"BOOOOOOOOOOM.
Blue-white lightning tore through the storm above Eryndor Academy.
The clouds split apart instantly as Lucius Lockwood's mana erupted across the battlefield like a second sky awakening.
For the first time since the abyss opened—
the pressure around him changed.
No longer just talented.
No longer merely powerful.
Now—
dangerous.
Kyle stared wide-eyed from behind broken rubble.
"…Okay."
A pause.
"…WHY DOES EVERYONE HERE HAVE A FINAL FORM?!"
Lucius ignored him completely.
Lightning spiraled around his body in violent arcs while glowing symbols spread across his arms beneath the electricity itself.
Even the Monarch unit paused slightly.
Analyzing.
Recalculating threat level.
"Authority mutation detected."
Lucius wiped blood from the corner of his mouth.
Then smirked.
"…You talk too much."
BOOOOOOOM.
He vanished.
The battlefield exploded apart as Lucius crossed the crater instantly, lightning ripping across shattered stone behind him in a glowing trail of destruction.
The Monarch unit reacted immediately.
Silver constructs formed around its arm—
Too slow.
CRAAAAAAASH.
Lucius's fist slammed directly into its mask.
The impact detonated across the ruins.
A shockwave blasted outward violently, tearing apart nearby debris while silver fragments exploded through the air.
Kyle screamed from behind cover.
"HE PUNCHED THE APOCALYPSE ROBOT!"
The Monarch unit skidded backward across broken stone for the first time.
Not damaged.
But moved.
And everyone noticed.
Cain's eyes narrowed slightly.
"…Interesting."
Lucius didn't stop.
Lightning erupted harder around him as he launched forward again, every movement faster than the last.
The storm itself began responding to him.
Bolts crashed downward across the battlefield with every step.
CLAAAAAANG.
The Monarch unit formed a silver blade instantly.
Lucius blocked barehanded.
Electricity exploded outward.
Then—
he smiled.
A dangerous smile.
"You know what I hate most?"
BOOOOOOOOM.
Lightning surged violently through the silver blade.
"The way everything ancient keeps acting superior."
The Monarch unit attempted to counter.
Lucius was already gone.
CRAAAAASH.
A kick slammed into its side hard enough to split the ground beneath them apart.
The unit crashed through the remains of an academy tower.
Stone exploded everywhere.
Kyle blinked.
"…Never mind."
A pause.
"…HE'S ALSO A MONSTER."
But Cain's expression hadn't relaxed.
Because he noticed what Lucius hadn't yet.
The Monarch unit wasn't fighting seriously.
It was adapting.
The silver symbols across its body began shifting faster.
Learning.
Correcting.
Evolving.
The First Dragon's eyes narrowed.
"…Adaptive acceleration."
Seraphine's voice tightened slightly.
"It's reading his combat pattern."
Lucius attacked again.
Faster this time.
Lightning distorted the air itself around him as dozens of afterimages appeared across the battlefield simultaneously.
BOOOOOOOOOOM.
Multiple strikes collided against the Monarch unit from every direction at once.
Shockwaves ripped through Eryndor.
Silver constructs shattered apart repeatedly beneath Lucius's assault.
For a moment—
it actually looked overwhelmed.
Then—
the Monarch unit caught his arm.
Silence hit instantly.
Lucius's eyes widened slightly.
"…What?"
The unit's mask flickered.
"Combat rhythm acquired."
CRAAAAAAAAASH.
Lucius was slammed into the ground hard enough to collapse an entire section of ruined stone beneath him.
The crater shook violently.
Chloe flinched.
"LUCIUS!"
Dust exploded upward.
Lightning surged violently inside the debris field.
Then—
BOOOOOOOM.
Lucius erupted back out instantly.
Bleeding now.
Grinning wider.
"…Okay."
Electricity crackled across his face wildly.
"That was actually good."
Cain frowned slightly.
"…He's enjoying this."
Kyle stared blankly.
"…That's the problem."
The Monarch unit raised its hand again.
Silver rings formed behind it rapidly.
One.
Three.
Seven.
Then dozens.
The First Dragon's eyes sharpened instantly.
"Move."
The rings fired.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM.
Silver beams ripped across the battlefield like collapsing stars.
Entire sections of Eryndor vanished instantly beneath the barrage.
Cain moved first.
"SEVER."
Silver energy exploded outward from his blade.
Reality itself split apart in front of him.
Several beams literally separated in half around the cut.
Lucius dodged through the remaining barrage at insane speed, lightning tearing through the smoke-filled battlefield.
But one beam slipped through.
Straight toward Zeal.
Chloe reacted instantly.
Smoke exploded outward around her.
"DON'T TOUCH HIM!"
The silver beam pierced through the smoke.
Still coming.
Then—
Zeal moved.
Not fast.
Not explosive.
One single step forward.
And the world changed.
THUMP.
The black pulse erupted from his chest.
Gold flooded his eyes instantly.
The beam stopped.
Midair.
Silence crashed across the battlefield.
Even the Monarch unit froze.
The silver beam trembled violently in front of Zeal's outstretched hand.
Not blocked.
Commanded.
The whispers returned instantly.
The throne.
The authority.
The command.
One word surfaced naturally inside Zeal's mind.
Not learned.
Remembered.
"…Kneel."
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM.
The silver beam shattered apart instantly.
Not dispersed.
Broken by force.
The entire battlefield froze.
The Monarch unit stepped backward for the first time.
Its symbols flickered violently.
"Authority override detected."
Cain's eyes widened slightly.
Lucius stared.
Even the First Dragon went silent.
Because that wasn't mana.
And it wasn't dragon pressure.
It was Monarch Authority.
True authority.
Zeal looked at his own hand silently.
As if he didn't fully understand what he had just done.
Then—
pain hit.
"GH—"
Black scales spread violently across his arm.
The gold in his eyes darkened slightly.
The whispers inside his mind became deafening again.
The Devourer laughed softly beneath the abyss.
"There it is."
Chloe grabbed Zeal immediately.
"ZEAL!"
The Monarch unit suddenly moved again.
Faster than before.
Directly toward Zeal.
"Core activation confirmed."
"Emergency extraction authorized."
BOOOOOOOOOOM.
Silver chains erupted outward across the battlefield like exploding spears.
This time—
not aiming to restrain.
To capture.
Cain vanished instantly.
CLAAAAAAANG.
His blade intercepted the chains midair.
Silver sparks detonated everywhere.
But more kept coming.
Dozens.
Hundreds.
Lucius reappeared beside Cain immediately.
Lightning exploded outward.
"I'll clear the left!"
Cain nodded once.
"Don't let them reach him."
For the first time—
they fought together.
Lightning and silver authority tearing through the battlefield side by side.
BOOOOOOOOOOM.
The academy crater exploded into chaos.
Lucius shattered chains through raw destructive force while Cain severed others with terrifying precision.
Yet even then—
the Monarch unit kept advancing.
Walking calmly through destruction itself.
Toward Zeal.
The First Dragon's expression darkened.
"…It's prioritizing him over combat efficiency."
Seraphine whispered:
"It doesn't care about damage anymore."
Zeal struggled to breathe.
The black pulse inside him pounded harder.
THUMP.
THUMP.
THUMP.
Every heartbeat made the world around him distort slightly.
Chloe looked terrified now.
"…Zeal, stay with me."
But Zeal barely heard her.
Because another voice had appeared inside his mind.
Not the Monarch.
Not the Devourer.
Something else.
Something distant.
"Open the throne."
Zeal's eyes widened slightly.
"…Who are you?"
No answer.
Only another whisper.
Closer this time.
"We found you."
BOOOOOOOOOOM.
The sky above Eryndor cracked again.
Not like before.
Worse.
Everyone looked up instantly.
And froze.
Multiple fractures spread across the clouds now.
Not one.
Not two.
Dozens.
The First Dragon's eyes widened.
"…Impossible."
Cain's face darkened instantly.
"…More are coming."
Then—
inside one of the cracks—
an eye opened.
Golden.
Ancient.
Watching.
And another beside it.
Then another.
Lucius felt his blood run cold.
"…What the hell…"
The Monarch unit stopped advancing suddenly.
Then slowly—
it lowered its head.
Like a servant greeting kings.
The Devourer's laughter echoed through the abyss louder than ever before.
"The throne remembers its rulers."
Zeal stared upward silently.
And somewhere deep inside him—
something answered back.
END OF CHAPTER 29Next Time on Path of the True Monarch…The sky above Astravia begins breaking apart completelyThe hidden Monarch fragments finally reveal themselvesCain unleashes the forbidden power feared by the royal familiesAnd Zeal hears the voice of the one Monarch who never forgave humanity…