Alex’s body tensed as his gaze locked onto Astariel, the Fallen Angel.
The moment he saw that familiar, ominous [Dark Blade] forming in Astariel’s grip, he assumed the worst.
‘He’s after me?’
Xyrran was still attacking from behind, his enormous claws slicing through the air with devastating force.
Each missed strike tore apart the landscape, leaving deep scars in the battlefield.
Alex barely had enough space to dodge, if even Astariel was joining the fight, then he was completely cornered.
‘Should I use Destiny Shift now?’
That skill was his last resort, but if he used it too early, it would be wasted.
He needed to be sure.
Astariel stood motionless, his presence alone suffocating.
His four wings, two black, two white, were fully spread, each one tinged with a faint glow.
Alex could tell just by looking at them that they weren’t just for show; the edges shimmered with sharp light, meaning they could be used as weapons, too.
And yet, the Fallen Angel wasn’t moving.
It was strange.
If he wanted Alex dead, wouldn’t he have already attacked?
Then, Astariel’s other hand moved.
And for the first time, Alex saw something new.
A second blade.
This one wasn’t dark.
It was white, glowing with an eerie, almost divine radiance.
The contrast was striking, one sword made of pure darkness, the other of blinding light.
Two completely opposite forces, yet both blades exuded the same terrifying aura.
Alex’s heart pounded.
‘He has another weapon? Since when?!’
Astariel had always wielded that [Dark Blade], cutting down enemies in an instant.
He had walked through a battlefield of corpses, untouched, never needing anything more than a single strike to end his opponents.
But now? Now he had two swords.
Alex felt the shift in the air immediately.
The battlefield recognized the threat, trembling beneath Astariel’s feet as cracks of golden light spread through the ground.
Then—
Astariel merged the blades.
A pulse of destruction erupted outward, distorting everything around him.
The black and white blades fused into something else entirely, something that neither belonged to the darkness nor the light.
Something that shouldn’t exist.
Astariel lifted the newly formed [Merged Void Blades], a sword that erased even the concept of existence itself,
And he slashed.
Alex’s instincts flared. His body braced for impact before his mind even caught up.
But—
The attack wasn’t aimed at him.
Alex dodged instinctively, leaping backward to avoid the crescent-shaped wave of pure void energy.
It whistled past him, and then his eyes widened.
It wasn’t coming for him, but for Xyrran himself.
Astariel probably noticed that there was a huge dragon behind Alex, and thus understood why he was rushing at such high speed toward him.
Some others might simply try to kill Alex since they were scared of him fighting them, but then that would mean dying by the hands of the Primordial Dragon right after.
“WHAT?!” the Primordial Dragon roared.
The attack reached him before he could even process what was happening.
Astariel’s blade touched Xyrran, and then, he ceased to exist, literally.
No explosion. No screams. No resistance.
One moment, the colossal dragon was there.
The next, he was gone.
His massive form vanished as if he had never been there in the first place.
The space he occupied shattered like broken glass, fragments of reality dissolving into the void.
Astariel’s blade hadn’t just killed him.
It had erased him.
This wasn’t death.
It was absolute annihilation.
Alex stood frozen, his mind struggling to catch up.
‘That… just happened.’
If such a powerful attack existed, he needed to be careful not to get hit by it.
How powerful Astariel was a question he asked himself, but he seemed like he had more skills to showcase if he was in a bad situation.
But all that Alex knew was that the monster that had tormented him for five relentless minutes had been wiped out instantly.
The battlefield fell into an unnatural silence.
Astariel didn’t move.
He merely lowered his blade, watching as the last remnants of Xyrran’s existence faded into nothingness.
And then, the air trembled.
Alex’s stomach dropped.
Reality twisted.
Like something was forcing its way back.
‘No way.’
Then… Xyrran revived.
A crack in space formed, bursting open as violet energy erupted outward.
A roar, deafening, furious, shook the entire battlefield.
The sky itself split apart as the dragon’s colossal form reconstructed itself, piece by piece, from nothingness.
He was alive, completely restored.
His scales shimmered, his wings radiated unstable energy, and his eyes burned with something far worse than before, pure rage.
“Oh,” even Astariel was surprised.
Xyrran’s wings flapped once. Find exclusive stories on My Virtual Library Empire
The sheer force alone shattered what remained of the battlefield, sending shockwaves in every direction.
His gaze locked onto Astariel, his expression twisting into something dark and venomous.
“That,” he growled, his voice drenched in malice, “actually hurt.”
For the first time since this trial began, Xyrran was genuinely angry at someone.
Alex held his breath, watching the two figures standing across from each other.
Xyrran had switched targets from him to the Fallen Angel, which was good, at least he saved now.
Astariel, however, remained completely still.
Unbothered. Unfazed.
He tilted his head slightly, observing, calculating.
But he didn’t attack again.
And the reason why became obvious as a voice echoed through the sky.
[Five minutes have passed.]
Xyrran’s scowl deepened.
His wings folded, his body relaxed, and he exhaled through gritted teeth.
“…Lucky insects,” he muttered, his voice filled with irritation.
Without another word, he flapped his wings and soared into the sky, his massive form disappearing toward the centre of the domain.
He was leaving, even though he could have kept fighting and destroyed everything around.
But he didn’t.
Because the Calamity’s time limit was up.
Alex barely had time to process his relief before turning back to Astariel.
The Fallen Angel was still there.
Still holding his [Merged Void Blades].
Still watching.
And now that Xyrran was gone, his attention was back on Alex.
Astariel tilted his head, “You weren’t that lucky, huh?”
He unmerged the two swords, making them disappear entirely.
“Yeah, that thing killed another Token Holder in front of me,” Alex muttered, still catching his breath, “And since there wasn’t anyone else around, it chased me next.”
Astariel nodded.
“I read that if he kills you while you’re holding a token, the token vanishes, is that right?”
“Yeah,” Alex confirmed. “Happened right in front of my eyes. It was insane.”
The tension between them slowly eased.
Alex cautiously approached Astariel, his body still sore from dodging Xyrran’s attacks.
The Fallen Angel, however, didn’t move, didn’t even seem concerned about the idea of Alex getting closer.
Either he trusted Alex.
Or he didn’t see him as a threat.
Both worked in Alex’s favor.
“Only nine tokens remain,” Astariel commented. “You should grab one before they all disappear.”
“I will,” Alex muttered, sitting down on the ground with a sigh. “I have to, anyway.”
Astariel simply shrugged, “Alright.”
With that, he turned around and began walking in the opposite direction.
Nobody in this competition had dared to attack him since the moment he eliminated fifty participants in a single move.
His victory was practically guaranteed, unless he encountered Xyrran again.
Astariel had been sure he killed the Primordial Dragon.
He had used [Merged Void Blades], his [Forbidden Skill], the ability that erased anything it touched.
And yet Xyrran revived.
That fact intrigued Astariel more than anything else.
He was stronger than 99.9% of dragons in this city.
But even he couldn’t afford to drop his guard around the Calamity.
Astariel continued walking.
“Wait!”
Astariel stopped, glancing back at Alex.
Alex hesitated, then smiled awkwardly.
“Can I hit you 35 times?”