The once-silent desert had become a battlefield drowned beneath unimaginable pressure. Sand soared into the heavens, forming colossal vortexes as four overwhelming auras collided and overlapped. The crimson sky gradually darkened, while fractures spread across space itself, as though the mortal world could no longer bear the existence of those who had descended upon it.
At the center of the endless wasteland stood Valt Nacht alone.
His Victorian black suit remained immaculate.
A half-black, half-white mask concealed his face.
A single black card continued to spin effortlessly between his fingers.
His crimson eyes remained fixed upon the four robed figures surrounding him from every direction.
Valt tilted his head slightly before letting out a quiet breath, as though confirming a hypothesis.
"Incarnations..."
His voice remained perfectly calm.
"So your true bodies are still within Hexacomb."
Every word carried the certainty of a completed analysis.
"Interesting."
"It seems that even the Dragon Elders cannot descend into the mortal world with their true bodies."
The Four Dragon Elders exchanged silent glances.
None of them answered.
The next moment—
their bodies began to transform.
The long robes covering them dissolved into countless fragments of light, revealing muscular bodies cloaked in dragon scales of different colors. Curved horns emerged from each of their heads. Powerful dragon tails extended behind them, while enormous wings unfolded, casting vast shadows across the heavens.
They had assumed their Humandragonic forms.
A form that preserved a humanoid physique while retaining every characteristic of an ancient dragon.
Their auras erupted several times over.
The entire desert shook violently.
The Fire Dragon Elder stepped forward first.
Dark crimson flames coiled around his body like a newborn sun.
"Mortal."
His deep voice echoed with overwhelming authority.
"It is an honor for you to witness this form before your death."
Before he could finish—
Valt casually raised a hand, interrupting him without the slightest trace of respect.
"Fire Dragon."
"Water Dragon."
"Wind Dragon."
"Earth Dragon."
Using the black card between his fingers, he pointed at each of them in turn before slowly shaking his head.
"In the end..."
"...you're nothing more than a pack of oversized lizards far too proud of yourselves."
Silence.
Then—
BOOM!!
The ground behind the Wind Dragon Elder exploded without warning.
His figure vanished.
Even Valt's eyes nearly lost track of him.
That fast...?
His combat instincts immediately took over.
Four playing cards shot from the sleeves of his suit.
Three of Clubs.
Three of Diamonds.
Three of Hearts.
Three of Spades.
The four cards spun together, forming layers of intricate magic circles before transforming into overlapping shields of black crystal directly before him.
But—
CRAAACK!!
A kick struck the exact center of the shields.
No magical explosion.
No elaborate technique.
Nothing but raw physical force.
Every layer of defense fractured simultaneously.
Then shattered like glass.
Valt's pupils contracted.
"Impossible..."
Before the thought could fully form—
the Wind Dragon Elder's foot slammed into his chest.
BOOOOOM!!
Valt's body was launched across the desert at terrifying speed.
Towering sand dunes vanished into clouds of dust each time his body skipped across the ground.
Stone cliffs collapsed one after another.
After traveling for countless kilometers, he finally crashed into a colossal mountain.
The mountain exploded.
Cracks spread from its summit to its foundation.
Within seconds, the entire peak collapsed into an ocean of shattered stone.
Before the dust could settle—
the Wind Dragon Elder was already standing before him.
His speed was so overwhelming that space itself lagged behind, leaving distorted afterimages in his wake.
"Too slow."
His leg swung once again.
DOOOOM!!
The second kick struck Valt squarely across the jaw.
The masked man shot straight into the sky.
Layers of the atmosphere were torn apart as his body pierced through the heavens.
Clouds split apart.
The surrounding air ignited from unimaginable friction.
Within seconds—
Valt had been hurled beyond the planet itself.
Yet—
someone was already waiting.
The Earth Dragon Elder.
His body, covered in dark brown scales, stood silently within the void of space with both arms folded.
As Valt hurtled helplessly toward him, unable to regain control of his momentum, the Earth Dragon Elder simply drew back a single fist.
"Welcome."
The punch was released.
Not fast.
Not elaborate.
Yet it carried enough force to shatter continents.
BOOOOOM!!
The blow struck Valt directly in the abdomen.
Space itself shattered around them like broken glass.
Even the distant stars appeared to tremble.
Valt's body froze for a brief instant beneath the overwhelming impact.
Then—
he was launched once more.
Faster.
Harder.
Farther.
His trajectory carved a blazing line through the endless void.
At the same time—
the boundary separating realities began to tremble.
Thin fractures spread across the fabric of existence before him.
CRAAAAACK!!
The barrier between dimensional structures finally shattered.
Unable to stop his momentum, Valt tore straight through the opening.
An instant later—
everything changed.
A different sky.
Different stars.
Different laws of physics.
He had crashed into an entirely unfamiliar Alternative World.
His body continued to ricochet across its surface, destroying mountain ranges, splitting valleys apart, and creating colossal craters with every impact.
For the first time since the battle had begun—
Valt was unable to retaliate.
He wasn't even given a single opportunity to formulate a strategy.
Every time he attempted to recover—
one of the Dragon Elders struck first.
Their coordination was nearly flawless.
They left no openings.
No pauses.
No chance to breathe.
They did not fight as four separate warriors.
They fought as a single consciousness divided among four different bodies.
And Valt Nacht...
could do nothing except endure the endless barrage of attacks that never ceased.