The spears of light struck the place where Nico had been with overwhelming force.
A massive cloud of dust erupted, swallowing the entire battlefield.
For several seconds, a dreadful silence fell over the land.
Then—
A colossal explosion of crimson lightning tore through the air, shaking the very ground beneath their feet.
Commanders and generals hurriedly raised mana barriers to protect themselves.
But the explosion was so devastating that **thirty thousand soldiers from both sides were killed instantly**.
Then something strange began to happen.
The blood of the fallen soldiers started flowing across the battlefield—as if pulled by an invisible force—rushing toward the center of the explosion.
Toward the place where **Nico** had been.
Everyone stared in stunned disbelief.
Akaria collapsed to one knee while struggling to maintain a mana barrier around herself and Zorua.
But the moment her eyes focused on the center of the battlefield—
Her expression froze.
From within the smoke and chaos, something terrifying began to rise slowly.
It was no longer the Nico they knew.
Before them stood a monstrous figure clad in **silver armor radiating a crimson glow**.
A sinister energy surrounded him, unleashing arcs of red lightning in every direction.
Akaria forced the words out of her trembling lips.
"This… has to be a joke…"
"No… it can't be…"
Her voice shook.
"It's him…"
"The **Red Knight**!"
"What is he doing here…?"
"How is this possible…?"
Zorua's body trembled uncontrollably.
The mana scanner he had dropped on the ground began emitting continuous **red-level alarms**.
His face was drenched in sweat as the readings climbed beyond every measurable limit.
Then—
The **Red Knight** slowly turned his gaze toward them.
Terror spread across the battlefield.
Akaria forced herself to stand and tried to retreat with Zorua toward their army.
The heroes of her unit rushed forward to protect her.
Because of the thick smoke, the heroes had not yet realized what was happening.
Then—
In a moment where time itself seemed to stop—
The Red Knight appeared in front of Akaria **faster than lightning**.
The shockwave from his arrival sent **Zorua, Elara, Melina, and Jaxon** flying backward.
Akaria suddenly coughed up blood.
Her eyes widened in horror.
The Red Knight had already driven his sword through her body.
The legendary blade—
**The Sword of the Bloody Eclipse**.
Everyone watching—including Zorua—stared in disbelief.
Then the battlefield erupted with screams.
"AKARIA!!"
Akaria spoke weakly as death approached.
"Why… Nico?"
"Why did you deceive us all this time?"
"You were the Red Knight all along…"
"You destroyed the Elven Kingdom…"
"You caused all these tragedies…"
Her voice trembled.
"Why…?"
"What did we ever do to deserve this?"
The Red Knight answered.
His voice sounded like it rose from the depths of hell itself.
"I am no longer Nico."
"Nico is dead."
"You are the ones who killed him."
He pulled his sword from Akaria's body.
"From this moment on…"
"I am **Dracomir**."
"Lord of Destruction."
Akaria collapsed to the ground.
With a single swing of his sword, Dracomir unleashed a massive wave of crimson energy.
The remaining soldiers were annihilated within seconds.
Dracomir existed on an entirely different level of power.
Anyone who looked at him trembled with fear.
From the skies above, the **Angels** descended from the clouds and attacked him with a storm of luminous swords.
But the moment the blades approached him—
They dissolved.
The cursed mana surrounding Dracomir seemed to **devour the light itself**.
Dracomir raised one hand toward the sky.
A gigantic **black hole** suddenly opened behind the Angels.
In a single instant—
They were pulled inside.
And vanished.
As if they had never existed.
At that same moment, **Melisia Zografit** attempted to ambush him from behind.
But Dracomir moved faster than light.
He vanished.
And reappeared behind her.
Before she could even react—
Her **left arm fell to the ground**.
Melisia screamed hysterically before collapsing.
Then bloody roots burst out from within her body, tearing her apart from the inside until nothing remained but shredded flesh.
The remaining heroes lay scattered across the battlefield, unable to stand from the sheer shock.
Zorua knelt on the ground, holding Akaria's head in his arms.
He cried desperately.
"No… no, Akaria!"
"Stay with me!"
"We'll heal you immediately!"
"Don't die… we need you!"
Akaria smiled weakly.
Her final words escaped her lips.
"I leave the rest… to you, Zorua."
"Thank you… for always being by my side."
"Goodbye."
Her body went still.
Zorua screamed in unbearable grief.
"AKARIA!!"
Dracomir stood before him.
Everyone else had already been slaughtered.
The battlefield had become a graveyard of blood.
A **bloody shrine**.
Elara tried to stand, but her legs refused to obey.
She stared at the Red Knight as though she were staring at death itself.
Her thoughts trembled.
*This can't be real…*
*Nico… were you really the Red Knight all along?*
*I can't believe it…*
*Are you truly planning to destroy the world?*
Dracomir spoke.
His voice echoed across the battlefield so that every surviving hero could hear it.
"This isn't the end. What comes next will be far worse than the Dark Age you fear."
"Remember this moment well."
"This is the end… I will correct this world."
Then—
He turned away.
A thunderous bolt of crimson lightning engulfed him.
And he disappeared.
Leaving the survivors behind in the middle of absolute devastation.
The Prime Minister arrived at the battlefield alongside his elite guards.
But it was already far too late.
The moment he stepped down from his transport vessel, a horrifying sight greeted him.
The air itself felt wrong.
A heavy, unnatural darkness hung over the battlefield, broken only by the fading remnants of crimson lightning flickering weakly across the horizon.
The minister looked down at his pristine white robes.
They were stained red.
Blood carried by the wind from every direction had splattered across the fabric—as if the sky itself had rained death.
Nearby, a painful wail shattered the silence.
The minister walked toward the sound with heavy steps.
And the tragedy revealed itself before his eyes.
Akaria lay motionless in Zorua's arms.
Her lifeless body rested against him while the remaining heroes stood around them—broken, drowning in grief and despair.
The minister didn't ask what had happened.
He didn't need to.
The answer was written in blood across the battlefield.
A crushing defeat.
And the ugly face of betrayal that had led to this catastrophe.
The minister sighed bitterly.
*Just as I feared…*
*We arrived far too late.*
*What have you done, Akaria…?*
*What have you done to yourself—and to the world?*
His expression hardened.
*Your foolish decision has committed a terrible sin.*
*We discovered the truth about this man called Nico far too late.*
*If only you had kept him by your side… he could have been your greatest ally.*
*He protected you with absolute loyalty.*
*But your betrayal gave him undeniable proof of humanity's hypocrisy and corruption.*
*And so… the monster sleeping inside him awakened.*
*And harvested all of your lives.*
The minister clenched his jaw.
*Damn it…*
*The ruler Azral will not be pleased when he hears about this.*
While the minister and his aides attempted to console Zorua and the devastated heroes, preparations began to transport Akaria's body to the temple of the **Supreme Ruler**.
There, she would be placed inside the **Capsule of Eternal Slumber**.
A highly advanced preservation chamber used to honor legendary heroes—ensuring that their bodies would never decay as a tribute to their sacrifice in defense of the empire.
Far away, on a hill overlooking the battlefield of slaughter—
A solitary figure watched everything in silence.
His glowing crown pulsed with crimson light.
His pale face resembled death itself, while his black eyes resembled an endless void.
It was **Ruler Kaizen**.
He had been watching the fall of the **Black Spear** from afar.
A faint smile curled across his lips.
He spoke softly, his voice carried away by the wind.
"Welcome back…"
"Lord Dracomir."
Then he turned away.
And vanished into the shadows.
Leaving behind a world that had already begun to collapse toward ruin.
"In the past, things were far simpler. Humanity had a faithful ally—someone who sought to understand them and stand firmly by their side. But today, they haven't just made an enemy out of a man; they have awakened a mysterious entity that poses an existential threat to all.
For a long time, 'Nico' remained hidden in the guise of an ordinary human, distinguished only by a power that defied logic. Yet behind that mask lurked a monster that surpassed all expectations and shattered the world's balance. That entity was 'Dracomir,' a being who has left permanent scars upon the face of reality itself. How will the world face this unknown force that now threatens its very existence? This is not merely a return to the 'Dark Age'—it is something far worse. The emergence of the 'Moon Queen' is now a haunting probability. But if she does appear... will she be their salvation, or their final end?"
[End of Chapter 58/V1]