Nameless sprang back, chopping wind as a shield; Robert’s downward slash bit air, then he slid in low like a wolf on ice, giving no time to breathe.

Nameless barely found his footing. He whipped the spear out, a silver fish cutting the stream. Robert flicked it aside with one sword tap. The guard on Nameless’s chest opened like an unlatched gate.

“Careful—!” Rita’s eyes blew wide, hands over her mouth like a falling fan. Lina burst forward, composite bow in hand, heavier and tougher than before, loosing an arrow in a blink.

The shaft had flown only a few yards when Medith vaulted up and snap-kicked it in half. Lina froze. Medith dropped, palms to the ground, calm as stone. “This is a duel between men. We stay out of it.

Relax. If the worst comes, I’ll handle it.”

Lina bit it back. Fangge, off to the side, looked stunned. Not at Medith—at Lina. From lift to release in under a second, drawing on raw instinct instead of aim; the kind of archery that’s terrifying and hardest to grind.

Terrifying how? Look at Medith. Lina was fast—Medith was faster. The moment Lina’s hand rose, Medith was already in the air to intercept, like thunder chasing its own echo.

All of it flashed by in three heartbeats. On the other side, Nameless stood on a crumbling edge. Robert’s flaming blade fell, squeezing the very air to cinders.

At the knife’s point, Nameless snapped the spear back and braced, steel spine against a killing stroke. Heat roared up the shaft; the spear reddened, softening like iron in a forge.

Nameless heaved forward. The shove drove Robert back several meters. Robert staggered, joy flaring in his eyes. He lunged to press, but Nameless spun the spear, and in the clear blue he painted a thousand phantom spearheads.

Clang-clang-clang-clang— The spear hammered in like a squall, raining jabs at Robert’s chest. He had no time to guard. In a single second, a dozen strikes thudded into his breastplate.

His whole body skated backward, heels carving dust, teetering over the cliff’s lip. Nameless drew the spear in, whirled, then became a single driving point. He thrust with everything he had.

Clang—crack— Robert’s Molten Armor split like cooling lava. He lost balance and dropped toward the void. Nameless’s smile flashed like sunlight on steel.

“Yaa—BOOM—” Robert roared. His helm exploded, a tight blossom of fire. The recoil punched him upright; he steadied mid-fall, hanging on the cliff’s breath.

Nameless blinked, not expecting that sight. Robert’s face finally showed. It wasn’t the monstrous mask he’d imagined. It was a face like anyone’s—handsome, even, in the hard light.

“Nameless, finish it.” Medith saw him drift and snapped him back. Nameless’s eyes hardened again. Robert’s face twisted with hate. His fists creaked like ice cracking. “Even if I die... I’m taking you with me.

Soldiers of the Empire never say die—”

“Nameless! Watch it, he’s going for mutual destruction!” Sais’s composure finally cracked. The resolve in Robert’s eyes told her the real fight had just begun.

You never underestimate a Magic Breaker before they’re dry. On that point, they were like the Elf Clan. Melia, a B-rank Sprite, once burned her life and pinned four high-tier Magic Breakers by herself.

Robert still had half his strength, by the look of him. If he poured the rest into a final self-detonation...

Nameless braced as if facing a cliff in a storm. Before him, a thirty-something man with a too-handsome face twisted in fury. His steps were tangled, his armor about to fall apart.

The danger, though, climbed tenfold. A man who doesn’t care to live sets every nerve on edge—more so when he’s a high-ranking general of the Southern Kingdom.

If I die here, then this is all I am. All the vows, all the dreams—ash. Nameless… this is the first gate. Fail it, and your life is over.

He crushed his grip. Power screamed down his arms. The steel spear groaned and cracked under his hands.

“Aaah—!” Robert pounced like a tiger, red blade slashing. Nameless was already there, the spear darting first. This time it punched through the armor and spitted Robert’s left shoulder.

Robert didn’t seem to feel it. He threw himself at the fight, life for life. Nameless had to parry, sparks flying.

Clang—clang—clang—

“Urrraaa—!”

Clang—whumm—

On Robert’s final hew, he couldn’t even hold the red sword. It sprang from his grasp and spun skyward. Fangge moved like a hawk, a hook-chain hissing out, and yanked the blade back to their side.

Robert lost his only weapon. He didn’t flinch; if anything, he looked relieved.

“Kid! Tough luck running into me—Lei—Ji—Duo—” He grinned, all teeth. His armor blew apart, and a red ring pulsed alive again.

“Damn it! Second Break!!” Sais went pale. An Earthquake Nullifier could redistribute his Lawbreaking Ability freely, even fight with mundane weapons. That much was known.

If he compressed what’s left into a final Lawbreaking blast, Nameless—who can’t break laws—would die at this range.

“Medith!!” Sais’s heart hammered. That light ring burned like a second sun, on the edge of bursting. Only Medith’s Annihilation could snuff it now.

But Medith didn’t move. She only waved the others back, making no other play.

Lina jolted and lunged on instinct. Medith hauled her away and dropped her behind, voice like a bell. “You just watch. People with ponytails—none of them are gentle.”

At that moment, a column of magma speared the sky, painting half the heavens red.