The battlefield didn't slow.
It deepened.
Celestial soldiers flooded Isola Krein like a living tide—
White and blue energy radiating from their bodies.
Not divine.
Not demonic.
Perfect. Balanced. Refined.
And dangerous.
But they had made one mistake.
They stepped onto a land…
Where monsters were not the threat.
They were.
Azelar stood at the center—
Barefoot.
Calm.
Unmoved.
The world bent around him.
Gravity didn't just press down—
It listened to him.
Soldiers rushed him—
Fast.
Disciplined.
Coordinated.
Then—
They stopped.
Their knees buckled.
Bones cracked.
Organs compressed.
"…Stay down."
The ground beneath them collapsed inward—
As if the world itself rejected their existence.
Dozens died instantly.
But then—
One didn't.
A commander.
He stepped forward—
Muscles trembling—
Yet standing.
"…So you're the one controlling this…"
Azelar glanced at him.
"…You endured it."
A pause.
"…Good."
The commander vanished—
Closing the distance instantly.
A punch.
Clean.
Precise.
Azelar tilted his head.
The fist missed by inches.
"…Too slow."
He pivoted.
Low sweep—
The commander's legs were taken out instantly.
Mid-fall—
Azelar's foot rose—
And—
CRACK—!!
The man's head separated cleanly from his body.
Azelar didn't even look back.
Inside his mind—
A quiet thought formed.
My students…
He glanced briefly toward the battlefield.
Nyk stood surrounded by death.
Christine…
Was changing.
Azelar smiled faintly.
The first Monarch of Ruin…
And…
His gaze softened slightly.
The birth of something else.
"…Good."
Nyk exhaled slowly.
The battlefield around him—
Felt wrong.
Not chaotic.
Not violent.
Ending.
"…Y'all still trying?"
A soldier lunged.
His blade—
Sharp.
Precise.
It stopped mid-swing.
Nyk's aura spread.
"Ruin."
The blade dulled.
The energy faded.
The concept of its effectiveness—
Was gone.
"…That's tough."
Nyk stepped forward.
And punched him.
The man didn't explode.
Didn't scream.
He just…
Stopped existing.
"…Damn."
Nyk muttered.
"…Still getting used to that."
More soldiers rushed him.
This time—
He didn't use his authority.
He stepped in—
Martial form.
Clean.
Efficient.
Deadly.
He ducked—
Elbow to the ribs—
Palm strike to the throat—
Knee to the jaw—
Every movement perfect.
Every strike lethal.
"…Come on."
He smirked.
"…At least make me try."
Then—
He snapped his fingers.
"End."
Three soldiers froze—
Then collapsed.
Life—
Removed.
Not destroyed.
Concluded.
"…Yeah…"
Nyk whispered.
"…I like this."
At first—
She was just fighting.
Precise.
Controlled.
Deadly.
But then—
The pressure increased.
More enemies.
Stronger ones.
Faster.
Sharper.
Her breathing changed.
"…Too many…"
Her fingers trembled slightly—
Gun raised.
She fired.
Verdicts struck.
Enemies died.
But more came.
Closer.
Closer.
One slipped through.
A blade—
Right at her throat—
CLANG—!!
It stopped.
Mid-air.
Not blocked.
Denied.
Christine's eyes widened.
"…What…?"
The battlefield—
Felt different.
Still.
Waiting.
Listening.
Her heart pounded.
"…No…"
She whispered.
"…I decide."
The world…
Shifted.
The air grew heavy—
But not like Azelar's gravity.
This was something else.
Authority.
Her authority.
"…Stop."
Everything—
Paused.
Not fully.
But enough.
Every enemy in her range—
Slowed.
Restricted.
Judged.
Christine lowered her hand slightly.
"…You move…"
A pause.
"…If I allow it."
Her gun flickered.
Then—
Disappeared.
She raised her finger.
Pointed.
"…Die."
The battlefield answered.
A wave—
Invisible—
Absolute—
Hundreds collapsed instantly.
Not erased.
Judged.
Their continuation—
Denied.
Azelar watched.
And smiled.
She didn't choose power.
She chose control.
She chose responsibility.
She chose to decide.
"…A Demi-god…"
He murmured softly.
Luminous moved without hesitation.
No wasted motion.
No unnecessary force.
Just—
Perfection.
She appeared within the army—
And everything around her…
Burned.
Not by heat.
But by truth.
"…You cannot exist in contradiction."
Her light expanded.
Enemies dissolved.
No screams.
No resistance.
Just—
Gone.
She turned her head slightly—
Watching Christine.
A faint smile formed.
"…Good."
The sky trembled.
Nexus hovered above—
Massive.
Majestic.
Her golden scales glowed—
Reflecting starlight.
Her wings spread wide—
Blocking out the sky.
"…You dared…"
Her voice echoed.
"…To threaten my children?"
The army aimed upward—
Attacks forming.
Too late.
Her chest expanded.
Dark energy gathered.
Not normal fire.
Black fire.
Primordial.
Ancient.
"…Disappear."
She released it.
A beam.
Massive.
Endless.
It tore through the battlefield.
Everything in its path—
Gone.
Soldiers.
Land.
Mountains.
Two entire mountains—
Erased.
A crater stretched for miles.
Smoke rose.
Nothing remained.
Silence followed.
Heavy.
Absolute.
Back at the center—
Where the twins rested—
Shadows shifted.
And from them—
It emerged.
Beelzebub
A black panther.
Star-filled eyes.
It stepped forward slowly—
Positioning itself in front of
Lucifer.
Esdeath.
Its gaze lifted.
Toward the battlefield.
Toward the sky.
Toward anything that dared approach.
And for the first time—
The celestial army hesitated.
Because instinct—
Even at that level—
Still existed.
And instinct told them one thing:
Do not touch what stands behind that beast.