Vrydall IV

The plan had been simple—lay low, avoid the hotel, and steer clear of the attackers. But Luna's warning changed everything.

"Arthur, your friends are in danger," she conveyed urgently, her voice cutting through the din of battle.

My breath hitched as the message registered. I didn't waste a second. "Follow me!" I called, brushing off the girls' startled questions as I dashed toward the hotel, weaving through the chaos, narrowly avoiding the Ascendant-ranker locked in a brutal clash with the mayor.

My pulse pounded as I spotted the scene ahead: Lucifer, on his knees, his opponent's astral blade descending in a deadly arc, moments from striking him down. There was no time to hesitate.

I surged forward, drawing every ounce of strength from within, as my enhanced aura flared around my sword. With Soul Resonance and Lucent Harmony blazing, I called upon all that I had:

Mythic Body, sharpening my body to its peak.

Soul Vision, bringing each shift in mana into razor-sharp focus.

Lucent Harmony, the unifying force for every element within me.

And then, the three artifacts bound to my soul—Mind's Aegis, Seraphim's Embrace, and Eclipse Blade—stirred to life. They combined into a single, formidable power, radiating through my blade. Encased in a bright aura of light magic, I vanished in a burst of speed, using God Flash to close the distance.

I arrived just in time, intercepting the descending astral blade with my own sword. The impact sent a shockwave reverberating through the air.

"Back up," I commanded, my voice firm as I glanced over my shoulder. Rachel wasted no time, rushing to heal the fallen, while Cecilia and Seraphina hovered nearby, anxious but determined.

I knew they couldn't truly aid me against this opponent—an Ascendant-ranker's strength was far beyond theirs. And yet, I couldn't do this alone.

Could I win? No. But I could buy them time.

Drawing upon everything within me, I activated the 6-circle spell formula Celestial Convergence. Mana surged through me, harmonizing the eleven elements in perfect alignment, each responding with precision as Lucent Harmony took control. My sword became an intricate layering of all these enhanced auras, infused with elemental power.

Mind's Aegis splintered my focus into streams, each one dedicated to controlling a different facet of my power. My senses sharpened, each movement as clear as starlight. I could feel the whispers of mana around me, hear the beat of my own heart in time with each pulse of energy.

The Ascendant-ranker's blade gleamed with the majesty of astral energy as he lifted it to strike. To a lesser opponent, his movements would have seemed impossibly fast, a blur of deadly grace.

But in this state, his strike felt almost… slow.

My heightened senses parsed every angle, every shift of muscle. His movements were not sluggish—my mind had simply become so honed, so sharp, that even his speed seemed predictable.

With a steady breath, I charged forward, meeting him head-on.

Astral energy was indeed a force that dwarfed enhanced aura, especially my current level, which fell short of resonating fully with my blade. Yet, I moved with precision, angling my sword just right to intercept his, diverting the overwhelming power without trying to match it head-on.

A perfect parry.

In that moment, I understood: in terms of pure technique, I held the upper hand. While his sword wielded the brutal strength of Sword Heart, I surpassed him in the subtlety of form and discipline.

Even as my feet touched the ground—or rather, before they could—he was already swinging again, his astral blade descending with an even greater weight. I felt the imminent force gather above me, pressing down like a boulder poised to crush.

But I was prepared. A weave of spatial magic enveloped me, ready to pull me out of range at the last possible moment. Just before the magic whisked me away, I released a 6-circle spell, sending it straight toward him.

The teleportation spell activated, removing me from his reach in an instant. He assumed the 6-circle spell would vanish beneath the sheer power of his astral blade.

And yet, the spell surged through his defenses, slipping beneath his strike to hit him square in the stomach. He staggered, a flicker of surprise crossing his face before he annihilated the spell with a blast of astral energy.

My two-part impact spell, Chrono Crush, fused gravity and time to create a disorienting pull with a time lag.

There was a limit to the amount of astral energy an Ascendant-ranker could wield at once. If they could call upon it as freely as enhanced aura, there'd be little point in using aura at all, wouldn't there?

Yet, even with limits, the power of astral energy was so staggering it might as well have been boundless. Still, there were constraints—ones that could be exploited, given the right tactics and an endless supply of grit.

The only true path to defeating an Ascendant-ranker as an Integration-ranker wasn't to overpower their astral energy; that was as likely as trying to part the sea with a spoon. The goal was to drain it, to push them to their reserves' breaking point.

But I couldn't help a wry thought. 'Is that even possible?' Ascendant-rankers, cautious as they were, wielded astral energy in precise, devastating bursts rather than wasteful torrents. They had more than enough to spare, using it sparingly because even a whisper of its power could lay waste to entire defenses.

Yet, I wasn't alone in this. A glance confirmed my instincts: Ren and Lucifer had already surged forward, their own enhanced aura blazing with determination.

"Sera, Cecilia, Ian, Jin—stay out of the fray," I warned, voice steady but firm. "Rachel, focus on healing. Just healing."

The three of us, all Integration-rankers, had the best chance of weathering this storm. Any others joining would only force us to divide our attention, to protect rather than attack. This was a battle that demanded everything we had, and we could afford no distractions.

With a final, resolved breath, I steadied my grip, eyes trained on the Ascendant-ranker before us, knowing the slightest lapse could cost us everything.

In that moment, desperation nearly drove me to the edge—I considered calling upon Astral Manifestation, even pushing for the elusive Sword Resonance. But Valen's words echoed in my mind, a stark reminder: relying on a fluke in a true battle was asking for disaster.

He was right.

I couldn't depend on the luck of a one-time feat. If I was going to win, it would be on the strength I knew I possessed, no shortcuts, no gambles. Just the culmination of everything I had worked for.

I steadied my breath, every nerve alive, and lunged forward. Gravity magic propelled me like a bolt, while layers of enhanced aura wrapped around my blade, each carefully layered and harmonized. I split another branch of consciousness, directing it to weave a 6-circle spell formula through my sword.

'Are you sure you have enough mana for this?' Luna's voice rippled through my thoughts.

'This is it. No more spells beyond this,' I answered, the thought laced with calm resolve.

The spell formula melded into the layers of aura surrounding my blade, drawing on the ambient mana and my own reserves, creating a seamless blend of elemental forces. Celestial Convergence kept the elements in harmony, strengthening the aura's resonance. The Eclipse Blade, my Ancient-grade artifact, took every bit of my power without resistance, allowing me to charge it with layer upon layer of elemental force and embed the intricate 6-circle spell formula directly within its aura.

This was it—my peak, my absolute limit. And it would have to be enough.