The night had deepened into something unnatural—thicker than shadows, darker than death. The air was heavy, humming with a pressure that pressed against everyone's skin like unseen hands. The stench of corruption grew thicker with every breath.
And then… the space above the northern boundary ripped apart.
It didn't crack or split with lightning—it folded inward, like reality had lost its shape. A swirling spiral of distortion formed high in the sky, and silence swept through the battlefield.
Everyone froze.
Even the corrupted monsters hesitated.
A cold wind spiraled from the void. Out of that vortex stepped a woman—no, a force.
Her body emerged slowly, like a nightmare given form. Her long hair, a cascade of black, corruption-laced strands tinged with dark violet, danced in the wind. Pitch-black wings spread wide from her back—glistening with a sickly shimmer, dripping with corruption. Each feather was soaked in black venomous mist, falling like tainted snow.
A blood-red gown clung to her curvaceous figure, flowing with regal elegance. It shimmered like silk—yet darker, wet, as though woven from liquid blood. On her head, two blackened horns curved backward like a crown forged in hell.
In her hand, she held a massive sword—serpent-like, its form twisted like a writhing snake, its blade gleaming green and black. It hissed and moved like it was alive. Corruption dripped from its edge and scorched the ground below.
And her eyes—those pitch-black eyes—were like bottomless pits. Abyssal. Cold. Devouring.
She hovered above the ground as if gravity dared not touch her. Her presence alone twisted the corrupted land even further, and from her feet, a circle of wilting, blackened roses bloomed across the earth.
Noah stood at the edge of the northern wall, facing her.
His white hair fluttered with the unnatural wind, crimson eyes glowing fiercely in the dark.
He gripped his sword—already imbued with radiant flames and azure blue purification. A holy force clashed silently with the corrupt wind as the two auras collided, neither yielding.
Noah stared up at the Queen of Corruption.
"Who are you?" he asked, voice steady, yet low—serious.
The Queen tilted her head, her smile twisted with malice and amusement. She descended slowly, letting her black wings fold behind her as she finally landed.
"I am the end," she said softly, her voice honeyed and poisonous. "The future that awaits your kind."
Noah didn't waver. "I've already ended one future. I can do it again."
Far away, in the east—
The town was burning with energy. The second wave of corrupted monsters had arrived—and it was worse than the first.
Scarlett stood near the boundary, commanding her army of shadows with both arms raised. Her blood-red eyes flashed as she directed the creatures, weaving her power like a master puppeteer.
Every time she killed a corrupted beast, its energy was absorbed and twisted—reborn into her growing legion.
But control was beginning to fray.
The sheer number of creatures was overwhelming. Some of her summoned beasts broke formation, rampaging blindly and attacking indiscriminately.
"Damn it…" she hissed, her body drenched in sweat. "Hold still—you're mine now!"
She snapped her hand, sending tendrils of darkness surging to bind them again.
Meanwhile, Olivia and Lyra were back-to-back at the shattered eastern wall. The combined glow of their spells lit the battlefield with an otherworldly brilliance.
"Divine Light: Radiant Bloom!" Olivia chanted, her voice echoing.
"Cryo Magic: Frozen Starfall!" Lyra added, her hands rising.
From above, a massive lance of cold, glowing light descended—imbued with the freezing beauty of Lyra's magic and the divine warmth of Olivia's. It crashed into the monster horde like a falling star, vaporizing everything it touched.
Behind them, light mages and town fighters coordinated their attacks. Even blacksmiths and farmers wielded makeshift weapons, using protective spells cast by the priests to hold the line.
It wasn't a coordinated army. But it was a desperate people, fighting for their home.
And near the western edge—Layla stood barefoot in the middle of a crumbling stone garden, her once-glowing skin now pale and cold.
Dark veins pulsed beneath her skin as she devoured more and more of the ambient corruption, her hands trembling. Her gown—the cursed, corrupted bridal dress—fluttered wildly, almost alive. It was beautiful, eerie, and terrifying.
Her scythe, resting at her side, had transformed—longer, darker, its edge dripping with black and green corruption, now a twin to the Queen's own twisted weapon.
A clone of Noah stood beside her.
"You need to stop," the clone said, worry in his eyes. "You're losing color. You're… you're fading."
Layla looked at him with wide eyes—and a wild grin.
"No… I'm almost there. Just a little more and I'll understand it all…"
"Layla—!"
"I'm telling you… I can see it. I can feel it. A power that can turn everything upside down. If I master this—I can cleanse the corruption. All of it. In one sweep."
Her voice trembled, but her conviction didn't.
Noah, through the link, heard every word.
He clenched his jaw but gave no order to stop her.
He knew the risk.
But he also knew they were out of options.
The corrupted monsters were only growing stronger.
The barriers were flickering.
The night was getting darker.
Only the combined glow of light mages was holding back the black.
And now… the Queen was here.
Back in the north, Noah stepped forward, his blade raised. His Azure Blue Flames flickered in the air, dancing with radiant energy.
The corrupted Queen dragged her sword lazily along the ground, each movement leaving behind blackened cracks in the earth.
She smiled at Noah.
"Let's see if your little fire can stand against a world consumed by me."
Then—
BOOM!
The earth quaked.
And from the eastern hills, another distortion opened.
A second figure walked through—smaller, hooded, but equally terrifying.
The Queen grinned wider.
"Ah… my servant arrives."
Noah's eyes narrowed. "This wasn't a diversion…"
"No," the Queen purred. "This was a slaughter planned in two acts."
The ground began to pulse. Monsters roared.
The corrupted skies began to fall apart, as reality itself bent to the Queen's will.
And so—Varella stood on the edge.
The Queen of Corruption had arrived.
The battle had truly begun.
-To be continued...