Marc turned around, furious, facing her head-on, his aura surging like a ravenous beast toward the intruder.
Though smaller than Aeros, his aura seemed more menacing. The darkness and depth of it struggled to devour the blood-red brilliance of hers.
The two auras clashed in a spectacular duel, sweeping everything in their path. Though no human eye could fully see them, their effects on the world were undeniable.
Any ordinary person present would likely have been unable to stand amid the tearing chaos. Lori and Arthur's unconscious bodies were hurled violently across the ground, while Rachel, the only one left standing, clung to whatever she could.
But Aeros merely smiled. This violent, monstrous aura duel seemed to affect her not at all, as if Marc were nothing more than a fly in her path.
Her arrogant grin pierced through the blood-red veil before her, while Marc did everything he could to maintain his stance.
Suddenly, she taunted him with a vile, mocking tone.
"You seem angry. But what have I done to you exactly?"
Marc wondered if it was even worth letting her joke so freely.
"I don't know… maybe you're destroying my world?"
Aeros smiled wider at his response.
"Ahaha. Perhaps, yes, that's true. But you know, there have always been wars in this world. Why blame me now?"
At her words, Marc gritted his teeth. His anger only caused the dark storm of his aura to swell further. Yet, despite its growth, it seemed powerless against the blood-red cloud crushing him relentlessly.
The tension weighed heavily on Marc as he lost ground.
Normally, purging someone's aura wasn't difficult. They were all weak, their auras far inferior to his own.
But Aeros was an entity. More than that—she was the Entity of War. Her aura had only grown since the last time he sensed it, now so powerful that he could do nothing to stop it. He even wondered if there had been anything he could do the first time he had faced her.
Yet he refused to give up. Steeling himself, he continued desperately to resist the inevitable, blocking the aura of the second horseman.
"Because you said it yourself, that this is your fault."
Aeros laughed behind her crimson cloud.
"True. I stirred things a bit to make it erupt. But that's not always the case. Humans are fascinating—they always find a reason to quarrel. The peace they achieve is never enough. They are never satisfied. So, to calm their urges, they fight. They fight for their rights, their lands, their honor, for fun, for conquest—and the list goes on. If I named them all, it would never end."
Marc tilted his head slightly forward.
"Why this one?"
"I need it for what's coming. Haven't you read the books? What a pity. You would understand much more. It's true I caused quite a problem, and that sovereign Garid is utterly foolish, but you don't know what's happening. You don't even know who you are, the chosen one."
Marc shivered at her words.
Whether "the slave of destiny," "the hero," or "the chosen one," he was tired of hearing it all.
All he wanted was to live quietly with his family and friends. He wanted no visions, no war, no powers, no other world, no beings in white, nothing…
And he was going to make that clear.
"I never wanted this war."
"But yet you are part of it."
"I am not at war."
"You embarked on it without realizing it. You are even one of its main actors. Didn't I tell you humans fight to protect what they hold dear?"
Marc clenched his teeth, furious.
His terrifying aura slowly overtook him. His armor began to levitate under the gusting winds, and his eyes were replaced by two swirling, crimson voids like twin tornadoes.
Aeros feigned fear, bringing her hand to her mouth in mock astonishment.
"Wow. I thought I came to stop you because you might end this war too quickly. But here you are, far stronger than expected. Could it be that…"
She stopped herself, deciding not to continue.
Instead, she watched Marc advance toward her, shrugging nonchalantly.
"In any case, I have to at least slow you down. When everyone is ready, we'll strike fully. Until then, I don't exactly want to die either."
Aeros manifested a blade in her right hand, wreathed in a river of small flames and reddish sparks.
A single-edged sword, one meter thirty long, exuding an aura as potent as its wielder. The blade was black, etched with numerous symbols, but most strikingly, the flames engraved upon it seemed to consume the sword itself.
Marc knew he had to be cautious—but whether caution would save him from this monster was uncertain.
He could see it just by the aura and his body was already shivering.
Aeros was horrifyingly strong…
In a voice that was now cold but amused, she raised the blade to the level of her eyes, cutting her own field of vision to reflect Marc in her sword.
"This weapon will take care of you."
Aeros bounced on the spot as if warming up.
Marc didn't want to wait too long, but something told him not to approach recklessly…
...or he would end up dead.
After a few more jumps, the terrible entity pressed forcefully against the ground, her legs bending roughly, and she shot forward like a missile toward Marc.
The ground was destroyed without resistance beneath her feet as an intense sound tore through the air, signaling the sound barrier being broken in a matter of milliseconds.
Marc didn't even have a second to react; his heart skipped a beat.
He grabbed Nathanaël's sword hanging at his waist as fast as he could, panic coursing through him at the entity's blinding speed.
He managed to parry Aeros' strike just in time but was violently thrown several meters backward in the process.
He landed twenty meters back, leaving two deep black gouges in the wet ground.
Smoke rose from his feet, reaching his eyes.
Seeing her, Marc realized the trap he was in.
"Damn!!"
He quickly got back into a defensive stance as Aeros charged again.
The sound of their swords clashing echoed through the city. Marc felt his arm go numb instantly, almost all his strength draining from him. This was a force he had never experienced, far too much even for him.
He engaged in a sword duel with the entity of War, even though he knew it wasn't his strongest skill.
But he had little choice. Without his blade, he would be minced very quickly.
Marc tried to focus as best as he could, imitating what he had seen from others, but nothing worked. Aeros was beyond him.
Her strikes were lethal in precision, her strength clearly superior. Even the speed of her attacks far outpaced Marc, who barely managed to parry in time.
He was completely overwhelmed.
Seeing her dominance, the entity allowed herself a smile and spoke in the middle of the battle.
"Well, aren't you threatening me anymore?"
Despite her light tone, Marc couldn't afford to lose focus for a single second, or he would be killed.
The blade moved too fast, and parrying became increasingly marginal.
The fight had barely lasted a minute, and he was certain he would lose if it continued.
"Damn… what is this power?"
A second later, Marc received his first cut across his face, splitting his mask in two.
Aeros laughed.
"Let me admire your beautiful face, oh Chosen One."
The War herself did not hold back. Her smile reminded Marc of Jin's fighting style—a fighter in a frenzied, uncontrollable madness.
Marc didn't even have time to study his opponent, yet he noticed something.
Aeros' perfection didn't come from talent alone but from immeasurable experience. Each strike seemed charged with a thousand blows delivered over a hundred years—perhaps more, since the creation of the world…
She moved flawlessly with each strike, as if she had practiced this deadly dance billions of times, training all her opponents for cruel, inevitable death.
Of all his adversaries, she was undoubtedly the strongest he had ever faced.
The sword blows rained down on Marc and the cuts appeared on his body, becoming more and more numerous.
The entity was faster, stronger, smarter, with experience clearly superior. Marc was dominated for the first time since Goagi and he could do... nothing.
At one point, he attempted a diagonal strike. Aeros dodged effortlessly, stepped on his sword planted in the ground, and propelled herself into the air while delivering a blow directly to his face.
Marc lost his balance, and when he tried to stand properly, she stomped on his face, pinning him to the ground.
Her cruel smile never left her face.
"Maybe I can kill you before the others arrive. I don't see what's special about you. Myrire was wrong about you."
Marc quickly rose, hurling Aeros away, but he realized he had been cut across the chest in the process.
The strike had been so fast that he hadn't noticed—a flash in front of his eyes that had become a lethal blow.
The wound was deep, blood spilling rapidly onto the ground.
And it hurt… a lot…
"Damn...."
But as he looked at his injury, Aeros came at him at full speed, sword raised, a wide grin on her face.
Marc didn't even have time to react before she pierced him through the abdomen.
The blade passed through him effortlessly, even as his dark aura tried to resist. Blood sprayed several meters across the ground as he fell to his knees.
"Today marks the day of your end, oh Chosen One."
Marc spat blood, collapsing to his knees. His vision blurred, his senses failing.
A defeat—absolute. Unequivocal. He hadn't even had a proper fight. His blood pooled on the ground despite his promise to vanquish these monstrosities.
He weakly reached out, trying to hold his blood in his hand, clearly unaware it was useless.
Driven only by the last flickers of his will to redeem himself, to save the world… he tried desperately to collect his blood like a madman.
"No… no…"
Aeros looked at her opponent, disappointed like never before.
"I'll cut off your head as a trophy."
In a flash, the air was cleaved, and Aeros' sword descended to Marc's throat.
Marc cried tears of blood, a nervous smile appearing on his face. He had lost... He had lost everything...He was about to lose even more...He was going to die like this—like a murderer, a coward, a loser.
It was his last strength, his final futile movements. Blood flowing like an endless, tranquil waterfall....
"No… no…"
And then he stopped moving…
Marc was dead...
Rachel, who had tried to observe everything, couldn't believe her eyes. A woman whose power surpassed the Death of War was about to slice his head off.
She hadn't witnessed the fight… seen nothing… but for some strange reason…
She knew…
It wasn't over.
As fate seemed inevitable, Marc grabbed Aeros' sword.
"What?"
At least, his body did.