The sky was still bleeding fire.
The ground cracked beneath their feet, splitting open like the world itself was trying to scream. Through the smog and smoke, Leo stood firm, eyes locked onto the monster surging toward them.
A burning wolf-beast with multiple heads, each one howling in a different pitch—like they were trying to rip sanity apart.
"Leo! Behind you!" Vellum shouted.
Leo didn't even turn.
He ducked, pivoted, and thrust his palm backward—an ancient spell glyph erupted from his arm, carving a spiral in the air. The beast slammed into the glowing symbol and disintegrated, like it had been erased from existence.
Ari's voice trembled, "Was that… glyph casting? Without drawing a circle?"
"Don't question it," Leo said, his voice lower than usual. Calm. Focused. "I'm just remembering things."
Another monster leapt through the firestorm, aiming for Rayleigh.
Rayleigh didn't flinch.
He clenched his fingers, and vines of dark light shot from his sleeve, wrapping around the monster mid-air and pulling it apart, like it had been caught in a trap made of shadows.
"Not bad for a retiree," Leo smirked.
Rayleigh cracked his neck. "I'm not dead yet."
Then came the roar.
The Titan-class creature—twice as tall as anything before it, a beast made of shifting metal plates and pulsing blue fire—charged through the battlefield. Its claws dug trenches in the ground. Magic didn't even touch it.
"Back—fall back!" someone screamed from the guild.
"No," Vellum said, stepping forward. He raised his hand, magic swirling around him like a cyclone. "Leo, cover me."
Leo nodded and snapped both arms forward. Two spell chains appeared mid-air, wrapping around the beast's legs like glowing ropes.
Vellum jumped—up, up, higher than seemed possible.
He slashed down, lightning crackling from his twin blades, screaming through the firestorm. The moment his blade hit the monster's neck—
BOOM.
It was like thunder exploded from the inside out. The beast collapsed, its head severed clean.
Ari raised a glowing hand, dozens of shield domes forming over the remaining civilians and younger guild members. "Vellum, Leo—next wave!"
More monsters surged. This time with wings. Flaming serpents coiled from the clouds, spraying burning venom like acid.
Rayleigh cast a barrier, breathing hard. "We can't keep this up forever."
"We don't have to," Leo whispered. "Just hold on a little longer…"
He closed his eyes.
And then—
His aura exploded.
Not glowing. Not sparkling. It was ancient.
Old magic.
Symbols from lost times formed around him in spinning rings. His eyes burned golden. His veins lit with runes.
Leo dashed into battle.
No spells. No staff. No sword. Just his body, enhanced with pure magic knowledge burned into his soul.
He somersaulted over a beast and struck its core. It shattered.
He summoned a wall of force without chanting. It bent enemy attacks like rubber.
He clapped once—a ripple erupted, flattening five monsters in one go.
"HOW IS HE MOVING LIKE THAT?!" someone from the guild yelled.
Rayleigh glanced at Leo. "That's… not just power. That's history."
Above them, the battle between the Council and Velyour continued.
Shockwaves from their attacks cracked the clouds. Each spell collided like meteors. The sky turned a violent mix of red and gold, as if day and night were fighting for control.
And on the ground, Leo led the charge.
Fists coated in magic. Runes blooming on his skin. Memories from a soul not his—but somehow part of him.
As he fought, Ari shouted, "Leo—behind you!"
A beast twice his size lunged.
But Leo just smiled.
He stepped aside and touched the creature's side gently, whispering an old phrase.
"Tu meurs pour la paix."
(You die for peace.)
The creature turned to ash.
---