The little dragon cried out, tears welling in its eyes. It leapt from Eryke's shoulder and flew toward the gaping wound in Ignis.

It licked the golden injuries, as if trying to heal them.

But nothing changed.

The wounds could not be healed.

Ignis's tired pupils lingered on his little princess, then on Eryke, for one final time.

"You'd better protect my baby, Eryke."

With those words, he slowly closed his eyes, surrendering to a peaceful rest.

Eryke remained silent and expressionless.

Not a flicker of emotion crossed his face.

But who could say what storm brewed within?

At that very moment, the final shape of something formed in his mind:

A massive, simple black sword made of haze, its sharp edge gleaming in his mind.

Even a mere glance at it radiated a terrifying sharpness.

Eryke slowly opened his eyes, gazing at the lifeless body of Ignis and the little dragon still crying beside it.

He closed his eyes again, trying to calm the storm of emotions within.

Then, turning toward Eryke the Third, he asked:

"Are you ready?"

"Yeah." Eryke the Third nodded firmly.

Together, they walked out from within the corpse of Ignis and came face-to-face with the Leviathan.

"Human," the Leviathan said, its massive head tilting, slitted pupil narrowing as it studied Eryke. "I see... whatever you were trying to do seems to have succeeded."

"Succeeded?"

Eryke tightened his fist, his face unreadable. "Who knows?"

"Haha, I must commend you, human, for having the courage to stand before me. But no matter what you've done, I refuse to believe you've gained enough power to defeat me so easily."

As the Leviathan spoke, it vanished from its spot, its figure becoming a blur.

By the time Eryke blinked, the humanoid Leviathan was already in front of him, its tail thrusting straight for his heart.

A chill ran down Eryke's spine.

He reacted instantly, channeling his Aura to materialize a sword and slashing forward with all his strength.

Bang!

Their attacks collided with a metallic clang, shockwaves rippling outward.

Both were forced back in a single motion.

"Hmm?" The Leviathan frowned.

"Human, how did you gain such strength out of nowhere?"

Eryke said nothing, his grip tightening around the black Aura sword.

Instead of answering, he calmly closed his eyes.

The Leviathan roared in fury. "How dare you? You close your eyes before me? Do you think I'm nothing?!"

It shot forward in a blur, its tail whipping toward Eryke like a bolt of wrath.

But Eryke was ready.

Without opening his eyes, he swung his sword, intercepting the strike with precision.

Steel met scale, shock rippling through the air.

Again and again, the Leviathan attacked, its tail lashing faster, harder, each blow heavier than the last.

But Eryke, calm and unshaken, met each strike with flawless counters.

Not once did his blade falter.

Not once did his expression change.

When the Leviathan's tail came for his head, Eryke shifted his posture ever so slightly, just enough.

With perfect timing, he swung his sword, redirecting the force with fluid precision.

The Leviathan moved to counter, but before it could react, Eryke's blade was already at its throat.

With no choice, the Leviathan retreated, a flicker of helplessness in its eyes.

"Die."

It pointed its hand forward, and a searing burst of heat shootout at terrifying speed.

But Eryke was faster.

With graceful, practiced motion, he stepped in, closed the gap in a heartbeat, and with a single fluid slash, severed the Leviathan's arm mid-attack.

The hand hit the ground with a sickening thud.

Green blood sprayed into the air, violent and steaming.

"Ahhh—!"

The Leviathan roared in madness and pain, its slitted pupils flashing with something it hadn't shown before—fear.

A staff appeared in its remaining hand, and it hurled it toward Eryke in desperation.

"Too late."

Eryke's voice was cold and calm.

With a single swift motion, his sword moved like a shadow and the Leviathan's other hand was severed.

"Ahhh—!"

The beast shrieked again, wild with agony, lashing out with its tail in a final act of defense.

But before it could even twitch, Eryke was already there: faster, sharper, stronger.

Slash!

The tail dropped to the ground, lifeless and twitching.

Eryke stood above, blade gleaming.

"Why aren't you moving now? Weren't you all-powerful before? Show me that strength."

"You…" The Leviathan's face twisted in rage and shame.

Then it released a subtle pulse, a vibration that rippled through the air, aimed directly at Eryke's mind.

"Hmph." Eryke scoffed in disdain.

Within his mind, the Sword Will stirred, sharp and unyielding.

In an instant, it sliced clean through the mental vibration attempting to disrupt his thoughts.

Then, behind him, the Sword Will took form.

A colossal sword, ten meters long, manifested in the air.

The moment it appeared, the very atmosphere split apart. Waves of sharpness radiated in every direction, cutting through the wind, tearing the silence.

The Leviathan stared at the massive blade with wide, trembling eyes.

"T-This... this is what gave me that terrifying feeling…" it muttered with a shudder.

Eryke remained still, his expression unreadable, but his presence: absolute.

"This is my Sword Will," he said quietly. "The manifestation of my understanding of the sword."

He raised his black haze sword.

In perfect harmony, the giant blade behind him lifted into the air, mirroring his movement, silent, immense, unstoppable.

"No… no…"

The Leviathan's voice quivered with horror, shuttering.

It turned to flee, panic taking over but in its panic, it collapsed to the ground.

Its limbs flailed in a desperate, pitiful attempt to escape.

Once an apex predator, born at the top of the food chain, the unrivaled king of its domain.

It had never known fear.

Never known vulnerability.

And now, facing death for the first time, when its confidence had been at its peak…

"I-I'm scared…"

The Leviathan trembled. Its massive body shook uncontrollably, scales curling inward. Green blood poured from its wounds, pooling beneath it in puddles.

Eryke looked down at the once-proud beast, eyes cold and devoid of mercy.

"Pathetic," he muttered.

The Leviathan stopped trembling. Its body froze in place as it slowly turned its head to Eryke, confusion flickering in its eyes.

"Pathetic?" it echoed, voice hollow.

It pointed at itself. "I… am pathetic?"

"That's right," Eryke replied coldly. "You are pathetic."

He shook his head slightly, then raised his sword.

Swish!

In the same instant, the colossal Sword Will behind him mirrored the motion, descending in perfect unison.

The air split apart.

Reality itself seemed to tear beneath the weight of the swing.

"Under my sword, all things are equal, whether you are a guardian beast… or the world itself."