The ground trembled under the demon's next step, its four arms carving the air in jagged arcs. Black sparks clung to its claws, every swipe releasing a shriek of scorched magic. Nox stood his ground.
The calm in his expression was gone — replaced by a sharp, surgical focus.
"Velari Arts…" His voice was almost a whisper, but each syllable hummed like a blade being drawn. "Third Seal Release."
The air rippled. Shadows stretched toward him unnaturally, coiling around his arms and waist like serpents. Runes flared along his coat's lining, one by one, until the entire chamber dimmed under their light.
Sid felt it — the shift in pressure, the way the air itself seemed to bow.
The demon lunged, talons aimed for Nox's throat. Nox moved — not fast, but inevitable.
Velari Art: Rift Fang. He stepped past the strike, his palm grazing the demon's forearm. A slit of darkness opened in mid-air, severing the momentum — and the limb. Black ichor sprayed across the floor.
The monster didn't howl. It only snarled deeper, its remaining arms swelling with cursed energy. "Seal-binder," it rasped, "you won't—"
It never finished.
Nox's hand clenched, and the shadows around the demon solidified into spearpoints, driving through its knees and pinning it to the floor. The sound was a deep, grinding thud — like nails through ironwood.
"You're from the last war," Nox said evenly, walking closer. "That means you know what happens when someone like me stops holding back."
The demon twisted violently, snapping two of the spears. It surged forward, swinging its claws in an erratic, unpredictable pattern.
Nox didn't evade. He stepped into the chaos.
Velari Art: Eclipser's Spiral. A ring of shadow-blades spun out from his body, catching each claw mid-swing. The clash was deafening, sparks of black and crimson lighting the room in violent flashes.
For a moment, they were locked — claws against spinning blades, will against will. Then Nox pushed. The spiral collapsed inward, shredding the demon's arms down to ragged bone.
The monster staggered back, still refusing to fall. Its chest opened like a grotesque flower, revealing a pulsing core of molten shadow.
Its voice turned guttural. "Even if you destroy me… the vessel will fall."
Nox didn't look at Sid. He raised his right hand — and the shadows of the entire battlefield bent toward him.
Velari Art: Reverse Bloom.
The shadows surged toward Nox's hand, twisting into the shape of a massive, blackened flower bud hanging in the air before him. Each petal was carved from pure darkness, lined with faint, silver runes that pulsed like a heartbeat.
As the petals slowly began to unfurl, the temperature in the chamber dropped to a biting chill. With every layer that opened, waves of crushing pressure rolled out, cracking the floor and splintering stone pillars. The demon's movements faltered as invisible thorns of shadow pierced into its limbs, rooting it in place.
When the final petal spread wide, the air went utterly still. The bloom's heart shone with a blinding, silver-black light that drank in every other color in the room.
The demon roared and lunged, but the Reverse Bloom snapped shut like a predator's jaw, its petals folding inward in a violent twist. A deep, resonant boom echoed through the battlefield as the crushing force imploded around the demon's core.
Nox's eyes narrowed. "Return to the dark you crawled from."
A white flash explodes everywhere.
When the light faded, nothing remained but a faint smear of destruction steaming on the stone.
Silence returned.
Nox exhaled once, his seals dimming and fading from sight. He didn't turn around immediately. "The next one they send," he said quietly, "won't be testing you, Sid. It'll be killing you."
Sid swallowed, but said nothing.
Somewhere beyond the ruins, a deeper shadow shifted — as if something had just marked its prey.