Chapter 40 – The Shadow of the Absolute
Yzareth stood before Liora, at the heart of the Guild HQ, hands clasped behind his back.
The air around him vibrated, charged with an energy so dense it distorted the crystals hanging from the ceiling.
— "Tell me, human… what makes you so confident in front of me?" he asked, his voice as cold as the space between stars.
Liora didn't flinch. Her gaze locked onto the dragon's, calm and defiant.
— "What I know about you?" she replied.
"That you're nothing but a lizard. A bit bigger, a bit louder… but still a lizard at heart."
The silence that followed was crushing. The HQ's windows trembled, magical currents began to ripple.
This time, Yzareth stopped playing. He slowly removed his hood — and in the next instant, the world tilted.
---
On Earth, the sky split with a black streak.
A dark scar slashed through the brilliant midday blue.
Winds reversed, tides roared, and a suffocating sensation fell upon the planet.
Even the gods, somewhere in the higher planes, paused to watch.
An unfathomable aura rose — a blend of chaos and absolute order.
In his true form, Yzareth appeared as a living paradox.
His body, sculpted in inhuman perfection, bore shifting symbols from the abyss.
Two smooth, curved black horns framed a face of maddening beauty.
His reptilian eyes, slit and burning with spectral blue, pierced the soul.
His black hair, tinged with blue, cascaded down to his waist, while a cloak of dark energy rippled around him.
He was the Primordial Black Dragon.
The Lord of the Void.
An essence even the laws of the world refused to name.
His mere presence defied logic, as if reality itself struggled to contain him.
Yzareth slowly raised a hand, and each movement seemed to bend the light around him.
> — "Liora… remember my words. You will be the cause of the massacre to come."
---
At that very moment, spiritual alarms screamed throughout the HQ.
Hunters rushed in from the corridors, drawn by the surge of energy.
— "What is this power?!" shouted Ethan.
Arthur, already prepared, frowned.
— "It's not a portal… it's something alive."
— "Quick, back to HQ! Trouble's brewing!" added Lya, eyes wide with fear.
The walls began to crack under the pressure.
Liora, still standing before Yzareth, replied evenly:
— "You think threats impress me? You're just a slightly bulkier lizard."
Yzareth's smile twisted into a sinister grimace.
In a blink, he vanished from sight.
A thunderous shock rang out.
Liora was hurled across the room, crashing through walls before landing outside.
Windows shattered, and the ground collapsed where she had stood.
> — "Commander Liora is down!" shouted a hunter.
— "That's no ordinary demon… it's a Primordial Dragon! His essence isn't even physical!"
— "He regenerates at an impossible rate! Our weapons won't cut it! We need a plan, now!"
S- to SSS-ranked hunters gathered, forming a perimeter around the HQ.
The tension was palpable. Even the strongest among them trembled before the aura of the Lord of the Void.
---
Thousands of kilometers away, Valen froze.
His gaze went blank for a moment, then he cursed under his breath.
— "No… That flux… it's not an avatar."
Elyonna, alarmed, materialized beside him.
— "You mean…"
— "Yes. The real Yzareth has entered the HQ. My clone was fooled.
Quick, we're heading back.
Hold on tight — we're going faster."
A tear of light opened, and they plunged into it.
---
In another country, Naël was calmly flying toward the HQ when the cosmic pressure hit him.
He stopped mid-air, eyes dark.
— "This time… it's him. The true Lord of the Void."
Around him, the air vibrated abnormally.
Even dimensions seemed to twist to accommodate the dragon's presence.
Naël clenched his fists.
— "If Valen doesn't hold him off, the world will collapse before I even arrive."
His aura exploded, cracking the plains below.
— "Time for me to step in."
---
Elsewhere, Zarion felt the same pressure.
A predatory smile spread across his lips.
— "Well… looks like we're finally getting some action."
---
Meanwhile, at the HQ, Liora slowly rose from the rubble.
Her body trembled, but her gaze remained clear.
Yzareth approached, dominating the scene, his shadow swallowing the daylight.
— "You still don't understand," he said, almost gently.
"I'm not seeking domination.
I'm correcting. The balance of the world has been corrupted… and I'm merely restoring it."
Liora spat blood, a smile tugging at her lips.
— "You speak of balance… while you reduce worlds to ashes?"
— "Flames don't destroy — they purify."
The two forces locked eyes, and a surge of energy burst between them, shaking the ground for kilometers.
---
In the sky above the HQ, a fracture appeared in space — the mark of a clash between superior entities.
The hunters looked up — and for the first time, they understood why Yzareth bore the title Lord of the Void.
The dragon's shadow engulfed the world.
And at that precise moment, the entire continent entered the Era of Judgment.
Chapter 41 – Judgment of the King
Liora and Yzareth still faced each other, their auras clashing in a heavy silence. The air vibrated, saturated with raw energy.
Liora drew a massive hammer, her eyes blazing with fury.
— "I'm going to crush you, filthy lizard."
She leapt, propelled by her titanic strength, and brought her weapon down on Yzareth. But the black dragon, in human form, caught the hammer with one hand.
— "Pathetic. Don't tell me that's how you plan to crush me."
He punched her. Liora crossed her arms to block, but the impact hurled her through a building. Before she hit the ground, Yzareth threw her own hammer straight into her face.
The ground trembled.
Around him, S-, SS-, and SSS-ranked hunters formed a circle. None moved. All stared. All held their breath.
The black dragon stepped forward, each footfall ringing like a death knell. His icy voice sliced through the silence:
— "You're already trembling… and I haven't even lifted a finger?"
Kael, an SS-ranked hunter, took his chance. He raised a legendary weapon and unleashed a blast of celestial fire. The explosion tore through the air… but Yzareth swept it aside with a flick, like brushing off a crumb.
— "Pitiful."
He vanished, reappeared before Kael, and with a palm strike, sent him flying into a building. The wall cracked like paper.
Liora emerged from the rubble, teeth clenched.
— *He's seriously boosted…*
Then came Arthur, Drake, Lya, Nova, Valor, Ryn, Annabelle, Marie, Béatrice, and Ethan.
Ethan charged in without hesitation, unleashing ultra-fast blows, invisible to the naked eye. But Yzareth blocked them all… with a single finger. Each impact generated shockwaves that shattered the surroundings.
Yzareth grabbed his fist. Ethan struggled to break free, in vain. The dragon hurled him away and unleashed a breath of black flames straight into his face.
— "AAHHH! Help me!"
Lya burst from the ground, absorbing the flames with her shadow power.
— "Careful, Ethan! He's dangerous!"
Gasping, Ethan thought:
— *I almost got erased… Like my very existence was about to vanish.*
Liora shouted:
— "Formation! Arthur, your turn! Excalibur! Golden Dragon's Breath!"
The attack struck Yzareth head-on. Ryn transformed into a beam of light, spun around him, then dove at his back. But Yzareth reacted to her speed, grabbed her by the throat. She tried to shift forms to escape… but upon contact with Yzareth, all her powers were nullified.
— "Now, Drake!"
Drake dove in with the black blade.
— "Titan's Mega Strike!"
Yzareth deflected the blade with a finger and kicked him away. Then he snapped Ryn's neck and hurled her into a building.
— "Arthur, now!"
Arthur invoked the Oath of the United Kingdoms. Spirits of fallen knights surged forward and charged Yzareth… who annihilated them with his mere presence.
Ryn, regenerating her neck, murmured:
— *I have to avoid close combat. When he touched me, all my abilities were canceled.*
— "Ryn, stop babbling and give me buffs!"
Liora activated her Commander's Authority:
— "Fight at the risk of your lives… For future generations. For the people!"
Lya reappeared, her twin daggers fusing into a sword imbued with black flames.
Yzareth smiled:
— "Oh… You copied my flames by absorbing them?"
Lya unleashed the Phantom Slashes. Yzareth leapt back.
— "Her power is annoying… How did Antares neutralize her?"
But he had no time to think. Liora leapt and hurled her hammer, which grew in size.
— "Devastating Hammer Blow!"
Nova followed with Void Lacerations. Valor summoned Black Thunder. Annabelle traced a magic circle: Mega Energy Beam. Marie fired the Arrow of Justice. Béatrice unleashed her Purification Magic.
Ryn screamed:
— "Disintegration!"
A titanic explosion shook the area.
Arthur raised Excalibur.
— "Liber Regis!"
The blade extended, covering the horizon like.
— "Judgment of the King… Punishment!"
Chapter 42 – The Weight of Promises
After Arthur's Punishment strike, a silhouette slowly emerged from the dissipating smoke.
In its hand, it held Liora's hammer.
The hunters widened their eyes, frozen in disbelief.
— "How can he survive all our combined attacks… without a single scratch?" one of them whispered, voice trembling.
Liora smiled. A cold, almost predatory smile.
— "Lizard… you've been tricked.
My hammer… I can give it any mass.
And as promised… I'm going to crush you."
She closed her eyes for a moment, then murmured:
— "One hundred tons."
The ground vibrated.
— "A thousand tons."
The air compressed.
— "One million tons."
The hammer's aura became titanic, warping gravity around it.
Yzareth felt his legs sink into the ground. His scales cracked under the pressure, but he remained standing. Unshaken.
Yet the earth screamed. Fissures spread like burning veins beneath his feet.
With a roar, Yzareth hurled the hammer straight at Ethan.
— "NO!" a hunter screamed. "He's going to be crushed!"
But Liora raised her hand.
The hammer stopped mid-air, then shot back at supersonic speed.
— "Return, Mjolnir!"
The weapon tore through the dust and landed back in her palm.
— "Ethan, stay sharp!" she shouted, eyes locked on Yzareth.
The dragon-human grimaced, frustrated.
He charged straight at Arthur, his aura slicing the air with a beastly cry.
But suddenly, Lya burst from the ground like a shadow.
Her gaze was calm, devoid of fear.
Yzareth threw a punch — which passed through her without touching.
— "Phantom Strike," she murmured, her voice as cold as death.
Yzareth leapt back, surprised.
— "She's trying to cut me through the spiritual plane… Her attack bypasses physical resistance…"
But he had no time to analyze further.
A shadow descended upon him.
— "Titan's Vertical Strike!"
Drake brought his blade down from the sky, raw power focused into a single blow.
CLANG!
Yzareth raised his hand and caught the naked blade.
A titanic shockwave tore through the battlefield, shattering rocks, ripping clouds.
The ground cracked beneath them.
Hunters were thrown back, their barriers splintering under the pressure.
In the chaos, Yzareth barely moved.
His fingers closed around Drake's throat.
— "Your courage is real… but your flame has just gone out."
His eyes turned black as the abyss. A dark energy surged from his hand.
Drake gasped, his body stiffening as a bluish glow escaped his chest.
— "Your soul… belongs to me."
A silent scream echoed. Then nothing.
The hunter's body fell, empty, like an abandoned shell.
The others stood petrified.
— "He… he killed him…"
— "No… he took his soul," Béatrice whispered, voice trembling.
Arthur gripped his sword's hilt, veins in his arm glowing with golden light.
His gaze no longer held anything human.
— "Chronos Sanctum."
The world stopped.
The wind ceased.
Ash hung frozen in the air.
Even light seemed suspended.
Only Arthur… and Yzareth.
Two beings outside of time.
Arthur raised his sword, its tip toward the sky.
A golden light enveloped him, radiant, searing.
Each heartbeat made space itself tremble.
— "Excalibur — Blade of the Sun."
The light concentrated, then unleashed in a cosmic scream.
A blazing wave tore through the earth, reducing shadows to dust.
The ground liquefied under the heat. The sky split open like a luminous wound.
Yzareth head, still unmoving, his gaze piercing the light.
And in the absolute silence of Zero Time…
He raised his hand.
His palm began to absorb the light.
Arthur's eyes widened in shock.
— "Impossible… you can move… in Zero Time?!"
A fissure formed in reality behind Yzareth.
His aura, now black and red, devoured the light of Excalibur.
— "Time… has never held sway over me, Arthur Pendragon."
A cold sweat ran down Arthur's temple.
The temporal flow vibrated, unstable.
— "Then… you truly aren't of this world."
Yzareth smiled.
— "At last, you understand."
In the next instant, Chronos Sanctum cracked.
Time resumed its flow.
And the battlefield was engulfed in a flood of light.
Chapter 43 – The Price of a Soul
Yzareth calmly raised his hand.
Before him, Arthur's Blade of the Sun descended, burning everything in its path.
But instead of being consumed, Yzareth absorbed the attack — the golden light was swallowed by his body, as if devoured by an endless abyss.
Arthur's eyes widened.
— "What…?!
How is this possible?! Even under Chronos Sanctum… he can move?!"
Breathless, Arthur understood.
— "He operates outside the flow of time… He's not meant to exist in this world.
Better to release the temporal field…"
He deactivated Chronos Sanctum.
Time resumed its normal course. The wind blew again, flames danced, and Arthur's heartbeat echoed in his chest.
Meanwhile, Lya knelt beside Drake, his lifeless body sprawled on the ground.
Her hands trembled.
— "Béatrice! Do something, quickly!"
Béatrice placed her hands on the hunter's chest. A white light flared… then faded almost instantly.
Her gaze hardened.
— "It's useless. His soul has been torn away… I can't do anything while it remains in Yzareth's grasp."
— "What?!" Lya cried.
— "Take back his soul," Béatrice said firmly.
"Then maybe… I can bring him back."
Liora, eyes burning with rage, stepped forward.
— "You heard that, lizard? Give us his soul… or I'll turn your scales into a handbag!"
A golden aura burst from her body.
Her hammer split into two massive axes, linked by a chain of energy.
— "You'll regret laying a claw on one of mine!"
She spun the axes at blinding speed, letting them roar through the air before hurling them straight at Yzareth.
Clang!
The impact was monstrous. Yzareth deflected the first blade with a backhand, but the chain instantly wrapped around him, binding him like a serpent of steel.
Liora growled.
— "You're caught now."
With a snap of her fingers, she materialized a colossal hammer above Yzareth's head.
The sky cracked under the pressure.
By telekinesis, she sent the hammer plunging toward the creature.
— "Mass: two million tons.
You're about to be flattened, lizard 🥞!"
The hammer struck with apocalyptic force.
The ground exploded, a gaping crater opened, swallowing stone and dust.
The shockwave swept across hundreds of meters.
The hunters had to shield themselves behind magical barriers.
— "Did… did she crush him?!" Ethan asked, voice trembling.
But Liora frowned.
Something was wrong.
The hammer, despite its divine weight, trembled…
Then slowly, a hand emerged from the rubble.
The chains snapped one by one.
Yzareth rose, his gaze cold and inhuman.
No wounds. No marks.
As if nothing had happened.
— "Impressive…" he said calmly.
"But not enough."
Around him, a crimson aura ignited, devouring the earth and air itself.
His shadow stretched, taking the shape of a colossal dragon.
Arthur gripped his sword's hilt.
— "Everyone, in position! Don't let him regain control!"
Yzareth raised his hand — and a dark sphere appeared in his palm.
— "Behold the true weight of Domination."
A maddening gravity crashed down on the battlefield, pinning even the strongest hunters to the ground.
Liora, knees to the earth, gritted her teeth.
— "Tss… I can't… move…"
Her hammer trembled in her hand, unable to resist the pressure.
Arthur lifted his head, his aura of light beginning to blaze.
— "If it's gravity you want to test… then I'll show you the weight of a King."
A divine light burst from him, momentarily breaking the pressure.
— "Chronos Sanctum, Second Form: Solar Burst."
The battle had only just begun.