Chapter 12: The Fall and Rise
Haruto staggered toward the battlefield's heart, each step heavier than the last. His breath came in ragged gasps, blood dripping in rhythmic taps.
Splat.
A crimson bloom spread from the wound on his chest.
Shing—
A sword slid cleanly out of his back. Behind him stood Actheria, her blade drenched in his blood.
Haruto dropped to his knees.
His cloak fluttered weakly as he tugged it aside, just enough to reveal his mouth. Blood traced down from the corner of his lips.
"…M-My resistances… can't help me here," he muttered, voice barely above a whisper. "It's… too deep."
Then came the cold, emotionless voice.
[Unique Skill: Azara] Activated.
> "Death will arrive in ten seconds. Proceed accordingly."
10... 9... 8... 7... 6... 5... 4... 3... 2... 1...
Actheria stepped back, her expression unreadable.
Kieran stood beside her, tense.
"…Is it over?" she asked, uncertain.
Actheria nodded. "Yes. Let's inform the others."
They turned away—leaving Haruto's body behind.
---
Elsewhere.
A white void. Endless. Still.
Floating at the center was a single black sphere—like a star collapsed in on itself.
Crack—
A fracture formed.
Shatter—
It disintegrated into dust.
Azara's voice returned. This time, distant. Inhuman.
> "Haruto Satoru has died. Initiating rebirth sequence. Evolution into: Empyrean Arachnid Emperor."
---
Back in the scorched battlefield, Haruto's body convulsed.
A black aura erupted from his chest, twisting and thrashing like a furious storm.
Actheria and Kieran froze. Their instincts screamed.
"No," Actheria whispered. "Kieran—we can't let him finish this. Not that form!"
She raised her blade, gathering energy.
"Blazing Execution: Cinderfang!"
A blue flame engulfed her sword.
Kieran responded instantly, both arms flaring with power.
"Infernal Dominion!"
The battlefield ignited. Earth cracked. Sky wept fire.
Two meteors roared down from the heavens.
BOOOOOOM!!!
Actheria's slash tore a flaming demon-shaped arc through the sky, crashing into the epicenter.
Shockwaves ripped through the land.
KA-KRAAAAM!!!
Dust swallowed the world.
The two vanished into the sky, fleeing the collapsing inferno.
---
On a distant ridge, Liora and Lunara watched, wide-eyed.
"…What was that?" Liora whispered.
Around them, the ground was littered with shattered bodies.
Lunara's expression darkened. "We have to check on our lord. Now."
They leapt toward the crater carved into the earth.
---
Smoke drifted like ghosts.
Kieran squinted into the ruin below.
"…Did we get him?"
Then—
Step.
A figure emerged.
Haruto rose from the heart of the destruction.
Changed.
His long black hair flowed like living shadow. His eyes remained shut.
Kieran's breath caught. "A-A-Actheria… We can't win this. We have to go."
They turned to flee—
Snap—
Haruto's eyes opened.
The golden glow within shattered, fracturing into spiderweb cracks.
The light imploded.
Crimson replaced it—deep, violent.
Two stars flared within his eyes.
Explosions of blood-red light.
A storm of pressure crashed down across the battlefield.
Actheria and Kieran froze mid-air. Choked.
Haruto's face was expressionless.
Then came a voice—not his.
> "Edge Genesis."
A divine sword of light appeared above, humming with celestial force.
Shiiing—!
It pierced the sky and impaled them mid-flight.
BOOM!
Their bodies slammed into the earth like meteorites.
Haruto staggered… but caught himself.
His lips moved.
"Summon."
Twin magic circles flared beside him.
From the left emerged a majestic nine-tailed fox, each tail tipped in crimson, eyes glowing like rubies.
From the right stepped a man cloaked in black robes, eyes aglow with icy blue fire.
They both knelt.
The man spoke first.
> "Awaiting orders, my lord."
Haruto nodded calmly.
"Kill everyone in white armor. Leave no survivors."
The man grinned, a shadow stretching across his face. "With pleasure."
He vanished—flickering like a phantom on the wind.
Haruto's legs gave out.
He collapsed backward.
The fox darted forward, catching him on its back.
"Take me to… the village on the left…" he mumbled.
The fox let out a sharp growl.
Yrrp.
In a burst of wind and flame, it soared into the sky, disappearing.
---
Haruto lay motionless on the fox's back.
His crimson eyes faded…
Returned to normal.
He closed them.
---
Elsewhere…
In a shadowed throne room, a girl stirred.
Her hair shimmered with violet and blue threads. Crystal horns curled from her forehead.
Fracture-like lines glowed across her limbs.
Her eyes—slitted, violet-pink—cracked open.
"…What… is this?" she whispered.
---
On a mountain of dragon corpses, a man sat alone.
Bloodied. Laughing.
His armor fused to his skin, made of bone and monster.
Obsidian horns jutted from his skull. Crimson hair blazed like wildfire. His teeth—razor-sharp.
He smirked, watching the horizon.
"…The Spider Empire," he chuckled. "It begins."
---
In the polished halls of a palace, Alistair paused at a window.
He stared into the distance.
"…There's no way…" he muttered.