Ercale pushed himself off Bram, coughing hard as blood spilled from his mouth and spattered across the broken stone. "Bastard," he cursed under his breath, one hand braced against his ribs as he forced himself upright.
Bram rolled onto his side and dragged himself up more slowly, one knee planting first before he rose the rest of the way. "Can't tell what hurt more," he muttered, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, "his punch or getting hit with you."
His eyes lifted, and he froze for half a second.
Nori stood there, arm extended, holding out the sword.
"A saber?" Bram said, stepping forward as he took it from him, testing the weight the moment it settled into his grip. "Fine. You're giving me this for a reason, so I'll use it." He slid his longsword away, replacing it with the new blade in one smooth motion, then turned his attention back toward where the Demon King was contained.
"That explosion… that should hurt him, right?" he asked.
Ercale straightened beside him, his body already beginning to mend, muscle and bone pulling back together under controlled surges of energy. "It'll do damage," he said, voice steady despite the blood still at his lips, "but don't hold your breath on it winning this fight."
Prince Mark turned toward him sharply. "That was the most powerful G.E.A.R. ever made," he said, disbelief edging into his tone. "And you are saying that exploding and its entire force being on him will not kill him?"
Ercale shook his head without hesitation. "He's a Demon King. If it was that easy to kill them, it would be a revolving door of a job."
The answer proved itself immediately.
A violent, ear-splitting sound tore through the air.
It was not just loud, it was physical, a piercing rupture that forced itself into every ear at once as King Domine's fist punched through the top of the barrier. The contained energy inside had nowhere to go but up. It erupted skyward in a concentrated column, roaring like an overdriven engine pushed far beyond its limits. The sound alone drove people to their knees.
Nori collapsed first, hands flying to his ears. Mae and Zee followed, both dropping hard as the noise overwhelmed them, their sharper hearing turning the sound into something unbearable.
"Zee! Mae! Are you okay!?" Xain shouted, panic breaking through as he dropped beside them, trying to check on both at once.
Callum looked down at Nori, uncertain, his body tensing as if he wanted to act but had no idea what to do in that moment.
Above them, the last of the energy bled out into the sky.
Then Domine came through.
He burst out of the collapsing barrier with force, his body cutting through the dissipating energy as he emerged fully into view. "You bloody brat!" he growled, his voice carrying across the crater.
He looked worse.
Blood ran from his mouth, from his eyes, from his ears, streaking down his face and dripping from his jaw. There was no burn damage, no visible harm from the heat or the blast itself, but the internal damage was unmistakable.
"See?" Ercale said with a quiet breath, rolling his shoulders as he reset his stance. "It hurt him. But it was never going to kill."
Movement drew their attention upward.
Drimus was falling back down from the clouds he had been thrown into, his massive form descending with crushing intent as he lined up another attempt to bring his full weight down onto the Demon King.
On the ground, Prince Mark steadied himself, blade ready. Bram adjusted his grip on the saber, stance lowering. Callum shifted forward, preparing to charge again. The mages gathered themselves, ready to blind him once more. Nori forced himself back up despite the ringing in his head. Vilak tightened his grip on his staff, preparing to tear into the wound again.
Every one of them was moving.
Every one of them was committing.
King Domine raised his hand.
"Dominus Gravitas Universalis."
He did not step back. He did not evade.
He simply dropped his hand toward the ground.
The effect was immediate.
Drimus was ripped out of the air mid-descent, his massive body slammed straight down as if struck by an invisible force. The impact shattered stone on contact, his weight driven deeper than gravity alone should ever allow.
Bram, Prince Mark, and Callum did not even get a second step in. Their legs buckled under them as the weight of their own bodies multiplied violently. They were forced face-first into the ground, pinned there instantly, muscles straining uselessly as they could not lift themselves even an inch.
Nori collapsed the same way, his body driven down as if the air itself had turned solid above him. Pressure crushed in from every direction, his mask beginning to crack under the strain as he fought just to keep himself conscious.
The mages felt it differently.
Their spells failed in their hands.
The mana itself was dragged downward, ripped from their control and pulled toward the earth as if the ground had become a singular point of gravity. Their casting collapsed before it could form, and then they too were forced down, bodies slamming into the ground under the same overwhelming pressure.
Further back, Xain, Mae, Zee, Lia, and Vilak were all driven down as well. Their bones did not snap, but the force pressed into them relentlessly, pinning them flat, every breath a struggle as the weight bore down on their bodies.
Even Sarandel was forced to her knees.
Her expression tightened, her posture strained as she resisted, but even she could not remain standing under it.
At the edge of it all, X saw it happen.
He understood it instantly.
Even if he stopped time, the moment he entered that space, the effect would take hold. There was no slipping around it, no bypassing it. The pressure was absolute within its range.
The crater itself began to change.
The ground compressed under the force, soil grinding down into something denser, harder, the texture shifting toward a dark, obsidian-like surface as the pressure continued to increase.
"Die! Die! All of you die!" King Domine roared, his voice filled with raw, violent fury as he drove his hand deeper, forcing the effect even further.
The pressure spiked again.
"This is what you all get for trying to survive me! Demon King Domine!!!"