"It's time for the banquet, EA."
Leon's voice echoed like a decree, carrying an authority so absolute it seemed to crush even the air around him. He extended his hand toward the storage space, and from its deepest recesses, with slow and reverent movements, he drew forth the weapon he had hidden there.
This was no ordinary object. It was the very first treasure he had stored within that domain—the symbol of his supremacy—claimed right after he had gained the power to control space.
The Sword of Rupture.
The blade that split the sky and tore the earth.
The sword that bore the name EA.
A weapon that, by itself, carried the potential to destroy the entire world.
The moment Leon drew EA, the Night Raid girls' weapons reacted instantly and uncontrollably. The blades in their hands trembled and, within moments, as if nothing more than fragile illusions unworthy of standing before the supremacy radiating from that artifact, they dissolved back into liquid form. None of them could resist the crushing pressure pouring out from the weapon.
But… could EA truly be called a sword?
It was strange, absurd even.
There was a hilt and a guard, yes, but its body was not forged of any traditional blade. Instead, three black cylinders, aligned in perfect symmetry, formed its structure. Etched along their surface were crimson lines, glowing and pulsing like living veins, brimming with arcane energy. There was no edge, no sharpened steel. And yet, with each breath taken before it, one felt as though anything could be torn apart.
And then it began.
The three cylinders started to spin. Slowly at first, then faster and faster, until they became a maelstrom of uncontrollable energy. The air quaked. Space itself groaned. At the nexus of the rotating cylinders, reality unraveled. It was like watching glass shatter under invisible pressure—each fracture revealed the fragility of the world mortals dared to call their own.
"!!!"
Every scalp tingled, every body trembled. Terror raced down their spines as if they were nothing but puppets dangling on strings, ready to be crushed.
Space screamed.
The earth wept.
The very heavens bowed beneath that power.
Only then did they all understand. Leon was not simply wielding a weapon. He held an artifact capable of erasing civilizations, a treasure that could unmake a world and forge another in its place.
A crimson storm of magic erupted around EA, a hurricane of energy that illuminated even the deepest darkness. And at that sight, old memories surged within Alpha.
Even after ten years, that day had never left her mind. The day she and Leon had found Beta during a rescue mission. On that day, Leon had used EA.
And yet, in all the years that followed, he had never drawn it again. Only once. Only then. For in all his long journey, none had ever been worthy of forcing him to unsheathe it a second time.
But now, it was not a mere person that stood before him.
It was the World itself.
And if the World dared to rise as his enemy, Leon would wield this power without hesitation.
Alpha drew a deep breath, quelling the excitement and the crushing weight of responsibility in her chest. Then she raised her voice behind Leon, a cry woven from devotion and solemnity:
"Everyone! Open your eyes and do not miss a single instant of the master's next act! As witnesses, it is our duty, our responsibility, and our mission to record this strike!"
"Yes, yes, Master Alpha!!!" they answered in unison.
Their voices shook—not with doubt, but with fervor.
"Such overwhelming power…"
"Master… how can something like this exist?"
"The Boss… he truly is unmatched!"
Even the Seven Shadows, renowned for their incomparable might, trembled. Alpha, Beta, Delta, Epsilon—all were seeing Leon wield EA for the very first time. They, who were hailed as the strongest in the world, felt reduced to mere ants.
And then Leon poured his magic into EA. Colossal energy—uncontrollable, world-shattering—flooded into the weapon without resistance. No longer restrained, no longer limited, there was nothing to stop the true awakening of the blade's power.
Leon raised the artifact, his voice rising like a primordial hymn:
"I shall speak of the beginning.
Heaven and Earth were sundered, the Void exalted creation, and my Sword of Rupture cleaved the world!
Mortar of the stars! The inferno of the heavens is but the eve of creation's festival.
Now, you shall die… and silence shall reign!"
Then, with a roar that rattled the very bones of those who heard it, he unleashed the name of annihilation:
"ENUMA ELISH!!!"
Leon struck.
And in that instant, it mattered not what lay before him—whether a door, a wall, or even the world itself. Nothing could resist. The small universe known as the Sanctuary simply began to collapse.
"The… the world has fallen?" someone whispered, voice trembling.
But it was no metaphor. The world was truly unraveling.
Space reverted to nothingness. Colors dissolved. Reality itself was devoured, everything drawn back into the original void. And in the heart of this cataclysm, only Leon and his sword blazed—like a red sun in an eternal night.
Sacred sword? Door? Bloodline? None of it mattered.
Leon was no servant of rules. He was the one who created and destroyed them. He did not follow the world—the world followed his will.
The chained door before him was obliterated, evaporating into nothingness. Narrowing his eyes, Leon beheld, amidst the ruins of reality, the Sanctuary's core: Diablos's left arm, sealed within.
Before it could be consumed by EA's power, he reached out and seized the arm, storing it within his spatial domain.
Not out of morbidity. Not to hoard corpses. But to hoard power. Strength, riches, beauty, weapons—that was Leon's true hobby.
And the arm still pulsed with life. Even after millennia, its cells remained active. A dark, brilliant thought coursed through his mind.
(What if I gathered the other pieces? What if I rebuilt Aurora's body? She could return. The Witch of Calamity could be resurrected in this era…)
Leon decided then and there.
The body had been divided into five parts.
He would reunite them.
He would summon Aurora.
And he would win the game on his own terms.
When the Holy Land was destroyed, everyone was transported elsewhere—to a desolate, silent forest, far from the massacre of light and ruin.
But the Night Raid girls could not even move. They were still paralyzed by the memory of Leon's strike, broken by its mere afterimage.
Epsilon could not contain her agitation. Her heart pounded as though it would burst with inspiration, yet words failed her, unable to convey what she felt.
Beta, on the other hand, trembled with ecstasy. Master…! This is the power you've hidden! How blessed I am to witness this…
Her hand could barely keep pace with her writing. Words poured into her notebook like torrents. She knew she would never forget this scene, and yet she had to record it, had to eternalize it.
Alpha, however, sighed.
"Still as irrational as ever."
"Alpha? That… doesn't sound like praise."
"It's not. It's a statement. Even after all these years of training, even having grown so much stronger… I still can't reach your heels. Once again, you've surpassed me."
Her voice carried both shock and the faintest trace of disappointment.
Until today, only she had witnessed Leon's full power. Now, all had shared in that vision. The secret was revealed.
And the world… would never be the same again.
---
(End of Chapter)