The six tribe leaders stand upon shattered ice and watch.
The explosion fades.
Light withdraws.
Darkness disperses.
And from the dispersing brilliance,
The dragon emerges.
Unharmed.
Violet-gold scales gleam beneath the sun.
Bronze wings beat once, dispersing lingering starlight fragments.
Merin stands upon its head, calm and composed.
Shock spreads across the six leaders' faces.
As they look upon the dragon,
A strange feeling rises within them.
It feels like looking upon their own totems.
Ancient.
Overwhelming.
Unassailable.
Above them, the assassin reappears.
A short blade rests in his hand.
He tilts his head slightly.
"After fighting them, you still have energy left."
His voice carries faint disbelief.
Then it hardens.
"It doesn't matter. Today you will die."
He points his blade at Merin.
"Remember. I, Edward of the Wingsword Family, will kill you."
Merin's expression does not change.
"Wait," he says evenly. "Before killing me, please tell me the reason. So I can die in peace."
Edward smiles cruelly.
"I don't want you to die in peace. I want you to remain in torment in your afterlife, always wondering why you were killed."
His aura explodes outward.
Origin Seal Realm.
A realm higher than Merin.
The sky reacts.
Stars ignite across the daylight heavens.
Celestial phenomena descend.
Starlight funnels into Edward's blade.
He vanishes.
Appears directly before Merin.
The blade descends.
Merin swings his sword.
Steel meets starlight.
The collision detonates a massive shockwave, tearing apart clouds in concentric rings.
Merin is pushed back half a step,
Before the dragon beneath him lifts its head and snaps forward.
Its jaws close toward Edward.
Edward dissolves into starlight, reappearing far away.
He disappears again.
Before he strikes once more,
Merin acts.
The dragon dissolves.
Not destroyed,
Absorbed.
Its massive body compresses into streams of sword light that flow back into Merin's body.
The dragon had served its purpose.
To overwhelm the tribal leaders.
To display dominance.
To appear as a totem greater than theirs.
Now,
There is no need for spectacle.
Merin's body transforms.
Scales ripple across his skin.
Violet-gold.
Bronze highlights along the shoulders and arms.
A tail extends behind him, sleek and edged like a blade.
Claws replace fingers, each one gleaming like forged steel.
His sword vanishes into his body.
He no longer needs it.
He is the blade.
Edward appears behind him.
Blade thrusting toward his spine.
Merin's dragon tail snaps backwards.
Claw meets short blade.
Shockwaves erupt outward.
Merin spins, claws carving through the air.
Edward vanishes again, barely avoiding the strike.
They disappear.
Reappear.
Clash.
Disappear again.
Mid-air flashes of violet-gold and starlight streak across the sky.
Every collision sends shockwaves rippling outward.
Mountains tremble.
Snow begins to slide.
Avalanches cascade down surrounding peaks in roaring torrents.
Below, the shattered ice of the lake is pulverised completely by the aftermath of their clashes.
Water erupts into towering columns.
Steam rises in thick clouds.
Edward's blade carves starlight arcs through the air.
Merin's claws intercept with metallic shrieks.
Edward vanishes into constellations.
Merin follows instinctively, tail lashing, claws striking precisely where starlight condenses.
They appear and disappear so quickly that even the six tribe leaders can barely track them.
Only the aftermath remains visible,
Shockwaves.
Explosions.
Distorted air.
Edward thrusts downward from above.
Merin meets him head-on.
Claw against blade.
Origin Seal starlight surges violently.
Merin's scales blaze brighter in response.
The sky fractures under their power.
For a moment,
They lock in place.
Eyes meeting.
Edward's starlit gaze was sharp with killing intent.
Merin's violet eyes are calm.
Unmoved.
Then,
They vanish again.
Clashing high above the collapsing lake, the battle was escalating beyond mere spectacle,
Now it is Origin Seal against dragon-forged flesh,
Starlight against evolving law,
And neither yields.
They collide again in mid-air.
Claw against blade.
Scale against starlight.
The shockwave splits the clouds in a widening ring.
Edward's short blade hums with condensed star energy, each strike precise and lethal. Merin's dragon-clawed hands intercept, deflect, and redirect, his tail lashing like a living spear.
Edward vanishes.
Reappears above.
"Star Fall."
Dozens of condensed star fragments ignite overhead and descend like meteors.
Merin thrusts both claws upward.
"Five Element Destruction Claw."
Gold, wood, water, fire, and earth energies spiral around his talons and surge skyward in layered arcs. The five elements interlock, grinding against the falling stars. Explosions ripple across the sky, fire meeting earth, water extinguishing flame, wood splintering force, metal tearing through light.
They crash downward again.
Edward sweeps his blade sideways.
"Star Trials."
Illusory starlight chains erupt from empty space, lashing toward Merin's limbs.
Merin's eyes flash violet.
"Virtual Shift."
His body flickers half a step through distorted space. The chains pass through an afterimage.
He reappears behind Edward.
"Thunder Tail."
His scaled tail ignites with crackling lightning and whips downward.
Edward twists, vanishing at the last instant, reappearing twenty paces away in mid-air.
"Star Song."
A resonant hum spreads outward. The sound itself becomes pressure, distorting air and compressing space toward Merin.
Merin opens his mouth.
"Dragon Roar."
The roar detonates through the sky, shredding the harmonic waves. Sound collides with sound. The lake below erupts in violent surges.
They close the distance again, this time purely physical.
Edward drives his blade in rapid thrusts. Merin counters with claw, elbow, knee, and tail. Their bodies collide in brutal close combat. Each impact sends ripples through the mountains.
Edward suddenly snaps his free hand forward.
"Star Fire."
White-blue flame erupts from his palm.
Merin responds instantly.
"Ice Beam."
A concentrated stream of freezing qi blasts outward, colliding with star fire. Steam explodes between them. Both recoil, then re-engage.
Merin lunges.
"Dragon Spiral Rush."
His body spins, scales gleaming, turning into a drilling arc of violet-gold force aimed directly at Edward's chest.
Edward braces.
"Star Explosion."
His blade flashes, detonating a compact starburst at the point of contact.
The explosion swallows both of them.
They burst out of opposite sides of the expanding sphere of light.
Neither yielding.
Edward's expression darkens.
He raises his blade vertically.
"Death Knell."
A toll echoes, deep, final. Invisible force crashes downward like a falling bell.
Merin lifts his palm.
"Virtual Hand."
An enormous translucent hand forms above him, intercepting the descending force. It fractures under the pressure but holds long enough for him to sidestep.
They clash again.
Blade and claw spark relentlessly.
Edward's Origin Seal cultivation grants him deeper reserves, heavier impact.
Merin answers with refined precision.
"Lightning Spear."
A spear of condensed lightning forms in his grasp and hurls forward.
Edward deflects with his blade, but the electric discharge races along his arm before dissipating.
Edward's eyes narrow.
He leaps backwards.
Breathing heavier now.
Halfway through the battle, realisation dawns on him.
He cannot overwhelm Merin.
He raises both arms to the sky.
Starlight converges violently.
His voice becomes solemn.
"Angel Descent."
The sky splits.
Three pairs of radiant starlight wings erupt from his back. Each wing is enormous, layered in burning constellations.
His aura doubles.
Spiritual energy in the surrounding area converts into star energy, flooding toward him.
Pressure descends like divine judgment.
Merin is pushed backwards mid-air.
Edward vanishes and reappears directly before him, speed doubled.
Blade descends.
Merin barely blocks.
The impact sends him crashing downward into the lake.
Water explodes upward.
Edward follows.
Star Fire, Star Fall, Star Trials, magic powers rain relentlessly.
Merin defends with Virtual Bubble, a translucent sphere forming around him, cracking under repeated impacts.
He is overwhelmed.
Star energy saturates the battlefield.
Edward presses the advantage.
But,
Merin's violet eyes remain clear.
His Virtual Field has recorded enough.
Recorded the structure of star energy.
Recorded the flaws in Angel Descent.
Recorded the imbalance created when spiritual energy is forcibly converted.
As Edward strikes again,
Merin shifts.
He draws upon the star energy itself.
The surrounding star energy trembles.
Edward's expression changes.
Merin's claws now glow faintly with starlight.
He steps forward instead of back.
Edward attacks,
Merin slips inside the arc of the blade.
Five Element Destruction Claw, infused with star energy, strikes at a precise angle.
Not Edward's chest.
Not his head.
But the junction between wing and spine.
The weakness in Angel Descent.
Edward's eyes widen.
The star wings flicker violently.
Merin follows instantly.
Thunder Tail slams across Edward's ribs.
Dragon Spiral Rush drives into his abdomen.
Virtual Hand clamps his shoulder, preventing escape.
A final Five Element strike detonates at his core.
The wings shatter.
Angel Descent collapses.
Edward's blade falls from his hand.
He spirals downward, unconscious.
He crashes into the lake.
Floating.
Merin's transformation recedes.
Scales fade.
Tail retracts.
Claws return to hands.
He descends slowly onto the lake surface, standing atop the water.
Before he can move,
Space beside Edward ripples like disturbed water.
A woman appears.
Calm.
Cold.
She looks at Merin.
"Lord Merin," she says evenly. "I am surprised by your strength."
Her eyes harden.
"But next time we meet, it will be your death."
She grasps Edward.
Space bends.
Like water folding inward.
They vanish.
Teleporting away.
Silence falls over the lake.
Merin stands still, eyes thoughtful.
Moments later,
The six tribe leaders approach.
They kneel upon the water's surface.
Together they speak.
"We surrender to you, Lord Merin."
Their earlier hesitation is gone.
What they witnessed shattered every doubt.
With such strength,
Merin alone could destroy all their tribes.
The lake settles.
The wind quiets.
And a new order is born.