Leo's eyes moved from one battlefield to another through the mirror's shifting surface.
Everywhere he looked, the fighting had reached a critical point. His S ranks allies were present on each front, but even they struggled to hold the line. The pressure from the enemy forced them back step by step.
He rested his chin on his hand and thought.
They needed help. And he was the only one left who could give it.
A slow smile formed on his face. He still had time to complete the last part of his plan, and this chaos gave him the perfect chance to test the true extent of his power, along with the abilities granted by the three marks.
But he couldn't rush in blindly. He had to choose carefully how to intervene in each battlefield.
His gaze returned to the first front, where Paul, Bernal, Alexia, and the others fought Iralian. That battlefield held the strongest incarnation of the Void, but it also held the greatest concentration of power on their side. Several S-ranks fought together there. His master stood among them. So did the friend he had spent years beside.
That front needed help, but not as urgently as the others.
His eyes shifted to the next battlefield, where Arthur fought alone. Arthur still hadn't drawn his sword. That meant he still had a chance. But his opponent was Thomas, one of the three most powerful non god beings in existence. Between Bernal, Thomas, and Aerwyna, Leo couldn't tell who truly stood at the top.
Then he looked at the final battlefield.
Two A5s and one S1 stood against three S-ranks.
And one of those S-ranks was Aerwyna, the one who had nearly killed him before.
That was the weakest front by far. Leo watched in silence for a few minutes, weighing distance, timing, and risk.
Then he made his decision on how to help each battlefield.
…
Paul kept his eyes on Iralian when the battlefield did not fade or blur but instead tilted, as if reality itself had been lifted and set down somewhere else without his body ever moving. The thunder of lightning, the pressure of void, the ruined earth beneath his feet, all of it disappeared in a single, seamless instant, replaced by a vast, quiet brightness that stretched endlessly in every direction.
He found himself standing on a long white bridge suspended over an ocean of pale light, and he recognized the place immediately as the bridge within the Creator's realm. Ahead of him stood a tall, solemn building made from smooth white stone whose surface was covered in faint flowing symbols that did not seem carved but rather naturally present, as though the material itself remembered them.
Leo stood at Paul's right side.
"Leo?" Paul turned toward him with confusion still on his face. "You're back? What is going on?"
Leo's expression was calm, far too calm compared to the chaos they had just left behind. He spoke without urgency, as if they had all the time in the world.
"The Creator knows that you have been trying to form your domain," he said, "but because the Warrior Path is your primary path, it is structurally impossible for you to build one in the normal way."
Paul frowned as he looked back at the building. "Then what should I do?"
"The Creator chose to intervene," Leo replied, raising his hand to point toward the structure. "This building now belongs to you."
Paul studied it more carefully, and the moment his focus settled on it, a strange sensation ran through his entire body. His mana stirred, his muscles tightened instinctively, and even his heartbeat began to fall into rhythm with something deep inside the building, as if the structure itself were calling to him.
"With this," Leo continued, "you are not creating a domain. You are borrowing a foundation that already exists. Through it, you can access the higher layer of Ethereon."
Understanding slowly formed in Paul's mind.
"And that will do what exactly?"
Leo met his eyes directly. "It will raise you to the very peak of S-rank power, although only for a short time."
The air around the building pulsed once, almost like a silent acknowledgment of its new owner, and Paul could feel a deep, violent strength waiting within it, something perfectly aligned with battle, with destruction, and with unyielding will. This was not the domain of a scholar or a mage, but a warrior's stronghold that had always existed for someone like him, patiently waiting for the moment he would step forward and claim it.
Paul's surprise lasted only a moment before he placed his fist on his chest.
"Praise the Creator." He smiled at Leo. "How can I use it?"
"Transform," Leo replied. "You will understand."
Paul activated his transformation. As his power rose, the doors of the building opened and an unseen force pulled him inside.
The interior was wider than it appeared from outside. Faint symbols moved across the walls, and the air felt heavy with power. At the center stood a transparent figure shaped exactly like him, motionless and waiting.
Paul looked at Leo. Leo nodded.
He stepped forward and touched the figure.
A surge of power rushed through his body. It felt as if something sealed inside him had been unlocked. The transparent figure dissolved into light and flowed into him. With it, Paul felt his limits rising. His strength, speed, and senses all climbed to a higher level, and an invisible layer of authority wrapped around him like armor.
He took a slow breath, feeling the change settle.
When he returned, he would not be the same S-rank warrior as before.
…
Back in the real world, the sound of bells spread across the battlefield just as Paul released a surge of mana that forced everyone to turn toward him, including Iralian.
High above, an enormous ancient building pushed through the clouds as if it had always been hidden there, its white structure now fully visible in the sky.
Paul clenched his fists and bent slightly forward while a dense aura of mana wrapped around his body like a second skin. The energy did not move like normal mana. It flowed like thick blue liquid, circling him in heavy currents that pressed against his muscles and bones.
Pressure built rapidly inside his body. His muscles tightened to the point of pain, and the veins along his arms and neck stood out as the power continued to rise. He opened his mouth and shouted as the surge intensified, the ground beneath his feet cracking from the force.
In the middle of that release, Paul disappeared.
Less than a second later, he reappeared directly in front of Iralian, having crossed the vast distance between them faster than sight could follow.
Paul's fist drove forward with the weight and certainty of a god's strike.
Iralian reacted in time. A void orb slid over her hand like armor, and she answered with a punch of her own. Their blows met between them and detonated outward. The shockwave tore through the air, spraying sparks and lightning in every direction while the ground below split under the force. For several seconds neither of them gave ground, their arms locked in a contest of raw power.
Then Iralian's feet dragged backward, pushed several meters away.
She had less than a heartbeat to recover before Paul closed the distance again.
Behind them, Bernal allowed himself a brief smile. "I don't know what changed, but we must use this."
Alexia nodded and moved forward to join the assault while a dark, liquid current gathered in Bernal's hands.
…
Arthur had been searching for a weakness in his opponent's form when the familiar sound of bells rolled across the battlefield. He felt the surge immediately.
Whenever the bells rang, power flowed from the Creator's domain into his own. He had experienced it before. This time was different. The influx was not a stream. It was an ocean forcing itself through him.
The pressure made his breath falter.
Then a voice spoke directly into his mind.
"Arthur Caelum, pick up your sword."
His eyes widened. He recognized that voice. It was the Creator.
Arthur did not hesitate. He reached toward his domain, and in response a silver sword formed in his grasp, its blade clean and sharp, golden markings running along its length like veins filled with light. Two additional wings burst from his back, feathers of pale radiance spreading wide and steadying him in the air.
The surge of power did not stop.
Behind him, the sky itself shifted. A section of it peeled back like a drawn curtain, revealing a layer of blinding white beyond. From that opening, a colossal statue descended. It was carved from smooth white stone and shaped like a towering guardian, its features stern and ancient, its presence heavy with authority.
Arthur glanced back once, and that single look told him everything. The statue carried the Creator's authority, but this form was not the same as before. Its presence felt heavier, sharper, and far more dangerous.
A crescent of light floated above its head like a silent halo. Thin red threads, shaped like a spider's web, spread beneath its white stone eyes. Small wings rested at its wrists and ankles, carved with precise detail. Behind the statue, a massive arc of light rose through swirling red and white fog, framing it like a divine gate.
Arthur turned forward again, eight wings spread wide behind him, and drifted a short distance closer to Thomas.
Their eyes met.
For the first time since the battle began, Arthur felt certain of the outcome. Now they stood on equal ground, and he knew he could win.
…
When all hope seemed lost, a deep, resonant sound of bells echoed from every direction, filling the battlefield with an almost tangible weight.
"What… what is that sound?" Hellen asked, her voice trembling.
"Our salvation," Luciana replied, her eyes narrowing as she scanned the sky.
Far above, near where Timon struggled against the enemy, a portal tore open the clouds. Slowly, deliberately, Leo stepped out. Every gaze, friend and foe alike, turned to him, drawn by the sudden presence of overwhelming authority.
He looked from the enemies before him to his allies, finally resting his gaze on Luciana.
"Luciana," he said, his voice calm but firm, carrying across the chaos. "Help Timon and get him out of here."
Without hesitation, Luciana leapt toward Timon. The wind whipped around her, scattering debris as she closed the distance in an instant.
Timon froze, surprised by Leo's words. "I don't need help," he said, gripping his shadow wrapped sword tighter. "You're an S-rank, right? Together, we might stand a chance."
Leo's expression remained steady. "Go. Rest. Leave them to me."
Luciana landed near Timon, but he refused to move.
"What nonsense are you talking about? Did you just come here to die?" he snapped, his shadow wrapped sword twitching with tension.
Leo's eyes fixed on him for a brief, piercing moment. "These are not my words," he said, and a surge of mana erupted from his body. The pressure alone was enough to make even an A-rank struggle to breathe.
"Now leave," Leo's voice deepened, turning ethereal and resonating across the battlefield. "You are in my way."
His gaze then shifted to Hellen, the same commanding force pressing down. "That goes for you too."
For a moment, the two of them froze, surprised by the sheer authority radiating from Leo.
Timon growled and finally shrugged. "If he wants to die, then I'll let him die," he muttered, moving away under his own will.
Feeling the Creator's presence flowing through Leo, Luciana lowered her head slightly in acknowledgment and departed without hesitation.
Leo's eyes swept over the three S-ranks still standing. "You will serve as the perfect practice of my power before the fight to come," he said, his voice carrying the weight of inevitability and command.