Eastern Ruins of Nareth
Aether still stood before the six transparent cubes he had created.
His gaze wasn’t completely calm yet.
His breathing was still heavy.
But…
the most striking thing wasn’t that.
It was…
the white-gold light still pulsing faintly across the back of his right hand.
Meanwhile…
in the distance…
the Arc Sage stared at him for several seconds.
Then…
without changing expression, he raised one hand.
“Accelerate the ritual.”
The Mages inside the Barrier immediately tensed.
A few of them glanced toward Aether.
But the Arc Sage gave them no time to hesitate.
“Don’t worry. He’s only just awakened.”
“You’re still under my protection.”
The Mages’ Mana immediately surged faster into the magic circle.
The ancient runes burned brighter.
The gate at the center of the ruins rippled violently.
The Arc Sage turned toward the three remaining Executives.
“Don’t give him even a second to understand his power.”
The three Novus Executives, who had been momentarily shaken by Aether’s explosion, exchanged glances.
None of them looked panicked.
They simply assessed.
Analyzed.
And understood…
that the newly awakened opponent still had no idea how to use his power.
One of them smirked slightly.
A Fighter.
The Vestige Mark on the back of his hand lit up brightly.
“He’s just awakened.”
“But his Mana is already this massive.”
“Then we have to crush him before he becomes an even bigger nuisance later.”
As he stepped forward…
the ground beneath his feet cracked.
The air around him seemed to explode under the pressure radiating from his body.
Authority of Impact.
He didn’t control the ground.
He didn’t control the earth.
He controlled…
the impact itself.
Every step carried momentum that could be unleashed as a devastating force.
On the other side…
the second Executive moved without a sound.
An Assassin.
Almost impossible to detect when standing still.
The Vestige Mark on his hand shimmered faintly.
Authority of Silence.
Every sound around him slowly vanished.
His footsteps.
The rustle of his clothes.
Even the sound of the air moving.
Everything disappeared.
Behind them…
the third Executive raised his palm.
A Mage.
His breathing remained steady.
Yet the Mana surrounding his body vibrated rapidly.
Authority of Resonance.
The Mana in the air began to hum.
The vibrations thickened.
As though every tiny object in the ruins could shatter from a single wrong frequency.
Kael’s eyes widened.
“…All of them…”
Doran gritted his teeth.
Lyra had even forgotten to wipe the tears from her cheeks.
Mira stared at them with a pale face.
Aether was still gripping Rowan’s sword.
The Vestige Mark on his right hand pulsed softly.
He still didn’t understand what had happened.
He didn’t know how to use this power.
He only knew one thing.
They were coming.
And…
they wanted to kill everyone here.
The Fighter smirked.
“Look at his face.”
“He really did just awaken.”
The Assassin on the left spoke flatly.
“Don’t give him a chance to learn.”
The Mage behind them raised one hand.
“If he wants to protect them…”
“…then break his mind first.”
All three charged forward.
At the same time.
BOOOM!!
The pressure from Authority of Impact slammed into the ground.
The Fighter appeared directly in front of Aether.
Too fast.
Aether’s sword rose on reflex.
CLAAANG!!
The first collision shattered the stone beneath Aether’s feet.
His hand trembled violently.
Yet…
he didn’t retreat.
The Executive was slightly surprised.
“Hm?”
Aether gritted his teeth.
Not because he understood the technique.
But because his body…
refused to fall.
In a fraction of a second…
the Assassin vanished from the right.
All sound around them remained absent.
Aether didn’t sense him through hearing.
He sensed him…
through the movement of the air.
He twisted his body.
CLANG!!
Rowan’s sword deflected a slash that should have taken his head.
The Assassin Executive widened his eyes slightly.
“Heh…”
“So he can still dodge?”
Before Aether could even breathe…
a powerful vibration swept through the air.
The Mage behind them activated Authority of Resonance.
Hum…
Every pebble around the ruins began to tremble.
The runes etched into the ground resonated as well.
Aether immediately felt his chest tighten.
His movements slowed for a fraction of a second.
That was enough.
The Fighter in front of him pushed forward.
CLAAANG!!
Aether’s sword was knocked half a foot away from his body.
Then the next step slammed into the ground. This chapter is updated first at g.com.
BOOOM!!
Aether was driven several meters backward.
Yet he allowed himself to fall with one knee bent.
He didn’t let go of his sword.
His eyes sharpened again.
Not because he suddenly understood everything.
But because his body…
refused to surrender.
Kael froze for a moment.
“…Aether…”
Doran stared at him as well.
“…He’s still standing…”
Mira stared at the white-gold light on Aether’s right hand, her eyes wide.
Lyra herself stopped crying for a moment.
Even through the shock of Finn’s death…
she could still feel something different.
Warmth.
Not pressure.
Not danger.
But…
Aether’s Mana felt strangely comforting.
Meanwhile…
Aether drew a breath.
The back of his right hand pulsed again.
He lowered his gaze for a moment while continuing to evade attacks from all three Novus Executives.
His eyes fell upon the symbol that had appeared on his hand.
“…What…”
“…am I supposed to do?”
There was no answer.
Of course there wasn’t.
Yet the moment he said that…
the Novus Fighter charged again.
This time harder.
More brutal.
The Vestige Mark on his hand shone even brighter.
Authority of Impact.
“If you don’t understand how to use your power yet…”
“…then get out of our way, brat!”
His body crashed forward.
The entire ruin seemed to be struck by an invisible explosion.
Aether raised his sword.
CLAAANG!!
The impact nearly shattered his arm.
But…
at that exact moment…
Aether felt something.
Not an explanation.
Not a memory.
Only…
a single, simple impulse.
If I can’t stop them with my sword…
then I’ll create something that can.
Inside Aether’s mind:
Create…
create…
Ah…
how am I supposed to use this Authority?
He thought desperately.
Meanwhile…
the white-gold Mana on the back of his right hand began pulsing harder.
It had no shape yet.
It wasn’t real yet.
But…
it was enough to make the air around him change.
The Arc Sage looked toward Aether again.
For the first time…
he felt something that disturbed his usually calm expression.
“His Mana is far too large for a newly awakened Vestiger…”
“This is anything but ordinary…”
The Arc Sage strengthened his Barrier once more.
He had no intention of being dragged into the battle.
The three Novus Executives stopped for a brief moment as well.
They didn’t know what was beginning to grow inside the young man.
But their instincts screamed.
Danger.
Aether himself still didn’t understand his Vestige.
He simply tightened his grip on his sword.
Then…
stepped forward.
As someone who had just discovered one undeniable truth.
He didn’t want to lose.
And…
he would find a way to protect them.
CLAAANG!!
Aether’s sword collided with the Novus Fighter’s blade again.
The impact sent a shock through his arm and all the way to his shoulder, yet he held his ground.
Too fast.
Too strong.
Too relentless.
The Executive in front of him smirked.
“BRAT!! You just awakened, and you already dare stand before me!?”
“How dare a rookie like you interfere with Project EDEN!”
“DIE!”
His sword pressed down again.
Aether was forced back half a step.
Then another.
But through the pressure that nearly crushed the breath from his lungs, his eyes briefly glanced behind him.
And he saw them.
Kael.
Lyra.
Doran.
Mira.
They were safe.
All of them were inside the Perfect Cubes he had created on instinct.
Behind the transparent walls…
two bodies lay motionless.
Finn’s body.
Rowan’s body.
Lyra was still sitting there, slowly recovering.
Kael stood on guard.
Doran watched the other side.
Mira remained alert, making sure everything stayed under control.
The clear walls of the cubes still stood firmly in the middle of the ruins, reflecting the faint glow of the magic spinning around them.
Wild attacks from outside slammed against their surfaces…
only to bounce away without leaving a mark.
Aether fell silent for a moment.
“…”
They’re safe.
That one simple thought immediately eased the pressure in his chest.
Lyra was still sitting there, but she was slowly recovering.
Kael and Doran remained standing within the protection.
Mira continued watching over them.
And behind the Perfect Cubes, Finn and Rowan’s bodies remained protected while the living still held on.
Aether gritted his teeth.
He turned his attention back to his opponent.
His sword blocked the next slash.
CLANG!!
“What exactly…”
“…is this power!?”
Slash after slash continued crashing against his blade.
“How am I supposed to use it!?”
There was no answer in his mind.
Only the relentless pressure bearing down on him.
BOOOM!!
Another impact drove Aether backward.
His breathing grew heavier.
Without realizing it, his eyes drifted toward the ruins.
Toward the fragments of metal Rowan had controlled earlier.
The storm of steel that had once held back three Apexes at once.
“…If only…”
“…I had power like Mr. Rowan…”
The thought had barely crossed his mind.
Hum…
A sword slowly appeared…
behind Aether.
Floating in midair.
“…?”
Aether froze.
Then…
a second sword.
Third.
Fifth.
Tenth.
Dozens.
Hum…
Hum…
Hum…
White-silver swords began appearing from empty space.
They hadn’t been lifted from the ground.
They hadn’t come from the ruins.
They were…
truly being created.
The three Novus Executives immediately halted.
“…What?”
Kael’s eyes widened.
“Those…”
Doran stared in disbelief.
“Don’t those look like Mr. Rowan’s Vestige…?”
Lyra slowly raised her head.
Tears still streaked her cheeks.
But…
her eyes were now filled with shock.
The swords continued multiplying.
Dozens.
Hundreds.
They didn’t stop.
The sky behind Aether slowly changed.
It filled with a sea of blades.
As if…
the sky itself had become an armory.
Aether looked over his shoulder.
“…”
Then he looked back at his hand.
White-gold Mana continued flowing from him without end.
“…I see…”
“…so this is how I use it…”
The Mage Executive immediately shouted.
“Don’t let him finish!”
“Break through now!”
All three charged simultaneously.
Faster than before.
The Fighter from the front.
The Assassin from the right.
The Mage attacking from behind with a wave of Resonance.
BOOOM!!
Aether didn’t retreat.
He raised his sword.
And…
without realizing it, he swung his left hand.
In an instant—
WHISSH!!
The dozens of swords in the sky moved as well.
As though they were directly connected to his will.
The Fighter Executive’s eyes widened.
“…!!”
CLAAANG!!
Dozens of blades crashed into him at once.
The air exploded with the sound of steel.
BOOOOM!!
For the first time since the battle began…
the Executive was forced backward.
Before he could stabilize himself—
WHISSH!!
A second wave descended.
Not dozens.
Hundreds.
Like a meteor shower made of steel.
CLANG!!
CLANG!!
CLANG!!
The Assassin vanished.
Appeared.
Vanished again.
His sword moved like lightning.
But…
there were simply too many blades.
For every sword he cut down…
ten more were already coming.
The Mage immediately formed multiple layers of Mana Barriers.
BOOOOM!!
The first layer shattered.
BOOOOM!!
The second cracked.
BOOOOM!!
The third exploded into countless fragments.
The three Executives…
for the first time…
were forced onto the defensive.
Kael could only stare at the sky.
“…”
Doran had even forgotten to breathe.
“…Impossible…”
Lyra looked up at the sea of swords filling the heavens.
The number…
was already far beyond Rowan’s.
It wasn’t just hundreds anymore.
It was…
thousands.
And…
with every passing second…
the number continued to grow.