The search parties returned to camp just before dawn, exhausted and empty-handed. The fire had burned low, its embers glowing faintly as injured soldiers settled back into their tents. No one spoke much. The silence itself felt heavy—like the land was holding its breath.
Hisano broke it.
"This ends here," she said coldly, facing Noa. "I won't let any more of my troops die because of your obsession."
Noa turned to her, eyes sharp despite his injuries. "That 'obsession' is the reason we're still alive."
"And it's also going to get everyone killed," Hisano snapped. "You don't command my soldiers."
Noa took a step forward. "Then stop acting like you saved us out of mercy. You came because you wanted answers."
The tension finally snapped.
Hisano lunged first.
Steel rang against steel as the two clashed, sparks flashing in the dim camp. Noa moved on instinct alone, pain forgotten, while Hisano fought with disciplined fury. The ground beneath them cracked as their blows collided.
"Stop!" Rose shouted, rushing forward.
Lunnaux and Nagumo joined her, trying to pull them apart, soldiers shouting as the camp descended into chaos. The fight ended as suddenly as it began—both of them stepping back, breathing hard, weapons lowered.
That was when Noa froze.
Something was wrong.
The pressure returned—stronger than before.
His head snapped toward Gusvein.
Without a word, Noa reached out, tore a sword from a nearby soldier's grip, and pressed the blade to Gusvein's neck.
Gasps rippled through the camp.
"Noa!" Lunnaux shouted. "What are you doing?!"
Noa didn't blink. His eyes began to glow faintly again, that familiar, unsettling light spilling through the darkness.
"You aren't Gusvein," Noa said slowly. "Are you?"
Gusvein stood perfectly still.
No answer.
Noa's grip tightened. "ANSWER ME!"
Gusvein's lips finally moved.
"So… you finally understood," he whispered.
The world exploded.
A violent blast tore through the camp, fire and debris swallowing everything in an instant. Tents were ripped apart, soldiers thrown into the air, screams vanishing beneath the roar. The ground buckled as flames climbed into the sky.
Noa was hurled backward, slamming into the dirt. He coughed violently, smoke burning his lungs as he forced himself upright.
From within the rolling smoke, a figure stepped forward.
Gusvein.
But his body twisted unnaturally, skin rippling, bones shifting. In seconds, the disguise shattered and fell away like broken glass.
The truth stood revealed.
The archerer.
He reached up and slowly removed his cape, letting it drop to the ground. His face was calm—almost amused. He looked eerily similar to Amity, but older, harder. A long scar cut across his nose.
Noa's blood ran cold.
The description Amity once gave echoed in his mind.
"…my brother."
"Oh, finally," the man said with a grin. "I don't have to stay disguised anymore."
Noa staggered to his feet, rage burning through the pain. "You bastard… how are you still alive?"
"Still?" the archerer chuckled. "Ah… so Amity told you about me. He truly believed he killed me."
He spread his arms slightly. "Looks like he was wrong."
Noa's voice trembled with fury. "Why did you help me?! Why save us?!"
The archerer tilted his head. "Hmm. You'll understand soon enough."
Before anyone could react, Lunnaux, Rose, Hisano, and Nagumo burst from the smoke and charged him together.
Their attacks came fast—precise, deadly.
And completely useless.
The archerer moved like a shadow, weaving effortlessly between strikes. Blades passed through empty air. A single motion sent all four of them crashing back, slammed into debris and broken ground.
He stood alone amid the burning camp, untouched.
"Too slow," he said softly.
Noa clenched his fists.
This wasn't just an enemy anymore.
This was a nightmare that refused to stay dead.And it had only just begun.
Smoke and fire swirled as Aristal took a single step forward.
That was all it took.
Noa charged first, forcing his aching body to move, blade humming as he swung with everything he had left. Aristal met it with two fingers. The strike stopped dead, the force snapping the sword in half.
Noa's eyes widened—then Aristal struck him in the chest.
Noa flew backward and crashed into the remains of a tent, collapsing motionless.
"NOA!" Rose screamed.
Hisano roared and attacked, her movements sharp and relentless, every strike meant to kill. Aristal sidestepped calmly, grabbed her wrist, and slammed her into the ground with crushing force. The earth cracked beneath her.
Nagumo unleashed his power next, the air distorting violently—but Aristal walked through it, untouched, and knocked him down with a single blow to the neck.
Lunnaux tried to reach Noa.
An arrow of condensed energy appeared in Aristal's hand and struck the ground in front of him, the shockwave throwing Lunnaux back unconscious.
Soldiers rushed in from all sides.
It didn't matter.
Aristal moved like death itself—silent, precise, unstoppable. One by one, soldiers fell. Some were knocked aside, others dropped where they stood, their strength erased in moments.
Within seconds, the camp went quiet.
Bodies lay scattered across the ruined ground.
Noa, Hisano, Rose, Lunnaux, Nagumo—everyone had fallen.
Aristal stood at the center of it all, breathing steady, eyes cold.
"…Disappointing," he murmured.