Ancestral Lineage

Dennise's breath came ragged, metal dripping from his skin like molten armor, but his eyes burned with unyielding fury. Then, he stopped holding back.

A guttural roar tore from his throat, shaking the very bones of the city. Behind him, silver light burst forth, coalescing into a massive beast — a bull of pure silver, four gleaming horns spiraling upward like spears, its hooves sparking thunder as they struck the ground. Its body was the size of a house, dense with metallic sheen that shimmered under the broken sky.

The bull's bellow was deafening, a sound that carried authority and defiance.

"My Spirit Beast… Taurus!" Dennise declared, his voice thundering with newfound dominance.

At the same time, the air warped. His aura exploded outward in a tidal wave of silver force, shattering windows, ripping through nearby towers. From Master to Grandmaster and then—

BOOM!

The seal broke.

The pressure of the Emperor Realm filled the battlefield, pressing against every living thing in Anbord.

Trevor's smirk faltered, crimson eyes narrowing. For the first time, he straightened his posture, his aura no longer lazy or playful. Smoke poured from his body, crimson veins of light threading through it.

"An Emperor already, huh? Looks like you've been hiding more than I thought…" Trevor muttered. His hand lifted, snapping with a chilling sound. "Apole."

From the smoke, Apole materialized — the Death Skull in its full monstrous form. Towering, pale skin streaked with crystalline markings, hair like white smoke rolling behind it, claws shining like blades of bone. Its hollow eyes burned red, filled with malevolence.

Taurus snorted, scraping the ground with its hooves, sparks flying.

Apole flexed his talons, ichor dripping like ink.

The two Spirit Beasts lunged, colliding with a roar that split the heavens. The ground quaked as silver horns clashed against crystalline claws, shockwaves flattening everything around them. Each strike was like an earthquake, sending chunks of buildings and earth flying.

Meanwhile, their masters moved.

Dennise's body pulsed, molten silver twisting in his grip, reshaping itself into a colossal halberd, gleaming with lethal sharpness. Its edge radiated enough power to cleave through mountains.

Trevor lifted his hand, crimson mist swirling before solidifying into a dark, curved scythe formed of pure blood. Its blade glowed with a sinister sheen, veins of scarlet energy pulsing along its length.

The clash was instantaneous.

CLANG!

Halberd met scythe, sparks and blood spraying into the air as the shockwave carved deep fissures into the street. The impact reverberated like thunder, sending both men skidding backward.

Dennise growled, eyes sharp. "You're not untouchable anymore, Trevor!"

Trevor licked a drop of blood from his lip, his fangs bared in a savage grin. "Finally… you're worth my time."

They vanished — both moving at speeds beyond mortal comprehension. The city lit up with streaks of silver and crimson as halberd and scythe clashed again and again, each strike louder, heavier, sharper. Buildings were cut in half, streets turned to rubble, the air itself burning from their blows.

Every time Dennise swung, the halberd stretched, chains of liquid silver shooting out to extend its reach. Every time Trevor countered, the scythe split into multiple arcs of blood, carving through steel and stone alike.

Above them, Taurus and Apole slammed into each other like forces of nature. Horns shattered the air with thunder while claws tore at reality itself. Silver ichor clashed with black smoke, their roars deafening, shaking the skies.

Trevor twisted midair, his scythe slicing through Dennise's shoulder. Blood sprayed, but instead of falling, Dennise's wound immediately armored over with liquid metal.

Dennise retaliated by smashing his halberd into the ground, spikes of silver erupting in a tidal wave. Trevor dissolved into smoke again, reforming just behind him — but Dennise anticipated it, swinging in a full arc that forced Trevor to block.

CLASH!

The ground shattered beneath them, rubble flying as the duel reached a fever pitch.

The duel raged like a storm given flesh. Halberd and scythe clashed again and again, sparks cascading in brilliant arcs. Every strike between them split the ground into deeper scars, their footsteps leaving behind craters as though giants walked the earth.

Above, Taurus and Apole tore at each other with fury. The bull's horns gouged craters into the land while Apole's claws cut the air like blades, sending shockwaves that made even the strongest structures buckle. The battlefield had become a place where the world itself seemed to bend and fracture.

But as the fight dragged on, Trevor's calm mask returned. His movements grew sharper, his strikes more deliberate—while Dennise's aura, though immense, began to waver under the relentless exchange. Sweat mixed with blood on his face, his breaths harsher.

Trevor noticed."Impressive, Dennise. Truly. But you're still too… linear."

In that instant, Trevor's blood scythe dissolved into a torrent of crimson mist, surging around him like a living tide. He spun his body low, his palm grazing the ground. The blood answered his call—condensing into chains of scarlet iron that whipped forward with frightening speed.

Dennise blocked with his halberd, but Trevor had baited him. The first chain coiled around the weapon, locking it in place with bone-crushing force. Before Dennise could react, a second chain lashed out and wrapped around his torso, squeezing tight enough to dent the metal armor he had formed around himself.

"Caught you," Trevor whispered, his voice more beast than man.

The chains suddenly erupted into a crimson explosion, sending shards of hardened blood piercing through Dennise's armor like spears. He coughed blood, his silver aura flickering violently.

But Trevor wasn't finished. He appeared in front of Dennise in an instant, smoke and blood trailing from his movements, his scythe reforming with a howl. With a single swing, he brought it down in a diagonal slash.

The strike tore through Dennise's metal body, shattering his halberd and ripping a wound across his chest that glowed with silver blood. The force of the blow hurled him backward, through walls and stone, until he lay buried in a mound of rubble.

Taurus, sensing its master's pain, bellowed furiously and charged to aid him—but Apole swooped in from above, slamming the bull into the ground with claws drenched in Trevor's power.

Trevor stood tall amidst the carnage, crimson aura flooding the battlefield like a tide of death. His eyes glowed with a cruel satisfaction, voice echoing as he spoke over the ruin:

"Dennise… you never stood a chance."

The rubble shifted. For a moment, silence reigned—until a low metallic groan rose from the wreckage. Then came the sound of something grinding, reforming.

Dennise staggered to his feet, chest heaving, silver blood streaming down his side. His armor was cracked and warped, but his eyes burned brighter than ever.

"You think this is over?" he growled, spitting blood onto the shattered ground. His voice carried not despair, but wrath.

Metal surged around him in torrents, like rivers of molten silver pulled by his will. They spiraled, condensed, reshaped. His broken halberd dissolved into dust and from it emerged something monstrous—a massive greatsword as long as a house, forged of condensed silver with jagged edges like a predator's teeth. Its sheer weight warped the ground beneath him.

"Trevor… if I am to fall, I'll take you with me!"

Behind him, Taurus roared—its silver body now glowing with lines of molten cracks, as if the bull itself was burning its life force to fuel its master. The beast grew larger, more feral, its four horns sharpening into spears of white-hot metal.

Trevor narrowed his eyes, the mocking calm finally slipping from his face."…So you're willing to destroy yourself just to hurt me?"

Dennise roared, surging forward with his final gambit. His greatsword came down with enough force to fracture the very earth, a shockwave racing outward that split streets and toppled what remained of the buildings. Simultaneously, Taurus broke free of Apole's talons, barreling toward Trevor like a meteor of silver wrath.

For a moment—it was as if the world itself shook under Dennise's defiance.

But Trevor did not flinch. His crimson chains whipped forward, blood swirling into an armored carapace around his body. His scythe gleamed with a predatory edge, and Apole's claws slashed once, sending the bull staggering mid-charge.

The collision came—greatsword against scythe, Taurus against Apole, silver against crimson.

The ground cracked, black smoke and blood mist erupted, and a thunderclap of metal and energy echoed through the city like the roar of gods.

Trevor skidded back a few paces, boots digging trenches into the ruined stone—but he was still standing tall, unbroken. Dennise, by contrast, was left trembling, his greatsword fractured, his armor crumbling, his body nearly spent.

Trevor tilted his head, crimson eyes glowing brighter."…Impressive. But desperation won't save you."

"The Barnes must be destroyed. That's the only way my mother can be appeased. Even if I die, I will make sure to send them all with me!" Dennise cried out, his aura flaring once again. Taurus shot towards him and right in front of Trevor, they did something he had not expected. It was a move he hadn't used in a while.

Sync.