Vaelthor's voice still echoed throughout the hall.
"This is the difference between defeating my subordinates and facing the First Demon General."
The pressure of his mana continued to rise.
The stones beneath his feet were cracking.
The walls of the fortress trembled without stopping.
For a few seconds, no one moved forward.
Not out of fear.
But because everyone needed to regain their breath.
They needed to assess the situation.
The battle had already made one unpleasant truth clear.
Vaelthor was stronger than we had imagined.
Far stronger.
I placed my hand on the hilt of my sword and looked around the battlefield.
The enormous hall was in ruins.
Parts of the ceiling had collapsed.
Several pillars had been reduced to rubble.
Large cracks spread across the floor.
The fortress itself seemed to be suffering from the battle.
Scarlett wiped a small drop of sweat from her forehead.
"I'm starting to get annoyed."
"Why?"
Rai'kanna asked.
"Because he still has that expression."
Vaelthor heard her.
Naturally.
His hearing seemed just as absurd as his strength.
"What's wrong with my expression?"
"It annoys me."
Scarlett replied.
The general let out a brief laugh.
That only irritated her even more.
An enormous amount of mana began gathering around her.
Lightning appeared in the air.
Small arcs of electricity spread throughout the hall.
The surroundings were illuminated by bluish flashes.
Scarlett raised one of her hands.
Then dozens of lightning spears appeared.
Far more numerous than before.
Far more powerful.
"Let's see if you keep smiling."
The spears were unleashed.
The attack tore across the entire hall.
Explosions erupted everywhere.
The floor was destroyed.
The walls were struck.
Electrical energy engulfed everything.
But when the dust finally began to settle, Vaelthor was still standing.
Practically unharmed.
A black barrier revolved around his body.
Scarlett fell silent.
For a few seconds.
Then she clicked her tongue.
"This is getting ridiculous."
"I agree."
I replied.
Then I charged forward again.
Dragon Flames erupted around my sword.
My speed increased.
The distance between us disappeared in an instant.
I attacked.
Vaelthor blocked.
I attacked again.
He dodged.
I kept pressuring him.
Strike after strike.
Without stopping.
Without retreating.
Bursts of mana began illuminating the hall.
For a few moments, I managed to keep him occupied.
That was exactly what Vespera needed.
Three arrows appeared at the same time.
One aimed at his neck.
Another at his chest.
The third at his left eye.
A coordinated attack.
Difficult to evade.
But Vaelthor moved his sword.
Just once.
All three arrows were destroyed in midair.
As if they were made of paper.
Vespera frowned.
"For the first time, I'm starting to hate someone."
"Do you usually hate people?"
Elara asked.
"Normally, no."
"Then he really is special."
Despite the situation, that drew a small smile from me.
But the moment of distraction didn't last long.
Vaelthor took advantage of it.
His knee slammed into my abdomen.
The impact stole my breath.
Before I could react, his sword followed.
I managed to block it.
But I was launched several meters backward.
My body slid across the shattered floor.
I got back up immediately.
Without hesitation.
Without giving him an opening.
Because I knew that any opening could be fatal.
Rai'kanna appeared at that moment.
Her enormous axe sliced through the air.
The force of the strike made the surroundings tremble.
Vaelthor blocked it.
But something caught my attention.
For the first time, he actually had to use his full strength.
His feet sank a few centimeters into the ground.
Rai'kanna smiled.
"So you do feel the impact."
"Of course I do."
He replied.
"And you're strong."
She seemed satisfied with that.
Then she continued attacking.
Her axe spun relentlessly.
Heavy strikes.
Brutal.
Direct.
For a few moments, she managed to pressure him.
But then Vaelthor changed completely.
His expression vanished.
His smile disappeared.
Only coldness remained.
He grabbed Rai'kanna's weapon.
With one hand.
Then he attacked.
The strike happened too fast.
I saw nothing but a black blur cutting through the air.
The impact struck Rai'kanna directly.
An explosion echoed throughout the hall.
My heart raced.
She was sent flying.
She traveled dozens of meters.
Her body crashed violently into one of the already damaged pillars.
The structure cracked.
Part of it collapsed.
Rai'kanna fell to the ground.
Motionless for a few seconds.
Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth.
"Rai'kanna!"
Elara shouted immediately.
Liriel ran toward her.
My body reacted on instinct.
A surge of anger rose inside me.
It wasn't just concern.
It was something deeper.
Something more intense.
I was tired of seeing people get hurt.
Tired of watching my companions suffer.
Tired of this war.
I gripped my sword tightly.
Dragon Flames erupted once again.
Far more intensely.
I charged.
Vaelthor noticed immediately.
Our swords collided.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Ten times.
I kept attacking.
Without stopping.
Without thinking.
Only moving forward.
But he kept blocking.
Even under pressure.
Even against my fury.
He remained in complete control.
"You're emotional."
He said.
I didn't answer.
I attacked again.
Faster.
Stronger.
More aggressively.
But that was exactly what he wanted.
I was abandoning strategy.
Abandoning control.
And he realized it before I did.
It was Scarlett who brought me back to reality.
"Takumi!"
Her voice echoed through the hall.
I blinked.
I took a deep breath.
She was right.
We needed to keep fighting as a team.
Not individually.
Then I felt something strange.
An unpleasant sensation.
As if the air itself had changed.
As if something were spreading throughout the surroundings.
Lyannis was the first to notice.
"Wait."
She looked around.
"Something's wrong."
Elara felt it too.
Vespera shortly after.
I looked at Vaelthor.
He was smiling again.
That was the moment I understood.
This was part of his plan.
An extremely thin mist began to appear throughout the hall.
Almost invisible.
Difficult to notice.
But it was there.
Slowly spreading.
Taking over the surroundings.
Liriel frowned.
"Poison."
Vaelthor nodded.
"Finally, someone noticed."
Scarlett immediately created a magical barrier.
But it was already too late.
The mist had already spread.
Elara placed a hand on her head.
Vespera did the same.
Lyannis staggered.
Their breathing became heavy.
Their bodies began to respond more slowly.
"Damn it..."
Scarlett muttered.
She tried to gather mana.
But her concentration was fading.
The poison was powerful.
Very powerful.
Rai'kanna was still trying to stand after the previous blow.
Now the situation had become even worse.
I looked at my companions.
One after another.
They were all being affected.
Except for me.
My sacred armor blocked the influence of the mist.
But that wasn't enough.
Because I couldn't fight alone.
Not against someone of that level.
Vaelthor slowly spread his arms.
As if admiring the scene.
"This battle is already over."
Those words irritated me.
But part of me understood the reason for his confidence.
The situation really was becoming desperate.
Scarlett dropped to one knee.
Elara was struggling to breathe.
Vespera tried to keep her bow steady.
Lyannis fought to remain conscious.
Even Rai'kanna seemed to be affected.
Only Liriel remained relatively calm.
But even she appeared to be weakening.
My heart raced.
The sense of urgency grew stronger.
We needed to do something.
We needed to find a way out.
We needed to survive.
Vaelthor began walking toward me.
Slowly.
Without haste.
Like a predator that already knew the outcome of the hunt.
His black sword lightly scraped across the shattered floor.
Producing an unsettling metallic sound.
With every step, the pressure increased.
With every step, the situation seemed to worsen.
I positioned myself in front of the girls.
I gripped my sword firmly.
Even exhausted.
Even with my mana running low.
Even knowing the difference in strength between us.
I would not retreat.
Not here.
Not after everything we had been through.
Vaelthor stopped a few meters away.
His crimson eyes met mine.
Then he spoke calmly.
"Now it's just the two of us."
His words echoed throughout the ruined hall.
Behind me, my companions struggled to remain conscious.
In front of me stood the most powerful enemy I had ever faced.
And at that moment, as the poisonous mist continued spreading throughout the fortress and Vaelthor slowly advanced with absolute confidence in his victory, I realized that we were closer to defeat than at any other moment in that war.
And that was only the beginning of the true despair.