5th Day of 1st Fire Cycle[1], 2000 g.c.
The Fighting Pits were drowned in divine pressure like nothing Alex had ever felt before. Even from where he stood, Alex knew that weight. The empty stone seats groaned and squealed as if the arena itself was trying to crawl away. Torches flickered hard, flames bending low, and the shadows stretched long and wrong across the sand as Taurus took a few deliberate steps forward.
Each footfall landed heavily. Final.
As the Trapper closed the distance between himself and Alex, Ameera's body betrayed her. Her tail went stiff, fur bristling, and a tremor ran through her legs before she could stop it. She grabbed Alex's shoulder and pressed in behind him, using his body like a crutch and shield she knew would hold. The pressure alone had her lightheaded. With her mana pool bone-dry, she didn't have the strength to stand in that presence much longer.
Alex felt it too. The fatigue from Kiranna's fight sat in his muscles like wet cement, every breath grinding against ribs that refused to expand. He knew what stood in front of him wasn't something you just muscled through.
Danica's voice chimed softly inside his head, silvery and worried.
"Say, Master, I suggest we retreat. You don't have the mana to fight a Principality. Nor can you summon me physically to assist with your current reserves."
Alex swallowed, jaw tightening.
"Yeah, I hear that. But big bro Xi said the Mikazuki Clan doesn't run from a fight. It's not in our blood."
There was a pause before she replied, quieter now.
"That's the mantra of a man living to die. Not everyone is like him. Sometimes retreating is the smarter option."
Before Alex could answer, Taurus stopped walking.
The Zodiac Key tilted his head, rectangular pupils narrowing as he stared straight through Alex, not at him but into his soulframe.
"I must say, I don't remember you," Taurus said, voice calm and cutting, "but your mana signature has a slight familiarity to it."
Alex spat blood to the side and set his feet.
"Who gives a shit. You want this fade or nah?"
Taurus smiled faintly.
"What was that?" he asked, eyes flicking past Alex. "I couldn't hear you over the sound of that woman's rapid beating heart."
Alex slid his feet wider, lowering his center of gravity. He leaned back just enough to whisper without turning his head.
"I'm going to distract him. When you see an opening, grab your Uncle and make a run for it."
Ameera shook her head, tears streaking down her muzzle.
"I'm afraid I won't get far with my empty MP and the weight of Roman on my shoulder alone. Besides, I don't want to leave you behind."
Alex clenched his teeth.
"I'm just not sure if I can keep you safe from the Trapper. I've fought him before, and his power is the real deal."
Taurus laughed, deep and amused.
"Hahahaha. I hate to break it to you two, but no one will be escaping."
He raised one hand.
Spatial Mana clustered instantly, bright geometric motes racing from his palm and snapping into every corner of the Fighting Pits. The space itself groaned as the air folded inward.
"Let's bring them into my domain," Taurus said calmly. "[Vespertine: Hidden Place]."
Reality peeled itself.
The arena vanished behind an invisible wall, sealed inside a box that wasn't there a second ago. The air thinned. Magitons bled out of the atmosphere like a slow hemorrhage. The Angel's Ultra Skill settled over everything, and the moment it did, Alex knew it was trouble. That was Taurus's house now.
Ameera cried out as her knees buckled. The pressure crushed down on her, Angelic presence and mana drain hitting her at once. She collapsed, vision fading, breath shallow. Alex turned just in time to catch her as her grip slipped from his shoulder. That was the opening.
A boot slammed into Alex's spine. The impact lifted him clean off the ground, launching him across the arena floor with Ameera still in his arms. He hit hard, bounced once, twice, sand attempting to tear into his skin before he skidded to a stop. Blood ran from the corner of his mouth as he sucked in a painful breath.
He pushed himself up and realized where he'd landed. Melech's body lay there, cold and still. Alex barely had time to process it before he looked up. Taurus was already airborne. Black wings spread wide, blotting out what little light remained as the Angel dove like a predator closing in for the kill.
Then the air screamed.
Spears of Divinity Mana tore through the domain, blazing gold and white as they streaked past Taurus. He twisted mid-flight, breaking his charge to dodge, wings snapping open and closed in sharp bursts. He hovered, eyes scanning.
"Whose magickal energy is this?" Taurus growled. "Come out of hiding, you worm."
A heartbeat later, Luda landed between them.
His boots hit the ground quietly but solidly. Trenchcoat flowing behind him, chest squared, Meridian Goddess resting heavy in his grip. Emerald light burned in his eyes as he stared the Zodiac Key down without flinching.
"Luda!" Alex rasped. "Can't lie, I'm happy to see you, bro."
Luda didn't look back.
"It looks like you could use a hand," he said calmly. "Watch over the Velonicans until Xi gets here. I'll entertain the Trapper."
Alex nodded, relief washing through him despite the pain.
"Bet that. I'm out of mana anyway, so I won't be much of a help in a fight right now. Kick his ass."
Taurus stared at Luda, something like delight curling across his muzzle.
"Another Sonata Core," he said softly. "Today couldn't be any better. My evolution is close at hand."
"Counting your birds before they hatch, it seems," Luda replied.
"Say, mortal, you look familiar as well. Who are you?"
"We clashed blades five months ago," Luda said. "I regret it wasn't your last day living."
"So you two were the kids from that cave," Taurus mused. "Seems your evolution into an adult came faster than I expected."
"What can I say?" Luda shrugged. "Last year was a long time ago. I'm a much stronger M-Cee now."
Taurus nodded slowly.
"Yes, I remember now. The royal child from the Braye Clan. You're the one who got in my way of devouring Xiro."
"Good news, then," Luda said. "I'll be getting in your way again."
Taurus didn't rush him. He stood tall, wings folded like a cathedral cloak, armor gleaming dull gold under the strained light. The battlefield smelled like scorched mana and blood, and Taurus inhaled it like incense.
"So Prince of the Braye Clan," Taurus said, voice low and almost kind. "You jumped in like a good animal. Fast reflexes. Loyalty to your herd. I'll give you that."
He rolled his shoulders, armor clanking under its own weight.
"Matters not. Even if the prey develops new claws, you all are still food to the higher realms."
Luda rotated the Meridian Goddess, spinning the double-headed axe into a ready stance. Taurus's gaze dropped to the weapon, chin hairs rubbing between his fingers.
"Another Genesis Weapon in the hands of a mortal? It must be something within the Sonata Cores that's similar to the members of Heaven's Choir."
"Whispering to yourself?" Luda snapped. "Someone's scared, huh. You should be. Arcadia will not fall to your evil kind."
"This entire world has already fallen, two millennia ago," Taurus replied. "Ever since we won this soul farm from Infernia during the last harvesting, we've only grown stronger."
"My clan kicked your asses off our world before," Luda said. "And as the Brayes' next leader, I plan to continue the family's tradition."
"I'm nothing like Leo," Taurus said coolly. "I could never see myself losing to the Heavens' rejected prototypes for humanity."
Luda didn't lower his stance. His mana rolled sharply and coiled, predatory around him.
"You talk a lot," he snapped. "I'm here to make you bite your tongue."
Taurus chuckled, soft and fond.
"That's what livestock always thinks," he replied. "That they're here for something else."
He took a step forward. The ground answered him, stone compressing under divine weight.
"Gaia likes to pretend it's cruel when Angels harvest Soul Cores. You mortals cry about destiny, about injustice, about being eaten before your story's finished." His eyes glowed faint gold. "But tell me—when has life ever worked any other way?"
He tapped his chest once.
"The strong consume the weak. That's not an evil act. That's growth. Roots drink the soil dry. Beasts devour beasts. Kings grind nations into legends. Even your so-called heroes climb on corpses."
Luda felt the Meridian Goddess vibrate, low and angry, like it disagreed with the ideology itself.
Taurus took another step.
"You think Angels are different? No. We're just honest about it."
Luda felt it then—the pressure. Not mana. Belief. Taurus believed every word like it was gravity.
"We devour Soul Cores because that is what they are for," Taurus continued. "Potential. Concentrated will. Raw crescendo waiting to be claimed. Mortals live, struggle, love, suffer—just to condense themselves into something useful."
He tilted his head, eyes hungry as he studied Luda like a prize.
"And when we eat them… we ascend. Higher within the Heavens' Choir. Closer to the Elohim. Closer to perfection."
His smile widened.
"I am a Principality. The highest title within the Third Sphere. I shepherd worlds. I judge worth. And yet—" his voice dipped, reverent now, hungry "—even I am still climbing."
The air shimmered as his aura swelled.
"A Sonata Core," Taurus said quietly. "One that has bloomed. One that has reached its crescendo." He exhaled slowly. "That wouldn't just evolve me. That would liberate me."
Luda's jaw tightened.
"Into a Muon," Taurus whispered, savoring the word. "Outside the Choir. No leash. Power equal to an Archon." He laughed under his breath. "Do you understand what that means?"
He leaned in just enough for Luda to feel the heat of Yang Mana.
"It means Gaia stops being a pasture."
A pause.
"And becomes a ladder."
Luda finally spoke, voice steady, cold.
"So that's it," Luda said. "All this stolen life. Just feed for Angels too scared to climb on their own."
"Oh, Prince," Taurus replied gently. "We are climbing on our own."
His eyes flicked past Luda to Alex.
"You're just the rung."
He settled into his stance, mana roaring awake.
"And now… let's see how much weight you can bear before you break."
Luda snapped.
His Bio Mana detonated through his body as he swung the Meridian Goddess upward in a light-speed arc.
"Shut yo bitch ass up!"
The axe cleaved down with enough force to split reality. Astral Mana and spiritons condensed instantly in front of Taurus, forming a massive heart-shaped shield that screamed as it absorbed the blow. The impact thundered, blasting sand and pressure outward as Taurus slid back, shield humming, tongue hanging out the side of his muzzle.
"Even against your Genesis Weapon and new Demon Lord-level strength," Taurus said calmly, "it is not enough."
He lifted the shield slightly.
"My shield, Venus, will be enough to deal with you. Your fate has already been written in the stars."
Luda tightened his grip.
"You could never know my fate," Luda said. "It's too rich for someone so poor in character to read."
The Fighting Pits arena was damn near tearing itself apart. The floor buckled and screamed as Luda and Taurus pushed their mana signatures against each other, fighting for dominance like two beasts refusing to blink. Luda stood at the center of it all, the Celestial prince of the Braye Clan wrapped in a green-and-gold inferno that licked up his limbs and rolled off his shoulders in violent waves. His aura was more than just heat or light. It was palpable to the touch. The air around him pressed down hard enough that anything without serious magickal resistance would've been flattened into paste. Mana motes snapped and popped through the space like sparks in a live wire storm, leaving the taste of burnt metal and ozone on the tongue.
Taurus wasn't folding. Not even a little.
The Zodiac Key spread his black-feathered wings wide, each movement shedding streaks of shadow as he released more of his own power. Bright pink and white motes floated up from him like glowing bubbles, drifting lazy and beautifully while everything else shook like it wanted to die. Even the dirt beneath their boots refused to stay still, pebbles rattling and hopping as if the ground itself was nervous.
They didn't waste time talking.
Both of them vanished and reappeared in the same heartbeat, colliding dead center. The impact detonated with a sonic boom that ripped through the Fighting Pits, cracking stone seats and blowing chunks of the pit wall clean off. The shockwave rolled outward, flattening anything loose. Every strike they traded sounded like thunderclaps, metal on divine force, as they skated across the arena faster than normal eyes could track. To anyone watching, it looked like streaks of light smashing into each other again and again.
After a full minute of nonstop trading, Luda finally made space. He drove a front kick straight into the center of Taurus's shield, the impact blasting the Angel backward through the air. Taurus hovered just above the ground, wings twitching, a smug smirk carved across his muzzle like he was enjoying himself.
Luda didn't hesitate. Divinity Mana surged along the edge of the Meridian Goddess, the double-headed axe blazing as sunlight and flame wrapped around its blades. He planted his stance, shoulders squared, power coiling tight.
"Let's get it!" Luda roared. "Solar Mana Arts: Divine Star Slash!"
The axe came across in a horizontal sweep, and the air screamed. A crackling flash of plasma energy, wrapped thick in Divinity Mana, tore forward like a newborn star being hurled across the arena. The heat alone warped the space around it.
Taurus was ready. He twisted his shield, Venus catching the attack head-on. The plasma slammed into it and vanished in a violent flash, dispersing like it had never existed.
"Wow," Taurus said, voice dripping with mock admiration. "Very impressive, mortal. That could have done some serious damage if I hadn't been careful."
Luda clicked his tongue and sucked his teeth, tightening his grip on the Meridian Goddess.
Taurus's expression hardened. He brought the shield up, Divinity Mana flooding into it until it hummed with power.
"How about we test if you can stand your own attack," he said calmly. "Return his affection—[Love Queen: Aphrodite]."
The Vessel Skill returned fire instantly.
A charged plasma wave launched back at blinding speed, the color richer and heavier than before. There was no time to dodge. No room to stall.
Luda moved anyway.
"Crescent Moon Blade: Lunar Reflection."
The axe snapped upward at the perfect angle. Metal met energy, and the projectile screamed as it was redirected straight into the high ceiling. A heartbeat later, the explosion thundered overhead, raining shattered stone and glowing debris down over both fighters. Luda slid back a half step, boots carving grooves in the floor, but he kept his balance.
Inside him, Roxy's voice flared with surprise.
"Using a technique that my sister created?" she asked. "When did you learn that?"
"Xi used it on me in our first fight," Luda thought back, steady and honest. "Then taught it to me during our training years."
"Xiro, huh?" she replied, tone sharpening. "Well, don't rely on the Combat Arts of my sister."
Luda almost smiled under his cowl.
"Jealous, are we?"
"Greedy is more fitting," Roxy said, her presence wrapping closer around him. "You're mine now, my king. I will be whatever kind of art you need."
Alex's heart was pounding at the sight of it all.
He stood off to the side, blood still drying at the corner of his mouth, fists clenched so tight his knuckles went pale.
"Luda is amazing," he thought, chest tight with awe. "He's literally as strong as Xiro was after his evolution back in the labyrinth. I bet his Pure Lord Seed is behind that growth or something."
A familiar presence stirred inside him, calm and proud.
"I mean, he is Roxy's master," Danica said within him, a hint of a smirk in her voice. "I wouldn't expect anything less from my sister. I couldn't see her picking someone weak to belong to."
Alex exhaled slowly, resolve hardening in his chest.
"Looks like I gotta put in more work to keep up with them," he thought. "I can't be left behind."
"As long as you got me, you won't be," she replied. "We'll catch them all, together."
A faint grin tugged at his lips.
"Damn right."
The moment didn't last. Taurus was already moving. He appeared beside Luda in a flash, arm cocked back, and threw a brutal haymaker meant to cave his skull in. The punch landed clean. Or it looked like it did. Luda's body burst into water on impact. The liquid clone collapsed in a violent splash, droplets of Water Mana spraying across Taurus's muzzle. The Angel snarled and wiped his face, irritation flashing through his eyes.
That was when he felt it.
Power. Behind him.
Luda was already there, both hands on the Meridian Goddess, swinging with the force of a falling meteor. The axe cleaved through Taurus's wings in a single, merciless arc. Black feathers exploded into the air as both back limbs were severed clean off.
"YAAARRGGGHHH!"
Taurus kicked backward in pure panic, blasting Luda away as he twisted around, pain and fury twisting his features.
"Stupid little gnat," Taurus snarled. "Aiming for my wings is useless now. I removed that weakness after our scrimmage in the cave."
Luda stabbed the Meridian Goddess into the ground, halting his momentum. He straightened slowly, smiling beneath the shadow of his cowl.
"You don't have to lie, Trapper," he said calmly. "I can sense the fear in you growing, bitch ass nigga."
Taurus's posture shifted. His focus snapped inward as he drew on Gem Mana, the Magic Gems embedded in the center of his circlet crown glowing bright. Divinity Mana crawled up the severed wing stubs, knitting flesh and bone back together as new wings reconstructed themselves in a flash of light.
"My [Divine Regeneration] isn't limited like the skills most mortals use," Taurus said coldly. "Didn't I prove that to you last time?"
"The only thing you've shown me," Luda replied, voice steady, "is that you haven't improved in the passing months."
Taurus froze.
Luda kept going.
"If all of the Heavens are like this," he said, eyes sharp, "then you Angels will forever fail to climb higher."
Disgust twisted Taurus's face, anger flashing raw and unmasked.
"I guess I've played with my food enough," he growled. "It's time for you to die, mortal."
His aura collapsed inward, shrinking into a skin-tight layer of glowing energy. A green halo snapped into existence between his black horns, radiant and sharp. The pressure inside his Domain Art multiplied violently, gravity increasing by twenty times in an instant. His battle power tripled, his mana signature swelling until it crushed the air.
Even Alex felt it. His knees slightly bent under the weight, chest tight as fear crept in despite his will. His eyes flicked toward the spatial cage where Ameera and Roman were trapped, bodies already strained by the pressure.
"Ameera and Roman are going to get crushed if I don't do something quickly," he thought, panic flaring.
"Not entirely," Danica said calmly.
"What are you talking about?" Alex thought back, heart racing.
He turned and froze.
Recovery Spheres had formed around Ameera and Roman, shelling their unconscious bodies in familiar light. Alex spun, scanning the arena, confusion crashing into him. He knew that spell. He knew that mana.
"But… that's Xiro's…" he muttered.
Before he could finish the thought, Luda's voice cut through the chaos.
"Yeah, I'm not convinced by this jejune display," Luda said, staring Taurus down. "I don't think you can truly beat me. Let alone touch my brother, Xiro, now."
He raised his chin slightly.
"Activate, [Eye of Ra]."
The burning aura around him collapsed inward, compressed until it focused into his right eye. The Meridian Goddess broke apart into motes of spiritons, fluttering toward his face as they fused into a black sun disk tattoo over his eye. Gold and red light ignited within his pupil.
It wasn't for show. Anyone with even a shred of magickal sense could feel it. Luda's mana signature not only grew. It condensed. It hardened. It pressed against the atmosphere with a corporeal force, as if it could reach out and crush you. And Taurus felt all of it. The spatial domain groaned like it was about to fold in on itself. The invisible walls shuddered, ripples running through the air like heat distortion, but it all stopped the instant Luda extended his hand toward Taurus. Just pointed at him. Like that motion alone was a verdict.
Taurus didn't even blink. He hovered there, wings beating slow and lazy, smugness carved deep into his eyes like he'd already won.
"Was that supposed to scare me?"
Luda's arm didn't lower.
"No," he said calmly. "This might. [El's Imprisonment]!"
Space split open.
Dozens of spatial rifts tore into existence around Taurus in a clean 180-degree arc, each one glowing amber-gold from within. From every opening, Solar Mana spearheads pushed through, their tips burning white-hot like miniature suns being unsheathed. The air screamed as the mana density spiked. Taurus tried to move.
Too late.
Muscle memory kicked in, and he raised his shield to protect his face, but the first spear punched through his back before he could finish the motion. Then another. And another. Dozens of mana spears impaled him from every direction, entering and exiting his body with brutal precision. His limbs locked in place as the weapons seized his movement completely. Silver ichor sprayed across the air, thick and metallic, mixing with shredded black feathers that drifted down like charred snow. Taurus stayed alive through all of it, snarling, trembling, pinned in midair like a crucified idol.
"Y-you think…" he spat, blood bubbling at his mouth, "…this can stop me."
Luda's voice didn't waver.
"Don't worry. It did what I needed it to do," he said. "It pinned you down."
He brought both palms together.
"Divine Fire Mana Arts: Raziya's Passion!"
Orbs of blazing Divinity Mana and roaring Fire Mana formed before his hands, spiraling together into a tight pyramid cluster. The heat was violent, holy flames screaming as they fused. Then the structure collapsed forward, transforming into a wyrm-shaped beam of incandescent fire.
The energy dragon roared.
The beam punched straight through Taurus's torso and slammed him into the back wall of the Fighting Pits. Stone exploded outward as orange-and-white flames bored through flesh and bone, lingering in the wound as glowing embers crawled along his body.
"Hell yeah, bro!" Alex shouted, fists clenched, hope flashing hard across his face.
Taurus was hurting after that one.
Bad.
Luda's combo had shattered any illusion of control, pushing the Angel past safe dominance and ripping fear straight into him. His breathing hitched, eyes wild, as panic finally crept in.
"Flip the switch," he growled through blood. "[Vespertine: Undo]."
The world glittered.
Ether sparkles fluttered around Taurus, soft and beautiful, as his torn, mangled body began to fade. Flesh, blood, wounds, all of it dissolved into nothing. More Ether particles bloomed where he'd stood before El's Imprisonment ever touched him.
At the center of them, Taurus reappeared into reality.
Whole. Untouched. Like none of it had ever happened.
"Aww, fuck!" Alex barked.
Luda stood there, eyes steady, but fury boiled beneath his mask.
"Seriously?" he muttered. "That's some bullshit."
"Forcing me to use my Ultra Skill is unforgivable," Taurus replied coldly.
Inside himself, Luda's thoughts raced.
"With this domain constantly draining me, I'm burning through more mana than I can duplicate. I gotta think of something."
Taurus didn't give him time.
"Twin Horns: Red Bullseye!"
He lowered his head. His massive black horns turned burgundy, coated in Angel Mana that screamed as it scraped against Earth Mana. The friction made the air howl. Then Taurus vanished. He moved several times faster than photons. Luda tried to dodge, muscles screaming as he shifted, but Taurus curved mid-charge, path bending unnaturally. The horns punched straight through Luda's chest.
Blood exploded from the wound and his mouth as the impact launched him across the arena like a broken doll.
"Luda!!" Alex screamed.
The Celestial prince hit the ground hard. His mythril-chain armor held a gaping crimson hole in his chest, right where his heart sat. Life flickered in his eyes, dimming fast, as spiritons poured out from his right pupil.
For a second, Alex couldn't feel Luda's mana at all, like the world had gone hollow.
Yet, those leaking spiritons began to shape themselves.
Roxy's ethereal form emerged, glowing and soft, kneeling beside him. She kissed his face gently, lips lingering, then leaned close and whispered into his ear.
"[Ready to Die: Things Done Changed]."
Taurus stared, eyes narrowing.
"Is that the Aeon of Oblivion?" he said slowly. "I see now."
Roxy laid herself across Luda's chest, her form dissolving as she sank back into his soul. Spiritons streamed inward, sealing the damage from within. Luda's eyes snapped open as his vermillion irises recoated themselves in familiar jade-green mana.
He gasped.
Hard.
"So he lives," Taurus muttered.
"That was a close one, Luda," Alex said, voice shaky with relief. "I was scared there for a second."
Luda shook his head, groaning as he pushed himself upright. Pain throbbed through his chest as he pressed his hand over the hole, focusing his [Super Self-Regen]. Flesh crawled and knitted beneath his palm, his heart rebuilding itself beat by beat. The black sun tattoo faded from his face as his [Eye of Ra] deactivated.
"He damaged my Soul Core with that shit," Luda thought grimly. "Roxy using my Ultra Skill might have saved my life, but it drained me beyond half my MP. Shit."
Both of them knew the truth.
They had each landed a killing blow. They had each escaped death by burning trump cards that couldn't be spammed without consequence. Their war of attrition had hit its breaking point.
For a moment, they stood evenly matched.
Which meant the next move would decide everything.
The air in the Fighting Pits had gone tar thick. Heavy. It pressed down on everything like a hand around the throat, suffocating the space with magickal pressure that didn't let up for even a second. The scent of blood hung sharp and coppery in the atmosphere, mixing with the burnt, igneous musk of shattered stone and splintered wood. All of it sat trapped inside Taurus's spatial domain like a sealed coffin.
Torches still burned along the cracked walls, their flames twitching nervously. A few unbroken mana crystals flickered, throwing dim light across the pit, but shadows swallowed most of the arena. Bodies, rubble, and dark stains blurred together in that half-light.
Taurus stood there, looming, his muzzle curling back into that same nasty smirk.
"So now I know the source of your tremendous strength," he said, eyes dragging slowly across Luda's body. "You're entwined with the Aeon of Oblivion. Makes sense. The daughters of Fate would be in proximity to each other."
His gaze shifted, sliding past Luda until it landed on Alex off to the side.
"I'm guessing the Aeon of War is entwined with that one."
Luda didn't even turn to look.
"Why are you so concerned about another man's woman?" he shot back. "I'm guessing you don't get bitches."
Taurus chuckled low, unimpressed.
"Bravado doesn't look good on you. You've let that Oni rub off too much."
He spread his wings slightly, pride dripping off every word.
"I am the embodiment of desire. Any woman or man can be mine."
The moment those words left his mouth, something changed. A cold electric chill slithered through the domain. The shadows along the arena floor trembled like they were waking up. Luda stood tall, casually turning his back toward Taurus as he shifted his stance. The second he felt my magickal energy, relief rolled through his body. I could see it in the way his shoulders loosened. A grin crept under his face cowl.
His shadow began to move.
Dark Matter bubbled up from it like liquid night, rising and stretching into a humanoid silhouette with crossed arms. My form peeled itself free from the darkness, stepping out like I'd been there the whole time. My waist-cape drifted behind me in a breeze that didn't exist. Straight aura farming.
"That's Xi!" Alex shouted, his voice lighting up despite everything. "Hell yeah, I knew that nigga was near."
Luda tilted his head slightly, not even turning around all the way.
"Decided to make an entrance, I see. I wondered how long you were going to lurk."
I shrugged, letting a small smirk pull at my lips.
"I appreciate you entertaining him for a bit. It allowed me to teleport out a few survivors while chillin' in your shadow."
He exhaled through his nose.
"You owe me when this is over. That fuckboy made me use more than half my MP."
"His weak-ass domain art doesn't help the cause, neither," I replied. "But I'll finish this barbecue. First things first…"
Taurus had been staring the whole time. At first, there was confusion in his eyes. Then it clicked. Recognition hit him, and that twisted smile stretched wide across his muzzle.
"I'm not sure how you made your way into my [Hidden Place]," he said slowly, voice thick with excitement, "but I'm more than happy that you Sonata Cores all gathered together for me. Saved me incredible time hunting and searching."
He looked like he wanted to start another speech. I ignored him. My eyes moved across the battlefield instead.
To my right, the headless body of a red-skinned Imp lay crumpled near a shattered wall. A semi-buried dagger glinted beside it. It was Kiranna. Dead.
To my left, Melech's corpse rested near the glowing Recovery Spheres shielding Ameera and Roman. Lifeless. Silent.
When I looked back at Alex, I saw it. The grief sitting behind his smile. He tried to hide it, but I knew that look.
"You're looking rough, Alexander," I said. "You should've called me if the party was jumpin' this hard."
He huffed, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth.
"I was busy, nigga. You're here now, though. I hope you brought drinks."
"I brought something better," I replied, turning my eyes toward Taurus. "Free smoke."
Taurus snorted.
"Using [Devil Intimidation] against an Angel is useless. I could never fear breakfast."
I didn't pay him any mind. My focus returned to Alex and the others. I needed the field clear before I let loose.
With a simple lift of my finger, the Recovery Spheres beneath Ameera and Roman dropped into floor portals, disappearing to safety. Another portal opened beside Melech, gently swallowing his body into a separate space.
"I'm glad you got revenge for Unc," I told him quietly. "You'll have to forgive me for not being here to save Melech."
Alex's jaw tightened. The smile faded.
"No, bro. That failure rests on my shoulders. I wasn't fast enough."
I shook my head.
"I sent ya girl and her uncle to Talasi. If you want to go with them, let me know."
He froze. The frustration in his eyes flared quickly.
"Don't disrespect me like that," he said, voice low. "I'm going to see this through to the end."
I didn't argue.
I just pulled an Arcanum Delight from my inventory and tossed it to him. Then I gave him a single nod. He caught it, understanding the gesture without another word. I handed another one to Luda as we stepped past each other, dapping fists while we switched positions for the next round.
"Don't play around too much, Xi," Luda murmured as he walked toward Alex. "I know you like to bullshit with people weaker than you."
Taurus caught that and burst into loud laughter.
"Weaker than him?" he barked. "It seems the last hit may have made you delusional, Star Lion of Braye."
I stepped forward, shoulders rolling loose.
"The only delusion is thinking you will survive this encounter. I'm here to claim your life, Taurus. Time to pay up."
His eyes glinted.
"The only thing I'm claiming is the body of the Death Goddess," he said slowly. "And knowing that she was your woman makes the taste of her breast linger on my tongue as I lay eyes on you."
With those words, everything stopped.
For a second, I couldn't move. Couldn't breathe. My mind tried to catch up to what I'd just heard, and my body just locked.
That was all the opening Taurus needed.
Magickal energy erupted from him in a violent explosion as he activated his transformation. The Great Bull of Heaven roared into being, his body cracking and reshaping, growing, expanding, shifting into his most powerful form. The pressure in the domain spiked instantly, crushing the air itself as his mana flooded the arena.
First came the wings.
A second pair tore free from Taurus's spine with a wet, cracking sound, stretching wide as all four wings shifted into a polished chrome hue that reflected the dim torchlight like warped mirrors. The black and gold chestplate armor snapped apart next, breaking into jagged pieces that clattered uselessly across the arena floor. Beneath it, his original green fur peeled away, replaced by smooth, pure white skin that glowed with a pearl-iridescent sheen.
His body slimmed down but didn't lose presence. If anything, the pressure intensified. His once black horns shed their obsidian shell, revealing ivory keratin that crowned the sides of his head like blasphemous regalia. Then his mohawk, tail hair, and goatee ignited into a bright pink blaze, sparkling with raw Divinity Mana like burning stardust.
The Great Bull of Heaven stood revealed in his true form. Six foot six. Compact. A walking apocalypse.
"I can't remember the last time I needed my Constellation form," Taurus said calmly. "Matters not. You're out of your league, Devil."
"Holy fuck," Alex yelled from the side. "Do you feel that?"
"I knew he was holding back his true ace," Luda muttered.
Taurus was baked in a divine aura so dense it bent the light around him. His mana signature drowned the arena, crushing the oxygen itself until every breath felt heavier than the last. His four wings flapped slowly as he hovered, radiant and terrible. The Magic Gem set into his circlet burned bright, glowing like a third eye staring straight into judgment.
Any other time, I might've respected it.
But my mind was still stuck on what he'd said before the transformation.
That's when [Midnight Star: Belial] yanked me out of it.
"Boss," he snapped inside my head, voice sharp. "He just said he molested Omnia. I know you not finna let that shit slide!"
My jaw tightened.
"…You touched my Twilight Goddess."
Taurus's lips curled.
"Oh? Still on that. It seems I may have broken you by having my way with that traitor."
Everything stopped.
Not time. Not movement. But existence itself. The air froze solid around us while the world kept going, and the silence before I snapped was louder than any explosion that came after.
Then I lost my shit.
[Dominus Superbiae] slammed into [Dominus Irae] like colliding stars. The dual activation flooded my body with Bio Mana so violently that the Fighting Pits themselves reacted. The entire arena shook like we were trapped in the middle of an earthquake. Crimson sparks of electricity cracked around my skin as converted magitons blasted out of my pores in visible streams, ripping through the air. Static coated the tongue, sharp and metallic.
"What the—" Taurus started. "Where is all of this magickal energy coming from?"
The space around me warped and bent. Indigo and crimson smoke burned into existence around my form like a living corona. Taurus's domain couldn't hold my signature. It shattered instantly, splitting apart like ethereal glass. Spatial separation collapsed, snapping us back into normal reality as gravity lurched violently. Whole sections of the arena compressed into broken stone and splintered wood under the backlash.
I didn't say a word.
I just walked.
To Taurus, I vanished.
Then it hit him.
My fist buried itself into his torso with enough force to knock the thought clean out of his skull. His consciousness flickered. Pain he'd never felt exploded through him as his body folded around my arm. By the time his eyes focused downward, I was already gone.
"Huugh!!" he gasped.
His sight couldn't keep up with my speed.
My hands clamped around the top pair of his wings from behind. Cold. Firm. Unavoidable.
That's when fear finally reached him.
Before he could even turn his head, I ripped the wings free and kicked him straight in the spine. The impact launched him into the ground faster than a laser, detonating with a thunderous boom. The crater it created nearly punched through the ceiling of Floor 34.
Dust and debris rained down. Taurus lay there, stunned. Confused. His mind couldn't process what just happened. It didn't make sense to him. He shook his head weakly and looked up at me, floating above the crater, staring down with pure rage and disgust.
"You think your little tantrum—"
I punched him.
My fist connected with his muzzle before his brain could register movement. His skull exploded on impact. Silver ichor, shards of ivory horn, and dark matter splattered across the crater floor. Strands of bright pink hair drifted slowly through the air.
His body kept moving on muscle memory alone, swaying headless and unaware.
I knew better.
"Stop talking and regenerate," I said with a demonic growl.
Then I dropped down and stomped my heel into his abdomen. His body collapsed inward around my leg as I dragged him out of the crater with a lifting kick, sending him crashing into the Sycamore Tree's inner wall. The impact tore a hole clean through the bark. Cold night air poured into the arena as moonlight spilled across the floor. Taurus's mangled body twitched while Divinity Mana surged, rebuilding his head and wings piece by piece.
"I've never seen Xi this angry before," Alex whispered. "He's really pissed off."
"It appears our brother is no longer fighting for himself," Luda replied quietly.
I floated out of the crater, drifting toward the broken wall. My eyes burned crimson as I approached. When Taurus's head finished reforming, sensation returned all at once.
Fear.
Real fear.
His limbs shook uncontrollably as he stared at me.
"Pray to whatever Archon you serve," I told him. "Let them know it'll be the last time they'll hear from you."
My aura ignited again, erupting outward in a catastrophic surge. The pressure was too much. The Sycamore Tree screamed as the ceiling of Floor 35 collapsed above us. The great magickal tree cracked and burst apart, gushing from within as mana overload tore it apart from the inside.
I was done holding my cool.
It was time to bring destruction upon those who dared defile something sacred of mine.
And the only atonement I would accept was his life.
Taurus had two choices.
Trap.
Or die.
Yet, both options ended with the same outcome.
[End of Chapter]
[1] April on Earth