The sky fractured with thunder.
Hiofekus stood motionless, eyes fixed on Arin as lightning carved a jagged line between them. Wind tore across the battlefield, carrying the scent of rain and ash.
Arin did not move.
Neither did the others.
For a heartbeat, the world held its breath.
Then Hiofekus stepped forward.
Lightning struck.
He vanished.
A fist crashed into his ribs from the side.
Arin.
Hiofekus twisted, absorbing most of the force, and drove a kick into Arin's forearm. The impact numbed his hand instantly.
Above—
"Now!"
Leiofa dropped from the sky, blade plunging toward Hiofekus' skull.
Steel split air.
Hiofekus slipped back just in time, coat snapping in the wind.
Askiro was already behind him.
Her blade flashed.
Hiofekus pivoted—but not fully.
A shallow cut opened across his shoulder.
For a fraction of a second, his eyes flickered.
She saw it.
And paid for it.
Their weapons scraped violently. Blood splattered — not his.
Askiro landed several steps away, clutching her hand as crimson dripped between her fingers.
"Don't hesitate," she muttered to herself through gritted teeth.
The air froze.
Ice spears materialized overhead.
"Move!" Neblaheim roared.
The barrage descended.
Hiofekus blurred through them, frost shattering in his wake.
Hugurou burst forward through the falling shards and Bashed into Hiofeks with both hands.
The impact rang like a bell.
Hiofekus blocked—
—but his boots dug trenches through the earth as he was forced back.
Flames erupted.
Dephore unleashed a torrent of infernos that swallowed the battlefield in roaring heat.
For a moment, Hiofekus disappeared inside the blaze.
Arin's heart pounded.
Did it land?
The flames split.
Hiofekus stepped out, slicing the fire apart itself.
And from the dying embers—
Arin emerged.
He committed fully.
Steel met flesh.
A clean line opened across Hiofekus' hand.
Silence.
Hiofekus landed lightly and looked down at the blood trailing from his fingers.
A low chuckle escaped him.
"Oh."
He lifted his gaze.
"You aren't third-grade fighters."
Something in his presence shifted.
"Well then… try to keep up."
He vanished.
Neblaheim turned left.
Nothing.
Right—
A kick detonated into his ribs and launched him across the battlefield. He crashed hard, coughing blood.
"Why," Hiofekus' voice echoed behind him, "were you staring at my afterimage?"
Arin barely had time to raise his sword.
The strike came like a falling star.
He dropped to one knee, muscles screaming as he held the blade back inches from his throat.
The ground cracked beneath him.
Leiofa lunged to assist—
Hiofekus parried him effortlessly and thrust forward.
Leiofa bent backward at an impossible angle, trapping Hiofekus' wrist with his legs and flipping him overhead.
For a heartbeat—
It worked.
Hope flickered.
Mid-air, Hiofekus stabilized.
Effortlessly.
Dephore blocked the incoming blade.
The impact shattered the ground beneath his feet.
He gritted his teeth—
Too slow.
Hiofekus appeared beside him.
A hand clamped over his face.
Fingers dug into bone.
Dephore's vision blurred as his body was lifted off the ground like he weighed nothing.
Lightning flashed.
For a brief second, Hiofekus' expression was visible.
Not anger.
Not amusement.
Certainty.
"You forget yourselves."
His voice was calm — almost disappointed.
"Know your place"
The air grew heavy. The others felt it — that suffocating pressure of something once divine.
His grip tightened.
"Don't mess with your king…"
He leaned closer.
"…peasant."
He hurled Dephore across the battlefield.
The battlefield fell still.
Steam rose from the earth.
Blood marked the ground.
Arin forced himself to stand, breathing ragged.
They had coordinated.
They had landed hits.
They had pushed him.
And yet—
Hiofekus hadn't even drawn breath.
He looked at them, mildly impressed.
But not threatened.
Not yet.
"Again," Arin whispered.
And this time—
There was no hesitation in his voice.