Ren froze.
"…How…"
The battlefield seemed to hold its breath.
The Pharaoh looked at him with the same detached expression one might give an old monument.
Not joy.
Not hatred.
Recognition.
"You've grown."
Ren's brows furrowed.
"…Do I know you?"
No answer.
The Pharaoh's golden eyes drifted toward General Saijew.
"General."
Saijew immediately lowered his head.
"Your Majesty."
"You've served Egypt well."
"It has been my honor."
The Pharaoh nodded once before returning his attention to Ren.
"You resemble her."
Ren's heartbeat quickened.
"…Her?"
Magnolia looked between them.
Nobody understood.
Not Emma.
Not Valentina.
Not even Baron, who had only just managed to force himself back onto one knee after Magnolia's defeat of him.
Silence stretched across the battlefield.
Finally…
Ren spoke again.
"…Who are you?"
The Pharaoh answered without hesitation.
"I am your father."
Everything stopped.
The wind.
The soldiers.
Even Nero's quiet smile disappeared.
Ren laughed.
Not because it was funny.
Because it couldn't be true.
"…No."
His voice cracked.
"No."
"My father died years ago."
"He never existed."
The Pharaoh corrected him.
"You were told a lie."
Ren's hands trembled around his sword.
"…Stop talking."
"You deserve the truth."
"I said stop talking!"
His shout echoed across the battlefield.
The Pharaoh remained unmoved.
"Your grandfather…"
His gaze shifted toward the Egyptian banners fluttering overhead.
"…The previous Pharaoh…"
"…Ordered your execution the day you were born."
Ren's eyes widened.
"No…"
"He believed a child born beneath the Eclipse of Ra would bring ruin to Egypt."
Magnolia felt Emma step closer beside him.
Neither interrupted.
The Pharaoh continued as though discussing history rather than family.
"Your mother refused."
Images Ren had forgotten began surfacing.
A warm embrace.
Someone singing.
Golden hair.
A smile.
"…She fled."
The Pharaoh nodded.
"She ran."
"She hid you."
"She begged me to abandon my throne."
Ren whispered,
"…Mother…"
"The soldiers found her first."
Silence.
The Pharaoh's voice never changed.
"She stood between you and their blades."
Ren's breathing became uneven.
"No…"
"She died."
His sword slipped from his fingers.
It struck the stone with a hollow clang.
Magnolia took a step toward him.
"Ren…"
Ren didn't hear him.
He stared only at the Pharaoh.
"…What did you do?"
"I killed my father."
The answer came immediately.
"I ended his reign."
"I became Pharaoh."
Magnolia blinked.
"…Because he killed your wife?"
The Pharaoh looked at Magnolia for the first time.
"No."
The answer chilled everyone.
"He threatened Egypt's future."
He looked back toward Ren.
"She fulfilled her purpose."
Ren slowly lifted his head.
"…What?"
"She gave Egypt an heir."
The Pharaoh's expression remained perfectly calm.
"She was breeding stock."
The words echoed across the battlefield.
No one spoke.
Valentina's eyes widened.
Emma clenched her fists.
Even Alexander, already halfway toward Jerusalem's withdrawing ranks, stopped walking.
Ren's face emptied.
There was no anger.
Not yet.
Only disbelief.
"You…"
His voice barely escaped.
"…called my mother…"
The Pharaoh interrupted.
"I stated what she became."
Something inside Ren broke.
A violent surge of divine energy erupted from his contract.
The earth shattered beneath his feet.
His sword flew back into his hand.
"You don't get…"
His voice shook.
"…to speak about her."
He disappeared.
The battlefield exploded as Ren's blade crashed toward the Pharaoh's neck.
The strike never landed.
The Pharaoh caught the blade between two fingers.
Not strained.
Not surprised.
Simply…
Caught it.
Ren pushed harder.
Nothing.
Every muscle in his body screamed.
Nothing.
The Pharaoh looked directly into his son's eyes.
"You are talented."
He flicked his fingers.
Ren was launched across the battlefield.
He tore through broken pillars before crashing into the remains of the palace wall.
Stone collapsed around him.
Silence returned.
The Pharaoh lowered his hand.
"You are also emotional."
Dust drifted through the air.
Slowly…
Ren forced himself back onto one knee.
Blood ran from the corner of his mouth.
His hands refused to stop shaking.
He wanted to stand.
His body refused.
The Pharaoh turned away.
"I will not kill you."
Ren looked up.
Confused.
"…Why?"
The Pharaoh paused.
For the first time…
His voice softened.
Not with affection.
With expectation.
"Live."
Another step.
"Learn."
He continued walking toward Magnolia.
"And when you understand…"
His golden eyes never left the battlefield ahead.
"…Return."
Ren watched him go.
His breathing steadied.
His grief remained.
His hatred remained.
But beneath both…
A purpose was born.
Not to become Pharaoh.
Not to reclaim Egypt.
To kill the man who had just walked away from him as though he were nothing more than another lesson.
Far above the battlefield, Nero folded his arms.
"Kronos…"
he murmured quietly.
"So this is the son fate chose."
The Titan remained silent.
Yet somewhere beyond time itself…
Something had begun to move.
No one moved.
Ren remained kneeling amidst the shattered stone, his sword trembling in his grasp.
The Pharaoh continued walking.
Not toward his son.
Past him.
As though Ren had already served his purpose.
Magnolia stepped forward.
"Stop."
The Pharaoh halted.
His golden eyes settled upon the young contractor of Ra.
"So."
His voice remained calm.
"The final contractor."
Magnolia tightened his grip around the khopesh of sunlight.
"I won't let you take another step."
The Pharaoh regarded the weapon.
"Ra still chooses children."
Magnolia frowned.
"What?"
"I expected him to learn."
Without another word…
The Pharaoh resumed walking.
Magnolia vanished.
Sunlight erupted beneath his feet.
His blade descended with enough force to split the earth itself.
The strike passed through empty air.
Magnolia's eyes widened.
No…
The Pharaoh hadn't moved.
He had simply raised one hand.
Two fingers rested against the golden blade.
Stopping it.
As though catching a falling leaf.
"…Impossible."
The Pharaoh looked at Magnolia.
"You have become stronger."
His grip tightened.
"But strength without time is merely potential."
With a twist of his wrist…
The khopesh shattered into fragments of sunlight.
Magnolia staggered backward.
The weapon dissolved from his hands.
Every instinct screamed.
Danger.
"General!"
Saijew was already moving.
His blade flashed toward the Pharaoh.
The strike carried decades of discipline.
The Pharaoh turned.
Steel met bare skin.
The sword stopped against his palm.
Neither man spoke.
For several heartbeats…
They simply looked at one another.
"I've missed this."
The Pharaoh's words were almost nostalgic.
"You've improved."
Saijew answered calmly.
"I've had to."
The battlefield exploded.
Their clash sent both men sliding apart.
Stone erupted beneath every step.
Magnolia stared.
The General…
Was keeping pace.
Saijew's blade became a blur.
One strike.
Five.
Ten.
The Pharaoh answered every attack with the smallest possible movement.
A turn of the shoulder.
A step.
A raised hand.
Nothing wasted.
Nothing hurried.
Emma whispered,
"…He's reading him."
"No."
Valentina answered quietly.
"He already knows him."
Steel rang across the battlefield.
Again.
Again.
Again.
Saijew drove the Pharaoh backward several steps.
The Egyptian soldiers erupted into cheers.
"THE GENERAL!"
"HE'S PUSHING HIM BACK!"
Magnolia felt hope return.
Only for an instant.
The Pharaoh sighed.
"You've become predictable."
His foot shifted.
Barely.
Saijew's next strike missed.
Not because the Pharaoh dodged.
Because he had guided Saijew into missing before the attack had even begun.
One palm struck Saijew's chest.
The General slid dozens of meters across the battlefield before digging his sword into the ground.
He stopped himself.
Blood fell from the corner of his mouth.
He smiled.
"…Still…"
"…too much."
The Pharaoh inclined his head.
"A worthy assessment."
Across the battlefield…
Baron slowly forced himself upright.
His vision blurred.
His pride burned hotter than any wound.
He watched Magnolia.
Still standing.
Still breathing.
Still surrounded by allies.
His fingers clenched.
"No…"
He whispered.
"I lost…"
The Pharaoh looked toward him.
For the first time…
Their eyes met.
"Baron."
The young warrior froze.
"You wished to kill the contractor of Ra."
Baron slowly nodded.
"…Yes."
"You still can."
Magnolia immediately stepped between them.
"Don't listen to him!"
The Pharaoh continued speaking.
Not louder.
Not harsher.
Simply certain.
"The General protects him."
Baron's eyes drifted toward Saijew.
"If the General falls…"
"…Magnolia dies."
Saijew's expression darkened.
"Your Majesty…"
The Pharaoh ignored him.
"You have spent this entire battle attacking the wrong opponent."
Something shifted inside Baron.
His obsession.
His frustration.
Every failure.
Every defeat.
They all suddenly had direction.
Kill the shield.
Reach the sun.
The Pharaoh turned away.
As though the conversation had already ended.
Baron slowly lifted his sword.
Not toward Magnolia.
Toward General Saijew.
Saijew understood immediately.
"…I see."
Magnolia looked between them.
"General?"
Saijew exhaled.
"So that's your game."
The Pharaoh did not answer.
He simply continued walking.
Toward Magnolia.
Toward Emma.
Toward the battlefield that had, only moments before, believed it had won.
Above them…
Emperor Nero watched in silence.
He finally understood.
The Pharaoh had never intended to defeat Egypt's enemies.
He intended to defeat Egypt's hope.
And hope…
Was far easier to kill.
The battlefield split in two.
One path led toward the Pharaoh.
The other…
Toward General Saijew.
Baron tightened his grip upon his sword.
His breathing slowed.
His humiliation remained.
Magnolia had defeated him.
That truth refused to leave his mind.
Saijew watched him quietly.
"So."
He planted his sword into the fractured earth.
"You've made your decision."
Baron nodded.
"…You're in my way."
"No."
Saijew's weathered face softened.
"I've always been."
For the first time…
Baron charged without rage.
Without shouting.
Every ounce of frustration became focus.
Their blades collided.
The impact split the stone beneath them.
Saijew didn't yield an inch.
Baron twisted, bringing his second strike across the General's ribs.
Saijew caught it against the flat of his blade before turning the momentum into a shoulder throw.
Baron crashed through broken columns.
He rolled.
Recovered.
Attacked again.
Faster.
Harder.
Saijew smiled.
"There you are."
Baron frowned.
"What?"
"The swordsman you were trying to become."
Another exchange.
Steel screamed.
Saijew slipped inside Baron's guard.
The pommel of his sword struck Baron's jaw.
Baron staggered backward.
"You've stopped fighting your anger."
The General pointed his blade toward him.
"Now you're fighting me."
Elsewhere…
Magnolia intercepted the Pharaoh once more.
Golden claws formed over his hands.
He attacked relentlessly.
Each strike faster than the last.
The Pharaoh avoided every one with the smallest movement imaginable.
A tilt of his head.
A single step.
A raised wrist.
Nothing more.
Magnolia leapt backward.
A staff formed in his hands.
He swung.
The staff shattered against the Pharaoh's forearm.
Fragments of sunlight scattered across the battlefield.
Emma stared.
"…He's breaking divine weapons…"
Valentina's expression remained fixed.
"No."
"He isn't breaking them."
Magnolia formed another blade.
Again…
It disappeared.
She slowly understood.
"He's interrupting the contract."
Even Ra had fallen silent.
Ren forced himself upright.
Every muscle screamed.
His ribs ached with every breath.
Still…
He refused to stay down.
His eyes found Magnolia.
"…Move…"
His voice barely escaped.
"…Get away from him…"
The Pharaoh continued walking.
As though Ren's warning had never been spoken.
Across the battlefield…
Kibo dropped beside Arya.
One wing dragged behind him.
Blood stained the white feathers.
Arya glanced toward the wound.
"You shouldn't be standing."
Kibo laughed weakly.
"And miss this?"
Helena appeared above them.
Her spear spun once before stopping in her hand.
"You survived."
"I disappoint people."
Helena nodded.
"So I've noticed."
She descended again.
This time…
Arya met her.
Steel struck steel.
Kibo immediately took to the air despite the pain.
Every movement caused blood to trail behind him.
Yet he still climbed.
Higher.
Higher.
Searching for an opening.
Near the palace…
The last Jerusalem formation withdrew beyond the outer gates.
The five rescued children were quickly placed under heavy guard.
Jema counted once more.
"One."
"Two."
"Three."
"Four."
"Five."
She smiled toward Alexander.
"Everyone."
Alexander closed his eyes.
"…Good."
Calix sheathed his weapon.
Valerie leaned against a shattered wall.
"We're leaving?"
Alexander nodded.
"Our mission ended the moment they were found."
He looked back toward the battlefield.
Toward the Pharaoh.
"…Whatever happens next…"
"…belongs to Egypt."
Saijew and Baron clashed again.
Neither man noticed the battlefield growing quieter around them.
Saijew stepped inside another slash.
Their faces came within inches.
"You still don't understand."
Baron growled.
"Then explain it."
"You keep chasing victories."
Saijew shoved him backward.
"When you should be protecting people."
"I don't protect."
"No."
Saijew's eyes saddened.
"I know."
Baron roared.
Master Bolt answered.
The heavens cracked apart.
Golden lightning descended around his sword.
The earth trembled.
Soldiers fled from both armies.
Even Magnolia turned.
"General!"
Saijew remained perfectly still.
He slowly lifted his blade.
Not in preparation.
In acceptance.
He whispered to himself.
"So this is how it ends…"
Far away…
The Pharaoh finally stopped walking.
Without looking…
He spoke.
"Not yet."
Time itself seemed to hesitate.
Baron's strike paused for the smallest fraction of a second.
Only an instant.
Only enough.
Saijew moved.
Master Bolt carved through the battlefield, missing his heart by the width of a finger.
The explosion hurled both warriors apart.
Dust swallowed them.
Silence followed.
Then…
Two figures emerged.
Both still standing.
Baron's armor had cracked.
Saijew's left shoulder hung lower than before.
Blood ran steadily down his arm.
Neither man smiled.
Neither intended to stop.
The General adjusted his grip.
Baron lowered his stance.
One final duel had begun.