The guild no longer felt like a place for people.
It felt like a battlefield carved out of desperation.
Dust drifted slowly through the air. Broken wood cracked faintly under shifting weight. The last echoes of the previous clash still lingered… but now, everything had gone quiet.
Too quiet.
Kael stood at the center.
His breathing steady.
His eyes locked forward.
Brakk Ironveil rolled his shoulder once, the sound of metal grinding softly against itself.
"…Good," he murmured.
There was no arrogance in his tone.
Only anticipation.
Measured. Controlled.
Deadly.
Then—
He moved.
There was no warning.
No build-up.
No visible motion.
Just—
Impact.
Kael barely reacted in time.
His arms rose instinctively—
BOOM
The strike landed like a falling mountain.
The ground beneath his feet shattered, cracks spiderwebbing outward as his body was forced backward violently, boots dragging against splintered wood.
Pain exploded through his arms.
"…!"
"Too slow."
Brakk was already there.
Again.
A second strike came—not wide, not flashy—
Precise.
Brutal.
Kael twisted—
The blade grazed past his shoulder—
But the pressure alone tore his coat and sent him crashing into what remained of a wall.
"Kael!"
Lyra's voice broke.
Nyx reacted instantly.
"Don't just stand there!"
Her staff ignited—
Flames surged forward in a concentrated blast—
Brakk didn't dodge.
He stepped into it.
The fire split.
Divided around him.
As if it refused to touch him.
"…Magic without weight," he said calmly.
Then—
He swung.
The impact didn't hit Nyx directly.
It hit the ground in front of her.
The shockwave alone sent her flying.
Her body slammed into a pillar that collapsed behind her, dust erupting into the air.
"Nyx—!"
Lyra raised her hands—
Light gathered—
Healing—
Protection—
Brakk's gaze shifted.
"…Support."
He disappeared.
Lyra didn't even see him.
A hand.
Around her wrist.
Cold.
Unyielding.
Her spell shattered.
She gasped—
And was forced down.
Her body pinned against the ground by sheer strength.
"…Too open."
Fufuin roared.
His massive form lunged forward, claws tearing through the floor as he charged—
Brakk turned.
His blade rose—
Then dropped.
The strike met Fufuin head-on.
The impact echoed like thunder.
The wolf was forced back, claws carving deep trenches into the ground as he struggled to hold his ground.
"Master—!"
Kael stood.
Slowly.
His body trembled.
Not from fear.
From rage.
Lyra… pinned.
Nyx… down.
Fufuin… struggling.
"…You bastard."
Brakk exhaled.
"…Now you're reacting."
Kael stepped forward.
Mana surged.
Violently.
Uncontrolled.
The air distorted.
His chest burned.
No—
Not burned.
It pulsed.
The mark.
The thing inside him—
It moved.
"…Good," Brakk said quietly.
Kael vanished.
This time—
Faster.
His fist connected.
Directly.
Against Brakk's armor.
CRACK
The sound rang sharp.
Brakk's body shifted—
One step back.
Silence.
Then—
A smile.
"…There it is."
The ground shattered again as both moved simultaneously.
Blow met blow.
Force met force.
Each strike heavier than the last.
Kael's movements became sharper.
Faster.
More violent.
But—
The pain grew.
His chest tightened.
The mark glowed beneath his skin—
Burning.
Expanding.
"…AAARGH—!"
His scream tore through the battlefield.
But his power—
Rose.
Each step cracked the earth beneath him.
Each strike carried weight now.
Presence.
Brakk blocked.
Parried.
Countered.
But for the first time—
He was no longer overwhelming.
He was engaged.
"…Interesting."
The fight exploded outward.
Walls collapsed.
The remains of the guild gave way as their clash tore through it—
And into the streets.
People fled.
Buildings cracked.
The ground split under their steps.
Kael lunged—
Brakk met him—
Their collision sent a shockwave down the entire street.
They didn't stop.
They moved.
Forward.
Toward the castle.
Toward the sword.
The Sword
It stood before the gates.
Massive.
Broken.
Embedded in stone older than memory.
Guarded by silence.
Kael's breathing grew unstable.
His vision blurred.
Brakk stepped forward.
"…You're reaching your limit."
Kael didn't respond.
He charged.
Brakk moved once.
Just once.
The blade struck.
Clean.
Precise.
Kael's body was thrown—
Violently—
Crashing across the ground until he stopped… just before the stone.
Blood.
Silence.
Lyra screamed somewhere behind.
Nyx tried to move.
Fufuin growled weakly.
Brakk approached slowly.
"…It ends here."
Kael didn't hear him.
His hand—
Touched the stone.
The sword.
"…Get up."
Not Brakk.
Something else.
"…Please…"
A voice.
Soft.
Distant.
"…help me…"
Kael's fingers tightened.
"…I've been waiting…"
The world slowed.
"…for someone who was rejected…"
His body trembled.
"…just like me."
His eyes opened.
"…Then let's stop waiting."
He pulled.
At first—
Nothing.
The sword didn't move.
Pain surged.
His chest burned—
The mark expanded—
Cracking across his skin like glowing veins—
"MOVE—!"
The ground shook.
The stone cracked.
And—
The sword—
Moved.
A single inch.
Then—
It broke free.
Light exploded.
Not white.
Not gold.
Something deeper.
Something forbidden.
The voice returned.
Closer now.
Warmer.
"…Thank you…"
A presence wrapped around him.
Gentle.
But vast.
"…I will lend you my power."
The blade pulsed.
Kael stood.
Bloodied.
Broken.
Smiling.
And for the first time—
Brakk Ironveil's expression…
Changed.
"…Ah."
Interest.
Real interest.
"…Now this…"
The air trembled.
"…is a fight."