Varaichi remained inside the cell, waiting in silence. As the minutes passed, she began to think.
''I wonder if they're coming to rescue me... They will, right? If I know my friends and my brother, they'll definitely come. Just a little longer, Varaichi... Hang in there a little longer...''
Meanwhile, the western side of Vespera had also fallen. Kiroschi was still alive, but he had been knocked unconscious. Since he had fallen into the mud, the Nyxia soldiers had left without noticing him.
Vespera had now fallen from both the east and the west. Only the north and south remained under Xers' control.
Xers received the news that western Vespera had fallen as well. He angrily looked back toward the western side of Vespera and sighed.
''If Fukaru wasn't here, I could hold the west by myself. But Fukaru is a serious threat. If he catches me while I'm exhausted, I'm as good as dead. I have to fight alongside the army...''
Vespera was now completely surrounded from both the east and west. Nyxia sorcerers were attempting to enter the city center from both sides, while the Tshusenkai army was caught in crossfire. Hanken and Xers continued cutting down enemy sorcerers as quickly as they could.
''X-XERS! THIS ISN'T GOING TO END WELL!''
''Y-YOU'RE RIGHT! THEIR NUMBERS KEEP INCREASING WITH EVERY MINUTE! WE NEED TO WITHDRAW THE ARMY AS SOON AS POSSIBLE! WE HAVE TO ABANDON VESPERA!''
''I-IS THAT REALLY A WISE DECISION, XERS?''
''I have a plan in mind. If it works, then it will be a very wise decision. TSHUSENKAI! WE'RE ABANDONING THE CITY! FALL BACK!''
Xers slowly began withdrawing the entire army from Vespera. Not long after, the city of Vespera completely fell. The Nyxia sorcerers remained in the city and continued looting it. After all, they needed a source of Dark Magic to continue fighting the war.
Meanwhile, the Legions had achieved an absolute naval victory against Silverton. Silverton's Dark Magic energy had dropped to 3%. New sorcerers could no longer join the army, and even their warships could no longer operate. For Nyxia, that percentage was still at 40%, but it was dropping every day. If Shadowia wasn't defeated within 40 days, Nyxia would be pushed into an irreversible disaster.
Xers immediately established an intelligence network and, using his knowledge of the geography, ordered a trench to be dug at the very end of Shadowia's bay, just south of San Maero. The trench would stretch along the entire coastline of the bay. A massive defensive line would be established there. Since San Maero was located in a hilly region, advancing uphill on foot would also require considerable effort. This area was perfect for stopping the Nyxia sorcerers.
Within approximately four days, the trench had been completed along the entire bay. The necessary ammunition and magical weapons were brought in, while warships and sorcerers were stationed on the small islands surrounding the bay. With all of this in place, crossing the bay would be nearly impossible.
The sky was growing darker. Sunset was approaching. From far away, the Nyxia march could be heard.
''My homeland, my soil, a thousand lives I would give,Nyxia's glory strikes fear into the eyes of all.Oh, glorious people of Nyxia,This nation owes its very life to you...''
Xers then relayed the information to the entire army.
''THE ENEMY IS APPROACHING FROM THE TWELVE O'CLOCK DIRECTION! EVERYONE GET INTO THE TRENCHES! UNTIL YOU RECEIVE THE ORDER TO FIRE, NO ONE SHOW YOURSELF! THE MOMENT THEY GET CLOSE ENOUGH, WE'LL HIT THEM WITH A BURST ATTACK! UNDERSTOOD?!''
Everyone answered in unison.
''YES, XERS!''
The Nyxia sorcerers were getting closer and closer to San Maero. Their eyes searched for the Shadowia sorcerers. Somewhere among them was Fukaru.
Hanken and Xers spoke quietly between themselves.
''Do you really think this is going to work, Xers?''
''Yes. It'll work perfectly! I've fought Fukaru twice. He loses himself when he panics. If his army and he are suddenly hit by a massive assault, he'll use Re-Verse to bring back some of the army he lost. That's when I'll catch him off guard. And if I can fight him long enough, I'll use Double Dragon's Destruction on him.''
''I hope it works, Xers. We're all counting on you.''
The Nyxia sorcerers had now entered attack range. Slowly, they began climbing the hill. Once there were no more troops left behind the hill, Xers gave the order.
''ATTACK! FOR YOUR HOMELAND! FOR YOUR LIVES! FOR YOUR CHILDREN! FOR YOUR DESCENDANTS! ATTACK WITH EVERYTHING YOU HAVE!''
The Tshusenkai army suddenly emerged from the trenches and began bombarding every Nyxia sorcerer attempting to climb the hill. Fukaru was caught in the attack as well.
For a moment, Fukaru panicked.
''R-R-R-RE-VERSE!''
The dimension suddenly tore apart, and another dimension entered it. Everything within a certain area surrounding Fukaru was sent two minutes into the past.
But Xers had anticipated this as well.
Even after Fukaru rewound time and brought back more of his forces, he would still be on the slope of the hill. Xers quickly mounted Gomerai and launched himself toward Fukaru.
''GOMERAI! YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO!''
Gomerai burst out from underground and flew toward Fukaru. With incredible aggression, Gomerai grabbed Fukaru and began dragging him across the ground. Fukaru quickly jumped between different shadows, but Gomerai was agile enough to follow him into every single one.
''How does it feel, Fukaru?!''
''Y-YOU BASTARD! TAKE THIS!''
Fukaru lunged toward Xers with his dagger.
''Koberai!''
Koberai descended from the sky and intercepted Fukaru, sending him flying into the air.
Xers then used an ability he hadn't used in a long time.
''GHOST STEP!''
Xers used Ghost Step to launch himself toward Fukaru. While in midair, he brought his two swords together and swung them at Fukaru.
Fukaru countered with his daggers, but the outermost dagger shattered from the impact and fell to the ground.
Fukaru was left gasping for breath. He slowly got back on his feet.
''H-Here... just a few more minutes...''
''Koberai Stop Time!''
Koberai stopped the vibration of the atoms, freezing time itself. Xers began walking toward Fukaru.
''After taking this many attacks, your Spiritual Pressure barrier must have weakened, even if only slightly. Considering how far I have to walk to reach you, I'll only have enough time for one sword strike.''
Xers slowly approached Fukaru. Once he was close enough, he suddenly swung both of his swords horizontally.
The blades severed Fukaru's right arm from the shoulder, but when they struck his chest, his Spiritual Pressure barrier activated.
Then the atoms began vibrating again, and time resumed.
Blood began pouring from Fukaru's severed arm.
''N-N-N-N-NOOOO?! Y-Y-YOU BASTARD!''
Then the sun completely disappeared beyond the horizon.
It was now completely dark.
This meant Fukaru could move freely through the shadows without being seen. But there was one problem.
The blood he had spilled was still visible.
''I-I HAVE TO ESCAPE!''
Fukaru suddenly disappeared into the shadows and began fleeing toward the Lord Of Sea.
Xers immediately chased after him.
''GOMERAI! FOLLOW THE BLOOD TRAIL!''
Fukaru continued running until he finally reached the ship. He entered the Lord Of Sea.
The ship accepted Fukaru.
But when Xers tried to enter, he slammed into the barrier once again.
''THAT'S ENOUGH! I'M FUCKING DONE WITH THIS SHIP! DOUBLE DRAGON'S DESTRUCTION! This technique adds Koberai to the previous Dragon's Destruction. Let's see your precious ship survive this!''
Gomerai and Koberai merged together in midair, transforming into a single enormous dragon.
The dragon began radiating brilliant light of every color imaginable. Xers' eyes started glowing a deep purple, while his twin swords shimmered and illuminated the surrounding area.
Then, all at once, the dragon unleashed a massive combination of Heavenly Flames and Heavenly Slashes toward the ship.
A gigantic beam of light erupted across the battlefield.
Even the sorcerers stationed in San Maero could easily see the enormous flash.
The Lord Of Sea was completely erased from existence.
''I-IT'S OVER! I THINK WE DID IT!''
However, the moment Fukaru had boarded the ship, he had jumped back into the sea and escaped.
He already knew about Xers' technique.
Meanwhile, Varaichi had finally been subjected to countless tortures inside Nyxia's interrogation chambers. Eventually, she was forced to reveal all of Xers' abilities to the Nyxia government.
Despite everything, the defense of San Maero was successful.
95% of the Nyxia army had been annihilated.
The Tshusenkai sorcerers immediately advanced toward Vespera and successfully retook the city. The remaining Nyxia sorcerers scattered throughout the area were hunted down and eliminated.
Shadowia's mainland had been successfully defended.
This defense would later go down in history as Holy Defense.