NOVPUBA week had passed since the wives and subordinates of Ethan had made their move. They had secured half of Veryan City with minimal casualties, but the tension in the air remained thick.
Trevor, Emily, Sixtie, Jerry, and Reginald had faced their own battles, subduing the monstrous blood beasts that had threatened to tip the scales. The Harpy had been a nightmare given flesh, a creature of raw destruction that had pushed them to their limits. And yet, they had prevailed.
Jerry's fight had been different. His enemy had not just been a beast, but a force of oblivion—a creature that existed beyond the normal rules of the world. And yet, it now knelt beside him, a weapon in his arsenal.
The Blades had made no moves since their defeat.
But no one believed they were gone.
The city was a battlefield waiting for the final clash.
One way or another, this war would be decided soon.
The battlefield was silent, save for the distant crackle of lingering energy. The dust had not yet settled, but the war had already been decided.
Trevor's Battle With The Harpy...
Trevor wiped the blood from his lips, the crimson mist around his body surging in jagged waves. Emily and Sixtie stood beside him, their forms battered but unyielding. The Harpy had pushed them beyond their limits, its power evolving with every snd. But they had adapted, too.
Now, its massive body twitched within the ruins of allapsed district, pinned beneath an enormous golden root entwined with Sixtie's spatial distortions. Its wings, once vast enough to blot out the sky, were torn, their abyssal glow flickering like dying embers. Its silver eyes, now dim and fractured, burned with something Trevor had only ever seen in dying gods—desperation.
It tried to move.
A single feather twitched.
Trevor sighed. "Still got fight left in you?"
Emily raised her hand, a new vine forming in her palm—this one not made of mere plant life, butndensed vitality itself. "Then we'll take it all away."
Sixtie exhaled, her emerald eyes narrowing. "This ends now."
The Harpy shrieked—a final, desperate scream that shattered what little remained of the air around it.
Trevor moved.
In a blink, he was above the Harpy, his form dissolving into pure sound and smoke. A final, world-shaking punch wreathed in crimson mist and vibrating with enough force tollapse space itself slammed into the Harpy's skull.
BOOOOM!
The ground shattered. The sky split. The Harpy's massive formnvulsed violently before finally—finally—its light faded.
A shuddering breath.
A single moment of absolute stillness.
Then, something unexpected happened.
Instead of vanishing into nothingness, the Harpy's body began to shrink, its monstrous form unraveling like mist in the wind. Wingsllapsed inward, feathers dissolving into specks of glowing embers. The abyssal glow in its silver eyes flickered and dimmed, until—
A fragile figure remained in the center of the ruins.
A young woman.
She lay curled on the broken ground, her bare form trembling as she took her first breath. Her hair, a deep crimson, cascaded down her back in tangled waves, strands glowing faintly as if embers still clung to them. Her skin was so pale it was almost translucent, and though her body was human, a lingering trace of inhumanity shimmered around her.
Trevor exhaled, rolling his shoulders. "Well, that was not what I expected."
Emily took a cautious step forward, eyes narrowing. "She's… alive?"
Sixtie frowned, arms crossed. "More like she became something else. That thing was powerful, but she's not an extinction-level threat anymore."
Trevor studied the unscious girl, his usual smirk replaced with mild intrigue. "Guess we didn't kill her, just broke her down to something manageable." He tilted his head. "That's kindaol."
A pulse of power rippled through the air—The Blades' forces were retreating.
Trevor chuckled, turning away. "Guess Jerry's done on his end." 𝑛𝑜𝑣𝑝𝑢𝘣.𝘤𝑜𝘮
Emily hesitated, glancing at the girl again. "...What do we do with her?"
Trevor sighed, rubbing the back of his head. "Well, can't just leave her here naked in a crater." He took out aat from his Storage Ring, tossing it over the girl's shoulders. "Let's figure it out later. For now, we regroup."
Sixtie gave him a dry look. "You're acting like this is normal."
Trevor smirked, standing up. "Compared to what we are about to deal with? Yeah, pretty much."
The battle was over.
But something told them this was just the beginning of a different kind of problem.
Jerry's Battle...
The abyssal beast twitched on the ground, its once vast and imprehensible form nowmpressed into a kneeling humanoid figure. It no longer roared, no longer distorted reality with its mere existence. It simply remained still—subdued.
Jerry stood before it, his silver-red eyes glowing with quiet amusement. His clothes were torn, his claws bloodstained, but his stance was relaxed, almost lazy.
Reginald watched in disbelief. "You… tamed it?"
Jerry flexed his fingers, testing his grip, before looking down at the kneeling figure. "Tamed? Nah. I just made it realize who's in charge."
The entity didn't speak. Ituldn't. It had been forced into submission, its very essence bound by Jerry's presence.
Reginald clicked his tongue, his flames flickering as he dismissed them. "Whatever. As long as it's not a problem anymore."
Jerry turned, his silver tail flicking lazily. "That was fun. Almost thought I'd have to try."
Reginald ffed. "Almost?"
Jerry grinned, sharp and dangerous. "Yeah. Almost."
A ripple of energy passed through the battlefield. The battle was over.
Jerry exhaled, stretching. "Guess we should go meet up with Trevor. See how badly he wrecked his fight."
Reginald smirked, his fangs glinting. "You just wanna rub it in his face."
Jerry chuckled, his red-silver eyes gleaming. "You know me too well."
The two warriors turned, leaving the remnants of the battlefield behind.
The End of the Battle...
As Trevor, Emily, and Sixtie arrived at the city's ruined square, they found Jerry and Reginald waiting.
Trevor raised an eyebrow. "So? Your beast dead?"
Jerry smirked. "Better. It's mine now."
Trevor let out a low whistle. "Show-off."
Sixtie sighed. "So it's really over, then."
Emily nodded, watching as The Blades' remaining forces withdrew into the distance. "For now."
A quiet breeze passed through the battlefield, carrying the scent of blood and dust.
They had won.
But they all knew—this was only the beginning.
...
Ethan and Seraphis...
A long silence stretched between them.
Seraphis' wings fluttered, an almost involuntary motion, like a creature uncertain whether to fight or flee.
She was always inntrol. Always certain. Yet now, as she stood before Ethan, his words echoing in the empty throne room, she found herself adrift.
Her mind screamed at her to reject him. To push him away. To remind him—remind herself—that she was a ruler, an empress, a tyrant. Not someone to be saved.
But the part of her that had once been human was cracking, the ice splintering under the warmth of his presence.
"I don't need anyone," she said finally, her voice quieter than intended.
Ethan tilted his head,nsidering her. Then he simply replied, "That's the biggest lie you've told today."
Her jaw tightened. "You think you understand me? That just because you stand there, unafraid, you can fix me?" Her hands clenched at her sides. "You're a fool, Ethan."
"Yeah," he admitted, "but I'm your fool."
Seraphis inhaled sharply, her throatnstricting.
Why?
Why did he do this?
Why did he look at her like that?
Like she was still worth something.
Like she wasn't the monster she had forced herself to bme.
The storm in her chest raged, the walls she had built threatening tollapse.
And Ethan…
He just waited.
Not pushing. Not demanding.
Just there.
Like he always had been.
Seraphis turned away sharply, as if distanceuld keep him from seeing too much. Her voice, when it came, was strained. "If you stand by me, you'll be branded a traitor. Hunted. Forsaken."
Ethan took a step closer, ignoring the chill that still lingered in the air. "I don't live here anyway and I'm taking you with me, so it's fine."
Her breath hitched.
Damn him.
Damn him for making this hard.
For making her feel like there was still another way.
She swallowed, the words fighting their way past her pride.
"I don't know how to stop." It was barely a whisper. Anfession she had never dared speak aloud.
Ethan was beside her now, his voice gentle. "Then let me help you figure it out."
Seraphis closed her eyes.
The icentinued to crack.
Ethan's eyes gleamed gold as a smirk ghosted his lips.
Heuld feel it—no, heuld see it.
Seraphis was close. So close.
She had already carved her own path, shaped by suffering and vengeance, but all it would take was a little push—one final step—and she would stand where he stood.
A Primogenitor.
The Ice Primogenitor.
His instincts screamed at him that the battle in Anbord wasn't over. That the enemy Primogenitor they would soon face wasn't just some stepping stone, but a true force of destruction. The kind that wouldn't be satisfied until everything was reduced to ruin.
And if Ethan was right…
If his senses weren't failing him…
Then this enemy had already surpassed the threshold of the Emperor Realm. Possibly even reached the Saint Realm.
Ethan grit his teeth. That was a problem.
He was close—so close—to stepping into the Emperor Realm himself, maybe two or three days away at most. But against a Saint?
That gap was like a mortal trying to fight a god.
His smirk faded slightly.
"How I wish Asteria or Zark were here…"
Asteria, with her infinite knowledge and guidance. Zark, his advisor. Either of themuld have tipped the scales.
But they weren't here.
And Ethan wasn't about to sit around waiting.
His golden eyes flickered back to Seraphis, watching the storm brewing inside her.
No, he wouldn't face this alone.
If she took that step…
Then together, they might just have a chance.
