The sky flashed—first with gold, then with something far more terrifying.
Mathematical precision.
Iden's voice rang through the Crown Engine, echoing to every corner of the battlefield.
"Prepare for Spear Protocol: Heaven's Lattice. All units, disengage from proximity combat. Backtrack to safe zones now."
His summons obeyed without hesitation. The corrupted Omega-tier entity had risen from the crater like a nightmare from stitched limbs, black bone, and pulsing corruption veins, but this one—this variant—wasn't yet matured.
Still dangerous.
But defeatable.
From Iden's Throneworld hub, four floating constructs soared upward, nearly out of view from the surface. Each resembled a massive obsidian spear, tipped with radiant mana crystals taken from Sanctum's deepest vaults.
Kael glanced upward. "We're pulling that out already?"
Nyra grinned. "He's not taking chances anymore."
Rael's eyes narrowed as she extended a protection veil across their retreat path. "Get ready. This one's designed to burn a city if aimed wrong."
[CROWN SPEAR ARRAY – INITIATING FORMATION LOCK]Spear 1 – Positioned.Spear 2 – Positioned.Spear 3 – Locked in azimuth.Spear 4 – Sync complete.
Aligning convergent beam lattice.Mana Saturation Threshold: 98%... 99%... 100%
Sensing the disruption of air and mana currents, the entity let out a deep vibrational scream. Its form pulsed as if panicking—dozens of corrupted arms rising from its back like spears of its own, each trying to intercept the attack forming above.
But it was already too late.
From the point in the sky where the spears' energies converged, a vertical lance of condensed celestial force spiraled down—a column of crushing, absolute energy that didn't just burn.
It erased.
FSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHH—!!!
The beam carved into the Omega-tier creature like a divine judgment. The ground cratered instantly beneath it, every shriek from the beast drowned in a chorus of mana distortions.
Its body tried to reform—twisting into birds, mouths, even shadow-chariots—but nothing lasted more than a heartbeat under the sustained pressure.
Iden's eyes narrowed as he sent the final command:
"Lock dimension and purge its anchor. Finish it."
The spears flared once more—channels of energy spiking into red-hot pillars—and then the beam condensed into a pinpoint detonation.
Silence.
When the light faded, all that remained of the Omega-tier entity was a scorch mark seared into reality. The local corruption vanished. The terrain stopped shifting. The Rift bled closed.
[OMEGA-TIER ENTITY – TERMINATED]No core retrieved. Mana harvested: 22,500,000 units.
[SYNC: 3/5 Fragments Stabilized]
Warning: Final Countdown Progression Accelerated.Time Left: 1 Day, 2 Hours.
The team regrouped on the cooling battlefield.
Kael let out a low whistle. "So that's the Spear Protocol. Not subtle, but effective."
Nyra grinned, wiping blood off her shadow-cloaked armor. "One minute it was snarling, the next—fwoosh."
Rael looked toward Iden. "You know we can't keep using that for every battle."
He nodded.
"We won't. That was a test—to see if small-grade Omega-tier variants can be purged before evolution. We got lucky. The next ones won't go down so easily."
Behind him, the spears disengaged, folding back into orbital stasis before vanishing into the clouds.
"Prepare the march. The Crownfall is only beginning."