The battlefield cracked beneath Noah's boots as he stood before the towering Demon Queen. Dark skies loomed overhead, cloaking the land in an eerie twilight. Her twisted presence oozed malevolence, as if reality itself recoiled from her.
Noah's crimson eyes narrowed. "This is no ordinary foe."
Dark clouds rolled in like a curtain drawn over the sky, casting a sinister gloom across the battlefield.
Noah stood firm, his Eclipse Blade Art humming with raw, unrestrained power. The Demon Queen loomed ahead—tall, wicked, beautiful, and utterly terrifying. Her presence twisted the air, wilting the flowers beneath her feet.
With a flick of his wrist, Noah summoned his shadow slave.
From the inky blackness beneath him, a hulking figure emerged—the demon he once slew in the dungeon. Now reborn in shadow, its form pulsed with dark energy. Twin horns crowned its head, and it wielded a brutal war axe-hammer forged from pure shadow essence.
No words were needed. The moment the Queen's servant lunged forward, the demon roared and crashed into it, their clash shaking the ground as shadow and corruption collided.
Noah turned to his allies.
"Scarlett, keep that monster from flanking us. Olivia, Lyra—hold them off as long as you can."
He raised his sword slightly, not looking back. "I'll handle her."
Olivia nodded gravely. Lyra gave a determined smirk. Scarlett darted off toward the chaos, blades in hand, wind magic swirling at her feet.
Noah turned to Layla, who stood beside a strange magical circle glowing faintly with cursed runes.
"You done yet?" he asked, keeping his eyes locked on the Demon Queen.
"Just a little more…" Layla murmured, her voice eerily calm.
Suddenly, a corrupted orb of crackling black energy soared toward Noah, trailing tendrils of screaming souls.
With no hesitation, Noah raised his blade and sliced through it. The air rippled, light exploding from his sword's path as the orb split and disintegrated.
The Queen smiled, eyes narrowing with curious delight.
"Why are you attacking the village? What do you want?" Noah demanded.
Her voice was like silk dipped in poison. "It's none of your business. But… I heard there's a human child with a corrupted heart here."
Her eyes glinted as they landed on Noah. She licked her lips.
"So I thought, why not make it mine?"
Noah's eyes widened. Corrupted heart… could it be Layla?
His muscles tensed. No. I can't let her get near Layla.
The Queen's smile widened. "Oh? You know her… hmm. Let me guess. She must be your woman." She twirled her corrupted sword like a dance. "It'll be so much fun to pierce her chest right in front of you."
Noah's blade flared to life with white-hot celestial energy. "I won't let you."
"What was that?" she asked, tilting her head.
"I said I'll stop you. Even if I have to kill you."
The Queen froze. Then she laughed—an elegant, haunting sound.
"You amuse me, human. So bold. So noble… and so weak."
She raised her hand, and a rain of cursed thorns poured from the sky, blackened and laced with decay. Noah slashed upward.
"Gale Dance!"
His form blurred as he twisted through the barrage, dodging midair, his blade dancing with wind. His Astral Mirage Clones shot forward—three of them—each mimicking his strikes perfectly. The battlefield blurred with movement.
"Photon Rays!" he cried, firing searing beams of light at her mid-dodge.
The Queen raised her corrupted wings, Wings of Eternal Decay, releasing a cloud of toxic miasma. The beams fizzled and vanished in the smoke.
She appeared from the cloud behind him. "Serpent Fang: Coil."
Her living sword snapped like a whip and wrapped around his leg, yanking him down. Before he hit the ground, she moved.
Crack!
Her knee met his stomach. The sound of bones straining echoed. Then came a slap—her palm glowing with abyssal runes—crashing into his chest, launching him backward.
"Radiant Nova!" he roared mid-air, igniting in golden light.
A burst of divine energy exploded around him, purging the corruption that clung to his armor. He landed on his feet, panting.
"You're holding back," the Queen said, brushing hair behind her ear. "Let's fix that."
She vanished.
"Crowned in Sorrow."
A surge of guilt slammed into Noah's chest. Images flashed—of his past life, failures, moments he'd buried deep. His hands trembled.
Is this… me? No. No!
He focused, forced his will forward. "Sword Aura—Ignite."
A silver-blue aura flared around him, pushing the illusions back.
But the Queen was already upon him.
"Black Communion."
Shadow hands burst from the ground, grabbing at his legs and arms. She followed up with a downward swing—her sword now glowing green-black.
Noah blocked, but the moment their blades touched, her sword opened its fanged maw and bit into his blade, draining magic.
"Celestial Slash!"
Noah poured power into his sword, sending a radiant wave of light crashing into her chest. She slid back, chuckling.
"Well done, little hero."
"Holy Pillar!" he called out, and golden light surged upward, temporarily pushing her back.
"Time Delay." He slowed her movement for a second.
"Flash Bomb!"
A brilliant burst blinded her briefly, and Noah lunged in.
"Umbra Eclipse!"
His blade split into ten afterimages, each strike glowing with shadow-light fusion. He slashed again and again, cutting through her corrupted wings and drawing blood.
She hissed.
Then grinned.
"You're strong. That makes it more fun."
Her Blood of the Hollow Saint began to pulse. The black blood that splashed onto the ground hissed and infected the area, twisting it into thorny, cursed terrain.
Noah could feel his own light spells weakening.
She struck with renewed fury—every move aimed not to kill, but to humiliate. Her sword danced like a serpent, wrapping around his arms, his blade, his neck.
She kissed the air near his ear. "Why don't you give up and come with me? I could use a pet like you."
Noah's eyes narrowed. "Dragon's Fear."
" I won't work under a filthy demon "
The force of the Divine Dragon's will exploded outward. The Queen staggered, briefly caught off guard.
But she recovered—smiling coldly. "Where do you think I am filthy?" she purred, cupping her mature curves. "These are divine."
Noah scoffed. "Your charm won't work on me. My women are more beautiful."
The Queen's face twitched—a crack in her pride.
With no warning, she launched a vicious kick into his gut. Crack!
Noah flew back over fifty meters, crashing into a rock outcropping, coughing blood. Scarlett screamed, Olivia's eyes widened, and Lyra cursed—but they were all locked in their own battles.
The Queen walked slowly, every step blooming corrupted roses beneath her feet. Her domain began to take shape.
"Abyssal Domain: Garden of Withering Grace."
A veil of darkness fell. The sky above them darkened completely. Vines burst from the ground, twisted roses blooming with black petals and red eyes.
Noah's healing magic reversed. His limbs ached. His vision blurred.
She stepped into the corrupted garden, smiling. "This is my paradise."
For ten minutes, she battered him—slashing, stabbing, whipping, choking. Her sword fused to her arm, moving faster than Noah could follow. Even with his clones, even with Mind Acceleration and Mana Domain: Dominance, he was outclassed.
He was bloodied. His divine armor cracked.
She walked up to him, serpent sword raised, glowing green with malice. "You fought well," she whispered, "but I'll enjoy watching you fall."
Noah closed his eyes as the blade descended.
Is this how I die?
Scarlett… Olivia… Layla…Lyra.... I'm sorry.
And then—just as the sword was about to strike—
A figure stand before them ..
To be continued....