CHAPTER 50: The Finalist

The earth trembled, split open by the sheer force of the battle. The air was thick with the scent of magic—raw, uncontained energy crackling like a storm about to break.

Leina pressed her palm against the ground as she pushed herself up from her fall, her breath ragged, her pulse pounding against her skull.

She had to keep moving.

“…Let’s go.”

With one final push, she sprinted forward—her staff gripped tightly, her short hair whipping behind her as she charged through the battlefield.

The explosions behind her painted the sky in flickering hues of blue and crimson, the fallout of Kaziel’s lightning arcs and Helion’s fateful threads snapping through the battlefield.

Tendrils lashed out from the monstrous flower, twisting like serpents, their shadows stretching under the eerie glow of the battlefield.

Leina’s breath hitched—

She ducked.

A massive root speared past her, slamming into the ground with a thunderous impact. The shockwave sent debris flying, cutting through the air like shrapnel.

But she didn’t stop.

She rolled across the dirt, narrowly avoiding the next attack—until—

A low growl rumbled beside her.

Leina barely had time to react before Anna’s Wolf landed in front of her with a crushing force, its massive, shadowed form acting as a shield.

BOOM—

With a snarl, the Wolf reared up, its shadowy spikes erupting from the earth, impaling the incoming roots before they could reach her.

Leina’s breathing was shallow.

Her hands tightened around her staff.

Across the battlefield—there it was.

The flower stood like a towering monolith, pulsing with Abysmal energy, its glowing veins twisting with unnatural life.

Its gaze—if it even had one—was fixed on her.

It knew.

She was preparing something.

And it wouldn’t let her finish.

Anna appeared at her side, her twin daggers glinting under the distorted light of battle.

“Don’t let it see you,” she warned, her eyes flickering toward the beast, her Wolf crouching low, ready to pounce.

Leina’s grip on her staff tightened.

She steeled her resolve.

She stepped forward.

The sigil beneath her began to glow.

A pulse of light blue energy radiated outward, rippling through the battlefield like a tidal wave.

The ground responded—

Glowing runes etched themselves into the shattered stone, forming an intricate magical circle beneath her feet.

The air shifted.

The battlefield trembled, as if sensing the change.

The moment her eyes fluttered shut—

The world slowed.

Her hair rose with the force of the channeled magic, strands lifting in the unseen currents of power swirling around her.

The sigil beneath her feet enlarged, spreading outward, its sacred inscriptions illuminating the battlefield in an ethereal glow.

She inhaled, steadying her breath—

And then—

She began the incantation.

But the battle was far from over—

And the others had to hold the line long enough for her to finish.

Baihou. Kaziel. Helion. Anna. Sakura.

All of them had a role to play—

The battlefield was a storm of chaos, but Baihou thrived in it.

With a smirk tugging at his lips, he tightened his grip on the Sapphire Heart Scythe, its glow reflecting in his sharp eyes.

“Alright, big guy,” he murmured under his breath, rolling his shoulders. “Come chase me.”

Then—

He vanished.

A blur of motion.

A streak of silver against the darkened battlefield.

The scythe carved through the air, slicing through the plant’s massive roots with blinding speed.

Each strike clean, precise, relentless.

The Lunaflora screeched, its Abyssmal essence rippling violently through the air.

It recognized him now.

The hunter had become the hunted.

It lunged.

Massive roots whipped through the battlefield, tearing apart the ground in an attempt to capture him.

But Baihou was faster.

He flipped over an incoming root, landing with a sharp skid before twisting into another strike.

With each movement, he led the monstrous Greed further—luring it toward the designated trap zone.

The battlefield shifted around him, the shadows of his teammates flickering at the edges of his vision.

They were all in position.

His scythe spun wildly, the air crackling with the sheer velocity of his movements.

Each slice forced the plant to stretch its roots further, forcing it to expose its weak points.

He could see it now—

The perfect opening.

A cocky grin flickered across his face.

“Gotcha.”

He lunged—

But then—

Something shifted.

From below—

A hidden root erupted from the ground at full force, aiming straight for him.

Too late.

Baihou’s eyes widened as the massive tendril struck him mid-air, slamming into his side with devastating force.

The impact ripped the air from his lungs—

His body twisted violently before he crashed into the ground, rolling across the battlefield with bone-jarring force.

Dust exploded around him.

His grip loosened—his scythe slipping from his grasp as he hit the dirt hard.

For a brief second, the world blurred.

His ears rang.

His breath came in ragged gasps.

The weight of the impact pressed against his chest—his muscles screaming from the sudden blow.

Damn it…

His fingers twitched, reaching—

But the Greed wasn’t done.

A shadow loomed overhead.

The Lunaflora’s roots coiled back, twisting violently, preparing for a finishing strike.

Anna’s voice cut through the chaos.

“Baihou…!”

He couldn’t fall here.

He had to move—

He had to—

The high-ranking officer’s gaze had been locked onto Baihou from the moment he fell.

Raising his lance high, his voice thundered across the battlefield.

“ELITE TROOPS—FORCE IT INTO THE KILL ZONE!”

In perfect synchronization, his unit moved.

A wave of magic-infused arrows—each laced with Sapphire Heart energy—rained down in a devastating barrage.

The arrows glowed like falling stars, piercing through the Lunaflora’s exposed tendrils with deadly precision.

A sharp, piercing screech ripped through the battlefield.

The massive Greed writhed, its dark energy pulsing violently as the sigils from the arrows ignited, chaining its movements.

Forced back.

Cornered.

The plan was working.

As the impact shook the battlefield, Baihou, still recovering from his fall, watched the scene unfold.

He let out a short, breathless laugh—then smirked.

“Tch—guess I got lucky.”

He pushed himself up onto his knee, only to find Helion stepping in front of him.

A single, effortless movement.

Then—

SNAP.

Helion’s golden threads of fate tightened around reality itself.

As if—this had all been his plan from the start.

His voice was smooth, unreadable.

“Don’t let your guard down again.”

Baihou huffed a short chuckle as he pushed himself fully upright.

“You’re always one step ahead, brother.”

Helion barely spared him a glance, the faintest hint of amusement in his golden eyes before he turned his focus back toward the battlefield.

Without a word, Helion moved.

His fingers flicked—effortless, precise.

Golden threads unraveled, weaving through the battlefield like unseen fate itself.

The Lunaflora barely had a moment to react—its massive, writhing tendrils still recoiling from the commander’s assault.

But Helion was faster.

His threads slithered through the chaos, finding their marks—snaring the Greed’s most active tendrils in an instant.

Then—

SNAP.

The invisible strings tightened like unbreakable chains, twisting reality itself.

A pulse of energy rippled through the battlefield.

The Greed lurched, its movements thrown into disarray—its attack halted before it even began.

The massive creature jerked violently against the unseen force, but it was too late.

It was stunned.

The air crackled with raw energy.

Kaziel moved.

In a flash of blinding speed, he tore through the air—his dual swords glowing with electrified fury.

Lightning surged through his veins, igniting his blades with an unstoppable current.

One slash—another—then another.

Each strike was precise.

The sharp arcs of lightning-infused slashes carved through the battlefield, severing every remaining escape route the Lunaflora had left.

The Greed twisted violently, struggling against its bindings, but—

Kaziel was already there.

His final strike descended—

A seamless, almost imperceptible slash.

Then—BOOM.

A crack of thunder roared across the battlefield.

In an instant, an electrified shockwave erupted from Kaziel’s final cut, forcing the Greed further into its trap.

This was it.

Kaziel’s piercing gaze locked onto Baihou from across the battlefield.

With a surge of breath, his voice boomed through the chaos.

“Baihou..! NOW!”

Baihou spun his scythe in a blinding arc, the air splitting apart as he dashed forward.

With a forceful push, he dug his heels into the dying roots, propelling himself into the air.

Then—he struck.

A full-speed, merciless slash.

From the very bottom—through its shielded core.

The impact shook the battlefield as the blade tore through the corrupted mass, sending a rippling shockwave across the air.

The shield cracked—splintering like fragile glass.

It was half-broken.

Below—

Sakura steadied her ground, her fingers tightening around her Jagged Rapture Blade.

Behind her, Anna stood still, her Wolf crouched, watching the battlefield unfold with calculated precision.

Kaziel, landing from his previous lightning-infused cut, slid backward, his dual blades humming with static energy—

Then, without hesitation—

He severed the vines heading for Helion, cutting them cleanly with one ruthless motion.

The two warriors locked eyes, their unspoken understanding passing in a split second.

Then—they saw it.

Baihou twisted mid-air, his body flipping upside-down, momentum carrying him through the motion of his deadly strike.

The core.

Its shield—damaged.

Half-broken. Vulnerable.

But—

The Greed was about to recover.

The flower shuddered violently, its remaining defenses was about to mend itself.

And in that fleeting moment—

Sakura sprinted through the battlefield, her gaze locked onto the Lunaflora’s core as she analyzed the flow of battle.

Anna clenched her fists, frustration flickering in her eyes.

She had already used her Fatebreaker—summoning the Tyrant had drained her beyond recovery. If she forced another summon, she risked exhausting herself completely—leaving her familiars too weak to fight.

She desperately hoped this would be the final blow.

But they all hesitated.

The next few seconds would decide everything.

If the shield reformed—it would be too late.

Leina’s Finalist Spell was still charging.

And if they failed—

The Lunaflora would unleash devastation across the battlefield.

But—

Helion’s gaze remained sharp, unwavering.

This wasn’t over. Not yet.

He could see it.

The perfect opportunity.

The final moment where everything would align.

Then—

Behind them—

Leina.

Her Finalist Spell had activated.

Magic surged through her, illuminating the sigil beneath her feet.

The air thickened, crackling with immense power—as if the very world itself was holding its breath.

From mid-air, Baihou caught the sight of her from a distance.

His breath hitched.

Then—he grinned.

Leina’s magic had reached its peak.

This was it.

Lunaflora’s roots lunged toward him, twisting through the air with deadly speed.

Baihou dodged.

And he let it happen.

Or rather—

He let Leina’s final blow happen.

Because the very moment the roots shot toward him—

Leina’s eyes snapped open.

A surge of magic exploded outward.

And then—

Leina spoke.

“Finalist.”