The battlefield did not recover.
It endured.
Shattered stone. Burned air. Blood pooling in fractured lines across the arena floor. The remains of two fallen raid parties scattered like broken promises.
And at the center of it all—
Four stood.
Against one.
No—
Against something far worse.
Steel clashed.
Again.
And again.
And again.
Rio and Ryota moved together—
Not perfectly.
Not cleanly.
But instinctively.
Survival.
Rio's Imperial Saber rang out as it intercepted a descending black blade, sparks tearing through the air. At the same time—
Ryota twisted—
"—Tch!"
Too late.
A blade slipped through.
SLASH—
His left knee split open.
"Ghh—!"
His leg buckled instantly.
The impact forced him to one side, Iron Steve barely catching the next incoming strike before it could cleave straight through his shoulder.
Allure smiled.
Not wide.
Not exaggerated.
Just enough.
Enough to say—
You're slowing down.
Four blades.
Two in her hands.
Two floating—
Alive.
Thinking.
Hunting.
They moved independently, striking from impossible angles, forcing both Rio and Ryota backward step by step.
They were losing ground.
Slowly.
Inevitably.
Another blade descended—
Aimed for Rio's neck.
No angle to dodge.
No space to counter.
Then—
WHOOSH—
Flames erupted.
A streak of burning red tore across the battlefield—
CLANG!
The blade was deflected.
Allure turned.
For the first time since the fight began—
Her attention shifted.
"Still… standing…?"
A low voice.
Rough.
Burned.
But unbroken.
Fayzan stepped forward.
Flames crawling along his arm like they refused to die.
Beside him—
Elias.
Breathing heavy.
Sword lowered—
But not dropped.
Not yet.
Not ever.
"Sorry we're late," Fayzan muttered.
Elias didn't speak.
He simply raised his blade again.
Rio smirked faintly.
"…Took you long enough."
Ryota let out a strained laugh.
"…Was getting bored."
Lie.
But a good one.
Allure's gaze swept across them.
Four.
Standing.
Broken.
Bleeding.
But still—
Standing.
Her smile deepened.
"…Good."
A whisper.
"…This will be more enjoyable."
Then—
They moved.
All four of them.
At once.
Elias struck first.
A direct frontal assault.
No hesitation.
His blade cut through the air with raw, overwhelming force—
Fayzan followed—
Flames spiraling around his strike, crashing into Allure's flank—
Rio slipped through the opening—
Her saber flashing toward Allure's blind spot—
Ryota—
Even with a damaged leg—
Forced himself forward—
Iron Steve aimed straight for her core—
CLANG
CLANG
CLANG
CLANG
Four attacks.
Four directions.
One target.
Allure blocked.
Every single one.
But—
Not cleanly.
Not effortlessly.
For the first time—
She was pushed back.
Her wings flared—
And she lifted into the air—
Breaking the pressure.
The battlefield paused.
Just for a second.
Just long enough.
Rio didn't waste it.
Her hand moved instantly.
Inventory opened—
Two medium health potions—
Four small mana potions—
"Catch."
She tossed them.
Perfect arcs.
Elias caught his without looking.
Fayzan grabbed his mid-spin.
"Drink," Rio said, calm but sharp.
"…The real fight starts now."
Allure hovered above them.
Looking down.
Watching.
Calculating.
Then—
She laughed.
Soft.
Low.
Excited.
"…Finally."
The air changed.
Again.
But this time—
It wasn't pressure.
It was dread.
Allure raised her arms.
Her four blades floated before her—
Perfectly aligned.
"…Let me show you."
Her voice dropped.
"…my end."
[Boss Skill: The Crimson Judgment]
She didn't hesitate.
Didn't flinch.
Didn't pause.
She stabbed herself.
One blade—
Through her chest.
Second—
Through her abdomen.
Third—
Through her shoulder.
Fourth—
Through her heart.
Blood erupted.
Crimson.
Thick.
Unnatural.
But she didn't fall.
She smiled.
Wider.
Her body—
Split.
One became two.
Two became four.
Four identical figures—
Floating in the air.
Each holding a blade.
Each with glowing crimson eyes.
Each—
Smiling.
"…You're kidding me…"
Ryota muttered.
Elias didn't respond.
Fayzan clenched his jaw.
Rio—
Just watched.
Eyes sharp.
Calculating.
Then—
All four spoke.
At once.
"…Judgment."
The sky—
Broke.
Thousands—
No—
Tens of thousands—
Of black-red blades—
Materialized above them.
Covering the entire chamber.
Blocking out everything.
Light.
Hope.
Escape.
"…Oh, that's bad."
Ryota said flatly.
They fell.
A storm.
A massacre.
A guaranteed end.
Elias stepped forward.
"…Formation."
One word.
Enough.
Fayzan ignited everything he had left.
Flames erupted upward—
Trying to intercept the rain—
Rio raised her blade—
Eyes glowing faintly—
Calculating trajectories—
Ryota tightened his grip—
Pain in his leg ignored—
Forced aside—
And above them—
Four Allures smiled.
Watching.
Waiting.
Certain.
Because this—
Was not an attack.
It was a verdict.
And the world—
Was about to be erased.
Chapter: Eclipse Calamity
The sky fell.
Not metaphorically.
Not symbolically.
It fell.
Thousands of blades descended in a crimson-black storm—each one screaming through the air, each one carrying enough force to shatter stone, bone, and hope alike.
The sound alone was suffocating.
A relentless metallic shriek—
Like the world itself was being carved apart.
"MOVE—!"
Ryota forced himself forward despite his injured leg, dragging his body into position beside Rio.
Elias raised his sword.
Fayzan ignited everything he had left.
Flames surged upward in a desperate wall—
Trying to meet the storm head-on.
But above them—
The four Allures didn't move to strike.
They hovered.
Still.
Calm.
Smiling.
Rio's eyes narrowed.
"…No…"
Something was wrong.
The blades—
Weren't the end.
They were—
Cover.
"Ryota—!"
Too late.
All four Allures raised their hands.
And the air—
Collapsed inward.
[Boss Skill: Eclipse Calamity]
The world dimmed.
Sound dulled.
Space itself distorted as an overwhelming mass of energy condensed into each of the four figures.
Not released—
Not yet—
But gathering.
Compressing.
Growing.
Rio's breath caught.
"…She's charging…"
Her voice dropped.
"…No… worse…"
Her eyes flicked between them.
"…All four of them are—"
Four cores of annihilation.
Each one pulsing.
Each one expanding.
Each one—
Enough to erase everything.
"…You've got to be kidding me…"
Fayzan whispered.
Even Elias—
Went silent.
Because they understood.
One would have been survivable.
Maybe.
Barely.
Four—
Was extinction.
The blades fell faster.
The sky vanished behind the storm.
And beneath it—
Four collapsing suns prepared to detonate.
"RIO—!"
Ryota stepped forward—
Even knowing—
Even understanding—
There was nothing they could do.
Then—
A flicker.
Small.
Bright.
Familiar.
"—!"
Something dropped.
From above.
Fast.
Precise.
BOOM—
It landed directly in front of them.
Between them—
And the end.
A small body.
Glowing.
Radiant.
"Indra—?!"
Ryota's voice broke.
The little dragon didn't roar.
Didn't hesitate.
Didn't look back.
It simply spread its wings.
Light erupted.
A barrier—
Massive.
Translucent.
Brilliant—
Unfolded outward from its body.
Layer after layer after layer—
Expanding.
Reinforcing.
Solidifying.
The blades struck first.
CRASH
CLANG
SCREEEEEE—
Thousands of blades collided against the barrier—
Shattering.
Breaking.
Deflecting—
But still pushing.
Still pressing.
Still trying—
To break through.
Then—
The calamity detonated.
All four Allures released it.
At once.
The world ended.
Four explosions of condensed destruction erupted simultaneously—
Colliding into each other—
Amplifying—
Multiplying—
A catastrophic implosion-explosion hybrid that tore the battlefield apart from the inside out.
Light vanished.
Sound vanished.
Everything—
Vanished.
Except—
The barrier.
Indra's barrier trembled.
Cracked.
Reformed.
Cracked again.
Ryota dropped to one knee.
"…Indra…"
His voice shook.
"…Don't—"
The dragon didn't turn.
Didn't respond.
It endured.
For them.
For its partner.
For its choice.
The explosion stretched.
Seconds felt like minutes.
Minutes felt like an eternity.
And then—
It stopped.
Silence.
The battlefield was gone.
The chamber—
Reduced to ruin.
Walls shattered.
Ceiling torn open.
The world outside visible through destruction.
The barrier flickered.
Faded.
Indra—
Was gone.
"…No…"
Ryota's hand clenched.
A notification appeared.
[System Notice]
Indra has been forcibly withdrawn.
Status: Exhausted
Energy: 0%
Entering Rest State
Silence.
Ryota exhaled slowly.
Then—
Smiled.
Weak.
But real.
"…You idiot…"
A quiet laugh.
"…Thanks…"
Then—
He felt it.
A pulse.
From his hand.
He looked down.
Iron Steve—
Was glowing.
Not faintly.
Not subtly.
Power coursed through the blade.
Crackling.
Alive.
"…A gift…"
Ryota whispered.
"…Huh…"
Behind him—
Rio watched.
And smiled.
"…Of course…"
Then—
Her expression changed.
Sharp.
Cold.
Final.
She stepped forward.
Eyes locking onto the four Allures—
Still hovering.
Still alive.
Still smiling.
"…Ryota."
He looked at her.
"…Yeah."
"…This is it."
A pause.
"…No holding back."
Another.
"…We end it here."
Ryota nodded.
No hesitation.
No doubt.
"…Yeah."
Rio turned.
Behind them—
Elias.
Fayzan.
Hinabi.
Ayame.
Magumo.
And the remaining survivors.
Broken.
Exhausted.
Barely alive.
But watching.
"Elias. Fayzan."
Her voice cut through the silence.
Clean.
Controlled.
They looked up.
"…What you're about to see…"
A pause.
"…You keep it to yourselves."
The air shifted.
"I wouldn't use this…"
Her eyes hardened.
"…unless I had to."
Her gaze moved.
Slowly.
Deliberately.
Landing on Magumo.
Cold.
Unforgiving.
"If I ever find out…"
Her voice dropped.
"…that any of you spoke about this—"
Silence.
Heavy.
Absolute.
"…You won't just make an enemy out of me."
A step forward.
"…You'll make one out of both of us."
Ryota didn't speak.
Didn't move.
But the pressure around him—
Answered for him.
Magumo swallowed.
Hard.
"…Y-Yeah…"
Elias nodded.
"…Understood."
Hinabi smirked faintly.
"…Now I'm interested."
Rio turned back.
The battlefield.
The sky.
The four Allures.
"…Good."
Her hand moved.
Inventory opened.
Silver fang that drank the moon's last cry, awaken in my grasp.Blood of the fallen wolf,
Temper this blade with your endless hunt.From shattered night and crimson oath,
Take form and answer me.Crimson Bloodmoon—rise, and devour the darkness.
Light—
Crimson—
Power—
A blade appeared.
Sleek.
Elegant.
Deadly.
Her mythic weapon.
The Crimson Bloodmoon.
The air trembled.
Mana surged violently around her.
Not restrained.
Not controlled.
Released.
Fully.
Her eyes glowed.
"…Let's finish this."
Above—
The four Allures smiled wider.
Because finally—
The real battle—
Was about to begin.