The desert floor trembled beneath their feet, sand and shattered stone erupting with every strike. Kairo's crimson eyes burned brighter than ever, reflecting both fury and focus. He had seen the memory of Igron, understood the Bone Demon's nature — and now every step, every swing, carried purpose.
The Commander, towering and relentless, lunged again. His obsidian spear cut arcs of black flame, each one aimed to pierce Kairo's very soul. Phantom chains lashed from the shadows, wrapping the desert in a web of death.
Kairo's chains responded, moving like extensions of his own limbs. They snapped, coiled, and struck, intercepting the attacks with deadly precision. Sparks flew as metal clashed against obsidian, the shriek of twisting chains echoing like tortured screams.
"You are… persistent," the Bone Demon growled, voice reverberating like the cracking of mountains. "Few survive my assaults… fewer still with their wills intact."
"I won't just survive," Kairo said, voice low and steady. "I will take what belongs to me."
The chains twisted in unison, coiling around the Commander's spear and pulling, forcing him back for the first time. The desert trembled as the impact sent shockwaves rippling outward, scattering the summoned fangs in all directions.
Kairo's aura flared, heavy and suffocating, smelling of death and blood. Each movement resonated through the battlefield like a herald of ruin. The Bone Demon growled, striking with renewed speed, his chains tearing the sand into molten furrows.
Kairo leapt, Judgement Dance flowing like a storm of steel and shadows. Chains whirled, cutting paths through the phantom fangs and smashing against the Commander's armor. He struck with bone blade edges that had yet to fully manifest, slicing shallow gashes across obsidian plating, sparks hissing with each blow.
The Commander staggered, but his grin never faltered.
"So… you learn quickly. Very well. Let us see if you can match your ambition with strength!"
He swung both spear and chains in a coordinated assault. The desert became a tempest of iron and bone, a deadly symphony of clashing wills. Kairo dodged, blocked, countered — every move a calculation, every strike a declaration.
Sweat and blood slicked his arms, but the chains obeyed him perfectly, moving as if alive. For the first time, he felt the chains and the coming Bone Blade resonating with his own power.
A distant rumble shook the dunes. The Commander roared, sending a shockwave that flattened the nearest sand hills. Kairo's aura flared wider, crimson and black, a stench of death suffocating the air. He had seen the memory, known the reward, and every fiber of his being demanded it.
This was no longer survival. This was dominance. And the Bone Demon would see exactly who he had unleashed upon the world.