The battlefield grew strangely quiet.
Not silent.
Explosions still thundered across the ruined city.
Soldiers still screamed.
Structures still collapsed beneath waves of mana and fire.
Burning wreckage continued to fall from the sky.
Yet around the four figures standing at the center of it all—
a strange stillness settled over the battlefield.
A calm before another storm.
Lucan stood before Aurelia.
Holy flames danced along the length of his sword, casting flickering light across his face.
Across his expression.
Across the fury burning in his eyes.
Behind him, Aurelia breathed heavily.
Blood stained her silver armor.
Golden lightning crackled weakly around her body, surging and fading with every strained breath.
She was wounded.
Exhausted.
Yet she remained standing.
Still dangerous.
Still alive.
Exactly what Draven had been trying to change.
Draven stared at Lucan.
Expressionless.
Unreadable.
His newly regenerated arm flexed once.
The black shortsword hung loosely in his hand.
Behind him, Roland emerged from the drifting smoke.
Golden mana surged around the veteran commander.
His sword was already raised.
Already prepared.
The battlefield had shifted.
No words needed to be spoken.
Everyone understood.
Draven was no longer facing Aurelia alone.
Now it was three against one.
Roland.
Lucan.
Aurelia.
Three of the Holy Empire's most powerful warriors.
And still—
Draven's expression never changed.
High above the battlefield, Aldric watched from the sky.
His black wings beat slowly against the wind.
"...That's annoying."
A brief pause followed.
"...Very annoying."
Lucan's holy flames intensified.
The steel beneath his feet began to soften and melt.
His eyes never left Draven.
"You should have stayed dead."
Draven remained silent.
Lucan continued.
"You murder innocent people."
"You slaughter soldiers."
"You leave entire cities in ruins."
His grip tightened around the hilt of his sword.
"And somehow..."
The flames surged higher.
"...you still think you're the victim."
The temperature around him spiked violently.
Aurelia closed her eyes briefly.
Feeling the immense killing intent pouring from both men.
Then she opened them once more.
Golden lightning flashed.
"Lucan."
The young knight never looked away from Draven.
"Together."
A single word.
Lucan nodded.
Roland stepped forward as well.
Golden mana erupted around him.
The three holy warriors spread out, forming a perfect triangle around Draven.
Every escape route sealed.
Every angle covered.
Every opening denied.
Far in the distance, the bounty hunters watched nervously.
Even they weren't foolish enough to interfere now.
Not with this.
Not when monsters were about to collide.
Draven slowly exhaled.
A long breath escaped his lungs.
Then—
he raised his sword.
The black blade pointed toward the three warriors.
Crimson mana began leaking from his body.
Thin strands at first.
Then more.
And more.
And more.
The folding mass within him spun faster.
The air itself grew heavier.
Roland's eyes narrowed.
Lucan tightened his stance.
Aurelia's lightning intensified.
Then—
BOOOOOOM!!
The platform beneath Draven exploded apart.
He vanished.
Roland reacted instantly.
His sword moved on pure instinct.
CLANG!!
A devastating shockwave erupted.
Draven's blade crashed against Roland's.
The veteran commander was driven backward immediately.
Steel screamed beneath his boots.
Before he could recover—
Draven vanished again.
Aurelia's instincts screamed.
Danger.
She spun.
SHIIIIING!!
Their swords collided.
Golden lightning and crimson mana erupted outward in a violent explosion.
Aurelia blocked the strike.
But the impact still forced her backward.
The ground shattered beneath her feet.
Then Draven disappeared once more.
Lucan's eyes widened.
Too fast.
Even now—
after everything—
he was still accelerating.
FWOOOSH!!
Holy flames erupted around Lucan.
His sword swept outward.
A blazing wall of divine fire expanded across the battlefield.
A prison of flames.
A trap.
For a brief moment—
it worked.
A shadow emerged from the inferno.
Draven.
Lucan's sword descended immediately.
A perfect killing strike.
SHIIIIIIING!!
The blade sliced through—
nothing.
An afterimage.
Lucan's eyes widened.
Wrong target.
Then—
BOOOOOM!!
Draven's fist slammed into his ribs.
The impact folded Lucan's body instantly.
Holy fire exploded from him.
His feet left the ground.
He was launched across the battlefield like a cannon shell.
CRAAAAASH!!
Several ruined platforms collapsed as he tore through them.
"LUCAN!"
Aurelia lunged forward.
Golden lightning exploded around her.
Roland followed immediately.
The battlefield descended into chaos.
A storm of blades.
A storm of mana.
A storm of death.
Attacks came from every direction.
Every angle.
Every strike carried enough power to kill.
And standing in the middle of it all—
Draven fought like a man who no longer cared whether he survived.
Only the result mattered.
Only the kill mattered.
Only Aurelia mattered.
Above the battlefield, Aldric watched crimson mana, golden lightning, and holy fire collide beneath him.
Then his gaze shifted toward the horizon.
More lights.
More mana signatures.
More ships.
A lot more.
His grin slowly faded.
"...Draven."
For the first time since the battle began—
Aldric looked genuinely concerned.
Because if this continued much longer—
Blackwater itself would become the battlefield.
Aurelia's blade flashed.
SHIIIIING!!
One of Draven's arms spun through the air.
Almost simultaneously—
Lucan descended from the opposite side.
BOOOOM!!
Holy flames erupted.
Draven's leg was severed cleanly at the knee.
Any normal fighter would have fallen.
Would have retreated.
Would have died.
Draven did none of those things.
His remaining hand shot forward.
Snatching the severed arm from the air before it touched the ground.
The black shortsword never left his grip.
Then—
he swung.
SHHHHK!!
A crescent wave of crimson mana ripped across the battlefield.
Roland appeared instantly.
CLANG!!
His blade intercepted the attack.
Even so—
the impact forced him backward several meters.
Steel groaned beneath his boots.
At that same moment—
Draven's remaining foot slammed into the ground.
BOOOOM!!
He launched himself forward.
Straight toward Aurelia.
His severed leg was already regenerating.
Bone.
Muscle.
Tendons.
Flesh.
Rapidly reconstructing themselves.
Aurelia's eyes narrowed.
Golden lightning surged around her sword.
She stepped forward to meet him head-on.
Then—
the battlefield exploded.
BOOOOOOOOOOM!!
A tidal wave of blood-red mana erupted between them.
Roland's eyes widened.
Lucan reacted instantly.
Too late.
CRAAAAASH!!
Both holy warriors were hurled backward.
Blood constructs erupted from the ground.
Spears.
Chains.
Blades.
An entire crimson forest exploded into existence.
And descending from the heavens—
black wings spread wide—
came Aldric.
His grin was gone.
For once—
he wasn't laughing.
The enormous blood-forged poleaxe in his hands radiated enough pressure to force nearby soldiers into retreat.
BOOOOM!!
He landed between Draven and the three holy warriors.
The platform beneath him shattered instantly.
Blood-red energy surged outward.
Lucan skidded across the steel before stabilizing.
Holy flames roared around him.
Roland stepped forward.
Sword raised.
Aurelia's lightning crackled violently.
Aldric glanced over his shoulder.
Draven stood behind him.
Fresh flesh continued crawling across the missing limb.
The severed arm had already regenerated completely.
Only traces of blood remained.
Aldric clicked his tongue.
"...You're looking ugly."
Draven didn't answer.
His crimson eyes remained fixed on Aurelia.
Aldric sighed.
Then rested the massive poleaxe across one shoulder.
His gaze shifted toward the horizon once more.
More lights.
More ships.
More mana signatures.
Hundreds of them.
Closing rapidly.
The grin still hadn't returned.
"...We're out of time."
Lucan stepped forward.
Holy fire erupted skyward.
"We're not letting either of you leave."
Aldric slowly pointed the poleaxe toward him.
"Good."
BOOOOOOM!!
Crimson mana detonated from his body.
The battlefield shook violently.
"Because I'm in a terrible mood right now."
Hundreds of blood constructs materialized behind him.
Then hundreds more.
The sky darkened beneath their numbers.
Roland's expression hardened.
Aurelia tightened her grip on her sword.
Lucan's flames intensified.
Aldric barely looked at them.
His attention remained fixed on the horizon.
Calculating.
Measuring.
Planning.
Then he spoke quietly.
Only loud enough for Draven to hear.
"I'll keep the princess's guard dogs busy."
The blood constructs multiplied again.
Blanketing the sky.
"Finish her."
His crimson eyes narrowed.
"And do it fast."
The poleaxe spun once through his grasp.
A savage smile finally returned.
"Then we're getting the hell out of Blackwater."
BOOOOOOM!!
Aldric charged.
Directly toward Lucan and Roland.
While behind him—
Draven stepped forward.
Crimson eyes locked onto Aurelia.
The Saint Princess stared back.
Golden lightning surged around her body.
The arm she had restored earlier trembled slightly.
Blood still stained her armor.
Neither spoke.
Neither looked away.
The battlefield disappeared around them.
The chaos.
The soldiers.
The fire.
The explosions.
Everything faded into irrelevance.
Until only two people remained within their vision.
The hunter.
And the hunted.
Then—
both vanished.
CRAAAAAAAAASH!!