The sky darkened, torn apart by thunderclouds. A storm of impossible scale swirled above the battlefield, black winds and golden lightning crashing down like the wrath of gods.
Aizen opened his eyes. Power surged in his veins, every breath searing his lungs with raw magic. His storm aura bled into the world itself, twisting the very air around him.
Through the chaos, he saw them—the Leviathan and the Bakunawa, locked in their unending rage. But his gaze faltered.
There, beside the golden-scaled dragon goddess, stood a woman clad in black. Her flowing hair shimmered like midnight, her golden eyes burning with an ancient fire.
"…You," Aizen muttered, recognition sparking. The woman who kept pushing me forward… was it her?
Anger burned hotter than reason. "Tch. It doesn't matter. First, I'll crush these worms."
With reckless arrogance, Aizen surged forward. His claws ignited in black and gold lightning, and he struck with an earth-shattering blow. His fist carved gaping holes through both calamities' monstrous bodies.
Gasps erupted across the battlefield. But hope died as quickly as it was born.
Before their eyes, flesh and bone rewove. The Leviathan's body mended, the Bakunawa's wounds vanished. Their regeneration was relentless.
Aizen only grinned. "Not done yet."
He summoned the forbidden darkness—the same Black Sphere once wielded by the First Black Lion. Reality itself quaked. The sphere tore at the air, space folding inward as its aura spread fear across the heavens. Both beasts roared in pain, their strength weakened under its crushing presence.
But the price was steep.
Aizen staggered, sweat pouring down his face. His body trembled from exhaustion. "Tch… 80%… gone already?" His storm aura flickered, his reserves burning out. Only 19% left… one more strike and I'll collapse.
The gods above watched in awe, their eyes wide with disbelief. Never before had they seen a mortal beastman wield such apocalyptic force.
Aizen lifted his arm again, forcing power into his final, strongest technique—only for a hand to seize his wrist.
"Enough."
A man stood before him, his form human but his aura unmistakable. His deep blue eyes glowed like oceans, and from his back unfurled a Leviathan's tail, scaled and gleaming. His presence radiated power older than mountains.
"Rest, Black Lion," the man said firmly. "You've done what was needed. The calamities are weakened."
Beside him, a girl stepped forward. She too bore the Leviathan's mark—tail and eyes shimmering with the same abyssal hue. Her gaze softened as she looked at the great beast writhing in the distance.
Together, the siblings approached the fading Leviathan.
At the same time, three dark shadows emerged, drifting toward the Bakunawa. The sight of them drew tears from the wingless dragon's glowing red eyes. For the first time, the calamity's rage stilled.
And then—
The impossible happened.
The titans shrank, their monstrous bodies folding inward, reshaping. In the silence that followed, two figures stepped forth.
The Leviathan, now in human form, was tall and regal, with flowing blue hair, eyes like sapphire tides, and a sleek, powerful tail shimmering behind him. His face was sharp, unnervingly handsome, a living echo of the sea's wrath and beauty.
The Bakunawa stood opposite him. Her crimson hair blazed like fire, her eyes glowing with molten rage and sorrow. Her long red tail coiled behind her like a weapon of war, her beauty terrifying, alien, yet divine.
The battlefield froze.
The two calamities—long thought to be mindless disasters—now stood before them, not as monsters… but as gods in human flesh.
(END of chapter 57)