The battlefield stood still, the air thick with tension as the three horsemen emerged from the swirling black portals. Their mere presence exuded an ominous aura, as if death itself had taken form before Henry, Kaiser, Elric, and Espada. Their jet-black armor gleamed under the dim arena lights, each figure radiating a sense of inevitable doom.
Famine, Plague, Death, and Abyss. The Four Horsemen. Hakon Tenebris wielded a black scimitar, humming with a dark resonance. Sverve Tenebris clutched a wooden staff, its tip adorned with a black crystal pulsating with eerie energy. Vidar Tenebris gripped a long, black sword, an aura of cold aura surrounding him. Lastly, Sigvard Tenebris held a long black rod, shadows creeping around it like living entities.
Sensing the overwhelming danger, Kaiser acted swiftly. He conjured a shadow blade and hurled it near Henry, the weapon embedding itself into the ground beside him. "Move! You're in no condition to fight!" he said, before quickly aiding Henry in stepping away from the battle.
"Tch, why are you not wearing your mask?" Sigvard directed his question toward Hakon, his voice laced with disapproval.
Hakon scoffed, running a hand through his disheveled hair. "Had a little scuffle with some Grimknights earlier. Pests, all of them," he muttered, his fingers tightening around his scimitar. "But they are worth of my full power."
Sverve tilted her head, tapping her staff against the ground. "Is this why you called us?" she asked, her voice both curious and indifferent. "I expected something more interesting."
Vidar sighed, resting his massive black sword on his shoulder. "So, are we wasting time here, or shall we squash these insects already?"
Espada clenched her grip around her blade, her eyes narrowing. "This just got a lot worse."
Elric gritted his teeth. "Then we even the odds. We take them head-on!"
The battlefield roared back to life, the clash of fate about to begin once more.
Espada faced off against Sverve, gripping her scimitar tightly as the aura of Plague radiated from Sverve's twisted wooden staff. The black crystal on its tip pulsed ominously. Espada dashed forward, her blade gleaming with energy as she unleashed a series of rapid thrusts. Sverve smirked and spun her staff, forming a dark mist around her. Each of Espada's strikes phased through the haze, missing their mark. Suddenly, black tendrils shot out from the mist, wrapping around Espada's legs. Sverve slammed her staff down, and the tendrils lifted Espada and hurled her against the ground. Espada coughed as she rolled away, her scimitar cutting through the tendrils. She leaped up and activated Flow Thrust, her body becoming a blur as she shot toward Sverve. But as she closed in, Sverve grinned and pointed her staff. The air rippled as a wave of decaying energy exploded toward Espada, hitting her mid-charge and sending her skidding back, pain coursing through her body.
On the other side, Elric roared as he swung his massive flail at Vidar, the chains rattling with lethal force. Vidar effortlessly parried with his black longsword, the weapon humming with eerie power. "Too slow," Vidar taunted as he sidestepped and slashed at Elric's side. Elric barely managed to block, the impact shaking his bones. With a growl, he entered his third level Quas Blood partial fusion, his body merging partially with Nessie. His strength surged, and he whipped his flail in a wide arc. Vidar's sword clashed against it, but the force sent him staggering. Elric pressed on, his attacks becoming more relentless, his flail striking like a raging storm. Vidar, unfazed, suddenly disappeared in a blur and reappeared behind Elric, slashing downward. Elric grunted as he barely turned in time, the blade slicing across his arm. Blood splattered onto the ground. "You're nothing more than a brute," Vidar sneered. "And you're just another bastard I need to crush!" Elric retorted, charging forward again.
Kaiser gritted his teeth as he faced Sigvard, the wielder of Abyss. Sigvard twirled his long black rod, creating eerie black waves that distorted the air. Kaiser dashed in, throwing shadow daggers, but each one was absorbed into the void surrounding Sigvard. "Pathetic," Sigvard said coldly before extending his palm. A vortex of darkness erupted, blasting Kaiser backward. Kaiser groaned but steadied himself, his eyes burning with determination. Before he could react, Sigvard appeared behind him, his rod striking his ribs with crushing force. Kaiser coughed blood as he stumbled forward. Just then, Mariposa, who had regained consciousness, appeared beside him. "Need a hand?" she asked, a smirk on her face. "Took you long enough," Kaiser grunted. Mariposa's energy flared as she unleashed a barrage of razor-sharp blood spikes at Sigvard. The horseman waved his rod, absorbing most of them, but a few cut through his armor. "Annoying," Sigvard muttered before striking the ground. A wave of abyssal energy surged, engulfing both Kaiser and Mariposa in crushing darkness. They both screamed as the energy overwhelmed them.
Meanwhile, Henry and Hakon clashed fiercely, their weapons colliding with devastating force. Henry, despite his wounds, moved with precision, blocking Hakon's scimitar with his gauntlet. Hakon smirked, his blade twisting mid-swing to curve around Henry's defense, slicing across his shoulder. Henry gritted his teeth but retaliated with a brutal right hook. Hakon barely dodged, countering with a spinning slash. Henry ducked just in time and drove his knee into Hakon's gut. Hakon grunted but quickly recovered, flipping backward. "You fight better than I expected," Hakon admitted. "Too bad it won't save you." With that, he lunged forward, their battle continuing in a fierce exchange of speed and strength, neither gaining the upper hand just yet.
Sigvard slammed Mariposa into the arena wall with a sickening crunch. She let out a pained gasp, crumpling to the ground. Before he could finish her off, Kaiser flung four shadow daggers toward him. Already in his third level of Quas Blood, Kaiser looked nothing like his usual self—his skin had turned pale, two spectral limbs grew over his shoulder like eerie phantoms, and his eyes glowed with a fierce golden-orange light. Sigvard was momentarily astonished at Kaiser's transformation.
But it didn't last long.
Kaiser flickered between the daggers, using them as stepping stones through the shadows, closing in on Sigvard with lethal precision. Just as he was about to strike, Sigvard caught him mid-air. Kaiser barely had time to react—he thrust his shadow dagger forward, aiming for Sigvard's throat, but Sigvard was faster. With an effortless motion, he swung his black rod and slammed Kaiser into the ground with brutal force. Kaiser let out a strangled gasp as blood sputtered from his mouth. Before he could recover, Sigvard hauled him up again and smashed his rod into Kaiser's face.
Kaiser's vision went black.
Across the battlefield, Henry fought relentlessly against Hakon, his fists clashing against the dark warrior's scimitar. As they fought, Henry spat out through gritted teeth, "So, your name is Hakon Tenebris, one of the four bastards of the legendary Malphas Tenebris!"
Hakon's expression darkened. With a swift, vicious kick, he sent Henry tumbling across the ground. "You have no right to speak our father's name," Hakon snarled. He pointed his scimitar toward the fallen Grimknights. "You will die, Henry Guhn. Just like your little friends."
Henry turned his gaze toward his allies, their battered bodies struggling to rise. Memories of fallen comrades flooded his mind—friends who had fought and died, comrades who had been cut down before his eyes. He had failed them before. He couldn't fail now.
A guttural, monstrous roar erupted from his throat.
His King's Presence surged violently, radiating an immense force that sent shockwaves through the arena. The raw energy crackled, then suddenly condensed, compressing into his clenched fists. Hakon's eyes widened in shock. "Impossible! He shouldn't be able to control his King's Presence this quickly!"
Henry dashed forward with terrifying speed. His fist, imbued with all his rage and determination, shot toward Hakon. At the last second, Hakon raised his scimitar in defense, but it was too late.
CRACK!
The blade bent, then shattered.
Henry's fist continued its path, slamming into Hakon's chest with devastating force. For a brief moment, Hakon's instincts took over—he reached out to drain Henry's stamina, but the attack had already landed.
THUD.
Henry's gauntlet had pierced straight through Hakon's armor and through his chest.
Blood spewed from Hakon's mouth, splattering onto Henry's arm. He let out a gurgling gasp, his eyes flickering with fading life. Weakly, he raised his trembling palm toward Sigvard, as if reaching for salvation, but then his arm fell limp. His head slumped forward.
Hakon "The Stallion" was dead.
A sharp, agonized cry tore through the arena. "HAKON!" Sigvard roared in fury. He raised his black rod high, and a swirling black portal manifested - the portals are for each of them. From within, Sverve and Vidar emerged, their eyes locked onto Henry with murderous intent.
They attacked as one.
Before Henry could react, Sverve's staff speared through his side, its twisted wooden tip drenched in his blood. Sigvard followed, driving his black rod through Henry's other side, pinning him between them. Henry let out a gasping cough, blood trickling from his lips.
Vidar raised his long black sword high.
Kaiser, barely conscious, turned his head toward the battlefield. His eyes searched desperately—until they landed on Henry.
Henry, his body impaled, was looking directly at Kaiser.
For a fleeting moment, their eyes met.
Henry's lips moved silently, but Kaiser understood.
"Move forward."
A faint, defiant smile formed on Henry's face as his eyes fluttered closed.
Then—ZHING!
Vidar's sword sliced cleanly through Henry's neck.
Silence.
Everything went blank.
Kaiser's mind froze.
He could still see Henry's final smile—the warmth in his eyes even as the light faded. It reminded him of Kevin, of their laughter, their struggles, and the promise they once made. Now, both were gone, leaving only the ache of what could never be.
Something inside Kaiser cracked, a fracture too deep to mend.
And then—something inside him shattered.
A cold fury, darker than the abyss itself, surged through his veins. The air around him twisted, warping under the weight of his rage. Alzalel's spectral form began to expand, its presence suffocating, its aura pulsing with an ominous hunger. Shadows bled from its form, stretching outward like the grasp of something ancient… something ominous.
The arena fell into a stunned silence. Even the horsemen felt it—that shift, that terrifying shift.
Something is coming.