Within a hazy scene drowned in cold mist, where even the faintest sounds seemed swallowed by silence, two young men stood facing one another...
Their features could not be seen clearly...
One of them spoke first...
"Is this truly your final decision???"
His voice carried disbelief...
"After everything... you're turning us into your enemies? We lived together. We endured everything together..."
The other man lowered his gaze...
For a brief moment, his lips moved before his mind could stop them...
"I know that better than anyone..."
His voice trembled...
"But I can no longer pretend that everything is fine. We've strayed too far from the path we were supposed to follow—"
Suddenly, the other man covered his mouth...
Fear filled his eyes...
"Don't let them hear you, you idiot!!!"
His voice shook violently...
"Do you have any idea how many times I've hidden this from the others? How many times he and I protected you from them???"
His hands trembled...
"If anyone hears those words... death is the only thing waiting for you..."
The other man's eyes shook...
Slowly...
Painfully...
He pushed him away...
The young man stumbled and fell...
Yet he never bothered to look back...
Instead, he walked alone into the darkness...
One sentence escaped his lips...
"I will atone for your sins..."
His silhouette vanished further into the shadows...
"I will correct your mistake..."
And then he disappeared completely...
The scene returned to the present...
Lorian's eyes widened...
This was not the face of a human being...
This was a monster...
A pure monster...
Araki spat out the remaining fingers he had bitten off...
Without uttering a single word, he stared at Lorian...
Silence...
Absolute silence...
For a few frozen moments, time itself seemed to stop between their gazes.
Lorian's legs trembled.
His teeth clattered against one another...
His voice barely escaped his throat...
"You're... not human."
Araki laughed.
Then he spread his arms proudly...
"HAHAHAHA!!!"
His eyes gleamed with madness...
"That's right..."
A grin stretched across his face...
"I have become the pinnacle itself."
Elsewhere...
A few moments earlier...
Agnir crashed to the ground.
Daniel exhaled heavily...
"Hey, kid..."
He tightened his grip on his weapon...
"Get ready. There's no turning back now..."
His eyes remained fixed on the dragon...
"We're the only ones left who can face him..."
Inside Agnir's mind, a distant voice echoed.
It was a voice he knew well...
"That is him."
"The boy is no ordinary person..."
"He is our salvation."
"He will avenge us, Valerius..."
Suddenly...
Agnir stood.
In a single motion...
He raised his head toward the heavens and roared with everything he had left...
"Prepare yourself, Daim!!!"
His voice shook the battlefield...
"My vengeance is coming!!!"
"It is closer than it has ever been!!!"
For a brief moment...
The dragon's eyes met Raym's.
And before a single word could be spoken—
Agnir suddenly froze...
His expression twisted...
As though something inside him had shattered even further...
He collapsed...
Writhing in agony.
Daniel's eyes lit up...
"This is our chance!!!"
He immediately rushed forward...
But a voice stopped him.
"S-Sir Daniel... wait!!!"
It was Raym...
Daniel turned.
"What is it, kid??? This opportunity may never come again—"
Then suddenly—
A massive shadow loomed behind him...
A gigantic crimson claw...
Covered in blazing scarlet flames...
Descending straight toward Daniel...
There was no time to dodge...
No chance to survive.
Raym moved instantly.
Without hesitation...
Without fear.
He threw himself in front of Daniel...
Using his own body as a shield...
The claw stopped.
Just before reaching him...
Everyone froze.
Confusion spread across the battlefield.
No one understood...
Not a single person...
What in the world was happening???
Elsewhere...
Aldous breathed heavily...
His body was battered...
His muscles screamed in protest.
"This ancient warrior..."
He wiped blood from his mouth...
"He's a monster..."
A faint smile appeared on his face...
"And I'm already nearing my limit..."
Valerius emerged from the rubble...
Burns covered parts of his body...
Several injuries stained his armor...
Even standing seemed difficult.
Yet he remained upright.
He looked toward Aldous.
Then sighed...
"Warrior of the magma fist..."
His voice carried genuine respect...
"Or as you call it..."
"The Transcendent Fist..."
He paused...
"You fought well..."
"For the first time in a very long time..."
"You have earned my complete acknowledgment..."
His eyes narrowed...
"Never before has a man wielding only two elements pushed me this far..."
A bitter smile appeared...
"Me..."
"Valerius..."
"The man who battled dragons for ages..."
"And yet I stand here bearing wounds inflicted by a mere human..."
He pointed toward Aldous...
"You are strong..."
His expression hardened...
"But your journey ends here..."
Flames erupted around him...
"Nine Flame Arts."
His voice echoed across the battlefield...
"Eighth Art..."
The air itself trembled...
"Promised Flame..."
Aldous' eyes sharpened.
"I won't allow it!"
He burst forward.
Without hesitation...
Without fear.
He grabbed Valerius' arm despite the unbearable flames consuming it...
His skin burned instantly.
Yet he refused to let go.
He tightened his grip.
Twisted.
Then—
CRACK.
Valerius' arm broke.
Aldous prepared another devastating strike...
But before he could move—
An overwhelming gravity crushed him into the ground...
Valerius looked down at him...
Disappointment crossed his face...
"As a final attack..."
He sighed.
"I expected more..."
Then he slowly raised his remaining hand...
"Now then."
His voice became cold...
"Allow me to finish what you interrupted."
The flames intensified...
"Eighth Art..."
The battlefield shook...
"Promised Flame."
Aldous struggled...
With everything he had left.
But his body had reached its limit.
The gravity was overwhelming...
Even breathing had become difficult...
With the last spark of hope remaining—
Massive stone walls erupted from the earth...
One after another...
Attempting to intercept the attack...
And then—
A deafening explosion engulfed the battlefield...