The circle of scorched ground still smoked where the Illusion Demon God had stood, the last curls of heat-warped air twisting upward before fading into the pale sky.
Alter turned from the empty space and strode toward the nearest intact command post — a fractured stone platform half-shielded by the remains of a wall. Captain Draven was already there, rallying squads and dragging a tactical map from its case, the edges still stained with ash.
Selene landed beside Alter, the glow of her weapon fading, face streaked with dirt and sweat. Behind her, Caelum Dray, Veyna Lux, and Vellmar Dreadmoor carried reports from the field: casualty counts, ammunition tallies, and the status of the dragons still circling above.
No one sat.
The map was unrolled across the stone table, weights slamming down at the corners to keep the wind from taking it. The surface was marked in thick charcoal — Rift Spire positions, known enemy troop movements, and the projected influence line from the Black Expanse to the east.
Alter leaned over it, one clawed fingertip tracing from the position they stood in now to the broad red circle further north."This spire was only the first line," he said. "The breach point it anchored will collapse in days, maybe hours — but the northern spires still stand. And the one in the Black Expanse is the keystone."
Draven stabbed a finger into the map. "Then we hit Seraveth's spire next? We can strike while they're still reeling."
Caelum shook his head. "Intelligence from our scouts says the Seraveth spire's defenses are heavier. If the Black Expanse reinforces it, we'll bleed men before we reach the walls."
Selene stepped closer, her voice cutting through the low debate. "We don't split forces. We go for the Expanse. Take the keystone, and the rest fall in the collapse."
The air shifted again at the name — Black Expanse. Even the veteran commanders tightened their grips on the table edge. That region wasn't just enemy territory. It was hostile ground by its very nature: a skyless, dead expanse where the land itself seemed to hate the living.
Veyna tapped the projected route, crystal nails clicking against the parchment. "We'll need supply lines anchored in safe territory. And aerial cover — nothing survives on the ground for long in the Expanse."
Alter straightened, the decision already locked in his mind."Then we don't stay on the ground. We move in dragon-wing formation, stay mobile, and strike before they adapt. The Expanse spire falls before they realize we've left Teravane."
There was no vote. No need. The resonance link pulsed through every Dragoon, Commander, and Captain present, carrying the command deeper than words.
Above them, the dragons wheeled once, as if they too had heard the decision. The shadow of their wings rolled over the map.
The next march would not be for survival. It would be for the heart of the enemy.
The smoke from Teravane's fallen spire still hung in the air when the next orders came.
Alter stood at the center of the scorched ring, the heat still rising from the earth under his boots. Around him, the ground crews were already setting up reinforced wards to seal the breach point. The dragons wheeled high above, circling like silent sentinels. They would not follow this time.
The Mythral Dawn had been ordered to remain behind, securing the territory and anchoring the defensive perimeter until the breach collapsed fully. The dragons — too large a presence for the next phase — would guard the airspace and ensure no second wave struck before the lines were reinforced.
This next step required speed, precision, and a strike team that could move unseen until it was too late.
Selene stepped to his side, gauntlet brushing against his. "Seraveth's spire won't wait for us. If they're already reinforcing…"
"They won't hold it in time," Alter said. His voice was absolute. "We'll cut it before the keystone in the Black Expanse can give it strength."
With a gesture, the sigil array beneath their feet flared to life. Soryn had been preparing it since the final blow in Teravane, his hands moving over the complex runic pattern without pause. The stone glowed from the etchings outward, light spilling into the cracks until the whole circle thrummed with power.
Takayoshi stepped forward from the perimeter, his expression calm but his stance sharp. His eyes swept over the assembled Dragoons and Commanders — his appraisal as precise as ever. "You're moving light," he noted. "Good. The Seraveth spire isn't built for siege; it's built for slaughter."
"Then we take it apart before they have the chance," Alter replied.
The team assembled:
The full cadre of Commanders, their armor and weapons humming with fresh repairs.
The Dragoon disciples, silent but fierce-eyed from the last victory.
Soryn, robed in Drakareth's royal steel but with a forge-hardened hammer slung at his back.
Takayoshi, sword resting across his shoulders, watching the horizon as if expecting the enemy to leap through it.
No one else.No armies.No dragons.
The sigil reached peak resonance. The air hummed like the skin of a drum. And then —
A vertical line split the world in front of them, widening into a gate of raw light. One step forward, and Teravane was gone.
They emerged on Seraveth's northern plain — a wide expanse of frostbitten grassland stretching toward the horizon. The air was colder here, the wind sharper, carrying with it the metallic taste of corrupted magic.
And in the distance, jagged against the sky, stood the Rift Spire of Seraveth.
It rose from a field of blackened stone, its surface twisted in impossible geometry. Lightning arced between its upper segments, feeding into the storm clouds circling it like vultures. At its base, the faint shimmer of a barrier field rippled — not a wall, but a net of killing force.
Selene's gaze narrowed. "They've already fortified it."
Takayoshi's eyes didn't leave the structure. "Then we don't give them time to finish. March now."
They moved at once. The Commanders formed the vanguard, spread in a staggered formation to cover the flanks. The Dragoons followed close, each pair covering the blind spots of the one ahead. Soryn and Takayoshi took the left and right edge of the lead rank, keeping the formation tight against probing enemy strikes.
Every mile forward brought the enemy's presence closer. Shadow-scouts slipped through the grass ahead, only to be cut down by silent arrows. Lesser demons emerged from the fractured stone outcrops, swarming in packs — broken just as quickly by coordinated bursts of steel, fire, and lightning.
The march never slowed.
By the time the barrier field of the Rift Spire loomed close enough to hum against their armor, the air was heavy with ozone and the scent of scorched earth. The outer patrols lay in scattered pieces behind them, smoke rising in thin black columns across the plain.
They halted just short of the barrier's reach.
Alter scanned the shimmering net and the spire beyond. "Once we're through, no one breaks formation. Hit the inner guard hard, keep them from regrouping, and don't let the lieutenants drag you into a stall fight."
Takayoshi drew his blade, its edge already resonating with the storm. "Then we take the door off its hinges."
The strike on Seraveth's Rift Spire was about to begin.
The hum of the Rift Spire's barrier was no longer just a sound — it was a vibration in the teeth, in the ribs, a constant warning that the structure itself was awake and watching. The air smelled of scorched iron and cold ash, heavy enough to make every breath taste metallic.
Alter's team stopped just short of the killing field. The barrier was no simple wall of light — it was a living weave of void arcs, snapping in irregular patterns like the jaws of some unseen predator. Step wrong and it would strip flesh from bone before the body hit the ground.
Soryn crouched low, his hand brushing the burnt earth. Faint runes flickered where the energy bled into the ground. "Triple lattice. Conduits anchored at the outer spire teeth. If we break all three in the same heartbeat, the surge will fold inward."
Takayoshi's gaze flicked to the jagged anchor points ahead, his voice like a blade drawn in the dark. "Collapse it on itself, then."
Selene was already adjusting her stance, her blade angled toward the nearest anchor. "We open it now, before the guard has time to read the shift in energy."
Alter's clawed hand rose in silent command. Three Commanders broke rank instantly — Caelum Dray, Veyna Lux, and Garran Flamecoil — each moving to a separate anchor point with the precision of veterans who didn't need more than a glance to understand their role.
"On my mark," Alter said, voice cutting clean over the hum of the lattice. "Three… two… one."
The ground split with the triple impact. Lightning, crystal resonance, and wyrmfire slammed into the anchor points in perfect unison. The barrier screamed like metal tearing in the bones of the earth, the arcs convulsing inward, folding over themselves in a spiral of white-hot collapse.
One heartbeat later, the entire lattice imploded with a thunderclap, shards of void energy evaporating into a sulfur stench.
The way to the Spire was open.
The opening didn't go unnoticed.
From the jagged shadows beneath the Rift Spire, the inner guard poured forth — elite demon shock troops clad in segmented black plate etched with pulsating red glyphs. Frost and void energy crawled across their halberds, each step in perfect, war-drum rhythm.
Above them, movement. Two massive figures emerged onto the balcony of the first defensive ring — Demon Generals.
The first was a horned brute in molten armor, wielding a war axe that dripped fire-hot slag. His voice rumbled across the plain. "Mortals breaching the gate… again? Break them."
The second was a lithe, many-eyed creature wrapped in flowing voidsilk, its hands tipped with blades like polished obsidian. It tilted its head unnaturally, eyes blinking in separate rhythms as it studied Alter's force. "The Prime is among them. The Master will want his head."
The first wave hit.
Selene met the charge with a forward step, her blade locking with a halberd and twisting it aside before driving into the exposed joint of the demon's plate. Sparks and black ichor burst in the same breath.
Takayoshi became a moving storm on the right flank, every swing of his heavy blade cleaving through two, three enemies at a time. He moved with controlled violence, each strike timed to break momentum before the demons could swarm.
Vellmar Dreadmoor took the left, slamming into the vanguard like a battering ram. His Sky Piercer: Zero Distance blew the chest out of a plated demon, the void core inside rupturing into a blinding flash. Rhed Velgroth burst through the opening, planting a runic marker that detonated into a roaring pillar of fire, scattering bodies like dry leaves.
The Commanders worked in pairs — Caelum and Sorei leapt over the front line, carving downward arcs into the demons' rear formation, while Veyna and Jaris hammered them with crystalline lances that shattered armor and staggered even the brutes.
Still, the inner guard fought like a single, breathing entity. At the Demon Generals' signal, their halberds shifted into a defensive rotation, releasing cross-pattern waves of frost-void energy. The ground iced over instantly, locking boots in place, while black spikes erupted from beneath to skewer anything caught too long.
Selin Varrow took a glancing frost strike to the shoulder, the ice crawling up her arm before she shattered it with a surge of lightning. Elira Mistshade vanished into shadow mid-charge, reappearing behind a halberd line to slit a demon's throat before they could react.
Above, the molten-armored Demon General slammed his axe into the spire wall, sending a wave of magma and flame across the battlefield. "Bury them!"
Alter surged forward, Starsever in hand, cutting through the wave with a burst of compressed wind and steel. The many-eyed general's voice hissed from the balcony. "You will not reach the heart, Prime…"
But Alter's momentum didn't falter. His blade flashed twice — halberds clanged and fell, demons collapsed in halves — and in his wake, Takayoshi ripped through the rear line like tearing cloth.
In under ten minutes, the inner guard's vanguard lay in ruins. The survivors fell back toward the first defensive ring, where the generals now waited in full stance, the spire's jagged towers feeding visible energy into their weapons.
Alter pointed Starsever toward them. "We finish the ring before they can anchor the next charge."
And with that, the strike team advanced again, the air already shaking from the gathering power of the Rift Spire.
The jagged towers of the first defensive ring loomed ahead, black stone pulsing like living veins. Each spire tooth hummed with stolen leyline energy, feeding the war constructs embedded into the walls. The molten-armored Demon General leapt from his perch, landing with a shockwave that cracked the obsidian ground. The many-eyed general descended in a slow drift, void tendrils curling from her sleeves.
The ground between them erupted with movement. Dozens of plated demons rose from the dirt — buried as living mines — snapping their halberds into guard positions as the generals' presence rippled across their ranks.
The molten-armored one bellowed, "Hold the ring! Spill their bones into the conduit!"The many-eyed one's voice was a whisper that slithered into the mind. "Strike their will first. Then their bodies."
Alter moved before their words finished. One step and the air detonated beneath his foot. In the blink of an eye, he was before the molten general, Starsever flashing in a perfect vertical cut. The impact cleaved through the war axe and into the general's armor, splitting molten steel like wet clay. Lava sprayed across the ground — but before it could splash the Dragoons, Alter's aura flared, vaporizing it mid-air.
The molten general snarled, swinging a broken half-axe at Alter's head. It met only air. Alter's counter came like a thunderclap, a single backhand slash that took the general's head from his shoulders. The body staggered three steps before collapsing into a pool of cooling slag.
The many-eyed general shrieked, her void tendrils lashing toward Alter's back — but Takayoshi intercepted. His blade met the tendrils in a flurry of ten strikes per heartbeat, severing them into ribbons of black smoke. "Your fight is with me," he said, voice like a closing tomb.
Around them, the Commanders and Dragoons split into strike teams.
Selene Virellia wove between two halberd bearers, her blade a silver arc that severed both heads in one smooth motion. She didn't stop moving, carving a path deeper into the ring's defenses.
Caelum Dray and Sorei Windshaper launched in tandem, wind currents wrapping around them as they dive-bombed a cluster of demons from above, Caelum's spear breaking shields while Sorei's twin blades shredded armor.
Garran Flamecoil unleashed a cone of wyrmfire that melted an entire wall section, giving the Dragoons a new entry route.
Veyna Lux anchored at the rear, crystal lances forming in rapid succession and slamming into the higher walkways to suppress ranged demon fire.
On the Dragoon front:
Vellmar Dreadmoor was a juggernaut, smashing through three shield-bearing demons with one Sky Piercer: Zero Distance, the explosion ripping the enemies apart from within.
Rhed Velgroth dove into the breach Vellmar made, planting explosive runic markers on every enemy in arm's reach before triggering a simultaneous detonation that sent bodies flying.
Talia Fenreith was a blur, vaulting off rubble and spinning mid-air to decapitate two demons before hitting the ground in a crouch.
Selin Varrow ghosted through the chaos, striking and vanishing in quick bursts, her sword always reappearing where the enemy least expected.
Elira Mistshade moved like a shadow river, her blade flashing once per target — no wasted movement, no second strikes needed.
Jaris Tenvahl coordinated with Veyna's lances, detonating his placed markers in sync with her crystal impacts for maximum carnage.
Takayoshi and the many-eyed general clashed in a duel that blurred into streaks of steel and voidlight. Each tendril strike was met by a counter so precise it left sparks hanging in the air. The general hissed in frustration, splitting into afterimages — but Alter's voice came from her blind spot.
"You were never my equal."
Starsever's edge punched through her chest, the blade's light collapsing her void form into ash. She tried to speak — but Alter's second strike erased her head before the words left her mouth.
The fall of the generals sent a visible shudder through the demon ranks. Many broke immediately, retreating deeper into the spire's second ring. Others fought harder, screaming oaths in the abyssal tongue as they tried to buy time.
Alter's gaze swept the field. "No quarter. Break this ring completely."
The strike force surged forward again, cutting down the last defenders while the spire's outer towers cracked and slumped. The energy feeding into them sputtered, and the entire first ring went dark with a hollow, dying hum.
Without pause, Alter raised Starsever toward the next gate. "Second ring. Move."
The moment the first ring's last tower cracked and fell, the Spire answered.A thunder like mountains splitting rolled from the depths, and the second ring gates unsealed with a grinding roar. Black light spilled into the air, rippling in jagged waves as the gate widened.
From it came the defenders — not rabble this time, but the Spire's champions.
Three Lieutenants led the charge:
Varak Throatcleaver — a four-armed behemoth in bladed chitin, his cleavers forged from demon bone and warsteel.
Saelith the Iron Wraith — a soul-armored giant wreathed in the death-echoes of his victims, the air around him ringing with spectral screams.
Khyrris Voidmaw — a hooded horror with an unhinged maw from navel to chin, teeth grinding in endless motion, dripping void bile that hissed where it touched stone.
Behind them, the ground shook as Void-Titan Constructs stomped into view — towering siege machines of obsidian and bone, powered by cores that pulsed with inverted light. Each arm bore a weapon of annihilation: guillotine claws, void cannons, or slab-like hammers wrapped in runes.
Alter's voice cut through the din."Selene, Garran, Caelum — with me. Break the anchors on those constructs. Everyone else, erase the ring."
The push began.
Varak Throatcleaver roared and crashed forward, his four cleavers blurring in deadly arcs. Vellmar Dreadmoor met him head-on, Sky Piercer: Zero Distance detonating point-blank into the brute's armored chest. The impact staggered Varak but didn't drop him; his upper left cleaver punched toward Vellmar's neck.
Rhed Velgroth vaulted in, planting triple runic markers down the brute's spine. He triggered them instantly — BOOM–BOOM–BOOM! — blasting chunks of chitin away. Vellmar saw the opening and rammed his blade into the exposed flesh, but Varak kept swinging with his remaining arms.
A silver blur — Talia Fenreith — dropped from above, spinning into a mid-air cleave that severed both right arms in one strike. Varak dropped to his knees, snarling, before Vellmar's final thrust crushed his skull into the ground.
On the left flank, Saelith the Iron Wraith advanced like a fortress on legs. Every swing of his greatsword shattered stone and scattered attackers. Veyna Lux fired crystal lances in rapid succession, forcing him to shield one side while Selin Varrow darted in to slash at exposed joints.
Elira Mistshade appeared behind him like a shadow peeling from the wall, her blade sliding into a gap under his arm, twisting for maximum internal damage. Saelith roared, releasing a pulse of spectral chains — but Caelum Dray dropped from above, his spear's wind burst shredding the chains mid-flight. Garran Flamecoil surged in, engulfing the Wraith in a wyrmfire torrent until the armor warped inward from the heat. One final coordinated strike from all four fighters dropped him in a heap of molten plate.
The right flank's nightmare was Khyrris Voidmaw, whose maw sprayed arcs of caustic void bile that melted stone like ice in flame. Jaris Tenvahl wove through the bursts, slapping runic markers directly onto the monster's hide, while Sorei Windshaper cut deep lines across its back to rupture the void sacs fueling the bile.
Khyrris lashed out, jaw snapping forward in a blur — only for Alter to appear between blinks of light. Starsever flared, a single divine arc severing the monster from shoulder to hip. The upper half slid away in silence before dissolving into dust.
Then the Void-Titan Constructs engaged.
One guillotine-armed behemoth stomped toward the center line, blades screaming as they scissored closed. Takayoshi met it head-on, his sword intercepting with a flash of pure steel authority. The guillotine arms exploded in a spray of shattered runes, the titan stumbling back before Takayoshi's second strike severed its head entirely.
A void cannon construct swiveled toward the Commanders, core flaring with black light — but Selene Virellia was already moving. She slid low under the cannon's barrel, drove her blade through the core casing, and wrenched it free in one motion. The construct's detonation was a dome of inverted flame, but Selene emerged through it without a mark.
At the rear, Arinelle Dawnwhisper unleashed a storm of spectral spears into another titan's leg joints, crippling it for Thorne Ironstride to crash into, his warhammer turning its knee to rubble. The titan toppled sideways into a wall, crushing a dozen lesser demons in the fall.
Alter carved a straight path through the siege engines, dismantling them before their weapons could cycle. Each kill was a single decisive blow — a core cleaved, a runic heart punctured — until all that remained of the Spire's second ring defense was wreckage and silence.
The leyline feeding the wall flickered, then died entirely. Ahead, the last gate began to grind open, revealing the spiral ascent to the Spire's Heart — the seat of its power and the anchor to the rift.
Alter raised Starsever, voice like a verdict."This is the end. Once we break the heart, the Spire falls."
Without another word, he stepped into the black light of the final gate.
The Second Ring's gates didn't break so much as they screamed apart, steel and blackstone tearing inwards under the combined assault of spellfire, wind bursts, and dragon-forged weaponry. The moment the barrier collapsed, a wave of heat and sulfur rolled over the strike force—followed by the deafening roar of the Spire's inner defenders.
Inside, the second defensive perimeter was already alive with motion. Towering siege constructs—hulking, four-legged frames of obsidian armor bound together by demonsteel chains—moved into formation, each bristling with spikes and bound glyph-cores. Behind them, the Seraveth Spire's most feared lieutenants advanced in a staggered formation—eight-armed fiends carrying chain-axes, winged bloodborn shriekers diving overhead, and two elite demon commanders marked in crimson war paint barking orders to lesser troops.
Alter's voice cut through the chaos. "Break them. All fronts. No mercy."
The army split into its battle pairs and units instantly.
Finn blurred forward first, Nightfang and Gloomfang flashing in tight arcs, the black-and-gold daggers humming with wind resonance. He slid low under a sweeping strike from a demon brute, twin blades flashing in an [Aerial Crosswind Sever], cutting through both hamstrings before finishing with a pulse rifle burst to the head.
Mira moved parallel but opposite, Dawnbite and Crimsonfang glowing with white and crimson light. She spun into a tight [Radiant Fang Spiral], carving through a pack of clawborn infantry before leveling her dual pulse rifles. She sighted the lieutenant rallying in the rear and loosed a [Twinflare Execution], the twin beams punching straight through its chest and exploding on impact.
Selene raised her shield, the celestial filigree catching a flash of enemy fire as she invoked [Aegis Nova]—a dome of blinding light that caught the opening volley from the siege constructs and reflected it back, blowing apart two in the first exchange. With the opening made, she surged forward, driving her blade into the chest of a winged shrieker, cutting its scream short.
Caelum launched himself from her shield edge in an [Sky Piercer: Heavenfall Rend], a lightning-charged thrust ripping through a construct's head. Soryn followed, both hands gripping his greatsword as flames roared up the blade, delivering a [Dragon Sovereign's Ruin Strike] that cleaved through an entire rank of demons, the air warping from the heat.
Talia moved like wildfire, bounding from back to back of demons in a [Ghost Step Sky Piercer], her strikes so fast they landed in triplets before the first body fell. Rhed's explosions followed in her wake—he slammed down runic markers with each punch and detonated them in [Volcanic Fang Bursts], sending shrapnel and bone fragments flying.
Vellmar, the juggernaut, didn't weave—he charged. His [Sky Piercer: Zero Distance] slammed into the chest of a siege construct at point blank, detonating its core from the inside and blasting molten metal across the battlefield.
Arinelle called spirits into the material plane, a swirl of spectral drakes erupting around her before she unleashed [Spirit Fang Maelstrom], tearing open the formation of enemy shock troops. Garran's [Infernal Chainstrike] lashed through the gap, his flaming weapon cleaving across multiple foes. Revyn blinked into the shadows and reappeared behind a lieutenant, driving twin daggers into its neck with [Umbral Guillotine] before fading again.
Above the battlefield, Takayoshi unleashed [Heaven's Dismantle], striking three precision points in midair to shatter the enchantment shields over the enemy's rear guard. That was the signal. Alter surged forward in a golden blur, every strike of Starsever layered with [Void Fang Rend] and [Seraph Shatter Palm], cutting through constructs, lieutenants, and anything standing between him and the final breach.
The Dragoons surged as one. The moment they crossed the threshold, their auras snapped into perfect resonance—golden arcs linking between them, each pulse enhancing the others' strikes. Rhed placed a [Volcanic Fang Burst] marker on the lead siege construct, detonating just as Talia pierced its chest with [Sky Piercer: Heavenfall Rend], the lightning amplification tearing its upper frame apart.
Selin and Elira flowed through the gaps, their [Shadow Veil Execution] and [Umbral Mark Detonation] cutting down two elite guards in perfect sync. Vellmar anchored their formation, smashing through a second construct's knee joint before executing [Sky Piercer: Zero Distance] into its core. Jaris laid a ring of [Directional Ruin Markers], guiding the chaos into a kill zone that the resonance-fed team tore apart in seconds.
Above them, Caelum dived like a hawk, his spear flashing with [Sky Piercer: Celestial Thrust], carving a clean hole through a siege engine's head. Garran followed with [Infernal Chainstrike], dragging an enemy commander straight into Revyn's [Umbral Guillotine].
Mira dashed in, Dawnbite and Crimsonfang flashing white and red in [Radiant Fang Spiral], her pulse rifles dropping a shield-bearer before it could reinforce the front. Finn danced alongside her, Nightfang and Gloomfang carving [Aerial Crosswind Sever] into another demon's spine before both of them rolled away under a collapsing siege limb.
The tide shifted—two new squads of demon elites flanked the Dragoons, cutting their resonance chain. Instantly, they switched to Dance of Destruction.
Talia and Selin rotated like mirrored predators—Talia darting in with lightning stabs to force reactions, Selin appearing at blind angles to finish with silent precision. Rhed and Vellmar became a moving wall of explosions and brute-force takedowns, trading positions so fast the enemy never locked onto them. Elira's shadow projections multiplied in the dust, confusing the enemy's aim, while Jaris coordinated detonations that drove wedges into the flanking lines.
Every few seconds, pairs would swap, each Dragoon becoming the distraction or the executioner in turn. The demons lost cohesion, their formation bleeding apart under the relentless cycle.
Selene advanced with Aegis Nova raised, intercepting a siege construct's overhead smash and shoving it back into Alter's waiting path. Alter chained [Heaven-Piercer Step], [Graviton Sever], and [Requiem Fang Barrage], shredding the machine's core while Takayoshi blitzed the nearest lieutenant with [Void Fang Rend] followed by [Thousand Cross Fang].
The Spire's Second Ring began to crack. The pylons dimmed as the resonance of the defenders faltered.
The Dragoons rejoined in full resonance, a golden pulse running through them. Rhed planted the final runic marker at the base of the last siege construct, and with the combined weight of every Dragoon's strike—Talia's lightning spear, Selin's killing arc, Vellmar's point-blank pierce, Elira's shadow detonation, Jaris' directional blast—the construct exploded inward, scattering molten fragments across the stones.
"Push to the core!" Alter's voice cut through the ringing air.
With the Second Ring defenders broken and the siege constructs in ruin, the path to the Spire Heart lay open—dark, waiting, and filled with the sound of the Demon God's awakening.
The second ring's defenders broke under the pressure. One siege construct collapsed in a heap of glowing slag, a second fell headless, and the lieutenants fell one by one under coordinated strikes.
The way to the Spire Heart lay open.
The core chamber of the Seraveth Rift Spire wasn't a room—it was a wound torn into reality. Black crystal spires rose like ribs, veins of molten red pulsing with each heartbeat of the rift. The air was thick, bending light, every breath tasting of iron and ash.
From the altar at the chamber's center, the Demon God emerged—thirty feet of obsidian muscle, its face a shifting mask of jagged bone and endless night. Voidflame swirled in its palm, coiling into a storm. Around it, the last surviving lieutenants bristled with weapons, flanked by the Spire's elite demon guard.
"Mortals," the Demon God's voice was a grinding earthquake, "you march into your own erasure."
Alter stepped forward, Starsever held low, golden aura coiling like a hurricane. "Then watch eternity burn."
The Demon God slammed both fists into the ground, sending a wave of voidfire erupting through the chamber. Selene planted her feet, [Aegis Nova] flashing to life in a brilliant crescent that split the firestorm in two.
Rhed, already moving, slid under the shield's edge and placed a tri-mark sequence into the oncoming guard, detonating [Volcanic Fang Burst] that shredded two demons instantly. Talia shot past him in a blur of [Ghost Step Sky Piercer], her lightning-laced thrusts dropping another before it could even roar.
Vellmar locked shields with an elite guard twice his size, teeth bared. He roared and drove his spear point into the demon's abdomen, unleashing [Sky Piercer: Zero Distance] — the back of the guard's torso erupted in a silent shockwave.
Selin flowed like a whisper of steel, her [Shadow Veil Execution] severing throats and hamstrings, slipping into blind spots left by the Commanders. Elira became a phantom in the chaos, her [Umbral Mark Detonation] erupting on the Demon God's flank, briefly staggering the titan.
Jaris fought like a tactician in motion, laying [Directional Ruin Markers] that funneled incoming elites into Vellmar's kill zone. Every blast tore more space for the team to advance.
The titan's halo flared red, summoning chains of void that lashed outward. Finn flipped over one, landing a cross-swipe with Nightfang and Gloomfang in an [Aerial Crosswind Sever] that left burning gouges in the Demon God's jawline. Mira followed, Dawnbite and Crimsonfang flashing in [Radiant Fang Spiral], ripping through a lieutenant before drawing both pulse rifles and unloading point-blank into the Demon God's chest.
Arinelle's [Spirit Fang Maelstrom] surged forward, ethereal drakes tearing into the chains, while Garran's [Infernal Chainstrike] locked a lieutenant's weapon arm, crushing it before dragging the demon into Revyn's [Umbral Guillotine].
Selene braced the center line, her shield absorbing another frontal strike from the Demon God, while Alter darted into the gap. He chained [Void Fang Rend], [Soulbreaker Dive], and [Seraph Shatter Palm], carving through the titan's ribs in golden light that burned shut its wounds.
Talia and Selin moved in tandem, one blinding with lightning bursts, the other finishing with shadow strikes. Rhed and Vellmar fought like a hammer and anvil, crushing guards between explosive runic detonations and brute force spear work. Elira ghosted along the edges, striking lieutenants in their moments of distraction.
The Demon God's roar called forth its last surviving lieutenants and the elite demon guard. They poured into the chamber in a black wave, forcing the Dragoons and Commanders into split fronts.
Finn and Mira became a blur—Finn darting in with Nightfang and Gloomfang executing [Aerial Crosswind Sever] across two lieutenants, while Mira spun through them with Dawnbite and Crimsonfang in [Radiant Fang Spiral]. Between combos, both switched to their pulse rifles, precision bursts keeping the guard from closing in.
Caelum met a siege lieutenant head-on with [Sky Piercer: Celestial Thrust], impaling it through the chest before Garran's [Infernal Chainstrike] yanked another straight into Revyn's [Umbral Guillotine]. Jaris detonated [Directional Ruin Markers] under clustered elites, breaking the enemy's momentum so Selin and Elira could sweep in with [Shadow Veil Execution] and [Umbral Mark Detonation].
Jaris called out detonations in rhythm with Caelum's [Sky Piercer: Heavenfall Rend], each timed blast leaving the Demon God further off-balance.
The Demon God staggered, voidlight leaking from fractures in its frame. The Dragoons and Commanders didn't let up — Rhed's last [Volcanic Fang Burst] blew out one of its knees, Vellmar's [Zero Distance] took the other. Selin's blade drew a deep line across its throat, and Talia's lightning spear pinned its head back.
Finn and Mira emptied both rifles into its core, their shots drilling into the unstable rift-heart. Takayoshi launched into [Requiem Fang Barrage], every blow hammering the Demon God's frame toward collapse.
Alter rose above them all, every Draconian Aspect blazing in harmony.
He blurred forward, Starsever carving a reality-splitting arc through the Demon God's chest. Time seemed to buckle—sound vanished—then the strike detonated, unbinding the entity from the mortal plane. Its body fractured into burning fragments, which dissolved into nothing.
The walls screamed with the death of the structure, black crystal raining down. Selene's shield locked around the retreating strike force, catching falling debris and the last desperate bolts of void energy. The Dragoons and Commanders cut down fleeing demons until the chamber began to implode.
"Move!" Alter barked. The Dragoons and Commanders fell into rapid retreat, covering each other's paths as the Spire's structure gave way. Selene shielded the rear with [Radiant Wall], Mira and Finn alternating rifle fire to drop any demon stragglers. Garran and Caelum tore down a falling pylon blocking the path, while Vellmar physically hauled Jaris out from under collapsing debris.
They burst out into the open just as the Spire fell in on itself, the black crystal shattering in a chain reaction of explosions. The sky above Seraveth brightened for the first time in weeks—the Rift sealed, the Demon God gone.