Alvian's mind raced. He had no cooldowns ready for [Genesis Mode]. His [Void Step] could get him out, but it couldn't take the others. And even if he saved Valeria and Seraphina, Kenshin would die. The Abyssal Guard holding the perimeter would die.

"Inefficient," Alvian hissed. "I hate losing assets."

He prepared to burn his own life force to trigger a forced evolution, a desperate gamble that might kill him.

But then, movement.

A grey blur shot past him.

It was Kenshin. The blind swordsman didn't run away. He didn't cower. He walked past Alvian, past the stunned Drakon, and stood directly in the path of the Highlord.

"Guardian," Alvian called out. "What are you doing?"

Kenshin didn't turn. He unsheathed his katana. The blade was chipped, worn from the battle with Drakon. It looked like a piece of scrap metal compared to the radiant power of the Dragon Gods.

"You called me a hermit," Kenshin said, his voice calm amidst the roaring of the boiling sea. "You were right. I hid in my tower for twenty years. I listened to the ocean, and I did nothing."

Ignis looked down at the tiny swordsman. "And now? You wish to die?"

"No," Kenshin said. He assumed a stance. It wasn't a combat stance. It was a stance of absolute stillness. "I wish to do my job."

The [Extinction Star] fell.

A sun of magma and death descended upon the group.

Kenshin closed his milky eyes.

"Secret Art: Sea-Suppressing Tower."

He didn't swing his sword at the enemy. He stabbed it into the ground.

"CLINK."

The sound was quiet. Impossible. But it carried.

A pulse of grey energy erupted from Kenshin. It wasn't mana. It wasn't aura. It was... weight. The weight of the entire ocean. The weight of a thousand years of silence.

The grey energy rose up, forming a phantom tower around the group. It wasn't a wall. It was a pillar of absolute stillness.

"BOOM!"

The [Extinction Star] hit the phantom tower.

The explosion should have vaporized them. The heat should have turned them to ash.

But the tower held.

The magma splashed against the grey light and stopped. The fire froze. The kinetic force vanished. Kenshin had imposed a rule upon reality within that ten-meter radius: Nothing moves.

"WHAT?!" Ignis roared, his eyes widening. "A MORTAL DENIES MY FLAME?"

"I do not deny it," Kenshin whispered, blood pouring from his nose, his eyes, his ears. "I... suppress it."

The old swordsman was burning. Not his body, but his soul. He was feeding his very life essence into the technique to hold back the attack of a Level 70 Raid Boss.

"GO!" Kenshin shouted, his voice cracking. "Alvian! Finish it! I... cannot... hold... long..."

Alvian watched. He saw the HP bar of the Sword Guardian plummeting.

[Ally Status: Critical.]

[Life Force Draining: 10%... 5%... 1%...]

Kenshin was dying. He was trading his life for seconds.

Alvian felt something cold in his chest. It wasn't the [Frost Heart]. It was rage. Cold, precise, absolute rage.

He looked at Drakon. The White Knight was staring at Kenshin in shock, his guard lowered.

"You broke my shield," Alvian whispered.

He didn't mean Valeria. He meant the old man. The hermit who had given him the bow. The teacher who had found his legs again.

Alvian's eyes turned from violet to a dead, flat black.

"Inefficient," Alvian said. "To waste a valuable resource like a Grandmaster... for a distraction."

He turned to Drakon.

"You're going to pay for that."

---

The grey light of the phantom tower flickered. The immense weight of the [Extinction Star] was grinding Kenshin down, inch by inch. The old swordsman was on his knees, his hands gripping the hilt of his katana so hard the skin had split, mixing red blood with the grey aura.

"Hold..." Kenshin wheezed. "Just... a little... longer..."

Highlord Ignis pressed down, adding his own mana to the sphere. "Burn, old man! Burn to nothing!"

Inside the barrier, the heat was rising. Valeria tried to rush to Kenshin's side, to lend him her strength, but the pressure of the technique pinned her in place. The [Sea-Suppressing Tower] art didn't distinguish between friend and foe; it suppressed everything.

Only Alvian could move. His [Vestments of the Void Monarch] allowed him to exist outside the laws of the suppression.

He didn't look at Kenshin. He knew the math. Kenshin's life force was at 0.5%. He was burning his soul now. He was already dead; his body just hadn't realized it yet.

Alvian turned his back on the sacrifice. He faced Drakon.

The White Knight had recovered from his shock. He saw Alvian approaching. He laughed, a nervous, jagged sound.

"Your friend is dying, Godslayer! And you turn your back on him?"

"He bought me time," Alvian said, his voice devoid of intonation. "I am going to use it."

Drakon raised his greatsword. The red aura of the Blood Tyrant still coated him, granting him immense power. His [White Scale] armor, though cracked from their earlier duel, was healing rapidly under the influence of Ignis's presence.

"You can't hurt me!" Drakon roared. "My armor is absolute! My master is here! I am invincible!"

"Invincibility is a fallacy," Alvian stated. "It assumes a system with no variables."

He walked forward. He didn't run. He didn't teleport.

Drakon swung. "DRAGON GUILLOTINE!"

The massive sword came down, aiming to cleave Alvian in two.

Alvian didn't dodge. He raised his left hand.

"[Runic Aegis +2]: Point Defense."

A single rune appeared. It didn't block the sword. It angled itself, catching the flat of the blade. The sword slid off, crashing into the ground next to Alvian.

Alvian stepped on the blade.

"You rely on your gear," Alvian said. "Your armor. Your sword. Your master's buffs. Take them away, and what are you?"

"I am a Dragon Knight!" Drakon screamed, abandoning his sword to punch Alvian with a white-scaled fist.

Alvian caught the fist.

[Strength: 390.]

He held the massive hand. He squeezed.

"CRUNCH."

Drakon howled as the bones in his hand ground together. But he didn't pull back. He headbutted Alvian. The dragon helm slammed into Alvian's face.

[-1,200 HP]

Alvian didn't flinch. He didn't even blink. Blood trickled down his nose, but his expression remained a mask of cold boredom.

"Inefficient," Alvian whispered.

Behind them, a sound like a shattering bell echoed through the deep.

"KRA-KOOOOM!"

The phantom tower shattered. Kenshin collapsed, his body falling forward onto his sword. The [Extinction Star], having expended its energy against the absolute defense, dissipated into a harmless cloud of steam.

Ignis roared in frustration. "HELD BACK BY A MORTAL? IMPOSSIBLE!"

The Blood Tyrant turned his gaze to the remaining insects. He prepared another spell.

But Kenshin wasn't done.

The old man, lying in a pool of his own blood, lifted his head one last time. His blind eyes were open, staring at nothing.

"Alvian..." Kenshin's voice was a ghost in the water. "The tide... never... stops."

Kenshin's body dissolved.

It didn't turn into a corpse. It didn't turn into ash. It turned into water. Pure, blue, mana-infused water. The Sword Guardian had become the element he served.

The water rushed toward Alvian. It wasn't an attack. It was a bequest.

[System Alert!]

[Guardian Kenshin has sacrificed his existence to entrust his legacy to you.]

[Item Received: Soul of the Tide (Mythical Consumable).]

[Skill Proficiency: [Avatar of the Deep] Maxed.]

Alvian felt the water wash over him. He felt the old man's memories. The years of sitting in the tower. The regret. The hope.

And the anger.

"He gave you everything," Drakon sneered, trying to pull his broken hand free. "And it won't be enough! Ignis is recharging! You are dead!"

Alvian looked at the notification. He looked at the water swirling around his boots—the remains of a friend.

He didn't consume the item. He didn't need a buff. He needed to break something.

"System," Alvian said. His voice was different. It vibrated with a harmonic frequency that made the interface jitter. "Open the Talent Tree."

[SSS-Rank Talent: Super Upgrade System.]

[Status: Active.]

[Daily Charges: 0/2.]

"I don't need charges," Alvian said. "I need an evolution."

He looked at Drakon's white armor. The armor that nullified magic. The armor that dispersed force. The armor that made him invincible.

"You think that shell protects you?" Alvian asked.

"It is the White Scale!" Drakon boasted. "It is immutable! It cannot be broken!"

"Then I won't break it," Alvian said.

He placed his hand—the hand holding the [Lance of the Void Winter]—against Drakon's chest plate.

"System. Target: The concept of 'Durability'."

[Warning! Target is external matter. SSS-Rank Authority required.]

"I am the Authority," Alvian snarled. The violet light in his eyes flared, consuming the whites, consuming the pupils. He tapped into the residue of the [Genesis Mode] that still lingered in his cells. He tapped into the [Void] essence of his class.

"Unlock Tier 2 Authority."

[Checking requirements... Level 50 achieved... Mythical Gear acquired... Calamity defeated...]

[Requirements Met.]

[Unlocking Hidden Function: Deconstruction.]

A new option appeared on his interface. It wasn't 'Upgrade'. It was the opposite.

"Upgrade?" Drakon laughed nervously. "You want to upgrade my armor? Thank you!"

"No," Alvian smiled. It was the smile of the end of the world. "I'm going to upgrade its decay."

"[Matter Deconstruction]."

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