He raised his hand and struck with his palm—the lion's hand extended forward to clash. Howard caught sight of it. He clenched the spear, jerked Frederick, and dropped him! He smashed him into the ground, embedding him into the crater forming beneath him.
"Tsk!"
And Howard, in his fury, turned! He crossed his arms. The palm came!! He braced against it, the pressure immense. Bones cracked.
Howard roared. "Yeah! Roaaard! Prove me now!"
Straining against himself, he roared as he threw his arms open with force. The palm dissolved. The aura dissipated. He moved swiftly, slicing through it—reaching Silan before him.
A direct clash erupted. Punches exchanged. The ground trembled beneath them as they continued with relentless ferocity and challenge.
Reinhardt—his body transformed into a golden statue—decided to intervene. A step. Then another. He approached, preparing a strike that would change the outcome.
Howard chose to finish Silan first. He grabbed his fist, then the other, catching them in his colossal fingers. He squeezed! Bones groaned... Silan wavered, cracks visibly forming in his body! He staggered.
"Hah! You fucking weak!"
Silan tried to kick, shifting his leg slowly, but Howard was faster. A kick—striking his leg. His balance shattered, his body twisted, sweat flung into the air.
Howard didn't wait. He leaped! Kicked him straight in the face… a lightning-fast blow. Silan was hurled back, his body scraping across the ground, sliding without resistance.
Howard landed, turned! And prepared. The third and final.
But a massive golden sphere was launched from the unknown. Howard met it with a vertical kick, his other foot firmly planted on the ground. The pressure was immense, yet he did not budge. His foot ground against its surface, stopping it.
Howard roared, "Youuuuuuuu!"
It was Morgan.
Reinhardt was closing in, but Howard raised his arm, and the axe obeyed, launching toward its target.
Reinhardt shouted, excited, "You're kidding, right? An axe? I'm a golden beast now!"
He raised his fist to shatter it.
Morgan shouted at the top of his lungs, "STOP! Don't try to punch it!"
Reinhardt ducked just in time. The axe passed over him, its pressure washing over him. A heavy sensation. A momentary fear. He turned. The axe was returning, spinning as if it were a living creature.
"Damn... how does he do this?"
Howard didn't wait. He lifted his second foot, leaped, kicked the golden sphere with both legs together, sending it flying away, then landed swiftly, launching forward.
Morgan moved. Two auras on his arms—golden lions, flames surging from his skin, rising, advancing to tear his opponent apart.
But Howard broke his natural speed... vanished for a moment. Then he appeared above Morgan, spinning! Flipping through the air, then ended the sequence with a direct descent...
A vertical headbutt!
Morgan's back split. The ground shattered. A massive earthquake spread beneath its impact.
The three glared in anger, tension rising between them.
Suddenly, Frederick moved—he wanted to do something!!!
But something else, rushing through the smoke in an attack, had arrived. Howard caught him off guard—an upward punch struck Frederick's jaw directly, lifting him into the air for a moment before Howard's hand seized his neck, squeezing with crushing force.
Frederick, powerless, convulsed within his grip. At that moment, Howard's eyes and hand glowed with a strange, ghastly color—dark energy materialized around his fingers, choking Frederick's neck as if draining his very soul.
On the other side, the others prepared themselves. They raised their hands, ready to unleash a barrage of golden bullets.
But before they could, Morgan burst out of the dust, exhausted, shouting at the top of his lungs: "Stop, you idiots! He'll use him as a shield!"
They halted at the last second.
"Oh, damn..."
Morgan let out his final breath before leaping toward the sky. He clapped his hands, then raised his legs, which began to glow in the air. Pressing down with force, he created a foothold from the air beneath him, then launched himself at truly incredible speed.
Silan and Reinhardt didn't lag behind; both of them surged forward as well.
Meanwhile, Howard swung his other arm—the axe was returning to the battle, spinning through the air.
The golden meteor crashed down, the impact pushing both him and the ground beneath him. Before he could regain momentum, the two had already arrived—they closed the distance, joined forces, leaped, and struck Howard with their kicks, their radiating auras shattering the air around them.
Morgan's blow struck his back, while the others targeted his abdomen. They were truly crushing him!
Howard, however, did not stop—he grabbed Frederick and hurled him at them with tremendous force!
But Silan reacted swiftly, letting go and catching Frederick firmly, while Reinhardt continued his relentless pressure, his aura growing denser.
At that moment, the axe arrived...
Morgan didn't hesitate. He abandoned the press, leaping to intercept it himself—it was heading straight for his sons.
As for the others, they continued crushing Howard on their own, pressing him with all their might in direct combat.
Morgan, in that instant, gathered all of his emitted energy, drawing it entirely into his fist in a single, decisive move—a single punch, the fate of this clash...
Then, he struck!
And in [another place]...
In the dark room, resembling an inverted tomb, the noblewoman dangled, her body suspended by crimson threads. Something was breathing, pulsating, writhing slowly as if savoring her restraint. Her arms were bound above her head, the threads digging into her flesh like fangs tasting their prey. On her shoulder, as if climbing slowly, a tendril rose to merge with the threads themselves.
Egologia was there. Hanging with her on the ceiling, his head upside down, his feet planted as if the world had flipped solely for him.
His voice was not loud, but it was harsh—at least to her.
"Don't worry... I won't harm you, my lady."
The sound of the threads tightening and her ragged breaths...
He added, savoring the moment. "I'll ask you a few questions."
His smile held no warmth.
"What is the [Heavenly Conflict]..?"