The immense cavern, the nexus of three continents, became the final arena. The Obsidian Phalanx (Kaelus, Zane, Sylva, Vara, Zathis, Jian, Kaelan, and Grund) faced the five Atlas Rankers (WhiteTrash, Emperor, Jonghyun, Smile, and Zestia). The battle was a clash between elemental integration and chaotic, unrecognized system skills.
WhiteTrash roared, his greatsword, Luminus Edge, suddenly glowing with raw, non-elemental power—a pure damage buff that the Phalanx couldn't categorize. "Rankers! Just as we planned—Formation C! Kill the others first!"
Kaelan and Grund formed the immovable Wood/Earth shield wall against WhiteTrash and the silent swordsman, Smile. Kaelan raised his shield, while Grund met the charge with twin axes.
The Phalanx magic users unleashed their fire. Sylva and Zane immediately combined their efforts, firing interlocking beams of Plasma and Petrify magic to slow the Player advance.
The Players countered with devastating system skills. Emperor (Battle Mage) launched a concentrated, non-elemental Impact Nova—a raw force skill that should not be survivable for even a 7-Star mage at this range—at Sylva. Jonghyun (Mage) provided ranged support, launching rapid, explosive Mana Blasts aimed at disrupting the tanks. These basic spells, enhanced by Player scaling, struck Kaelan's shield with shocking kinetic energy. The Players' skills were brutal, highly scaled, and unrecognizable as having any specific element the Phalanx could counter.
The Phalanx was quickly losing the war of attrition. Grund and Kaelan were taking heavy kinetic damage, their HP bars dropping rapidly under the relentless, system-amplified assault.
"Zane! The barrier is collapsing! We need to move!" Sylva yelled, realizing the defensive position was untenable.
Kaelus, recognizing the overwhelming pressure, channeled the last of the latent Dragon Barrier energy to shield the team. He struggled to maintain the shield, but the effort of channeling two different ultimate Wind spells recently left his core too volatile. The shield flickered and failed. He couldn't maintain the passive defense from the platform.
He immediately abandoned the defensive position, drawing the Viridian Sword. He surged forward, charging directly at WhiteTrash.
Kaelus met WhiteTrash in a spectacular duel.
WhiteTrash roared, bringing Luminus Edge down in an explosive vertical swing augmented by pure system strength.
Kaelus activated the full power of his new Obsidian Scales armor and the Knight's Legacy scarf. The armor absorbed the shock, and the scarf's Phasing Field shimmered, ready for the lethal counter.
Kaelus was winning the close-quarters duel. He channeled concentrated mana into the crystalline edge of the Viridian Sword and struck WhiteTrash's weapon directly. The mana nullification crystal in the Sword tore through the System enchantment on Luminus Edge, the weapon immediately going dull. Kaelus landed a rapid, devastating sequence of strikes on WhiteTrash's armor, dropping the Player's HP substantially.
But the rest of the Phalanx was failing. Vara and Zathis struggled against the phase-shifting Zestia, taking continuous damage. Grund collapsed as a devastating Mana Blast from Jonghyun broke his defenses. Kaelan quickly covered him, but now the frontline was weakened.
The cavern instantly erupted into chaos. Kaelus was locked in close combat with WhiteTrash, their swords clashing violently. Kaelus, knowing he couldn't win a sustained fight due to his depleted mana pool, desperately fought with skill and the inherent defense of the Viridian Sword. WhiteTrash was losing the sword battle, but Kaelus's mana was critically low—down to about five percent after activating the localized barrier earlier.
Kaelus swallowed a whole bottle of 6-Star High Rank Mana Restoration Pills. The immense potency caused a sudden, painful surge of mana into his body. He channeled the newly recovered energy, intending to deliver a finishing blow using his ultimate skill, Enhanced Ryujin no Kaze. WhiteTrash noticed the surge and prepared his counter.
"Stop their leader!" Sylva Moonshadow shouted, realizing the danger.
The other members of the Obsidian Phalanx broke through their engagements and positioned themselves behind Kaelus, unleashing a synchronized wave of long-range AOE spells. Emperor (Battle Mage) instantly summoned a high-rank Mana Shield, absorbing the Phalanx's combined assault—the attack was completely wasted.
Kaelus, though the mana surge was still unstable, used his ultimate attack.
"Ryujin no Kaze!"
The ultimate skill launched directly at WhiteTrash.
But WhiteTrash smiled—a chilling, confident smile—and activated his skill:
"Blade Master Sword Dance: Revolve!"
The Ryujin no Kaze was instantly absorbed by WhiteTrash's greatsword and unleashed back at the Phalanx with doubled force. Kaelus watched in horror as his own ultimate attack, amplified and reversed, hurtled toward his comrades.
"No!" Kaelus screamed. The entire Obsidian Phalanx would die by his very own ultimate attack.
Suddenly, powerful surge of Wind Element erupted around Kaelus and his team. A small creature—the Wind Sylphid—manifested directly in front of the Phalanx. It rotated with impossible speed, unleashing a little blow that met the reversed Ryujin no Kaze. The ultimate skill, now facing the raw essence of its own element, sputtered, dissolved, and vanished into thin air.
Kaelus stared at the Sylphid. It accepted me?
The Wind Spirit smiled and nodded, then instantly rotated faster, diving straight into Kaelus's body. The Sylphid's mana was instantly absorbed by Kaelus's core, but it only refilled about ten percent of his massive reserve.
However, the true gift was far greater: the Dragon Core now contained the essence of a Elemental Spirit.
"This is enough," Kaelus gasped, regaining stability. "Zane, Master, take them all out of here!"
"Wait! What are you saying? What about you?" Zane yelled.
"Just go!" Kaelus roared, channeling his power. His human form swelled, silver-white scales beginning to appear as he manifested his dragon body. The surrounding Wind mana became violently dense.
Sylva screamed, recognizing the volatile magical signature. "This wind mana is violent! This is self-destruction! Kaelus, what are you doing!"
"Stop this Kaelus!" Zane shouted.
Kaelus ignored them, summoning the Wind Carriage directly beneath them. The fragile construct, lacking sufficient mana to execute a controlled exit, was pushed away from the center with a massive Wind Blast, hurtling the Phalanx toward the main cavern entrance.
WhiteTrash roared, "Zestia! Don't let them escape!" Zestia dashed instantly.
Kaelus, alone in the center, roared one final, heartbreaking sound as his broken core unleashed a devastating skill:
DRAGON VORTEX!
A powerful vortex sphere blast erupted with Kaelus as the epicenter. Zestia, the nearest Player, was instantly caught and annihilated. Jonghyun, whose HP was critically low, was next. Emperor attempted a mana shield, but it also dissolved instantly.
WhiteTrash screamed, "No! This can't be happening! I cannot die here!"
Smile, seeing the inevitable, raised his sword in a final, defiant gesture. "There's still a next time, WhiteTrash!" he managed before the vortex consumed him.
The Obsidian Phalanx, thrown safely to a distance, watched in shock.
"KAELUSSSS!" Zathis screamed.
The entire energy of the blast suddenly and completely vanished, sucked into the center in a split second, followed by a final, isolated implosion.
The silence that followed the implosion of the Dragon Vortex was heavy and final. The Obsidian Phalanx members, thrown clear by Kaelus's last act, slowly picked themselves up from the debris near the entrance crevice. They stared back at the desolate center of the cave. The realization was immediate and crushing: Kaelus had exhausted his very essence to save them.
Zane looked at the empty space, his face stricken with grief. Sylva cried out, her hands covering her mouth.
"It's over." Grund's massive frame shook violently. He was crying as he said it, collapsing onto his knees, the weight of Kaelus's sacrifice crushing him.
But the silence was interrupted.
A streak of light instantly materialized behind Grund. A silver blade pierced his back, retracting immediately only to slash his torso. Grund's body, the tough, resilient creation of Wood Element magic, shuddered violently before dissipating into mana. He was dead.
"HAHAHA!" a loud, boastful voice suddenly echoed in the silent cave. "A puny self-sacrifice! HAHAHA!"
The voice belonged to WhiteTrash. He stood where Grund had just been, his heavy greatsword glowing faintly.
Jian erupted in a shout of pure rage and grief, charging WhiteTrash with his Tetsubo raised high, ignoring all caution. WhiteTrash simply used a rapid movement skill, phasing out of the line of the charge and reappearing at Jian's flank. A swift, brutal strike sliced across Jian's neck. The Kijin warrior tried to swing his staff, but his mana dissipated instantly, and Jian also dissolved into mana after that.
WhiteTrash grinned, completely unharmed, his Player HP bar full. "Now, where's the remains of that little Wind Dragon? It's time for the final loot."