The capital of Valoria was in chaos. Explosions shook the air, smoke rose in dark plumes, and the cries of wounded foes and allies echoed through the streets. Amid the destruction, Daruis stood like an unmovable pillar, his brown and cream fur glinting under the faint light of a burning sky. Opposite him, Trask the Horrible flexed his insectoid legs, his compound eyes reflecting malice as his mandibles clicked with anticipation.
"So the big guy decides to intervene himself. #1," Trask sneered, his voice laced with nervous bravado. "I was wondering when you'd show up. I was just playing tag with your KustalEl back there."
Kopa slowly rose to his feet, blood dripping from the wound on his side where Trask had pierced him earlier. Despite the pain, his expression was calm. "I'm fine, my Lord. Shall we dispatch this vermin together?"
Daruis shook his head, his expression softening only slightly. "Negative, Viceroy. You are to withdraw and ensure that the civilians are completely evacuated from the capital. Lord Jeth is already securing our extraction position."
"But, Daruis—"
"This is an order, Kopa." Daruis' voice grew firm, and the weight of his authority pressed down like a physical force. "I don't want to lose more people than I already have today."
Kopa hesitated, his hands clenching into fists. After a moment, he bowed his head. "Understood, my Lord."
Daruis nodded. "Thank you, my friend. And please, try to locate Lord Adam if you can. His Arcem would be most favorable to us at the moment."
"I will." Kopa stepped back, his body beginning to dissolve into a flurry of emerald leaves carried by the wind. Before he disappeared entirely, he paused. "I will come back for you, Daruis. When I can. Promise me you'll endure until then, brother."
A faint smile tugged at Daruis' lips. "I promise, brother."
The last of the leaves fluttered away, leaving Daruis alone with Trask. The insect tracient's compound eyes narrowed as he observed the interaction.
"That was a touching scene," Trask mocked, his mandibles clicking together with amusement. "I might have even shed a tear if I could. But I must say, I expected more from ArchenLand. For years, Razik struggled with you, but I can't see why. You're all talk."
Daruis didn't respond immediately. He stared at Trask, his green eyes glowing faintly as his mana began to stir. His aura expanded slowly, steadily, pressing down on the area with a crushing force.
Trask laughed nervously, trying to mask his discomfort. "Oh? Are we done talking now?"
Without warning, Trask launched himself forward, his extended pincers slashing toward Daruis in a blur. The speed of his assault was blinding, his strikes landing with precision across Daruis' body. Blood splattered the ground as Daruis' wrist was severed, and deep gashes tore across his chest and arms.
But Daruis didn't flinch.
Trask paused, his pincers clicking in confusion. "What's wrong? Too stunned to react?"
Daruis' gaze didn't waver. "So it was a traitor," he said calmly, his voice cutting through the tension like a blade. "Understood. But you... you're the one standing before me now. You're the one who dared to step into my land and harm my people."
The golden ring in Daruis' nose began to glow with a vivid green hue as his mana surged outward in a torrent. His severed hand regenerated in an instant, and the wounds across his body closed, leaving no trace of the injuries.
Baltacek materialized in his hand, its massive axe-and-hammer head gleaming with destructive power. Daruis swung it over his shoulder, the sheer weight of the weapon causing the air to vibrate.
"And for that," he growled, his voice low and dangerous, "I will make you dread this day… in your grave."
With a burst of speed that belied his massive size, Daruis closed the distance between them in an instant. He brought the axe edge of Baltacek down with devastating force, the impact creating a tremor that rippled through the battlefield.
Trask narrowly avoided the strike, his wings propelling him upward. He hovered in the air, his compound eyes wide with shock. What speed! For someone so big, he's even faster than Razik's plasma beads.
Daruis didn't give him a moment to recover. Propelling himself into the air using sheer momentum and mana manipulation, he arced toward Trask, Baltacek trailing green energy.
"Impossible!" Trask hissed, shedding his skin just as Daruis' blade swept past him, narrowly avoiding decapitation.
Daruis reversed his swing mid-air, bringing the hammer side of Baltacek down onto Trask's body. The impact sent the insect tracient hurtling to the ground, where he crashed with a deafening boom, creating a massive crater.
Trask groaned, his chitin shell cracked and splintered. Such raw power… so this is the strength of #1.
Daruis landed gracefully, his aura still burning with fury. With a flick of his finger, five glowing mana spheres materialized around him.
"20% Output: QuinBarrage."
The spheres shot forward in rapid succession, each one honing in on Trask. The insect tracient twisted and dodged desperately, but the last sphere clipped his shoulder, sending him stumbling.
Before Trask could recover, Daruis appeared beside him in a blur, Baltacek cleaving through his extended pincers and insect legs in one fluid motion.
"Aaargh!" Trask screamed in agony as his severed limbs fell to the ground.
For the first time in his life, Trask felt true terror. Not even The Shadow's presence had ever filled him with such dread.
"How dare you!" he roared, his remaining claws transforming into razor-sharp appendages dripping with venom.
"Karanlık: KıyımPençeleri!"
The crimson claws slashed toward Daruis at blinding speed, each strike powerful enough to tear through platinum.
Daruis stood his ground, taking the full brunt of the attack. His chest and face were deeply torn, the bone visible through the wounds. Blood gushed freely, but Daruis remained unshaken.
In the microseconds before Trask's claws could strike again, Daruis clenched his fist and drove it into Trask's face with crushing force. The blow sent Trask flying, his body skidding across the ground and leaving a deep trench in its wake.
Daruis straightened, his wounds already beginning to heal. His eyes burned with cold fury as he approached the fallen tracient.
"I told you," he said, his voice low and filled with unrelenting power. "I would make you suffer."
Trask lay in the crater, his chitin shattered, his body broken. He stared up at Daruis, his vision blurring as panic consumed him.
This can't be... Trask thought, his breaths shallow. This can't be where I die...