Darkness pulsed with an ominous rhythm as Number 1 held Luna by the neck, her grip unrelenting. Luna's breath came in gasps, her golden eyes flickering but not dimming. Around them, the battlefield seemed to hold its breath as a low, guttural sound began to echo in the distance—howls, deep and primal, like the awakening of an ancient force. The shadows at Number 1's feet stirred, shifting and twisting unnaturally, gathering like a living entity.
Number 1 tilted her head, her voice calm yet laced with derision. "Do you still believe resistance will save you, outworlder?"
Luna's lips curved into a bloodied smirk, defiance sparking in her gaze. "Not resistance," she rasped, her voice like gravel, "vengeance. Die."
The shadows beneath Number 1 erupted violently, coalescing into a monstrous maw of pitch-black fangs that snapped shut, engulfing her. The darkness writhed and shrieked, an otherworldly force intent on consuming its prey.
For a moment, silence reigned. Then, like the birth of a star, a golden beam of light tore through the maw, disintegrating the shadows in a brilliant explosion. Number 1 emerged unscathed, her entire form shimmering with an ethereal glow, her body now glittering like the endless expanse of the stars. She flung Luna aside with contemptuous ease, sending her crashing to the ground with a sickening thud.
"Impressive," Number 1 mused, brushing imaginary dust off her shoulder. Her tone was almost amused, but her eyes held the cold fire of superiority. "For an outworlder, your attack was noteworthy. But compared to chaos..." She extended her hand, and her aura flared with celestial intensity. "You are nothing."
"Luna!" Yue's voice rang out in terror as she sprinted toward her fallen comrade, Litty following closely behind. They reached Luna's motionless form, but a shimmering barrier of radiant energy materialized, repelling them with an unseen force.
Yue banged against the barrier desperately, tears streaming down her face. "Luna! No! Stay with us!"
Number 1 floated above them, her presence a beacon of malevolence. "Her death will surely please chaos," she declared, her voice carrying a cruel satisfaction.
"No!" Litty's cry was filled with fury as she dashed toward Number 1, her swords raised in a desperate charge. But before she could get close, Number 1 unleashed her aura in a wave of crushing pressure.
The force hit Yue and Litty like a tidal wave, driving them to their knees. Yue felt her bones tremble, her lungs straining against the oppressive weight. Litty struggled, her hands clutching her swords, but the weight of Number 1's presence brought her head down.
Yue turned her gaze toward Luna, who lay within the barrier, blood pooling beneath her. The sight of her losing blood rapidly broke something inside her.
"David!" Yue screamed, her voice raw and desperate as tears blurred her vision. "David, help her! Please!"
David's lips parted from Elara's as a surge of warmth returned to them. Her once pallid complexion now bore a flush of life, her chest rising steadily with renewed vigor. A system window blinked into existence before him:
[Target Health: 90% - Stabilized]
Relief washed over him, but before he could fully exhale, a scream tore through the silence, piercing his thoughts.
David's head snapped up, scanning the battlefield with heightened urgency. His eyes darted across the chaos, his enhanced vision—sharpened since his victory over Gilgamesh—allowing him to see every grim detail within a kilometer radius. Mariana and Sir Richard lay unconscious on the opposite end of the field, their bodies motionless. Yue and Litty knelt, trembling under an unseen weight, their weapons forgotten beside them.
But it was what lay just ahead of Yue that made his breath hitch: a shimmering barrier, golden and unyielding, encased a figure sprawled on the ground. His heart seized in horror as he recognized her.
Placing Elara gently on the ground, David rose, his steps quickening. His heart pounded like a war drum in his chest, panic clawing at him as he closed the distance. Each step took him closer to the oppressive aura radiating from Number 1, the force so suffocating it seemed to warp the air around her.
The pressure hit him like a tidal wave as he approached, his body growing heavier with every step. It was unlike anything he had felt before. The weight wasn't just physical; it was as though her presence itself was crushing his very soul.
Amusement danced in Number 1's ethereal gaze as she turned her attention to him. "So, you're the one," she mused, her voice calm yet laced with cruelty. "And here I thought you'd at least be entertaining."
David staggered but refused to stop. Each step forward felt like lifting a mountain, yet he pressed on, his focus unwavering. He was mere meters from Luna when another wave of aura exploded from Number 1, slamming into him like a freight train.
The ground beneath him cracked and spidered outward. His knees buckled, and he fell, coughing blood as his vision blurred. A system window flashed urgently in his peripheral vision:
[Warning: Aetenus in Critical Condition. Soul Integrity at Risk.]
Despair clawed at his heart as the weight of his vulnerability bore down on him. Images of his past flashed before him: his mother's lifeless body on the cold floor, her blood pooling beneath her.
"No..." he whispered, tears streaming as his white aura flared in defiance. But it was a dim light against the overwhelming force of Number 1's presence. He crawled, inch by painful inch, toward Luna.
Number 1's footsteps echoed ominously as she approached him, her voice dripping with condescension. "How pitiful. I overestimated you." She raised her foot, her intent clear. "Let me end this and prepare the way for chaos."
Her foot descended, but before it could connect, a fiery comet crashed into her with a deafening roar. Number 1 was hurled across the battlefield, leaving a trail of destruction in her wake.
Standing before David was a blazing figure wreathed in fire, her form like that of a living sun. She crouched down, lifting his chin gently as her crimson hair flowed like molten flames. Her crimson eyes met his, fierce yet tender.
"Archon?" David whispered, his voice trembling.
The Archon's lips curled into a mischievous smile. "How bold of you to steal my first kiss," she teased, her tone playful yet filled with power.
Before he could respond, she bit his lip, drawing blood. Then, with a passionate intensity, she kissed him, her fiery aura blazing brighter and hotter, igniting the battlefield with her overwhelming presence.