Much farther away from the main battlefield, Volben was sitting down on a rock, breathing heavily after his battle with Vencer. The landscape around him was covered in rubble and deformed rocks. The giant ravine that he created earlier had now been closed shut, leaving an unnatural look to the surrounding earth. Volben was slouching his back, resting after using such a large amount of mana. However, a wave of heat suddenly hit his body. Anxiety filled his mind, and Volben's eyes quickly opened as he jumped from his rock and stood up. Nearly ten meters away from him was a humanoid figure completely covered in intense flames. Volben's eyes widened from fear as he took a step back. His foot hit the rock behind him which made it lose his balance and fall down. The figure walked over to Volben before he could get up and grabbed his hair, "You thought it was over? Not by a long shot pal." It was Vencer's voice. His face was completely enveloped in flames, but it was definitely his voice. Volben gritted his teeth with fear in his eyes and sent a fist into Vencer's stomach. DSH! Vencer didn't flinch. Instead, he smashed Volben's face into the rock next to them, "Gyah!" The Earth God winced in pain as Vencer lifted him off the ground, holding him by his hair. Volben grabbed Vencer's arm with both of his hands, trying to pull away. But the Fire God's grip was too strong, and he didn't budge. The Earth God's struggle grew into desperation, "P-please Vencer! I was just doing what I thought was right. But I-I realize that the south is wrong, and I'm sorry. Please Vencer!" DOOOM! Volben's pleas for mercy were useless. Vencer had sent his right fist straight into the Earth God's gut. Volben spat out blood. His arms went limp and dropped down. Vencer's piercing eyes glared towards him. And after a few moments, he let him go. Volben fell to the ground with a grunt. The Fire God scoffed at him and turned around before saying, "I'm done with you." Those words hit him like a knife. His eyes shot wide from shock, and a sharp stinging pain rang through his heart. He gritted his teeth and balled his fists tight, "How dare you! Vencer, I've never been inferior to you… never! How come things have changed now!?" Vencer had been walking away from him, his flames following behind, leaving a trail of sparks. He turned around and glared back at the Earth God, "It's because I had a pretty good pupil to look after. A boy so strong, he managed to teach his master something." "Are you talking about the wielder of Excalibur… Kiliano!?" Vencer nodded, "That's right. Even though I was supposed to be his master, Kiliano showed me something no other person could have. He created a spell so powerful, it has now allowed me to surpass you." Volben furrowed his brows even harder and grunted, "How!? What kind of spell could have made you so much stronger!?" Vencer smirked. He slowly raised his arm, and pointed the palm of his hand towards the Earth God. For a few seconds, they both remained silent. Until suddenly, the flames surrounding Vencer grew more violent, and he said, "Ignition!" Just then, the entire clearing they had been fighting on, and the entirety of the region they were located in, combusted into violent red flames. The fire swirled around in a vortex, creating a sphere nearly two hundred meters in diameter. The trees around them completely burnt up. Dozens of soldiers screaming ran through the air. And Vencer remained in the center of it all, staring down his opponent.
At the same time, general Sarik and master Solomon were standing among the battlefield. Dozens of dead southerners lay around them. Sarik had been defending their post throughout the entire invasion. The point they were located at was closest to the north's territory line, and was much deeper into Hydenfort than any other outpost. Both of them knew that if the enemy forces pushed past them, another northern kingdom would fall. "Master Solomon…" Sarik turned to face the Angel, "...The southern forces pressuring us have seemed to retreat. Let's head farther south so we can assess the situation of the battle." Solomon nodded, "Sounds like a plan, general." The two of them started walking down the battlefield. Countless dead corpses scattered the snow-covered ground.
As they walked on, the atmosphere around them suddenly grew hotter. And in an instant, every inch of snow as far as they could see, had evaporated. Sarik's body twitched from anxiety. Solomon's eyes widened, and a smile formed from his face. "Master Solomon, who could've done that?" The Angel closed his eyes, "He's here… Master Kiliano has made his appearance." Sarik's eyes widened, "No way… So this is the boy that Vencer has been talking of? His aura is so powerful it's affecting the climate of the entirety of Hydenfort. I had just assumed he was some brat with a decent amount of potential… but this is something far beyond what I had been able to comprehend. Hehe, perhaps I owe Vencer an apology." The two of them smiled even wider. But suddenly, Solomon's smile faded and his attention turned to somewhere much farther down South-East. Sarik grew curious and opened his mouth to ask him why he had changed his focus. But before any word could come out of his mouth, FFSHH! A giant explosion shot from the ground where Solomon was focused. A giant sphere of flames formed, nearly hundreds of meters in diameter. "M-master, could that be Kiliano!?" Solomon shook his head, "No. This is master Vencer. It seems he's grown much more powerful since the last time I saw him fight." He giggled slightly, "Forget all that ruckus down there, let us continue onwards." Sarik nodded, and the two of them continued on.
After a few moments, Solomon and Sarik stopped in their tracks, not moving an inch. The two of them were fixated on the thicket of trees by the side of the battlefield. After staring intensely for a few seconds, a voice rang out from within the forest, "Aww, dang it…!" A man slowly walked out from the trees, revealing himself to them. He wore a white, baggy t-shirt with black, baggy pants made of cotton. His hair was short and white with black streaks running down them. His eyes were a dark red color that seemed to shine slightly, "...You've caught me." Sarik gritted his teeth, "Why are you so far out from your squadron? I would have thought someone as spineless as you would stay back and let his henchmen do the dirty work." The man laughed, "Haha! Well that was the plan. But unfortunately it seems my subordinates are incompetent. So I've come to kill you personally. Isn't that nice of me?" Solomon stepped up, "I suggest you walk away now, Rosch. Don't bite off more than you can chew. Just leave us be, and I won't kill you." A wide grin formed on Rosch's mouth, "Absolutely no way! I've been waiting for this moment for years! Do ya really think I'll let you guys slip away!? C'mon master, we both know I'm too stubborn to let bygones be bygones." Solomon's eyes twitched. Everyone went silent for a few moments. Sarik and Solomon, fixated on Rosch, who was standing there, acting nonchalant and oblivious to them. He stretched down and picked up a sword off a dead northerner's corpse, "Phew. The swords y'all make aren't half bad. I'll use this one, m'kay?" Sarik furrowed his eyebrows in anger. He took a step forward, unsheathing his sword. Immediately as he did this, Rosch's eyes glared back at him with an intense gaze. Suddenly, Rosch's body became blurry. Solomon cried out from behind Sarik, "Dodge!" A sense of shock rang through Sarik's body. His eyes slowly turned to his left, where he saw Rosch standing before him with his arms raised up and a sword in his hands. Sarik jerked his body backwards, narrowly dodging the sword's blade. He countered with a strike directed towards Rosch's gut. Clang! But it was blocked. The two of them clashed swords a few more times, Clang, clang tongg! "Bless thy hands with power! Judgement Beam!" Solomon sent out a beam of light magic hurling past Sarik and into Rosch. He got sent flying dozens of meters, crashing into the ground and rolling in the dirt, until finally stopping after hitting a large rock. Sarik dashed forward, closing the gap between them. He swung his sword down while Rosch was still on the ground. CLANGG! "Too slow Sarik!" Rosch blocked his attack. Tong tong tong tong! They began clashing swords. Attacking one another, blocking, countering and evading dozens of attacks.
From behind them, Solomon raised his right arm and began a chant, "From the heavens to the very ground I walk upon now… Allow me to seek your power and bring forth true divinity…" Golden light circled around Solomon's open palm, creating a circle that grew nearly two meters in diameter. Strong winds began to push out from the circle, and Solomon clenched his teeth, "Shine down with the angelic magic I know we possess… Divine Retribution!" VVVVP… DWOONGG! A giant beam of golden light shot from the circle, shooting through the battlefield. Sarik glanced back, noticing the blast and managed to evade it just before hitting Rosch. The beam of light sent him flying dozens of meters. He flew for a few moments before crashing into the side of a cliff.
Sarik ran forward, holding his sword to the side. He closed the gap between them in a few seconds, and swung towards Rosch. But Rosch smiled, "Fool…" Sarik's eyes widened as his eyes glanced down. Rosch's sword was piercing his stomach, "...I'm the Southern Sword God. Your pathetic attacks won't kill me." Slosh! Sarik was pierced all the way through his body. A spurt of blood shot from his stomach, as blood began to roll down. Shock covered his distraught face as Rosch stood back up, towering over the Sword Emperor. His smile grew wider as his eyes gazed delightfully down at the weakening general. Rosch jerked his sword out of Sarik's stomach and kicked him to the ground. Sarik grunted and fell to the ground weakly. From much farther down the clearing, Solomon was standing with an angered face. He was gritting his teeth with furrowed eyebrows, "You bastard! I'll end your miserable existence once and for all!" Solomon's body grew bright with a golden light. Suddenly, he disappeared. Rosch's eyes widened as he took a step back, hitting the cliffside behind him. And then, in an instant, Solomon appeared to the Sword God's right side. He had his left hand held outward, pointing at Rosch mere centimeters from his face. A calm aura surrounded his palm as Rosch's eyes slowly moved towards the Angel. "It's over… Divine Retribution, eighty percent intensity." DWWMMMM! The beam of light that shot out from his palm was much smaller than the last. But the sound coming off from it was heavier and much louder. After a few seconds, the spell dissipated, and Solomon lowered his arm. In the blink of an eye Rosch was completely disintegrated, leaving nothing but the stubs of his boots tumbling around the dirt. Solomon was breathing heavily.
He stumbled down, catching himself on the cliffside before taking a knee, "Crap… It seems I'm too old to be using this much mana..." He turned towards Sarik, who was still laying on the ground, "...Are you alive, my friend?" Sarik grunted, "Mmph… Yeah. But my back hurts." "Hahaha. Don't scare me like that, you fool." "Sorry, but I lost consciousness for a few moments there. It seems you handled it though. My apologies for not being of more use to you." Solomon placed his head back, propping it on the cliffside, "It's fine… Rosch has been a pain in the ass for a while now, so I didn't expect you to kill him by yourself." Sarik sat up, laying his hands on his knees, "Even so, I didn't think we'd finish him off so quickly. I had expected him to put up more of a fight." "I used a lot of power to kill him. He wasn't a pushover… trust me."
Farther South-East, within a giant sphere of violent flames, the Fire God stood there, staring at another figure completely enveloped in flames. Vencer continued staring. Until eventually, the figure stumbled backwards, falling down, hitting its back against a boulder. Vencer's piercing eyes glared down at Volben, who was now laying beside a rock, completely motionless. After a few more seconds, the Fire God raised his hand and snapped his fingers. Flick! FFSHHH! In just a few moments, the giant gall of fire spiraling around them dissipated. Every tree in the vicinity was completely burnt. And laying there before Vencer, was the motionless corpse of Volben, who was still enveloped in flames. He began walking closer to the lifeless body, until stopping about a meter away from the flames. He paused for a moment, and then spoke, "What a shame. You talked so much crap to me… and yet, couldn't withstand a spell that wouldn't have even made Kiliano flinch. It's truly disgraceful that you call yourself a God. Tch." He turned away, and walked off with a slightly angered look to him. Leaving Volben's burning corpse laying there, propped against a charred boulder.
"So he's here… like right now?" Nazeem said, while walking down the destroyed military camp. To his left was Nyleah, who was glancing around the area in search of enemies, "Yeah, that's right. Last I saw, he was fighting against the God Killer." "Well if that's the case…" Lura spoke up from Nazeem's right side, "...We should probably help him, right? That God Killer dude was strong enough to beat the three of us, so I don't really think Kiliano can beat him alone." Nyleah shook her head, "No I don't think so. The way he looked when he saved me was much different than when we were ten… His aura seemed so calm, and yet also very powerful. I don't think he's on the same level as us anymore. I think he's far surpassed that." Nazeem made a confused look, "Hmm… Tell me Leah. Was he the reason why all the snow in Hydenfort disappeared?" Nyleah nodded, "The moment all the snow evaporated was the same moment when he arrived. So it was probably him." Nazeem smiled, "Then you're probably right. If his presence alone was enough to change the landscape of more of an entire kingdom, then his abilities are definitely much stronger than we've given him credit for. However, I do believe we should back him up. Just in case things go south, we'll be able to come in for support. Especially if he's gonna be fighting against Shyzen." The three of them nodded.
But just then, a large group of southern soldiers emerged from the forest, walking out onto the battlefield nearly a dozen meters in front of them. Nazeem, Lura and Nyleah stopped in their tracks. Nazeem began channeling mana through his body at a quick pace, getting ready to battle. But before anyone could attack, one of the soldiers walked up, "Hello there. My name is Lupin Jurril. I'm the leader of this platoon…" The man was wearing a white fur cloak around him which covered his entire body, down from his shoes up to his neck, "...If possible, we'd like to avoid any conflict with you, since it's obvious you three are quite strong." Nazeem scoffed, "Oh please, you're southern troops, we won't just let you off the hook. Unfortunately this is a war, which means all enemies must either surrender or die." Nazeem began walking up to Lupin. The squadron captain let out a sigh and drew his sword, "Alright then, Nazeem of Zuri'el."
The two of them began to battle. Lupin dashed forward at incredible speeds, catching Nazeem off guard. He swung upwards, cutting through Nazeem's coat, but barely missing his skin. Nazeem retaliated with a large spurt of lightning shooting out of his body. Lupin dashed backwards, dodging the electricity. He immediately ran back up to Nazeem and swung his sword sideways. This time, Nazeem channeled mana into his left hand and grabbed the sword's blade mid-strike, "Electrocution!" ZZZZAP! Blue lightning enveloped the two of them, sending out streaks of electricity across the battlefield. Lupin's eyes twitched, but he didn't flinch. He pulled his sword back, kicking Nazeem in the stomach and sending him flying. He skidded across the ground, ast Nyleah and Lura, and then into a large tree. Lupin dashed forward, ignoring the two girls and going straight for Nazeem, "Hacking Cleave!" His sword began to emanate a bright white aura. He swung his sword down towards Nazeem, and then. CRSH! The tree where Nazeem had hit, split in two. Lupin stood there with his sword etched into the ground. Nazeem was standing behind him, with his left arm raised up. He channeled mana through it and swung his arm down, "Volt-Burn!" ZZZZZ CRSH! The area around them turned blue. Sparks of lightning shot out in a twenty meter radius around them.
Nyleah and Lura stood there, watching with a dissatisfied look on their faces. Lupin's squadron drew their swords and one of them yelled out, "Attack men, kill them without mercy!" Nyleah turned her head to face them, and drew her bow, "I'll take 'em out, Lura..." She channeled mana through her arms and into her arrow, "...Disbound Bristle!" She released her grip on the arrow, sending it flying towards the group of men. ZOMM! The massive amounts of pressure circling around it sent every soldier flying away, crashing into nearby rocks and trees. Nyleah let out an annoyed sigh, "Jeez, these guys are total pushovers. Let's help out Nazeem and go meet up with Kiliano." "Nah, let Nazeem have his fun. The two of them are pretty well-matched. I doubt he'll die, but the look on his face right now is full of joy." Lura had been staring at Nazeem as he continued to face off against Lupin. The two girls nodded to each other and continued walking, making their way towards the heart of the battlefield.
Nazeem and Lupin were standing face-to-face, nearly five meters apart from each other. Nazeem glanced over to Lura and Nyleah, making sure they were still on their way to Kiliano, "Good." He whispered. Lupin smirked, "What'd you say?" "Nothing, it doesn't matter." Lupin loosened his stance and began walking circles around Nazeem, "Welp, I believe it's about time we ramped things up, no?" Nazeem nodded, "I'll have to agree on that." Suddenly, a blue aura began to swirl around Lupin. His movements began to grow hard to follow, even though he was only walking. Nazeem's vision of him grew blurry as he tried squinting to see him. His eyes widened from this new sight. Nazeem grew much more anxious as he thought to himself, "W-what? Where the hell did his sword go!?" Lupin was still walking around Nazeem in a circle. But now, his sword which he had been holding, was gone. His hand was positioned like he was grasping onto something, but it was completely empty. Nazeem clinched his teeth and stopped quinting. He planted his right foot and leaned towards Lupin, getting ready to rush him. But before he could follow through, Lupin's body became a blur, and he disappeared instantly. Nazeem's anxiety intensified, causing him to slam both of his hands onto the ground, "Electrocution!" ZZZMMMM! Sparks of lightning surged through the battlefield in a fifty meter radius. Lupin reappeared behind Nazeem, but he was paralyzed from the lightning. Nazeem glanced backwards and lifted his body back up. The lightning stopped, and Lupin's body relaxed. But Nazeem sent a fist hurling into the platoon leader's chest, sending him flying into the thicket of trees. Nazeem dashed towards Lupin, continuing his onslaught of attacks. "Electrocution… Volt-Burn… Lightning Bolt… Sundering Blight!" Portions of the forest emanated a bright blue color. Streaks of lightning shot out in nearly every direction, over and over again. Trees split apart, rocks crumbled to dust and the ground around them formed craters nearly the size of a small house. Suddenly, Lupin flew out from the first and into the air, nearly thirty meters up. Just then, "Nazeem appeared barely above him, with his arms raised up. He smashed his balled fists into Lupin, sending him hurling into the clearing. DSHH! Once Lupin landed, he gasped for air, and quickly got back up. Nazeem dashed towards Lupin, appeared just in front of him, and sent a left hook into the platoon leader's temple. Lupin's body swayed to his left, but he managed to keep conscious and countered with a slash of his sword diagonally through Nazeem's stomach. Nazeem dashed backwards, and Lupin stumbled around, regaining his balance. For a moment, the two of them made eye contact once more. But it was quickly broken when Lupin's body disappeared, reappearing to Nazeem's left side, crouched down with his sword pulled to his waist, "Severing Cross-Slash!" A streak of bright white light in the shape of an X appeared on Nazeem's chest. Lupin dashed backwards, and as he did, the white X sunny into Nazeem's chest, sending out a spurt of blood. Nazeem stumbled backwards from shock. Lupin smirked, and dashed forward, raising his sword, "Kinetic Blade!" His sword began emanating a blue aura around it, and he swung down. Blood shot out from Nazeem's right shoulder. Lupin stepped towards him and sent his left fist flying into Nazeem's chin. Nazeem was lifted off the air, but the platoon leader grabbed his ankle, stopping his rise off the ground, and slammed him into a boulder nearby. Nazeem gasped for air, but another strike from Lupin left him laying in a crater, completely limp.
Lupin stood over him, staring down at the helpless Nazeem, "I expected more from you. You were able to hold off Asfodel, which intrigued me… but it seems you're a pushover, what a shame." He shook his head in disappointment. A sense of shame flowed through Nazeem. He gritted his teeth and balled his fists, "D-don't you dare talk to me about being a pushover… I'm hell of a lot younger than you. Talking down to me like this is pathetic." Lupin growled from anger, "Alright enough talk, boy." He raised his sword arm, channeling mana through it. Nazeem furrowed his eyebrows, and stared Lupin in the eyes. The sword swung down, and then, BOOM! A large explosion shook through the forest.
A giant dust cloud was formed from where Lupin and Nazeem had been. After a few seconds, the dust began to settle, revealing Lupin's figure. He held his sword, staring at something just past him. Once the dust became thinner, Nazeem revealed himself. His body was surging with a blue light that shot around from limb to limb. His eyes were a color reminiscent of lightning. Nazeem looked at his hands, balling them and then loosening. He seemed confused as he turned to Lupin. The platoon leader took a step back, "How the hell are you still alive!? I struck you straight through the middle!" Nazeem shrugged, "I have no idea pal." He began thinking to himself, "This feels weird… I can't control my flow of mana at all. But my body seems much lighter than before, and the aura flowing through me feels tingly. Perhaps this is a new spell?" Lupin gritted his teeth and dashed towards Nazeem, "Die!" Nazeem looked up. To him, Lupin was moving much slower than before. He shifted his body to the right, dodging the attack. Lupin planted his right foot forward and swung his sword diagonally towards Nazeem's stomach. But he jumped back, dodging once more. However, Lupin didn't let up. He dashed forward ,sending multiple strikes towards Nazeem. Each one was effortlessly dodged, and after the last strike which left Lupin open, he sent a fist straight into his cheek. Lupin flew back, crashing through dozens of trees, and eventually landing into the clearing. He quickly stood back up and prepared to rush back towards Nazeem, but before he could, the boy had already appeared behind him, "Electrocution." ZZMM! Lupin cried out in pain. Steam rose off his body as he staggered forward. Nazeem smiled, "Yup! This is definitely a new spell…" He hopped up and down, looking over his hands and arms, "...I think I'll call this ability… Electrostatic Charge." Lupin turned his head to face Nazeem, "It doesn't matter… because I've been holding back too." He smirked, and suddenly a large blue aura shot from his body, emanating out by nearly five meters. He clenched onto his sword tighter, and raised it up, preparing to attack. Nazeem smiled back, bending his knees, pulling his hands to his side, and readying himself for more action.