The Kingdom of Halflings stood before them.
Its walls were intact.
Its towers remained standing.
Its streets were strangely peaceful.
And that made it worse.
Because everyone knew who ruled it.
Kensai.
Lira stood at the top of a nearby hill.
Her eyes fixed on the distant capital.
Behind her stood Shun.
Eldarin.
Liren.
And Kael.
Kael.
Even now, the thought hurt.
He stood among them.
Breathing.
Walking.
Talking.
Yet every memory was gone.
Lira clenched her fists.
"...We'll get them back."
Kael looked at her.
He didn't know why.
But hearing those words made his chest tighten.
Before anyone could speak—
The sky darkened.
A deep laugh echoed across the plains.
"Hahahahaha!"
Everyone immediately recognized it.
Liren's face darkened.
"...No way."
A crack appeared in the sky.
Then another.
And another.
The space above the kingdom shattered.
A familiar figure stepped through.
White hair.
Golden eyes.
A smug grin.
Shota.
The General of Pride.
The same Pride that Lira had launched into the sky years ago.
The same Pride that had his body nearly erased.
The same Pride that should have been dead.
"...Miss me?" Shota asked.
Shun immediately drew her weapon.
"...Unfortunately."
Eldarin frowned.
"I preferred you deceased."
Shota laughed.
"I get that a lot."
His smile widened.
"But the Demon King had other plans."
Dark energy exploded around him.
Not violent.
Refined.
Terrifying.
The earth cracked beneath his feet.
The sky distorted.
And a massive circle appeared behind him.
A Domain.
An Ultimate Domain.
Runes spread across the horizon.
Mountains.
Fields.
Rivers.
Everything was swallowed.
The world changed.
Suddenly everyone stood inside a golden kingdom.
A kingdom made entirely of mirrors.
Infinite reflections stretched endlessly.
Every reflection showed Shota.
Thousands.
Millions.
All smiling.
All arrogant.
All looking down on them.
"...Welcome."
His voice echoed from every direction.
"...To my domain."
The mirrors lit up.
A title appeared above the sky itself.
DOMAIN OF ABSOLUTE PRIDE
Kael immediately felt sick.
"...What is this place?"
Liren's face became pale.
"...No..."
Shun looked around carefully.
"...Something's wrong."
Shota grinned.
"Oh?"
He snapped his fingers.
A fire spell launched from a distant mirror.
It struck him directly.
BOOM.
The explosion engulfed him.
Then—
His aura increased.
Everyone froze.
"...What?"
Another spell appeared.
A lightning strike.
It hit him.
His aura increased again.
Shota spread his arms dramatically.
"...My Ultimate Domain."
"...Within this space..."
His grin widened.
"...Magic can only harm me."
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Kael blinked.
"...That's the opposite of how domains work."
"Exactly."
Shota laughed.
"If you cast magic—"
He pointed to himself.
"...I take damage."
Then his wound instantly healed.
"...And become stronger."
Shun's eyes widened.
"...That's broken."
"Thank you."
Liren grabbed her head.
"...The worst part is he's proud of it."
"I am."
Shota's smile somehow became even wider.
The mirrors around them trembled.
Countless magical attacks began forming.
Fire.
Lightning.
Ice.
Darkness.
Light.
All aimed at Shota himself.
"...Observe."
The attacks launched.
BOOM.
BOOM.
BOOM.
The explosions consumed him.
When the smoke cleared—
His aura had doubled.
Then tripled.
Then quadrupled.
Kael stared.
"...That's ridiculous."
Shota nodded proudly.
"It is."
Then he pointed toward Lira.
"...And now."
The mirrors shifted.
Every reflection smiled.
"...Let's see if your fists are still enough."
Lira stared at him.
Then looked at her gauntlets.
Then at Kael.
The memoryless Kael.
The reason she had come here.
The reason Kensai had to fall.
Slowly—
She stepped forward.
A crack spread across the mirror kingdom.
For the first time—
Shota's smile faltered.
Because he remembered.
Years ago.
The last time Lira stepped toward him like that...
He had been punched so hard he disappeared from the battlefield.
And now—
She looked far more dangerous.
To Be Continued...