The nine braced themselves as the haze cleared. Remiel shot forward, his right fist blazing with searing crimson fire, wings flaring wide behind him. With a furious roar, he drove his flaming fist into Wolven’s chest.The impact forced the Direwolf back, claws dragging through black sand as molten sparks hissed from its ashen hide. For the first time, Wolven staggered — then the beast’s paw came up in a single, devastating arc. The blow struck Remiel full in the torso and sent him cartwheeling through the air. He slammed into the black sand with a thunderous impact; the crater he formed smoked and hissed as molten glass bled into its rim.A deafening howl erupted from Wolven’s maw, shaking the desert’s foundation. The air quivered as the sound burrowed into the ground, resonating across every grain of black sand. The dunes began to shift, ripple—then split apart.From beneath, they came.Thousands of smaller wolves, their forms like dark shadows sculpted from molten sand and embered f

As the green portal dissipated, the nine companions found themselves back within the vast, imposing halls of Astron's castle. The cool, still air enveloped them, a stark contrast to the scorching heat of the desert forge they had just left. Yet, despite the change in environment, their faces remained heavy with worry and concern.Remiel trailed behind the others, his crimson eyes distant and unfocused. The words of Deldrien, the enigmatic figure they had encountered, echoed relentlessly in his mind: "To claim the blade, you must tame the beast. For it is bound to you by destiny itself." The weight of those words pressed upon him like an unyielding chain.Astron, seated on his throne, watched their return with an air of curiosity mixed with impatience. "You're back... at last," he said, his tone dripping with anticipation. "Tell me, why did it take you so long?"The nine exchanged uneasy glances, their faces reflecting the trials they had faced. Elynora stepped forward, her voice stea

The desert air crackled with tension, lightning splitting the clouds above. The Darkbloods stood unwavering, their weapons gleaming in the storm’s glow.Remiel’s crimson gaze swept over them, his voice steady but sharp. “Why do you call yourselves by the names of sins? Pride. Envy. Wrath. Sloth. Greed. Gluttony. Lust. Who do you serve?”For a moment, silence fell, broken only by the hiss of Nyxelle’s whip as it curled lazily around her arm. Then a low voice answered—not from the Darkbloods, but from beside him.Remael’s golden eyes narrowed, his tone grave. “They are the Darkbloods — servants of the Seven Sinlords. Once, they were demons like countless others. But by drinking their master’s blood, they inherited a fragment of their power. Now, they exist as living extensions of those Kings.”The revelation sank heavy into the group. Emriel’s scythe spun slowly, his lips twisting in grim amusement. “So that’s what we’re up against… not just warriors, but shadows of the Sins themselves.

Multiple explosions of dark-violet energy, purple lightning, and molten lava tore the battlefield apart as three muscled figures clashed with reckless abandon. The air itself screamed under their blows.One of them — molten-haired, clad in volcanic armor — threw his head back and laughed, a sound like breaking stone. He shot into the air, volcanic warhammer raised high. At its tip, a molten sphere ignited, swelling larger and larger until it burned like a newborn sun.“Hellstorm of Wrath.”The blazing orb pulsed, then split open with cracks of molten light. From its searing core, fireballs the size of meteors erupted outward, tearing free one after another, streaking down toward the earth in blazing arcs. Yet the great sphere still hung in the sky, burning brighter, threatening to release even more.The two below only smirked at the incoming destruction. Seran’s gaze sharpened, calm yet unyielding. Serrath shifted in his grip, flowing into its spear form as his body surged upward. He