The words spoken by the warrior…No… by Valerius…
That oath he uttered carried within it countless meanings… countless memories…It did not sound like the declaration of a weapon of destruction.
For just a single fleeting moment…his eyes trembled with tears...
A suffocating silence swallowed the battlefield whole...
The sight of the warrior and the dragon soaring above became the center of everyone's attention…and the source of their fear...
Violent winds gathered around them, spiraling endlessly until they formed a massive cyclone high in the sky...
Then suddenly—
Blazing flames erupted within the storm.
It looked less like an attack…and more like a catastrophe descending upon the world itself.
Valerius uttered a single word...
"Now."
At that instant, Agnyr unleashed a terrifying roar.
The cyclone collapsed inward before exploding violently in every direction.
Without hesitation, Arvela raised enormous walls of vegetation around the battlefield, shielding the others from the devastating shockwave.
Aldous glanced toward her in surprise.
"So that means…"
Before he could finish, both Danial and Round stepped beside him.
No words were exchanged.
A single look between them was enough...
The moment the attack subsided, the dragon and the warrior descended once more without giving anyone even a second to breathe.
Danial and Round immediately leapt toward Agnyr, while Aldous shot upward toward the sky itself—
Toward what he called…
"The grand feast."
Meanwhile, Valerius remained completely motionless, calmly waiting for them to approach.
And the instant they drew near—
A monstrous gravitational force slammed them downward...
The ground beneath them shattered violently.
Even Aldous struggled to remain standing...
Then he shouted loudly for everyone to hear:
"This bastard… he's using THREE elements?!"
Fear and disbelief spread across the battlefield.
Three elements???
Something like that was supposed to be impossible.
Aldous quickly looked around in alarm...
"Where's Raym??!"
High above the battlefield—
Raym stood alone before both the warrior and the dragon without the slightest hesitation...
Valerius looked at him with genuine admiration before speaking mockingly:
"I commend you, boy…"
"You achieved what even warriors greater than you could not."
"But I wonder…"
"Is this courage???"
"Overconfidence???"
"Or merely ignorance???"
He raised his spear and hurled it toward him.
Raym barely dodged in time—
But before he could recover, Valerius had already reached him...
A blazing punch erupted toward his chest.
In a flash of light, Raym vanished and appeared behind him instantly, slipping into the warrior's blind spot.
Without hesitation, he thrust his sword forward with lethal precision.
But Agnyr intercepted him immediately.
The dragon struck him violently and sent him crashing toward the ground.
Annoyed, Agnyr growled:
"Do not lower your guard, fool."
"That boy is no ordinary child."
Valerius silently glanced toward his arm for a brief moment.
Then his gaze shifted toward Raym, who lay on the ground below.
Aldous rushed toward him immediately...
"Raym, you idiot!!!"
"What exactly were you trying to accomplish!?!"
Using his sword to support himself, Raym slowly forced himself back to his feet...
From afar, Arvela watched him quietly.
"This boy…"
"He truly hasn't changed…"
Meanwhile, Aldous continued scolding him relentlessly without receiving a single response.
Then Danial interrupted them...
"This isn't the time."
"We need to attack from every direction and split the warrior's attention."
Round proposed standing directly in front of him while Danial remained nearby to pressure the dragon...
Raym would stay between the warrior and the dragon, while Aldous confronted Valerius directly.
As for Arvela and Lyra, they would provide long-range support and distractions.
It was not merely the best plan...
It was the ONLY possible one...
Danial and Round immediately charged forward...
The moment Valerius raised his arm to crush them with gravity, both men evaded at once.
Danial smirked.
"I'm not foolish enough to fall for the same trick twice."
Round laughed mockingly...
"Isn't the saying supposed to be:
'A man isn't bitten twice from the same hole???'"
Danial shouted furiously:
"IS THIS REALLY THE TIME FOR THAT??!"
Above them, Valerius glared at the two men with irritation.
"They're ignoring me…???"
Another flaming spear formed instantly in his hand.
This time aimed directly toward Round.
But before he could throw it—
Raym suddenly appeared before him once more.
At the same instant, Agnyr opened his jaws to roar—
Yet both Danial and Round attacked the dragon simultaneously...
For the first time—
Valerius lost balance...
Agnyr spread his wings and attempted to ascend into the sky again.
But thick vines erupted around him, binding his movements...
It was Arvela...
Furious flames exploded from the dragon's body in response.
Then violent winds from Lyra surged forward, forcing the flames away before they could spread.
For the first time since the battle began—
Valerius felt cornered...
His expression darkened instantly.
He prepared a killing strike toward Raym, who stood ready to receive it...
But the instant he attacked—
A massive volcanic fist smashed into him from behind.
It was Aldous...
The blow landed directly...
The impact sent Valerius flying across the battlefield.
The moment Agnyr witnessed that—
Everything changed...
His body ignited with blazing crimson flames so intense that even the nearby warriors could barely endure the heat...
Then—
The dragon roared...
A terrifying roar...
Those who reacted too slowly were consumed instantly by it.
The Curse of Wrath...
Both Danial and Round were affected...
Almost immediately, the two began attacking one another like enraged beasts.
The sudden chaos broke Aldous' concentration—
And Agnyr's tail slammed into him violently, sending him crashing away.
At that same moment—
Valerius returned.
This time, truly enraged.
He appeared directly behind Raym...
The instant Raym turned around—
A scorching sensation consumed his entire body.
Then he collapsed motionless onto the ground.
Aldous shouted desperately:
"RAAAAAYM!!!"
Then, for the first time in a long while…
Silence covered his face...
A heavy silence...
And within his thoughts, only one sentence remained:
"What exactly is Leo going to do to me now…???"
He took a deep breath and looked around the battlefield.
Round and Danial were fighting each other.
Arvela was desperately trying to calm them.
Raym had fallen unconscious while Lira tried to wake him.
Saon was still battling Zak...
Lorian and Araki showed no signs of finishing their battle anytime soon.
The remaining soldiers were struggling against the cult members.
They were cornered...
Completely cornered...
Meanwhile, Lyra desperately attempted to wake Raym.
She had learned basic healing techniques from her master before…
And as she carefully applied them—
Raym's eyes suddenly opened...
Without hesitation, he grabbed his sword immediately.
Lyra stared at him speechlessly.
She wanted to say something…
But no words came out.
As Raym attempted to move forward again, Aldous suddenly stopped him.
Then he spoke quietly...
"Raym…"
"I need you to do something insane..."
Elsewhere—
Round and Danial continued tearing into one another under the curse's influence.
Then suddenly—
Arvela shouted toward Danial:
"Danial…"
"You're making me afraid of you…"
Those words echoed inside his mind.
And instantly—
He regained himself.
He grabbed Round's fist and slammed him into the ground.
Then he turned toward Arvela...
"Take care of him."
"There's someone else who needs to pay for making you feel that way…"
Meanwhile—
Then suddenly—
Without warning—
Raym charged toward both the warrior and the dragon ALONE...
Everyone screamed at once:
"RAAAAAYM!!!"
Everyone…
Except Aldous...
Because he had already rushed after him...
The terrifying pair stood together once more...
Valerius and Agnyr prepared a devastating finishing attack...
But at the final moment—
Raym unleashed a blinding burst of light...
A light so intense that even the warrior and the dragon lost sight for an instant...
That single instant…
Was all they needed...
Aldous landed a monstrous punch that blasted Valerius away from the dragon at last...
Finally—
They were separated...
At the same moment, Raym attacked Agnyr's wing in an attempt to bring him down...
The dragon merely lost balance for a brief second—
But fortunately…
Danial was already there...
Together, they forced the dragon down from the sky...
Then Aldous laughed loudly and shouted:
"You all deal with the dragon…"
"And leave this handsome man to ME..."