Luminous's laughter echoed across the battlefield as he drew a hammer wreathed in solar flames.
"I will burn you all to ashes!" he roared, his form turning crimson as scorching heat radiated from his body. He charged forward, blazing.
Seraphina's body glowed with an intense purple as her spirit burst forth, taking on a massive, ethereal form. The beast roared, its eyes locking onto the nearest elder.
Aurelius's tattoos blazed to life, a feral beast materializing beside him. Their eyes turned savage as they leapt into battle together.
The other paragons followed suit, their fast and relentless movements catching the elders off guard.
Without their blood control slowing down the human paragons, it was as though they were fighting on an even playing field.
Paragons had always been paragons, and without the inherent advantage that the superior race held over the lower race, it came down to skill and battle strength.
The human paragons were relentless, raining different attacks on the grand elders. As leaders of the human domain and geniuses in their own right, they were akin to the grand elders, the truly strong of the human domain.
Each of them wore small spikes as they battled. No matter how old they were, they had always dreamed of besting a superior race in battle. Until now, none of them had been able to fight so freely against a vampyros.
Despite the chaos engulfing the battlefield, they couldn't help but feel a hint of excitement.
The shock that rippled through the grand elders was profound. Never in their lifetimes had they imagined that humans, beings they considered little more than ants, could fight them like this.
But their shock didn't last long. The only reason they had been initially overwhelmed was that they had suddenly lost control over the humans' blood.
Once they assessed the situation, a wave of blood erupted from their bodies, forming radiant weapons and armor.
They were veterans of the battlefield, and something like this wasn't enough to shake them.
Their auras exploded as their bloodlust intensified, their forms screaming toward the human paragons with feral gazes.
The clashes were thunderous and intense, with multiple battles occurring in rapid succession. Within moments, the human paragons found themselves being pushed back by the vampyros elders.
The blood-forged weapons of the elders were superior, and their overwhelming control of blood fueled their every move and attack.
They attacked like predators, striking with brutal efficiency.
As the battle raged on, the human domain began to face its own crisis.
Since the people had felt the tremors of the battle all the way from the border, they had already anticipated the worst possibility: the battle reaching Sector 10.
Chaos engulfed the streets. The people of Sector 10 screamed, scattering in every direction, desperate to escape the growing threat. Cries of fear and confusion reverberated through the domain as the masses flooded toward the borders, trying to cross into Sector 9.
As the chaos reached its peak, a man running behind a crowd of people suddenly noticed a shadow blotting out the sun. He turned to see what had blocked the sky, and his face froze instantly, filled with sheer terror.
He couldn't speak, his eyes locked on the horror that had appeared above.
The person beside him frowned. "What are you looking at?" he demanded, turning to see for himself.
His breath stopped.
Countless silhouettes blocked the sun, dotting the sky like dark stars.
High above, the Aegis Shield was swarmed with black-armored constructs.
A sea of them hovered above, standing atop the translucent barrier like harbingers of doom. Their weapons gleamed menacingly, their sheer numbers uncountable.
Soon enough, more people turned their gazes to the skies, and as they saw the scene, each one froze in place, unable to move.
The shield held for now, but the sight was horrifying.
The Aegis Shield allowed the people to see the other side clearly. And what they saw shattered their hope, an endless tide of black-armored constructs.
Panic spread like wildfire, fear surging through the masses. Many clung to hope, believing the shield would hold, while others had begun running with even more fervor.
Suddenly, multiple explosions rocked the sector.
One after another, blasts erupted at different points, sending shockwaves rippling through the area.
The people wondered what had happened. However, those near the Aegis Shield's nodes had their eyes widen in horror.
Crowds had suddenly swarmed the nodes, destroying each of them.
In the next instant, the Aegis Shield flickered.
Then it deactivated.
The sector was exposed.
The world froze.
Then, the armored constructs swarmed in like a tidal wave, their weapons blazing.
Panic erupted. People screamed, their fear driving them into a frenzy as they scrambled to flee.
Battles erupted across the sector as warriors and sentinel guardians sprang into action. Clashes filled the streets, explosions shaking the ground as they fought to hold back the flood.
But it was overwhelming.
While this chaos unfolded, a streak of golden light tore through the air. It sped toward the Aegis Shield surrounding the academy in Sector One.
The shield shimmered as a small hole opened, just wide enough to allow the light to pass through.
It streaked across the academy grounds, stopping high in the air before a man hovering cross-legged in the sky.
His expression was unmoved, his aura calm. Crimson light radiated faintly from his figure, pulsing like a heartbeat.
The golden light floated before him, glowing brighter as he opened his eyes. With a steady hand, he reached out and grasped it.
The light dissolved into him, and countless streams of information flowed into his mind, images and details flashing fast.
He absorbed it all.
In the next instant, his eyes opened again, a bright crimson glow radiating from them.
His aura changed, his figure blurring as he appeared just outside the Aegis Shield encompassing Sector 1.
Each calm, measured step echoed across the area. The crimson glow surrounding his massive form began to rise, growing brighter and more intense with each stride.
His presence was overwhelming.
With each step, his body began to grow. His muscles swelled, his frame expanding.
The air around him shifted.
Alive.
His lips parted.
"Berserk Form: Fury."