Chapter 20: The Cracking Seal

Eryndor was falling apart.

Explosions continued throughout the city.

Buildings shook.

Mist-powered machines had stopped working properly, leaving some streets covered in smoke and flickering magical lights.

People were running for safety while adventurers and guards tried to deal with the strange enemies attacking the city.

But the chaos above the streets was only part of the problem.

Far below Eryndor...

Something ancient was beginning to awaken.

Mina vs. Iris

CLANG!

Mina's Crimson Blood Blade collided with Iris's blood dagger.

The two were pushed apart.

Mina slid backward across the stone street.

Iris landed calmly several meters away.

Mina tightened her grip.

Her breathing was becoming heavier.

Iris still looked composed.

“You're persistent.”

Mina wiped some dust from her face.

“And you're annoying.”

Iris raised an eyebrow.

“That's your response?”

“Yep.”

Iris suddenly flicked her hand.

Three blood droplets appeared.

Mina's eyes widened.

“Again?!”

The droplets flew toward her.

Mina immediately rushed forward instead of retreating.

BOOM!

One exploded behind her.

Mina used the explosion's force to propel herself forward.

She swung her Blood Blade.

CLANG!

Iris blocked with her blood dagger.

Mina pushed harder.

“You keep using those explosions to control where I move.”

Iris smiled.

“You noticed.”

“Yeah.”

Mina suddenly kicked the ground.

Blood spread beneath Iris's feet.

Iris's eyes widened.

“Bloodthorn Floor.”

Crimson spikes burst from the ground.

Iris jumped backward.

But Mina had already predicted it.

She rushed forward.

“Got you!”

Iris twisted in midair.

A blood droplet appeared beside Mina.

Mina's eyes widened.

“Wait—”

BOOM!

The explosion forced Mina backward.

She landed on one knee.

Iris landed safely.

Mina stared at her.

“You can place those things anywhere!”

“Yes.”

“That's cheating!”

“It's Blood Magic.”

“That's still cheating!”

Iris almost smiled.

Almost.

Then her expression became serious again.

“You shouldn't interfere with me.”

Mina stood.

“I don't even know what you're trying to do!”

“You don't need to.”

Iris raised her hand.

“But you're already involved.”

Mina's eyes narrowed.

“Then I'll find out myself.”

She rushed forward again.

Nyxhen vs. the Behemoth

Across the city, Nyxhen stood alone before the Gravemaw Behemoth.

Zerav remained against the side of a building, still recovering from the creature's roar.

Nyxhen looked toward him.

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“Stay there.”

Zerav gave him a tired look.

“You're giving orders now?”

“Someone has to.”

Zerav chuckled.

“Fine.”

Nyxhen turned back.

The Behemoth roared.

ROOOOOOOAR!

Nyxhen immediately covered one ear.

The sound still affected him, but he was prepared this time.

His chains shot forward.

SHING!

Noctesgrave's chains wrapped around a nearby building.

Nyxhen pulled himself upward.

The Behemoth swung its massive arm.

BOOM!

The street beneath him shattered.

Nyxhen swung through the air.

He landed on the creature's stone armor.

“Got you.”

He drove Noctesgrave into the stone.

CRACK!

A piece of armor broke.

But the Behemoth reacted instantly.

Stone from a nearby building began floating toward it.

Nyxhen's eye widened.

“It's rebuilding!”

The stones slammed into the damaged area.

THOOM!

The armor became whole again.

Nyxhen jumped away.

“So destroying the armor isn't enough.”

The Behemoth raised both arms.

The surrounding buildings began shaking.

More stone started breaking away.

Nyxhen stared.

“It's going to absorb even more.”

He tightened his grip.

“Then I'll have to attack the source.”

The Behemoth charged.

Nyxhen ran toward it.

“Come on!”

The monster swung.

Nyxhen ducked.

The massive arm passed above him.

He spun Noctesgrave.

The chained scythe struck the creature's leg.

CRACK!

The Behemoth stumbled.

Nyxhen pulled the chain.

“Now!”

He used the chain to swing himself around the creature.

The scythe struck again.

And again.

The Behemoth roared.

But Nyxhen noticed something.

A faint glow beneath the stone armor.

“...What is that?”

Nemi's New Outfit

Meanwhile, Nemi continued fighting the mysterious ice wielder.

Icicles filled the sky.

SHINK! SHINK! SHINK!

Nemi spun her threads around herself.

CLINK! CLINK! CLINK!

The threads knocked the icicles away.

Nemi smiled.

“Much better.”

She stretched both hands.

Threads shot forward.

The enemy raised an ice wall.

Nemi's threads wrapped around it.

She pulled.

The wall cracked.

“Gotcha!”

The ice shattered.

But the enemy had already disappeared.

Nemi blinked.

“Again?”

A cold breeze passed behind her.

Nemi immediately turned.

An ice blade came toward her.

She jumped.

Four thread legs appeared behind her.

She landed on them and moved sideways.

“Still fast.”

The enemy launched another attack.

Nemi extended her threads.

This time, she didn't attack directly.

She wrapped the threads around nearby objects.

A lamp post.

A market sign.

A building corner.

Then she pulled herself forward.

WHOOSH!

Nemi flew through the air.

She landed behind the enemy.

The ice wielder turned.

Nemi smiled.

“Found you.”

Her threads shot forward.

The enemy barely created an ice shield in time.

CRACK!

The shield broke.

Nemi's eyes widened.

“...That was close.”

She looked at her hands.

Then smiled.

“I really am getting better at this.”

Yumiko's Two-Blade Fight

Yumiko stood on the rooftop.

One blade remained in her hand.

The other lay several meters away.

Her injured arm hurt, but she refused to stop.

The armored knight raised its gigantic hammer.

The gunslinger aimed from a distant rooftop.

Yumiko looked between them.

“Close-range and long-range...”

She took a breath.

“I need to separate them.”

The gunslinger fired.

BANG!

Yumiko spread her wings.

She flew upward.

The bullet passed below her.

The knight jumped after her.

Yumiko's eyes widened.

“You can jump that high?!”

The hammer swung.

Yumiko blocked with her remaining blade.

CLANG!

The force pushed her backward through the air.

She quickly recovered.

Then she saw her second blade lying below.

Yumiko smiled.

“I know what to do.”

She dove toward the ground.

The knight followed.

The gunslinger fired again.

Yumiko twisted.

The bullet missed.

She grabbed her second blade.

Then immediately spread her wings.

WHOOSH!

She flew upward.

Now she had both blades again.

The knight raised its hammer.

Yumiko crossed her two blades.

“Let's try this.”

She flew directly toward it.

CLANG!

The knight blocked.

Yumiko pushed against the hammer.

Then she kicked away.

She turned toward the gunslinger.

“Dream Blast!”

A wave of dream energy shot toward the distant enemy.

The gunslinger jumped aside.

Yumiko smiled.

“Now I can move between both of you.”

But the armored knight suddenly appeared behind her.

Yumiko's eyes widened.

The gigantic hammer swung.

She barely escaped.

“Whoa!”

She flew higher.

“Okay...”

She looked at both enemies.

“This is still really hard.”

Beneath Eryndor

Deep underground...

Yuuiki remained trapped.

The glowing golden chains held his arms and legs.

He struggled against them.

“Let me go!”

The strange enemy ignored him.

Instead, it walked toward the ancient seal.

The enormous structure trembled.

CRACK.

Another crack appeared.

Yuuiki's eyes widened.

“No...”

He looked at the seal.

The symbols covering it began glowing.

The air became heavier.

Something was coming from the other side.

Yuuiki knew what that meant.

“The Death God...”

The enemy raised its weapon.

Yuuiki pulled against the chains.

“STOP!”

The chains glowed brighter.

He couldn't move.

The enemy struck the seal.

BOOOOOOM!

The entire underground chamber shook.

Yuuiki's eyes widened.

A piece of the seal broke away.

Dark energy leaked through the opening.

Yuuiki stared.

“That's impossible...”

The strange enemy stepped closer.

“The seal is weakening.”

Yuuiki glared at it.

“Why?”

The enemy turned.

“You already know.”

Yuuiki's expression hardened.

“...You're trying to release the God of Death.”

The enemy said nothing.

Yuuiki looked toward the broken seal.

His thoughts raced.

If the seal broke completely...

The God of Death would be released.

And Eryndor was directly above it.

He couldn't allow that.

Yuuiki pulled against the chains again.

“I'm not letting you do this!”

The golden chains tightened.

Yuuiki gritted his teeth.

“Ghh...!”

The enemy raised its weapon again.

But before it could strike—

BOOM!

The entire chamber shook.

The enemy stopped.

Yuuiki looked upward.

“What was that?”

For a moment, everything became quiet.

Then another explosion echoed from above.

Yuuiki realized something.

The battles happening throughout Eryndor weren't random.

The attacks...

The monsters...

The enemies...

Everything was happening at the same time.

“They're distracting everyone...”

Yuuiki stared at the seal.

“So nobody notices what's happening underneath the city.”

His expression became serious.

“This entire attack...”

He looked toward the strange enemy.

“...was planned.”

Mina's Discovery

Back on the streets...

Mina and Iris continued their battle.

Mina swung her Crimson Blood Blade.

CLANG!

Iris blocked.

Mina stepped back.

She was exhausted.

Her Blood Shot was still gone.

She couldn't rely on her strongest ranged attack anymore.

But she had learned something.

Her Crimson Blood Blade.

Her Bloodthorn Floor.

Her ability to control blood.

She could still fight.

Mina looked at Iris.

“You're protecting something.”

Iris froze.

Mina noticed.

“You reacted.”

Iris's eyes narrowed.

“You talk too much.”

“Maybe.”

Mina raised her Blood Blade.

“But I'm getting closer.”

Iris created another blood droplet.

Mina smiled.

“Then come on.”

Iris threw it.

Mina didn't dodge backward.

She charged forward.

The droplet exploded behind her.

BOOM!

The explosion pushed Mina forward.

She used the momentum.

Iris's eyes widened.

Mina swung.

CLANG!

Their weapons collided.

Mina pushed forward.

Iris stepped backward.

For the first time...

Iris was being forced back.

Mina grinned.

“I can learn too.”

The City Trembles

Suddenly—

BOOOOOOOOOOM!

The entire city shook.

Mina stopped.

Iris stopped.

Nyxhen looked toward the sky.

Yumiko froze in midair.

Nemi looked around.

Zerav slowly raised his head.

Even the Gravemaw Behemoth stopped moving.

For several seconds...

Everything became strangely quiet.

Then—

A deep sound echoed from beneath Eryndor.

THUM.

The ground trembled.

THUM.

Another tremor.

THUM.

Mina looked down.

“...What's underneath us?”

Nyxhen's expression changed.

He remembered Yuuiki's warning.

The strange feeling he'd had since arriving.

The hidden presence.

The information he'd received.

Everything suddenly connected.

“...The city isn't the target.”

Zerav looked at him.

“What?”

Nyxhen stared at the ground.

“Something underneath Eryndor is.”

Far below them...

The ancient seal cracked again.

CRACK.

A dark glow escaped through the opening.

Yuuiki stared at it.

“No...”

The strange enemy raised its weapon.

And the final layer of the seal began to break.