Paul moved without pause, his body shifting through the air in sharp, unpredictable directions as he dodged the constant stream of spells that Thavuk hurled at him, each movement calculated just enough to avoid death while preserving what little energy he could.
He already understood the situation clearly, Thavuk was stronger, not just slightly, but to a degree that made a direct fight pointless, so instead of trying to match him, Paul focused entirely on buying time, forcing the battle into a drawn out exchange where survival mattered more than victory.
Time was everything. Time for Dave to dismantle the ritual, even if slowly and for Vanessa and Alina to hold their ground against the army.
And most importantly, time for Leo to do whatever he was doing, because without that, none of this would matter.
That ritual… it wasn't something ordinary.
Even Thavuk, an S-rank, was struggling to maintain it, which meant it had to be something tied to a higher existence, something related to gods, and if it completed, the outcome would be far worse than anything they could currently handle.
Paul knew all of this, and he accepted what it meant.
Even if he had to die here, he would hold Thavuk long enough.
But in the middle of his thoughts, as he adjusted his movement and prepared to dodge the next attack, Thavuk raised a single finger, and the air around it warped unnaturally before a beam of pure void shot forward with terrifying speed.
Paul reacted instantly, twisting his body just enough to avoid a direct hit, though the edge of the beam still grazed his cheek and left behind a thin cut before continuing past him.
A second later, it exploded in the distance.
The blast was enormous, far beyond anything Thavuk had shown so far, expanding outward with enough force to erase an entire city, and even from where he was, Paul could feel the shockwave crash into him, his clothes snapping violently as the pressure passed through the air.
For a brief moment, he glanced back at the destruction, fully understanding what would have happened if that attack had landed cleanly.
Then he turned forward again.
Thavuk hadn't moved.
He simply stood there, watching him, that same wide, confident smirk still on his face.
…
Vanessa's eyes shifted quickly from one chieftain to the other, measuring distance, timing, and intent in a single glance before a golden hue flared around her body and she launched herself toward the closer one, her swords cutting through the air with precise force.
Her blade met the orc's axe in a heavy clash, the impact locking them in place for a brief moment as sparks and raw energy burst between them, but that opening was all the second chieftain needed as he leapt from behind and hurled his massive spear straight at her.
Vanessa reacted instantly.
She pushed off the locked weapon and jumped upward, the spear passing just beneath her as she twisted in mid air, and as she came down, her foot struck the first chieftain square in the chest, forcing him a step back and breaking his balance just enough to disrupt his stance.
But the pressure didn't ease.
Both chieftains moved again almost immediately, not giving her even a second to recover as they attacked together, their coordination rough but overwhelming in sheer force, one pressing forward with heavy swings while the other aimed for openings with precise thrusts.
Vanessa moved between them with controlled grace, her body flowing from one motion to the next as if she were dancing rather than fighting, her swords intercepting each attack at the last possible moment, one blade catching the spear from her left while the other redirected the axe coming from the front, but even with her skill, holding back two A-rank chieftains at once was far from easy.
Each impact pushed her slightly, each exchange forcing her to give ground.
She could hold them. But not forever.
Alina saw it. She was about to move in to help, already shifting her weight forward, when her attention snapped to the side as she noticed a large group of orcs charging directly toward Dave's position.
If they reached him, the ritual would never be stopped. Someone had to hold them.
Alina vanished without hesitation.
In the next instant, she reappeared in front of the advancing orcs, placing herself directly in their path as they rushed forward without slowing, weapons raised and roars filling the air.
She met them head on. Moving at high speed, she weaved through their formation, her daggers striking quickly and precisely, not aiming to kill every target, but instead cutting tendons, slicing joints, and crippling movement wherever she could, turning their charge into a staggered, broken advance.
It wasn't a perfect solution. But it was the fastest one. And right now, speed mattered more than anything.
Still, as she fought to hold them back, something caught her attention from the edge of her vision. The chieftain with the spear had shifted his focus.
Instead of continuing to pressure Vanessa, he had stepped back slightly, his body turning as he lined up a throw at her.
His arm pulled back, the spear glowing with molten energy as it aimed directly at her position. Vanessa saw it too.
But she was locked in place, forced to block a heavy strike from the other chieftain, unable to move in time. Her eyes snapped toward Alina. Filled with worry.
The chieftain didn't hesitate as he hurled his spear with all his strength, the molten weapon tearing through the air with such speed that it reached Alina in less than a second, its heat warping the space around it as it aimed straight for her heart while she was still suspended midair from her last movement, unable to dodge and with no time to cast even the simplest spell.
And then…
An axe struck it from the side.
The impact knocked the spear away just before it could pierce her, sending it spinning off course as sparks scattered across the battlefield, and for a brief moment everything seemed to freeze, the clash of weapons halting, the movement of the orcs slowing, and every gaze turning toward the one who had intervened.
"Kramm Fistscream," The chieftain who throw the spear shouted, his voice carrying both shock and anger.
The orc who stood there, his axe still raised from the deflection, was Chieftain Kramm Fistscream.
He glanced at Alina for a brief second, then turned toward the army and began to speak in orcish, his voice deep and commanding as it spread across the battlefield.
"Thavuk has sacrificed our people as if they were nothing. To him, our lives mean nothing. And now he seeks to open a portal to another world. When this ritual is complete, there will be no more orcs. Whoever wishes to stop it… stand with me."
For a moment, the army hesitated, uncertainty spreading among them as they looked at one another, unsure of what to do, but slowly, one by one, some of them began to move, stepping away from their formation and walking toward Kramm.
"Kramm…" the spear wielding chieftain growled as he started walking toward him.
Kramm turned his head slightly toward Alina and spoke again, this time in human language.
"We will fight with you, human."
Then he turned without another word and charged forward, his axe raised as he rushed toward the opposing chieftain, leaving Alina standing there as the battlefield shifted around her.
She slowly got back to her feet, her breath still uneven, only now realizing that the orcs surrounding her were no longer enemies, but warriors ready to stand and fight alongside them.
…
Hours had passed since the fight began, yet no matter what Leo tried, every attack he created was met with an equal and opposing response, as if he were fighting a reflection that understood him perfectly, countering each move not just with power, but with the same logic and intent behind it, forcing him into a battle of attrition that he could not afford to lose, because unlike his opponent, his mana was not endless.
He needed something decisive. Something overwhelming.
At that moment, the shadow version of him raised its hand, and with a slow, deliberate motion, as if pressing down on an invisible surface, it brought its arm down.
The effect was immediate. Shadows surged outward from its position, spreading rapidly across the ground like a living tide before expanding into a vast, endless ocean of darkness that swallowed everything in its path, consuming the battlefield entirely, leaving only one place untouched. Zahhak.
The shadows stopped just short of him. Then, slowly, the sea of darkness began to sink.
Leo's eyes widened as he looked down.
Every creature that had filled the battlefield, the undead, the broken remnants of monsters he had already defeated, stood motionless for a brief second, their bodies rigid as dark veins spread across their forms and their eyes turned hollow and empty.
Then they began to change. Their flesh twisted unnaturally, shifting and reshaping as if molded by an unseen force, while from their backs, wings tore their way out, spreading wide as the creatures lifted into the air and turned toward Leo as one.
The realization hit immediately.
The shadow hadn't just taken control of them. It had reshaped them. Strengthened them. Turned the entire battlefield into its army.
A smile slowly formed on Leo's face. If that was the scale the shadow wanted…
Then he would answer in kind.
His creation sphere expanded outward, pushing against the space around him as dark clouds began to gather above, thick and heavy, swallowing what little light existed.
The air shifted. Then the storm began.
Massive tornadoes formed within the clouds and descended violently, slamming into the ground and tearing through the airborne creatures, their winds dragging them in and shredding their bodies apart as they spiraled within the currents.
At the same time, hail began to fall.
Not small fragments, but massive chunks of ice, each the size of a football, crashing down with enough force to punch through flesh and bone, leaving gaping holes in anything they struck.
Lightning followed.
Blinding strikes of energy tore through the battlefield, each bolt obliterating clusters of creatures in an instant, the thunder echoing across the underworld as the storm raged without restraint.
Wind, ice, and lightning combined into a single overwhelming force, a controlled catastrophe that crushed, tore, and burned everything caught within it, holding the corrupted army in place and breaking its advance.
And through it all, Leo moved.
He charged forward, cutting through the chaos he himself had created, his focus locked entirely on the shadow ahead.
The distance between them vanished.
Their swords met.
And the moment they collided, the entire underworld trembled.
…
Alexia sat in her chamber, a stack of reports spread neatly across the desk before her, each one demanding attention as the weight of the city's responsibilities now rested almost entirely on her shoulders, leaving little room for rest or distraction.
The room was quiet, filled only with the faint rustle of paper as she turned a page, her sharp eyes scanning lines of information with practiced efficiency.
Then, without warning, the blue orb resting at the corner of her desk began to glow.
The soft light pulsed once, then again, before stabilizing, and within it, Bernal's face slowly took form, slightly distorted by the magic but clear enough to read his expression.
"Bernal?" she said, her voice calm but attentive.
"Alexia, I'm on my way to the northern kingdom," he replied, and even through the orb, the sound of rushing wind could be heard behind his voice, suggesting he was moving quickly.
Her eyes narrowed slightly. "What about the orcs?"
"I'm already done with them," he answered without hesitation. "Where is Oswald?"
"He's resting," Alexia said, leaning back slightly in her chair, her gaze still fixed on the projection.
Bernal nodded once. "Then leave the kingdom to him, and come north as well. I can feel a massive void presence there… and I'm afraid I won't be enough for whatever is happening."
Alexia raised her eye brows. It was rare, extremely rare, for Bernal to speak like that.
For someone regarded as the most powerful mage in existence to admit uncertainty meant only one thing.
Whatever awaited them, was dangerous on a completely different level.
"I'll come as soon as I can," she said after a brief moment.
"I'll be waiting," Bernal replied, and with that, the glow of the orb faded, his image dissolving back into stillness.
Silence returned to the room. Alexia kept her gaze on the orb for a few seconds longer, her thoughts already shifting, calculating, preparing.
Then, without a word, she closed the book resting on her lap.