Javier swallowed hard.
For the first time in his life, he was standing face to face with a Devil.
The thing that had once been Framon continued to change before him, its distorted body barely resembling the noble who had stood in the tunnel only moments earlier.
Dark crimson mana poured from its flesh in violent waves, pressing against Javier’s senses with such intensity that even breathing had become difficult.
The air itself seemed to tremble beneath the creature’s presence, while loose fragments of stone shifted across the floor with every pulse of its mana.
“Alaric…”
Javier immediately extended his Mana Detection toward the collapsed wall.
His awareness travelled through the broken stone, searching beneath layers of rubble until something faint finally reached him.
Thump…
A heartbeat.
Javier held his breath and concentrated harder.
Thump…
Weak, painfully slow, but still there.
Alaric was alive.
Javier’s hands tightened around his sword.
Every instinct urged him to rush toward the rubble and pull Alaric free, but the sounds of battle surrounding him made it impossible.
Hans and the remaining soldiers were desperately trying to contain Framon, while the creature tore through everything that approached it.
Steel struck flesh, soldiers shouted warnings to one another, and the oppressive pressure of Devil mana continued spreading through the passage.
If Framon escaped from the tunnel, there would be nothing between him and Srivi.
Javier’s breathing grew heavier.
Children.
The elderly.
Families sleeping in their homes without knowing what was happening beneath their city.
People who had already suffered through hunger, corruption and years of neglect would suddenly find themselves facing something they had no chance of surviving.
No…
His grip around the sword tightened until his knuckles ached.
If that creature gets out of here, how many people will die?
For the first time since the battle began, the sword in his hand felt unbearably heavy.
Javier tried to think of an answer, some strategy that could stop Framon before he reached the surface, but every possibility seemed to disappear beneath the pressure crushing his thoughts.
What am I supposed to do?
Another impact shook the tunnel.
What if I fail?
Someone screamed nearby.
What if I’m not strong enough?
The sounds surrounding Javier gradually became distant.
His Mana Detection, normally so precise, began losing focus as fear tightened around his chest.
Framon’s overwhelming presence consumed everything he could sense.
The soldiers fighting around him, Alaric beneath the rubble, the walls of the tunnel itself; all of it seemed to blur beneath the same thought repeating endlessly inside his mind.
Then something struck his cheek.
PAP!
Javier jolted.
Before he could understand what had happened, another slap landed across the opposite side of his face.
PAP!
“Your Highness!”
Elena stood directly before him.
Her entire body was trembling, and even the hand she had raised against him shook violently.
Fear was written across her face, yet she refused to move away.
“Didn’t you make a promise?” Her voice trembled as she forced the words out.
“You said you wanted to protect the people of Srivi.”
Javier remained silent.
“So wake up, Your Highness!” Elena’s voice rose above the chaos.
She glanced toward Framon before looking back at Javier.
“You’re in the middle of a battle! I’m scared too. I’m terrified of dying.” She swallowed hard, struggling to steady herself.
“But if you keep standing here like this, everyone is going to die!”
Her words cut through the fear clouding Javier’s thoughts.
He turned his attention toward the rubble once more.
Thump…
Alaric was still alive.
The man had placed himself between Javier and a Devil without hesitation, knowing perfectly well that he might die.
Around him, soldiers who had every reason to be terrified were still holding their ground.
Even Elena, whose body had not stopped trembling, had forced herself to move.
And Javier had allowed fear to paralyze him.
What am I doing?
He drew a slow breath.
Then another.
The chaos around him gradually became clear again.
Steel.
Footsteps.
Heartbeats.
Framon’s monstrous breathing.
The movements of the soldiers.
Every sound returned to its proper place as Javier forced his Mana Detection back under control.
“Thank you, Elena.”
Elena stared at him.
“Get the injured somewhere safe. Alaric too, if you can reach him.” Javier turned toward Framon, his posture straightening as he raised his sword.
“I’ll take care of this.”
“Hans!”
Javier’s voice carried through the tunnel.
Hans immediately turned toward him.
He could not hear Javier’s shout, but the familiar touch of Javier’s mana reached him through the chaos, drawing his attention toward the Crown Prince several meters away.
Javier deliberately faced him so Hans could read his lips.
Give me some time.
Hans’s eyes narrowed.
Hold Framon back.
I’m going to use my final technique.
For a moment, Hans simply watched him.
Then he gave a firm nod.
Alright.
Before either of them could move, a sickening crack tore through the tunnel.
CRACK!
Framon threw his head backward as two black horns slowly forced their way through his skull.
His muscles swelled beneath his dark crimson flesh, while the veins covering his body pulsed violently with every surge of Devil mana.
Something shifted beneath the skin of his back, pushing outward hard enough to distort his entire upper body.
KRRRKKK…
Flesh split open across his back.
“GRAAAAAAAAHHHHH!”
BOOOM!
A massive pair of wings burst from Framon’s body.
Blood and fragments of torn flesh scattered across the stone as the wings spread violently, nearly filling the width of the tunnel.
Dust exploded from the walls beneath the force of their movement, and several soldiers were forced to lower themselves as a powerful gust swept through the passage.
Hans’s eyes widened.
He’s actually becoming a complete Devil.
Framon beat his wings again.
The enormous body began lifting from the ground.
Hans immediately understood what he was attempting to do.
If Framon reached the surface, the battle would no longer remain contained beneath Srivi.
He shifted his stance and prepared to intercept him when sudden movement at the edge of his vision made him turn.
Alice.
Framon’s enormous hand had closed around her body.
Alice struggled desperately as he lifted her from the ground, her legs kicking uselessly beneath her.
His fingers tightened around her torso, and pain twisted across her face.
Hans froze.
Alice!
He launched himself toward her, but Framon swung his free arm across the tunnel.
Hans twisted aside before the blow could strike him directly, yet the force alone sent him staggering several steps backward.
Alice looked toward him.
“Hans…”
Her voice could never reach him.
But Hans saw her lips.
He shook his head immediately.
No.
Alice’s expression softened.
“Hans, run.”
No!
Hans surged forward again.
Framon’s wing swept across his path, forcing him backward as fragments of stone exploded from the wall beside him.
Hans recovered almost instantly, but when he looked toward Alice again, one of her trembling hands had already slipped beneath her clothes.
She pulled out a small bottle.
Hans recognized it immediately.
A potion…?
Alice removed the stopper.
Her hand trembled so badly that some of the liquid spilled across her fingers, but she never looked away from Hans.
“Hans…”
He read his name from her lips.
Something inside him went cold.
Alice gave him one final smile.
Then she drank every drop.
Hans’s eyes widened.
Framon opened his jaws.
No.
Alice disappeared between rows of razor-sharp teeth.
Framon swallowed.
Hans stopped moving.
Alice…
His eyes remained fixed upon Framon, but he no longer saw the creature clearly.
The soldiers moving around him became distant shapes.
The vibration of steel striking stone vanished beneath the emptiness filling his mind.
Alice was gone.
Then Framon’s body convulsed.
BOOOOOOM!
An explosion erupted from inside the Devil.
Framon staggered violently as his enormous body twisted beneath the internal blast.
Dark blood burst from his mouth, and the wings that had nearly completed their transformation suddenly spasmed.
One folded inward while the other struck the tunnel wall, preventing him from gaining enough control to escape toward the surface.
Alice had known exactly what she was doing.
Hans slowly lowered his head.
His shoulders trembled.
Tears streamed silently down his face.
No…
His fingers curled until his nails dug into his palms.
Alice died…
Mana began leaking from his body.
At first, it was little more than a faint pressure around his feet.
Then the stone beneath him cracked.
BOOOOOOM!
A massive eruption of mana exploded from Hans’s body.
Dust and debris blasted outward as his cloak whipped violently behind him.
His eyes turned completely white, and the pressure surrounding him became so intense that nearby soldiers were forced to shield themselves.
Blades began appearing around him.
SHING!
SHING!
SHING!
Ten.
Twenty.
Fifty.
More continued to rise.
Knives emerged from beneath his cloak and from across the battlefield, answering his Mana Control as they lifted into the air.
The number continued increasing until hundreds surrounded him, then more still, filling the tunnel with countless edges suspended beneath his will.
Within moments, thousands of blades occupied the darkness.
Hans slowly raised one hand.
Every knife responded.
The blades began rotating around him in an enormous circular formation, moving faster with every passing second.
White mana flowed across their surfaces until the entire tunnel was illuminated by their radiance.
The soldiers nearest Hans backed away as the pressure continued to rise.
Then the formation changed.
SHIIIIING!
Thousands of blades converged above him.
One after another, they locked together beneath Hans’s control.
Metal folded into metal, countless edges aligning with impossible precision as the storm of knives gradually formed something far larger.
A sword.
An enormous blade of brilliant white mana stretched across the tunnel above Hans, constructed from thousands of smaller weapons held together by sheer Mana Control.
Countless knives continued rotating around its surface like a storm of steel, their movement producing a violent hum that caused the surrounding walls to tremble.
Hans stood beneath it with tears still running down his face.
There was no hesitation left in his expression.
Only grief.
And rage.
His white eyes remained fixed upon Framon.
Alice…
Hans raised his hand higher.
This is for you.
The colossal sword began vibrating.
Cracks spread through the stone beneath Hans’s feet as every remaining trace of mana within his body poured into the formation.
The thousands of blades surrounding the weapon accelerated until their individual shapes could barely be distinguished.
MANA DIVINE.
The pressure exploded outward.
THOUSAND BLADES!
White mana surged through the entire formation, illuminating the blood-covered tunnel as though daylight itself had erupted beneath the earth.
Framon turned toward Hans, his black eyes widening as the colossal weapon rose above him.
Hans’s fingers trembled.
Then his hand came down.
GOD SWORD!!
ZHUUUUSH!!
The colossal blade descended.
Thousands of knives spiralled around it like a violent vortex, tearing through the darkness as the sword crashed toward Framon with overwhelming force.
BOOOOOOM!!!