On Antarctica, with communications severed, the battlefield had collapsed into chaos.
The Serpent's Hand began a full-scale retreat. The landing Chaos forces clashed head-on with the Kitsune, and the moment they caught sight of each other, they fought with savage ferocity.
Meanwhile, the Serpent's Hand withdrew further, content to sit back and watch the tigers tear each other apart.
Reinhard found Arthur maddeningly difficult to defeat. With Lightbrain's aid, Arthur fought as if armed with a cheat code. Reinhard had no desire to be dragged into a prolonged struggle, and when an opening appeared, he seized the chance to pull back.
Elsewhere, Wu Earth's situation was equally grim.
Even after merging with Gui Water, he could barely withstand the onslaught of the black-robed man's two phantoms. The enemy's intent was obvious—he meant to end this quickly—forcing Wu Earth to desperately buy time.
The man feigned a furious strike toward Gui Water, but his true aim had always been Wu Earth.
Guarding Gui Water completely, Wu Earth was caught off guard by the sudden shift—one clean strike pierced straight through his chest.
Pfft!
Wu Earth's eyes went wide. "Number one in offense… Damn it—it's Geng Metal again…"
Wu Earth's defense ranked first among the Deca. Geng Metal's offense ranked first among the upper ranks.
If the enemy had only wielded wood, water, and fire, Wu Earth might have held out. But with Geng Metal in the mix…
He was slain with a single blow. Gui Water's desperate counterattack proved useless—she too was cut down in an instant by the black-clad man's strike.
The two collapsed into the snow one after the other, their hands clasping together in death.
The black-robed man, face hidden behind a gas mask, stepped forward. As his phantoms dissolved, he sat cross-legged before the fallen pair.
In that instant, a light-brown aura drifted from Wu Earth's body, while an aquamarine aura rose from Gui Water's. Both streams of light flowed directly into him.
A strangled cry tore from his throat as pain wracked his body. Behind him, a blue and a brown phantom slowly solidified.
He pressed his palms together—the two phantoms compressed into a single point, then suddenly split apart again.
At that moment, the black-robed man ripped off his gas mask and spat a mouthful of blood.
Pfft!
Wiping the red from the corner of his mouth, Ren Water's eyes narrowed. He brought his palms together once more.
The phantoms behind him drew together again.
"Ugh—pfft!!"
Ren Water spewed blood a second time, his breath ragged and labored.
"Still… too hasty?"
"But there's only this one chance."
Ren Water pushed himself upright. Wu Earth's phantom and Gui Water's phantom could not fuse cleanly—this was no simple feat. Forcing Heavenly Stem phantoms together invited fierce backlash; he'd learned that the hard way when merging Geng Metal with Yi Wood.
Only the merge with Ding Fire had gone unnaturally smooth. Every other combination had been brutally difficult.
"No time for Gui–Wu to manifest fire. I must use this window to kill Bing Fire and Xin Metal…"
He hauled himself to his feet and ran through the Five Element Combinations in his head.
Ding + Ren → Wood.
Gui + Wu → Fire.
Jia + Ji → Earth.
Yi + Geng → Metal.
Bing + Xin → Water.
When had Ren Water known all this? From the very start. He'd killed Ding Fire once—he'd tampered with Ding Fire's light shield, but Ding had noticed. So he used the forgetfulness spray to make her forget.
He had run too many trials for just one day. Every experiment he ever performed, he documented—then erased himself with the spray, only to read the diary a day later and relearn everything so he could record the next iteration. That was why Petrified couldn't call him a liar: Ren Water genuinely didn't remember between sessions.
The 'Jia' Geng Metal scrawled before his death had not been Geng's own hand at all; Ren Water had pressed Geng Metal's finger to write it, then used Yi Wood's communicator to send a distress signal—knowing the mission closely paralleled Jia Wood's. The first reinforcements would inevitably be Jia Wood.
Swallowing the blood that threatened to spill, Ren Water clipped his gas mask back on.
"Only two parts left."
...
Kitsune Headquarters.
In an acquisitions chamber, Ji Earth burst into the Elder Council. "I must see the Chief! This is urgent—please let me in!"
The guards remained cold. "The Chief is unwell and is receiving no one."
"I know who the traitor is!" Ji Earth shouted.
"I said the Chief is unwell."
"Even if the operation fails—if all the Heavenly Stems are wiped out—will you do nothing? Will you take responsibility for that?"
At Ji Earth's roar, the soldiers' expressions shifted, a flicker of doubt passing their faces.
"But…"
"Let her in."
A muffled voice came from inside the chamber.
The guards immediately parted, and Ji Earth rushed through the doorway.
Inside, Zero sat calmly in a chair.
"Speak."
"Ren Water is the traitor!"
"Hm. And then?"
Ji Earth froze at Zero's casual response. "What do you mean, 'and then'? Chief, shouldn't we be apprehending him right now?"
Zero looked up at last, setting down the fountain pen in his hand. "Last night, someone launched a supersonic fighter jet from headquarters—autonomously."
"It has already reached Antarctica."
"You knew?"
"Then why didn't you stop him?" Ji Earth demanded, baffled.
Zero's expression remained unreadable. "Do you have anything else?"
What did that attitude even mean?
Ji Earth faltered. "Ren Water killed Ding Fire. He killed Geng Metal. He killed Yi Wood—"
"Then why didn't you kill him?"
The question struck her silent.
"…Yes. Apologies, Chief."
She turned without another word, withdrawing from the chamber.
At once she returned to the acquisition wing, released her phantom secondary body, and smashed open the password-locked door to Jia Wood's room with a single punch.
"What are you doing?!"
"Jia Wood, come with me!"
Startled, Jia Wood stepped back. "What—are you rebelling?"
"No time to explain," Ji Earth growled through clenched teeth. "We're going to kill Ren Water!"
Together they blasted out of the facility, commandeered a supersonic fighter jet in broad daylight, and launched straight for Antarctica.
Yet oddly, no alarms blared, no lockdowns triggered, no guards tried to stop them.
Jia Wood's brow furrowed. "Could this… be the Chief's decision?"
Ji Earth shook her head firmly. "No. This one's mine."
...
Antarctica.
Arthur dangled a captured Serpent's Hand operative with one arm. "Where's the Book of God?"
"In… in Lord Abel's hands…"
Crack—crack!
Arthur's grip tightened, snapping the man's neck. "So it really exists… the Book of God."
"Alright. Whatever."
He spun the small knife in his hand, ready to step aside—when a figure blitzed in at light speed, launching a savage kick at him!
Arthur twisted smoothly, caught the attacker mid-strike, and slammed him into the ground.
"Heh. Lightbrain really does come in handy."
Kitsune's Rabbit position, caught in Arthur's grip, was utterly stunned. How had Arthur managed to seize him so easily?
Just then, a message came through from Computer.
"Wait, Arthur. Bring him back—this one's very useful to me."
Cain hovered in mid-air atop a glider, three books circling around him. They spun without pause until Revelations rotated to face his chest.
"Found it. Inform Abel. No need to ambush Kitsune Headquarters."
A Serpent's Hand operative, also riding a glider, looked shaken. "Th-this… how should I tell him?"
Cain's smile vanished. The three books whirled faster, and Cultes des Goules appeared before him.
"Abel, the mouse has defected."
Elsewhere, in North America.
A group of Serpent's Hand operatives lay in wait, secretly encircling Kitsune Headquarters.
Suddenly, a Ghoul in a black robe croaked out words.
"A-bel… the mouse… has… defected…"
At once, one of the black-robed figures' eyes lit with cold brilliance.
"Retreat."
Using a Ghoul as messenger had been Cain's plan all along. With Computer severing normal communications, ordinary methods were useless—this was the countermeasure.
...
Back in Antarctica.
Serpent's Hand fighters had cornered several Kitsune Earthly Branch members when Cain opened Revelations.
"To the divine—offer sacrifice!"
With those words, he seized a nearby Serpent's Hand member.
The man flinched. "Lord Cain, you—!"
"A lost lamb, aren't you? As tribute to the Apocalypse, at last you'll make some pitiful contribution of worth!"
Cain's voice dripped with scorn as dark green mist gushed from his hands, engulfing the man and slamming him to the ground.
At once Cain opened Cultes des Goules again. "Come forth, lambs! The time of sacrifice to the divine has arrived!"
All across the island, the ghouls collapsed, thrashing as they lost control.
Then, one by one, they erupted in blinding emerald light.
Countless pillars of green shot skyward, converging into a single nexus above—before lancing back down to strike the Serpent's Hand member Cain had chosen.
The pillar descended like judgment. The man shrieked in agony as his flesh melted away, his body rapidly dissolving, reshaping into something unearthly.
Cain's lips curled upward into a smile. "Ring the alarm! Let every living soul tremble—for the Apocalypse descends!"
At that very moment, a figure with vast wings burst onto the scene.
Nightmare, drawn by the colossal emerald beacon, had tracked it at once. Yet what he found before him was something beyond anything he had ever witnessed.
It was a suit of armor. Inside, there was no flesh, no life—only a mass of dark green energy!
He rode a warhorse, itself clad in armor, also hollow, also formed entirely from dark green energy!
The knight wielded a colossal scythe, and with him came the stench of death!
"When the fourth seal was broken, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say—
Come!"
"And I looked, and behold: a pale horse. Its rider's name was Death, and Hell followed with him. Authority was given them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, with famine, with pestilence, and with the beasts of the earth!"
"The Fourth Horseman of the Apocalypse—Death!"
Cain spread his arms wide. This was the power of Revelations!
The Book's strength lay within the Seven Seals. By sacrificing flesh and life, one could unseal its power. The first four seals summoned the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
The first seal, the White Rider—Pestilence.
The second seal, the Red Rider—War.
The third seal, the Black Rider—Famine.
The fourth seal, the Pale Rider—Death.
The fifth seal ushered in the time of reckoning.
The sixth seal brought omens of the end.
The seventh seal unleashed the great judgment.
When the seventh seal was opened, seven angels would appear, each sounding a trumpet of destruction.
Each seal required sacrifice. And the first four— the Four Horsemen—would grow stronger with the number of lives offered.
The more the sacrifice, the more devastating the Apocalypse.
This Book was a world-destroyer, a danger beyond measure!
It came from the 024 Library of the Exiled.
There, books were ranked in four tiers:
Basic, Transcendent, Truth, Destruction.
Destruction stood at the highest level. And Revelations was a forbidden book of that tier.
No one knew how Cain had obtained it. A Destruction-level book was beyond human bearing—the price he paid to claim it was unimaginable.
And still, he possessed other forbidden tomes: the Transcendent-ranked Cultes des Goules and Iron War.
Nightmare, adhering to the principle of "strike the head first," flashed straight at Cain!
But at that moment, the Pale Rider of Death advanced!
Horse and knight cut through the air, the colossal scythe cleaving down toward Nightmare!
Nightmare raised his claws to block, but the instant they touched the scythe, his body locked in midair.
Something had been stripped away from him!
And when he realized what it was, his expression twisted into horror—
Because what the scythe had taken was his very life!
That stroke had cut his lifeline itself—
And severed it clean in half!
To put it simply, the Apocalypse Knight's single strike had cut away half of Nightmare's lifespan!
And worse—the knight seemed to draw strength from it. His speed quickened, his presence sharpened.
He was harvesting life to fuel himself!
Absolute Darkness!
Nightmare cast the black curtain, shrouding everything in pitch-darkness. Yet, disturbingly, the Apocalypse Knight still tracked him without effort!
Damn it!
Nightmare didn't dare clash head-on. He shifted fully to evasive maneuvers, dodging strike after strike.
Seizing a fleeting gap, he turned his power on Cain—forcing him toward a dream!
But before the dreamscape could swallow Cain, the Apocalypse Knight closed in again!
"He's not controlled by his summoner?!"
Damn it!
Nightmare flashed into the sky. A summoned entity not bound to its master meant that even if Cain was dragged unconscious into a dream, the knight would keep fighting on its own.
Which meant—it would never stop hunting him!
Nightmare couldn't risk committing to a dream. His consciousness might enter, but his body would remain exposed!
This knight was far too dangerous!
At that moment, two Kitsune Earthly Branches arrived as reinforcements.
"Senior, move aside!"
One of them thrust his palm forward—
A roaring pillar of dragon flame burst forth!
Boom!!
Nightmare darted away as the inferno struck the Apocalypse Knight head-on, detonating in a massive explosion!
Nightmare glanced over. The one who attacked bore the Dragon position, carrying the Dragon Stone.
Beside him stood another—the Rat position, with the Rat Stone in hand.
Hm?
Before Nightmare could process it, the Apocalypse Knight surged out of the flames unscathed.
"He tanked that blast without a scratch?!"
This summon was beyond terrifying.
The Rat position Earthly Branch stepped forward. From his chest he pulled out the Rat Stone, then lowered the blank puppet strapped to his back.
He pressed the Rat Stone into its chest—
The puppet's eyes snapped open!
As Nightmare and the Apocalypse Knight clashed once more, a figure emerged. He twisted his waist and neck, moving step by deliberate step toward the battlefield.
The man wore a long robe, his hair blazing red, and in his hand he carried a gourd.
"This thing… is truly ominous."
The Apocalypse Knight suddenly stiffened, as if sensing a threat. Its head snapped toward the figure who had just stepped forward.
That man's chest gleamed with the inlaid Rat Stone. He wore long hair and a flowing beard, his bearing reminiscent of an ancient Daoist priest.
With a hiss, the Apocalypse Knight swung its massive scythe toward him.
But the Daoist calmly hurled the gourd in his hand into the air, forming seals with his fingers as he chanted:
"Please, turn around!"
From the gourd flashed a streak of cold light—
"Flying Dagger, go!"
The blade shot forth faster than the eye could follow. In the next instant, it pierced clean through the Apocalypse Knight's chest.
Crack!
A sharp sound rang out. Fissures spiderwebbed across the knight's body, spreading wider and wider until they consumed him whole.
And then—
Boom!
The knight shattered apart in a single explosion, scattering into nothing.
Nightmare, watching from the side, twitched the corner of his mouth. "So this is what the experiment team came up with? A Rat Stone animated candidate…"
Yet no sooner had the Daoist landed his strike than his body convulsed. Without warning, he burst apart—collapsing into a flurry of white paper talismans scattered on the wind.
"…Still just paper figures, huh." Nightmare muttered, stepping forward to reclaim the Rat Stone.
But before he could reach it, a strand of silken thread whipped through the air, coiling tight around the stone and yanking it away.
Reinhard appeared from the shadows, tugging the thread back into his hand.
Nightmare froze. He knew this man.
"Threads, a white mask, and the Demon Blade… Seth. One of the Serpent's Hand's three leaders."
The Rat Stone couldn't be allowed to fall into his hands.
Darkness!
Nightmare instantly unfurled Absolute Darkness, robbing Reinhard of sight and moving in for the kill. He lunged silently from behind—
But without warning, Reinhard swung the Demon Blade in a vicious arc directly into Nightmare's path!
Clang!
Steel met claw. Sparks flew.
Reinhard's eyes were clamped shut. Nightmare suddenly realized his arms and legs had been ensnared—thin threads binding him tight.
Recognition hit him. A long time ago, he had ambushed Reinhard in this very same way, casting him into darkness while Reinhard and Arthur fought over the Rabbit Stone.
But Reinhard had remembered. He had studied, planned, adapted.
Now he kept his eyes closed, refusing to rely on vision. Instead, he had laced the field with invisible threads. Sightless, he could still feel Nightmare the moment he brushed against them.
Through the threads, even with his eyes closed, Reinhard could still sense Nightmare's every move.
Even so-called absolute characteristics weren't truly unsolvable.
Just like Arthur's absolute trait, Reinhard had found his own way to counter it.
It proved the old saying true: What problem…? A free person's work.
Reinhard muttered the words, raising his Demon Blade for a killing strike.
But in that instant, Nightmare unleashed the Eternal Dream, dragging them both into the dreamscape!
The world around them warped. Sand stretched endlessly in all directions—a barren desert.
Here, Nightmare's form swelled and reshaped, becoming divine. In the dream world, he was God, and this was his domain.
But what if Reinhard's mental power had already reached the 4th Step?
...
Elsewhere—
Bing Fire and Xin Metal were suddenly ambushed.
Their attacker wore a protective mask, but the flames of Bing Fire's phantom roared behind him, twin chains lashing out with brutal force.
After a brief clash, the fire burned away the mask—
"I want to see who you really are."
The flames peeled back the disguise, revealing the face beneath.
Ren Water.
Seeing this, Bing Fire actually laughed. "If you're the traitor, then I've got no burden at all killing you."
"Come on—is that all you've got?"
Ren Water spat blood, tugging off his hood. Messy black hair tumbled loose, his chest clutched tight. His heartbeat thundered in his ears like a war drum.
The forced compression of Wu Earth's and Gui Water's phantoms had failed, the backlash wrecking every organ inside him.
Normally, when he absorbed another's secondary body, Ren Water needed time to integrate and adapt.
But this time—there was no time.
He had to finish Bing Fire and Xin Metal here and now. Only then could he force the conclusion he sought.
Otherwise…
Xin Metal stepped forward, her pale phantom gliding at her side.
"I don't know how you killed Geng Metal. But if it was that big idiot, I'm not surprised."
She tilted her head, sneering. "But you? In the end, you're still just a weakling, aren't you?"
Bing Fire shot her a sideways glance. Really? You calling others weak?
This Miss Xin Metal… fine when silent, but the moment she opened her mouth, she provoked. No wonder they got along—her sarcasm paired naturally with his temperament.
"How about it?" she asked. "Shall we drag him back to headquarters?"
"I don't think taking him alive is necessary, do you?" Xin Metal smirked.
"That's what you say," Bing Fire replied, a faint smile forming. "Not what I want to do."
The phantom behind him snapped its chains apart. A blazing heavenly wheel formed at his back.
Bing Fire's body slowly rose into the air.
Bing Fire's eyes blazed gold, golden-red energy coursing over his body.
"I'll get a little serious now."
A faint azure phantom hovered at Ren Water's back. From their first clash it was clear—his ability was wood-elemental, exactly the type countered by Bing Fire's flames.
And yet… if he could absorb Yi Wood's ability, then why not Geng Metal's as well?
So Ren Water was hiding something.
He's probably saving a surprise for me.
Bing Fire kept his guard high. He lifted his right hand, his phantom mirroring the motion. A blazing pillar of celestial fire roared down from the heavens, spearing toward Ren Water!
Ren Water slammed his palm into the ground. Wu Earth's phantom surged up behind him.
Boom!
Massive stone walls erupted from the earth, shielding him from the inferno.
At that instant, the ground beneath Xin Metal trembled violently!
She sprang into the air just as a colossal stone hand burst upward.
"So this is Wu Earth's earth golem?" Her eyes sharpened. "Wu Earth was also killed by him?"
With a snap of her will, countless emerald blades formed behind her phantom. They fanned out in formation, slicing the stone hand clean apart!
Ren Water seized the opening and shot skyward, charging straight for Bing Fire!
A golden phantom manifested behind him, its six chained blades gleaming like fangs.
There was no coordination, no unity between Bing Fire and Xin Metal. Picking them off one by one was far easier than facing Wu Earth and Gui Water together.
Bing Fire, watching the golden phantom take form, narrowed his eyes with grim certainty.
"So it is—Geng Metal's body."
Sky Fire Fall!
The halo spun at his phantom's back, igniting a colossal sphere of Yang fire. It fell from the heavens like a blazing meteor, searing the very sky!
Ren Water's eyes tightened. The golden phantom lashed all six of its chained arms at once.
Fire refines metal?
Wrong!
"It's metal that slays fire!"