Dila's expression shifted.

The cold wind tugged at her silver-white hair as she raised her staff. Her voice rang out, calm but commanding.

"Earthrea," she said flatly, "attack."

The twin golems stirred. Their cores pulsed with magic as their massive bodies groaned to life again with extra pulsing energy. Stone plates locked into formation. The ground shook with their every step as they surged forward toward Albedo.

But.....

In that instant, Albedo's cheerful smile vanished.

His face… went blank.

All the warmth, the giggles, the confetti-like joy..... gone in a breath.

A dead silence fell.

Dila shift froze mid-step, her staff still raised.

Albedo slowly raised his gaze. His blue eyes, cold and ancient, pierced through her like a blade.

"Do you truly wish to defeat me, Dila?" he asked softly.

His voice wasn't loud—but it cut. Not with volume, but with weight. The kind of voice that echoed in your chest, ancient and full of terrifying calm.

Fran, who had been twirling her dagger a bit like a playful cat moments ago, dropped it. Her hands trembled slightly. Her ears flattened.

Her lips parted. "S-sister…" she whispered. Her knees locked in place, her heartbeat suddenly wild. "I… I-I have goosebumps. That's not the same man from earlier… That's…"

She didn't finish. She didn't need to.

Even the Earthrea golems hesitated mid-attack, confused by the sudden, invisible pressure in the air. Their glowing cores flickered slightly, like a warning.

And high above, on the rock ledge, Zeon's smirk faded.

He stood straighter, arms folding as he watched the king with newfound seriousness. His head tilted, shadows cutting across his eyes.

Then he smiled again this time not with amusement… but awe.

"My, my…" he murmured. "Am I… finally going to witness it? My lord's absolute power?"

His voice held a strange excitement, like a fan finally about to witness a legendary scene that had only existed in rumors.

Back on the field, Albedo didn't move.

He didn't need to.

The sheer stillness around him felt heavy... as if the very world was waiting for his next breath. Bat's had stopped flying. Wind had gone silent. The sky felt darker even with the moon.

Dila stepped forward, planting her foot down with resolve. Her blue eyes narrowed, her heart pounding like a war drum inside her chest.

"I didn't come this far to hesitate," she said coldly.

She raised her staff again.

Fran, swallowing her fear, lifted up her dagger and stood beside Dila. Her tail bristled with tension, but she forced a grin.

"If we're gonna fight a storm… I guess we better hold our ground like trees," she said, trying to steady herself. "Even if we get uprooted…"

The two girls stood side by side.

In front of them, the King of Eldor... Albedo stood completely still.

But even without lifting a finger, he felt like a mountain waiting to fall.

Few moments later......

The air rippled violently—then suddenly, Albedo vanished.

Not a single footstep.

No wind.

Just gone—like a phantom erased from time.

In the blink of an eye, he reappeared directly in front of one of the massive golems, already mid-motion. With a casual flick of his hand—faster than any human eye could trace.... he struck the golem's face.

A thunderous crack echoed through the sky.

The massive construct was flung backward like a ragdoll made of paper, its stone body tearing through the ground, its limbs flailing as if gravity had betrayed it. It crashed into a nearby pillar, shaking the entire arena with a shockwave that made Dila stumble back. Chunks of the marble column shattered, and dust shot upward like smoke from an explosion.

Albedo landed softly.

No force in his step, no effort just a soft tap of his boot against the ground. Around him, black energy began swirling gently at his feet, like dark flames dancing in slow motion.

He looked at Dila with an unsettling calm and spoke, voice low but piercing:

"Does your toy only have that much power? It's… incredibly weak, my daughter."

He tilted his head slightly to the left, his eyes gleaming with quiet amusement.

Dila's heart skipped.

Her lips parted in disbelief, her hands trembling slightly as she gripped her staff tighter.

"Tch... I thought you said I was getting stronger," she snapped, voice strained with emotion, "when I used my golem to fight you."

Albedo gave a lighthearted shrug, smiling faintly as if this were all a harmless jest.

"Oops," he said, fingers brushing a speck of dust from his shoulder. "That was just a slight compliment… just to make you happy."

He chuckled. "Looks like I was wrong. You let it get to your head."

Behind him, the golem that had been struck was now half-buried in rubble, its face crushed and twisted, pieces of its jaw scattered across the cracked ground. The stone plates trembled as the magic inside struggled to restore its form but the damage was too severe. The regeneration was slow, sluggish, as if even the mana inside feared to wake again.

Dila's breath caught in her throat.

Her mind was racing.

Her eyes darted to Fran, whose lips quivered, hands slightly shaking, her dagger lowered just a bit not from exhaustion but from fear.

The air had changed.

Even the sky above seemed to turn grayish, clouds darkening slightly as if the world itself could sense the weight of the king's true power, now barely peeking through.

"Tsk..." Dila muttered, her voice barely above a whisper.

"This is bad..."

Her chest rose and fell rapidly.

"...This is really, really bad."

And for the first time since the battle truly began the silence around them was not peace. It was pressure.

Thick, suffocating pressure.

And then.....

The last remaining golem roared as it charged forward, its massive stone body glowing with a red-hot aura, heatwaves pulsing off its frame like the breath of a furnace. Its eyes bright with burning rage lit up like molten cores, locked onto Albedo with primal fury.

It was the last of Dila's creations still standing.

Hoping it would not fall quietly.

Each step thundered with purpose.

Each movement shed sparks and cinders.

It had no voice, but its energy screamed louder than words.

The golem swung its massive right fist, aiming to crush the King of Eldor where he stood.

But Albedo didn't flinch.

He didn't dodge.

He didn't even blink.

In a single, cruel motion, his hand shot out...

CRACK—!!

The sound was horrible.

Albedo's grip crushed the golem's wrist mid-swing, snapping its entire right arm off like brittle stone under pressure. The aura around the golem faltered, flickering like a dying flame.

The broken limb still sparking red—hung limp in Albedo's hand.

And then he used it.

Without hesitation, Albedo swung the severed arm like a club....

and slapped the golem across the face with its own fist.

The impact was violent.

The golem's enormous body twisted midair, its entire form spinning uncontrollably like a child's toy top.

And then....

BOOOOOOM!!!

It slammed into the opposite side of the arena, crashing directly into one of the ancient stone pillars.

The pillar split.

The golem's body was cleaved in half from the impact.

Only its hips and legs remained standing. Awkwardly, stupidly—while the upper half crumbled to chunks and smoke, sliding down the rubble like broken armor.

Ash fell like snow.

The battlefield went silent.

Albedo tossed the broken golem arm aside, as if it was nothing more than garbage. His small fabrics of cloth fluttered gently in the lingering heat. He stood tall, untouched. Unbothered.

Cold.

Cruel.

Unshaken.

He looked toward Dila, his daughter, with icy indifference.

"So that was your last one?"

"Pathetic. "

Dila stood frozen, her chest rising and falling with silent fury. Her hands trembled as they gripped her staff. Her silver hair drifted in the burning wind, her blue eyes wide not with fear, but with disbelief.

It wasn't just the golem that broke.

It was hope.

"…No…"

Her heart pounded.

She had pushed herself to her limit. She had poured every drop of will, every shred of mana, into that last golem.

And still… he swatted it away like it was nothing.

Albedo tilted his head slightly, voice low and mocking.

"You thought that would hurt me?"

"You're nowhere near ready to stand against me, Dila."

The golems red glow faded from the battlefield, leaving only the cold echo of power and a daughter's despair hanging in the air like smoke.

Then.

A soft shimmer blinked at the corner of Dila's vision.

[System Display: Nari - Active]

• Mana Level: 1000 / 2500

• Health: 25000 / 25000

• Level: 25

• Class Rank: H

• System Buddy: Nari

☆ That last summon drained about 1500 mana, master Dila… that's huge. Without your upgraded mana control, you'd be completely dry by now… ☆ Nari's soft voice echoed in her thoughts, tinged with a worried chime.

Dust was still falling from the cracked partial ceiling of the arena. The shattered remnants of the second golem were smoking in the background its lower half twitching weakly by the broken pillar, where the upper body had been flung and split apart like dry clay that dry like ash.

Dila's breath came in sharp bursts. Sweat rolled down her temple, mingling with the ash in the air. Her hand trembled slightly as she gripped her staff tighter.

"I know, Nari…" she muttered under her breath, her blue eyes locked on the man before her. "Even if, this is dangerously stupid."

Albedo stood a few meters away, surrounded by an ominous swirl of dark energy curling at his feet like living smoke. He hadn't moved since the last strike. Not even a scratch. Not even a sign of effort. The air around him warped subtly, heat and magic humming in dreadful harmony.

Dila clenched her jaw, a jolt of pain running through her chest not physical, but emotional. That man, her father, hadn't even taken her very seriously. Not yet.

"I'm hitting him with everything," she whispered, her voice cracking with frustration, "and he still treats this like a game."

The wind shifted. Somewhere above, a ceiling beam finally gave out, falling and crashing loudly to the side reminding them of the sheer destruction left behind. Smoke curled near the broken golem's hip, twitching pitifully on the stone floor.

Fran slowly took a cautious step back, beads of sweat dripping from her cheek as she whispered, "Sister… I think… this is no longer a sparring match.... This call death match." Gulp.

She was right.

This was a warning.

A clear message from Albedo: You are not ready.

And it stung more than any blow.