First Calamity II

Rin exhaled sharply, her body tense as she assessed the battlefield. The situation was deteriorating by the second.

Vorgath was like a glass cannon, but the problem wasn't his defense—it was his absurd firepower.

He didn't need to block attacks. He overwhelmed them.

Every spell, every strike, every technique thrown at him was reduced to nothing under the sheer force of his ruinous axe. His raw power didn't allow for exchanges; it dictated them.

And it was working.

Sun Zenith, despite his talent, was kneeling, sweat trailing down his brow as his breath came in ragged gasps. His sword trembled in his grasp, his Sword Unity struggling against the sheer oppressive force of Vorgath's presence.

"Is that all?" Vorgath's voice rang out, thick with amusement. His molten crown burned brighter as he took a step forward, radiating the carnage-infused might of Infernal Armis. He swung his axe downward in a devastating arc, his presence dominating the space around him.

"We should retreat," Cecilia said, her tone firm, both her hands pulsing with condensed eight-circle spells, ready to be unleashed at a moment's notice.

Seraphina descended beside her, landing gracefully. She nodded, the ice mist coiling around her body a clear sign that she agreed.

Sun, however, gritted his teeth in frustration. His fists clenched around his sword, his pride as the genius of Mount Hua unwilling to accept retreat. But he was barely holding on.

Vorgath's grin widened, sensing hesitation, and he swung again, a brutal arc that would have ended Sun's participation in this battle entirely.

The axe never landed.

A sword appeared before it, wrapped in ten layers of astral energy, one for each element, with shadows of black astral energy twisting between them. The sheer force behind the strike stopped the ruinous axe in its tracks.

The world seemed to freeze for a moment.

"Arthur!" the three girls exclaimed in unison, their voices filled with relief and something else—certainty.

Arthur smirked as he locked eyes with Vorgath.

"Vorgath," he said, his voice carrying an edge of amusement, "Come to my Domain!"

Vorgath's molten gaze widened slightly before space warped.

And then, everything changed.

A golden throne room stretched infinitely before them, its pillars reaching into an endless expanse of light. Divine radiance bathed the space, the air thick with a tangible presence of absolute authority. The very laws of the world bent here, shaped not by reality, but by the will of one man.

Arthur stood at the center, his sword still clashing against Vorgath's axe.

They were now inside Divine Emperor's Throne.

Vorgath stepped back, his molten crown flickering as he scanned the space. He grunted, gripping his axe tighter.

Vorgath swung his axe.

The force of his strike should have shattered everything, should have ripped through the space itself, but within the Divine Emperor's Throne, Arthur dictated the rules.

The axe met resistance—not from a weapon, but from the space itself.

The golden light of the throne room condensed, suppressing Vorgath's attack, pushing back against him like a tidal wave of absolute authority.

For the first time since bonding with Infernal Armis, Vorgath felt resistance.

Arthur took a step forward.

His sword blurred. One strike. Then another. And another.

Each one was aimed not just at Vorgath, but at the very balance of his power.

He couldn't let Vorgath adjust.

He couldn't let him fully control the Infernal Armis.

Vorgath growled, swinging wildly, each of his movements clashing against dozens of phantom edges, each attack countered by an impossible array of interwoven swordsmanship and mana control.

Arthur's assault never wavered.

This was his domain.

This was his authority.

Here, he was the strongest.

A flicker of uncertainty flashed across Vorgath's features as Arthur's sword found openings. Not to strike, but to suppress.

The throne room itself was an extension of Arthur's will.

And Vorgath was being pushed back.

"Impossible," Vorgath muttered, his axe clashing against Arthur's blade once more, sparks flying in all directions. "You shouldn't be able to—"

Arthur cut him off. "You really thought I wasn't prepared?" His voice was steady, unwavering. "I already knew how to kill you."

Vorgath grinned, his molten eyes narrowing.

"Then do it."

Arthur's smirk didn't falter, but deep inside, he knew something was off.

Vorgath was getting pushed back. And yet, he wasn't worried.

Something was wrong.

Arthur realized it too late.

The Infernal Armis pulsed.

Axe Unity shifted.

Arthur's Divine Emperor's Throne trembled.

The suppression that had kept Vorgath at bay shattered in an instant.

He crushed it.

Arthur's vision blurred as he hit the ground, his breath ragged. His Divine Emperor's Throne had shattered, its golden expanse ripped apart by the sheer force of Vorgath's overwhelming might. The moment they returned to reality, the battlefield felt heavier, drenched in the oppressive aura of Infernal Armis.

Vorgath loomed above him, molten crown burning brighter than ever, his ruinous axe resting on his shoulder. His presence was suffocating, like the heat of a dying star ready to collapse into something far worse.

"You should've stayed down," Vorgath said, voice like grinding metal. His mana and black mana surged outward, expanding in all directions, warping the air with sheer destructive force.

Arthur forced himself to rise, every muscle in his body screaming from exhaustion. His mana hadn't fully recovered, and with his True Domain destroyed, he was left without its overwhelming suppression. His advantage was gone.

Vorgath hadn't taken a single hit.

The Axe King grinned, stepping forward, his presence swallowing the battlefield whole. The ground beneath him cracked as his aura expanded, like the very earth itself was struggling to bear his existence.

Arthur braced himself, but before he could move—

A crimson thread latched onto his arm.

The moment it touched him, a powerful force yanked him backward, pulling him away from the crushing weight of Vorgath's advance. At the same time, more threads descended, an intricate web of silken red carving through the battlefield like divine decree itself.

They wove through the air in an instant—and crushed Vorgath's mana and black mana before it could reach Arthur.

The sheer destructive force Vorgath had unleashed was simply erased, his expanding aura shredded apart as the threads dissolved it into nothingness.

__________________________________________________________________________________

I barely had time to process it before my back slammed into an all-too-familiar presence. A voice, smooth and languid, whispered near my ear.

"You always push yourself too much, Arthur," Alyssara murmured, her breath warm against my skin. "You can't beat him yet."

I gritted my teeth.

I had managed to reactivate my True Domain thanks to Rachel's healing, seizing the moment while Vorgath was left without his own. This should have been my advantage, my opportunity to end this.

But it wasn't enough.

Even here, even with my power at its peak, I was still too lacking to defeat him.

My hands clenched into fists, frustration twisting inside me like a storm. "I can't beat him yet?" I repeated, turning to glare at her. "And who are you to decide that?"

Alyssara smiled, her jade eyes gleaming with something unreadable.

"A woman who loves you."

I froze.

It wasn't a mocking smile. It wasn't the usual smirk of amusement, nor the knowing curve of her lips when she toyed with people like a cat playing with its prey.

This was genuine.

Soft. Unrestrained.

A smile that didn't match Alyssara Velcroix.

A smile that hit my heart.

For the briefest moment, I felt something shift in the air between us. A crack in the foundation of who she was. Who she was to me.

But I shoved it aside.

"You don't love the current me, Alyssara," I said, my voice steady despite the chaos around us. Her eyes widened, her fingers twitching slightly as my words hit her. 

Silence stretched between us.

Then, without another word, her crimson threads loosened.

She said nothing.

She simply watched me—then vanished like a phantom, disappearing into the battlefield like she had never been there at all.

I exhaled, my body trembling not from exhaustion, but from realization.

'I understand it now. The weakness. The reason I can't beat Vorgath.'

I turned to Rachel, my voice quiet but certain. "Rachel… please."

She understood instantly, her hands already glowing with light magic, her healing flooding into me before I even needed to say more.

"Please buy me time," I asked the three princesses.

Seraphina, Cecilia, and Rin didn't hesitate.

They rushed at Vorgath once again, their astral energy bursting forth in a combined assault to hold him back. Their strikes met his axe in a clash that sent shockwaves tearing through the battlefield.

And meanwhile—

I closed my eyes.

And conceptualized.