The night sky was covered with thin clouds, through which the cold, pale light of the full moon finally reached the ground. Two shadows sprinted rapidly across the terrain—Leo and Chris. Their hearts raced with a strange sense of dread and an intense awareness of Ray's presence nearby.
As they ran, one name echoed repeatedly in Leo's mind—that mysterious ritual.
Chris turned his head while keeping up the pace. A faint, relieved smile touched his face, "Finally, Leo! You've unlocked your element. That's incredible!"
Leo kept his eyes fixed ahead, answering with a mix of surprise, "I honestly don't know how it happened, Chris... I was just swinging my Katana, and suddenly my Aura and Fire element fused together."
"You seem happy, and honestly, you're getting stronger by the day," Chris teased with a light chuckle.
A small smile appeared on Leo's face. He raised his gaze ahead—and in an instant, his smile vanished. His eyes widened in horror.
Before them lay the lifeless body of a cultist. The torso rested on the ground while the head lay a short distance away. As Leo's eyes shifted from the corpse, he spotted Ray. Ray was severely injured, blood dripping heavily from his right arm.
Standing directly opposite Ray was a figure no one could have anticipated. He wore a long, flowing robe. His face was not hidden by cloth, but obscured by shadows. Held tightly in his hands was a small, innocent child... crying uncontrollably.
Ray glanced back at Leo, scoffing weakly, "Took you long enough..."
"I'm sorry, Ray!" Leo apologized immediately, gripping the hilt of his Katana tightly. Every muscle in his body braced for combat. "Ray, who is this?!"
Ray's eyes burned with hatred. "He's the man behind this entire ritual. It's none other than... our Professor, Marcus Reed."
Leo's ears perked up. His mind went completely blank.
Marcus stepped forward into the light, his eyes cold and emotionless. "You two have come much further than I anticipated. I didn't expect my own students to interrupt such a grand ritual."
"Professor Marcus... what are you doing?!" Leo shouted.
Marcus looked at Leo with a pitying gaze and laughed softly, "You still call me Professor? How loyal you are to your teachers!"
At the sound of Marcus's laugh, the child cried even harder out of fear. Marcus gently patted the child's head, whispering softly, "Shh... don't cry. You're going to be useful to us soon. You're going to save this world with your life... so don't cry."
"That's enough!" Leo unsheathed his Katana with a sharp flick and charged toward Marcus at terrifying speed.
Marcus merely let out a cold sigh. Using his Blood Magic, he launched several blood spheres directly at Leo. As the spheres drew near, hidden daggers burst out from within them, triggering a massive explosion!
Leo leapt backward just in time, narrowly escaping the blast. Right then, Chris stepped forward. The playful look on his face was entirely gone.
"Leo, tell me later what connection you have with this Marcus... right now, I need to put him down," Chris said firmly.
Thick black smoke began to pour from Chris's body. Within seconds, the smoke engulfed the entire area. Marcus stood his ground without a hint of fear, still holding the crying child.
As the smoke cleared, Chris appeared in mid-air right in front of Marcus, winding up a deadly punch! But Marcus remained completely unbothered.
Out of nowhere, a heavy strike caught Chris in mid-air, sending him spinning through the sky before crashing brutally into the ground several feet away.
As the dust settled, Leo and Ray's blood ran cold. The person who had struck Chris was none other than the Captain of the 9th Division Vortan!
Leo's suspicion instantly turned into absolute certainty. "Vortan! You're in league with these monsters too?! What kind of captain are you?!"
Vortan turned his head slightly, speaking in an arrogant tone, "Shut your mouth, kid. Or I'll crush you into the dirt right here and tear out the tongue you're speaking with."
Chris, who had been briefly knocked unconscious by the impact, slowly regained his senses. As he looked up and saw Vortan Wells standing before him... his heart sank. The man he had looked up to as an elder brother was now standing against him as an enemy.
Chris pushed himself up, his legs trembling. "Captain Vortan... what are you doing? Why did you hit me?"
Vortan's face twisted in anger. "Shut up, you useless orphanage trash! You're just a nameless kid with no mother and no father a worthless stray raised on my father's charity!"
Chris felt as though a blade had been driven straight into his chest. The words echoed relentlessly in his mind.
"But... you were like an older brother to me, weren't you?" Chris's voice trembled uncontrollably.
"SHUT UP!" Vortan yelled. "Why would I consider a pathetic orphan like you my brother?! You don't even know whose blood runs in your veins! You were found in a box by the side of the road, adopted by an orphanage built with my father's money. Wherever I went, whichever academy I joined, you followed me around like a plague. You were nothing but an embarrassment to me!"
Every word out of Vortan's mouth shattered Chris from the inside out. His hands began to shake violently as a hollow emptiness consumed him.
Suddenly, Ray leaped into the air from behind, flames bursting from his feet. Aiming straight for Vortan's head, he launched a devastating kick!
Vortan raised his arm effortlessly, blocking the strike. His arm had hardened into a dense, tree-like structure. To Ray, it felt like kicking solid stone.
"Insects like you should just die," Vortan muttered, raising his heavy free hand to finish Ray off.
Just then... a hand made of dense, dark smoke shot forward, catching Vortan's fist in mid-air!
Vortan glanced over. Chris stood there. Tears streamed down his face, but his eyes no longer held pain—only terrifying, absolute rage.
"Yeah... I am an orphan," Chris's voice deepened. "But today, this very orphan is going to be the reason for your downfall!"
With a roar, Chris delivered a brutal punch directly to Vortan's face!
Vortan was sent flying backward. A surge of dense, gray Mana began radiating intensely from Chris's entire body.
Wiping blood from his mouth as he sat up, Vortan flashed a sinister grin. "Looks like the orphan has grown up..."
The clock tower in the center of town rang loudly. At that exact moment, Chris and Vortan charged toward each other.
Chris extended his hand, his black smoke swirling into a 15-foot-long Smoke Dragon. Its glowing red eyes and razor-sharp smoke teeth caused the ground beneath them to tremble. The dragon surged forward at terrifying speed.
Vortan slammed his hand onto the ground. BOOM! The earth cracked open, and thick, thorny roots sprouted out, weaving together into a massive Wooden Dragon covered in deadly wooden spikes.
The two dragons collided in mid-air, scattering smoke and wooden splinters in every direction.
Chris swept both hands forward—Shadow Vortex! A black tornado spun violently, tearing up stone roads, benches, and debris. Vortan countered instantly by summoning a 30-foot Tree Titan, which stepped forward and tore the tornado in half with a single swing of its heavy wooden fist.
Chris grinned, shaping the smoke into ten Smoke Blades that rained down on Vortan. Vortan raised a thick wooden shield, deflecting every blade into harmless embers of smoke.
"Thorn Forest!" Vortan shouted as hundreds of barbed wooden spikes burst from the ground. Chris leaped into the air, turning his entire body into intangible smoke as the spikes passed harmlessly through him.
Reappearing atop the Clock Tower, Chris raised both hands skyward, gathering all available smoke into a gigantic Smoke Serpent that coiled down toward the field. Vortan responded with a World Tree Pillar, slamming a massive trunk directly into the serpent.
The resulting shockwave vibrated through the air, causing the town clock to chime on its own as smoke and shattered wood rained down upon the ruined plaza.
Both fighters were battered and bleeding, yet neither showed a hint of surrender. Vortan's white shirt was torn to shreds, and Chris breathed heavily, drenched in sweat.
Mustering his remaining power, Vortan summoned a monstrous 50-foot World Tree Titan. The giant shook the earth as it lumbered toward Chris.
Chris pulled together every drop of his remaining smoke, preparing his final, most destructive move—Eclipse Smoke Cannon!
A massive beam of black energy blasted straight through Vortan's titan. The wooden monster shattered instantly, and the resulting shockwave wiped out the entire south side of the town! Buildings collapsed, cracks tore through the streets, and heavy smoke blanketed the ruined landscape.
When the dust finally cleared, Vortan lay defeated on the shattered ground.
Chris stepped slowly out of the fading smoke. The destroyed plaza and ruined town stood as testament to his victory. But Chris himself was heavily wounded, his energy completely drained.
He turned his gaze back toward Marcus... where the true horror of the ritual still awaited them.