are you using? If it's not magic… is it c—"
He never finished. The Beast's fist slammed into his face with brutal force, the black glow still bleeding off its body.
"What is it using? Shouldn't that bastard be immune?" Bram asked, narrowing his eyes as he watched.
"He's using chi, not mana," Ercale answered.
Bram turned to him, surprise clear. "Chi? Like one of your generals did? The vampire?"
Ercale nodded. "Thing is, you can't use both without exploding, so that thing breaks all the rules."
Another punch landed. Then another. Then another.
The Beast did not stop.
Its fists drove into Domine's face again and again, over and over, each strike carrying the same brutal force. The air filled with the wet, violent sounds of bone cracking and flesh tearing apart under repeated impact.
Seeing it, hearing it, Nori tried to push himself up, but his body failed him. His limbs trembled, refusing to support him, and instead he collapsed forward and began to crawl. He dragged himself across the ground, slow and unsteady, trying to get closer. He needed to stop Xain, to stop him from killing, from becoming a murderer, from becoming like him.
Zee saw it.
"W-we have to stop him," she said, her voice tightening.
Mae turned to her, confusion clear. "Stop him? What do you mean stop him? He's winning! And going to kill the Demon King!"
Zee shook her head quickly. "X-Xain isn't like that, he can't control himself, he… he isn't a killer!" she said, already trying to move, trying to push forward toward the crater.
"No, absolutely not," Mae said, grabbing her and this time enhancing herself, forcing Zee down and pinning her in place. "You are not going. I won't let you."
"Stop! Let me go! I have to stop him! I can't let him kill someone!" Zee yelled, struggling against her twin's hold.
Around them, the others reacted in their own ways.
"It is over, the Demon King is dying," Prince Mark said, letting out a breath of relief.
"Finally over with this trash," Samwell added, crossing his arms.
"It feels wrong to watch," Clara said quietly, turning her gaze away.
Callum shifted back into his human form, the werewolf shape collapsing away. "Goddess, that was so much pain," he muttered.
Drimus followed suit, his massive lion-like form shrinking back into his humanoid shape. "Never again am I fighting monarchy," he said.
Amara kept her eyes fixed on the Beast, watching closely. "This isn't like you at all, too unheroic," she remarked under her breath.
Meanwhile, Nori kept crawling.
He dragged himself forward inch by inch, still far from the center, his mouth opening and closing as he tried to force words out. Nothing came. He pushed harder, forcing his throat to work, trying to call out to his best friend, trying to reach him before it was too late.
Then, finally, something broke through.
"… n… ain… Xain…"
It was barely a voice, so quiet it almost vanished into the noise around them. It was a voice unused for so long that even the name struggled to form properly, but it was there. It was heard.
A hand suddenly rested on his head.
"Alright, you don't want him to be a killer, do you?"
The voice was modulated, calm, the hand gloved. Nori turned his head and saw X standing there.
From the opposite edge of the crater, Sarandel looked at him, confusion plain across her face. "What are you doing?" she muttered.
X raised a hand slightly toward her, a silent gesture to wait, before looking back down at Nori. "I'll stop him, so you sit tight, and stop crawling to your death," he said.
At the center of the crater, the Beast raised its claws again, poised to tear into King Domine's throat and finish it.
X appeared beside it in an instant.
The iron pipe in his hand swung hard and connected with the Beast's head, the impact ringing out as it struck. The force sent the Beast tumbling away, its body rolling across the crater floor with a screech as Domine's body dropped limp to the ground.
"Stopped you for now, but…" X began, turning toward it.
The Beast rose, its gaze locking onto him, filled with Bestial Hatred.
"Something tells me you're not done yet."
It charged.
X moved to meet it, both of them sprinting straight at each other.
Behind them, King Domine's body twitched. Slowly, weakly, he lifted his hand.
"Dominus—"
Steel flashed.
Blood sprayed.
The Demon King's severed hand dropped to the ground before the word could finish.
"Ain't happening bitch," Bram said, stepping in as he followed through, his new saber cutting cleanly through Domine's head. The blade split it in half, and the Demon King's body collapsed fully to the ground.
"Man, if I had this saber, I would have killed that bastard all by myself," Bram added, glancing down at the corpse before lifting his gaze toward the Beast. "Now, what to do with you?"
"Ready to fight part of a being that shook reality?" Ercale asked as he stepped up beside him.
"I fought you, your generals, Winter, Violet and Stroven, is there a better person to ask for an uphill battle?" Bram replied.
Ercale shook his head slightly. "Probably not."
Then both of them moved, dashing forward toward the new threat.
The Beast on the loose, that will devour anything that gets in its way.