Outside the ruins of the Northern Abyss, the world was screaming. The Guild Master clutched his radio, his hands shaking so hard he could barely press the button.
"Code Red! Code Red!" he shrieked. "This isn't a dungeon break—it's an extinction event! He's absorbing everyone! We need—"
A black, clawed hand closed around the Guild Master's throat. The transmission cut to static. Gudmaro leaned in, watching the life drain from the man's eyes until only a husk remained. He dropped the body and looked at the cowering survivors.
"If any of you still wish to fight," Gudmaro rasped, his voice echoing like a dying star, "come forward. But the only thing you will see... is your own death."
Back at the Tree of Life, the air was thick with healing mist. Techyon sat up, his chest heaving as the Arcon of Life stabilized his core.
"He was just standing there," Techyon muttered, clutching his hands. "But my mana was draining like crazy. I've never felt an aura that aggressive."
"It happened to me too," Alya whispered, her face still pale. "It felt like my soul was being pulled out through my skin."
Suddenly, Yoru's status window flashed a violent crimson.
[SYSTEM ALERT: Z-ELITE PROTOCOL ACTIVATED. TARGET: GUDMARO.]
"I'm going back," Yoru said, her green eyes narrowing. "I'm going to end this."
"Yoru, wait!" Techyon called out. "He's too strong. Even my Light Kunai did nothing!"
Yoru glanced back, a confident smirk playing on her lips. "He's strong, Techyon. But he's nothing compared to me."
Before she could blink away, the space in front of her folded. Lapis stepped out of a void rift, his magenta mana burning with a cold, divine light. "No," Lapis said firmly. "I'm going to fight him."
With a snap of his fingers, Lapis warped to the battlefield. He landed in front of Gudmaro, the ground shattering under the weight of his presence. "You've had your fun, monster," Lapis growled. "Now you fight a real opponent."
Gudmaro paused, his tail lashing behind him. "I can sense Divine Mana from you. You're a Divine type, aren't you? Rare... and delicious."
Lapis's eyes glowed. "I don't need to talk with a wild beast."
Back at the garden, Techyon turned to the Arcon of Life. "Who is he? How does something like that even exist?"
The Arcon of Life looked at the wilting leaves of the Great Tree. "He is a Virus, Techyon. Created by the Outer Gods to prune reality. He drains energy, copies moves, and—most dangerously—he adapts. Once he adapts to an attack, it can never hurt him again."
She closed her eyes, remembering the horror. "300 years ago, he arrived as a mere parasite. No one sensed him until it was too late. He ate his way through the strongest warriors of that era, growing with every kill. We couldn't beat him back then. We only managed to seal him when he was momentarily weakened. If he reaches his Perfect Form now... there is no seal strong enough to hold him."
"If he was that powerful," Techyon asked, his eyes narrowing as he felt the heavy aura of the Tree of Life, "then who managed to seal him? Who had enough power to stop a Galaxy Eraser?"
Neweland looked toward the distant mountains, his voice a somber whisper. "It was Mayanee."
The Arcon of Life closed her eyes, and a shimmering projection appeared in the air—a Flashback to 300 years ago.
[Flashback: The Northern Abyss]
The sky was bleeding. Gudmaro in his primal form, was an unstoppable tide of void energy. But standing against him was a single woman with hair like flowing silk and eyes of cold steel.
Mayanee.
She didn't use flashy energy blasts. She moved with pure, overwhelming Physical Strength. With a roar that shook the foundations of the world, she lunged. Her Katana flashed—a single, vertical line of absolute force.
Gudmaro, the virus that could adapt to anything, was too slow. The blade split him vertically, carving through his celestial armor and his core.
"You are a plague," Mayanee hissed. She sheathed her sword and clasped her hands together. "And every plague needs a cage. Domain Expansion: Blood of Eternity!"
A crimson reality folded inward, swallowing Gudmaro whole and sealing him away in a tomb of his own frozen time.
[End of Flashback]
"After that day," the Arcon of Life continued, the projection fading, "she was given the title of the Strongest Arcon of the modern era. But that strength came with a price."
Techyon looked stunned. "What happened to her?"
"She fell," the Arcon said softly. "In the final battle against the Monarch of Destruction. But even in her final moments, she did the impossible. She used her very life force to pull the Monarch into her domain, sealing both herself and the greatest threat to existence forever."
Techyon gripped his fist. "She traded her life to buy us time."
"Yes," the Arcon of Life replied. "And now that Gudmaro is free, we no longer have the Strongest Arcon to save us. We only have you."