The battlefield was pure chaos.
Bruno staggered back, staring at his trembling hands. His skin burned—raw, searing pain spreading from his knuckles up his forearms. He had punched the Queen just moments ago, landing a solid blow against her wooden jaw. But now, it felt like he had struck a furnace.
His breath came in ragged gasps. He had landed a hit, yet the Queen hadn't even flinched.
Elyria loosed three arrows in quick succession. The first hit the Queen's shoulder, the second found her chest, and the third struck just below her collarbone. Direct hits.
THWIP. THWIP. THWIP.
The golden arrows lodged into her flesh—but she didn't stop.
Instead, her body absorbed them, the wooden texture of her skin shifting, warping, swallowing the projectiles like they had never existed.
Elyria's eyes widened. "No way…"
Varen appeared behind the Queen in a blur of motion,his sword flashing as he aimed for her spine. He swung with full force, putting all his weight into the strike.
CLANG.
The moment the blade connected, a violent shockwave burst outward. The impact sent Varen skidding back across the field, his boots carving deep lines into the dirt. His sword shook in his grip from the sheer force of the collision.
She had barely twisted her torso, yet it felt like he had struck solid iron.
Varen grimaced. "Her body's harder than steel…"
Raine and Bruno regrouped, breathless.
"She's…" Bruno swallowed, trying to push back the pain. "She's treating this like a game."
The Queen stood motionless, her head tilting unnaturally to the side as she observed them.
Then, she moved.
Like a blur of shadows, she appeared in front of Silas.
His eyes widened.
He reacted instantly, flicking his wrist. The shadows at his feet writhed, forming a web of black spikes that shot toward her like a collapsing cage.
But the Queen barely even hesitated.
CRACK!
She swung her bare hands through the spikes, and they shattered like glass. The dark fragments scattered, dissolving into nothing.
Silas clicked his tongue, already stepping back. But she was too fast.
Her wooden arm lashed out, twisting in ways no human limb should. The impact hit Silas's chest like a war hammer, sending him flying back into a nearby tree.
THUD!
Bruno barely had time to process what had happened before—
"Dain, MOVE!"
Dain swung his greatsword in a wide arc, aiming for the Queen's midsection. His blade was massive, heavy, carrying enough force to cleave through solid rock.
But the Queen simply stepped back, her movements effortless, as if she had seen the attack before he even swung.
Dain didn't stop.
He gritted his teeth, adjusted his stance, and swung again.
And again.
And again.
His third strike was the fastest yet, a diagonal cut meant to split her from shoulder to hip.
SHING!
She wasn't there.
She vanished from his sight, reappearing behind him in less than a heartbeat.
Dain's stomach dropped.
Before he could react—
SHHK!
A jagged wooden blade formed from her hand—and pierced through his stomach.
Dain's breath hitched. His hands instinctively went to the wound, blood dripping between his fingers.
"Dain!" Elyria shouted.
He staggered back, forcing distance, trying to regain his balance.
But the ground beneath him shifted.
Thick roots erupted from the earth, wrapping around his limbs, pinning him in place.
He struggled, thrashing, but they only tightened.
The Queen slowly approached him, a second blade growing from her other hand.
She raised both weapons.
Dain's heart pounded.
Was this it?
Then—
A blur of steel.
CLANG!
A sword intercepted hers.
Kaito.
He had moved so fast that even the Queen hesitated for the briefest moment.
Their blades clashed at impossible speeds, each impact sending sparks flying. Kaito's movements were almost inhuman, his sword a blur of motion.
Elyria gasped. "I can't… I can't even see him…"
Dain watched in stunned silence. Kaito was pushing past his limits, keeping up with the Queen's inhuman speed.
But he couldn't hold out forever.
The Queen was learning.
With each second, she adjusted her movements, countering faster, reacting sharper.
Kaito's blade glowed crimson, the air around him distorting from the sheer heat. He cut through the trees she summoned, slicing massive trunks as if they were paper.
The battlefield became a storm of falling trees and flashing steel.
The Queen screamed, her voice a chorus of breaking wood and howling winds.
Dain gritted his teeth. Kaito's keeping up… but not for long.
Then—
A memory.
A boy, no older than twelve, held a wooden sword.
"I'll fight monsters someday," he declared, swinging it clumsily.
Beside him, another boy—taller, rounder—laughed. "Yeah! Me too!" But his face was missing, blurred like an unfinished drawing.
The boy ran to his mother. She was in the kitchen, placing a pastry in front of another child—a boy holding a perfect test sheet, a smug smile on his face.
"Mom! Look!" The wooden sword waved excitedly in the air. "I'll be strong! I'll save people!"
She didn't even glance at him.
The memory shattered.
Pain.
A wooden blade pierced Kaito's neck.
Blood dripped onto the broken petals below.
But Kaito—
Even as the life drained from him—
Even as the Queen loomed over him—
His blade had already moved.
The tip of his katana pressed against her throat.
Dain's eyes went wide.
For a moment—just a moment—
Everything was silent.