Vepar screamed—a sound so guttural and alien it seemed to rend the sky. Her eldritch form towered above the battlefield, an abomination of water and darkness. Dozens of tentacles lashed from her kraken-like lower half, each as thick as an ancient tree, coiling and snapping through the haze of shattered mana. The wings jutting from her back beat with impossible strength, churning the air into storms.
Above it all, three streaks of blinding color—blue, red, and green—carved comet-like trails through the sky.
Carmilla, Raymed, and Thalamik moved with a synchronisation no words could fully capture. The Unlimited Flow Conversion had forged their mana together. Each was a node on a streaming circuit of infinite mana, glowing channels of light weaving between them, making them more than human, more than hope—they were the will of humanity and other races given form.
Golden radiance shone from Carmilla's outstretched staff.
Round Astra pulsed above them like a holy crown, amplifying their strength until every motion was four times what it had been only hours before. The world vibrated with power.
Despite the chaos, Thalamik's crisp, businesslike voice rang out in their shared channel. "So, what's the plan?"
Carmilla's reply was steady, even as she concentrated on both the shield and the surging chains of mana binding Vepar's limbs. "From the looks of it, Vepar does seem nigh-indestructible. Her regeneration is too great—but if we get close enough, Thalamik, you might find something to analyze."
"I see. Then I'll back Thalamik up and make sure he can analyze everything well!" Raymed replied, a smile audible in his voice.
"Got it. I'll be counting on you, Carmilla, for support. Ray, do what you do best," Thalamik said, already priming his mana.
"What's that?" Raymed asked with feigned innocence.
"Go nuts. Let your mana rampage. Get her attention."
Raymed's laughter was a rolling thunder. "HAHA, will do!"
Power erupted from them, the air sparkling with raw mana.
Thalamik glowed with a cool, electric blue.
Raymed burned with searing crimson.
Carmilla radiated vivid, healing green—the spectrum intensified by Round Astra, their colors blending at the edges where mana met and mixed. As one, they soared into battle.
"Let's go!" Thalamik commanded. "Mission: Kill Vepar!"
With unlimited mana, the three shot forward using mana reinforced at their feet as a thruster to fly. Then, as they flew, a rainbow colored mana trailed behind them like a comet's tail.
Raymed took the lead, unleashing Ezel—his platinum blade—striking everything repeatedly. Empowered by their boundless flow, he cleaved through Vepar's tentacles as if they were little more than mist. Every slash sent a shockwave through the eldritch mass, scattering dark water and demonic essence.
Thalamik, daggers in hand, darted in Raymed's opening.
He twisted and wove, always searching for a pattern, reading Vepar's new movements.
Her actual body, small and mermaid-like, was nearly lost amid the roiling mass, but Thalamik's eyes never lost focus.
Carmilla hovered near them, but it was enough to escape and acted as both anchor and accelerator.
She moved her sword staff, creating glyphs, as suddenly golden chains shot out from her position, binding Vepar's wildest limbs. Where Raymed and Thalamik advanced, Carmilla's chains followed, clearing their path, snaring tentacles, creating critical openings.
Vepar howled, flailing in rage and pain. "Aahhh! You dare! I'll CRUSH you—!"
Her attacks grew desperate, tentacles battering the ground and sky, water lances arcing toward Raymed and Thalamik. The world shook with every strike.
Yet, the trio's unity was unbreakable—each time Vepar tried to catch one, the others countered, slipping through openings made in the split-second dance of war. Even with her attacks, Round Astra protected them from suffering any damage. The anti-purge barrier blocked any attack that hit them, allowing them to focus on advancing.
Inside their telepathic channel, Thalamik's analytical tone cut through the storm. "I got it. Vepar doesn't just absorb Focalors' power—she takes on her weaknesses, too."
Carmilla's mental voice sharpened. "Does that mean—"
Raymed caught on instantly. "So she absorbs everything? Including the trait that made Focalors lose?"
"Exactly," Thalamik confirmed. "Vepar has a mana organ now—like a regulator, a core. She's protecting her main body at all costs. That's where her weak point is located."
Raymed grinned, already shifting his approach. "All we have to do is—wait, is she moving faster now?!"
"Shit, you're right!" Thalamik barked. "She's trying to reach the city—if she gets there, we're finished! Carmilla, can you do anything?"
"No—I'm at my limit maintaining Round Astra and the chains," Carmilla replied, her breathing ragged but steady. "If I focus on one or the other, you'll both be in a risky situation without Round Astra, or you can't find an opening. But—"
She paused, and then a smile bloomed in her voice. "Don't worry. They'll be here soon."
Thalamik, baffled, asked, "Who?"
A clear voice rang out—confident, familiar, and edged with wry amusement. "Hey, Human! Did you miss your favorite elf?"
"This voice!" Raymed spoke.
"I am here too, Raymed." Another calm and collected familiar voice sounded.
Raymed's face split into a wide grin. "MISS KILIAR!!!"
Another voice chimed in, bright and energetic. "Don't forget me! Lulu's here too!"
Trish Lulu Killiar had joined the telepathic channel.
A dwarven bellow echoed next. "Hey! I brought the magical military wagon, so wouldn't you count me in? I am the MVP here, right, Kaiser?"
"Dwargo, good to hear your voice," Thalamik called out, relief flooding his features.
A voice shrieked in mock outrage. "HEY! Why are you ignoring me?!"
Thalamik blinked. "Who are you?"
"TRISH, IT'S TRISH!" she shouted.
"Ugh.Damn elf..." Thalamik spoke.
Raymed laughed. "You're being rude, Thal. Be nice to Miss Kiliar, at least."
Thalamik grumbled, "My bad. Miss Kiliar is cool."
As their banter flowed, Carmilla suddenly tensed, voice quiet but urgent. "I sense something else... artillery?"
The roar of magical tanks answered her. Mana-infused shells bombarded Vepar from a distance, thunder shaking the sky. The ground trembled as heavy engines rumbled into view—Academy artillery had joined the battle.
"AAHHHH!!!" Vepar shrieked.
Carmilla exhaled in relief, connecting a telepathic channel. "This mana... He's here."
A gruff but resolute voice spoke into their minds. "Comrades, this is Director Diko. I've commandeered every asset we have. Our job is to hold Vepar here, at Lupache Estate. You three—kill that Demon Lord Envoy."
Raymed and Thalamik blurted out, "Diko? What the hell are you doing on the frontlines?"
"No time for that!" Diko barked, but a smile crept into his tone. "Oh, and I brought a gift."
At that moment, a wave of pure mana surged through the air, thousands of mages, students, and staff at Vanguard Academy lending their energy.
Carmilla's heart soared. "This... people from the Academy transmitting their mana to us."
Diko's voice echoed across the field, strong and proud. "Don't let Vepar take a single drop! Defeat her—for us all. This is the will of our people: our Hopes, our Dreams, our Determination!"
Carmilla, Raymed, and Thalamik looked at one another, eyes bright with purpose. As one, they declared, "Sir, yes, sir!"
Diko's final command resounded across the battlefield. "Begin Operation! Mission name: Ultimate Break!"
The sky seemed to split as the operation began, every heart on the field beating perfectly.
The final assault had begun.
***
Thalamik's voice resonated through the telepathic channel, instantly commanding the attention of every ally in the field. "Attention, everyone. Vepar's weakness is in the main body—the smaller figure at the center. That's where her mana organ is anchored. If we destroy that, the rest will fall."
Trish blinked, still catching her breath in the rushing wagon. "Wait, so after we destroy it, everything's over? What about that massive body?"
Thalamik's gaze never left the writhing monstrosity. "It won't matter. Vepar's merged core is now her heart, her brain, her everything. Before, she could regenerate from a single cell. Not this time. This body is her only anchor—destroy it, and she's finished."
Killiar caught on immediately. "So when she fused with Focalors, her nucleus became one with the very organ that once guaranteed her immortality?"
"In that way, yes. We only need to break through her three defensive layers—the innermost tentacles, the last line before her core. They'll defend her with everything she's got," Thalamik confirmed.
Killiar's eyes flashed. "Then leave the opening to us—me, Trish, Lulu, and Dwargo. We'll get you in."
A jolt of alarm ran through Thalamik. "Wait! Are you all coming to the frontlines? One attack, you could get contaminated!"
"Too late, we're already here!" As the wagon roared across the battlefield, Trish's laughter echoed, wild and bright. Blue thrusters flared from its sides, and watery tentacles crashed all around, barely missing the reinforced vehicle.
"AH! NO TIME! CARMILLA!!!" Thalamik ordered.
Carmilla, catching Thalamik's urgency, raised her staff and conjured a gleaming road of golden chains, stabbing them into Vepar's flesh and forming a bridge for the wagon to soar across. The vehicle hurtled up the chain, racing through a gauntlet of swinging limbs.
"ALL ENGINES—GO NITRO!" Dwargo bellowed, slamming a lever as flames erupted behind them, propelling the wagon toward the heart of the chaos.
"Three… two… one… NOW!" Trish shouted. She and Killiar leapt from the wagon, Lulu boosting Trish with a levitation spell as Killiar flew with her spell. Dwargo veered away, dropping into the melee below.
Vepar, sensing the intrusion, unleashed a barrage of watery missiles.
They exploded in bursts of freezing vapor, targeting Trish and Killiar midair.
"Trish!" Thalamik shouted, seizing her hand as a missile detonated behind them.
"Killiar!" Raymed caught Killiar's wrist, pivoting her away from a jet of corrosive water.
No quarter was given—Vepar unleashed serpent-shaped torrents of living water, weaving through the air with predatory intent.
The serpents spiralled toward the party, snapping their jaws.
Golden chains snapped down, catching the serpents in midair and pinning them to the ground.
"NOW'S YOUR CHANCE!" Carmilla's voice rang in their minds.
Raymed and Killiar soared forward, their auras blazing in harmony.
Raymed lifted his blade and chanted, "Gargantua, Colossal, Abyssal!"
Killiar's voice joined his, intoning, "Surtur. Black Frost. Skadi. Solomon!"
Mana surged—flame and frost colliding. A colossal spear, as vast as a mountain, took shape between their palms, swirling with crimson fire and arctic blue. The air warped from its energy.
"Great Split Polarized Nova Javelin!" they roared.
The javelin flew, splitting in two as it closed in on Vepar's main body.
Her tentacles rose in a shield, but the javelins detonated, unleashing a shockwave of thermal extremes.
Flame and frost annihilated the first defensive layer in a roaring burst, tentacles shattering and falling away.
Smoke billowed. Three figures burst through—Thalamik, Trish, and Lulu.
"Follow my lead, elf and demi-human!" Thalamik called.
"Hah! You follow me, human!" Trish retorted, flashing a grin.
They dove into the chaos. Trish wielded Dwargo's prototype pseudo-artifact, stabbing and slashing at the second layer of defense. Thalamik fought alongside her, his mana-enhanced daggers whirling in a storm of blue light. Together, they were twin blades in motion—a seamless, synchronized assault. "Twin Riot Dance!" they cried, cleaving through the mass.
The second layer cracked and fell.
"RAYMED! CARMILLA!" Thalamik shouted.
Carmilla answered, sending chains of gold raining from the sky to hold back the remaining tentacles, exposing the last barrier.
Raymed, gathering his strength, surged forward.
But Vepar, in desperation, conjured hundreds of water mines.
They detonated around the team, the force knocking them back. Round Astra's barrier faltered, its protective power overwhelmed by the relentless barrage.
"Shit!" Raymed cursed, staggering. "Thalamik!"
Thalamik bared his teeth. "UNLIMITED UNDEAD WORKS!"
From the earth, from Carmilla's golden chains, thousands of undead warriors erupted—Thalamik's fiend army forming a living, climbing platform. Raymed leapt from fiend to fiend, banshees whirling in support.
"Arcuest! Passete! Visha! Black!" Thalamik called. The four fiend leaders flanked Raymed, their weapons blazing.
They cut a path, sacrificing themselves to shield Raymed as he approached the final layer.
Split Flow—Deactivate. Red-gold mana spiralled around Raymed as lightning crashed overhead.
He whispered, voice full of conviction, "Hope shines in the darkest night. Unaware of how deep the abyss is. But hope is what I fight for, and hope is what connects us. Our bond itself is the hope that shines into any darkness."
He raised his sword. "PLATINUM STAR OF HOPE—ULTIMATE EZEL!"
The world erupted in blinding brilliance. The last defensive layer disintegrated, Vepar's main body laid bare as she screamed in terror.
Raymed dove, driving his blade into her heart. Mana ruptured, exploding inside her core.
Yet Vepar refused to die.
"HUAAARRRGHHH!" she shrieked, body writhing in agony.
"Thalamik—she's not dying!" Raymed cried.
Carmilla's voice was urgent, "That means we need to destroy the whole body—don't hold back!"
Vepar then invoked a chant. That once almost killed Raymed and Thalamik. "Trismestus. Gallantium. Excartalis… Ars. Demonus. Kingus. Terasvit."
"RAYMED, GET OUT OF THERE!" Carmilla shouted. "Round Astra won't protect you anymore after that mine bombs!"
Raymed's grin was wild, desperate. "No way—I'm ending this! HAAAAAA!"
"Ratalis Corn—"As Vepar attempted to summon her last, a blade punctured her face.
The chant was cut short.
Thalamik's voice was deadly calm.
"Thank you for waiting, Raymed. And for you, Demon Lord Envoy, End of the line, Vepar." He gripped Black's sword and stabbed it deeper into Vepar's maw.
"This is over for you. We won't lose this time."
All their voices echoed in the telepathic channel—"GOOOOOOO THALAMIK!!!!!!!!!"
Thalamik's mana exploded, blue fire roaring from every pore. He became a storm of blades rampaging through Vepar's writhing body, slashing, tearing, mutilating—refusing to let a single remnant survive.
"HAAA!!!!!!!!"
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"HUARGHH NOT ENOUGH DISINTEGRATE!!!!" Thalamik's eyes glowed in blue fiery energy as he jumped all around, cutting even the most minor bits to dust.
If he is able, he is willing to cut even atom by atom.
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Then it was finally over.
***
Vepar's colossal, eldritch form convulsed, then collapsed, dissolving into shimmering mist and scattered fragments of corrupted water.
High above, Thalamik and Raymed hung in the air, utterly spent. They exchanged a look—a tired, triumphant smile—before gravity claimed them both. Their battered bodies plummeted, but a streak of emerald light caught them before they could crash to earth.
Carmilla swept in, riding the current of their shared mana. She slowed their descent, cradling them both with gentle magic. "Good job, you two," she said, the relief and pride plain in her voice.
Touching down, Carmilla helped the others regroup. Kiliar, Trish, Lulu, and Dwargo hurried over, all eyes wide with disbelief and admiration. Amid the ruined ground, two swirling orbs pulsed with malignant energy—the demon cores of Vepar and Focalors, both radiating darkness and dread.
Carmilla moved quickly, weaving her mana around it. "Perfect Stasis", Golden seals wrapped around the twin cores, binding their power and locking them in stasis. Just after the seals have covered the cores.
A chill swept the group. Killiar's eyes narrowed, readying herself. "Another Demon Lord Envoy?"
Raymed and Thalamik, barely conscious, snapped alert in an instant.
Raymed grinned grimly. "Another one, huh?"
A rift tore open above the battlefield. From within, a knight in ornate crimson armor emerged, astride a ghostly horse. A baleful red light shone from his helm.
He regarded the scene with cool amusement. "So, you have defeated both Vepar and Focalors. Truly, an astonishing feat for a lesser race." His voice echoed, proud and disdainful.
Thalamik stepped forward, stance wary. "Who the hell are you?"
The knight's spectral steed pawed the air as he straightened. "How rude. I am Eligos, Demon Lord Envoy. I have come only to observe this battle. Never did I imagine those two would fall so easily. How shameful for demonkind. Now I must return with—"
Suddenly, Eligos doubled over, coughing violently.
Crimson splattered from beneath his helmet. "What… the…?"
A golden blade erupted from his chest, piercing his ornate armor. Eligos whirled, shocked, to see a silent figure with golden hair standing behind him, expression cold. Raymed's eyes burned with wrath.
Eligos tried to wrench himself free, but in that moment, golden chains snaked from the ground, locking him in place. Carmilla's face was like stone, her eyes burning with unspoken fury. She met Eligos's gaze with a deathly calm.
Eligos sneered, even as his strength began to fail. "Who dares…?"
The Raymed's voice was like a blade. "Eligos, you picked the wrong people to fight."
With a sudden, blinding speed, the figure stabbed both of Eligos's eyes in a single motion.
The Demon Lord Envoy howled in agony, light leaking from his ruined helm.
Thalamik stepped forward, voice ragged but burning with vengeance. "Boasting your name like that… will only get you killed. You killed our instructor, you fucker."