The battlefield was dead silent.
Aki's body lay limp—
eyes closed, breathing shallow, completely unconscious.
Everyone froze.
Ami staggered toward him.
"Aki—Aki—say something—!"
But before she reached him—
A ripple tore through the air.
A pulse.
A heartbeat that did not belong to Aki's human body.
Yergba gasped, "What… what the hell was that?!"
Sam flinched.
Grey and Tey stepped back.
Aki's fingers twitched.
His aura—
a dim flicker moments ago—
exploded outward like a supernova.
Ami stumbled backward in shock.
"Aki…?!"
His eyes didn't open.
He didn't speak.
He didn't breathe normally.
But he stood.
Slow. Unsteady.
Like someone dragging themselves out of the deepest pit of hell.
His head hung low, hair shadowing his face.
The Twin Celestial Blades floated at his sides—
not held by hands—
but magnetized to the overwhelming force erupting from his body.
Grey whispered, terrified:
"That's not manual control…"
"That's… instinctive awakening."
Tey swallowed.
"He's unconscious… but he's still fighting…"
Ami paled.
"That's not possible…"
Sam said the words they were all thinking:
"Aki… just awakened a god-tier instinct mode."
Yergba grinned, breathless.
"That's my damn Keeper—!"
But Luci…
Luci's expression shifted for the first time.
Not excitement.
Not amusement.
Not mockery.
Something else.
Recognition.
And a sliver of fear.
She stepped back slowly.
"No… no way… that form—"
Aki's body straightened.
His aura surged up like a pillar of divine fire—
gold and black twisting into a storm of pure, destructive power.
And finally—
His eyes opened.
Not brown.
Not glowing.
But blank.
White-gold on one side.
Black-violet on the other.
A voice—not human, not mortal—
escaped his lips.
Deep. Cold. Ancient.
"I am god."
The earth cracked.
Gravity bent.
Wind howled.
Aki's unconscious instinct awakened something forbidden—
a power way beyond the Twin Blades.
Grey whispered, horrified:
"That tone is… system-level authority…"
Tey stammered:
"He's overriding reality—!?"
Ami choked, "Aki—stop—your body can't handle—!"
But the instinct didn't hear her.
The instinct only knew one thing:
Destroy the threat.
Luci.
She raised her horns defensively, shadows swirling wildly.
"You… you're not supposed to have that form—!!"
Aki didn't answer.
He vanished.
Not light-speed.
Not teleportation.
He simply wasn't there anymore—
—until his knee slammed into Luci's stomach.
THWOOOOM—!!
Her body launched like a missile, crashing through boulders, tearing through the barrier's energy layers.
She skidded to a halt, coughing blood, eyes wide.
"WHAT—WHAT ARE YOU—?!"
Aki hovered above the ground, blades circling him like planets.
His voice echoed unnaturally:
"I am god.
Nothing defies me."
Luci snarled and threw a wave of demonic energy—
Aki raised his hand.
The attack dissolved.
Like dust.
Luci froze.
That attack could erase half a mountain—
and Aki erased it like blowing out a candle.
"A-impossible—"
"No mortal can rewrite my magic—!"
Aki flicked his wrist.
A golden-black shockwave slammed into Luci—
KOOOOOOOM—!!
She crashed into the ground so hard the earth cratered beneath her.
She tried to stand.
Failed.
Coughed blood again.
Her horns cracked.
The Devourer Princess—the monster who tore open Aki's chest—
was being dismantled
by an unconscious boy whose instincts had awakened a power even she didn't understand.
Grey whispered, shaking:
"This isn't Keeper power…"
"…this is EXCEED AUTHORITY."
Tey nodded numbly.
"He's using system privileges no one should even know exist."
Sam wiped her eyes, whispering:
"Aki… please don't die after this…"
Ami trembled, torn between awe and terror.
"That's not him… it can't be… but—
his body—he'll break if this keeps up—!"
Aki lifted his arm.
Both celestial blades materialized in his hands.
He pointed the black blade at Luci.
"Kneel."
The ground beneath her exploded downward.
She was forced onto one knee, screaming against a pressure she couldn't comprehend.
She struggled—
horns flaring, wings spreading, shadow-beast roaring.
But she couldn't rise.
Aki stepped forward, every motion heavy with divine resonance.
Luci's eyes widened.
She finally understood.
"You're not a Keeper…"
"You're not a human…"
"You—"
Aki pressed the tip of the golden blade against her forehead.
"Nothing stops me."
The blade flashed.
The ground tore open beneath Luci.
Her shadow-beast shattered like glass.
Her horns splintered.
Her aura evaporated into the air.
Aki drew back his arm—
Instinct preparing a finishing blow.
Ami screamed, "AKI STOP—YOU'LL KILL YOURSELF—!"
Yergba shouted, "IDIOT—IF YOU RELEASE THAT, YOUR BODY'S GONE—!"
Grey yelled, "HE'S GOING TO OVERHEAT—!"
Sam cried out, "AKI—PLEASE—COME BACK—!!"
But the instinct didn't care.
It only knew this:
Eliminate threat.
No mercy.
No restraint.
Aki roared—
the blades merged—
a cosmic slash formed—
Luci screamed—
And Aki swung.
KRAAAAAAAAAAAAA—!!!
A beam of blinding light and devouring darkness tore across the battlefield—
straight at Luci—
straight through the earth—
tearing reality in two—
And then—
Ami reached him.
She grabbed his wrist with both hands, tears streaming down her face.
"Aki—PLEASE—THAT'S ENOUGH—!!"
The world stopped.
The beam cut off.
Aki's body collapsed forward like a snapped puppet—
the merged blade dissolving into motes of dying light.
Ami caught him against her chest, shaking violently.
"Aki—Aki—wake up—please—wake up—!!"
Yergba rushed to her side.
Sam crawled forward sobbing.
Grey and Tey ran to check his pulse.
Behind them—
Luci lay broken, horns cracked, aura fading, unable to move.
Breathing.
Barely.
Beaten.
By a boy who didn't even know he was fighting.
A boy whose instinct whispered a final phrase before fading out:
"No one defies me."
And then—
Nothing.
Aki went completely still.
Ami screamed his name.