The rubble burned, shadows writhed, ink dripped like venom. Keal's aura stormed violet, tendrils writhing, bone‑blades gleaming. Kira's Aura Blade hummed emerald, tattoos glowing, ink dripping like venom. The assassins circled, thirty killers ready to drown the calamity.
Kira lunged — SLASHHH! — her Aura Blade slicing through the air. Keal's tendrils snapped forward — CRUNCH! — intercepting, sparks flying as shadow met aura.
Kira hissed, "You think your ascension makes you untouchable? You're just a man who stumbled into power. A shadow clinging to corpses. Do you even understand what you wield? Energy Amp devours its host energy till they run out. You are nothing but a candle burning too bright, too fast. Soon, you'll be ash."
Keal's voice was cold, merciless. "Luck? No. I carved this strength from death. Every scream, every corpse, every shadow. You call me lucky… but you should call me inevitable. You speak of ash? Then know this — shadows do not burn. They consume."
Her Aura Blade slashed — SLASHHH! — severing tendrils. His Invincible Hand crushed ink spears — BOOM! — shattering the floor.
Kira snarled, "My path is that of a hunter. My aura sharpens with every kill. My blade is the will of predators. You cannot outlast me. Every strike I make is amplified by the blood of those who fell before you. You are not fighting me alone — you are fighting every soul I've devoured."
Keal growled, tendrils writhing. "Predators? Then you should know — shadows devour predators too. You think your kills make you stronger? My abyss feeds on more than blood. It feeds on fear, on despair, on inevitability. And tonight, it feeds on you."
They clashed — CLANG! CRUNCH! SWISHHH! — ink and shadow tearing the brothel into ruin.
Kira raised her hand, voice sharp as steel. "All of you — NOW! Tear him apart!"
The assassins roared, surging forward. Blades flashed — CLANG! CLANG! — aura burned crimson. Keal dissolved into Shadow Movement — SWISHHH! — reappearing behind one assassin, tendrils piercing his chest — THUD! Another lunged; Keal's Invincible Hand crushed his blade — CRRRACK! — before a bone‑blade slit his throat.
But numbers pressed in. Ten assassins at once, blades stabbing, ink spears flying. Keal lashed — CRUNCH! SLASH! THUD! — bodies fell, blood sprayed. Yet cuts opened across his arms, his cloak shredded, his aura flickering.
Keal snarled, breath ragged. "Tchhh… too many."
Kira laughed, circling like a predator. "Yes. Even calamities drown when the tide rises. You may be a General, but generals fall when armies swarm. You are one man. I am legion."
Keal's voice strained, tendrils lashing. "Legion? No. You are fodder. And fodder burns in shadow."
He struck — CRUNCH! SLASH! THUD! — bodies fell, blood sprayed. But exhaustion crept in. His aura dimmed, tendrils slowed.
Kira moved like a serpent, circling, waiting. As Keal struck down another assassin — SLASHHH! — his blind spot opened.
And predators wait for blind spots.
Kira lunged, Aura Blade gleaming, emerald fire burning. She whispered, "Die in shadow. Let your abyss swallow you whole."
Her blade arced toward Keal's back.
But before steel met flesh, a voice cut through the chaos.
Zack shouted, reckless and defiant, "VOID TOUCH!"
A surge of black‑violet energy erupted. Kira's armor shimmered, cracked, then shattered — CRRRACK! BOOM! — fragments scattering like glass.
Kira staggered, eyes wide, aura faltering. "Wh‑what…? Impossible! That… that power… it doesn't belong to you!"
Keal turned, crimson‑violet eyes widening. "Zack…?"
Zack stepped forward from the smoke, grin twisted, eyes glowing faintly with forbidden power. His voice was reckless, defiant, dripping with mischief even in battle. "You thought I was just here for drinks and laughter? Nah. I've been saving this trick. You mess with my brother of shadows, you mess with me. You think you're the only one who can wield forbidden power? Guess again."
The assassins froze, masks trembling. Kira's Aura Blade flickered, her tattoos dimmed.
Kira snarled, voice cracking with fury. "Void Touch… that's not your Path. How… how did you—"
Zack mocked, voice dripping with arrogance. "Doesn't matter how. What matters is you're not the only one who can break limits. You wanted to drown Keal in numbers? Then drown in void instead."
Keal's aura stormed again, shadows rising, tendrils writhing. He stepped beside Zack, voice cold, merciless. "You shattered her armor. I'll shatter her will."
Kira's eyes narrowed, fury burning. "Then come, calamity. Let's see if your shadow can outlast my blade. And let's see if your fool of a friend survives the void he dares to wield."
The brothel was gone — only rubble, fire, and suffocating aura remained. Assassins trembled, torn between fear and loyalty. Keal, ascended to Low General, shadows storming. Kira, Aura Blade humming, armor shattered but fury alive. Zack, reckless grin, Void Touch glowing in his hands.
The clash was no longer one against many. It was calamity against predator, shadow against blade, chaos against order.
And inevitability whispered: "When shadows and void unite, even predators tremble."
Keal's crimson‑violet aura roared like a storm, shadows twisting into monstrous tendrils that lashed with bone‑splitting force. His Shadow Eye glowed, predicting every strike before it landed, his Invincible Hand crushing ink spears mid‑air with thunderous BOOMs. Each movement was a symphony of destruction — shadows dissolving him into darkness with Shadow Movement, reappearing behind assassins to pierce their hearts in grotesque precision.
Beside him, Zack finally shed his recklessness and unleashed his Magnus power. His voice thundered across the ruins: "Physique Enhancement — Level One… Level Two… Level Three!" His body surged, muscles tightening, veins glowing, his frame expanding with raw vitality.
"Protection Enhancement — Level One!" A shimmering barrier wrapped around him, deflecting blades that shattered like glass against his chest.
"Agility Enhancement — Level Two!" Zack blurred, Void Step flickering him across the battlefield like lightning. He appeared behind assassins, his laughter echoing as he struck from impossible angles.
"Strength Enhancement — Level Three!" His fists glowed with Magnus power, every punch a cataclysm — armor shattered, bones crushed, assassins hurled into walls with explosive force.
Together, the duo was insane — shadows and void, Magnus enhancements amplifying every strike. Assassins fell in droves, ink clones dissolved, petals scattered.
But Kira was relentless. Her tattoos blazed, ink surging like a tidal wave. Spears rained from the ceiling, whips lashed from the floor, cages closed from every side. Ink clones rose endlessly, silhouettes stabbing from every angle.
Keal snarled, tendrils piercing three assassins at once. "You're a Physical Magnus. Didn't you learn a single technique?"
Zack grinned, Void Touch shattering another blade. "Nah. Too much work. I was lazy. Training is boring. I told myself I didn't need them. I'd rather gamble, drink, and let my natural talent do the talking."
Keal's voice was cold, his shadows crushing another wave. "Lazy fool. Talent without discipline is wasted."
Zack shrugged mid‑fight, Void Step flickering him behind another assassin. "Excuses, excuses. But hey — look at me now. I'm still alive, aren't I?"
The assassins pressed harder, numbers overwhelming. Keal's aura flickered, Zack's barrier cracked. Cuts opened across their bodies, blood dripping. Keal collapsed to one knee, shadows dimming. Zack fell beside him, his grin fading, breath ragged. Blades rose, ready to finish them.
Then the air shifted.
Petals drifted down, glowing pink.
From the smoke stepped Sereh Liam, daughter of Duke Liam. Pink hair shimmered like silk, pink eyes blazing with fury. She raised her hand, aura blooming.
"Flower Flush."
The battlefield erupted in blossoms. Pink flowers flushed outward, sharp as blades, slicing assassins apart. Screams echoed — AHHHHHH! — as petals pierced flesh, cutting through armor.
Sereh's aura surged. She invoked Energy Amp, amplifying the flush. The flowers multiplied, sharper, faster, deadlier. Assassins fell in waves, bodies collapsing, blood staining petals.
All but Kira.
Sereh's eyes narrowed, fury burning. "How dare you."
She stepped forward, picking a single flower from the flush remains. Aura wrapped around it, sharpening it into a blade. She raised it to Kira's neck, voice cold. "I'll finish you myself."
But Kira's tattoos blazed. Her body dissolved into ink, melting into the floor. "Body Like Ink." She slipped away, vanishing into the shadows, fleeing.
Sereh's face twisted, rage burning. She stepped forward to pursue.
But Zack, bloodied and grinning, grabbed her wrist. His voice was sharp, mocking, dripping with defiance.
"We didn't need your help, bitch."
The battlefield fell silent — petals drifting, shadows fading, void flickering. Keal lay beside Zack, crimson‑violet eyes narrowing, watching Sereh's fury clash with Zack's arrogance.
The war was far from over.