The chamber trembled as Abyssal energy thickened, turning the air dense and suffocating. The mirrored walls warped under the pressure, reflections stretching and twisting into grotesque parodies—silent witnesses to their struggle, mocking them without sound.

Star tightened her grip on her sword. Her pulse thundered in her ears, breath coming shallow and fast. Across from her, the Heroes’ Slayer stood unmoving, cloaked in shadow, crimson eyes empty of mercy or hesitation. There was no rage in him—only intent. Cold. Absolute.

Then he moved.

He crossed the distance in a blink, his greatsword cleaving downward like a guillotine. Star barely managed to raise her blade. The impact detonated through her arms, rattling her bones, nearly buckling her knees. Sparks exploded as gold met Abyssal black, light screaming against void.

“Too slow.”

The words brushed her ear—mocking, hollow.

Before she could recover, the Slayer twisted his wrist, redirecting the strike mid-motion. His blade carved a brutal arc toward her ribs—

A blur slammed into her.

Seth tackled her aside just as the greatsword struck the floor, splitting stone and glass where she had stood.

“Move!” Seth barked, already rolling, loosing an arrow in the same breath.

The shot flew true—

—and stopped.

An inch from the Slayer’s face, invisible force closed around the arrow. Abyssal energy crushed it into dust.

“Damn it,” Seth snarled.

Fire erupted behind them.

Friedrich charged with a roar, his greatsword engulfed in Incidis flame. He brought it down with all his strength, the strike falling like a meteor.

The Heroes’ Slayer did not dodge.

He caught the blade with his bare hand.

Steel screamed as it ground to a halt in his grip.

Friedrich’s eyes widened. “No—”

Dark tendrils crawled from the Slayer’s palm, swallowing the flames in an instant, reducing roaring fire to dying embers.

Then—

His fist drove forward.

The impact landed like a siege hammer.

Crack.

Bone.

Breath torn away.

Friedrich was launched backward, blood spraying from his mouth as his boots scraped across shattered mirror-glass. He dropped to one knee, coughing, fire and blood spilling together onto the floor.

The world rang. His vision swam.

But he did not fall.

He planted his sword into the ground, hauling himself upright, glaring through blood-matted hair.

“You’ll need… more than that.”

The Slayer turned his head.

His gaze settled on Klara.

No command was spoken—but she understood.

She raised her catalyst and unleashed a bolt of lightning. The crackling surge tore across the chamber—

—and vanished the instant it touched the Abyss.

Her breath caught. “No way…”

The Slayer lifted his free hand.

Darkness pulsed outward.

The chamber changed.

From the walls, shadows began to peel themselves free.

They rose in twisted forms—warped echoes of the Slayer, liquid and solid all at once, eyes burning with the same crimson glow.

Klara’s voice trembled. “Those are—”

“His shadows,” Friedrich rasped.

One lunged.

Seth barely rolled aside as a shadowed blade carved through empty air. Another surged at Klara, flickering between smoke and flesh. She blasted it with wind, but the force only slowed it for a heartbeat.

More emerged.

They surrounded them.

“This is bad,” Friedrich growled, forcing himself upright. “We’re getting overwhelmed.”

The Slayer raised his sword.

The shadows mirrored him.

They struck together.

Star ducked beneath a sweeping blade and countered, slicing clean through a shadow’s torso. It split apart—

—and reformed instantly, eyes blazing.

“They don’t die,” she hissed.

Klara hurled a gust to push them back. It barely staggered them. “We need another plan!”

Seth fired again—three arrows in rapid succession, wind magic screaming as they struck. One shadow dispersed into mist—

—and reformed seconds later.

“They just keep coming!”

Friedrich roared and swept his blade in a fiery arc, forcing two shadows back. His flames flared brighter, burning with desperation. “We focus on him! He’s the source!”

The words had barely left his mouth—

—when the real Slayer vanished.

He reappeared in front of Friedrich.

The greatsword fell.

Friedrich blocked—but the impact drove him to his knees. The blade twisted.

A pulse of Abyssal energy detonated through his body. His muscles locked. His vision blurred.

A boot slammed into his chest.

He flew backward, crashing hard against the floor, blood spilling as he tried—and failed—to rise.

The shadows closed in.

Seth and Klara rushed toward him—

—but the Slayer was already moving again.

He was on Star in an instant.

Steel crashed against steel as she raised her sword, teeth clenched, pushing against impossible weight. The pressure crushed the air from her lungs.

Then darkness surged.

A blast of Abyssal force hurled her backward. She skidded across the mirrored floor, her sword torn from her grasp.

Before she could recover, he was there.

His foot pressed into her chest, pinning her down. Crimson eyes stared into hers—empty, merciless.

“You were never meant to win.”

He raised his greatsword.

Star struggled. The Abyss held her fast. She heard Seth and Klara screaming her name—but they were too far, tangled in shadows.

This was it.

The blade descended.

Light erupted.

The strike never landed.

A new figure stood between them, stopping the blow with a single hand.

A sword of pure golden radiance met Abyssal steel.

Behind him, a four-pointed, star-shaped portal shimmered—then vanished.

The clash sent shockwaves through the chamber. Mirrors exploded outward, shattering in cascading glass.

Star’s breath caught.

She knew him.

Golden hair. Regal bearing. Light pulsing from his very presence.

Alioth Castor had arrived.

The Slayer’s crimson eyes flickered—recognition flashing across his face.

“We meet again, Star,” Alioth said softly, glancing back at her with a warm, familiar smile.

Then his gaze hardened as he faced the Slayer.

“You’ve done enough,” he said calmly. “Step away from them.”

For the first time—

the Heroes’ Slayer hesitated.

The chamber fell into deathly silence.