ARC II — "THE FALL OF THE FALSE GODS"
The valley was a war zone. Smoke swirled with rain, the shattered earth trembling with every strike. Craters gaped like wounds in the battlefield, the remnants of destroyed alien troops and generals scattered across the mud.
Kurotsume crouched low, aura flickering weakly. Blood ran down his face, his cloak torn to ribbons. Every strike he had taken weighed him down, but he forced himself to rise again.
"You're still standing?" Vorak's voice boomed from above, echoing across the valley.
"Even after all this… you defy me."
Siel, soaked and bleeding from multiple wounds, circled him, blade in hand. She had already taken down several elite generals, but exhaustion showed in the slight wobble of her stance.
"Kurotsume… they're adapting!"* she shouted, deflecting a barrage of energy blasts.
Kurotsume's eyes glimmered faintly, silver light tracing along his limbs. The fragment whispered, lending just enough energy to stabilize his body, enhancing reflexes and strength subtly, but it still remained dormant, patient.
"Then we'll adapt faster,"* he said, voice low and cool.
"Keep moving. Don't stop."
The generals advanced in a coordinated assault, their movements almost mechanical. Kaelith, Lutharion, and Vorran struck simultaneously, combining fire, lightning, and telekinetic energy.
Siel dodged, rolled, and countered, but even her skill could only do so much. She slashed at Vorran, forcing him back, but Lutharion's lightning struck near her, burning the ground beneath her feet.
Kurotsume intercepted Kaelith's attack, aura flaring briefly. The silver light steadied him, absorbing the pain and granting a fleeting edge. His movements were precise and nonchalant, yet every strike chipped away at his stamina.
"This… this isn't sustainable,"* the demon hissed, urgent.
"He's pushing him too far… the fragment is restless!"
Kurotsume smirked faintly through the blood and rain.
"Let it watch. It's learning patience."
Siel shouted over the storm, deflecting a spinning strike.
"Kurotsume! We can't hold them forever!"*
"We don't need forever,"* he replied, voice calm, almost taunting.
"Just enough."
The generals pressed harder, launching a wave of attacks meant to overwhelm. Kurotsume and Siel moved together seamlessly — he deflected blows with subtle power from the fragment, while she struck openings with speed and precision.
But the army's force was relentless. Kurotsume's aura flickered dangerously; his wounds throbbed; every breath was a struggle.
"Now…"* the fragment whispered faintly. "Now you'll understand what's coming…"
Kurotsume ignored it. He had not yet given in, not yet tapped into the full power. Instead, he used the fragment's subtle energy strategically, turning near-death into control, dodging attacks that would have killed him moments before.
Siel gritted her teeth, deflecting an incoming strike and looking up at him.
"You… you're amazing… but you can't keep doing this alone!"
Kurotsume tilted his head slightly, blood dripping from his lips, aura faintly glowing.
"I'm not alone,"* he said simply.
"We fight together."
Vorak's shadow loomed above, his patience thinning.
"Interesting… so the human fights with another,"* he muttered.
"But even together… they are still fragile… still weak…"
The chapter ends with Kurotsume and Siel battered but standing, facing overwhelming odds. The fragment pulses faintly beneath his skin — a silent promise that full awakening will come, but only when the ultimate test arrives.