Almond's contemptuous laughter echoed through the ruined forest.
The sound cut straight into the pride of Lumber and Gumber. They immediately gripped their spears, crouching low in a combat stance.
"Ready, Gumber?"
"Yes."
The moment the words left their lips, the ground beneath them exploded. Their figures vanished from sight, leaving only faint trails of dust and the whistle of wind tearing through the air. They moved with such velocity that not even a shadow remained.
Almond curled his lip.
"What is this? A dying fish trying to struggle?"
He lifted his colossal greatsword with a single hand, his movements leisurely as if he barely cared he was in a fight. He swung a single stroke forward.
"Empire Slash. Sky Splitter!"
The air itself was rent asunder.
An invisible shockwave of force tore forward, slicing through the forest. Giant mushroom trunks snapped like dry grass. The earth split into a deep trench, dozens of meters wide and stretching hundreds of meters long.
From above, Lumber was already in position, plummeting like a lightning bolt aimed directly at Almond's head. The spear in his hand spun rapidly, its tip glowing with a fierce, blinding light.
"Piercing Spear!"
The spearhead dove toward Almond's head. But the demon simply swung his blade upward. The greatsword met the strike in a split second, blocking it cold. The resulting pressure sent a tremor through the surrounding air.
"Too weak!"
Almond flicked his wrist with overwhelming force. Lumber was sent flying into the sky like a weightless piece of wood.
The greatsword continued its momentum, spinning in a lethal arc.
"Empire Slash. Madness Dance!"
The circular slash expanded like a vortex of steel. Gumber, who was charging in, was forced to twist his body to dodge, but the sheer force of the sweep caused him to lose his footing.
"Dammit!"
His body began to plummet toward the ground. Almond, hovering above, continued his mockery.
"You thought you could sneak up on me with just that? Idiots."
Almond sneered. He kicked off the air, his hulking frame soaring upward as he swung his blade toward Lumber, who was still suspended helplessly in mid-air.
On the other side of the battlefield, Shinji was straining every muscle to block Kriz's relentless strikes. Their blades clashed repeatedly.
"Hang in there, Kriz! I'll save you!"
But the only response was a sob.
"Please... kill me... please..."
There was no killing intent in Kriz's strikes, yet his body was being controled, forced to stay on the offensive.
Omelet sat slumped on the ground, clutching his head. Tears fell without end. He didn't see the battlefield—he saw the past.
Lio could no longer endure it. He swung his sword, sending a wave of sword aura shrieking through the air toward Cashew.
But before it could even reach her, the strike was sliced into three by silver string so thin they were practically invisible.
Cashew let out a giggle.
"How brave."
She glided past Lio like a shadow. In that heartbeat, countless silver strings rose from the empty air, binding his limbs tight. They constricted. Blood began to seep through his clothes.
Cashew stepped toward Omelet.
"Lord Almond once said... an fairy escaped us years ago."
She pointed a wing directly at him.
"It's you, isn't it?"
From the tips of her wing feathers, a slender thread slowly emerged, shimmering with a metallic glint.
"Dancing String. White Arrow!"
The string shot forward, faster than the human eye could track. Shinji lunged, pulling Omelet into a tight embrace as they rolled out of the way.
Boom!
The impact left a jagged crater in the earth. Cashew's amusement only grew.
The moment Shinji set Omelet down, Kriz appeared behind them. An sword swept through the air. Shinji tilted his body to evade, clutching Omelet as he continued to run.
"Omelet! What's wrong with you? If you keep giving up, you're going to die!"
But Omelet only wept, his lips trembling without a sound.
Suddenly, a figure appeared directly in their path. An Anteria soldier. The stone axe swung down. Shinji didn't have time to dodge.
The blade bit deep into his wrist. Blood splattered across the ground, and the sudden, searing pain caused his grip to fail. Omelet fell to the ground.
Elsewhere. White. Nothing but pure white.
Akidou bolted upright, his head feeling as though it had been crushed. Beside him lay Alba, still unconscious. Before them sat a winged demon, deep in sleep.
"What the hell is this..."
The white room felt endless, with no visible corners. In the distance, a jagged hole allowed light to pour in like a doorway to the outside.
Akidou tried to shake Alba awake, but it was futile. He stood up, staggering toward the light. The demon's eyes snapped open. A roar tore through the space as it lunged upward. Long claws swiped forward, raking deep gashes into the floor.
"Shut up!"
Akidou slipped past the strike, circling behind to lock his arm around its throat. The demon struggled frantically, clawing the air and pecking with its sharp beak. But eventually, it went limp.
Akidou let go, gasping for breath. "Where did that giant demon from before go...?"
He stepped toward the hole and froze. He was inside a massive cloud, drifting high in the sky.
"This cloud... it looks just like the one that fell earlier."
From hundreds of meters up, he looked down. The Perga tree had been toppled. Its colossal trunk lay prone, crushing half the forest beneath it.
"What? It was... it was perfectly fine just a moment ago..."
A hiss sounded from behind. The demon wasn't dead. It lunged, claws aimed straight for Akidou's back. He spun, stepping to the side just in time.
Carried by its own momentum, the demon flew past the edge, plummeting straight into the abyss below. Akidou stood at the precipice, staring down into the howling void. The wind whipped violently against him.
"This is bad... I have no idea where everyone is."