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Duke Alistar and Duchess Evelyn tore through the sky, pushing their bodies to the very limits of what a human could endure. Suddenly, a massive black dome rose in the distance to their left, deep within the forest.
Evelyn felt Eliara's energy pulsing from within that dome. Her face drained of all color.
"Alistar… she's there!"
The duke didn't hesitate. He seized his sword, raised it high, and a surge of dark mana burst from his body, spiraling the air around him.
"Sword Art — Third Form."
"Vertical Split."
The blade expanded the instant he unleashed it, becoming a descending meteor streaking toward the ground with unstoppable force.
The spatial barrier began cracking even before the strike reached it.
But then… within those fractures, a second layer of darkness rose—far denser, far deeper—like the very core of the abyss itself.
This new layer reinforced the barrier, but only barely.
What remained was no more than fragile, splintered glass held together by cheap glue.
Alistar lifted his sword again, preparing a second strike—
When a calm, clear voice spoke behind him:
"Spear of the Higher Flame."
A brilliant blue flaming spear materialized in the sky and plummeted downward at blinding speed.
The blue fire clashed with the dark layer, burning through it piece by piece… until the barrier finally collapsed with a muffled, explosive groan.
The dust settled.
The duke and duchess descended immediately, heading straight toward the source of Eliara's energy.
When they reached it, they found their daughter on the ground, crying as she struggled to stand.
Before her stood a Lion-class beast—one star.
It stared ahead, frozen in shock, as if witnessing something beyond comprehension.
They didn't understand at first what it was looking at.
The area before it was nothing—an empty clearing.
But the beast's instinct for danger reacted immediately.
It turned toward the duke and duchess in a battle stance, but its injuries were severe:
One eye gouged out.
Its front leg severed.
A deep wound tearing through its hind leg joint.
It could no longer fight.
And while black-class beasts were among the fiercest and most destructive…
this one wasn't foolish enough to continue a battle it had already lost.
It turned to flee—
But suddenly, from every direction, blue chains ripped through the air like lightning.
They wrapped around the beast's body, tightening until they sank into its flesh.
The beast let out a scream that did not belong to this world.
Then the chains ignited in pure blue flame—
A fire without mercy.
A fire that leaves nothing behind.
A fire that offers no gentle death.
The beast burned until its voice faded and its resistance vanished…
finally understanding the meaning of humiliation—
and the meaning of a painful, inescapable death.
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I apologize for this short chapter, but I will try to write a longer one next time.