The six warriors held their positions around Max, their weapons ready while their combined pressure continued to build. It pressed against his scales from every direction, turning the air heavy enough that cracks slowly spread beneath his feet.
Ulaghchi pulled his curved blade another inch from its sheath. The silver bells attached to its handle rang again, their gentle sound carrying through the chaos with an unnatural clarity.
"Your breathing changed," he observed with a playful smile. "Are you finally beginning to understand where you stand?"
"He understands," Urus replied as he lifted his chained mace onto one shoulder. "That is why he has stopped barking."
Lucius tapped the flat of his short sword against the golden eagle engraved upon his shield.
"Perhaps we should accept his surrender," he suggested, his blue eyes filled with mockery. "Emperor Augustus may reward us if we deliver the dragon king alive and house-trained."
"I will never surrender," Max answered, slowly turning his head toward him.
"Whatever you say, Your Majesty." Lucius performed another shallow bow.
Max’s grip tightened around his void blade, yet before he could respond, the sound of a bowstring being drawn reached him from behind.
Nogai had placed a dark arrow against his composite bow. Mana twisted around its sharp head, gathering silently while his cold eyes followed the smallest movements of Max’s shoulders.
"Stop provoking him," Nogai warned. "A cornered beast is most dangerous when it realizes there is nowhere left to run."
Cassian remained still, his golden spear planted against the ground and his stern expression untouched by the insults moving between both groups.
"You entered a war that did not concern you, King Maximus," the legate said. "Lower your weapon, suppress your magic, and kneel. The Emperor may permit you to keep your kingdom once he has decided your punishment."
Valeria’s amber eyes shifted toward Cassian for only a moment.
"He will not kneel," she said.
Cassian looked toward her.
"No," Valeria continued, adjusting the spear in her right hand. "His mana is changing."
The others finally noticed it.
Black mist leaked from beneath Max’s feet and crawled across the broken ground, spreading between the six warriors before pouring down the mountainside. It moved through the battlefield like living darkness, swallowing the dust and smoke while covering shattered weapons, abandoned siege engines, and the bodies scattered across the stone.
Max closed his eyes.
He reached for every trace of mana surrounding him and pulled.
Crimson flames burning across the battlefield weakened before disappearing. Golden siege crystals flickered and went dark, while magical attacks traveling toward Frankindia’s barrier collapsed in midair. The mana filling the atmosphere rushed toward Max, vanishing into the black mist faster than the surrounding mages could gather it.
Soldiers from both armies stumbled as their spells failed.
Even the six warriors surrounding him reacted.
Ulaghchi drew both curved blades fully from their sheaths, his smile disappearing as the silver bells began ringing wildly. Nogai released the tension in his bowstring rather than waste the gathered energy, while Urus lowered the chained mace from his shoulder and wrapped part of its chain around his forearm.
Cassian pulled his spear free from the ground.
"Formation," he commanded.
Lucius immediately raised his shield, and Valeria shifted both spears in front of her body. The three Imperial warriors moved closer without breaking the circle, their golden mana gathering around them before Max could absorb it.
"This is no longer entertainment," Cassian warned. "Treat him as an Imperial-level threat."
Max opened his eyes.
They had become completely black.
The void blade in his right hand began to change as the stolen mana flowed into it. Multicolored light appeared beneath its dark surface, twisting through the weapon. The Spirit Sovereign’s magic caused the blade to tremble violently inside his grip.
Max raised his left claw.
Crystal spread from the center of his palm, growing outward until another blade formed between his fingers. Its transparent surface immediately filled with golden fire, the flames shining brightly without melting the crystal containing them.
Purple ice fire followed.
The two flames twisted around each other within the weapon, one radiating heat while the other released a coldness that froze the moisture in the surrounding air. Fractures appeared across the crystal blade as the incompatible powers fought for control.
Max had never attempted to combine this many abilities.
He did not know whether the weapons would remain stable or explode in his hands before he could swing them. Every instinct warned him that forcing them together was reckless, but fighting six enemies at Urus’s level while holding back would be far more dangerous.
He knew that if this failed, losing his hands would be the least of his problems.
Max brought both blades together.
The crystal weapon resisted the void blade the moment their edges touched. Golden and purple flames erupted between them, while multicolored energy raced across his arms and tore open several scales. He clenched his teeth and forced the two weapons against one another.
A violent pulse spread across the battlefield.
The ground beneath Max collapsed several inches, and the black mist surrounding him rose like an enormous wave. The six warriors were forced backward, their boots scraping deep lines through the stone as they raised their weapons against the pressure.
The crystal blade began sinking into the void.
Its transparent surface broke apart piece by piece, wrapping around the darkness instead of being swallowed by it. Golden flame spread along one edge, purple ice fire gathered around the other, and the Spirit Sovereign’s multicolored power continued twisting beneath the crystal shell.
When the process ended, only one blade remained in Max’s hands.
It was nearly as long as his body, with a black center surrounded by translucent crystal. Multicolored light moved beneath its surface, while golden and purple flames burned along its opposing edges.
Blood ran from between Max’s claws as he struggled to hold it.
Urus’s confidence vanished.
Nogai aimed directly at Max’s heart, while Ulaghchi lowered his body and crossed both blades before him. Lucius braced behind his shield, Valeria’s golden flames intensified, and Cassian leveled his spear.
"Kill him now!" Cassian commanded.
All six moved at once.
Max tightened his bleeding claws around the handle and swung the combined blade.
The battlefield disappeared beneath light and darkness.
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