[Battle: Rein Shroud vs Nyxar]
Both figures stood still.
Headmaster Rein Shroud's robe was torn and scorched, blood streaked across his temple, and yet—his eyes gleamed with clarity. Nyxar, the abyssal demon, staggered slightly, a deep gash across his chest pulsing with black mist, his breath ragged but eyes burning with wrath.
"This has been fun," Rein said, his voice calm, almost amused. "But I think I'll end this—"
Before he could move, the air thickened.
Nyxar's body began to glow with a sinister hue. Darkness surged toward him—rippling in from every shattered corner of the battlefield. Shadows pooled beneath his feet, stretching, writhing, obeying.
Rein's eyes narrowed. "...Tch. That's not good."
He flashed forward, blade already igniting with golden brilliance—
BOOOM!
A shockwave erupted.
The moment his foot touched the ground, an invisible force hurled him backwards, sending him crashing through two ruined pillars. Dust exploded in every direction.
In the epicenter, Nyxar stood, eyes open and glowing abyssal violet.
He raised both hands and whispered—low and guttural:
"[Abyss Transformation.]"
Dark tattoos lit up across his pale skin, curling like demonic glyphs. His wounds sealed shut in an instant. His form elongated—horns growing longer, arms wrapped in dark tendrils, and eyes splitting into six, glowing like dying stars.
His presence changed.
No longer a general—he was a harbinger of void.
The earth around him withered. The sky darkened again, the very air stinking of decay and death.
Rein stood up, brushing blood from his cheek. His smile returned.
"Well, damn. You've been holding back." He closed his eyes and exhaled, raising his sword. "Guess I should too."
He spread his arms.
Light surged outward—not just light, but purity. Every particle around him began to hum, vibrating with divine rhythm. His body flickered—
And then vanished.
Or rather—he became light itself.
"[Light Ascension.]"
Where he stood, now shimmered a humanoid silhouette made of golden particles. He was everywhere—and nowhere. Speed and presence fused into one. His voice echoed like it came from within the light itself:
"Let's end this dance properly."
Nyxar didn't flinch. The darkness behind him twisted, forming massive wings. The ground shattered beneath his feet as he launched himself forward—
And then—
They clashed.
BOOOOOM!
Light and darkness exploded upon contact. Blades made of radiant energy clashed against tendrils of abyssal force. Their strikes didn't just cut the ground—they tore open space itself.
Each blow warped reality. Colors inverted. Thunder cracked from raw mana collisions.
In one breath, Rein appeared behind Nyxar, thrusting a blade of condensed starlight.
In the next second, Nyxar melted into shadows, reemerging above with a rain of spears made of pure fear.
The battlefield itself bent to their wills.
"Authority of the Abyss!" Nyxar roared.
Everything around them turned monochrome. Light dimmed. Fear seeped into the minds of every watching soldier. Trees rotted, stones cracked from despair alone.
But then—
"Domain Expansion—Chrono Sanctuary!"
Rein's voice rang out.
A dome of golden time runes expanded, freezing the decay mid-spread. Within the dome, time slowed—but not for Rein. The world became still, light bending to his command.
He moved.
A thousand slashes struck Nyxar in one heartbeat.
SLASH-SLASH-SLASH-SLASH—
Blood splattered across the sky—but it wasn't over.
Nyxar raised both hands and screamed.
"Authority of Fear—Nightmare Eruption!"
A monstrous face exploded from his chest, shrieking.
The sound alone cracked nearby mountains. Black flames surged outward, targeting Rein's core.
Rein twisted his form into pure light, dodging—but barely.
They clashed again, and again.
Fist to fist. Blade to claw. Time magic against abyssal void.
Then—
Everything paused.
Their eyes turned—drawn by the unimaginable force surging across the battlefield.
In the distance—
A pillar of shadow pierced the heavens.
And opposite it—an arc of starlit brilliance travel towards the sky.
Shadow Cataclysm.
Celestial Void.
Two titanic forces—Noah and the Shadow Prince—unleashing their full power.
Rein's glowing form hovered, still. Nyxar paused too, shadows recoiling slightly.
"...That boy," Rein muttered, voice a mixture of awe and pride. "He's… grown."
Nyxar's six eyes watched the clash unfold in the distance.
He scowled. "He killed him…?"
And then—
BOOOOOOOM!!
The final explosion of Noah's attack illuminated the sky. The domain of shadow shattered. The battlefield shook. And the victor stood—glowing amidst the ruins.
Noah Von Augustus.
Silence.
Rein clenched his fist, golden light flaring with new heat. "Guess we can stop holding back."
Nyxar's smile twisted, fangs gleaming. "Finally."
They moved at once.
CRACK—
Their feet shattered the earth as they blurred, meeting mid-air.
Rein unleashed [Chrono Collapse], compressing time into his blade, striking with years of force in a single instant.
Nyxar answered with [Abyssal Crown], summoning a ring of devouring darkness that exploded outward in jagged tendrils.
Their final clash had begun.
Light warped reality. Darkness swallowed hope.
Each strike distorted the sky.
Boom. Boom. Boom.
From below, even the strongest could only watch as the two legends fought above—like gods clashing for dominion.
This wasn't just a battle.
This was the war between day and night.
Between hope and despair.
And it was far from over.
BOOOOM!!
They clashed again—light against abyss, holy radiance against devouring shadow.
Nyxar roared as abyssal tendrils lashed out from his back, each one sharp enough to slice steel like paper. Rein moved through them like a stream of golden light—untouchable, untamed.
"Still too slow, demon," Rein's voice echoed.
He appeared behind Nyxar, blade flashing.
CLANG!!
Nyxar spun, catching the strike with an arm coated in abyss armor. Sparks of darkness and light scattered through the air like shooting stars.
"You're arrogant," Nyxar hissed, six eyes glowing. "Light doesn't mean justice."
"No," Rein replied, eyes narrowing. "But it damn well burns away everything that threatens it."
Their next clash split the sky.
Nyxar raised his arms.
"Authority of Fear: Eternal Dread!"
A second sun of blackness emerged above him—screaming voices, contorted faces swirling inside. From it rained spears forged from pure terror—each strike enough to send shockwaves through mountains.
Rein's body flickered—he rose, hands outstretched.
"Authority of Light: Judgment Pulse!"
A blinding sphere formed in his palm. Radiant inscriptions, ancient and divine, spiraled across his skin as he hurled the orb into the sky.
BOOOOOOOOM!!!
The two orbs collided mid-air.
The resulting explosion turned night to day and back again. For a moment, the world was silent. Then—
CRASH!!
Both figures shot through the smoke, meeting mid-air once more.
Fists.
Claws.
Light beams.
Shadow chains.
Each strike tore the heavens, ruptured valleys, and shook the very mana of the world.
Then—Nyxar growled.
He formed a sigil beneath Rein's feet.
"Abyssal Grave: Bind and Break!"
Chains of endless shadow shot upward, coiling around Rein, forcing him mid-air.
Nyxar formed a spear made from crystallized fear and lunged forward, howling—
"Die—LIGHTBRINGER!!"
The spear shot forward—
But Rein smirked.
Time slowed.
Not for the world—only for Rein.
He whispered,
"Chrono Override: Stillpoint."
The world around him froze. Even the black spear hung in the air like a paused frame.
Rein slowly raised his hand. Light condensed around him, forming a sword unlike anything seen before.
A golden, ethereal blade—burning with time, history, and divine judgment.
"I told you… I'm ending this."
With one clean motion, he stepped through time.
SLASH.
Nyxar's body twisted in midair—he looked down, confused. His torso was cleaved, darkness leaking from the gash.
The spear shattered in his hand.
Rein appeared behind him, sword dripping with light, his form still glowing like a risen god.
Nyxar dropped to one knee.
"Impossible… I… am the abyss…"
"You were," Rein replied, voice calm. "But your abyss met something it couldn't swallow."
Rein raised his palm once more.
"Authority of Light: Soul Rend."
A pillar of golden brilliance crashed down from the sky.
Nyxar screamed—
And was no more.
Darkness scattered like dust in a storm.
The battlefield fell silent.
The skies cleared.
Rein floated downward slowly, golden light trailing behind him like a falling star.
Around him, soldiers and other awakened, heroes who had watched in awe fell to their knees. Not from worship—but from sheer exhaustion and disbelief.
The SS+ Hero… had won.
But he didn't gloat.
Rein landed softly, placing his blade back into its sheath.
He looked toward the horizon—where Noah stood victorious.
And for the first time in decades…
He smiled.
"Well done, kid. Looks like the future's in good hands."
End of the Chapter..