Chapter 384: A Beautiful Day
A clean arc of golden light fired forward with immense speed. It bisected the second-from-left Slippery in a flash. The illusion broke immediately, revealing the real one behind it, trying to use his own clone as a human shield.
But he was too slow.
Edgar was already behind him.
"[Shadow Sever]."
His blade shimmered black and slashed low, cutting through both legs at the knees. Slippery collapsed with a howl, illusions cracking like glass all around him. He hit the ground, palms scraping the gravel, mouth gaping as he tried to conjure a veil of invisibility.
But it was too late for the man.
Cillian’s spear embedded through his back.
"[Glacier Freeze]."
The tip burst with freezing energy. Ice cracked outward through Slippery’s chest, spreading across his limbs like silver roots. His body jerked violently, then froze in place, mouth open in a final breath.
Cillian yanked the spear free. The body shattered into frozen shards and fell apart, dissolving into pale dust.
The battlefield fell quiet again.
Only Rocky remained.
The crystal Grandmaster stood alone, chest heaving, thick arms gleaming like carved marble. His body shimmered under the sun, reflecting fragments of the battlefield, the bodies, the broken ground.
He looked slowly at the frozen remains of Slippery, then at the scorched crater where Speedy had fallen.
"I never wanted this," he said, his voice deep and trembling. "I just wanted to rise. To break through. To stand where no one stood. All my life..."
He stepped forward. Cracks spread beneath his feet as he clenched his fists.
"But it’s too late now."
Without warning, he slammed both hands together.
"[Diamond Storm]."
A shockwave erupted outward—brilliant, blinding. Razor-edged crystal shards exploded in every direction like shrapnel. The Grandmasters shielded themselves quickly. Wind swirled into a barrier. Ice shot up to intercept. Cassian conjured a dome of light to block the hail of destruction.
Then Rocky charged forward.
His entire body was now covered in a layer of pure crystal, thick as armor, gleaming with essence lines carved through the surface. His steps were like thunder, fast and brutal.
He swung a wide arm at Cillian.
The ice user ducked, but Rocky twisted, using the momentum to bring down a second hammer-like fist.
Cillian’s shoulder caught the blow. The impact sent him flying into the dirt, skidding through the remains of the cracked battlefield.
Cassian moved next.
"[Solar Surge]."
Twin beams of condensed sunlight shot forward, aimed at Rocky’s legs. The beams struck but they did nothing. His crystal armor glowed and absorbed the heat, pulsing back with golden veins.
"Not this time," Rocky growled.
He leaped at Cassian like a boulder shot from a cannon.
But someone else was already there.
A black portal tore open in the air.
And from it, Dante stepped out.
I felt it before I saw it, the shift in pressure. Like space itself had exhaled.
Dante’s presence spread over the battlefield like a curtain falling on the final act.
He moved faster than anyone else.
"Its okay. Death is the end anyway." His hoarse voice echoed on the battlefield as he slashed his hand.
A ripple cut through the air. The space between Rocky and Cassian folded in an instant, warping the trajectory of the charge.
Rocky stumbled forward, caught mid-stride, as if gravity itself betrayed him.
Edgar emerged behind him again.
This time the strike hit the back of Rocky’s knee.
The blade left a line of pitch black where it passed. A chunk of the crystal knee was torn clean off.
Rocky roared, staggering.
He raised both arms.
"Crystal Dome: Reflect!"
A shimmering sphere of translucent armor surrounded him, bouncing Cassian’s beams and Cillian’s frost off its surface. It held for five seconds.
Four.
Three.
Then Dante raised his free hand.
His voice was quiet, but it echoed.
"Collapse."
The dome shattered instantly, as if the world obeyed his command.
Wind surged in from above. The Wind Grandmaster, who still hadn’t spoken, descended now with a twister under his feet.
"Final form," he whispered. "[Heaven Cutter.]"
He spun once in midair. The wind curved into a long crescent that howled as it dropped onto Rocky from above.
It sliced clean through the crystal on Rocky’s shoulder, exposing flesh underneath. Blood erupted. Rocky grunted but didn’t fall.
He turned.
And for the last time, he raised both fists.
"COME ON!" he shouted, pain thick in his voice. "If I’m going down... then I’m not dying small!"
He launched himself forward in one last mad dash.
But this time, everyone moved.
Edgar reappeared at his left.
Cillian’s frost covered the ground beneath him.
The Wind Grandmaster pinned him with a downward spiral.
Cassian stood firm.
And Dante walked into Rocky’s path.
They struck together.
"[Frozen Nova]." – Cillian slammed his spear into the ground, encasing Rocky’s legs in exploding ice.
"[Devouring Spiral]." – Wind howled from both sides, shredding Rocky’s arms.
"[Solar Judgement]." – Cassian’s sword split into five radiant rays, each slamming into Rocky’s chest.
"[Shadow Sever]." – Edgar’s blade tore through Rocky’s exposed side.
And finally—
Dante stepped in, calm as always.
He spoke one word.
"Farewell."
Space cracked as fissures open it it.
And the crystal covering Rocky’s chest cracked—once, twice—and then caved in completely.
The large man fell to his knees.
Then silence.
He knelt there, trembling.
Pieces of his armor fell away. Blood streamed down his body. His eyes stared forward at nothing. He coughed once. Then looked up at them.
"You know," he muttered, "I thought if I reached Grandmaster... I’d be free. That I could just... keep going."
His voice broke.
"I was close. One more rank. One more breakthrough, and I could’ve seen it. I could’ve touched the real power. I just wanted to rise..."
No one moved.
He lowered his head.
A pause.
Then one final whisper.
"...but I guess...."
He closed his eyes.
The last pulse of light inside his crystal chest flickered.
And went out.
The battlefield fell silent. I exhaled slowly, lowering my head as the dust settled.