faint smile appeared on Rio's lips before he stepped forward toward the battlefield.
Shikra followed immediately behind him.
Jack exited the palace and rushed after Rio.
There were countless people everywhere, yet Jack could pinpoint Rio's position effortlessly—
as if the two of them were connected by an invisible thread.
The moment Rio took a single step forward…
The air changed.
He slowly drew his sword.
And the instant the blade was revealed, blood erupted from it—
not as a flow… but as a scream.
The blood did not fall to the ground.
It rose instead, coiling around the sword,
transforming into a massive, pulsating crimson blade—
as if it were a living creature, breathing… starving.
Rio spoke in a low, cold voice, devoid of emotion:
"Blood Art — Fourth Form — Dragon Sever."
The sky darkened.
The blade was unleashed.
It was not an attack…
It was annihilation.
The crimson arc tore through the crowd.
Bodies were split in half before their owners even realized they were dead.
Heads were severed.
Organs scattered.
Bones flew through the air like shrapnel.
Some were cleaved horizontally.
Some vertically.
Others… were completely crushed.
The blood did not fall—
It exploded into crimson clouds,
drenching the battlefield,
raining down from the sky like a red storm.
Even those at the Hidden Level froze in place.
Their knees trembled.
For the first time, they felt only one thing:
Fear.
More than two thousand bodies fell in a single instant.
Not corpses…
Fragments.
The battlefield was no longer land—
it had become a lake of blood.
The air reeked of iron and scorched flesh.
Shikra screamed, his rage erupting from his body like a raging inferno.
He leapt high into the air, veins bulging, shouting hysterically:
"Light Art — Second Form — Pillar of Light!!"
A column of light descended like a royal execution.
But Rio…
Laughed.
A short, cold laugh—
one that did not belong to a human.
He swung his sword.
The pillar was severed.
Not merely split in two—
it was torn apart,
the light exploding into fragments that vanished before touching the ground.
Rio gave Shikra no time to breathe.
He vanished.
And appeared right before him.
He spoke calmly—terrifyingly so:
"Your turn."
"Blood Art — Fourth Form — Dragon Sever."
The blade struck again—closer, faster, more ferocious.
It tore through Shikra's chest.
Not a wound…
It opened him completely.
Ribs shattered.
Blood erupted like a fountain.
His internal organs were exposed for a brief instant before his body was blasted backward.
He slammed into the ground violently, bounced once—
Then went still.
Unconscious…
Suspended between life and death.
The battlefield fell silent.
Then—
The revolutionaries erupted into screams.
"Victory is ours!! Victory is ours!!"
Their leader floated in the air, his eyes gleaming with madness.
"Attack!!!"
The fighters collided midair.
This was not combat…
It was mutual torture.
A fist pierced through a man's chest.
Bones shattered.
His heart stopped—
yet his body continued to twitch, convulsing, vomiting blood as it was hurled backward.
A kick shattered a jaw.
Teeth flew.
A tongue was severed.
The scream came out—soundless.
One fighter grabbed his enemy's head and slowly squeezed—
Eyes burst.
Blood poured from every opening.
The body was released to fall…
But death did not come immediately.
Below, Rio and Jack fought amidst the revolutionaries.
Suddenly, a man of the Hidden Level appeared before Rio and said:
"You have truly crossed the line."
Rio heard him but did not respond.
Instead, he muttered internally:
This bastard isn't one of the Eight Fighters…
He hid himself and only came out to face someone at the Level of Existence.
What a coward.
Rio tightened his grip on his sword and charged at the man.
Inside the Palace…
The prince stormed through the halls, shouting at the top of his lungs:
"Rivan! Where are you?!"
He burst into a room and found Rivan sitting calmly inside.
The prince shouted in fury:
"Why aren't you out there fighting?! They're strong—we might be defeated!"
Rivan replied calmly:
"I cannot go out and fight."
The prince froze in shock.
Before he could speak, Rivan continued:
"They possess Voltar… an unknown individual, but one at the Level of Balance—just like me."
Then he added firmly:
"If Voltar does not step out… neither will I."
Author's Note
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