Lunalus: "Do not kid yourself... Divine powers or not, you are still a child."

  The dark aura around him expanded violently, swallowing the battlefield in a suffocating dome of shadow. The light above vanished, the warmth of the sun ripped away.

  Virno’s muscles tensed. He couldn’t see light -- but he could feel the absence of heat.

  Virno: "You do realize I’m blind...? Light or no light, it’s all the same to me."

  Lunalus smirked.

  Lunalus: "The purpose of this dome isn’t just to block out the sun..."

  A spear materialized in his grasp, black as night, crackling with dark energy. His stance shifted—legs bent, torso rotated slightly sideways, poised to strike.

  Lunalus: "... It’s to keep your lack of control from causing unnecessary harm."

  Virno furrowed his brow.

  Virno: "Lack of control...?"

  Lunalus vanished.

  A shockwave exploded outward from where he stood -- Virno barely had time to react before the sound of fabric tearing reached his ears.

  The blindfold unraveled.

  Virno’s breath caught as cold air touched the ruined surface of his cracked jade eyes.

  Lunalus: "As I thought... You’ve already tried to wield a power beyond your understanding. A reckless habit passed down from your instructor, no doubt."

  Virno’s fingers tightened around his sword.

  Virno: "My instructor...? How would you know that?!"

  With a sharp thrust, he drove the blade into the ground.

  A roaring wind erupted from the point of impact, forming a swirling barrier of air around him.

  Lunalus twisted mid-air, spear aimed forward. The tip crackled with black lightning as it pierced the raging wind.

  Lunalus: "However else...? Lacerbus revealed as much to me in his final breath. Ballo, too, used strength beyond his ken -- the aftermath of the battle betrayed as much. And like all reckless fools, he paid the price."

  The lightning surged through the spear, spreading through Virno’s shield like cracks in glass.

  Lunalus: "Loss of sight is typically the first and cheapest price one pays...!"

  Virno gritted his teeth.

  With a single pulse, he dispelled the shield in an instant.

  Lunalus -- caught mid-lunge -- stumbled forward.

  Virno didn’t hesitate.

  With a twist of his torso, he swung horizontally at Lunalus’ exposed side.

  Lunalus: "Hah! Impressive battle instincts --"

  But he was too late.

  He lifted his left hand in defense, dark energy surging to reinforce it --

  The sword sliced through his palm like butter.

  The blade severed half his fingers, carving through part of his forearm as well.

  A thick, black ichor spurted from the wound.

  Lunalus staggered back.

  Lunalus: "ACKKH -- !"

  Virno wrinkled his nose. The stench of the liquid was familiar.

  Virno: "I don’t know what the hell you freaks are made of... But it’s *disgusting*."

  With the same momentum, Virno swung again.

  Lunalus dodged.

  Stepping back just in time, the blade missed him by inches.

  His back was now nearly pressed against the dome.

  Lunalus: "So the legend is true..."

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  His voice was low, intrigued.

  Lunalus: "The blade can cut through just about anything. What a nuisance...!"

  Then, in a swift motion --

  Lunalus drove his spear into the dome’s surface.

  The weapon pierced through effortlessly.

  Virno tensed.

  Lunalus began rising.

  The spear, embedded in the dome, became his anchor -- he slid upward along its surface, climbing higher and higher like a shadow ascending a wall.

  Virno: "Get down here, coward!"

  Lunalus: "Coward...? Then fight me without your blade, if you are so brave...!"

  As he moved, a black tar-like substance dripped from the spear, raining down on the battlefield.

  The moment it touched the ground, it began dissolving everything.

  Virno’s breath slowed.

  In seconds, the ground was littered with black puddles.

  Virno: "Fine, then..."

  He thrust the blade downward -- and a powerful gust of wind launched him straight into the air.

  Faster than Lunalus himself could move.

  Virno: "Dodge this!"

  He swung.

  A sweeping arc, full-force, aimed to cleave Lunalus in two.

  But --

  Lunalus did nothing.

  No movement. No defense.

  Just a smirk.

  Lunalus: "... How about you dodge, instead?"

  A torrent of black tar erupted.

  Lunalus plummeted downward, using the liquid like a jet propulsion system to hurl himself away.

  At the same time --

  The puddles of tar below erupted skyward.

  Virno was right in their path.

  His mind screamed a warning.

  Virno: "Damn -- !"

  He swung the sword, deflecting as many of the projectiles as he could --

  But some still found their mark.

  The moment the tar latched onto his body, a searing heat tore through his flesh.

  His transformation had made his skin tougher -- but not enough.

  The tar seeped into him.

  His limbs felt heavy. His strength -- waning.

  From outside the dome --

  Rotavitea: "No...!"

  She watched, breath hitching, as Virno’s movements slowed.

  His body tilted --

  Then, he fell.

  He crashed toward the battlefield, the black tar still clinging to him like living chains.

  Rotavitea’s grip tightened around the unconscious fox in her lap.

  Rotavitea: "C'mon... You've got to have more tricks up your sleeve, right?! Help us out...!"

  The small creature stirred, twitching slightly, but its eyes remained shut.

  Meanwhile, the battle was tipping heavily in Lunalus’ favor.

  Lunalus: "Pathetic."

  He stood over Virno, watching as the young man struggled to even stay upright.

  Lunalus: "That one blow you landed? It was given to you on a silver platter."

  Virno gritted his teeth. His fingers dug into the hilt of the sword.

  Lunalus: "Your instincts are good, but as I said -- you’re still a child. You lack experience. Especially when it comes to wielding your newly acquired power."

  Virno: "S-SHUT UP!"

  The blade pulsed violently.

  Virno raised it, channeling raw energy into the steel, ignoring the toll it took on his body.

  The runes ignited, rearranging themselves in rapid succession --

  A tornado exploded from the sword.

  Lunalus’ smirk vanished as the howling vortex swallowed him whole.

  BOOM --

  The force sent him hurtling through the battlefield, smashing him against the dome, then the ground, then the dome again, caught in an unrelenting storm.

  But Virno’s body buckled.

  The strain hit all at once -- his vision blurred, his limbs trembled.

  His knees gave out.

  He collapsed, gasping, the sword his only crutch.

  Lunalus: "HAHAHAHA!"

  The storm still raged, but Lunalus’ laughter cut through the winds.

  Lunalus: "Do you even realize how much stamina you're wasting?!"

  Through the storm, Lunalus thrust his spear.

  It launched at blinding speed -- not at Virno, but at the ground near him.

  Before it struck, a rope of viscous black fluid shot from Lunalus’ hand, coiling around the spear’s handle.

  In an instant, Lunalus yanked himself forward.

  The spear impaled the earth beside Virno --

  And Lunalus followed, riding the momentum like a slingshot.

  His heel smashed into Virno’s face with devastating force.

  The impact sent Virno rocketing backward, his body tearing through the battlefield.

  CRASH --

  He finally slammed into the dome’s wall.

  His body slumped. The tornado dissipated.

  Lunalus reclaimed his spear and strode toward him.

  Lunalus: "A fine effort. But ultimately... meaningless."

  Rotavitea: "VIRNO!"

  She sprinted toward the dome, clutching the fox tightly.

  The creature’s ears twitched. Its eyelids fluttered, but its gaze was dazed, unfocused.

  Rotavitea: "DON’T YOU DARE GIVE UP -- DON’T YOU DARE LET HIS DEATH BE IN VAIN!"

  Lunalus tilted his head, eyes gleaming.

  Lunalus: "My, my... Such suffering in her little heart."

  A slow, deliberate step.

  Lunalus: "I’ll put her troubles to rest later. After you’re dealt with."

  Virno’s fingers twitched.

  His breath came in shallow bursts.

  But slowly, he pushed himself upright, using the sword to support his weight.

  Lunalus: "Oh, don’t bother."

  His voice was mocking.

  Lunalus: "Stand down. You’ll be with your mother and father soon."

  Virno’s breath stopped.

  His grip on the sword went slack.

  Virno: "W... what did you just say...?"

  Lunalus smiled.

  Lunalus: "Oh, that’s right... You mustn’t know yet. I'm afraid your mother is --"

  Virno: "... She’s dead."

  His voice was hoarse, but steady.

  Virno: "I know that. But how the *fuck* do YOU know?!"

  His cracked jade eyes began to glow.

  Sigils seared themselves into his skin, pulsing with untamed energy.

  Lunalus’ expression hardened.

  Lunalus: "... I will not fuel this sad little parade. You’re running on fumes. Adrenaline’s the only thing keeping you upright."

  The wind around Virno trembled.

  Sigils burned brighter.

  A shockwave erupted from his body.

  Virno: "Did you do it...?"

  Silence.

  Virno: "ANSWER *ME*!"

  The winds intensified.

  Lunalus thrust his spear into the ground, using it as an anchor against the gale.

  Lunalus: "STAND. DOWN."

  But Virno wasn’t listening.

  Virno: "YOU MOTHERFUCKER --"

  He turned the blade toward himself.

  Rotavitea: "No... Not again... Why? WHY?!"

  Lunalus’ eyes widened.

  Lunalus: "NO -- !"

  Virno plunged the sword toward his chest.

  Virno: "WHATEVER PRICE I HAVE TO PAY... IT'LL BE WORTH IT JUST TO KILL YOU!"

  Fox: "YIIP!"

  The fox's howl cut through existence.

  Virno’s blade froze in place.

  The world stopped.

  Leaves, once rustling, stood still in the air.

  The lake’s surface, which had rippled from the battle’s shockwaves, became smooth as glass.

  Above, birds that had fled the chaos were frozen mid-flight.

  Not a single feather moved.

  Time itself held its breath.

  Virno, Rotavitea, and even Lunalus -- motionless.

  The creature landed softly on the ground.

  A quiet sigh.

  Fox: "Yiph...!"

  Its eyes gleamed with a soft, grey glow as it began to approach the dome.