Vanessa slowly opened her eyes, her vision still swimming from the aftermath of the explosion. A dull ringing filled her ears as she forced herself to move, every muscle protesting as she pushed up from the ground. Dust and debris hung thick in the air, obscuring everything, but her gaze searched desperately through it.
"Dave…"
There was no way he could have survived that. Not against an attack like that from an S-rank. The thought tightened her chest as she tried to focus, blinking away the blur.
But as the dust began to settle, what she saw made her pause.
Instead of destruction, instead of a torn and broken body, a massive shield stood where Dave had been. It was formed from thick, interwoven branches, dense like an ancient forest grown in an instant. The wood was dark and sturdy, layered upon itself, absorbing the impact of the blast. Fragments of void energy still clung to its surface, slowly fading as the structure held firm.
The trees had protected them.
Even Thavuk seemed caught off guard. His expression shifted slightly, his gaze lifting upward, away from the battlefield.
Vanessa followed his line of sight.
High above them, cutting through the lingering smoke and dust, a massive eagle circled, its wings spread wide as it dominated the sky. Its presence alone carried weight, something ancient and powerful.
"That…"
She didn't finish the sentence.
At that moment, the ground trembled again as more branches burst upward, tearing through the earth like spears. They twisted and surged forward, moving with unnatural speed as they shot toward Thavuk, aiming to bind or crush him where he stood.
Thavuk reacted instantly, leaping into the air to avoid the attack, his body moving with explosive force. But before he could even regain control mid flight, something tore through the air toward him.
A single punch.
He raised his arm to block, but the impact still hit with overwhelming force, sending him crashing back down. The moment he struck the ground, a wave of dust and debris erupted outward, the earth cracking beneath him from the sheer power of the blow.
Vanessa caught sight of Paul as he landed a short distance away, his massive figure steady despite the chaos around him. A quiet sense of relief rose inside her, cutting through the exhaustion and pain that weighed on her body. They weren't alone anymore.
Across the battlefield, Thavuk stepped out of the settling dust, completely unharmed, a confident smile stretching across his face as if nothing had changed. His gaze moved between Paul and the massive eagle in the sky, his expression filled with mocking certainty.
"Even the two of you together won't be enough," he said, his voice calm, almost amused.
"Then maybe I should intervene."
The voice came from above, sharp and composed, and before anyone could react, a massive beam of lightning tore through the sky. It struck downward with overwhelming force, thick enough to carve a perfect circular crater nearly thirty meters wide into the ground as it surged toward Thavuk.
He reacted instantly, raising his hand as a dense void shield formed in front of him. The two forces collided with a violent roar, lightning and darkness grinding against each other in a blinding clash of power. The ground trembled beneath them as the beam pushed forward, then stalled, then finally dissipated, leaving behind scorched earth and fading arcs of energy crackling in the air.
As the light faded, two figures descended.
Bernal landed first, composed and calm despite the display of power, while Osvald followed, no longer in his eagle form. Both moved toward Paul, their presence shifting the balance of the battlefield in an instant.
Paul glanced toward the druid. "I thought you were dealing with the void creatures."
Osvald gave a small nod, his eyes still fixed on Thavuk in the distance. "We were. The situation changed when Mr. Galvan arrived."
Bernal let out a quiet breath, a faint smile crossing his face. "Please, just call me Bernal."
At that moment, Thavuk swept his hand through the air, and a surge of force blasted the lingering dust away, clearing the battlefield in an instant. His expression was no longer calm, anger twisted across his face, and the burns along his arm were still faintly smoking, the damage from the lightning strike impossible to hide. It was clear he hadn't expected Bernal's arrival.
Now, facing not one but multiple S-rank opponents, the balance had shifted.
A low growl escaped him. "It looks like I'll have to change a few things."
He raised his hand again, void energy beginning to gather, the air warping as darkness responded to his will. But before it could fully take shape, a powerful wave of mana spread outward.
"Not this time, demon."
Osvald's voice carried across the battlefield, calm yet absolute. As his mana expanded, the ground itself answered.
Nature erupted.
Roots tore through the earth, trees surged upward in seconds, and thick vines spread across the battlefield like a living tide. Flowers bloomed instantly among them, their colors vivid against the scorched ground, while dense foliage swallowed the remnants of destruction. The void portal was quickly encased, wrapped in layers of twisting branches and roots that tightened like chains, sealing it off.
The void resisted, shadows pushing outward, but nature overwhelmed it. Growth spread relentlessly, forcing the darkness back step by step until the battlefield was transformed completely. What had once been a wasteland of ruin and corruption became a dense, living jungle. The void creatures were gone, erased or imprisoned, leaving only the core of the portal barely visible at the center, contained within a prison of wood and life.
Behind Osvald, a massive tree rose high into the air, its trunk wide and ancient, its glowing green leaves radiating a steady, calming light that pushed back the last traces of darkness.
Across the battlefield, more movement followed. From the newly grown forest, wooden soldiers emerged, figures shaped from bark and root, their forms sturdy and unyielding. They advanced toward the remaining orcs, forming a defensive line, while the ground beneath their allies pulsed with energy. Wounds began to close, fatigue eased, and strength returned as the life force of the domain spread through them.
This was Osvald's domain, fully sommuned, a living world brought into existence, where nature itself fought, healed, and dominated everything within it.
…
Paul's gaze moved across the battlefield, quickly taking in the situation. The chaos from earlier had faded, replaced by the dense, living presence of Osvald's domain. His eyes found his allies, Vanessa still standing, Alina holding her ground, and Dave lying unconscious but alive, his body slowly recovering under the steady glow of nature's energy.
Only then did some of the tension leave his shoulders.
He turned his head slightly toward Osvald. "Nice domain."
Osvald didn't look at him, his attention still fixed entirely on Thavuk. "It would be even better if you released yours," he replied calmly. "I think we'll need it."
Paul let out a small smile, almost amused despite the situation. "Unfortunately… I haven't made one yet."
That answer made both Bernal and Osvald glance at him, genuine surprise flashing across their faces for a brief moment.
Paul noticed but only shrugged lightly. "I'll explain some other time."
Their focus shifted back immediately.
Across from them, Thavuk stood surrounded by the remains of what had once been his battlefield, now overtaken by nature. His expression was dark, anger barely contained beneath the surface. His plans had been dismantled one after another, the portal sealed, his advantage gone.
Slowly, his eyes moved across the three S-ranks standing against him.
Then he smiled.
"It seems… I'll have to get serious too."
The moment the words left his mouth, his mana erupted.
It didn't simply rise, it exploded outward like a raging ocean unleashed. A massive column of void energy shot into the sky, dark and overwhelming, before spreading outward in all directions. The pressure alone was suffocating, heavy enough to crush anything unprepared beneath it.
Bernal reacted instantly.
Lightning surged from his body, forming a wide, crackling barrier in front of them. The moment Thavuk's mana wave crashed into it, the entire area lit up with blinding flashes. Electricity screamed through the air as the two forces collided, the sound sharp and violent, like the sky itself was being torn apart.
Thavuk's form began to shift, his body dissolving into pure void as it expanded upward. Darkness spiraled around him, rising like a thick tornado until it towered over the battlefield, growing to the size of a small mountain. From its sides, two massive arms took shape, and above them, a crude head formed, hollow eye sockets and a jagged mouth staring down at everything below.
Bernal exhaled lightly, eyes fixed on the massive figure. "Well… that's big."
The creature's eyes suddenly flared with light as it pulled its head back and released a deafening roar. The ground shook violently, but Bernal's lightning barrier held firm, keeping the force from reaching the others.
Without hesitation, Bernal rose into the air, lightning coursing through his body, gathering in his eyes and along his arms. The sky responded, dark clouds forming as bolts of lightning began to fall, drawn by his power.
"Wait, it's too soon to use your domain," Osvald called out.
At the same time, the forest around them shifted. Trees bent and merged together, trunks twisting, branches weaving into a single massive form. Within moments, a towering wooden giant stood opposite the void creature, Osvald positioned calmly on its shoulder.
The two giants moved at once.
Their massive fists collided, sending a shockwave across the land, carving deep cracks through the ground in every direction. And in that brief moment of impact, Paul, standing on the wooden giant's arm, launched himself forward and drove a punch straight into the void creature's face.
It staggered back from the impact, its massive form rippling as a distorted roar echoed across the battlefield, carrying both pain and fury. The sound alone shook the air, but this time it lacked the same overwhelming dominance, it had been hurt.
From a distance, Bernal watched the exchange with a faint smile, his posture relaxed despite the scale of the battle unfolding before him.
"Looks like I won't need my domain after all."
His gaze shifted downward, toward the battlefield below. The orcs, Alina, and the others were still there, struggling just to remain standing under the pressure of the clash between such overwhelming forces.
"That comes first."
With a simple motion of his hand, space itself seemed to bend. In an instant, the entire group, the orc allies, Alina, Dave, and even the wooden soldiers, vanished from their positions and reappeared far from the battlefield. The living terrain followed them, roots and greenery spreading beneath their feet to continue healing and protecting them even at a distance.
Only then did Bernal turn his full attention back to the fight.
The void creature had already recovered and was charging again, its massive form tearing through the air with destructive intent.
"The void may be endless…" Bernal murmured, lightning beginning to gather around his body, wrapping him in a bright, crackling aura. His voice shifted, carrying a deeper, almost ethereal resonance. "…but it's not undefeatable."
He slowly raised one finger toward the sky.
And the sky answered.
…
Alina's vision blurred without warning, the battlefield distorting in front of her as the massive void creature faded behind a haze of motion and light. One moment she was watching the clash unfold behind Bernal's shield, and the next, the ground beneath her shifted.
When her sight cleared, they were somewhere else.
She steadied herself and quickly looked around. Everyone was there, Vanessa, Dave, the orcs who had joined them and the ones who didn't, but the S-ranks were gone. In their place stood the wooden army, now surrounding them in a protective formation. At the same time, a faint blue lightning aura wrapped around every ally, flickering gently across their bodies.
Alina felt it immediately.
Power. It surged through her veins, far beyond anything she had felt before. Her body felt lighter, faster, stronger, her senses sharper, her movements more fluent. She clenched her hand slightly, realizing just how much her strength had increased.
At least A-minus… maybe more.
And it wasn't just her. The same energy pulsed through everyone around her.
'So this is the power of an S-rank.' She thought
Her gaze shifted forward.
The remaining orc army stood across from them. Fear was visible now, clear in their expressions, but they hadn't retreated. Even facing overwhelming odds, they held their ground, weapons still raised.
Alina reached for her daggers, gripping them firmly as her stance lowered.
This time… they would win.