The Domain of Absolute Pride was dying.
Mirror after mirror shattered.
The sky cracked.
The battlefield collapsed beneath waves of purple energy.
Shota could no longer stand.
The General of Pride knelt among the ruins of his own domain.
His body was broken.
His pride destroyed.
And before him stood Lira.
Purple light covered her fists.
The same fists that had defeated generals.
The same fists that had shaken kingdoms.
Only now—
They were stronger than ever.
"...Please..."
Shota's voice trembled.
For the first time in his life—
The General of Pride begged.
Lira didn't answer.
Kael's face appeared in her mind.
His smile.
His laughter.
His endless complaints.
All stolen.
All gone.
And Shota had mocked him.
Mocked the one person she couldn't save.
Lira's fist moved.
The finishing blow.
A strike powerful enough to erase Shota completely.
The world held its breath.
Then—
Someone caught her fist.
Silence.
Absolute silence.
The purple shockwave stopped instantly.
Lira froze.
Shota froze.
Everyone froze.
Standing between them—
Was a woman with silver hair.
A sword rested in one hand.
Cold eyes met Lira's.
Kensai.
The Second General of Sloth.
Successor to Yuki.
The woman chosen by the Demon King after the fall of the First General of Sloth.
The conqueror of the Halfling Kingdom.
The thief of Kael's memories.
The strongest general alive.
Liren's face turned pale.
"...Kensai."
Shun tightened her grip.
Eldarin's breathing stopped.
Because everyone understood what had just happened.
Lira's punch.
The same punch that crossed impossible distances.
The same punch that shattered Shota's domain.
Had been stopped.
With one hand.
Kensai looked at Lira quietly.
"...You've improved."
Lira's eyes narrowed.
"...Give him back."
Purple energy exploded outward.
"...Give."
The earth cracked.
"...Him."
The sky distorted.
"...Back."
Kensai sighed.
"...No."
The answer was calm.
Simple.
Certain.
Lira attacked immediately.
A second punch.
Faster.
Stronger.
Angrier.
Kensai drew her blade.
The motion was so smooth nobody saw it happen.
Not even Lira.
A silver line flashed through the world.
For one instant—
Everything became white.
Then—
SHATTER.
A metallic fragment fell.
Then another.
Then dozens more.
Lira stared.
Her eyes widened.
The mythril gauntlets.
The gift from Bronsthor.
The gauntlets her father had forged.
The gauntlets that survived countless wars.
Were breaking apart.
Cracks spread across them.
Like glass.
Then they exploded into thousands of fragments.
The pieces rained from the sky.
Silence.
Lira stared at her empty hands.
"...Dad's..."
A shard landed near her feet.
Then another.
Then another.
Gone.
Destroyed.
Kensai lowered her sword.
"...The First General of Sloth relied on overwhelming force."
Her voice echoed across the battlefield.
"...Yuki believed nothing could survive her power."
Lira's eyes slowly lifted.
Kensai continued.
"...You defeated her."
"...So I chose a different path."
The silver blade gleamed.
"...I cut things that power cannot protect."
Liren's face darkened.
"...Everyone move."
Nobody moved.
Nobody could.
Because they finally understood.
Kensai hadn't sliced mythril.
She hadn't destroyed armor.
She had cut the concept that made the gauntlets unbreakable.
Even Shota looked horrified.
"...That's cheating."
Kensai ignored him.
Her gaze remained fixed on Lira.
"...You inherited strength."
"...I inherited Sloth."
The atmosphere changed.
The weight of a Demon General descended upon the battlefield.
Not the same as Yuki's.
Far worse.
More refined.
More dangerous.
"...And unlike my predecessor..."
Kensai pointed her sword toward Lira.
"...I learned from her defeat."
Behind her—
The image of a massive crater appeared.
The crater where Yuki died.
The crater Lira created years ago.
"...The First General fell because she challenged you directly."
Kensai's eyes sharpened.
"...I won't make the same mistake."
Far behind them—
Kael suddenly grabbed his head.
A flash.
A memory.
A workshop.
A young Lira proudly showing oversized gauntlets.
Kael laughing.
Then darkness.
He staggered.
"...Lira..."
The name escaped his lips automatically.
Everyone froze.
Lira turned.
For the first time since arriving—
Kensai's calm expression cracked.
Only slightly.
But enough.
Because memories she had cut away...
Were beginning to return.
And if Kael remembered everything—
Then even Kensai's perfect victory could be undone.
For the first time—
The Second General of Sloth looked worried.
To Be Continued...