Outside the domain, the crowd gasped as hairline fractures spiderwebbed across Hiroko's wall of shadows. The once-absolute darkness now leaked with faint rays of light, each crack glowing like molten veins.
Fear spread through the ranks.
The Shadow King's law was absolute: "Thou shall not interfere in a fight of honor between life and death." It was his creed, his demand of every follower. To interfere in his duel—even to save his life—was to disgrace him.
And yet, the shinobi and soldiers looked at each other with growing dread. To obey meant to risk losing the man who had become more than their leader. Hiroko was their strength, their anchor, the flame that gave them purpose. Without him, they would be nothing but drifting embers.
A silent oath moved through them all: We cannot let him fall.
The Beast Lords' Wrath
On the far side of the battlefield, the clash of mortals and monsters continued. Vulkan, Shiro, and Kirishima faced the three beast lords, and though they had fought for over a week, neither side had yielded. Both warriors and beasts understood the truth—one mistake meant annihilation.
"Tch!" Vulkan spat, parrying a wind-forged blade with his flaming gauntlet. "Pretty boy, this is taking too damn long! By the time we kill even one of these bastards, our whole army's gonna be dead!"
Shiro's voice snapped back, laced with frost as cold as his ice. "Do you think I'm enjoying this, smartass? We're not stalling for fun—we're barely keeping these freaks at bay!"
While the two bickered, Kirishima silently pressed his hands together, sparks dancing across his skin. He unleashed one of his hidden cards.
[Twin Chain Lightning Dragon Jutsu].
A colossal dragon of thunder erupted from his hands, its body woven from twin serpents of lightning. The beast roared, its sound splitting the clouds, and it crashed into Cyclone with thunderous force. The giant bird screeched as its wings were torn by crackling fangs.
The attack snapped Vulkan and Shiro out of their spat.
"Scarlet Flames!" roared Vulkan, his fists igniting in an inferno that scorched the sky.
"Icycle Rain!" Shiro followed, summoning a storm of crystalline spears that fell like celestial arrows.
Their combined assault forced the beast lords onto the defensive, the battlefield briefly shifting in the humans' favor.
But victory remained out of reach.
Cyclone regenerated with unnatural speed, frost weaving over wounded feathers. Inazuma took the lightning strike head-on, its storm-clad body dispersing most of the damage, retaliating with arcs of electricity. Chrogon, the colossal shelled beast, shrugged off the flames, though for the first time, a crack marred its armor.
Vulkan scowled. "Tch. Tough bastard."
The beast lords answered with fury.
Chrogon raised a massive chunk of earth and hurled it like a mountain toward the trio. Cyclone conjured a storm of ice blades and tornadoes, wrapping itself in freezing mist. Inazuma blackened the sky with thunder spikes, rain turning into an electrified downpour laced with poison vapor.
The three forces merged. The beasts roared in unison, and the combined attack became legend—
[Beast King's Wrath].
The heavens themselves split as the attack barreled forward.
"Shit!" Vulkan's voice cracked. "They've been hiding this whole time!"
"Gee, thanks for the update, dumbass!" Shiro snarled. "We can see it! Shut up and use your defense already!"
The trio moved at once.
Vulkan summoned a blazing [Fire Wall], Shiro conjured the crystalline fortress of the [Golden Bell Array], and Kirishima spread the crackling web of [Night Weaver Nets]. Together, their powers intertwined, forming the colossal barrier known as the [Wall of Emperor Gu].
The collision was apocalyptic.
Light and shadow tore through the sky, vaporizing clouds. Earth disintegrated in waves, and entire ridges collapsed into dust. Those too close to the blast were annihilated instantly, bodies erased by raw energy.
For long moments, the world became nothing but light, thunder, and screams.
When the glow faded, both sides stood battered, scarred, and breathing heavily. Exhaustion finally showed in their eyes.
But the battle had only grown fiercer.
A Desperate Charge
Vulkan staggered forward, his body smoking, his voice still thunderous. "Damn it! Enough wasting time! I'm charging in! Ranged attacks won't do jack shit anymore!"
Flames surged around him as he activated his trump card: [Fire Scale Armor]. His body glowed like molten steel, veins of lava crawling across his skin.
"Not so fast, muscle-brain." Shiro stepped up, his aura colder than death itself. "If anyone's going in, it's me. I've been itching for close combat." He raised his arms, summoning a colossal [Ice Avatar], an armored colossus of frozen steel that mirrored his movements.
"Agreed." Kirishima's voice rumbled like a brewing storm. "It's time." Lightning erupted across his body as he donned the [Storm Bringer Armor], sparks crawling from every inch of his skin.
The three titans of humanity surged forward together, and the beast lords met their charge.
The second round began.
The Domain Crumbles
Inside the domain, shadows trembled with every clash. Hiroko's blade of darkness split the air into ribbons, while Ymir's titanic strikes turned the ground into shattered valleys.
Cracks spread across the walls of the domain like spiderwebs. Each impact widened them, spilling light into the shadowed battlefield.
"The domain's starting to break," Hiroko muttered, breathing heavily, his eyes burning with fury and exhilaration. "Good thing it costs me nothing the first time I summon it."
Across from him, Ymir's booming laughter rolled like thunder. "This is fun. I haven't had a fight like this since Gilbert. What did you call this again? Ah yes… the Shadow Domain. Impressive. I wonder…" His grin widened. "…will I gain this skill after my trial of death ends?"
The battlefield outside had long since turned into a graveyard, corpses strewn across soil soaked black with blood. Yet the giant and the king fought on, uncaring, as though locked in their own private eternity.
Hiroko spread his hands. Shadows hardened into countless blades, spinning and darting toward Ymir in an endless storm.
But Ymir's footwork shifted. His steps moved like whispers of thunder, his body weaving around Hiroko's onslaught. When the storm of blades closed in, he slammed his hands to the ground.
[Ground Spike].[Ground Strike].
The two merged into one.
[Thorn Wave].
The battlefield erupted in a tide of jagged stone and earth, spikes exploding upward in relentless waves. Each crest carried boulders and debris like a crashing ocean, restricting Hiroko's movements.
The Shadow King hissed in frustration, forced to take to the skies. His wings of darkness carried him upward, but every moment airborne made him vulnerable. His speed no longer gave him dominance—it made him predictable.
That was when Ymir struck.
The giant surged forward with deceptive speed, his fist arcing upward. For the first time, Hiroko's defenses broke. The punch landed like a mountain's wrath, hurling Hiroko across the battlefield.
The Shadow King slammed into the domain's barrier, the wall shuddering under his weight. Before he could recover, Ymir was upon him, grabbing him like a doll and slamming him back into the ground. Another punch followed, then another, each blow echoing like thunderclaps.
Again and again, Hiroko was hurled across his own domain, battered against the walls, the cracks widening with every impact.
The Shadow King coughed blood, his vision swimming, but his eyes never dimmed. Instead, they burned brighter.
Finally, he growled through bloodied lips. "Enough."
Darkness surged. The shadows themselves convulsed, rushing toward him, swallowing his body whole. His voice echoed, deeper, darker, as he uttered a single word:
"Unseal."
The domain shook.
The darkness around Hiroko thickened, fusing with his armor, burrowing into his flesh. It no longer cloaked him—it became him. His silhouette warped, edges blurring between man and abyss, his wings stretching wide like void-born talons.
Ymir narrowed his eyes. For the first time in centuries, the giant felt the faint prick of danger along his spine.
The Shadow King's second form had awakened.