The battlefield had long since stopped resembling a battlefield.
It was a scar.
Arthur stood in the middle of it, chest rising and falling heavily as he forced air into his lungs. The ground around him had been crushed and split apart by countless spells, jagged black stone jutting out like broken teeth from the earth.
Across from him stood Nico.
And beside him—
Cadell.
Even standing still, the Scythe's presence distorted the air. His black armor absorbed the light around him, thin wisps of dark flame curling from the edges like something alive.
Arthur wiped the blood from his lip.
His body ached.
Not from a single blow, but from the cumulative punishment of the entire battle.
Yet neither Nico nor Cadell looked tired.
Nico stepped forward slowly.
"You look worse than the last time I saw you," he said flatly.
Arthur steadied his breathing.
"I could say the same."
For a moment, Nico's expression flickered with something old. Something human.
Then it hardened again.
Lightning erupted around him.
Arthur reacted instantly.
Wind burst beneath his feet, sending him upward as Nico's lightning carved trenches through the earth where he had stood.
Arthur countered mid-air.
Dozens of lightning spears formed around him before launching toward Nico.
Nico swept his arm outward.
Stone erupted from the ground, intercepting the attack as the two elements collided violently.
Arthur landed hard, sliding several meters before stopping.
He pushed forward immediately.
Fire ignited along Dawn's Ballad as he swung toward Nico's shoulder.
Nico blocked with a reinforced gauntlet of mana.
The collision sent a shockwave through the battlefield.
Arthur pressed the attack, chaining strikes together with wind-enhanced movement.
For a brief moment—
He had the advantage.
Then the air behind him shifted.
Arthur's instincts screamed.
He twisted sideways just as Cadell's clawed hand tore through the space where his chest had been.
Even moving at full speed, Arthur barely avoided it.
Cadell smiled.
"Good reflexes."
Arthur retaliated immediately, lightning exploding outward from his palm.
Cadell didn't dodge.
He simply raised one hand.
Black flames appeared.
Arthur's lightning vanished.
Consumed.
The Scythe stepped forward calmly, closing the distance between them in a single motion.
Arthur blocked the incoming strike with Dawn's Ballad.
The impact shattered the ground beneath his feet.
Pain shot through his arms as Cadell forced him down to one knee.
Arthur gritted his teeth and unleashed a burst of wind and fire to push the Scythe back.
The explosion forced Cadell several steps away.
Nico attacked immediately from the side.
Lightning lanced toward Arthur's ribs.
Arthur raised a wall of earth to block it, but the force still blasted him backward.
He rolled across broken stone before forcing himself upright again.
His chest burned.
His arms trembled.
Cadell was watching him closely now.
Not mocking.
Studying.
"Your control is impressive," the Scythe said calmly.
Arthur didn't respond.
He was too busy calculating.
Cadell was stronger.
Faster.
His spells were devouring Arthur's mana like fuel.
And fighting both him and Nico at the same time was draining Arthur faster than he could recover.
But retreat wasn't an option.
Arthur charged again.
Wind propelled him forward at blinding speed.
Lightning wrapped around his sword as he slashed toward Cadell's neck.
The Scythe caught the blade between two fingers.
Arthur's eyes widened.
Cadell twisted slightly.
The motion sent Arthur flying across the battlefield like a ragdoll.
Arthur slammed into the ground, the impact cracking the stone beneath him.
Before he could rise—
Cadell was already standing over him.
Arthur reacted on instinct.
A burst of lightning exploded upward.
Cadell stepped aside effortlessly.
Then he kicked Arthur in the ribs.
Arthur felt something crack.
His body tumbled across the ground again before finally stopping near the edge of a massive crater.
Cadell walked toward him slowly.
"You've improved," the Scythe admitted.
"But not enough."
Arthur forced himself onto one knee.
His vision swam.
But he refused to stay down.
Lightning crackled weakly around him as he stood again.
Nico watched silently from the side.
There was no hesitation in his eyes.
No doubt.
Arthur felt the weight of that realization settle in his chest.
Nico wasn't coming back.
Not today.
Cadell stopped a few meters away.
"You're stubborn," he said.
Arthur tightened his grip on Dawn's Ballad.
"Yeah."
Cadell smiled faintly.
"I like that."
The Scythe moved.
Arthur never saw the strike.
Pain exploded across his chest as Cadell's clawed gauntlet tore through his defenses.
Arthur's body lifted off the ground from the force.
He crashed down several meters away, gasping for breath.
The world spun.
Cadell approached again.
Arthur tried to stand—
And collapsed.
His mana reserves were nearly empty.
His body refused to respond.
Cadell looked down at him.
"Disappointing."
He raised his hand.
Black flames began gathering around his claws.
Arthur forced his eyes open.
He couldn't move.
But he refused to close them.
Even if this was the end.
Then—
The air shifted.
A sudden burst of mana cut through the battlefield.
Cadell paused.
Arthur's vision blurred as a new presence stepped between him and the Scythe.
The next moment—
Everything erupted into chaos.
Far above the battlefield, standing on a distant ridge hidden by the shadows of the mountain—
Cael watched quietly.
The wind carried the distant shockwaves of the battle to where he stood.
Arthur lay broken in the crater below.
Cadell still stood strong.
But now the situation had changed.
Cael exhaled slowly.
"This is where it begins," he murmured.
He had known this moment would come.
Arthur being pushed beyond his limits.
Arthur realizing how far he still had to go.
The same realization that would eventually lead him down the path toward mastering aether.
Cael could feel the urge to step in.
To end the fight.
To crush Cadell with the overwhelming control that Integration stage had given him.
But he didn't move.
Because this moment—
This defeat—
Was necessary.
Arthur needed it.
The war needed it.
Cael's glowing eyes remained fixed on the battlefield below.
For now…
He would continue to watch.
And wait.
Because Arthur Leywin's real journey had only just begun.