At once, Mandal, silent until now, leapt into action. Porus and Karu moved with him, all three struggling but managing to resist the crushing gravity. They landed in a triangle around Ragnar, forming a sharp formation with practiced ease.
Their hands rose, moving in strange, curling patterns that twisted through the air like waves.
"Moon Palace."
The ground beneath Ragnar shimmered. A glowing white circle formed and from it, a pale moon began to spread outward, its light pushing through the cemetery. In the blink of an eye, it expanded, swallowing Ragnar, the black guards and all the grandmaster, engulfing all of them in its eerie glow.
Ragnar tilted his head, eyes narrowing as he looked down at the glowing pattern spreading beneath his feet.
His silver glow flickered brighter, but he didn’t move, as though curious to see what they were building.
That was when Knight finally acted.
His shadow blurred, his figure vanishing in a single step.
He reappeared right behind one of the grandmasters from the half-moon faction, his mouth opening wide.
Before the man could even turn, Knight’s jaw clamped down. Bone cracked, flesh tore, and the grandmaster’s head vanished between Knight’s teeth. His body collapsed lifelessly, blood spraying across the glowing white ground.
Chaos surged but Saturn was already moving.
He flashed forward, his speed breaking the heavy pull of gravity as he appeared directly in front of Ragnar within the glowing circle.
His voice was full of hatred as he spat out, "You ugly beast!"
His greatsword swung down in a savage arc, aiming to cleave Ragnar’s head from his shoulders.
Ragnar snarled and lifted his massive club. The two weapons met in an ear-splitting clash. Sparks and Essence burned at the contact point.
But for the first time, Ragnar slid backward. His heels tore through the stone, dragged by the weight of Saturn’s strike.
The glowing circle below pulsed like a living heart, feeding Saturn’s attack.
Ragnar appeared surprised at his loss in the contest of strength.
But before he could figure out what happened, Porus acted again from his corner of the triangle. His hand drew another circle, faster this time, and he muttered the same words.
"Endless Light."
A blinding beam erupted, racing like a laser straight for Ragnar.
The giant had no chance to brace. The beam smashed into him, burning against his glowing body.
Ragnar roared as the blast tore through his defenses and sent his massive frame flying forward, crashing into the ground with enough force to shake the entire graveyard.
The blast that hit Ragnar wasn’t just raw power.
It was twisted, drawn from his own strength, mirrored back at him. The glowing circle had measured his might, stolen a piece of it, and then fired it straight at his chest.
Knight watched it happen, his crimson eyes gleaming in the pale moonlight. His figure blurred, and in the blink of an eye, he appeared in the very center of the glowing circle. His voice echoed cold and sharp.
"Cheap tricks."
Shadows erupted from his body, exploding outward like a storm. The light was swallowed whole. Black tendrils whipped through the air and knitted together, forming a dome of shadows that covered the circle, hiding everyone within.
Saturn, caught inside, roared in anger. His sword rose and he swung down with all his strength.
"Crescent Descend!"
A half-moon shaped blade of Essence tore through the darkness, flying at the dome and crashing against it with violent force. The ground shook at the impact, but the dome didn’t break. Instead, from one corner, a sudden scream rang out—cut short in an instant. Then, silence.
"What happened?" Porus shouted, panic slipping through his voice.
His fingers lit up as he pointed at the dome. Beams of pure light fired from his hands, dozens of them, stabbing into the shadows until the whole dome was illuminated like daylight.
The truth was revealed.
Two more grandmasters lay inside, their bodies cleanly sliced in half, blood soaking the ground. Their eyes were still wide open, frozen in terror at the suddenness of death.
A whisper slid through the dome, curling in everyone’s ears like a hiss.
"I have tricks too."
Knight’s voice. Cold. Deadly.
Mandal, who had been quiet all this time, finally moved. He pressed his palms together, his head tilting down.
"Moon Blossom."
A soft glow bloomed in front of him. At first it was small, a single glowing bud. Then it unfolded into a radiant flower made of pure light, its petals expanding, growing until it towered over him. With a sharp motion, the petals shattered into thousands of glowing fragments.
The particles rushed forward, striking the dome from every side, eating through the shadows like fire through oil. The darkness groaned, twisted, then finally split apart, breaking into wisps.
Knight’s figure flashed, vanishing from the collapsing shadows. In the next instant, he reappeared near Ragnar, who was already rising from the ground, dust and debris sliding off his body.
Saturn’s eyes darted around the battlefield. He counted the losses—four of his grandmasters dead, butchered in silence.
Rage boiled in his chest. His teeth ground together, his bald head gleaming with sweat. His voice came out as a guttural growl.
"I will kill you."
Saturn lifted his massive sword high, then stabbed it straight into the glowing circle beneath his feet.
A ripple spread outward, humming with power, and the blade itself began to glow with the same white light.
Suddenly, four more swords of pure light burst out of the circle, rising like phantoms.
Porus, Mandal, and Karu each reached for one, their hands closing around the illusory hilts as if they were solid. The last was seized by one of Saturn’s black guards.
With a sharp pull, Saturn drew his own greatsword free again, its glow brighter than before, humming with deadly intent.
As each of them gripped the glowing swords, the white light surged outward, wrapping around their bodies like living armor.
The glow seeped into their veins, outlining every muscle and joint, until their figures looked half-human, half-light. The air thickened, humming with sharp, oppressive energy that pressed against everything nearby.