The night sharpened like a blade.
Nightchord stood at the edge of the clearing—tall, still, wrapped in an aura so heavy the air itself felt forced downward. His black armor swallowed the moonlight, and the obsidian patterns on his cloak seemed to flicker with trapped shadows.
Aeris instantly took a defensive stance.
Lunaris growled, fur crackling with silver sparks.
The baby dragon hid behind Kael's leg—but its eyes burned with defiant light.
Kael stepped forward calmly.
"Nightchord," he said.
"You came sooner than last time."
Nightchord tilted his head slightly.
"So you do remember."
Aeris's eyes widened.
"My lord… you've faced him before?"
Kael didn't look back.
"I fought him once. Lost once. Died once."
Nightchord lifted his hand.
"That loss should have been permanent."
Dark energy gathered around him—shadows thick as tar pulling from the ground and coiling around his arm.
Kael's troops formed defensive lines, but Aeris raised her voice:
"Everyone—don't engage him directly! He's far beyond C-rank!"
Nightchord chuckled.
"This elf understands. Good."
He vanished.
No sound.
No wind.
Just disappearance.
A moment later—
Kael's blade was already up.
CLANG!!
A shockwave exploded as Kael intercepted Nightchord's blade mere centimeters from his throat.
Aeris blinked wildly.
"How… how did you block that—?!"
Kael gritted his teeth.
"He's fast. Faster than I remember."
Nightchord drew back, studying Kael through the mask slit.
"You've grown sharper. But your reactions still fall short."
He vanished again.
Kael moved too—but slower.
Nightchord appeared behind him.
SLASH!
Kael twisted, avoiding the killing strike—but a cut opened across his shoulder.
Aeris nocked three arrows and fired—
but Nightchord deflected them with a flick of his dagger.
Lunaris lunged, but the assassin sidestepped and tapped her lightly on the neck—the wolf crumpled with a pained whine.
"LUNARIS!" Kael shouted.
His eyes burned with fury.
Nightchord pointed his blade at Kael.
"You care for your troops. That is your flaw. Assassins exploit attachment."
Kael clenched his fists.
"Maybe. But I have something else."
He raised his hand.
The Gacha Core pulsed like a second heart.
Nightchord paused.
"…ah," he murmured. "So that is the anomaly."
Kael activated Infinite Evolution—but Nightchord snapped his fingers—
The shadows around Kael surged upward and smothered the evolving energy.
Kael's eyes widened.
He remembered this too.
Nightchord was one of the only beings who could halt evolution mid-cast.
Aeris gasped as she realized what that meant.
"My lord… he's suppressing your ability!"
Nightchord's voice remained calm and steady.
"This world cannot afford an infinite being. You are too dangerous."
He stepped forward, blade pointed to Kael's heart.
"You break the balance. You exceed the cycle. You must be erased."
Kael stepped backward, blood dripping from his arm.
His troops started forward to protect him—
Nightchord snapped his fingers.
All of them collapsed unconscious, as if the shadows themselves pulled them into sleep.
Aeris stumbled, gripping her chest.
"My… body… can't move…"
Nightchord's aura expanded like a suffocating dome.
Kael stood alone.
"It is time," Nightchord said simply.
"You die here."
Kael closed his eyes.
"I did die," he whispered.
"Once."
His fingers curled.
"But this time…"
He opened his eyes.
Golden light erupted from within them—bright enough to cut through the dark aura.
"…I came prepared."
Nightchord flinched—the first reaction he'd shown.
Kael raised his hand again.
And this time, the Gacha Core pulsed differently—
not evolution energy…
something else.
Aeris gasped as she recognized it.
"A… gacha pull?! Right now!?"
Kael's voice rose like a vow:
"LIMITED SUMMON: ANCIENT HEROES — ACTIVATE!"
The sky ripped open with blinding gold.
Nightchord turned sharply.
"What—!? Impossible! You cannot use a Limited Summon this early!"
Kael smirked through the blood on his lips.
"You don't understand one thing, Nightchord."
The ground shook.
A beam of ancient light speared downward.
And a figure descended… wrapped in armor older than kingdoms… aura immense and fierce.
Kael whispered:
"I'm not playing by this world's rules anymore."
Nightchord stepped back.
"No…
Not him—"
Kael spoke the name:
"Arclight Valorian — A-Rank Hero Knight!"
A towering knight landed beside Kael, sword gleaming with holy power.
He faced Nightchord.
His voice echoed like thunder:
"You threaten my summoner…
prepare yourself."
Nightchord's shadow aura surged in panic.
Kael pointed forward.
"Hero—protect Aeris and my troops."
Arclight's eyes blazed.
"With pleasure."
Kael faced Nightchord again.
"This time," he said coldly,
"I'm not dying."