The sky split with a deafening roar.
Gaisen descended down—its massive wings carving through the crimson air, dragging torrents of wind behind it. The very atmosphere twisted under its command, spiraling into violent currents that howled like a living entity awakened to war.
Below—
Albatros stood unmoved.
The ground around him had already begun to melt, stone collapsing into glowing rivers of magma that pulsed with unbearable heat. The domain itself screamed under the clash of opposing forces—ice shattering, rock warping, air distorting.
And then—
They collided.
Gaisen struck first.
With a thunderous beat of its wings, it unleashed a compressed vortex of wind so dense it tore through the landscape like a blade. Entire pillars of stone were ripped from the ground and hurled forward, caught in the storm as they became projectiles of devastating force.
The attack slammed into Albatros.
The impact detonated across the domain—snow vaporized instantly, the air erupting in a shockwave that sent molten fragments scattering across the battlefield.
For a moment—
Albatros disappeared within the storm.
Lea leaned forward atop Gaisen's back, her eyes sharp.
"Did that—"
A pulse of red light cut through the chaos.
And then—
The storm ignited.
Flames erupted from within the vortex, not spreading outward—but consuming inward. The winds twisted violently, no longer obeying Gaisen, but bending under an overwhelming heat that rewrote their flow.
Albatros stepped forward through the inferno.
Unaffected.
Untouched.
Its glowing eye burned brighter as its grin widened.
With a single motion of its arm—
It tore the storm apart.
A wave of fire exploded outward, obliterating the wind currents and slamming directly into Gaisen mid-flight. The force hit like a collapsing star, sending the massive dragon spiraling backward through the sky.
Lea tightened her grip.
"Gaisen—!"
The dragon roared, wings snapping open as it fought to stabilize itself. The air bent violently around it as it regained control, but the damage was already done—scorched scales, disrupted airflow, the domain itself slipping further from its command.
Below—
Albatros raised its head.
And the world answered.
The ground split open in a violent eruption, molten pillars shooting skyward like spears aimed directly at Gaisen. Lava cascaded upward in impossible defiance of gravity, guided not by physics—but by will.
Gaisen twisted through the air, narrowly avoiding the first wave, but the heat was suffocating. Every movement grew heavier, every breath more strained as the environment itself turned hostile.
Lea's voice cut through the chaos.
"Don't engage directly! It's overpowering you!"
But Gaisen didn't retreat.
It couldn't.
This was its domain.
And it would not yield it.
With a roar that shook the heavens, Gaisen spread its wings wide and summoned everything it had left.
The sky darkened.
Wind gathered.
Not as a storm—
But as a force of annihilation.
A massive cyclone formed above the battlefield, spiraling downward with increasing speed until it became a colossal pillar of compressed air. Lightning-like arcs of pressure crackled through it, the sheer density of the wind tearing space itself at its edges.
Then—
It fell.
The cyclone crashed down onto Albatros with apocalyptic force, driving it into the ground as the domain shattered beneath the impact. The explosion that followed sent debris flying in every direction, carving a crater into the land.
For a brief moment—
Silence.
Lea's breath slowed.
"…That should—"
A heartbeat.
Then—
A glow.
From within the crater, molten light began to pulse.
Once.
Twice.
Then—
It exploded.
Albatros erupted upward in a torrent of fire, the cyclone disintegrating around it as if it had never existed. Its body burned brighter now, cracks along its form glowing like open furnaces, its presence expanding, intensifying.
It was evolving mid-battle.
Adapting.
Overpowering.
Gaisen hesitated.
And that was all it took.
Albatros moved.
In an instant, it vanished from the ground—
And reappeared in the sky.
Right in front of Gaisen.
Lea's eyes widened.
"Too fast—!"
Albatros' clawed hand slammed into Gaisen's chest.
The impact was catastrophic.
A burst of heat detonated outward, the shockwave tearing through the sky as Gaisen was sent crashing downward, smashing into the domain below with a force that split the terrain apart.
Lea was thrown from its back, barely managing to twist mid-air and land across a jagged outcrop.
"Damn it…!"
Below her—
Gaisen struggled.
Its wings twitched, its body trembling as it tried to rise—but Albatros descended slowly, calmly, like an executioner approaching its prey.
The heat intensified with every step.
The ground liquefied beneath it.
And then—
The world froze.
Not gradually.
Not naturally.
Instantly.
A wave of absolute cold surged across the domain, colliding violently with the searing heat. Steam exploded into the air as fire met ice, the battlefield becoming a chaotic clash of opposing extremes.
Lea's breath caught.
"…He's here."
The blizzard arrived.
And from within it—
A shape emerged.
Massive.
Silent.
Tikadello the Frozen.
Its towering form stepped into the domain, each movement sending fractures of ice spreading across the ground. The storm followed it—not around it, but from it, as if the blizzard itself was an extension of its will.
Its gaze locked onto Albatros.
Then—
Without hesitation—
It attacked.
A massive spear of ice formed instantly in its grasp, launching forward with devastating speed. The projectile tore through the air, freezing everything in its path before slamming into Albatros and detonating in a burst of absolute zero.
The impact forced Albatros back.
For the first time—
It staggered.
Lea's eyes widened.
"…It actually pushed him."
But there was no pause.
No alliance.
No hesitation.
Because Tikadello wasn't there to help.
It was there to claim.
Gaisen.
Albatros roared, its flames surging violently as it turned its attention to the new challenger. The battlefield erupted once more—fire and ice colliding in violent bursts, steam explosions ripping through the air as both rulers unleashed their full power.
And Gaisen—
Caught between them—
Rose.
Barely.
But enough.
Its wings spread once more, trembling but unbroken.
Because now—
This wasn't a battle.
It was a war.
Three Domain Rulers.
Three forces of destruction.
No alliances.
No mercy.
Only dominance.
The sky shattered under their clash.
Albatros unleashed a wave of fire that consumed half the battlefield, Tikadello answered with a storm that froze the flames mid-air, and Gaisen surged between them—wind tearing through both elements as it struck with everything it had left.
They moved like forces of nature colliding.
Fire.
Ice.
Storm.
Each attack reshaped the domain.
Each impact pushed the world closer to collapse.
Lea watched from the fractured edge of the battlefield.
In Tartarus—
When rulers clashed like this—
Only one outcome was ever possible.
Survival of the strongest.
And as the three titans tore into each other, their power ripping reality apart—
One truth became painfully clear.
Gaisen…
Was still the weakest among them.