Kurojin's transformation wasn't just terrifying—it was apocalyptic.
The dark energy around him twisted into tendrils that tore the earth apart. His body pulsed with raw corruption, and runes—ancient, forbidden, and ever-shifting—glowed across his arms and chest. One eye turned pitch black, the other blazed crimson.
The ground beneath him cracked like glass, revealing a glowing abyss of Will corruption seeping from the earth itself.
"W-What is this?" Kael gasped, stepping back beside Kaito.
Kaito's face tightened. "This… isn't his full power. This is something beyond. He's fusing with corrupted Will and elemental essence."
"I'm not just a Wielder anymore," Kurojin said, his voice echoing unnaturally. "I've become what the world feared most… a living calamity."
Without warning, Kurojin slammed both hands together, sending out a gravity shockwave that crushed everything in a half-mile radius. Trees split. Craters deepened. Dozens of Wielders in the backlines were knocked to their knees.
Kael grabbed Kaito's shoulder and teleported them out of the impact zone using Voidstep, reappearing behind Kurojin.
Kael didn't hesitate—he struck with everything. A flurry of dark fists, each enhanced with Void Overdrive. Kaito followed up with sweeping blade arcs and infernal surges of Will flame.
Their combo pushed Kurojin back—but not far enough.
In a single motion, Kurojin grabbed Kaito mid-air and hurled him into Kael. Both brothers slammed into the mountainside.
Raizen, still wounded but conscious, narrowed his eyes. "They're being overpowered."
Meanwhile, on the battlefield's edge, Hana, Tetsu, Ryuu, Kaede, and several elite Wielders clashed with beast generals. But their eyes kept drifting to the central battle.
"We can't get close to that," Tetsu muttered, eyes wide. "That pressure would rip us apart."
"But Kael and Kaito can't win alone," Hana said, her hands trembling with flame.
Back in the center, Kael coughed up blood. "He's… tearing through us."
Kaito stood, bruised and scorched. "No. Not yet. You're not alone, little brother."
Kael's Will flickered violently, and something deep within him stirred—a voice, an echo.
You were born from shadows, molded by loss, forged by purpose. Become more. Become what they fear.
A pulse of black and violet energy erupted from Kael's chest.
His eyes turned completely dark, and his veins glowed with ancient markings—the Last Will fully awakening.
Kurojin actually paused.
Kael floated a few inches off the ground, his body surrounded by wisps of void energy and spectral flames.
"I am the Shadow Monarch," Kael said, voice deeper, layered. "And I will not let my family be broken again."
He vanished.
Appeared behind Kurojin.
And struck.
A direct hit—clean across Kurojin's jaw. The corrupted tyrant staggered for the first time.
Kaito stared, wide-eyed. "Kael…"
Kurojin growled, wiping his mouth. "So the runt finally wakes up."
Kael turned his gaze toward his friends still fighting on the battlefield. He whispered, "Just hold on a bit longer. I'm almost done here."
The final evolution had begun.