The air still trembled from the aftermath.
Dust drifted slowly through the cracked halls of the Hero's Association, sunlight piercing through broken ceilings like silent witnesses to everything that had just happened.
Loki—June—stood facing Kaelven.
For the first time…
He wasn't smiling.
"…What's that power of yours?" Loki asked, narrowing his eyes.
His grip tightened around the staff, the blue crystal flickering irregularly now.
"I've never seen it before."
Kaelven rolled his shoulder casually, Darkside resting against his back.
"It's unlike anything you've experienced."
No buildup.
No warning.
He vanished.
Not fast.
Not invisible.
Gone.
Loki's pupils shrank instantly.
His instincts screamed—
Death.
He didn't think.
Didn't hesitate.
He raised his staff—
CLANG.
A downward strike from Kaelven slammed into it with crushing force.
The ground beneath Loki shattered.
His feet sank deep into the stone, cracks spiderwebbing outward like the earth itself couldn't handle the pressure.
"…Tch," Loki clicked his tongue.
"Troublesome."
His eyes glowed faintly.
The crystal pulsed.
Reality bent.
"You're strong…" Loki said calmly.
"But are you mentally capable too?"
The world around Kaelven twisted.
The battlefield disappeared.
Replaced by something else.
A broken world.
A decayed version of Zerathis.
Dead skies.
Rotting land.
Endless echoes of monsters.
Voices.
Screaming.
Mocking.
A perfect illusion.
Outside—
Denma slowly stood up, brushing dust off his clothes.
"…What the hell…"
Jess exhaled, her wings fading as she returned to her normal form. Her eyes shifted toward Kaelen.
"…Is he okay?"
Kimotsu rose beside Denma, sighing as he sheathed his blade.
"…If that illusion is as deep as it looks…"
Gene was already asleep on the ground.
"…zzzz…"
Faith leaned against a broken pillar, watching quietly.
"…Kaelen?"
Kaelen stood there.
Hands still in his pockets.
Eyes fixed forward.
At the illusion.
Completely calm.
Then—
Crack.
A small fracture appeared in midair.
Then another.
And another.
Like glass being shattered from the inside.
Loki's eyes widened.
"…Impossible."
The illusion splintered violently—
SHATTERED.
Kaelven stood there.
Unbothered.
"That was your last chance to kill me, June."
Before Loki could react—
Kaelven moved.
Not even movement—
Just impact.
BOOM.
A kick slammed into Loki's face.
His body was launched across the battlefield—
Straight into the Hero's Association building.
Walls collapsed.
Stone shattered.
Kaelven didn't stop.
He followed.
Appearing instantly in the rubble—
Punch.
Punch.
Kick.
Slash.
Each hit heavier than the last.
Each strike precise.
Brutal.
Unrelenting.
Loki tried to react—
But he couldn't stabilize anything.
His circuit flickered wildly.
Kaelven grabbed him—
Slammed him into the ground—
Then—
Slice.
One arm came off clean.
Blood sprayed—
But—
It didn't regenerate.
Loki froze.
"…Huh…"
He laughed.
Even like this.
Even broken.
Even overwhelmed.
"…So that's how it is…"
His breathing grew uneven.
But his smile widened.
"…Guess I underestimated you."
Kaelven raised Darkside.
Final strike.
But—
Loki whispered something.
A quiet chant.
Barely audible.
And—
Gone.
No distortion.
No illusion.
Just—
Absence.
Kaelven stood there for a second.
Blinking.
"…Huh."
Outside —
Kaelven walked out of the ruined building, scratching his head.
Kaelen stood there waiting.
"He got away, right?" Kaelen asked calmly.
Kaelven shrugged.
"Yeah."
A brief silence passed.
Kaelen looked up slightly.
Thinking.
"So Hades got away knowing everything… the full process to make artificial circuits."
He shifted his gaze slightly.
"June is the same… but he doesn't like being controlled."
A pause.
"He'll either go rogue… or start his own experiments."
Another pause.
"And Gina…"
His voice lowered slightly.
"…was just a liability to them."
The truth hung heavy in the air.
Kaelen turned.
Looking at the five heroes.
Denma.
Jess.
Kimotsu.
Faith.
Gene.
He raised his hand.
"Primordial Blessing."
A golden flame ignited at the tip of his finger.
Ancient.
Warm.
Overwhelming.
It spread instantly—
Engulfing them.
Not burning.
Not harming.
Restoring.
Their stamina surged back.
Their bodies healed.
Their circuits stabilized.
Strength returned.
Faith's eyes widened.
"…What is this…?"
The flame faded.
Kaelen lowered his hand.
Then—
He stepped forward.
"…What are you guys planning to do now that it's come to this?"
Silence.
Denma looked down.
"…I don't know, man…"
His voice carried weight now.
"The person we trusted…"
"…betrayed us."
Jess looked away slightly.
"…That was our only direction."
Kimotsu said nothing.
Faith's grip tightened slightly.
Gene mumbled in his sleep.
"…zzz… betrayal arc…"
"…we're basically lost," Jess finished quietly.
Kaelen walked forward.
Stopped in front of them.
"…No."
His voice cut clean.
"You're wrong."
He pointed slightly.
"Sit."
Not an order.
Not authority.
But something heavier.
They listened.
"…Forget your purpose."
They looked up.
Confused.
"You didn't become heroes because of June."
His eyes sharpened slightly.
"You did it because of your pasts."
"Your struggles."
"The way you see the world."
He turned his head slightly.
"You chose this path so no one else would go through what you did."
Silence fell again.
But different now.
Kaelen looked up at the sky.
"…Use this."
His voice softened.
"As fuel."
"To become stronger."
"To become better."
A pause.
Then—
"I'm planning to take over the association."
That landed.
Heavy.
"And rebuild it properly."
He looked back at them.
"I was hoping you'd join me."
"As humanity's real heroes."
A moment passed.
Then—
Denma smiled.
"…Yeah."
He stood up.
"I knew from the moment you walked in…"
"…you're different."
A short chuckle.
"No one better to be number one."
Jess nodded.
"…I'll join too."
"My goal is balance and peace."
Kimotsu glanced at Kaelven.
"…Are you a hero too?"
Kaelven laughed lightly.
"Nah."
"Not my thing."
A grin.
"But I'll be around."
Kimotsu smirked slightly.
"…Sounds fun."
"I'd like to fight you sometime."
Kaelven shrugged.
"Anytime."
Faith stepped forward slightly.
"…Kaelen… what was that healing?"
Kaelen answered simply.
"Primordial magic."
"From dragons."
Faith's eyes flickered.
"…Dragons…"
A thought crossed her mind.
The first era…
"…Then I'm in too."
Finally—
Gene sat up halfway.
Eyes still closed.
"…I'm with you…"
He flopped back down.
"…zzzz…"
Silence.
Then—
Kaelen exhaled lightly.
A faint smile.
Not of victory.
But of beginning.
Far away—
Unknown to them—
Two shadows moved in different directions.
One seeking domination.
One seeking creation.
And in the middle of it all—
A new force had just been born.
Not controlled.
Not artificial.
Real heroes.