Sub-Chapter 11.1: The Pattern
The storm had stopped sounding like thunder.
It had become… rhythm.
Steel met steel in flashes too fast for mortal eyes.
Sparks tore through the sky like falling stars as Lucifell moved—no, vanished—between five converging blades.
Fire.
Water.
Wind.
Lightning.
Ice.
Five knights.
Five strikes.
Five deaths—meant for him.
And yet…
He parried.
Again.
And again.
And again.
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It wasn't strength.
It wasn't speed.
It was something else.
Something… wrong.
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Lucifell twisted midair, his blade—Light Bearer—catching the descending strike of the Lightning Knight.
At the same instant, the Wind Knight's blade curved from his blind spot—
—and was blocked.
Not by instinct.
Not by reaction.
But by something predictable.
Lucifell's eyes narrowed behind the horned mask.
The Ice Knight thrust forward—
He let it.
A deliberate opening.
A calculated mistake.
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The blade came for his throat.
Then stopped.
No—it adjusted.
Half an inch to the left.
Perfectly.
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Lucifell moved.
Too late.
The Fire Core's blade descended from above.
CLANG!.
He blocked it—
but just barely.
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He pushed them back with a violent burst of force, black particles spiraling around him as he hovered above the storm-torn sea.
Silence.
Just for a moment.
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His gaze moved across them.
One by one.
Five figures.
Five weapons.
Five enemies.
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"No…"
A quiet realization.
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"You're not five…"
The wind howled.
The ocean roared.
The storm trembled.
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"You're one."
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Sub-Chapter 11.2: The System
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They didn't react.
Not like warriors.
Not like beings.
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They adjusted.
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Lucifell tested it.
He vanished.
A black vortex swallowed his form—reappearing behind the Wind Knight, blade already mid-swing—
—and it blocked.
Instantly.
Before the strike even landed.
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The Water Knight shifted before the attack even reached.
The Lightning Knight's blade moved before Lucifell committed.
The Ice Knight stepped into position before the angle existed.
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Too perfect.
Too connected.
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Lucifell exhaled slowly.
"Shared vision…"
He moved again—this time faster.
Faster than before.
Faster than the storm.
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Five blades met him.
At the same time.
Perfect synchronization.
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"Shared reaction…"
He stopped.
Mid-air.
Mid-fight.
And smiled faintly beneath the mask.
"Then I don't need to defeat you…"
A pause.
The storm held its breath.
"I only need to break the connection."
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Sub-Chapter 11.3: The Command
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Inside Alquine's transmission network—
Silence broke.
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Then—
His voice.
Calm.
Cold.
Certain.
"All units… listen."
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Across the battlefield...
Every captain.
Every soldier.
Every survivor.
They heard him.
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"They are connected."
"Shared perception. Shared reaction."
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Artharuk narrowed his eyes.
The massive centaur shifted his stance slightly—
—not in fear.
In understanding.
Edward adjusted his grip on his staff, flames quietly flickering at its tip.
"…A linked system."
He whispered it more to himself than anyone else.
Azazel remained still.
Silent.
Unmoving.
But his hand tightened around his sword just a fraction.
Kestrel's eyes sharpened.
No hesitation.
"Then we sever it."
Zoandrel scratched the back of his head casually.
"Oi… so they're basically cheating?"
A grin.
Then—
His expression dropped.
Cold.
Silent.
"…Good."
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A streak of lightning across the battlefield—
Ramy stood atop his unicorn, cigarette dimly glowing.
"…Tch."
He exhaled slowly.
"Figures the boss would notice something like that."
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Behind the frontline—
AL Henry pressed his hand against a wounded soldier, divine light forcing flesh to mend through pain.
He paused.
Just for a moment.
"A shared burden…"
His eyes closed briefly.
"…then we must be the ones to break it."
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High above—
Viona Leracrux stiffened slightly.
Her grip tightened on the griffin reins.
"…Shared… reaction…"
Her voice softened—
but her mind moved fast.
Calculating.
Connecting.
Behind her—
Stacy's voice slipped in, low and amused.
"Careful, Viona… you're thinking too hard again."
"…Not now."
Viona muttered.
A faint blush.
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On the warship—
Ricky De Lards adjusted his stance, eyes locked on the distant sky.
"…So it's not five enemies…"
A slow exhale.
"…It's one target with five weapons."
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Beneath the ocean's surface—
Xien's ancient gaze lifted slowly.
The currents around her stilled.
"…A mind that spans bodies."
A pause.
"Interesting."
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Far from the battlefield—
Inside the Blacksmith Village—
Baldur stood with arms crossed, staring toward the distant storm.
The heat of the forge flickered behind him.
"…Heheh."
A low chuckle.
"That boy… still thinking ahead even in hell itself."
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At the Great Pope's Palace—
Elirch Stood stood in silence, shadows curling faintly around him.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"…A connected system…"
A pause.
"…Then separation becomes inevitability."
Behind him—
Stacy's earlier amusement echoed faintly in memory.
But Elirch said nothing more.
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At the Royal Palace—
Donnie stood at the balcony, gaze fixed on the battlefield beyond sight.
"…Shared cognition…"
His fingers tapped lightly against the railing.
"Then the failure point… is distance."
Beside him—
Kahn Lamh Aquila remained calm.
Watching.
Calculating.
"…A strategy battle."
He exhaled slowly.
"Now it becomes interesting."
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Back on the battlefield—
The storm roared once more.
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Lucifell's voice returned.
"Five bodies… one system."
A pause.
"We must divide them."
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Now everyone understood.
Not just the plan.
But the man behind it.
Their commander…
…was already steps ahead of the war.
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Sub-Chapter 11.4: The Plan
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Kestrel spoke first.
"…How?"
Lucifell answered immediately.
"Mark them."
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A flicker of confusion.
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"Lycan Mythical Arrows."
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Now understanding.
Now clarity.
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"Four targets. Excluding the fire core."
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Alquine's voice entered:
"…You want me to separate them."
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"Yes."
Lucifell's voice lowered.
"Once marked… you will relocate each one."
A pause.
Then—
"Different environments."
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Kestrel's eyes sharpened.
She understood.
"Break the system…"
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Lucifell finished it.
"They stop being perfect."
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Sub-Chapter 11.5: The Hunters Rise
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"Frost Fang!."
Kestrel's voice.
Sharp.
Commanding.
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Hanz stepped forward silently.
Rue grinned.
Flamini adjusted his stance.
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"Positions!."
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Then—
Movement.
Kestrel leapt onto Viona's griffin.
Rue joined Jacob.
Flamini landed behind Onyx.
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The griffins roared.
Wings spread.
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They launched.
Sky hunters.
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While Hanz…
…vanished.
No wings.
No sound.
No trace.
Some hunts… don't need a voice.
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Sub-Chapter 11.6: The Risk
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"Edward."
Lucifell's voice cut through.
"Yes."
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"Xien."
"…I hear you."
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"Ricky."
"…Ready."
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A pause.
"the three of you will strike me."
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Silence.
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"…Commander."
Edward's voice was low.
Careful.
"That would..."
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Lucifell interrupted.
"No."
A pause.
"It won't."
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The storm roared louder.
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"I can teleport."
Another pause.
"Or I endure."
Then—
"Trust me."
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No one spoke.
But none refused.
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Sub-Chapter 11.7: The Break
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The five moved.
Together.
Perfectly.
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Lucifell descended.
This time—
He didn't dodge.
He met them.
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Five blades.
Five elements.
Five deaths.
At once.
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CLANG!
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Light Bearer screamed as it caught all five strikes in a single, impossible moment.
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The sky fractured.
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Then—
"Now!!!"
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The world answered.
A rain of flame tore the heavens apart—Edward's meteors descending like judgment.
The sea itself rose—a spiraling abyss of water, summoned by Xien.
From the warship—Ricky's cannon roared, a beam of condensed destruction ripping through the storm.
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All three—
Converged.
On Lucifell.
On the five.
Then—
He vanished.
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Then—
A figure above.
Floating.
Watching.
Lucifell raised his hand.
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and then... Four shadows moved.
Kestrel — her arrow pierced the wind itself.
SylpheroftheWindKnight of Tiamatus staggered.
Rue — smiling as she released.
VoltyrixtheLightningKnightofTiamatus flickered—
—and was struck.
Flamini — coldly.
...Precise...
Glacio the Ice Knight of Tiamatus cracked.
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Then—
A ripple beneath the sea.
A silent shot...
...by Hanz.
Thalorin the Water Knight by Tiamatus—hidden below—
was struck.
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Four marks.
Four targets.
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"Alquine."
"Coordinates locked."
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Space… broke.
Reality tore.
And one by one—
The four vanished.
Wind.
Lightning.
Ice.
Water.
Gone.
Only one remained.
Fire.
Ignivar the Fire Knight of Tiamatus.
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Lucifell descended slowly.
Facing it Alone.
The storm quieted...
...the world held its breath.
"Now…"
A pause.
"…just you and I."