The city appeared through the thinning trees like a wounded thing trying to pretend it was whole.
Stone walls still stood, but cracks ran through them like veins beneath pale skin. Wind swept between broken towers, carrying the sharp scent of magic gone stale. Yet what caught their attention first wasn't the ruin—it was the violence unfolding just beyond the outer district.
A massive wind elemental spiraled above the plaza, its form a raging vortex of compressed air and screaming pressure. Across from it stood a towering nature spirit, bark-covered limbs twisted with glowing green veins, roots tearing up stone as it moved.
They weren't fighting like enemies defending territory.
They were fighting like lovers who had finally decided to say everything they had been holding back.
"I never liked you!" the nature spirit roared, hurling a spear of hardened vines. "You were always so cold—so empty!"
The wind elemental shredded the attack midair and slammed a blade of compressed air downward.
"I shouldn't have married you in the first place!" it bellowed back, its voice distorted by howling gales. "All you ever did was suffocate me!"
The attack tore a crater into the plaza.
Silence followed—then chaos resumed, louder, more vicious.
Yun blinked. "…What in the seven hells did we just walk into?"
"These two should not be acting like this," Fei said quietly, her brows drawn together. "Spirits don't normally… unravel."
Before either entity could land another killing blow, chains of crimson snapped through the air.
Valx's blood arts wrapped around both combatants, binding wind and wood alike. The elemental shrieked as the chains constricted, air pressure spiraling wildly. The spirit thrashed, roots tearing against the stone, eyes glowing with feral rage as it strained to break free.
They weren't calming down.
They were getting worse.
"This isn't just madness," Minami said, her voice sharp. "Something's provoking them."
Fei nodded once. "A blight. It has to be."
A slow clap echoed from deeper within the forest bordering the city.
"How perceptive."
The voice was calm. Pleasant, even.
The trees parted as a figure stepped forward.
Gray, ashen skin stretched across a lean frame. Hair as dark as soot fell messily around a youthful face—too youthful. His eyes were hollow pools of red, empty yet somehow attentive, as though nothing escaped them.
He smiled.
"I merely allowed them to express their true feelings," he said gently. "That's all."
The air grew heavier.
"You see," he continued, tilting his head, "I didn't force anything. I didn't twist their minds. I simply… removed the restraints."
Minami's eyes hardened. "You're a blight."
The figure sighed, almost offended.
"And already judged. How disappointing."
His lips curled upward again. "Am I truly at fault? Or are you going to kill me like you killed Spidey and Succby?"
Yun flinched. Kai's jaw tightened.
"Really?" Minami snapped. "Emotional blackmail? That's not going to work."
She took a step forward, mana flaring.
"Oh," the blight said softly. "At least I tried to be civil."
His body began to change.
The childish frame stretched, bones shifting with a sickening smoothness. Muscles filled out, posture straightening as his presence deepened. The air trembled as if acknowledging something more complete—more defined.
"I am clarity incarnate," he declared.
"Truth, without comfort. Honesty, without mercy."
His red eyes burned brighter.
"You may call me the Blight of Clarity," he said. "Ashen."
The ground pulsed.
"Let us reveal the wonders locked within your hearts."
He raised a hand.
"Clarity Technique: The Revelation."
The world warped.
For a split second, pressure slammed into their minds—memories tugged at, emotions dragged toward the surface like hooks beneath skin.
Anger. Regret. Doubt.
But before the sensation could deepen, it shattered.
Yun scoffed. "Did you really think that would work on us?"
Fei exhaled slowly. "It was obvious you were the mental type. The spirits and elementals weren't acting angry—they were acting honest."
She glanced back at the team. "Thankfully, I cast an advanced mental fortification on all of you before we entered the city."
Ashen blinked.
Then laughed.
"How amusing."
He vanished.
Pressure exploded as he reappeared directly in front of Minami, fists already moving. A barrage of strikes tore through the air—fast, precise, brutal.
Valx reacted instantly.
A blood barrier surged up between them.
Ashen's fist shattered it in one blow.
Minami twisted aside, barely dodging the next strike as the ground behind her collapsed.
"So not a mental type," Nei muttered. "Power-focused."
Ashen stepped back, spreading his arms.
"But tell me," he said, smiling, "what good is power… when you're outnumbered?"
His body split.
Five identical versions stepped out from him, each radiating the same oppressive
presence.
5 puppets and 1 blight
Six battles.
Valx's opponent raised a hand—and frost surged forth. Ice spread along Valx's blood constructs, freezing them solid mid-formation.
"Oh," Valx muttered. "I see."
Nei lunged, dark arts swirling around her blade—only for her strike to be met with blinding light. The force sent her skidding back.
Fei attacked with psychic disruption.
Nothing happened.
Her opponent stood unmoving, eyes lifeless.
"…It has no mind," she realized. "Just a puppet."
Kai roared and charged, muscles coiling with brute force. His blow landed—only to be stopped cold by an absolute barrier that didn't even ripple.
Yun unleashed spell after spell, elemental forces colliding—each one negated by its precise opposite.
Minami narrowed her eyes.
"So you accessed our fighting styles," she said calmly. "Analyzed us. Built perfect counters."
Ashen smiled through all six mouths.
"Smart thinking, isn't it?"
"Don't bother switching opponents," he added. "It won't work."
"We weren't planning to," Valx replied evenly.
Ashen turned just in time to see Valx inhale deeply.
"Don't think you've stopped me by freezing my blood," Valx continued. "You've merely… helped."
The frozen blood behind the puppet shuddered.
"Blood Arts: Freezing Binding Chains."
The puppet tried to freeze the chains—only to realize they were already frozen.
Too late.
Valx appeared behind it.
Frozen blood surged over his arms, forming brutal gauntlets.
"Jinken Rush."
Hundreds of punches landed in an instant.
The puppet shattered.
Nei didn't hesitate.
Dark mist shifted hue as she changed arts.
"Poison Arts: Toxin Zone."
The ground beneath her opponent rotted instantly. She stabbed once—rotting venom flooding the construct.
It collapsed.
Fei followed.
"Poison Arts: Disintegration Blot."
A single shot reduced her puppet to drifting ash.
Kai snarled.
"Poison Arts: Melting punches."
The absolute defense liquefied. The puppet dissolved.
Yun raised both hands.
"Spell Compression Technique: Magic Hazard."
Multiple spells fused and detonated as one.
Nothing remained.
Ashen stared.
"…Interesting."
"It seems your plan isn't working out,"
Minami said coolly.
"I can create more," Ashen replied.
She vanished.
Reappearing directly before him, her mana compressed to a terrifying singularity.
"Let's see you try."
"Blackhole Suppression."
Darkness bloomed.
Ashen was swallowed whole.
The pressure collapsed inward—and then burst.
Nothing remained.
Silence fell.
Yet the spirits still raged.
Wind still screamed.
Roots still tore stone apart.
A shadow drifted above them.
They looked up.
Ashen floated in the air, completely unharmed.
Smiling.
"So," he said cheerfully, "how was the warm-up battle, guys?"