Jarfa tilted his massive head. The ring of eyes around him shifted, rotating like a halo of watching stars. Then he froze. His eyes widened—all of them. Every single one.
"…Wait."
His voice dropped, deeper, confused, and layered with a growing offense. "Who… are you?"
He leaned forward, the ground cracking beneath his immense weight. His four arms flexed, claws scraping against the black armor plates with the sound of grinding stone. "You are not the Great Sages." His eyes narrowed again, scanning each king with predatory precision. "You are… smaller. Weaker. Mortal."
A low growl rolled from his chest, vibrating through the very soles of their boots. "Answer me."
Still, the kings did not speak. The air thickened until it felt like water. The canyon trembled. Jarfa's voice sharpened, cutting through the hum of the abyss. "Who are you, little kings?"
Silence. Then, one man stepped forward. King Daryon, the Northern Sovereign.
His cloak billowed behind him as he raised his white blade, the metal gleaming against the strobing red lightning. His voice was calm, cold, and utterly unshaken. "We are the figures that will be the last thing you see."
The other kings drew their blades in unison, white steel igniting with brilliant aura. Jarfa stared at them, and then—he laughed.
It was a deep, thunderous, earth-splitting sound that echoed across the Abyssal Frontier like a collapsing mountain. The floating landmasses trembled. The red lightning intensified as if answering his call. Jarfa's countless eyes widened with savage delight.
"Very well." He reached for the first of his four massive blades. "Let us see if your courage is stronger than your lifespan."
The kings braced themselves. The Great Demon towered over them, his four arms flexing, his eyes glowing like rings of molten stars.
"Form up!" Daryon commanded.
The kings moved instantly, a blur of white silk and steel. Nipolla to the left. Zanders to the right. Tcil behind. Vareon circling wide. Five white cloaks stood against a demon the size of a fortress.
"Come then, little kings," Jarfa grinned.
The moment his fingers touched his hilt, the air warped. A shockwave blasted outward, ripping cracks through the canyon floor. Jarfa drew the blade—a weapon forged from metal darker than the void. He swung, the strike coming faster than any of them expected.
A roar of displaced air. A shockwave that split the canyon wall.
Daryon blocked first. His white blade met Jarfa's colossal sword with a thunderous impact that sent sparks of aura flying like dying stars. The force launched him backward, his boots carving deep trenches in the stone as he slid nearly twenty feet.
Zanders dashed in, his aura flaring. He struck Jarfa's side, but the armor barely dented. Jarfa didn't even flinch. Instead, a lower arm swung sideways in a casual backhand that hit Zanders like a falling mountain. He flew across the canyon, smashing into a boulder that shattered under the impact.
"Still alive," Zanders muttered, coughing as he forced himself up, gripping his blade with shaking hands. "Good."
Nipolla charged next, his aura spiraling like a white cyclone. He slashed upward, aiming for Jarfa's neck. Jarfa caught the blade with two fingers.
Nipolla's eyes widened. Jarfa smirked and squeezed. The blade cracked. Nipolla barely leapt back as Jarfa's second blade came down, carving a massive crater where he had just stood.
Tcil moved silently, his aura condensed into a razor-thin edge. He struck at Jarfa's leg joints, seeking to slow him. But Jarfa's countless eyes rotated toward him—all of them. A wave of crushing pressure slammed into Tcil, knocking the breath from his lungs.
"This is absurd," Tcil muttered, spitting dust. "His strength is beyond recorded limits."
Vareon leapt from a floating rock above, his aura blazing like a sun. He aimed for the demon's head. Jarfa looked up, and an upper arm swung. A single strike. A single moment.
Vareon's arm was severed cleanly in a burst of white aura, vanishing into the swirling dust below. He crashed to the ground, rolling and gasping as he clutched the stump of his shoulder. Yet, he forced himself upright.
"One arm… is enough," Vareon growled, lifting his blade with his remaining hand.
Jarfa laughed again. "Good! Fight me with everything you have!"
He swung all four blades at once. The canyon erupted. Stone shattered, and floating landmasses cracked and fell. Red lightning struck the ground, drawn to the chaos. Daryon and Nipolla charged together, their blades crossing in a coordinated strike. Jarfa blocked with two arms and countered with the other two, forcing them back with overwhelming power.
Zanders reappeared, carving a glowing line across the demon's back. Jarfa turned a ring of eyes toward him, and a pulse of energy threw Zanders back once more, his armor cracking. Tcil darted in, finally cracking the armor on Jarfa's knee. Jarfa snarled, swinging a blade the size of a tree trunk.
Nipolla slashed Jarfa's arm, but was grabbed and hurled across the canyon like a ragdoll.
Daryon alone stood firm against the next strike, his aura exploding in a storm of frost. Jarfa pushed harder, Daryon's boots cracking the stone beneath him. Jarfa leaned in, eyes glowing. "You are strong… for a mortal."
Daryon roared, pushing back with every ounce of his soul. But Jarfa was stronger. The blade pressed closer—closer—until Vareon appeared, one-armed and blazing like wildfire.
"Move!"
Vareon struck Jarfa's blade, redirecting the force just enough for Daryon to break free. The two kings stood side by side—bleeding, shaking, and barely standing. But they were alive.
The others regrouped, limping and armor-shattered. Jarfa looked at them, his countless eyes narrowing. "You are persistent. But persistence will not save you."
He raised all four blades. The kings raised theirs. Aura flared around them, white light swirling and merging into a blinding intensity.
Daryon spoke first, his voice low and steady. "Kings."
They stood in a line. Five rulers. Five warriors. Five men facing a demon who once terrified the heavens. Their blades rose, their auras ignited, and together, they chanted the words that made the Abyssal Frontier tremble.
"Rise of the Three Gods."