CLANG—!!
BOOOOM—!!
The battlefield trembled.
Master Devrik's claymore collided with Maris's blade, releasing a shockwave that tore through the ruined courtyard of the Upbringers Citadel.
Maris slid backward, her boots carving deep trenches into the shattered stone. Blood dripped from several wounds across her body. Yet she smiled.
"You can't even defeat me after I've been weakened, Devrik."
Maris wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth and smiled.
"You should be ashamed."
Her purple eyes glowed faintly.
"If I wanted to end you right now, I could have finished you back in the chamber itself."
Master Devrik remained silent.
The grip around his claymore tightened.
Then—
CRACKLE.
Blue Shuryoku surged around his body. The ground beneath him shattered. His claymore began glowing brighter and brighter until it resembled a blade forged from the light of a blue supergiant.
Maris's smile faded.
BOOM—!!
Devrik disappeared.
CLANG—!!
Their weapons collided. A violent shockwave blasted outward.
Maris was thrown backward, crashing through several ruined pillars.
BOOOOM—!!
Stone and dust exploded into the air.
For a moment, the battlefield disappeared beneath the cloud of debris.
Then—
CRACK.
A figure stepped out.
Maris.
Blood ran down her forehead. Her breathing had become uneven. Yet she was still standing.
"Tch…"
She wiped blood from her cheek.
"You've gotten stronger."
Master Devrik rested his claymore on his shoulder.
"And you've gotten reckless."
Maris laughed.
BOOM—!!
She launched forward.
CLANG—!!
Their weapons collided again. A shockwave tore across the battlefield.
CLANG—!!
BOOM—!!
CLANG—!!
BOOM—!!
The battlefield trembled beneath their relentless exchange. Shockwaves ripped through the courtyard. Cracked stone shattered further with every collision.
Master Devrik remained completely composed.
Maris did not. Blood continued dripping from her wounds. Her movements were still fast. Still deadly. But no longer flawless.
For the first time since the battle began, cracks were beginning to show.
CLANG—!!
Devrik's claymore slammed into her blade.
Maris gritted her teeth. The impact sent her skidding backward.
"Tch…"
She planted her feet. A trail of blood followed behind her.
Master Devrik slowly lowered his weapon.
"There it is."
Maris narrowed her eyes.
"What?"
Master Devrik's gaze remained fixed on her.
"Fatigue."
Silence.
Maris's smile twitched.
For the first time, she didn't immediately respond.
Devrik slowly raised his claymore.
"You can barely regenerate anymore."
Maris clicked her tongue.
"Tch."
Blood continued dripping from her wounds. The cuts Royoshi had inflicted earlier still hadn't healed. Not completely. Not even close.
Master Devrik noticed everything. The slow reactions. The unstable footing. The declining Shuryoku output.
Every second of combat was pushing her closer to defeat.
Yet Maris still laughed.
"You sound awfully confident."
BOOM—!!
She vanished.
CLANG—!!
Their weapons met again. A shockwave exploded outward.
CLANG—!!
CLANG—!!
CLANG—!!
Maris unleashed a relentless barrage of attacks.
Faster. More aggressive. More desperate.
Master Devrik blocked every strike. Not a single attack slipped through. Not a single scratch appeared on his suit.
Meanwhile—
Far from the center of the battlefield—
Pasithea stood atop a broken section of the Citadel wall.
Her rifle rested against her shoulder. Ready. Watching. Waiting.
Nearby, Ishara sat against a piece of shattered stone.
Royoshi's head rested on her lap.
One hand remained gently pressed against his forehead.
His breathing was steady, but he still hadn't awakened.
Ishara lowered her gaze.
"Please wake up, Royoshi…"
Pasithea glanced toward them.
Then a small smile appeared on her face.
"Ishara."
The girl looked up.
"Yes, Ms. Pasithea?"
Pasithea folded her arms.
"Would you mind answering one question?"
"Of course."
Pasithea glanced toward the unconscious Royoshi. Then turned back to Ishara.
"Do you like him?"
Ishara froze.
"W-What?!"
A faint blush instantly spread across her face.
"N-No!"
Pasithea raised an eyebrow.
"No?"
"W-We're just good friends!"
"I see."
"It's nothing like tha-that."
Pasithea chuckled softly.
"If you say so."
Ishara immediately looked away.
Her face somehow became even redder.
Before Ishara could defend herself further—
CLANG—!!
A thunderous impact echoed across the battlefield.
Both girls instinctively turned.
Master Devrik and Maris were still locked in combat.
BOOM—!!
A shockwave erupted as Devrik's claymore swept across the battlefield.
Maris barely managed to block. The impact alone launched her backward.
SKRRRR—
Her boots dragged across the ruined ground. Blood splattered onto the broken stone. Her breathing had become noticeably heavier. Yet she still refused to fall.
"Tough as ever…"
Pasithea muttered.
Ishara looked toward the battlefield. Even she could tell the difference now.
Maris was losing. Slowly, but inevitably.
Yet even then—
She refused to back down.
BOOM—!!
Maris rushed forward once more. Her blade flashed toward Devrik's chest.
CLANG—!!
Blocked.
Another strike.
CLANG—!!
Blocked again.
A third.
A fourth.
A fifth.
The battlefield echoed endlessly with the sound of colliding steel.
Master Devrik stood his ground. Unmoving. Unshaken. Untouched.
There wasn't a single scratch on his suit.
Meanwhile, Maris's condition continued worsening. Blood dripped from her fingertips. Her breathing grew heavier. Her vision occasionally blurred.
Yet she kept fighting. Because stopping meant accepting defeat. And Maris had never been good at accepting defeat.
CLANG—!!
Another strike.
Blocked.
CLANG—!!
Another.
Blocked.
CLANG—!!
Another.
Blocked again.
Master Devrik's expression never changed.
The battlefield around them continued collapsing from the force of their attacks, but he remained perfectly calm.
Maris's frustration grew.
"Tch!"
Purple Shuryoku erupted around her blade.
BOOOOOOM—!!
She unleashed a massive slash.
A crescent wave of energy ripped across the battlefield.
Master Devrik simply raised his claymore.
BOOOOM—!!
The attack shattered instantly. The resulting shockwave sent dust and rubble in every direction.
Maris froze for half a second. It was a mistake.
Master Devrik immediately stepped forward.
BOOM—!!
His claymore swung.
Maris's eyes widened. She barely managed to raise her blade.
CLANG—!!
The impact was devastating.
A shockwave erupted across the battlefield.
BOOOOOOM—!!
Maris was launched backward like a cannonball. She crashed through a ruined wall.
Then another. Then another. The entire section of the courtyard collapsed behind her.
Dust swallowed everything.
Silence followed.
For a brief moment, nobody moved.
Then—
CRACK.
Maris stepped out from the debris. Her clothes were torn. Blood ran down both her arms. Her breathing had become uneven. Yet she still stood.
"…I'm not done yet."
Master Devrik sighed.
"You should be."
BOOM—!!
Maris rushed forward once more.
The instant she appeared before him, her blade flashed downward.
CLANG—!!
Blocked.
A second attack.
CLANG—!!
Blocked.
Attacks kept on coming, and they kept on getting blocked.
Every strike was met with perfect precision.
Master Devrik wasn't merely defending anymore. He was reading her. Predicting her. Controlling the pace of the battle.
Maris knew it too.
That was what frustrated her the most.
"TCH!"
Purple Shuryoku erupted around her.
Thousands of energy fragments appeared around the battlefield. Like floating blades. Like stars made of destruction.
Pasithea's eyes narrowed.
"That's not good."
The floating fragments multiplied. Hundreds. Then thousands.
The sky above the Citadel became filled with purple lights.
Each one pulsed with corrupted Shuryoku. Each one carried enough power to tear through stone.
Maris slowly raised her hand.
"Drown."
WHOOSH—!!
The fragments shot forward like a meteor shower. Like an army of blades descending from the heavens.
BOOM—!!
BOOM—!!
BOOM—!!
Explosions erupted across the battlefield. The ruined courtyard almost vanished beneath waves of destruction. Smoke and debris swallowed everything.
Even Ishara instinctively shielded Royoshi's face from the shockwaves.
Pasithea tightened her grip on her rifle.
"Devrik…"
For several seconds, the battlefield disappeared.
Nothing could be seen. Nothing could be heard.
Then—
A blue light appeared within the smoke.
Master Devrik emerged. Walking. Slowly. Calmly.
The fragments had failed. Every single one.
Maris stared.
"…Impossible."
Master Devrik continued walking toward her.
His footsteps echoed through the battlefield.
One.
Two.
Three.
Each step felt heavier than the last. Each step felt like a countdown.
Maris's breathing became more uneven. Yet she still raised her sword.
Master Devrik finally stopped walking.
The blue glow surrounding his claymore intensified. The blade hummed. The air itself seemed to vibrate around him.
"You."
His voice was calm. Firm. Authoritative.
"Anyone who enters the Citadel and harms its students must face judgment."
Maris tightened her grip. A bitter smile appeared on her face.
"Then come and deliver it."
BOOM—!!
The battlefield exploded beneath her feet. She vanished.
Purple Shuryoku erupted behind her like a comet's tail. The distance between them disappeared instantly.
CLANG—!!
A shockwave erupted. Maris attacked.
Again.
Again.
Again.
Again.
Each strike carried everything she had left. Her rage. Her pain. Her desperation.
CLANG—!!
CLANG—!!
CLANG—!!
Master Devrik blocked every single attack. His movements remained perfectly efficient. No wasted motion. No unnecessary effort.
Only precision. Only control.
Maris's attacks became wilder. Faster. Heavier. But less refined. The exhaustion was finally catching up to her.
CLANG—!!
CLANG—!!
CLANG—!!
Each collision shook the battlefield. Each collision pushed Maris farther back.
Master Devrik continued advancing.
One step.
One strike.
One step.
One strike.
Relentless. Unstoppable.
Maris's arms trembled. The impact from every clash traveled through her body. Her wounds screamed in protest. Her vision blurred. Still she refused to surrender.
"WHY WON'T YOU FALL?!"
Purple Shuryoku erupted violently around her.
The ground beneath her shattered.
Master Devrik remained silent.
That silence angered her even more.
BOOM—!!
Maris lunged forward.
CLANG—!!
Their weapons collided.
BOOM—!!
A shockwave erupted. The ruined courtyard shook. Several damaged towers collapsed in the distance.
Maris pushed harder. Harder. Harder.
Yet Devrik did not move an inch. It was like trying to push a mountain.
Then—
CRACK.
A small sound echoed between them.
Maris froze. Her eyes widened.
Master Devrik heard it too.
CRACK.
A fracture spread across the edge of her blade. Thin. Barely visible. Yet impossible to ignore.
"No…"
Maris immediately attacked again.
CLANG—!!
The crack widened.
Another strike.
CLANG—!!
The fracture crawled farther up the weapon.
Another.
CLANG—!!
The blade trembled.
Master Devrik's gaze remained fixed on it.
"The weapon is reflecting its wielder."
Maris gritted her teeth.
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"It means you've exceeded your limits."
BOOM—!!
Maris exploded forward. As if refusing to hear those words.
CLANG—!!
The crack widened.
Maris's eyes twitched. For the first time since the battle began, fear appeared in them.
Not fear of Devrik. Fear of losing. Fear of being powerless again.
BOOM—!!
She disappeared.
Purple Shuryoku exploded across the battlefield.
CLANG—!!
Another strike.
CLANG—!!
Another.
CLANG—!!
Another.
The attacks came from every direction. Above. Below. Behind. Ahead.
Maris moved like a storm. A storm trying desperately to destroy the mountain standing before it.
Yet Master Devrik remained unmoved. His claymore intercepted every strike. Every angle. Every feint. Every desperate attempt.
The difference between them was becoming obvious. Maris was fighting with emotion. Devrik was fighting with experience.
CLANG—!!
A violent shockwave erupted.
Maris was pushed back again. Her breathing became even more ragged. Blood dripped from her fingers. The crack on her blade spread farther.
CRACK.
CRACK.
CRACK.
"No…"
Maris stared at the fractures.
"No…"
Purple Shuryoku erupted around her again.
She refused to accept it. She refused to lose.
The corruption inside her sensed that desperation. And it responded.
BOOOOOM—!!
An enormous pillar of corrupted Shuryoku erupted into the sky. The clouds above the Citadel split apart. The ground shook. The remaining anomalies across the battlefield suddenly became more violent.
Pasithea immediately raised her rifle.
"Tch."
Several anomalies emerged from the rubble. Then dozens. Then hundreds. Their distorted bodies crawled from cracks in reality itself.
The corruption surrounding Maris had begun leaking into the battlefield.
BOOM—!!
Pasithea fired. One anomaly exploded into purple mist.
BOOM—!!
Another disappeared.
BOOM—!!
Another.
Yet more continued emerging.
"They just keep on coming…"
She reloaded.
Nearby, Ishara tightened her grip around Royoshi's shoulder.
The pressure in the air had become suffocating. Purple lightning danced across the sky. The ground trembled continuously. Even breathing felt difficult.
"Royoshi…"
His eyelids twitched. Then again. And again.
Back at the center of the battlefield—
Maris clutched her head.
"STOP…"
Dark tendrils spread across her arms. Across her neck. Across her face.
The corruption was no longer hiding itself. It was consuming her. Using her.
Maris clutched her head tighter.
"STOP…"
Fragments of memories flashed through her mind.
A small village. Snow-covered rooftops. Her mother's smile. Her father's laugh. The man who saved her. The blonde-haired woman who acted like an elder sister. The Citadel. Home.
Then darkness. The memories shattered. The whispers returned. Countless whispers.
"Destroy."
"Kill."
"Consume."
"Become stronger."
"Become ours."
"No…"
Maris staggered backward. Blood dripped from her lips.
The voices only became louder.
"YES."
BOOOOOOM—!!
A colossal wave of corrupted Shuryoku erupted from her body. The clouds above the Citadel split apart. Purple lightning tore through the sky.
The entire battlefield shook violently. Several damaged structures collapsed.
The remaining anomalies suddenly became uncontrolled.
Even Pasithea's expression changed.
"She's losing control."
Master Devrik slowly lowered his stance.
For the first time since the battle began, he could clearly see it.
Maris wasn't the enemy. The corruption was. Maris screamed.
"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH—!!"
The scream echoed throughout the Citadel. Every student hiding in the shelters heard it. Every guard heard it. Every survivor felt the pain inside it.
Master Devrik's grip tightened around his claymore.
"Fight it."
His voice remained calm. But there was sadness within it.
"Fight it."
Maris's body trembled violently. Dark tendrils crawled across her skin. The corruption tightened its grip.
The sky darkened further. More anomalies emerged.
Pasithea immediately opened fire.
BOOM—!!
One exploded.
BOOM—!!
Another vanished.
BOOM—!!
Another.
Yet dozens more appeared.
"Tch!"
She leaped backward. An anomaly's claw narrowly missed her face.
BOOM—!!
Her rifle roared again.
Nearby, Ishara tightened her grip around Royoshi's shoulder.
The pressure in the air had become suffocating. Purple lightning danced across the sky. The ground kept trembling. Even breathing felt difficult.
"Royoshi…"
His eyelids twitched. Again. Again.
Then—
Slowly— his eyes opened.
The first thing he saw was brown hair.
The second thing he noticed was that his head felt unusually comfortable.
"…Huh?"
His vision slowly cleared. Then froze.
His head was resting on Ishara's lap.
Silence.
Ishara looked down. Royoshi looked up. Their eyes met.
A faint blush appeared on Ishara's face. Then on Royoshi's.
"R-ROYOSHI?!"
"WHY IS MY HEAD ON YOUR LAP?!"
"You collapsed!"
"THAT DOESN'T ANSWER THE QUESTION!"
Even in the middle of a battlefield, Ishara nearly lost her composure.
Before either could say anything else—
BOOOOOOM—!!
A violent shockwave shook the Citadel.
Royoshi's expression immediately changed. His gaze snapped toward the battlefield. And his heart sank.
Maris.
She was screaming. Dark tendrils covered her body. Corrupted Shuryoku poured from every wound. The sky itself seemed to be screaming alongside her.
"What happened…?"
Ishara quickly stood.
"You collapsed after that explosion."
Royoshi stared.
"Maris…"
Then his eyes widened.
Master Devrik had raised his claymore. Blue Shuryoku erupted around him. The battlefield split into two colors.
Blue and purple.
Order and corruption.
Hope and despair.
His voice echoed throughout the ruined Citadel.
"No mercy shall be shown to anyone who tries to harm the students of the Upbringers' Citadel."
The blue glow around his claymore intensified. The air itself began vibrating. Even the corruption seemed to recoil from the weapon.
Royoshi's eyes widened.
"No…"
Master Devrik stepped forward. The claymore rose higher. The attack was ready.
One strike. That was all it would take.
Royoshi immediately broke into a sprint.
"MASTER DEVRIK, WAIT!"
His exhausted body screamed in protest. His muscles burned. His vision blurred. Yet he kept running.
Across the battlefield, Maris continued screaming. Dark tendrils covered almost half her body now. The corruption had nearly consumed her.
Yet beneath all of it…
She was still fighting.
Master Devrik saw it.
For the first time since the battle began, his expression softened. Just slightly.
A memory surfaced. A frightened little girl. A child clutching a wooden sword. A girl who refused to give up no matter how many times she fell.
Maris.
His grip tightened. Not because he wanted to strike. Because he believed he might have no other choice.
The claymore began descending.
Then—
The world froze.