The sky above Iron Bastion changed color—a deep red, almost black.
The clash between the two forces began like a storm. There was no warning. No sign. Only the will to survive… and the will to conquer.
Faceless creatures charged forward, moving silently, but as fast as lightning. Their bodies were lithe, yet strong. They were fearless, tireless, and could not be killed by ordinary means.
Kael's men formed up.
Shields in front. Archers behind. Mages in the middle.
"Don't retreat! Use light magic! Focus on their heads!" a human commander shouted.
Spears of energy and holy magic slammed into the shadow creatures.
Some burned. Some melted. But more came, crawling like a black flood.
Kael and Gorath were still facing each other in the middle of the field.
They hadn't moved since the initial exchange of blows.
Their eyes locked. The world around them began to crumble, but they… remained still.
Until Kael stepped forward, slowly.
"I will not allow your creatures to destroy what is left of this world."
Gorath smiled faintly. "This world is already broken. I merely reshaped its ruins."
Then they collided again.
Swords and claws.
Light and shadow.
Each of their attacks created a wave of energy that sent the surrounding troops flying like puppets.
On the other side of the field, an elite human unit was trying to break through the Abyssal ranks to destroy the shadowy center—a kind of moving altar that pumped dark energy into Gorath's forces.
Led by Lieutenant Maris, they ran through the ruins, protecting the mages carrying magical light bombs.
"We have one chance. If we fail, they will swallow us alive."
The Abyssal creatures detected their movement and began to charge.
Maris opened a sacred smoke bomb—breaking the wave of attacks for a moment. The mages began to form a spell circle, and the light bombs began to glow.
However, just as the spell was about to finish, a giant Abyssal creature emerged from underground—the Behemoth of the Void.
Ten meters tall. Mouth like a chasm. Body covered in bones and thorns.
Maris stared at him without fear. "Send the signal! The bombs must be dropped, no matter what!"
She drew two sacred knives and leapt toward the Behemoth.
She did not wish to live.
She only wanted to win.
Meanwhile, Kael and Gorath exchanged dozens of blows in a short time.
Each of their movements shattered the air. Kael's sword now shone brighter than ever—its final form, "Solblade."
"I do not fight you for the past," Kael shouted. "I fight you for those who still have a future!"
Gorath did not answer.
He raised his hand, forming a shadowy spear of spikes longer than his own body.
Then he threw it.
The spear shot out, breaking the ground, crushing twenty human soldiers who had no time to dodge. But Kael managed to deflect the attack with a swing of Solblade.
Kael's body began to hurt. His breathing was heavy.
But he did not stop.
He never learned to give up.
At the center of the battle, the shadow altar finally came into view.
A light bomb was thrown.
BOOM!!
A white beam exploded, incinerating the altar and sending a bright energy that pushed back most of the Abyssal forces. The creatures howled, some burned to ash.
The Behemoth roared, but its body melted in the blast of light.
Maris... did not move again.
But they had succeeded.
The human army cheered—for a moment.
Then from the sky... a larger shadow descended.
The Abyss Warden.
A winged creature, pitch-black, with fiery eyes. The ultimate guardian of the Abyssal world. An ancient being that could not be summoned—it only appeared when the balance between light and darkness was threatened.
The human army fell silent.
Kael stared up at the sky.
And Gorath said only, quietly:
"Time to level up."
The sky gaped.
From a gap in the clouds, The Abyss Warden descended slowly, like a king from another world.
His wings spanned twenty meters. His body was thin but dense with power. His red eyes were like hellish torches, burning endlessly.
The world... held its breath.
Even Gorath stopped speaking.
"I did not summon him," Gorath said softly.
Kael stared at the creature without blinking. "But he came for you."
The Abyss Warden stomped on the ground. The ground beneath him instantly cracked and rotted. His voice sounded like an echo from a grave:
"You have crossed the line, Gorath. The world needs no new gods."
Gorath hissed. "You are no arbiter. You are merely old chains that restrain you."
"And you... are an anomaly."
Without warning, The Abyss Warden struck.
A wave of his hand—and Gorath's shadow exploded, shattering into fragments.
He was thrown a hundred meters away, crashing into the ruins of Iron Bastion.
Kael sprang into action. He knew this was a rare opportunity.
He dashed toward The Abyss Warden, his sword shining brightly. "If you are also an opponent… then you must fall too!"
Solblade slashed through the air, striking the creature in the chest.
But… there was no wound. Only a ripple of energy.
The Abyss Warden stared at Kael.
"You were not summoned. But you are also a threat."
His hand shot toward Kael. A dark blast erupted, like lightning from hell.
Kael was struck, sent flying, his body slamming into a giant rock and cracking.
Blood spurted.
Gorath stood slowly, his body charred in places.
"So this is how… the Abyss wants to take everything back," he muttered.
The shadows around him began to coalesce, his body healing little by little.
He spat blood.
"Do you think I was created just to destroy the human world?" he said to the Abyss Warden.
"I was born… to replace everything. Including you."
Then he leaped.
Gorath and the Abyss Warden slammed into each other with pure power.
No fancy magic. No tricks.
Claws versus bare hands.
Energy versus will.
A single impact shattered the entire row of remaining towers.
Gorath stabbed the Abyss Warden's body with his black claws — and the creature screamed.
His screams made the human soldiers vomit blood.
Kael struggled to his feet, bracing himself with his sword.
"I can't believe I'm siding with Gorath now," he hissed.
But he knew. If the Abyss Warden won… the world wouldn't just be destroyed. It would be erased.
In the distance, the remaining human mages gathered. They knew this was a fight beyond their scale.
But one thing could be done:
Close the gap to the Abyss.
If the portal closed, the Warden would lose his source of power.
The mages began to form a large circle, drawing on the last of their life magic.
They knew the risk.
One among them, a young girl, said: "If we fail… there will be no place to fail anymore."
In the midst of the fight, Kael shouted to Gorath:
"TEMPORARY ALLIANCE! STOP HIM FIRST!"
Gorath didn't answer.
But he didn't kill Kael.
Instead, he jumped on top of the Abyss Warden and stabbed him in the head with a shadow spear created from his own blood.
"Shadowfang: Final Rite."
An explosion occurred. Half of the Abyss Warden's head was blown off. But he didn't die.
He went berserk.
He charged into the sky, slammed into the ground, spreading a dark storm across the area.
Kael closed his eyes. He knew they didn't have time.
Then—light erupted from the ground.
The human mage's magic circle activated.
The Abyss rift began to close slowly.
The Warden screamed, trying to stop it.
But Kael got up.
With one final leap, he stabbed Solblade into the Abyss Warden's heart—just as the rift closed.
CRACK.
A sound like the world was splitting apart.
The Abyss Warden vanished with a final roar—his body shattered, disintegrating into a shower of black ash.
Kael fell.
Gorath was silent.
The entire battlefield was... silent.
Kael was still alive. But barely conscious.
The human army was few.
Gorath stood, his body covered in wounds, but his eyes still burning.
He stared at Kael.
"Our fight... is not over."
Then he turned.
And walked away.