The gigantic eye stared down from within the spatial crack.
Ancient.
Cold.
Inhuman.
The pressure alone froze the entire battlefield.
Students collapsed instantly while even the remaining Abyss Knights lowered their heads instinctively.
The transformed commander himself looked shaken.
"…Why is THAT here…?" he muttered hoarsely.
Zael narrowed his eyes slightly.
Whatever was behind that crack—
Was dangerous.
Far beyond the commander in front of him.
Yet before anyone could react further—
The eye slowly closed again.
Then the crack began stabilizing instead of widening.
As though whatever existed behind it couldn't descend fully yet.
The commander immediately laughed afterward, though there was still lingering fear in his voice.
"Hahahaha…!"
"You feel it now, don't you?"
"That is true despair!"
BOOOOOOOOM!!!
Abyssal energy erupted around him again as he lunged toward Zael wildly.
This time, the commander no longer cared about technique.
Only destruction.
The ground shattered continuously beneath each step while corrupted flames swallowed everything nearby.
Zael calmly raised his weapon.
Or rather—
The black cube floating beside him.
The surrounding students stared in confusion.
Then the cube shifted.
Click.
Click.
CRACK.
The metallic structure unfolded instantly into a massive black greatsword covered in silver runic patterns.
The weapon radiated terrifying pressure the moment it fully transformed.
The transformed commander's instincts screamed danger immediately.
Too late.
BOOOOOOOOOOM!!!
Zael swung once.
The sheer force behind the strike split the battlefield apart.
The commander crossed both arms defensively—
CRAAAAACK!!!
His abyssal armor shattered instantly.
The commander was blasted backward violently, carving a massive trench through the academy grounds.
Students stared with widened eyes.
"A transforming weapon…?"
"What kind of equipment is that?!"
But Zael was already moving again.
Void Step.
He appeared above the commander instantly.
The cube shifted again mid-motion.
The greatsword compressed rapidly before reforming into a long black spear crackling with void lightning.
Then Zael thrust downward.
"Void Collapse."
The spear pierced space itself.
CRAAAAAAAAASH!!!
The surrounding area imploded violently as distorted gravity crushed downward onto the commander.
Buildings folded inward.
The earth sank.
Even several Abyss Knights nearby were dragged into the collapse and torn apart instantly.
The commander roared furiously while forcing himself free through sheer power.
Blood covered his body now.
His regeneration was slowing.
Meanwhile Zael's expression remained calm.
Too calm.
The commander suddenly understood something horrifying then.
Zael still wasn't struggling.
At all.
Rage exploded inside him instantly.
"STOP LOOKING DOWN ON ME!"
A gigantic abyssal magic formation erupted beneath his feet.
His already monstrous body began expanding further while abyssal flames condensed into armor around him.
The pressure skyrocketed once again.
This time, genuine cracks began appearing in the academy barriers themselves.
The commander raised both hands toward the sky.
Then all remaining corrupted energy throughout the battlefield surged toward him violently.
Dead demonized creatures.
Abyss Knights.
Even the lingering corruption in the atmosphere.
Everything flowed into him.
Lily's expression changed immediately.
"He's absorbing the battlefield itself…"
The commander's laughter became increasingly distorted as his body swelled with overwhelming energy.
"I may die today…"
"…BUT YOU'RE COMING WITH ME!"
Zael watched silently for several seconds.
Then slowly spun the spear once.
The weapon shifted again.
This time into twin black blades.
Sharp.
Elegant.
Deadly.
Black lightning danced between them while abyssal runes glowed faintly along their edges.
Zael finally sighed softly afterward.
"…You're loud."
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!
He vanished.
Not with Void Step.
Pure speed.
The air itself exploded apart behind him.
The commander barely reacted before Zael appeared directly in front of him and unleashed a storm of slashes.
SHING!
SHING!
SHING
SHINGSHINGSHING!!!
The twin blades blurred into streaks of black light as Zael unleashed a relentless barrage of attacks.
Each slash distorted space slightly.
Each impact blasted apart chunks of the battlefield beneath them.
The transformed commander roared while blocking desperately with abyssal claws coated in corrupted energy.
BOOM!
CRACK!
A slash tore across his chest.
Another severed one of the armored protrusions on his shoulder.
The third nearly took his arm entirely before he twisted away violently.
Blood sprayed through the air continuously.
The commander retaliated with a savage claw strike infused with abyssal flames.
Zael crossed both blades.
CRAAAAASH!!!
The shockwave shattered nearby ruins while both fighters shot backward simultaneously.
The instant Zael stabilized himself, the twin blades dissolved back into the floating black cube.
Click.
Click.
The cube reformed into a massive black warhammer glowing with silver patterns.
Without hesitation, Zael swung downward.
BOOOOOOOOM!!!
The commander barely raised both arms before the hammer connected.
The ground beneath him collapsed instantly.
A gigantic crater exploded outward while abyssal energy scattered wildly from the impact.
The commander coughed blood violently.
Several bones in his arms shattered from the strike alone.
Yet he still lunged upward crazily through the debris.
"Abyss Starfall!"
Multiple compressed spheres of corrupted energy formed around him before launching toward Zael like meteors.
Zael's expression remained calm.
The hammer shifted instantly.
The cube unfolded into a long black bow crackling with void lightning.
Zael pulled back the string.
No arrow appeared physically.
Instead—
Void energy condensed automatically into black lightning arrows.
He released.
SHIIIIING!!!
The first arrow pierced directly through an abyssal sphere before detonating it.
Then the second.
Third.
Fourth.
BOOOOOOOOOOM!!!
Explosions filled the sky continuously.
The commander burst through the smoke immediately afterward, appearing directly in front of Zael with both claws aimed at his throat.
Fast.
Violent.
Zael released the bow instantly.
The weapon collapsed back into cube form before rapidly reshaping again.
This time—
A black gauntlet formed around his right arm.
CRAAAAASH!!!
Zael caught both claws head-on.
The surrounding air exploded outward violently from the collision.
The commander's eyes widened slightly.
Then Zael's gauntlet began glowing.
Resonance Strike stacks detonated simultaneously.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!
The accumulated force erupted point blank.
The commander screamed as his entire body was blasted across the battlefield once more, smashing through multiple ruined structures before skidding violently across the ground.
Dust filled the air.
Zael descended slowly afterward.
The black cube floated beside him calmly, shifting between forms faintly as though alive.
The commander slowly rose from the rubble again.
His regeneration was visibly struggling now.
Deep sword wounds remained open across his body while abyssal energy leaked uncontrollably from the injuries.
Yet the madness in his eyes only intensified further.
"You…" he growled hoarsely.
"…why won't you break?"
Zael tilted his head slightly.
Then the cube transformed once more.
This time into a sleek black katana radiating cold void energy.
"You're too weak," Zael answered simply.
BOOOOOOOOOOM!!!
The commander exploded forward in fury again.
Zael met him head-on.
Katana and claws collided repeatedly at blinding speed.
SHING!
CRACK!
BOOM!
The battlefield trembled continuously beneath their fight as black lightning, void energy, and abyssal flames tore across the academy grounds like natural disasters.