Cashew's head rolled across the ground, her short brown hair spilling free from beneath the owl mask.
On the other side, Almond had just raised his great sword, preparing to deliver the finishing strike to Gumber.
"Empire Slash—"
He glanced sideways.
He saw it.
Cashew's headless body.
Almond's face instantly drained of color.
The great sword slipped from his hand and crashed heavily onto the ground.
"Ca… Cashew!"
He roared and stomped forward, launching himself toward her. Each step cracked the ground beneath his feet.
His hands trembled as he gently gathered both her body and her severed head into his arms.
Everyone froze at the sight.
"It's my fault… I failed to protect you…"
Almond muttered as he stroked her hair.
"What the hell is this…?"
Shinji whispered to Lio beside him.
Almond carefully laid Cashew's body back down and slowly rose to his feet.
His eyes were filled with killing intent as he stared at them.
"Filthy humans."
He clenched his fist and slammed it into the ground, splitting the earth apart.
Sensing something was wrong, Lio immediately shoved Shinji down.
Almond ripped a massive slab of rock from the ground and hoisted it onto his shoulder. Dust and debris cascaded down from it. He stomped once, roared, and hurled the enormous boulder straight at them.
Lio and Shinji barely managed to dodge. The rock skimmed past their heads and smashed into the ground, exploding into fragments.
Almond tilted his head back and unleashed a furious roar that shook the entire forest.
From high above, white clouds began to gather.
Dozens of pure white clouds descended from the sky.
Shinji and Lio slowly pushed themselves up.
"What the hell…?"
The clouds rumbled like thunder. From within them came scratching sounds, shrieks, wingbeats, and the howls of monstrous beasts.
"Tear the humans apart!"
At once, the clouds plummeted to the ground. Each impact cracked the earth, sending dust and shattered stone flying.
"Ah! It's those fallen clouds!"
Shinji recognized them—the same mysterious clouds that had dropped before.
Before they could steady themselves, violent growls erupted from within the clouds. Heavy footsteps thudded from inside. The clouds trembled.
Then—
A door slowly opened along the surface of each cloud.
Inside, countless winged demons emerged. Their wings beat violently. Their beaks clacked together. Their talons scraped relentlessly against the ground.
Almond pointed directly at Shinji's group.
Instantly, the demons charged, talons extended and razor-sharp beaks aimed at them.
Shinji and Lio scrambled to their feet. Shinji's shoulder throbbed from Kriz's earlier strike.
He tried to hand the sword back to Lio, but Lio refused, pushing it back toward him.
A flying demon lunged at Lio, talons flashing.
Lio stood firm. He clenched his fist, extending his index finger. A white light gathered at the tip.
Just as the demon reached him, Lio thrust his finger straight into its abdomen.
The creature stiffened in agony but did not fall. It shrieked furiously and prepared to attack again.
Shinji dashed in from the side and drove the sword into its neck. The demon collapsed, its legs still twitching, claws scraping wildly at the ground.
Lio glanced at Shinji, then pointed toward Shinji's shoulder, as if questioning something.
Shinji looked down—and froze.
"Huh? What? The wound's gone?"
He rolled his shoulder. The slash Kriz had inflicted had vanished again.
"That's incredible… Does that mean I'm basically immortal?!"
He didn't have time to celebrate. Another demon slammed him to the ground, pinning him down with its talons. It opened its sharp beak, ready to peck straight into his skull.
Lio channeled Essence into his leg. A faint yellow glow flared.
He kicked the demon away with explosive force.
But dozens more demons surrounded them, waiting for a chance to tear them apart.
Nearby, one demon crept toward Omelet, who lay unconscious on the ground. It clicked its beak excitedly, stamping its feet as if it had found treasure.
Before it could strike, Gumber rushed in and drove the remaining half of his spear straight through its head.
"Did you ask me before trying to eat the kid?"
The demon collapsed, the broken spear embedded in its skull.
In the distance, Lumber still lay in a pool of blood—and another demon was approaching him.
"Get away from him, you damn shit!"
Gumber yanked the spear free and hurled it across the battlefield. It pierced straight through the demon's head.
But now he was surrounded.
The demons, seeing him disarmed, rushed at him from all sides.
In a quiet corner of the battlefield, Almond did nothing.
He simply sat there, gently stroking Cashew's hair. His massive frame no longer seemed terrifying.
"I failed… to save you again."
The space around him felt silent, even amid the chaos.
He carefully laid Cashew's body down.
"I won't leave you anymore. I promise."
He rose and walked toward his fallen great sword. He picked it up, gripping the handle tightly.
Almond slowly turned his head toward Shinji's group, who were desperately fighting off the demons.
"If you were still alive… you would do the same as me. Wouldn't you?"
He lifted the blade onto his shoulder, preparing to unleash his strongest strike once more.
Suddenly—
The figure of a petite woman flickered before his eyes.
He flinched. The blade slipped from his grasp.
Almond spun around.
"Who's there?!"
Behind him stood the faint silhouette of a woman in a long dress. She smiled gently at him and extended her hand.
"No… No!"
He could not remember her face. It was blurred—only the curve of her smiling lips was clear.
"That figure… that face…"
The woman's form began dissolving like smoke. As she faded, her once pure, pale face twisted. Blood streaks appeared across her skin. Her gentle smile turned sorrowful. The elegant dress she wore tore apart, revealing a body covered in wounds and blood.
Almond tightened his grip on the blade. The air around him distorted violently.
"It's her… She wants me to kill those lowly humans!"
In an instant, Almond swung the blade forward, releasing an overwhelming invisible pressure that tore through the air itself.
" Empire Slash. Sky Splitter!"