King Domine froze for the briefest fraction of a second, genuine shock cutting through him as something he had never expected closed the distance in an instant, forcing his body to react on instinct rather than thought. He leaned back sharply, just enough for the Beast's claws to tear past his face, the tips missing him by inches, close enough that he felt the displacement of air scrape across his skin. There was no pause, no hesitation, as the follow-up came immediately. The twin tails snapped forward, their tips shifting into bladed edges mirroring his own, forcing him to spring backward and twist his body mid-motion just to avoid being carved apart.
That movement broke his control.
The crushing gravity vanished all at once.
Across the battlefield, bodies that had been pinned into the earth jerked free. Air rushed back into lungs that had been starved of it, many of them dragging in ragged, desperate breaths so sharp it triggered coughing fits as their bodies struggled to recover from the sudden release.
"Fuck, fuck that was close," Bram muttered, forcing himself upright with the help of the saber, his arm trembling slightly from the strain as he looked toward the crater floor, eyes locking onto the clash unfolding there. "What is that?" he added under his breath.
Ercale pushed himself up beside him, already using his magic to heal himself as he extended that same recovery to Bram without looking away from the fight. "That… is a thing beyond everyone here," he answered flatly.
Around them, the others were pulling themselves up in staggered motions, all of them drawn toward the same point.
"What is that?" Annabel asked, her voice tight.
"Where did it come from?" Samwell added, still catching his breath.
"You are…" Sarandel whispered, her eyes fixed on it.
"Is it helping us?" Prince Mark said, uncertain.
"It looks so scary…" Clara said quietly.
For those who recognized what they were seeing, the reactions shifted.
"Is that Xain?" Zee asked, her face pale as she realized the space beside her was empty.
"Tha-that's just like, just like… uncle," Lia murmured under her breath.
Down in the crater, Nori stared up at it, his mouth slowly falling open as his hand lifted slightly, as if trying to reach out.
The Beast roared again.
The sound tore through the air, sharp and violent enough that hands flew to ears across the field, but even muffled it could be felt, a deep vibration that ran through bone and muscle alike.
Then it moved.
It dropped low and surged forward, closing the gap in a straight, brutal charge, its claws driving forward in a piercing strike aimed directly at Domine.
This time, the Demon King did not move.
He stood his ground.
As the claws closed in, his chest split open.
The moment the Beast's arms drove in past the elbows, the opening snapped shut, trapping and devouring the limb in one motion. "Why are you here? Why is one of you here?" Domine demanded, his voice tight with something unfamiliar before he drove his fist forward, the impact launching the Beast across the crater and into the wall hard enough to send fractures racing through the stone.
He was already moving.
He crossed the distance so quickly it was nearly impossible to track, his body a blur as he reached the Beast and drove another attack in without pause. "It still won't help you win against me!" he shouted, his fist coming down again.
The Beast caught it.
The arm that had just been consumed was already restored, its grip locking around Domine's strike with enough force to halt it completely. It roared directly into his face and retaliated immediately, its claws tearing forward, only for Domine's body to open again, swallowing the second arm the same way.
Domine's mouth split wide.
Both severed limbs were launched back out, driven forward like spears, punching straight through the Beast's torso before he surged in and grabbed it by the head. He slammed it into the crater wall again and again in rapid succession, each impact echoing with the wet, crushing sound of bone breaking and flesh giving way under overwhelming force.
"You'll just survive longer than the rest but never win!" he snarled.
Bram shifted to move, but Ercale's hand came up in front of him, stopping him cold. "Just watch," he said.
Domine continued the assault, driving the Beast's head into the stone over and over, until the Beast moved again.
Its claws lashed out.
"It won't wo—"
Pain cut him off.
Domine's expression changed instantly as he felt it, real, tangible damage carving into him. His eyes widened as he released the Beast and jumped back, his gaze snapping down to his chest where a cross-shaped set of claw wounds had been carved into him, blood beginning to spill from them.
"That… felt like a werewolf's claws…" he muttered.
Across from him, the Beast stood.
Its body was already repairing itself, torn flesh and broken structure knitting back together in seconds as it lowered its gaze to its own claws, now slick with blood. Slowly, it dropped down onto all fours, its many eyes locking onto Domine, each one burning with an intense Bestial Hatred, a hatred so deep and absolute that it was reshaping it in real time for a single purpose.
To kill him.
"Look closely and pay attention, all of you," Ercale said, his voice low but carrying. "Because you are going to witness a small fraction of something that made the entirety of reality tremble."
The Beast did not hesitate.
It launched forward on all fours, charging straight at the Demon King once more.