Sho couldn't believe what he was seeing in front of him.
"What happened, Uncle?!"
When Itsuki turned around, his eyes widened and he froze. "How is this possible?!!!… Where did the trees go?!"
The land that had been full of trees just moments ago had now turned into an uninhabitable desert.
Sho saw someone slowly approaching them from within the dust. He warned Itsuki.
Itsuki drew his sword. "Stand back, Uncle!"
But when that person came closer and her face became clear, Sho lost control of himself and, with tears and a shout, ran toward her.
It was none other than Hana, Sho's daughter.
With tears, he tightly embraced his daughter. "My daughter, I'm so happy to see you again!!… Who saved you?! Talk to me!"
But Hana was like a moving statue, and suddenly she fainted.
Itsuki picked Hana up in his arms and left the place with Sho. "Who could have done this?!"
Itsuki couldn't believe that the destruction of the forest could be the work of a single person.
Several minutes earlier:
"The only thing you deserve is death!"
GRAAAAAAAAAAOOOOM!!!… GRRRRRRKH… BOOOOOOM!!!!
When Zeno's sword came down, a massive explosion occurred in the middle of the forest. The place where the explosion happened had been emptied—no living being or tree remained.
Several minutes before Zeno lost control:
"Are you okay, Zeno?!"
Zeno was trembling and filled with rage. Darkness was slowly engulfing his entire body. With his jaw locked, he said: "After I tamed the wolves… through Black Tail… you secretly… go free Hana… and get out of here…"
Arisa, trembling with fear, circled Bartos's base and went behind the place where Hana was imprisoned.
Zeno killed all of Bartos's men, controlled the wolves through their king. Arisa took Hana and quickly left the forest.
At that same moment, the explosion occurred—but Arisa and Hana's location was safe. When the explosion ended, Arisa laid Hana down in a corner and went toward Zeno.
Arisa entered the forest toward Zeno. At that same time, Hana regained consciousness, but she was still frozen with fear. Unconsciously and without realizing it, she went into the forest.
Arisa reached Bartos's base. The only thing there was Zeno—unconscious, lying on the ground with his clothes torn apart.
When she tried to lift Zeno, she saw the mark engraved on his back—a furious, hairy goat with long horns.
When Arisa saw the mark, her eyes widened and her whole body began to tremble. "What is this mark?!!!"
She controlled herself, picked up Zeno, and left the forest. But when she arrived, her mouth fell open in anxiety—Hana was gone. "Where did Hana-san go? Could one of Bartos's men have taken her?!"
She placed Zeno down and was about to go back into the forest, but Black Tail stopped her. "Move aside—I have to find Hana-san!"
Arisa tried to draw her sword, but Black Tail rammed his head into her stomach and knocked her to the ground. "Hana is safe. We must take the King as soon as possible. No one must find out that this destruction was caused by him!"
"You!… You!… You just spoke?!… Ah!"
Upon hearing Black Tail's voice, Arisa fainted. Black Tail threw both of them onto his back and suddenly disappeared.
Blood-Iron Empire – Western Side:
Two blue and yellow lights were visible in the air, along with the sound of iron clashing against ice—TIIIIIING!!…
With every clash, a powerful shockwave was released; anything it touched exploded.
Rex and Mikey were fighting to the death. Mikey was wounded, Rex exhausted. Neither of them had any strength left, and their powers were nearly depleted.
They both landed on the ground again. No power remained. They both thought to themselves: I have to finish this with the final strike—or I'm done for!
Their swords pulled back. Right foot forward. Waist slightly bent. Serious attack stance. Muscles tensed. Just waiting for the moment…
"Hyōgoku Shōketsu (Frozen Prison's End)!!!!!"
"Shōko Metsu En (Flame Annihilation, Crystal Simurgh!!!)"
Both charged at each other with unbelievable speed, leaving nothing but destruction behind them.
CRRRRRAAACK!!!!…
BOOOOOOOM!!!…
TIIIIIIIRK!!!!…
DOOOOOOOM!!!!…
The sky split. The earth cracked. And in the end, only one remained standing.
The other, calm and blood-soaked, sheathed his sword and quietly but seriously said, "It was a good fight… Mikey!"
Mikey lost, his chest torn open, the ground beneath him soaked with his blood.
Rex spread his wings and slowly, with black eyes and a sorrowful face, headed toward the capital.
But after a few wingbeats, pain struck beneath his arm. He landed again and placed his hand on the source of the pain. His hand became wet. When he pulled it back, it was covered in blood.
"Until now, no one had ever managed… to wound me while I was executing Shōketsu!!!!… You were incredible, Mikey!!"
Tick…
Rex, too, fainted from severe blood loss…