Icy-blue light descended from above, falling upon the battlefield like judgment from the heavens.

Fire and ice were mortal enemies. Half-meter-long icicles fell like messengers of death, forcing the Blazing Demon Lions to erupt with their fiercest flames in defense. Even so, the searing heat in the air was steadily quenched, the inferno losing ground to the creeping cold.

Driven by fury and vengeance, the giant youth roared and swung his metal rod with reckless abandon, smashing apart two more lions.

His body was already charred black from countless burns. The glow of soul power around him flickered weakly, dimming as exhaustion gnawed at his strength.

Then—movement.

From the direction where the golden vine had erupted earlier, a figure rushed forward at astonishing speed.

As the figure drew closer, a blue radiance spread across the ground. Thicker, sturdier vines burst upward, tougher than before. Even the lions' blazing flame shields failed to stop them. In an instant, several hundred-year-old Blazing Demon Lions stiffened, their roars twisting into shrieks as the vines pierced straight through their bellies.

At the same time, every lion caught within the Silverfalls Vine's range visibly slowed, their movements lagging as if trapped in invisible mire.

The rushing figure dropped from above, landing squarely on the Blazing Demon Lion King's back.

Ignoring the flames engulfing the beast, his right arm transformed into a gleaming golden claw. He seized the lion king's head with brutal precision.

The lion king thrashed violently, tearing itself free from the golden vine restraining it.

The other lions broke free as well, abandoning the battered youth and redirecting their rage toward the young intruder atop their king.

Then the Blazing Demon Lion King shuddered.

With a thunderous crash, it collapsed to the ground.

Ray had crushed its spine, erasing even the possibility of a final struggle.

Without the sturdy youth's desperate resistance and perfect distraction, such a clean kill would have been impossible. One misstep, and the outcome would have been entirely different.

Fireballs streaked toward Ray, but he was ready.

A golden vine surged beneath his feet, launching him skyward like a drawn bow releasing its arrow.

At the same time, an eerie chill swept over the battlefield. The falling icicles shattered into countless fragments, merging with a rising blizzard that expanded rapidly, swallowing the remaining lions whole.

Though the pride went berserk at the death of their king, the overwhelming storm crushed their momentum, suppressing them completely.

Only then did the giant youth finally realize that help had arrived.

A long breath escaped his chest, relief flooding in—followed immediately by disbelief.

He had clearly seen it. The youth who killed the Blazing Demon Lion King only had two soul rings, yet both were purple. And then there was the blizzard—an elemental onslaught far beyond anything a Soul Elder should possess.

Before he could even process it, a girl bathed in green light walked calmly through the raging storm, as if the blizzard did not exist at all.

Unfazed, she raised a hand.

An ice ball formed above her palm as the surrounding blizzard rushed toward it, condensing and feeding it.

In mere moments, the sphere grew to over a meter in diameter, its surface bristling with razor-sharp spikes.

"Go."

The ice sphere shot forward, slamming toward a thousand-year Blazing Demon Lion.

The lion reacted just in time, spewing a torrent of flame to intercept it.

Boom!

The sphere exploded in the heart of the pride, shattering into a rain of icy shards that hammered down on the lions from every direction.

The youth's mind reeled.

Was all of this… planned?

Suddenly, the sky brightened.

Starlight descended, cascading down upon the lions. At first, it seemed harmless, merely bathing them in shimmering light. Then, without warning, the lions turned on one another.

Claws and flames struck indiscriminately. Fire flared within the blizzard, but none of it found its true target. The only ones being torn apart were the lions themselves.

Blue vines surged forth again, binding the beasts once more.

The figure from before descended yet again, golden dragon claw closing around another lion's skull.

"What are you waiting for?" Ray shouted.

The giant youth snapped out of his daze. With a roar, he lifted his metal rod and hurled himself back into battle.

With his overwhelming strength and the flawless coordination around him, the remaining Blazing Demon Lions were swiftly suppressed and crushed one after another.

Each skull he shattered vented a bit more of the fury that had been boiling inside him since the battle began.

Then, suddenly, the pretty, large-eyed youth called out sharply, "Be careful!"

The giant youth turned his head—A cold sensation brushed across his neck.

And then, everything went dark.

*

Spirit Tower, spirit ascension platform, room thirteen.

Six young men and women stared anxiously at the screen. They were the surviving members of the Soul Elder squadron that had been nearly wiped out by the Blazing Demon Lions.

When they saw reinforcements arrive and the lions being slaughtered, cheers erupted.

Then the screen went black.

"What happened?" a girl asked, her voice trembling.

"I think… something happened to Captain," another boy said in shock. "If even one person is still inside, the feed shouldn't cut out."

A black screen meant only one thing.

The entire team had been eliminated.

Sure enough, when they turned around, the giant youth's spirit ascension pod was already open. Even standing normally, he nearly brushed the ceiling.

"Captain! Are you alright?" they cried, rushing to his side.

Slowly, he opened his eyes and rubbed his neck, wincing slightly. "I'm fine."

"Captain, how did you die?" one of the girls asked, bewildered. "Didn't those people wipe out the lions already?"

The youth frowned, equally confused. "I'm not sure either. The soul masters who saved me were incredibly strong. I died right after one of them told me to be careful. Maybe another powerful soul beast showed up."

He shook his head, then let out a sigh.

"Either way, we avenged everyone with their help. This was my mistake. I underestimated the Blazing Demon Lion pride and dragged you all into this."

He straightened his back and forced a grin. "As an apology, dinner's on me."

Within the spirit ascension platform, silence returned after the final Blazing Demon Lion crashed to the ground.

Then came the surge.

Dense, raging spirit energy flooded the battlefield like an unseen tide. Class zero gathered at its heart, sitting cross-legged as the power of the fallen lions poured into their bodies.

The air wasn't only thick with the pride's energy; it also carried the remnants left behind by the Soul Elder squadron.

One by one, those Soul Elders had perished, unable to fully absorb what they earned. Their unclaimed spirit energy converged upon the sturdy youth who had survived the longest.

When he, too, fell in the end, that accumulated power erupted outward, becoming a final gift for class zero to reap.

The annihilation of the Blazing Demon Lion pride left behind a battlefield so saturated with energy that it felt almost tangible.

"Captain, you're seriously too sinister," Violetta said, pointing at Ray with mock disdain.

Ray only chuckled, completely unbothered.

"But… I kind of like it," Violetta added with a bright grin, eyes sparkling as she basked in the thick spirit energy.

She was perched right at the peak of rank twenty-nine. For her, this energy was priceless. Once she broke through, it would allow her to fuse with a far stronger spirit soul.

Raziel Phoenix laughed like a fox that had just stolen a chicken. "This is the spirit ascension platform, not the real world. That rebellion-period entry ticket is expensive. It'd be a crime to waste it."

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