Morgan charged from the left, mercury coiling around his arm like a drill.
Lucy rushed from the right, sand rising beneath her feet like a tidal wave.
Ben launched forward from behind Gravio, sound thrumming in his clenched fist like a charging railgun.
Gravio didn't move.
He just tightened his grip, forcing Imperial to stay upright—to face it all.
He wasn't restraining Imperial.
He was offering him up.
Just as the three were about to slam into Imperial, a sharp whistle of wind split the chaos.
Erika appeared.
In a flash, her blade traced a perfect arc — one side trailing ice, the other flame. The edges burned and froze the air simultaneously, creating a crescent-shaped wave of magic that surged outward.
Morgan's mercury froze mid-swing, Lucy's sand hardened and cracked, and Ben's soundwave dissipated against the unexpected onslaught.
The three were thrown violently backward, skidding across the ground, coughing and struggling to regain balance.
Before they could recover, another presence moved like a shadow.
Draco.
Steel magic rippled across his arms as he grabbed Imperial, lifting him from Gravio's crushing grip. The force of the pull was precise, careful—Imperial felt himself safely yanked free just as Gravio's hand tensed, sparks of residual lightning sliding across his knuckles.
Imperial landed on his feet, chest heaving, gripping his blades again. Erika's ice-and-flame arc still shimmered in the air, a lingering warning. Draco held him steady, eyes scanning the battlefield.
The four who had dominated him moments ago now paused, reassessing their opponents.
Draco: "Lord, are you alright?!"
Imperial coughed harshly, blood staining his lips.
Imperial: "Hah… thanks for coming, you guys…"
A thunderous clang echoed through the forest as Erika's twin blades clashed against Gravio's massive arms. Their hand-to-hand combat sent violent shockwaves tearing through the surroundings, uprooting trees with every impact.
Ben, Morgan, and Lucy wasted no time—they lunged toward Imperial again, murderous intent blazing in their eyes.
But before they could strike—
Shadowy tendrils erupted beneath their feet.
Elana and Ryne emerged from the darkness like wraiths.
At that very moment, a crimson dome burst forth—Elara stood firm, her blood magic forming a double-layered barrier: an inner shield and an outer shell lined with countless razor-sharp blood spikes.
SNAP!
Ryne clapped his hands once.
Glittering threads of string magic shot outward in an instant—thin as hair, sharp as blades—coiling around Ben and the others like snakes, slicing through the air with lethal precision.
Ryne: "Why are you holding back, Lord? If you're not feeling well, just leave these worms to us."
Imperial smirked faintly, wiping blood from his lips.
Imperial: "I was saving you two… for emergencies. But I guess now's the perfect time."
He stepped forward, lightning crackling around him once more.
Imperial: "—You have my permission to go wild."
Mercury surged forward in a wave, swallowing the ground. Draco braced — dark steel spreading across his body like molten obsidian, turning him into a living fortress.
BOOM!
The mercury smashed into him like a tidal ram. Draco slid back several meters, gouging trenches beneath his feet—but he didn't fall.
Morgan reformed behind him, arm turning into a mercury spike—
Draco spun and caught it with his bare hand.
The metal hissed, trying to eat through his palm.
It didn't.
Draco's steel hardened further.
He tightened his grip.
Morgan's arm snapped in half, liquid spraying—
—but instantly regenerated.
Draco didn't flinch.
He headbutted Morgan so hard the mercury splattered like paint across the dirt.
________________________________________
Lucy slammed her foot down — sand erupted in all directions like a desert storm. Grains sharpened to blades, slicing toward Elara.
Elara didn't dodge.
Her blood shield caught everything — sand grinding against it like a roaring sandblaster.
Lucy clenched her fist — the sand condensed into massive tendrils, trying to crush her like a vise.
Elara's expression didn't change.
The tendrils stopped.
Lucy blinked—then coughed.
She felt it—
Something warm crawling up her throat.
Blood.
Her own blood.
Elara had infected the sandstorm with blood mist — and Lucy had inhaled it.
Lucy gritted her teeth and slammed her hand into the ground — Quicksand Zone.
The whole battlefield under Elara liquefied, dragging her ankles downward.
Elara didn't resist. She sank willingly.
Lucy narrowed her eyes, preparing to bury her alive—
Then Elara's voice whispered behind her.
"…Too slow."
________________________________________
Ben clapped once — Sound Pulse.
The pressure wave flattened trees in a straight line toward Ryne.
Ryne didn't shield or dodge.
He plucked one of his own strings—
TWANG
The air in front of him split.
The sound wave bent away like water diverted by a blade.
Ben clicked his tongue and shifted pitch — High Frequency Burst — inaudible to most, but strong enough to liquefy organs.
Ryne didn't block it.
He let it hit him.
Blood dripped from his ear.
He didn't react.
In silence, he flicked his finger.
Invisible strings snapped around Ben's neck.
Ben immediately unleashed a point-blank sonic explosion—
The strings vibrated, absorbing the resonance instead of breaking.
Ben's eyes widened.
Ryne's voice was barely above a breath.
"Your sound moves. My strings dance."
________________________________________
Gravity collapsed.
The air itself groaned as everything within thirty meters was forced down — trees, rocks, even flames bent under sheer pressure.
Erika's knees dipped—
Then fire roared beneath her feet, propelling her upward against the pull.
Her blades sparked — left one blazing like molten iron, right one freezing the air so hard it cracked.
Gravio lifted a hand.
Gravitational Well.
The flames curved backward mid-air, dragging Erika off course—
But she threw her ice sword like a spear.
It cut through the pull like a drill and grazed Gravio's cheek, drawing first blood.
He wiped it calmly, expression unchanged.
Erika landed — grabbed her sword again as frost formed in her breath.
They stared at each other.
No words.
Only calculation.
Then they vanished into motion again — blade vs gravity.
Morgan snarled and flooded the ground with molten mercury, turning the entire terrain into a reflective silver swamp. Draco's footing sank—Morgan saw the opening and launched from below, forming his body into a spiraling drill aimed at Draco's chest.
Draco's chest dented under the force—
—but did not break.
He spat blood and locked his arms around the mercury-drill, muscles bulging as his steel hardened beyond black—turning obsidian-dark.
He wrenched Morgan upward and slammed him headfirst into the ground, shattering the terrain like glass.
________________________________________
Lucy spun with a roar, turning the entire battlefield into a sand vortex, sucking everything into a crushing spiral. Sand hardened like cement, intending to bury Elara alive.
But from beneath the surface, a pulse—
BOOM.
Blood erupted like a crimson geyser, blasting the sandstorm apart. Elara emerged, floating midair, wings of liquid blood spreading behind her.
Lucy tried to harden her sand into armor—but she froze.
Her entire left arm refused to move.
Elara had already dragged blood from her veins, forming a blood needle pressed against her neck.
Elara's expression stayed calm.
Lucy didn't dare breathe.
________________________________________
Ben inhaled sharply and unleashed Sonic Boom Resonance, a 360° explosion of concussive force so sharp that even light wavered.
Ryne was engulfed—but instead of flying backward, he stood perfectly still.
The air rippled around him like disturbed water. Strings were anchored in every direction, distributing the impact evenly throughout the web rather than his body.
Ben's eyes widened.
And before he could adjust—Ryne flicked two fingers.
A single string wrapped around Ben's wrist.
Without warning—SNAP.
Bone cracked.
Ben screamed—but Ryne merely tightened his grip, expression blank.
________________________________________
Gravio lifted both arms. Gravity swelled like a black sun. Erika felt her organs compress, her knees buckling—
But she stabbed both swords into the ground, channeling fire through one, ice through the other—
EXPLOSION.
Steam burst outward in a blinding blast, neutralizing the gravitational pressure for a split second.
Erika vanished through the mist and reappeared behind Gravio—blades crossed.
She struck.
Gravio turned last second—her blades carved a deep X-shaped wound across his chest.
He staggered.
Erika didn't smile.
She didn't speak.
She simply looked toward Imperial—
And saw him collapse.
He had been holding a stance moments ago.
Now he was on his knees.
Lightning flickered once—and died.
His vision blurred. Blood ran from his lips.
His eyes closed.
He fell forward.
Erika "—Elara. Ryne."
Her tone was sharp. No hesitation.
Both turned instantly.
"Take Imperial. Get him out of here."
Elara withdrew her blood bindings, Lucy collapsing to the sand. Ryne released Ben's broken arm.
They didn't question her.
Elara wrapped Imperial gently in a cocoon of blood-crafted support. Ryne laid strings across the ground forming a path.
They lifted him.
The four enemies, battered but conscious, locked eyes as they saw Imperial being evacuated.
Morgan's mercury flared.
Lucy's sand surged.
Ben's broken wrist trembled as he summoned another wave of resonance.
Gravio clenched his fists, gravity spiraling like a black halo around him.
They all charged—together.
Draco cracked his knuckles, steel armor fully hardened across his body.
Erika twirled her blades, fire and ice forming a spiral storm around her.
They stood side by side, facing the incoming storm of enemies.
Neither spoke.
They didn't need to.
Their stances said it all:
"You will not pass."
Forest in ruins. Craters, splintered trees, fire and ice clashing with gravity and mercury.
Erika spins her blades. Fire and ice arcs cut through sand and mercury.
Draco stands firm. Dark steel fists crack the ground with every step.
Morgan surges. Mercury rises like a tidal wave. Draco meets it head-on. Steel shatters liquid.
Lucy's sandstorm claws forward. Erika dances through it. Ice deflects. Fire disperses.
Ben unleashes a sonic boom. Sound waves ripple. Draco's steel disrupts the resonance. Erika's blades slice through.
Gravio bends gravity. Erika counters with dual strikes. Draco reinforces the ground. Every move, every strike, blocked.
At the forest's edge, Elara and Ryne move carefully. Imperial lies limp between them. Lightning flickers weakly and dies.
Elara's blood constructs cradle him. Ryne's strings form a taut bridge. Step by step, they guide him through the shattered forest.
They move slowly, cautiously. Still searching. Still pushing forward. Safe ground is somewhere ahead—but not yet.
Erika doesn't advance aggressively. Draco stands solid beside her. Both act as walls, holding Morgan, Lucy, Ben, and Gravio at bay.
Mercury, sand, sound, gravity—all clash against steel and blades. Sparks fly. Blood mist swirls. Every strike blocked. Every advance met.
Elara and Ryne continue moving. Forward. No pause. No rest. Safety is still ahead.
Erika and Draco remain. Twin sentinels. Four enemies rage before them. The forest trembles.
Imperial is still unconscious.