Chapter 68: Resolve
The barrier groaned beneath the relentless assault.
KRRRRR... CRACK...!
Thin fractures spread across its translucent surface like veins through shattered glass, each pulse of black, crimson, and violet lightning threatening to tear it apart completely. The pressure pouring from Daito's body had become monstrous far beyond anything a human should have been capable of producing.
Cassian planted his feet firmly into the broken earth.
The stone beneath his boots splintered.
His outstretched arm trembled ever so slightly as he poured more energy into the barrier, forcing it to remain intact.
"...Damn it," he muttered through gritted teeth. "He's exceeding every limit I expected."
Another violent surge detonated from within.
BOOOOOOM!!
The barrier buckled.
A fresh web of cracks spread across its surface.
Dust blasted outward in every direction as the shockwave rippled across the battlefield, forcing everyone to shield their faces.
Aerin stared in horror.
The figures beneath Daito's skin were becoming clearer.
She could make out twisted faces pressing against his flesh, fingers clawing desperately for freedom, mouths opening in silent screams as though trapped in an endless nightmare. Every second they pushed harder, stretching his body farther than it should have been able to endure.
"...Cassian!" she cried. "What's happening to them?!"
He didn't take his eyes off the barrier.
"They crossed a line that mortals were never meant to cross."
His voice remained calm.
Too calm.
"They forced bodies built for humanity to contain power that belongs to something far beyond it."
Another impact.
KRAAAAAK!!
The barrier shook violently.
"This is backlash..." he continued.
His eyes narrowed.
"...No."
A brief pause.
"It's evolution fighting against limitation."
Aerin's heart skipped a beat.
"What...?"
"Their bodies are rejecting the power."
His gaze hardened.
"...Or perhaps..."
He watched the writhing figures beneath Daito's skin.
"...The power is rejecting their bodies."
The words sent a chill through everyone present.
Another explosion slammed against the barrier.
BOOOOOOM!!
A massive crack tore across its center.
Cassian's expression darkened.
"I can't hold him much longer."
He finally turned his head toward Aerin.
"He told you he had a contingency."
For a moment...She couldn't understand.
Then her eyes widened.
The Traditional Blade.
Her gaze dropped instinctively to the ancient weapon still clutched tightly in her hands.
Its steel shimmered faintly beneath the chaotic flashes of lightning, almost as if it had been waiting for this exact moment.
"But..." she whispered, tightening her grip. "What if I make things worse?"
"You won't."
Cassian answered without hesitation.
His voice carried absolute certainty.
"But if you hesitate..."
Another deafening scream erupted from inside the barrier.
"UUUUUAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!"
This time it wasn't only Daito's voice.
Five others screamed with him.
The overlapping cries echoed across the battlefield, each one distinct enough to make the blood of everyone listening run cold.
The human-like shapes surged violently beneath his skin. One of the hands nearly tore through his shoulder.
Another face bulged grotesquely from his side.
His body was beginning to split apart.
"...Then whatever is inside him comes out."
Silence followed those words.
Not because the battlefield had grown quiet but because no one could think of anything to say.
Cassian inhaled deeply.
"...Five seconds."
He thrust both hands forward.
The barrier compressed inward, becoming smaller, denser, stronger.
For a brief moment...The cracks stopped spreading.
Then, with incredible precision, he created a narrow opening barely wide enough for a single blade to pass through.
"NOW!"
Aerin moved.
There was no fear anymore.
Only resolve.
She sprinted toward the collapsing barrier, gripping the Traditional Blade with both hands as wind whipped through her hair.
Every step felt heavier than the last. Every heartbeat echoed in her ears. Daito looked up not consciously.
His eyes never opened.
But somehow...he faced her.
"...Please..."
His broken whisper was barely audible.
"Save... me..."
Aerin's grip tightened.
"I will."
She drove the blade forward.
SHHHNK!!
The Traditional Blade pierced straight through Daito's chest.
Time stopped.
The screaming ceased.
The lightning froze in midair.
Even the wind itself fell silent, for one impossible heartbeat...nothing moved.
Then the sword awakened.
WHOOOOOOOOOM!!
A deep, ancient resonance erupted from the blade.
Its surface ignited with brilliant silver light as countless glowing inscriptions spread across its length, illuminating one after another until every rune burned like a star.
The battlefield trembled not from destruction, but from recognition.
The blade had accepted its purpose. Then everything changed. The black lightning twisted violently toward the sword.
The crimson followed.
The violet came after.
Instead of exploding outward...every fragment of power collapsed inward.
Like a collapsing wave or a black hole devouring light.
Every ounce of unstable energy was pulled irresistibly toward the blade.
SHHHHHHHH—!!
The suction intensified.
The monstrous pressure vanished from the atmosphere as torrents of energy poured into the weapon.The imprisoned figures reacted instantly. Their faces twisted in terror.
For the first time... They screamed.
Not with rage.
But with fear.
"AAAAAAARRRGHHHH!!"
Their hands clawed desperately against Daito's skin, fighting the invisible force dragging them backward.
One by one...
They were ripped away.
The hand emerging from his shoulder collapsed into crimson particles before being swallowed by the blade.
The face pressing against his ribs dissolved next. Another torso fragmented into streams of violet light.
Then another.
Then another.
Each vanished with an agonized scream before disappearing into the ancient steel.
Within seconds...Nothing remained.
The bulges disappeared. The stretched skin returned to normal. The horrifying presence inside Daito was gone.
Or rather...sealed.
The final surge of black lightning spiralled into the blade.
FWOOOOSH!!
Silence.
The barrier shattered into thousands of shimmering fragments.
Cassian lowered his hands at last, breathing heavily as the remaining pieces of force dissolved into the air like scattered glass.
At almost the exact same moment Monday's lightning sphere began to collapse.
The glowing sigils surrounding him flickered violently.
One after another...
They shattered.
CRACK!
CRACK!
CRACK!
The dome unraveled into countless sparks that drifted harmlessly into the sky.
Monday staggered forward.
His body swayed once.
Twice.
Then...
THUD.
He collapsed face-first onto the fractured earth. His lightning vanished completely.
The battlefield fell silent once more.
Not the silence before a storm nor the silence of victory.
It was the heavy, uneasy silence that followed surviving something no one present truly understood.
Daito lay motionless.
Monday lay motionless.
The storm had ended and only scars remained.
Aerin stood frozen, still gripping the Traditional Blade.
Its brilliant glow gradually faded until it once again resembled nothing more than an ancient weapon forged from steel.
She stared at Daito's unmoving body.
"...Did..."
Her voice trembled.
"...Did it work?"
Cassian slowly exhaled, wiping a streak of blood from the corner of his mouth.
For the first time since anyone had met him...He looked exhausted.
His eyes lingered on the unconscious pair before he finally answered.
"...They're alive."
Relief washed over the battlefield.
Then he added quietly,
"...Barely."
Neither Daito nor Monday moved.
Neither opened their eyes.
Whatever impossible power they had reached... Whatever terrifying threshold they had crossed...
It had not disappeared.
It had merely been forced back into the darkness.
And deep within the silence...it waited.
to be continued...