Zebul, who had already steeled herself for death, stared wide-eyed at that familiar back.
That familiar figure.
It wasn't just Zebul who was stunned—Chiyo and the others, who had been ready to join her in resisting the monsters, also froze in place.
Several large ships quietly came to a stop beside her.
On board, aside from Chiyo, Kitsune Saiguu, and Baal, the rest were all Tenryou Commission soldiers.
Clad in armor and gripping long spears, their eyes burned with the determination to fight to the death.
Their resolve was the same as Zebul's: even if it cost them everything, they would defend Narukami Island.
This was their home.
They would never allow monsters to trample it.
But no one expected that Elliot would appear before them at this most critical moment.
All eyes locked onto that tall figure, shock rippling through them.
They had never imagined Elliot would stand before them once again.
Of them all, Baal was the most shaken.
Her eyes widened, pupils filled with disbelief, as if she couldn't accept what was happening before her.
"Sasa…yuri…?" Zebul's voice trembled as she called out.
"Sorry I'm late," Elliot replied, turning his head with a faint smile.
But the sight that met their eyes made everyone shudder, their pupils contracting sharply as they froze in place.
Elliot's body was drenched in blood, his clothes torn to rags, his sturdy frame riddled with wounds of every size.
There were dozens of blade cuts, several gaping holes still bleeding, each as wide as a thumb.
Burn marks and bruises from crushing blows marred his skin.
Almost no part of his body was intact.
Even his face was scarred by knife wounds.
The gruesome sight left everyone's hearts pounding with fear, unable to imagine what he had endured.
But most shocking of all was the dark purple mark spreading across his forehead.
It wasn't a bruise.
It was corrosion from the Abyss.
During the Khaenri'ah War, when Elliot had been steadily pressing forward, he suddenly sensed that the protective barrier was under heavy assault. As the impacts multiplied and grew stronger, he realized the truth: "Countless monsters have already reached Inazuma."
His fighting style shifted instantly. Throwing caution aside, he carved a bloody path through the towering alchemical beasts and Abyssal creatures, fighting as though his life meant nothing.
For that, he was cursed by the Abyss—and left battered and broken.
But none of that mattered.
What mattered was that he had made it back—before the barrier shattered.
That barrier was the condition he had secured from Heavenly Principles, the ability of the Ruler of Space.
It was no ordinary shield.
Ordinarily, such a barrier would focus its strongest defenses outward.
But Elliot had demanded the opposite.
He placed its strongest defenses inward, leaving the outer layer weaker.
He reversed it completely.
He had done so because he knew—if war broke out in Khaenri'ah, Zebul would come for him.
If the weaker side faced inward, it would never withstand her strikes, and the barrier would be useless.
So he had turned it around, ensuring that even Zebul's full force could not break it.
As for the outside, it was fragile—but Elliot had the Ruler of Space link the barrier's sensory response directly to him. This way, if it was attacked, he would feel it instantly and rush back to deal with it.
It was the most perfect solution he could devise.
Boom!
Before anyone could react, the surrounding monsters surged toward him.
With a flash of sword light, those that lunged at Elliot were cleaved in two, their bodies crashing into the sea as he spread his wings and took flight.
The monsters across the waters craned their necks upward, their red eyes locked on him.
Before countless watching eyes, he circled Narukami Island at high speed, great arcs of sword qi descending from the sky to cut down the swarming beasts.
In no time, heaps of monstrous corpses piled up beneath him like mountains.
He used himself as bait, drawing every monster around Narukami Island to him.
Each strike of his sword further enraged them, ensuring their focus was on him—and not the island.
Everyone who saw this understood his intent.
"Sasayuri! You can't do this! Let me out—we should be fighting side by side!"
"You can't be so selfish! Taking everything on alone without even consulting us—let me out! I won't allow this!"
"You promised me! You swore to me with your own words that you wouldn't do this again! You liar! You've never once kept your promise!"
Zebul swung her blade again and again, slamming it against the barrier, desperate to shatter the invisible wall.
But no matter how hard she struck, the barrier—so close to breaking—remained as solid as ever, unmoved.
"You…"
"You clearly promised me…"
"I trusted you so much… how could you lie to me…"
Her eyes burned red with despair. With every strike she dealt, another tear slipped down her cheek, falling into the sea below.