The wind howled across the plains of the Land of Spade as the Valiant Blades stood face-to-face with Darius Kaine and his mysterious ally. Dust swirled between them as Drayke wasted no time, launching the first attack.
In a blur, Drayke appeared beside the shadowed figure and unleashed Ember Strike, channeling explosive heat energy into the tip of his blade. The attack detonated on impact, engulfing the figure in flames, but Drayke wasn’t finished. He followed it up with Dragon’s Fury, his strikes becoming a relentless barrage of fire and fury, slashing at the figure repeatedly.
However, something was wrong. The figure took every hit without flinching, no damage visible despite the devastating onslaught.
"Drayke, fall back!" Commander Aiden shouted, sensing the danger. But it was too late. The very attacks Drayke had sent out were suddenly reflected back onto him, with double the force. The fiery slashes hit Drayke head-on, sending him crashing to the ground, critically injured.
Darius wasted no time and lunged forward with his Shadowsteel Blade, aiming to finish Drayke off. But in an instant, Windrider was there, using Zephyr Step to intercept, her Gale Blade clashing against Darius’s attack. Her sword, infused with the power of the wind, sent sharp currents through the air, holding Darius back.
At the same time, Commander Aiden appeared beside the shadowed figure, slashing with his Omnistron Sword, its molecular-level adaptability absorbing the dark energy surrounding the figure. The sword’s edge, capable of cutting through reality itself, sliced through the figure with a devastating attack. The force of the slash sent the figure hurtling backward, crashing into the ground with a shockwave of dust and debris.
"Not done yet," Ashford called out as he leapt high into the air, his Stonebreaker Blade glowing with immense power. With a single strike, he stabbed the figure, the ground quaking beneath the weight of his sword’s force. The impact shattered the land, causing cracks to spread out from where the figure landed.
Darius attempted to react, but was stopped by a sudden, massive explosion. Drayke, having summoned the power of Dragonheart, roared as he unleashed his full strength. His eyes glowed with fiery intensity, and he appeared beside Darius, slashing him with a powerful strike, Inferno Slash. His Draconic Blade, burning with dragonfire, left a trail of flames as it cut through Darius’s defenses.
Windrider followed up immediately, using Wind Slash, sending a crescent-shaped blade of wind hurtling toward Darius. The combined assault seemed overwhelming as both Darius and the shadowed figure were consumed by the relentless attacks.
For a moment, it seemed the battle was over.
But then, a chilling aura filled the air. The shadowed figure began to rise, dark energy swirling around her as the shadows peeled away from her face. Her eyes gleamed with malice, and her true identity was revealed—Nyxara Tenebris, the 6th member of The Eclipse Sovereignty.
"You should have finished us when you had the chance," she taunted, her voice dripping with menace. "You’ll never get another opportunity like that again."
Meanwhile, back in Vandros, the battle against the demons had come to a close. Captain Doran and Kiera were nowhere to be found as they had left for somewhere else already.
In the aftermath, Captain Elowen contacted the Sensory Planet, giving them an update on the situation. The other captains, except for Captain Doran, joined the call, weighing in on the current state of affairs.
Captain Arcturus addressed the group. "Captain Voss, stay on top of the universe’s defense. We need to make sure this threat has been fully neutralized."
Captain Voss responded, his tone professional. "Understood. We already ran a universal scan earlier, and everything came up clear."
As the captains continued their discussion, the scene shifted to a distant village on the Healing Planet. The village, once peaceful and thriving, was now eerily quiet. The air was thick with the purple aura of the Ultimate Abyss, and the entire village was dead, its inhabitants lying motionless as the dark energy consumed everything.
The chapter ended there, with the unsettling realization that while the immediate threat may have passed, the darkness was far from over. The corruption had already spread, its tendrils reaching deeper into the universes.
ns 172.70.134.143da2