Michael's POV

Arthur stood tall before us, his massive form casting a shadow over the battlefield. His cold, piercing gaze flickered with cruel amusement. His broad chest and stony arms glistened in the fading light, every muscle carved with precision. It was as though his very body had become an impenetrable fortress, solid and unmoving, fortified by the Stonewall Technique. I knew that this wasn’t going to be an easy fight, but the weight of Thalion's sacrifice still crushed my heart.

“You spread yourself too thin, Michael,” Arthur’s voice rumbled, dripping with arrogance. “D-rank in every style? Admirable… but that leaves you weak. I mastered the Stonewall Technique. C-rank. My defense is absolute.”

I clenched my jaw, staring him down. He was right—I’d chosen to pursue mastery in multiple sword styles, spreading my efforts thin. But I refused to believe that gave Arthur the advantage.

Thalion, always a step ahead, spoke through the chaos, his words calm but fierce. “Don’t let him shake you. We find the weak spot.”

We moved together. With one glance, we launched our assault on Arthur. I moved in from the left with the Winddance Blade: Gust slash—a swift, precise slashes horizontal aimed at his shoulder—while Thalion struck low, aiming for Arthur's legs to destabilize him.

Arthur blocked every attack effortlessly, his massive stone-like arm absorbing the impacts as though we were hitting a wall. I pivoted quickly, shifting into the Celestial Swordplay, my blade igniting with fire magic as I slashed at his side. The flames singed his skin, but it wasn't enough. The fire flash was enough to blind him temporarily. Used this chance we quickly dashed at Arthur but he slammed the ground blocking our vision and it seemed like the flash had ended. He stepped back, sweeping his sword in a wide arc. I barely managed to block it, the force rattling through my bones.

“Heh, nice trick,” Arthur smirked. “But it won’t help.”

Suddenly, Arthur leaped into the air with terrifying speed, his enormous sword raised high. "Ground Strike!"

The force of his landing sent a shockwave rippling through the ground. Thalion and I scrambled, narrowly avoiding the full brunt of the attack. Dust and debris flew everywhere as Arthur's sword tore through the earth, creating a massive crater beneath his feet. He was relentless, swinging his sword again as soon as he landed. Thalion parried it, but the sheer force of Arthur’s blows pushed him back. I could hear him struggling, his grunts mixed with the sound of metal on metal.

Bad news then appeared, and his giant lion jumped from afar infront of him, growling as if it was going to devour me and Thalion. It charges up to us but Thalion quickly deflects its attack and pushes it far away.

“I will handle this big guy. In the meantime try not to die” Thalion said while smirking

“I am not easy to take down,” I said

I dashed forward Arthur, using the Whirlwind Spin into Duelists’ Dance- strike with one sword while the other blocked Arthur’s parries - from Twinblade Flow and ended the combo with Eclipse Fang from Shadowfang Style, side dashing and aiming for Arthur’s blind spots. My blade cut through the air in a blur. “Boulder Guard”, Arthur’s defenses held. His laugh boomed as he easily blocked the attacks, swatting my strikes away with his stone-hard arm like they were nothing. As I wondered why hasn’t he used the “Resilient Counter” yet

“You’re predictable!” Arthur roared, swinging his sword downward. I barely rolled out of the way, panting from the exertion. His defense was too strong.

While the lion seems big, it isn’t that strong at all. With just simple strength, Thalion can slam it down the ground, but its sharp claws keep blocking most of Thalion’s slashes. While the lion raised 2 of its front legs up and tried to slam it down, Thalion knew it was the right time to end it.

He decided to speed up so as to let the lion have no time to react. “Tempest Gale”, a rapid dash forward dash pierced his blade through the lion’s body followed up by a series of lunges attack tore the lion’s body apart

‘Tch, this filthy elf,...” I overheard Arthur complaining as he tried to attack me.

Before I could recover, Arthur charged forward with terrifying speed. He swung his massive sword, forcing both Thalion and me to retreat, and we barely avoided his strikes. Our attacks weren’t landing—everything we threw at him bounced off that impenetrable defense.

“We have to find a way through!” Thalion shouted over the sound of clashing metal.

But we were running out of time. Arthur’s strength was relentless, and I could see the exhaustion building in Thalion’s movements. Then, without warning, Arthur raised his sword and brought it crashing down, the blade glowing with the full power of the Stonewall Technique. Thalion leaped to dodge, but he wasn’t fast enough.

Arthur’s sword came down with a sickening crunch, and before I could even process what was happening, Thalion’s arms were severed, his body collapsing in a heap on the ground. Blood pooled around him as he lay there, motionless.

“Thalion!” I screamed, my voice cracking with grief and rage.

Duke's POV

Thalion’s death hit me like a punch to the gut, the world freezing for a second. The man who had helped raise me, who had stood by my dad’s side for years… gone. I could feel my body trembling, my mind screaming for me to run. But I couldn’t.

With a roar, I drew my daggers and charged at Arthur, ignoring my dad’s warning shouts. I closed the distance in a heartbeat, using the Twin Blade Flow with every ounce of speed I could muster. My daggers gleamed as they cut through the air, aiming for Arthur’s side. I slashed at his legs, his ribs, his neck, every weak point I could see, but nothing worked.

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Arthur’s stone-like defense absorbed everything.

“Foolish boy,” Arthur snarled, raising his massive sword again.

But I wasn’t done yet. I spun around, using the momentum to launch a dual upward slash with my daggers, aiming for his exposed side. My blades finally cut through, the sharp steel biting into his flesh, but it wasn’t enough. Arthur stumbled back, momentarily surprised, but he recovered quickly, his expression darkening with anger.

“You think you can defeat me with those little toys?”

My breathing was ragged. Every muscle in my body screamed with exhaustion, but I couldn’t stop. My dad joined the fray, his sword igniting with flames again as he attacked from the opposite side. We worked in unison, like a perfectly synchronized dance—my dad would attack high, I’d strike low, then we’d switch. We moved together, trying to overwhelm Arthur with speed and precision.

But his defense still held.

“No matter how fast you are, you’re too weak to break my Stonewall!” Arthur boasted, swinging his sword with terrifying force.

My dad dodged it quickly but I wasn’t fast enough to dodge it so I decided to use a counter attack Twin Reversal, as the blade got near me, I ducked down, rolled to the left, and jumped at using one of my daggers aimed at his eye. “Great this will get us a huge advantage later on,” I thought. However, in reality, Arthur moves his head to the opposite diagonally side point-blank and my dagger only leaves behind a long slash on his cheek.

To my surprise, Michael jumped in and saved me from the dangerous situation.

“You saved me there, Dad”

“Duke,” he said, panting. “You need to create an opening. I’ll use finish this fight when you do.”

I nodded, my mind racing. I had to create that opening, but how? Every attack we’d thrown at Arthur had been blocked or deflected. But then an idea sparked—if I could get behind him, distract him long enough for my dad to land the hit…

I dashed forward again, using the full speed of the Twin Blade Flow, slashing at Arthur’s exposed left side. He moved to block, his attention fully on me, and that’s when I saw it—the brief opening I needed. His right side, where my dad was waiting. But he quickly gained his momentum and back to his defense mode.

This is annoying, he can quickly regain is original form whenever he blocks a slash. A slash? What happens if I use magic? Though my magic power and attributes aren’t so great as Sylas’ I still believe it could create an opening for my dad

“Dad I need you to create as much sound as possible” I requested

“Alright..” He said as he pondered what am I trying to do.

He switched to Stonewall technique and slammed his sword dam the ground blocking Arthur’s vision and creating sounds that my chants couldn’t be overheard

"Air around me, carry my will! Breeze Push!". It’s the weakest magic in the wind magic but I put all I got in it, used a great mana in the spell.

A great breeze was shot a Arthur's right leg, trembled him. As I thought, he didn’t gain his stability as fast as being struck with a sword.

“Now!” I shouted.

My dad moved like a shadow, his body disappearing and reappearing in an instant as he used Phantom Steps.

“This guy… he’s not normal at all” Arthur complained

He ended those steps with Silent Strike from above the sky

His blade pierced through Arthur’s defense, cutting deep into his right side. Arthur roared in pain, stumbling back, his defenses shattered with his greatsword falls down.

For the first time, we’d dealt real damage.

Michael's POV

Arthur’s defenses were finally crumbling. His right arm hung limp, blood pouring from the deep wound we had inflicted. But even in his weakened state, he was still dangerous. His rage-filled eyes locked onto Duke, and before I could react, he charged at my son with terrifying speed.

“Duke!” I shouted, but it was too late.

Arthur’s fist shot forward, aiming for Duke’s face. Without thinking, I leaped between them, taking the full force of the blow. The impact sent me flying, my body slamming into the ground with a sickening thud. Pain exploded through me, but I forced myself to stay conscious.

I couldn’t let Duke face Arthur alone.

Duke’s POV

We got him there. Or so I thought

“Heh, heh,… You know that there are monsters in the forest right? heh…Those are my so-called “pet”. I purposely put those in the forest as distractions. Right now when there is no one killing them…”

“Huh, what?” not letting him finish, I asked with a soft voice, then realized everyone near the border was in great danger. I turned my back towards the border to growling noises.

Suddenly, Arthur’s left hand shot forward, faster than I could react. He was right in front of me, his fist flying toward my face. I braced for the impact, but just before it hit, my dad shoved me aside. He took the full force of the blow, his body flung across the battlefield like a rag doll, and ended up in a collapsed house.

“Dad!” I screamed.

I rushed over, but my dad lay there, barely conscious, blood trickling from his mouth. I looked back at Arthur, who was still standing despite the damage we’d done. He grinned, his eyes locked on me, like a predator eyeing its prey.

I didn’t have the strength to keep going. I was out of ideas, out of hope. Was this really how it was going to end? After getting this second chance, was I really going to die like this?

I squeezed the scarf i had been wearing since my 5th birthday, filled with worried and scaredness. I closed my eyes as Arthur’s left hand came straight at my right cheek.

Sylas' POV

I wasn’t there to see what Duke and his nor my dad were going through, but I had my own battle to face. The bandits had swarmed the village, and in the chaos, I found myself separated from Duke. Monsters from the nearby forest had broken through, adding to the chaos as they trampled through the village, attacking anyone they saw.

I tried to hold them off, using every bit of magic I knew, but there were too many. I saw children and women being rounded up by the bandits, their screams echoing in my ears. One by one, they were knocked out, and thrown onto carts as the bandits prepared to take them deep into the forest. Even my mom and Mrs. Laura

I wouldn’t let them take me. Not without a fight.

“Mommm, Mrs. Laura,… Clara stay by my side, I will protect you”

But before I could react, something heavy struck the back of my head. The world blurred around me, and I felt my legs give out as darkness consumed me. The last thing I saw was the village, burning and in ruins, as the bandits dragged me and the others away into the night.

“Clara…” I said as my consciousness faded away

When I woke, I was bound, surrounded by the other captives including Duke but Clara was nowhere to be seen. The village was gone, nothing was left but ruins, dead men, and the fainted. The effects of the impact are still there made me fainted once again….