Frey and the others watched in horror as the Ultras closed in and a deluge loomed above.
Phoenix clenched his teeth as the tidal wave threatened to swallow them whole.
With a devastating punch, he unleashed the full force of the Eternal Flame technique—
A blazing inferno shot upward, clashing head-on with the torrent.
Fire and water collided in a battle of titanic forces, each pushing to consume the other.
The tide kept coming, and Phoenix kept countering, locked in a grueling struggle.
Then—
"Let's fight!!"
Snow roared, drawing Vermithor, ready to charge into battle.
But a thunderous shout from Phoenix stopped him cold.
"NO!!!"
Phoenix was barely holding back Beatrice's assault.
But what truly terrified him were the Lords and Hollows who had yet to make their move.
"The backup plan! Do it now—Selena!!"
He knew it—fighting the Ultras head-on meant death for everyone.
That's why they had prepared a contingency.
Selena immediately understood what Phoenix meant.
Without hesitation, she began casting.
In an instant, glowing marks ignited across everyone's bodies ...
Teleportation seals that Selena had placed earlier.
"I'm initiating the mass teleportation—now!"
Everyone turned to her, expressions mixed with shock and resolve.
They all knew what was coming.
They had discussed this moment before… and now, the time had come.
"I can't teleport everyone at once—so it'll have to be random!"
Teleportation magic was among the most difficult to master, and Selena hadn't perfected it yet.
The best she could manage was to scatter everyone randomly.
It would save them from immediate annihilation ... but at a cost.
"You'll be on your own from now on! Stay strong—and stay alive!"
Phoenix shouted just before the radiant light of teleportation engulfed him.
Scattered across the vast lands of the Ultras, each student would be transported to a different location.
They'd be alone ... but that was still better than dying at the hands of an army like this.
They had made a mistake—thinking they were safe.
That the Ultras wouldn't truly come after them.
Now, they had to pay for that mistake.
In that moment of chaos, no one noticed the twisted smile curling on Beatrice's face.
And within seconds—everyone disappeared, vanishing one after another in random flashes of light.
But at the very last moment, something strange happened.
Selena, caught mid-cast, noticed one of the elite students resisting her spell—
Not just resisting—nullifying it completely.
There was only one person who could've done that.
"Frey?! What are you doing?!"
She screamed at him, shocked to see that he alone remained.
Frey gave her a calm smile.
"Sorry. I'm not leaving."
"No—!"
Selena's cry was the last thing he heard before she, too, vanished into light, teleported away like the rest.
And then, Frey was alone.
Standing in the middle of the destroyed city.
He let out a deep breath.
"Looks like the ability worked just fine…"
Opening his system interface, Frey deactivated his skill:
— Anti-magic : Level 2
— Allows the user to nullify spells cast within a 5-meter radius.
Since returning from Londor and wearing the Nameless Mask, Frey's ability had evolved.
Now, he could cancel magic without needing to touch the caster.
He hadn't needed to use it—until now. And it had proven invaluable.
"Well then…"
He exhaled and leapt onto a pile of rubble, moving toward the army that had surrounded him—each step driving him deeper into the crushing weight of their aura.
"Shall we begin?"
...
...
...
Beatrice hovered in satisfaction as the Elite Class vanished—scattered across the continent.
"And with that, everyone is now… on their own."
She smiled and slowly returned to the Ultras' forces waiting nearby.
"This body did quite well," she said, admiring her performance.
She seemed completely content ... until she felt something approaching from the ruins.
The witch turned.
And so did the entire army.
"Oh? What do we have here?"
Beatrice grinned as she saw a lone figure climb atop the wreckage, standing tall above the shattered cityscape.
It was Frey Starlight.
He looked down at the massive army gathered before him, his violet eyes glowing darkly.
The crushing pressure almost forced him to his knees.
Every cell in his body screamed for him to flee.
But he didn't move.
Instead, he cleared his throat and drew on his aura, amplifying his voice.
Taking a deep breath—he roared:
"My name is Frey Starlight!"
His voice thundered across the battlefield, rising even above the deafening sound of the army below.
"Lord of House Starlight. Son of Abraham Starlight!"
Of all the things he could've said… he chose to introduce himself.
Beatrice responded with a playful smile.
"My name is Beatrice—the Eternal Witch. Pleased to meet you, son of Abraham."
She floated forward, her smile widening.
"You're quite bold, Frey Starlight…"
"Or maybe just stupid. Who knows?"
She laughed, while Frey remained silent.
"Why didn't you run, Frey Starlight?"
With each word, her aura intensified, the pressure threatening to crush him completely.
"Perhaps… you have a death wish?"
She wasn't entirely wrong—what Frey had done was close to suicide.
Yet, the young lord of House Starlight said nothing.
Instead, he drew his swords—Balerion and the Dark Sister—and unleashed his full power.
He devoured the aura from his inner sea, pushing his body to the brink of explosion.
Only then could he finally breathe ... relieving some of the pressure weighing him down.
"You asked if I wanted to die."
Frey spoke in his usual calm tone as he stepped off the pile of rubble, walking straight toward the massive army ahead. A crooked smile stretched across his face.
"Death... Yes, I've wished for it. More than once."
"But those above didn't want me dead. They wanted me alive... to entertain them until the very end."
"What are you talking about?"
Beatrice narrowed her eyes, clearly confused.
But Frey wasn't speaking to her. He seemed to be speaking to himself—or perhaps to something else entirely.
"You down here, on the other hand... You want me dead. As soon as possible. That's the contradiction, isn't it?"
Between the ones above who demanded his survival, and those below who craved his death, Frey had made a decision.
He, too, would play the game.
A game where the price was his life.
"I'm tired of dancing to the same rhythm."
His aura erupted violently, and a monstrous grin tore across his face—ear to ear.
Who would interfere this time?
Who would dare claim it was all part of their plan?
"The ones above... The ones below... And you, the so-called Eternal witch…"
"Come at me—all of you!!"
The ground exploded beneath Frey's feet as he launched himself forward.
Frey Starlight charged headfirst into Beatrice and the entire Ultras army ...
declaring the start of a suicidal battle.