The last remnants of the double-layered barrier shattered with the sound of crushed crystal.
Black fragments dissolved before touching the earth, scattering into a faint mist of magicules that the hot wind carried across the Barren Lands. As the haze cleared, the spectators received their first unobstructed view of what remained of the battlefield.
The valley was gone.
Several hours earlier, the region had contained weathered ridges, dry ravines, and ancient stone formations shaped by millennia of wind. Now an enormous basin of black glass stretched across the land. Its surface had been cratered, repaired, split apart, and melted so many times that it resembled a dark sea frozen in the middle of a storm.
Three mountain ridges had disappeared entirely. Deep cracks extended beyond the basin and into the surrounding plateau, while residual crimson, maroon, and white-gold light flickered beneath the glass. The air smelled of scorched stone, ozone, and celestial power.
At the edge of the devastation stood Dagruel.
The Giant Demon Lord had folded his enormous arms across his chest. All of his eyes moved slowly over the transformed landscape as though counting every fracture individually.
A thick vein pulsed on his temple.
Nobody spoke.
Dagruel inhaled.
"Three mountain ridges," he said.
His voice rolled across the basin like the beginning of an earthquake.
"One underground water channel. Twelve tectonic anchors. More than two hundred square kilometres of reinforced land."
His gaze passed over the black glass.
"Destroyed. Melted. Or turned into something with a zipper."
Behind a distant ridge, the surviving metal zipper lowered itself out of sight.
Dagruel turned toward Guy and Loki.
Guy was examining what remained of his coat. Loki stood beside him with his hands in his pockets, looking far too relaxed for someone surrounded by the ruins of another ruler's territory.
Dagruel took one step forward.
Cracks spread beneath his boot.
"Restoring the foundation alone will require several years of continuous earth-shaping," he continued. "That does not include replacing the destroyed barriers, redirecting the water channel, or repairing the damage your heavenly intruder caused."
He stopped before them.
"Who is paying?"
Milim's laughter exploded across the basin.
"That was amazing!"
She dropped from her floating boulder and landed on the black glass with enough force to create another shallow crater. Dagruel's left eye twitched.
Milim either failed to notice or wisely chose not to acknowledge it.
"The sword went boing, Guy had the little umbrella, and Loki threw the giant glove!" she said, acting out each moment with enthusiastic hand gestures. "Then Feldway opened that huge gate, and both of you hit him together! That was the best fight I've seen in ages!"
"It did not have an ending," Luminous said.
She held her parasol above one shoulder as she stepped onto the ruined battlefield. Her mismatched eyes moved over the damage with increasing disgust.
"After all this destruction, neither combatant achieved a decisive victory. By any reasonable judgment, the duel ended in a draw."
"It was not a draw," Guy replied.
Luminous gave him a flat look. "Neither of you won."
"The duel was interrupted."
"That is usually what prevents a winner from being decided."
"It was postponed," Guy said. "There is a difference."
"There is a difference only to people whose pride requires one."
Guy's crimson eyes narrowed.
Luminous did not look away.
Loki stepped between their lines of sight before another conflict could begin.
"Returning to the more urgent matter," he said, gesturing toward the destroyed landscape, "I believe Dagruel should direct at least sixty percent of the invoice toward the Heavenly Star Palace."
Dagruel looked down at him.
Loki continued without hesitation.
"Feldway introduced an unauthorized celestial structure, replaced the local environment with marble, and damaged both containment barriers. That feels like a clear violation of regional construction laws."
"You created the inner barrier that trapped the damage here," Dagruel replied.
"And you're welcome."
"You also dropped an anvil onto a fault line."
"That was Guy's fault."
Guy looked at him. "You summoned it."
Dagruel's aura deepened. The glass beneath them began humming.
"I will bury both of you beneath the foundation and use your bodies as tectonic anchors."
Loki's smile faded just enough to show he understood that the threat was approaching sincerity.
"Coleus will contribute engineers, earth-attribute magicians, and material support."
The gathering fell quiet.
Dagruel studied him.
Loki removed one hand from his pocket and looked across the basin. His tone remained casual, but the mockery had left it.
"We agreed to fight here. Feldway caused part of this, but the rest belongs to us. Send Testarossa a proper assessment. We'll cover our share."
Guy glanced sideways at him.
"Our share?"
"You selected the battlefield."
"You accepted the duel."
"You started the final escalation."
Dagruel raised one hand.
Both Primordials stopped speaking.
"Half from Coleus," the Giant said. "Half from Guy's territory."
Guy's expression darkened. "You expect me to finance mountain construction?"
"I expect you to repair what you destroyed."
"I destroyed these mountains centuries ago."
"Then consider this accumulated interest."
Milim burst into laughter again.
Guy looked toward Loki. "This is your fault."
"You're the older brother. Set a responsible example."
"I am reconsidering that relationship."
The comedy faded when Leon stepped closer to the place where Feldway's gate had vanished.
A trace of white-gold light still lingered above the basin. It was almost invisible now, but the Holy Emperor watched it with the focus of a man examining a blade left against his throat.
"Property can be restored," Leon said. "Feldway's declaration cannot be dismissed so easily."
Luminous's amusement vanished.
Leon turned toward the gathered rulers.
"He did not speak of some distant hope. He described requirements. A vessel, preserved authorities, and a bridge between opposing spiritual principles."
"He believes the process is already possible," Luminous said.
"Or close enough that Loki's existence has become relevant."
The wind carried the last golden particles away.
Testarossa moved to Loki's side. Her expression remained composed, but the fingers of one hand rested against her wrist as though restraining the urge to tear open the heavens herself.
"Feldway referred to my Lord Loki as a component," she said. "Not an ally, participant, or even a sacrifice. A component."
Noir approached from the opposite side, his smile thin and devoid of amusement.
"Heaven has always possessed an unfortunate habit of confusing origin with ownership."
Testarossa's red eyes narrowed. "They will not make that mistake twice."
"Oh, I suspect they will." Noir looked toward the empty sky. "The correction will simply become more memorable."
Dagruel's anger had not disappeared, but his attention shifted from the ruined land to the greater threat.
"Feldway crossed both barriers without warning," he said. "He placed an entire domain inside my territory and suppressed the laws surrounding it."
"He had access through Lord Loki's angelic resonance," Velzard replied.
She had remained silent since the barrier collapsed. Now she walked across the black glass toward Loki, her white boots leaving trails of frost behind them.
Her gaze settled upon his chest.
Loki's smirk weakened for the briefest moment.
Guy noticed.
So did Testarossa.
Velzard stopped directly in front of him. "When Feldway issued the recall, your angelic nature recognized the frequency."
"It recognized it," Loki said. "That doesn't mean it obeyed."
"It nearly pulled you through the gate."
"I was handling it."
Guy snorted.
Loki glanced toward him. "You are not helping."
"I cut you free."
"After I weakened the command."
"You were floating toward Heaven."
"I had a plan."
"Was the plan to complain until Feldway returned you?"
Loki turned back to Velzard. "As I said, I was handling it."
Velzard placed two fingers against the centre of his chest.
Cold passed through his coat and into the spiritual layers beneath it. Hades reacted before recognizing the presence and allowing her examination. Velzard's eyes narrowed as she felt the lingering vibration attached to Loki's angelic core.
"The resonance remains," she said.
Loki's expression became more serious.
Hades and Azazel had removed Feldway's imposed purpose, but they had not erased the frequency itself. That frequency belonged to Loki as much as his demonic nature did. Destroying it recklessly would mean cutting away part of his own soul to deny Feldway access.
"I know."
"Can you block it?"
"I can reinforce the boundaries and alter how it answers." Loki lowered his voice. "Completely removing it would damage the part of me it's attached to."
Velzard withdrew her hand.
"Then do not remove it."
Testarossa stepped closer. "We will study it under controlled conditions."
"We?" Loki asked.
Her smile held no warmth.
"You did not believe you were returning to Coleus and locking yourself inside a workshop alone."
"That was roughly the plan."
"It has been rejected."
"I don't remember submitting it for approval."
"You will."
Guy's quiet laughter earned him a sharp look from Loki.
Leon returned his attention to the others. "We should assume Feldway will try again."
"Not immediately," Guy said. "That vessel was damaged, and he now knows Loki cannot be taken quietly."
"That does not make us safe," Luminous replied.
"No. It gives us time."
"How much?"
Guy looked toward the empty sky.
"Not enough."
The answer settled over the basin.
Milim no longer smiled. She folded her arms and stared toward the place where the gate had vanished.
"If Feldway comes back for Loki, tell me."
"You will hear it from your own territory," Dagruel said, looking at the ruined valley.
"I'm serious."
"So am I."
Guy turned toward the gathered rulers.
"Keep this incident contained for now. Strengthen your borders and investigate any unusual angelic movement. We will discuss Feldway when there is information worth discussing, not frightened speculation."
Luminous frowned. "You do not command all of us."
"No," Guy said. "But you know I'm right."
Nobody contradicted him.
The gathering began to separate.
Leon departed through a narrow golden gate. Luminous followed after promising Dagruel that Lubelius would send specialists to examine the remaining holy contamination. Milim flew away only after extracting promises from both Guy and Loki that the duel would eventually continue.
Noir disappeared into shadow, but not before fixing Loki with a long, measuring stare.
Testarossa opened a portal leading toward Coleus.
She stepped through without asking Loki to follow.
Velzard entered immediately after her.
Loki watched the portal remain open.
"They're going ahead," he said.
Guy examined the silent doorway. "They're preparing for you."
"That sounds unnecessarily ominous."
Loki sighed and looked back across the destroyed valley.
For a moment, his usual humor disappeared.
Feldway knew what he was now. Heaven had recognized the structure of his soul, marked him as useful, and demonstrated that distance and barriers alone could not keep its hand away.
Returning to Coleus should have felt like returning to safety.
Instead, Loki found himself wondering whether he was carrying Heaven's attention home with him.
Dagruel's voice rumbled behind him.
"The invoice will arrive within the week."
Loki glanced over one shoulder. "Please itemize it."
"I intend to."
Dagruel raised his fist.
Loki stepped through the portal before the Giant could swing.
The gateway closed behind him.
The Barren Lands fell silent again, leaving Dagruel and Guy standing beside a basin of black glass.
Guy looked over the damage.
"How much do you think this will cost?"
Dagruel's eyes narrowed.
"More than your coat."
Guy sighed.
Far above them, the final white-gold spark disappeared into the sky.
The duel had ended without a victor.
---
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