Storming the Floating Fortress

Henry and I moved instantly, pushing through the endless hordes of undead warriors, ignoring them as much as possible.

Now that we knew the truth, wasting energy fighting them was pointless—every enemy we cut down would just be summoned back in an instant.

"Damn it," Henry muttered, slicing through a wave of enemies with a single divine arc, his golden aura flaring. "If I were a Summoner hiding in a battlefield, where the hell would I be?"

I gritted my teeth, dodging a spear strike and countering with a devastating punch, sending a warrior flying into the distance.

"Not in the middle of the war," I muttered. "A summoner is like a king on a chessboard—protected, hidden, letting their pieces fight for them."

Henry's eyes narrowed, processing my words.

"Then that means…"

I smirked. "They're not here. They're watching from a safe distance."

Henry immediately looked upward.

And then we saw it.

A massive floating fortress, hovering just beyond the battlefield, cloaked in dark energy.

It was positioned at the very edge of the sky, high enough that no ordinary warrior would ever think to look up.

"Found you, motherfucker," I growled.

Henry grinned, gripping his sword. "So how do we get up there? You got wings I don't know about?"

I smirked, activating Void Step, my entire body flickering with abyssal energy.

"I don't need wings."

Henry rolled his shoulders, his golden aura flaring even brighter.

"Good. Because I think it's time we stop playing defense."

I cracked my knuckles. "Then let's burn this summoner's palace to the fucking ground."

Together, we launched ourselves toward the floating fortress, ready to end this war at its source.

The moment we took off, the entire battlefield reacted.

The sky shook violently, as if the dungeon itself had sensed our intentions. The fortress in the distance, once hovering in eerie silence, suddenly roared to life, its dark energy crackling as if warning us to turn back.

Too late.

We weren't stopping.

Henry and I shot forward like unstoppable meteors, my Void Step bending reality around me as I phased through the very air, while Henry's Celestial Blink made him vanish and reappear with godlike speed, leaving behind streaks of golden light.

Then—the fortress reacted.

Hundreds of projectiles—massive black spears formed of pure abyssal energy—erupted from the fortress, all aimed directly at us.

"Tch." Henry clicked his tongue. "You take left, I'll take right."

"On it."

We split apart, dodging the incoming onslaught. I phased through several of the spears using Void Step, twisting mid-air and grabbing one of them with my Abyssal Gauntlets before hurling it back ten times faster.

BOOM!

It smashed into the fortress's outer wall, but instead of crumbling, the structure absorbed the attack like it was nothing.

"Figures," I muttered. "It's got some kind of reinforcement."

Henry didn't slow down.

"Then we don't hold back!"

He raised his Sword of the First Dawn, and in one godlike swing, he unleashed a crescent arc of divine lightning, slicing through the air toward the fortress.

CRACK-BOOOOOM!!!

The attack struck the outer layer, and the entire structure shook, a deep groan echoing through the sky.

That got its attention.

Suddenly—the fortress itself started moving.

The massive structure, once still, began to shift, its very walls transforming as if it were alive. Large turret-like appendages emerged, each glowing with abyssal symbols, and before we could react—

They fired.

A massive energy barrage rained down toward us, the sheer force causing the air to quake.

"Shit!" Henry cursed, blinking out of the way as the projectiles exploded where he had been just a second earlier.

I used Void Step, dodging mid-air, but one of the blasts grazed my side, sending a searing pain through my ribs.

"Tch—!" I hissed, twisting to regain balance.

"We need to get inside," Henry shouted over the noise. "If we stay out here, we'll get blasted out of the sky!"

I gritted my teeth, analyzing the fortress as I dodged another wave of abyssal fire.

"There—" I pointed toward a massive gateway near the base of the floating fortress.

It was guarded by two enormous abyssal statues, their hollow eyes glowing as if watching us.

"That's our entrance."

Henry grinned.

"Then let's break the fucking door down."

We surged forward, dodging the remaining fire as the fortress's defenses tried—and failed—to keep up with our speed.

The two guardian statues came to life, their massive stone weapons raised to block us.

But they weren't fast enough.

Henry vanished in a flash of light—then reappeared mid-air, his sword already swinging.

"DIVINE JUDGMENT—!"

A massive arc of golden lightning slammed into the first statue, shattering it into rubble.

The second statue swung toward me, but I caught its weapon mid-air, my Abyssal Gauntlets glowing violently.

"Not today."

I ripped the weapon out of its grip, spun mid-air, and smashed my fist straight into its core.

BOOOOM!

The entire statue imploded, its very essence devoured by abyssal flames.

With the guards down, the gate groaned open.

Henry and I landed on the fortress's outer ledge, standing before the dark entrance leading inside.

"This is it," Henry muttered, gripping his sword tighter. "The Summoner's inside."

I exhaled, feeling the air shift—the presence beyond the doors was powerful.

"Then let's finish this war."

With that, we stepped inside the abyssal fortress, ready to end the Summoner once and for all.