Match 3: Saigo vs. Twilight Conjuror – The Scourge of Aryavarta
Saigo's snap echoed like a death knell. "Nano-Bite."
The void screamed. Millions of metallic specks – the Nanobites – ignited simultaneously. Not beams, but rivers of concentrated annihilation energy lanced downward, converging on the Abyssal horde. It wasn't destruction; it was erasure. Demons disintegrated mid-roar, their essence unraveled at the molecular level. The very planetoid they stood on groaned, then buckled. Cracks spiderwebbed across its surface before it detonated in a silent, catastrophic bloom of light and debris. Saigo, Ayumi, and Ferina landed gracefully on a nearby moon fragment, untouched within Saigo's protective aura.
Ayumi's mind reeled. He destroyed a planet… in seconds. This is the terror that keeps nations trembling before Aryavarta.
Ferina's breath hitched. Barrier Genius Saigo… Rank 5 General. Defensive master? Offensive apocalypse.
Then, chilling laughter cut through the cosmic dust. From the dissipating cloud of planetary debris, the Twilight Conjuror coalesced, unharmed. His decimated legions reassembled from swirling twilight energy, reforged by his hellish power. "So," the Conjuror purred, amusement lacing his grating voice, "the traitor reveals his fangs. Excellent."
Saigo's icy fury didn't waver. "Ayumi, Ferina. High-rank Priest or Light Magic. Now."
"Yes, but…" Ayumi stammered, gesturing at the reforming legion. "Against that… it's impossible!"
"It's our only chance," Saigo stated, his voice cutting through their fear. He outlined his plan swiftly, a desperate gambit born of cold rage. Twilight is the anchor. Kill him, the army crumbles. Holy magic is the key. He channeled pure wind energy, twin streams of shimmering power flowing into Ayumi and Ferina. "Charge it. Max output. Aim for him. Fail… and we join the void." The weight of extinction hung in his words.
Twilight advanced, caution warring with arrogance. Generals are no fools… what is his play?
Saigo drew the bracelet Velmin had given him. It pulsed, elongated, and solidified into a longsword of pure, howling wind – Zephyr's Requiem. He swung. A colossal crescent of compressed atmosphere roared forth, hurling lesser demons and moon fragments aside like leaves in a hurricane. Twilight stood unmoved, twilight energy flaring around him like a dark star. The two titans charged, wind against void, their clash threatening to shatter the moon fragment beneath them.
Match 4: Arata vs. Keisuke & Yoshito – The End of Shady Astute
Arata's Resurrection State: Shady Astute elevated him beyond mortal comprehension. Speed became irrelevant. Power warped reality. He moved with the terrible grace of a vengeful god. Keisuke and Yoshito became blurs, their movements a desperate symphony against an impossible foe.
"Hold!" Keisuke barked, intercepting a blow meant to atomize Yoshito. The impact rattled his bones. "Nero's plan… NOW!"
They moved. Not away, but through Arata's god-like perception. Yoshito phased, a shadow within Arata's shadow. His hand, sheathed in the Dark Calamity's purest essence, plunged into Arata's stomach.
AGONY. Real, shocking agony tore through Arata. How?! This energy… it burns! Memory flashed: Ledger's desperate strike, the lingering weakness only darkness could exploit. Yoshito learned… he adapted!
Rage, primal and absolute, consumed Arata. He backhanded Yoshito with universe-shattering force. Yoshito became a streak of light, hurtling through space, punching through a planet like paper, and vanishing into the searing corona of a distant sun.
"Incinerated," Arata spat, turning his god-like gaze on Keisuke. "Now, the other—"
WHOOSH!
Yoshito emerged from the sun's inferno, untouched. An armor of purest void – the Dark Calamity's Embrace – encased him, radiating cold that defied stellar heat. "Infusion…" Arata breathed, understanding dawning. The Calamity itself shields him. Fuels him.
Yoshito raised his hand. Arata sensed no attack, saw no movement. Yet, blinding pain exploded across his neck. The Melvolent of Hunting Spirits materialized back in Yoshito's grip, dripping ethereal black blood. Arata's head tumbled from his shoulders.
Im… possible… Arata's consciousness flickered, trapped in the severed head. A brat… defeating Shady Astute…? How…? He saw it then. Keisuke, hands still glowing with intricate Qi patterns – a Qi Concentration Matrix. Not attacking, but focusing, channeling his immense Cultivator energy into Yoshito, acting as a living battery and stabilizer for the Dark Calamity's power. It was the only way Yoshito's body could withstand the Resurrection State long enough for the killing blow. Teamwork had felled a god.
Yoshito's dark armor dissolved. He collapsed, coughing torrents of blood, his body a roadmap of micro-fractures and energy burns. Keisuke was at his side instantly, applying healing Qi and bandages woven from light.
"Alive?" Keisuke asked, voice tight.
"Hurts… like hell…" Yoshito gasped. "Did… we win?"
Keisuke looked at Arata's lifeless eyes, frozen in eternal disbelief. "He's gone."
Their moment of exhausted victory lasted a heartbeat.
RRIIIIIIP!
Space didn't tear; it screamed. Not a portal, but a wound in reality itself opened beside them. From the bleeding fissure oozed pure, suffocating dread. The Herald of Hell stepped forth. It moved faster than thought, faster than light – a conceptual embodiment of ending. Its target: Yoshito's head, to claim the Dark Calamity's power.
Keisuke's shout died in his throat, strangled before sound could form. His body refused to obey, locked in horrified paralysis. The Herald's claw, forged from condensed oblivion, descended.