The ceremonial grounds outside the capital simmered with false piety. Fernando stood triumphant before the masses, their eyes reflecting twisted admiration for the "merciful" king granting death to a "demon." Dissenters trembled in silence, crushed under the weight of mortal fear. Then the air cracked—a pressure wave of pure malice rolling across the plains.
"He comes," Arata murmured to the king, a serpent's smile curling his lips. "As predicted."
Nero materialized like vengeance incarnate. Golden light erupted from his eyes as his Soul Focus activated, his voice thundering in every mind present:
"I will execute Fernando. Close your eyes if you wish to live. Innocents have no place in this carnage. Shut them tight—and you vanish from this slaughter."
A ripple of terror passed through the crowd. Weak souls wavered. Then, perversely, Fernando himself gestured magnanimously: "Do as he says! Spare yourselves!" One by one, millions winked out in flashes of light, teleported to safety. Only Fernando's fanatical inner circle remained—blind hounds awaiting their master's command.
Fernando threw back his head in a laugh that scraped bone. "My thanks, Nero! You gift-wrap my victory! With these sheep gone..." Dark energy coiled around him like living smoke. "...I unleash my true legions! My full power! And when your corpse cools, all Aryavarta will crown me the hero who slew their demon!"
A revelation struck Kenta like lightning: He truly is Nero.
Nero ripped away his disguise, his true face a mask of glacial fury. "Sensei," he called across the field, the title heavy with history. "Choose now. Stand with me... or stand aside."
Kenta's knuckles whitened on his sword. "My oath binds me to the throne."
The words hit Nero like a physical blow, a fracture in his icy composure.
Fernando's laughter boomed again. "Still a child! His ancestors swore blood-oaths—four generations chained to Aryavarta's crown! He loathes me... yet he'll die upholding that vow." He raised a shimmering black blade over Verlord's son. "Enough theatrics—"
"Domain of the Ruler." Nero's whisper cracked reality. Verlord's son tore from Fernando's grasp, hurled skyward like discarded refuse.
Nero tilted his head, a predator sensing shift. "How curious... the winds whisper fortune favors me once more."
A dimensional tear spat out Yoshito, catching the falling heir with effortless grace. "Honestly, Nero," he chided, adjusting his grip. "Try not to fling precious cargo."
Arata lunged—a blur of lethal intent. Steel shrieked as he twisted mid-air, a crimson line opening on his cheek. Keisuke landed beside him, blade humming. "Yo, Nero! General Arata... I brought repayment for your past kindness." His grin promised compound interest.
"Damn," Nero acknowledged, a flicker of pride cutting through the tension. "You've all ascended."
Keisuke and Yoshito's forces phased into existence—a legion honed by war. Fernando's smirk finally faltered. "Insolent maggots. You court annihilation."
The air itself held its breath.
"Summon."
Nero's single word shattered the sky. Reality screamed as colossal fissures tore open the heavens. Through the bleeding rents descended figures radiating primordial dread—Calamities, each branded SSS. The ground trembled under their footfall.
Arata licked blood from his blade, eyes blazing. "Exquisite. The game elevates."
Battle Lines Drawn - Plain of Infinity:
0. Fernando vs Nero: (Divine Gates User)
1. General Blaze vs Eri: (Hellfire Conduit)
2. Iliena & Rei vs Whity & Devil Brothers: (Spectral Onslaught)
3. Kenta vs Sayuri, Daiki & Earth Calamity: (Oathbreaker vs Rising Star)
4. Arata vs Keisuke & Yoshito w/ Dark Calamity: (Shadow & Steel)
5. Saigo vs Velmin & Wind Calamity w/ Ayumi: (Tempest's Wrath)
6. Zoke vs Darky & Moonlight Spirits: (Resurrection vs Eclipse)
7. Kanori vs ONI & Fire Calamity: (Inferno Clash)
Earth & Frost Calamities vs Zornak & Higher Demons: (A dance of annihilation. Spoiler: One misstep = obliteration.)
"Yoshito's team!" Nero commanded, eyes never leaving Fernando. "Extract Verlord's heir to the Eye of Destruction. Now." They vanished in a ripple of spatial energy.
Nero slammed his fists together. "Astral Riftwalker: Eternal Convergence!" The world inverted, twisted, and reformed.
Endless white stretched in every direction—the Plain of Infinity. Nero's grin was a scythe in the void. "An all-out war, my Lord?" His voice dripped with lethal promise. "As you once vowed... allow me to grant your death wish."
(Recall: Fernando's early promise - "I will grant you one wish.")
Fernando's bravado bled away, replaced by visceral terror. This power... rivals the Gate Users! His mind screamed for reinforcements. Hurry! I cannot endure this monster alone!
His generals snapped into battle stances, hyper-aware: Here, in this null-space, a single error meant eternal silence.
(Note: Think the Generals are outmatched? Remember: Zoke, the weakest among them, His resurrection defeating the Frost Calamity—strongest of its kind, even weakened. Now, measure the might of Arata, Kenta, Iliena, and Blaze...)