The structure collapsed.
Among the rubble, Igyris and Khaelis vanished.
Flames devoured everything in sparks of destruction.
Explosions.
Screams.
And as if hell had gained soldiers, a squad of mercenaries stormed the area from all sides,
with a fleet of tactical drones in escort,
killing anything that dared to breathe.
At their front — her.
A woman advanced —
and those who still lived in Powermagi recognized her in horror.
"It can't be."
It was as if destruction had chosen a guide.
Her eyes burned with more than rage:
there was purpose. There was fury.
Strapped to her back was a colossal weapon — the so-called "ace," a walking nightmare.
— Damn it... shitty risky mission. We're messing with the goddamn elite of society... shit.
— Yeah... well, the payout's too good. Can't pass it up. Let's just... do our job. With minimum bloodshed. Heh.
— As if we'd care about that crap... But the weapon on the client's back... what a freakshow. Maybe... if the girl dies... we can get our hands on it.
Conversations among jackals.
Greed among rats.
Meanwhile, Khaelis, dazed, struggled to rise.
Chaos painted a burning canvas before his eyes:
flames, drones, gunfire, mercenaries — all mixed in a vortex of destruction.
He leapt.
Slid across the wreckage like a flaming bolt.
A dancing specter.
— Cursed be the rats hiding here. If you desire so badly to interfere with my sacred mission... you shall be rewarded.
My wrath.
And he slashed.
Slashed the air.
Slashed dimensions.
The blades tore through the silence.
Death came without sound, without honor, without warning.
His precision was inhuman.
His calm? Unsettling.
Igyris, on the other hand, lay charred —
his flesh scorched and disintegrating.
But he still breathed.
He breathed.
And... felt alive again.
In that broken body, green veins pulsed with arcane spasms.
As if flames and curses had fused,
as if the Arcane had reacted unnaturally,
regenerating instead of consuming.
That wasn't his.
That was something more.
Khaelis advanced.
Serene.
— Reixys. So it is you behind these heinous crimes...
Your collapse is complete, I see.
It falls to me... to eradicate this threat.
ShadowStorm began to sing.
Runes glowed.
Blades multiplied in a spiral —
a clock of death spinning to the rhythm of fate.
The mercenaries' shots were no more than whispers against a storm.
— LOOK AT THAT, I SHOULD'VE GUESSED! THE GREAT KHAELIS KAIWEN!
HOUSE KAIWEN'S SHINING STAR!
TAKING YOU DOWN'LL MAKE A DAMN FINE TROPHY, HUH?
Reixys leapt out of reach.
And drew her trump card:
EdelZerar B.
A massive RPG, built to suck Arcane from the air and return it as condensed death.
— Any last words, Kaiwen?
Khaelis, unwavering, answered:
— Humph... so you copied that.
The name's EdelGear, right?
That abomination...
They told me it had ties to you, Reixys.
But remember: in your hands, it's nothing more than a knockoff...
Cheap.
Filthy.
Insignificant.
Like your crusade.
ShadowStorm pointed left.
Runes gleamed like constellations.
FISH — a clean cut.
Space tore open.
— SPARDUS.
An ancient chant.
And a tornado of translucent blades erupted —
the strike of a Warrior Avatar.
— IT'S OVER FOR YOU, REIXYS.
DIE IN DISHONOR TO YOUR HOUSE.
— HAH! MY HOUSE?
I'M NOT ONE OF THE RATS YOU BOW TO, DAMN IT!
YOU HAVE NO FUCKING IDEA THE WEIGHT I CARRY!
NO IDEA WHAT BURNS INSIDE ME!
She fired.
The shot ripped through reality.
The EdelZerar sucked in Arcane, but Khaelis' essence resisted.
The shock made the earth tremble.
Explosion.
Silence.
Then — FASH.
Blood sprayed.
Khaelis had won.
The blade had found flesh.
— It's over, Reixys.
Just another stain... on a corrupt house.
— Argh... go fuck yourself, bastard... I'm just getting started.
The blade rose.
An act of mercy, or of justice.
But...
Something stopped him.
— Arrgh... this is... an Altruist negation seal?
Arcane-negation tech...
You don't have Arcane...?
A generator?! That stone on your belt... perfect.
I just need to destroy you before you activate another barrier.
A cut was delivered.
So pure it disintegrated oxygen.
The arcane barrier reacted — a crushing shockwave.
Meanwhile...
Igyris.
Curled up.
His skin burned... but didn't burn.
Black and green embers pulsed across his body.
Skin restored and crumbled in grotesque cycles.
Agony.
Pure.
Uncontained.
His body couldn't take it.
His mind screamed.
— FUCK, FUCK, FUCK!
IT WAS JUST ANOTHER MONDAY!
MY SKIN! IT'S FALLING OFF!
WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS?! ARGHHH!!!
Then.
It exploded.
In the center of his chest.
An ancient pain.
He screamed.
And the scream tore the world.
Black aura consumed him —
thick, evil, sticky.
Khaelis stopped.
— So it's true...
This isn't Arcane.
It's a Curse.
A profane god...
I have to destroy him—
But he had no time.
Reixys, even at death's edge, activated the compressed blast device on her back.
BOOM.
Khaelis flew.
Through wall after wall.
Gone.
Silence.
— ENJOYED THAT, ASSHOLE?! — she shouted, spitting blood.
Igyris... or what remained of him... roared.
The black aura took over.
Bodies rotted while still standing.
Souls were drained.
Poison.
Curse.
Living hell.
— SHIT, HE'S CURSED!
FIRE! MAKE IT STOP!
WHATEVER IT TAKES!
— KILL HIM! NOW!
Panic swallowed the mercenaries.
Machine guns roared.
But the green flame spread.
Ammo ran dry.
Hope died.
Until it stopped.
For a second.
— Huf... huf... what the fuck was that? That wasn't in the contract...
One of them vomited.
— I know, fuck... uff... he's cursed. Just kill him, we can't sto—
But then, a golden light.
From Igyris' unconscious body,
a sacred light — terrible and beautiful — shone.
— No... it can't be... that's...
She recognized it.
And trembled.
She knew what it was.
Knew what it meant.
But there?
In that hell?
The golden light swallowed everything.
Igyris woke up.
No headache.
No nausea.
No itch.
He felt... good?
The place was different.
A base — much more run-down.
Ugly enough to hurt the eyes.
He was cuffed.
Old explosive plasma cuffs...
Ah, good times.
But he didn't understand.
— Well, well... the green-flame cursed guy is awake.
The asshole that made all my people run for their lives. Hahah...
That's cool, man. You like... a ghost?
Probably shouldn't even exist. Amazing.
A woman approached, rubbing her hands.
He looked up at her.
— Hah... nice, babe.
Thanks for the hospitality.
But that ghost talk's kinda weird.
You saved me from that freak, but I'm chained up...
Where's my amulet...?
Heh... go on, tell me your name, sweet cheeks.
Ironic.
Not expecting an answer.
Like someone talking to kill the silence.
— You're kind of funny...
For someone who shouldn't exist.
But just so you know, you filthy sewer rat...
She kicked him in the face.
Three teeth flew out.
— I'm the bitch who's gonna destroy the world.
It's Tuesday already.