"I didn’t want to use this, but I have to say you deserve to be killed by my hands, monster!"
All the remaining dragons roared, their mana flowing into his body like rivers of light.
His black scales cracked, flames darker than night erupted from his mouth, and his body grew so massive that its shadow covered half the ruin.
"Dragon King’s Grave."
The sky burned. A sea of black fire devoured the entire horizon. Mountains turned to ash before being touched.
Even the sacred arrays began to melt.
But Daniel just watched, and released the Law of Destruction. Not on the flames, but on the very concept of burning.
And suddenly, the fires went out. Flames that could have burned the world went out one by one.
As if the world had forgotten how to burn.
Varkas’s massive eyes widened. For the first time, true fear appeared in his gaze.
This was a fear his pride and arrogance had never allowed him to feel.
But now? He saw something beyond his most terrifying nightmares.
And at that moment, golden-black lightning split the sky. A massive bolt passed straight through the flames and struck Varkas’s massive body to the ground.
The impact collapsed the entire ruin. Ten dragons and thousands of soldiers were turned to ash by the shockwave alone.
At that same moment, Alindra released her arrow. Now that this monster was occupied, it was the best opportunity for her to attack.
"World Tree Lament."
All the forests of the continent responded. Thousands of green roots emerged from the ground. The souls of ancient trees gathered inside the arrow.
And the sky, or whatever remained of it, smelled of rain and nature.
The arrow moved, devouring the life of everything in its path.
But behind Daniel, the cursed tree awakened. Its roots like massive serpents rushed forward and devoured the green roots.
The sound of an invisible scream echoed across the field. Alindra’s connection to nature was severed.
And blood poured from her mouth. She looked at the tree in horror.
"It’s... eating nature..."
But it was not over yet. Miralia raised both her hands, and thousands of golden runes covered the sky.
"Thousand Divine Chains."
Chains of divine light fell from the sky, each chain carrying a law for sealing and suppression. This time, some of them actually reached Daniel.
His body stopped for a moment. The entire remaining army held its breath.
Hope.
For the first time since the battle began.
But then Daniel laughed, and beams of death emanated from his eyes.
Just once.
And all the chains turned black, then began to rot.
Miralia suddenly screamed.
One of her eyes exploded, and golden blood flowed down her face.
"He’s... devouring the laws..."
At that same moment, Rodric and Alindra attacked again simultaneously.
"Eden’s Final Execution."
The sacred sword and the soul of nature combined. A massive blade of light and roots split the entire sky.
This attack was no longer just power, but the will of the entire world to stop Daniel.
But Daniel just raised his hand.
The Law of Death.
The Law of Destruction.
Activated simultaneously, and the blade vanished in silence.
The backlash of the attack threw Rodric and Alindra’s bodies through the air. Their bones broke. Their bodies were covered in existential cracks.
If these cracks were not healed, they could spell the end of their existence.
But they still did not stop, because this battle was not just for them. It was a battle for the entire continent, to save their world from this monster.
Miralia activated her last array, and Varkas poured all his flames into it.
"Forbidden Eclipse Furnace."
A black sun formed above the field. A sun that converted everything into raw mana.
Even the armies, or at least the small remaining part of the army, retreated in horror. But Daniel just looked at the sky.
"All this noise for something so foolish? You’re just wasting time."
"Shut up." And he said quietly.
Lightning.
Just one bolt. But that single bolt pierced the black sun.
And the subsequent explosion destroyed half the sky. Ten dragons were instantly turned to ash.
Thousands of soldiers disappeared without even a chance to scream.
"Damn it! We need to think of something, or we’ll all be killed!" Miralia said with worry and shock.
"He’s a monster! Something that shouldn’t exist! We can’t defeat him!" Alindra said with fear. She was feeling fear! And that was a sign of their defeat.
"Shut up, you cowardly elf! We will not lose! We cannot lose! If we lose, this entire continent, everyone we love, will die! Do you want to allow that?" Rodric shouted at them in anger.
Alindra and Miralia fell silent.
"I have an idea. It requires all our power, but if we succeed, perhaps we can kill this monster." Rodric then sighed and calmed himself.
The other three exchanged glances and, seeing no other choice, gritted their teeth and accepted the proposal.
Rodric explained his plan to them, but after hearing his explanation, they became hesitant. Because whether this attack succeeded or failed, it would result in the death of almost the entire army.
Perhaps all except the four of them would be killed, and even the four might not remain unharmed.
"Do we have a choice?"
They sighed, and finally, the four commanders began their final attack.
The entire remaining army released their mana.
Knights.
Elves.
Dragons.
Mages.
Everything merged into one attack.
"Cathedral of Extinction."
The entire sky transformed into a massive cathedral of light, flame, roots, and sacred runes.
A pressure that even bent the world. An attack sufficient to destroy a civilization.
And then everything descended on Daniel.
Light devoured the entire world. Even distant countries trembled.
The greatest earthquake in the continent’s history occurred, and every corner of the continent shook because of this attack.
But when the light slowly faded, Daniel was still standing.
Calm.
Indifferent.
Only his eyes had grown deeper.
But the armies no longer existed. The sky was filled with the ashes of dragons. The ground was covered with the remains of knights. The remaining elves retreated in horror.
The sacred arrays had completely collapsed. Rodric had fallen to one knee.
One of his hands was gone.
His sacred armor was broken.
And his sword was almost destroyed.
Varkas had lost half his body.
One of his massive wings was severed, and his flames had grown dimmer.
Alindra coughed up blood, and her silver hair had turned gray.
Miralia? As the weakest among them, she had not survived the consequences of that attack. Her lifeless body had turned to ash; nothing remained of her.
Almost the entire army had been destroyed. Hundreds of thousands, even millions, had been killed. Only a few elves and dragons remained.
But the worst truth was that Daniel still hadn’t gotten serious.
Then everyone’s gaze fell behind Daniel.
The golden fruit.
Now it had grown to the size of a small sun, and each pulse shook the world.
Every death, every soul. Every piece of life. Had been devoured by the tree.
Rodric’s eyes trembled, and for the first time in his entire life, he truly felt despair.
Because he finally understood that from the very beginning, they had not been fighting Daniel.
Rather, they had been food for something being born behind him.
"Monster... from the start... you wanted us to feed that tree... by our lives!"