---
The mountain shook with every heartbeat. Lava burst in fountains from the volcano's veins, lightning slashed the sky crimson, and in the middle of it stood two giants — Fernando, the Dark King, and Zeldaris, Commander of Cerberus.
They faced each other like living storms, both smiling savagely.
Zeldaris lifted his club, its spiked head glowing with sinister runes. With a flourish of his hand, a crimson magic circle ignited beneath him, casting the square in bloodlight.
"Let's test your legend, Dark King!" he roared. "Feel the wrath of— [Hellbreaker Smash]!"
He swung the club down. The air screamed as the strike carved a shockwave so violent the stone plaza split in two. Black fire burst from the impact, tossing bodies, rubble, and flames skyward.
Fernando slid back, boots grinding sparks against volcanic rock. His sword quivered, shadows coiling around it like living serpents. He raised it, eyes flashing with lethal calm.
"Pathetic." His voice was cold steel. He thrust his blade forward, and a massive obsidian magic circle roared to life behind him, glowing with runes of night. "You'll taste despair in the depths of— [Abyssal Fang]!"
A beam of compressed darkness erupted from his sword, shaped like the snapping jaws of a colossal beast. It tore through Zeldaris' shockwave, swallowing the flames whole, then lunged straight for the commander.
Zeldaris laughed, madness in his eyes. He spun his club and slammed it into the ground, summoning a towering crimson shield of interlocking runes. The Fang shattered against it, detonating in an eruption of black fire that turned half the square into a crater.
The sky itself split.
---
Yaman, running through the burning jungle at the volcano's foot, froze for a moment when he heard it — the blast like gods warring above. The girl in his arms whimpered, covering her ears. Yaman swallowed, trembling, but forced his legs to move.
"Dad… survive this. Please…"
---
Back at the battlefield, Fernando rushed forward, his blade cloaked in smoke-like tendrils. His aura dragged the very air down, crushing stones flat. Zeldaris met him halfway, their weapons colliding in a maelstrom of light and shadow.
"Your strength is real," Zeldaris sneered through gritted teeth. "No wonder they call you the Dark King."
Fernando's reply was sharp as a whip: "Titles mean nothing. Power decides who walks away."
He spread his palm wide. A second black circle spun into existence beneath Zeldaris' feet, chains of shadow snapping upward.
"Fall into despair — [Eternal Coffin of Night]!"
Chains wrapped around Zeldaris, dragging at his limbs. For a heartbeat, the crowd gasped — could the Dark King have him?
But then the commander's laughter split the air. His tattoos glowed blood-red, his body bursting with raw aura.
"You think darkness frightens me?" He bit down, eyes blazing like fire. "Then I'll crush your abyss with [Infernal Cataclysm]!"
His club ignited, exploding with crimson fire, and with a roar he shattered the chains in a blast that tore half the execution platform apart. Flames sprayed like a rain of comets, and the volcano howled in reply.
Both men slid back, weapons raised, still grinning savagely despite the destruction.
The battlefield around them was hell itself — corpses burning, the volcano raining molten fire, the earth screaming from their power. And yet, neither flinched.
This was only the beginning.
---
The air turned molten as the two titans prepared their next blows.
Zeldaris twirled his club, crimson aura spiraling upward like a tornado. He stomped once, and a massive scarlet circle erupted beneath his feet, layered with jagged runes. The volcano itself seemed to roar in answer.
"[Crimson Ruin Tempest]!"
He swung his club in a full arc, unleashing a storm of flaming shockwaves. The sky rained fire, molten rocks tore free from the mountain, and the ground split into spirals of destruction.
Fernando raised his sword with one hand, his expression calm but his aura overwhelming. Black fog billowed from his body, snuffing out the firestorm as if night itself had descended.
"Begone." His voice was low, sharp, final.
Behind him, three concentric black circles spun into existence, layered with glowing runes that bled into the air. He slashed upward.
"[Oblivion Howl]!"
A massive blade of shadow, shaped like a roaring wolf's maw, devoured the storm. Fire and lava bent inward, dragged screaming into the abyss. The shockwave cleaved through Zeldaris' attack and roared toward him.
The commander planted his feet, laughing wildly. He slammed his club down, forcing a blood-red barrier into existence. The wolf's shadow jaws crushed against it, cracks spreading like spiderwebs. With a guttural roar, Zeldaris broke free, his club glowing hotter than molten steel.
"Good! GOOD! Show me more, Dark King!"
---
Fernando exhaled slowly. His sword pulsed with black veins, shadows thickening until the very ground melted around his feet. He raised it overhead, runes glowing like stars across the blade.
"Fall into darkness eternal— [Void Burial]!"
He swung. A towering wave of darkness, like a tidal flood of black water filled with eyes, surged forward. The wails of countless voices echoed within it, chilling the souls of every dark mage watching.
The Disaster, witnessing from the sidelines, trembled. Even Kur, the calmest of them, muttered in horror:
"T-That's… not magic. That's a calamity."
---
But Zeldaris didn't falter. His body glowed crimson, tattoos burning like brands as his magic spiked even higher. Lava surged upward around him, as if answering his call. He raised his club with both hands, veins bulging, eyes wild with ecstasy.
"If your darkness wants to bury me…" he grinned savagely, "then I'll shatter it with the fury of the gods!"
His aura exploded, and a colossal scarlet circle spun beneath him, feeding rivers of magma into its core.
"[Demonflame Catastrophe]!"
He swung down with all his might.
The club struck the ground — and the volcano itself erupted. Rivers of fire surged skyward, forming a wall of molten fury that clashed head-on with the Void Burial.
Darkness and fire screamed against each other, shaking the heavens. Black lightning crackled across the battlefield. The volcano groaned like a beast in agony. The sky split open with storms of shadow and flame.
---
Both men stood in the eye of the chaos, weapons locked, grins savage.
This was no battle of mages.
This was war between kings.
-
---
The battlefield was drowning in fire and shadow.
Fernando and Zeldaris clashed one last time, sparks of crimson and black tearing through the volcanic night.
Fernando roared, his sword coated in condensed darkness so dense it seemed to bend reality.
"[Eclipse Severance]!"
He cut straight through Zeldaris' guard. The requip club shattered in two, and the blade sank deep across his chest, slicing through bone and muscle. Blood erupted, painting the volcanic ground black-red.
The arena froze. Even the volcanoes fell silent for a moment.
Zeldaris staggered back, crimson pouring from his wound, his body trembling. Yet… he smiled. His grin widened into laughter, mad and triumphant.
"HAHAHA! You are truly strong, Dark King! Stronger than the rumors. You could have killed me…" He coughed blood, wiping it away with the back of his hand, "But you don't understand."
He raised his head, eyes glowing scarlet like furnaces.
"There was never a need for me to fight you with weapons."
Fernando's eyes narrowed. His aura darkened.
"…What do you mean?"
Zeldaris spread his arms wide, blood dripping from his chest, his voice echoing with an unholy resonance.
"You forced me, Dark King! Forced me to use the magic that crushed kingdoms, the magic that made even the Magic Council whisper my name with dread!"
His laughter shook the heavens. His cloak fell away, revealing his heavily tattooed body, the scars of a hundred battles. The bone chain around his neck began to glow with searing crimson light.
Then, with a guttural roar, he slammed his palm into the volcanic ground.
The earth cracked apart.
Massive, charred runes carved themselves into the battlefield, forming a colossal magic circle that spread outward for hundreds of meters. The air grew heavy, suffocating, vibrating with power older than any mortal spell.
Fernando's eyes widened as the air filled with the smell of brimstone, death, and burnt flesh.
Zeldaris bellowed, his voice inhuman now:
"[Infernal Pact: Cerberus Dominion]!"
The volcanoes around them exploded violently, rivers of lava cascading down like blood from the sky. From the depths of the cracked earth, chains of molten bone shot upward, pulling something colossal and monstrous into the world.
A roar tore the night apart — three roars, overlapping, shaking every soul within miles.
The Cerberus had awakened.
A hulking beast of shadow and flame rose, three massive heads with jaws dripping lava and eyes glowing like suns of hatred. Its fur was made of burning embers and molten rock, its claws like obsidian blades. It growled, and the very earth bent beneath its weight.
The Disasters fell to their knees in awe. Even they trembled.
Zeldaris, still bleeding, still smiling through his madness, raised his hand as if he were a god commanding creation itself.
"Now, Fernando… let me show you despair. You fought me at my weakest, and still I stand. But this…" He pointed toward the Dark King, voice dripping with sadistic pride.
"…This is what it means to fight Zeldaris, Master of Cerberus!"
The beast roared again, flame and darkness spilling from its three jaws, shaking the entire volcanic range.
---