Dusk cast its long shadows over Tempest, but this time, the quiet wasn't a sign of peace; it was the stillness before a massive earthquake.
In the grand plaza in front of the administration building, movement flowed with astonishing military precision. Under the orders of Rigurd and Benimaru, the great evacuation had begun.
"Hurry! Move in an orderly fashion!" a sharp female voice shouted. The fairy **Ramiris** flew in the air, with Treyni trailing right behind her. "The labyrinth gates are open in every district! The lower floors have become a safe haven for every civilian. No king or angel will dare touch you inside my world!"
While Ramiris was managing the evacuation, the ground suddenly shook with a booming laugh that made the very air tremble.
"Kwahahaha! What is this terrifying presence that woke me from reading my manga?!"
From the top of the administration building, a tall man with messy blond hair and dark skin leaped down, landing with enough force to create a small crater. It was **Veldora Tempest**, the Storm Dragon, the strongest entity in the forest.
Right behind him, emerging from the shadows on the ground, was a massive wolf with a glowing horn, **Ranga**, who growled in a low rumble as he scanned his surroundings.
Veldora abruptly stopped laughing, his golden eyes widening as he stared directly at Akira. As a "True Dragon," Veldora could see what others could not. He didn't see a human; he saw a "black hole" in the fabric of the world.
"You..." Veldora approached with rare seriousness, inspecting Akira. "What a crazy boy. You swallowed Guy Crimson's energy and awakened a forgotten skill. The Void... huh? No wonder the world is trembling."
"Veldora," Akira said calmly, respecting the dragon's power. "We are facing a million soldiers and angels, led by Clayman, who has returned from the dead. We need your strength to protect the heart of the capital and the labyrinth if the front lines are breached."
"Kwahaha! Leave the base's defense to me and Ramiris! I won't let any insect defile my friend Rimuru's city," Veldora roared, releasing a terrifying draconic aura sufficient to deter any enemy approaching the walls. "But the front lines... I leave those to you and these youngsters."
In the fortified meeting and training hall, Akira turned toward Souei, who was completing his intelligence report.
"Souei, you said the Empire's army is marching without stopping," Akira asked, his eyes narrowing in concentration. "Humans cannot walk for days without food or sleep. What exactly did you observe?"
Souei nodded, and a magical illusion appeared above the table, displaying what he had seen during his reconnaissance.
"Your observation is precise, Akira. The soldiers do not blink, nor do they breathe regularly. Using the 'Shadow Eye', I managed to see infinitesimally thin mana pathways—like transparent threads—extending from Clayman's body and piercing the souls of a million soldiers. He isn't leading an army... he is controlling a million living-dead puppets."
Benimaru slammed his fist onto the table. "Controlling their souls to force them to fight? What a despicable and terrifying technique."
"And that explains a lot," Akira said thoughtfully. "If they don't feel pain and possess no free will, our usual arsenal might not be enough to stop them quickly, not to mention the angels who use absolute light magic that heals ordinary wounds."
Akira stood up and walked toward the leaders of Tempest lined up before him: Benimaru, Shion, Hakurou, Geld, and Souei.
"Clayman's weapon is the 'bonds' that control the puppets, and the angels' weapon is 'light'. To defeat them, we must use what erases bonds and swallows light."
Akira extended his hand over Benimaru's sword (Guren).
"As the Lord of the Void, and by the power of **Azathoth**... I grant your weapons the blessing of nothingness."
**[Ultimate Skill: Azathoth - Activation: Blessing of the Void.]**
Black and silver sparks erupted from Akira's hand. The moment they touched Benimaru's blade, its color shifted to pitch black, igniting with dark flames that devoured the mana in the air.
He then moved to Shion; her massive sword glowed with a dark purple aura, specifically tailored to tear through the spiritual bodies of angels and sever the "threads" Souei described, without needing to know the name of the enemy's skill.
Even Ranga, who was observing from the corner, received a spark of the void that settled into his horn, turning his storm lightning a devastating black.
When Akira finished, the weapons of Tempest's leaders pulsed with an energy the Central World had never witnessed before.
"Kufufufu..." Diablo laughed with a deep bow. "As your servant, I can say that the angels who consider themselves the protectors of order will soon discover what annihilation tastes like."
Benimaru looked at his new black sword, then raised his gaze to Akira, his eyes burning with confidence. "Akira... with these weapons, we won't have to kill the enslaved humans. We will sever the threads of control manipulating them, and strike the angels down from the sky."
Akira's left eye glowed with a cosmic blue light.
"That is the goal. Geld, advance with your Orc legions to the first line of defense. Benimaru and Shion, you are the vanguard. Souei, take charge of sniping the angel commanders from the shadows. As for me..."
Akira turned toward the open gates of the hall, where the dark forest awaited.
"...I have an appointment with the Puppet Master."