As the tornado suddenly appeared in the sky, illuminating the battlefield that was currently happening on the ground, it seemed as if the world had come to an end.
A violent sound was heard as the tail of the three-headed beast moved again, colliding with Zack's body and sending him flying.
His body collided and broke multiple trees, and yet his armor remained whole.
His current condition was hard to see due to the menacing armor he was clad in, but if someone were to look behind Zack's helmet, they would be able to see that his eyes and their white glow had dimmed just slightly.
It seemed he wasn't done just yet.
He dashed towards the beast again, shattering the ground below his feet as he did and raised his sword, preparing for an attack.
Before his sword was about two meters long, but after successfully wounding the three-headed beast, it seemed as if his sword had begun to absorb the beast's blood, and as a result, it had become close to three meters long.
Usually, a person would have a problem wielding such a big sword successfully, as when a sword becomes longer, its center of gravity shifts, and its weight starts to become a problem as well.
And yet Zack seemed unbothered by the change in his sword as he didn't have a problem using it to attack the beast.
The three-headed creature, seemingly giving up on killing Lily as she was protected by Roran, decided to focus on the next best thing.
The being closest to it, Zack.
Rotating its body, while dodging the swords that Roran was raining down on him, the beast slashed.
The attack successfully landed on Zack's side, and it tore through his armor, muscles, and finally his bones as it tore his arm completely.
Zack was again sent to the ground. The wound that he had received didn't seem to bleed, nor did the arm that had been cut off.
Without showing any emotion, he quickly reached for his arm and using the other, put it back into position.
Then the sword in his right hand seemed to decrease in size and lose its form for a moment.
The next second, Zack was standing seemingly perfectly fine with two blood swords, one in each hand.
The most accurate description of the scene would be to say that he looked like a blood knight.
*****
Zaroth's breathing was ragged, and his mana core felt like it was on the verge of cracking. Every time Luna used her fiery breath to attack, it took a substantial amount of mana from him.
It seemed that she had to use it for a longer period of time too, which was the conclusion Zaroth came to as he shifted his gaze for a moment, only to see a tornado of menacing green flames high in the sky.
Deciding it was better to preserve his mana for Luna, he dismissed Silverfang.
That action, while necessary so he didn't die as his mana core cracked, was also painful because it meant he was now facing Eryndor one-on-one again.
But he pressed on relentlessly, attacking Eryndor with everything he had.
'Can I win?' he asked himself for a moment, and the next, he disregarded the thought completely. Only losers thought like that.
'I will win,' he wholeheartedly made himself believe this thought as he pressed on even more relentlessly than before.
He could forget everything else, all that mattered now was his enemy, Eryndor.
"Fuck it!" Eryndor spat, irritated as he saw that he was having trouble taking Zaroth down despite the fact that his physical strength was superior.
He didn't have a weapon… or at least that was how he wanted to appear to potential enemies.
He reached under his back and drew a menacing dagger with a sharp tip. Without hesitating, he slashed, and Zaroth's green eyes widened for a moment as the dagger came close to his face.
It seemed as if the world slowed down as his thinking sped up even more, analyzing the situation.
'Should I dodge?... No, I don't want to lose this chance,' he thought as he pushed forward, tilting his head just slightly.
The dagger passed through the air, and its tip grazed Zaroth's cheek, making a shallow cut.
Not paying attention to the wound he had received, Zaroth slashed with his sword.
He managed to inflict a small cut on Eryndor's shoulder, which irritated him even more.
"If only your pest hadn't broken my leg, you would have already been dead meat!" he spat, getting ready to counterattack.
Both Zaroth and Eryndor's lungs were on fire—not metaphorically, literally.
The battle between Luna and the bird beast seemed to be nearing its end, but the tornado of flames seemed to remain.
As the forest below caught on fire, ash rose into the air, making it poisonous to breathe, poisoning the people who were currently locked in battle.
Zaroth's muscles tensed as he met Eryndor's dagger with his sword.
It was surprising that he was able to fight on more or less equal ground with his enemy.
But there was a limit to how much a person could and should push their body.
As Zaroth's movements seemed to slow, Eryndor seized the opportunity, gathering strength in his fingers.
He gripped the wooden handle of the dagger so hard that his fingers lost color, then slashed vertically.
The dagger cut through the air with dazzling speed, colliding with Zaroth's forearm as it severed tendons, muscles, and finally the bone. Eryndor grinned menacingly as he spat,
"Oh, looks like I cut off your arm. What are you gonna do now?"
Seeing that the end was near, Zaroth abandoned all precaution as he shifted his weight forward, slashing with his sword.
He was going for the kill, his eyes glowing with a green, menacing light.
But at that moment, his eyes weren't the only ones glowing.
Because all this time, seemingly too hurt to move, Lily had been preparing a spell.
And now, as the time had come, she was going to use her strongest attack.