SLAAASH!
In a single stroke, Aurelus’s right arm flew into the air, blood and frost spraying in a wide arc before his shocked eyes.
"Huh?"
The beast’s disbelieving gaze snapped to the stump where his arm used to be.
THUD.
"AAAGHH!"
Pain ripped through him. His guttural roar echoed through the icy dome as he thrashed wildly, blood freezing on contact with the air.
"YOU BASTARD!"
But when his eyes darted back to Auren, he is already gone.
GROOOOAR!
"STOP HIDING! YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS!"
Aurelus twisted in rage, stomping the ground thinking Auren went behind him for diversion, but failed to hit his intended target.
’Above you!’
Athena’s voice hissed inside his head, but the warning came too late.
Auren soared like a phoenix reborn, his silhouette framed by crimson light.
"Surprise mada fakah!"
Both hands gripped his sword, his body diving like a meteor to carve fate into the beast’s flesh.
Aurelus panicked, raising his remaining arm to block.
"FIRE BREATHING, SECOND FORM: ROBERT STRIKE!"
Zzshhhhhh—BOOOOM!
The second arm burst apart, severed clean.
The icy spikes Aurelus conjured shattered instantly, unable to withstand the phoenix fire coursing through Auren’s body and blade.
That fire was his nemesis, a natural predator that stripped him of every advantage as a King Beast of Ice.
Auren slammed into the ground with explosive force, the impact sending shockwaves across the frozen dome.
Dust and sparks spiraled outward.
His wings flared wide, shielding him as jagged rubble and shards of ice crashed down from above.
But he is not yet done.
AAAAGHK!
The massive beast stumbled backward, his arrogance finally cracking into raw confusion and fear.
’No! How can this be?! I am already a King Stage Beast! I cannot lose to a frameless freak! Not to a nobody!’
Auren rose through the settling dust, smirking, his stance steady and sharp.
"You think you’re the first King Stage beast I’ve fought? You may be a king beast, but you don’t know how a real king beast fights!"
With a sudden flash, the Divine Rapier vanished into his storage ring.
His hands were empty, yet his gaze blazed brighter than steel.
"Hm?" Aurelus blinked in disbelief.
Relief tried to creep into his face, but instead a chill ran down his spine.
’Careful, something is coming!’ Athena warned again.
Aurelu’s instinct screamed that something far worse was coming.
"I’ve faced monsters greater than you!"
Auren roared, his voice rolling like thunder across the frozen battlefield. He spread his arms wide, palms apart, as if he were clutching the sun itself.
"You called me a freak and tried to erase me. Now I’ll show you how a freak slays a King Beast!"
His eyes burned with wrath and focus.
Mana surged from within him, compressing tighter and tighter until a glowing sphere ignited between his hands.
Crimson light flared, hotter than fire, heavier than steel. The ground shuddered beneath its birth.
The air screamed as his chant began.
"Kaaa... Meeee..."
The battlefield froze.
Even the wind dared not move. ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ꜰʀᴏᴍ novel[f]ire.net
Aurelus bellowed in panic, his maw unleashing a barrage of ice spears towards Auren. Dozens ripped forward, deadly and sharp, but they melted before they could reach Auren.
Too late.
...
Outside the dome, thousands of eyes widened in disbelief.
The imperial envoy Wilfred clenched his jaw, his cold gaze locked on the battle.
Even King Auborn, hiding in the ruins of the destroyed castle, could not tear his eyes away.
Marissa stood pale and trembling, her betrayal weighing heavily on her chest.
The battered soldiers of Austerra, the Dark Fate agents, even ragged civilians—all of them stared with bated breath.
Only one question burned in their minds.
’Who is this Frameless warrior?... and how can he stand alone against a King Beast?’
Behind the shocked Austaire and Mardonio, Robert leaned weakly against a bloodied boulder, one hand clutching his open wounds.
His face was pale, lips cracked, yet his eyes shone with pride.
"That’s my boy,"
...
Inside the dome, the world itself seemed to pause.
The sphere in Auren’s hands grew, blazing like a newborn star compressed into existence.
The air warped, twisting under the sheer density of his fire mana. The ground cracked and melted into rivers of magma.
Aurelus’s spears disintegrated into vapor long before reaching their target.
Auren’s voice thundered, sealing the moment into history.
"WAAAAAEEVUU!"
ZZZT—BWOOOOOOHM!
A massive beam of pure fire mana erupted from his hands, tearing through the battlefield with unstoppable fury.
The cold domain shattered instantly, vaporizing ice and stone alike.
’No—’
WHAAAAM!
The beam struck Aurelus square in the chest, smashing into the Thugnakan Crystal buried deep within.
"AGK—!"
The searing light dug into his flesh, cracking the invisible shield that had protected the crystal. Stray beams ricocheted outward, carving through the ruins, pulverizing anything in their path.
A single stray blast was enough to disintegrate a human in an instant.
Aurelus staggered, teeth gnashing in terror.
’No... Not like this!’
He tried to move, but the beam pinned him like a mountain of fire pressing down, its force like a torrent of molten steel pushing him with overhelming fire mana.
"GRROAAA—"
POF!
The Spiritual Bear guarding the Thugnakan Crustal once again appeared, but it lasted less than a heartbeat before disintegrating in the torrent of fire.
"No! This is impossible!! That Crytal holds the essence and power of the Lord Thugnaka! Unless he is blessed with the power of another primordial beast, he shouldn’t be able to destroy that spiritual guardian!"
Too bad, Auren is one.
GROAAAR!
Aurelus screamed, conjuring as many ice shields as he can in desperation.
But fire was his bane, the one element he could never overcome as an Ice elemental Beast.
Against Auren, his destined destroyer, his defenses melted like snow under the sun!
His frantic eyes darted toward the Dark Fate agents hiding in the shadows. His gaze locked on Marissa.
"WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR!? HELP ME!" he roared, his voice shaking the dome.
But stray beams licked dangerously close to their hiding spot, painting fear across their pale faces.
Marissa stood frozen, her heart in chaos. Watching Auren wield power she once tried to shape, she felt regret stab her like a knife.
’How could I miss this? I never expected his potential... If only I could turn back time—’
CRACK! BOOOOM!
The shield around the Thugnakan Crystal shattered. The devastating beam obliterated it, turning the relic to dust. Aurelus’s thick beastly fur burned away in an instant, his stolen strength unraveling with it.
The icy domain collapsed. Frigid walls dissolved into mist, and normal air and mana rushed back into the battlefield. Soldiers and imperial fighters stumbled in, their eyes wide as they witnessed Aurelus’s fall.
Mardonio’s voice split the silence.
"COME ON! WHAT ARE YOU ALL STANDING FOR!?" he roared at the stunned soldiers.
Austaire raised her golden blade high, her voice fierce. She stood beside her grandfather on top of a fallen ice spire.
"This is our chance! Their leader is about to fall! Strike down the remaining Dark Fate fools and avenge the fallen people of Austerra!"
Her words lit a spark.
Fire reignited in weary hearts.
"Yeah!!"
"She is right! Truly you she is the one who deserves to be the ruler of Austerra, not those bastards!"
"Come one everyone! Pick up your weapons! let’s not just wait for that warrior to wipe everything for us!"
One by one, soldiers, mages, archers, even battered civilians lifted their weapons. Vengeance burned in their veins as they surged toward the scattered hooded agents of Dark Fate.
"Attack!"
Austaire charged first, her Divine Form blazing like a beacon.
The people rallied to her side. Mardonio roared and followed, twin swords flashing.
Even Wilfred, still weak from wounds, marched forward, his glowing cold eyes fixed on the hiding enemies.
The battlefield erupted anew.
...
ZZZT—BWOOOOOOHM!
"AAAGK!"
Aurelus writhed inside the beam, his body roasting alive. Without his arms, without his shield, there was only one choice left.
Run.
But before he could retreat, his body froze. His mana twisted into chaos.
’What’s going on?’
He turned, struggling, but the beam devoured his back as well. His nerves were cut, his massive beast form collapsing. He looked down in horror—his chest no longer held the Thugnakan Crystal. Only a gaping, burned hole remained.
’This is bad!’
His body began shrinking, reverting to his original human form. His fur vanished, his monstrous strength bled away, leaving only a frail shell.
"NO! NOOO! STOP!" he howled, desperation cracking his voice.
But Auren’s gaze stayed locked, merciless.
The smaller Aurelus became, the weaker his elemental resistance grew. And before he knew it, the fire beam swallowed him whole.
"AAAAAGK!"
BBBBZT!
’Master, there are only ten seconds left! If you continue, you’ll fall into coma again!’ Bigbird’s voice rang in his mind.
Auren’s breath heaved. His fire flared violently one last time, then slowly dissipated as he deactivated his Divine Form.
Ssssk...
Soon the beam died out.
Aurelus sieghed in his mind but his body was already charred and broken.
THUD!
He fell from the sky like a lifeless husk.
Their fight was over.
The ground shook as the once-proud King Stage beast crashed down in defeat in a form of a roasted Aurelus.
Once called the Ruthless King, now looked like a Roasted King.