Nira was shouting at me while I watched Scorin fight for my life.

I turned to her immediately.

 "What do you want?! Can't you see I'm a little busy?!"

Nira flicked my nose with her finger.

 "You need to help him from here!"

I looked at her, confused.

 "How am I supposed to help him?"

Nira sighed while staring at Scorin as he pushed Zephran back toward a tree.

 "Just use your seahorse already!"

I covered my mouth.

 "Oh man, I can't believe I forgot that."

I stretched my hands out and used my remaining Umbral Grace.

 "I need more than one."

I stood up and focused harder.

 "Come on… you got this."

I kept my hands up, palms open.

 "Come on… gimme five."

Sophia's hands began to gather dark mist.

 Her fingertips were slowly encased in umbral black ice.

[ FROSTBOUND CAVALRY ]

 The mist around her hands condensed into a single sphere between her palms.

The black orb cracked open—

Five protective seahorses burst out, rushing toward Scorin.

Scorin created distance with a violent Spartan kick, caving in Zephran's chest.

"From this point on, I won't hold back."

He leveled his sword at Zephran.

The seahorses arrived, forming an arc above him.

"For your crimes—human and demon trafficking…"

"I will be your executioner."

Zephran kept his eyes on Scorin as he rose.

"Finally… show me the real Prince Scorin."

He charged in, unleashing a rapid multi-strike with his staff.

"If I'm going to die here—make it worth remembering!"

Scorin met every strike with his Draconic Greatsword.

Neither gave ground.

"You don't deserve a graceful death."

Scorin began forcing Zephran back, breaking through the rhythm of his strikes.

"You even kidnapped my own kind."

He caught one blow with a single hand on the blade—

Then drove the greatsword down, crushing Zephran's staff aside.

 "Scum."

His free hand snapped across Zephran's face.

The staff slipped from Zephran's grip—

He hit the ground—

 And Scorin drove the greatsword straight through his heart.

Zephran coughed blood.

 "—gkt—"

He grabbed the blade with both hands.

 "It's not over… you lizard."

A bright flash burst from his chest pocket.

 Light tore through the forest—thin, slicing arcs that cut across Scorin's face.

"What—"

 The seahorses surged forward, shifting to cover Scorin wherever the impact would land—

The blast hit.

It launched him through the trees, snapping trunks as he crashed through them.

Scorin rolled to a stop beside Sophia, landing hard on his back.

"That crazy bastard…"

Nira, Noxx, and I pushed out of the bushes and rushed to him.

"What the hell just happened, Scorin?"

He sat up, eyes still locked on Zephran's body.

"He used a Holy Relic."

The Ledger opened in front of my face.

[ LEDGER ACTIVE ]

[ THREAT DETECTED ]

Target: Prince Zephran

Status: Relic Activated

[ WARNING ]

[ RELIC–DEMON MUTATION: IN PROGRESS ]

Scorin looked at me.

"Can you heal me?"

I looked back at Zephran's body as it twisted into an abomination.

Midnight-colored angel wings tore from his back.

His horns curved into a halo.

Nira shouted at me.

"DEMON EMPIRE TO SOPHIA!"

I tore my eyes away from the horrifying sight.

"Yeah… I can heal you."

I poured Umbral Grace around Scorin's body.

The umbral ice around my fingertips kept creeping higher, slowly encasing my knuckles.

"Sophia, that's enough."

Scorin grabbed my hands as he rose to his feet.

"You've pushed yourself enough here."

I looked down at my hands as the umbral ice stopped at my knuckles.

"I can keep going—"

"SOPHIAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

Zephran's berserk scream tore through the forest.

"W-why… is he calling me?" My hands trembled. "Am I going to die again?"

Scorin's face hardened when he saw me panic.

"Sophia, go with Noxx and get out of here."

I kept trembling.

"Not again…"

Scorin started to reach for my shoulder, but a violent lunge came from Zephran's direction.

He turned and caught Zephran's left wing.

Zephran drove forward with it.

"It's not over, Prince Scorin."

His voice came out twisted, like his body was muting itself.

Scorin brought his Draconic Greatsword down against the wing.

"Why can't I cut this?"

Zephran kept flying through the forest with Scorin hanging on to his greatsword.

"My wings are made of obsidian feathers."

Scorin said nothing.

He held his grip, but panic flashed across his face.

"What? It's not working?" Zephran taunted as they tore through the forest. "So this is where you die, hero."

Zephran stopped midair and slammed Scorin into the ground with his wing.

"You can't be dead yet."

Scorin rose, one hand on the hilt of his Draconic Greatsword where it stood buried in the earth.

"I was just getting started."

He ripped the blade free and rested it over his shoulder.

"You're the one who already played your last trump card."

Zephran kept his eyes on Scorin as he hovered in the air.

"What do you mean by that, lizard?"

Scorin gripped his Draconic Greatsword with both hands on the hilt.

Zephran's voice came out rough and raspy.

"What do you think you're doing?"

Scorin closed his eyes.

"Among dragons, gold is not worn. It is earned."

[ AURELIAN CATACLYSM ]

Gold particles began gathering around the hilt of Scorin's Draconic Greatsword.

The blade hummed like it was on the verge of screaming.

Zephran reached out.

His staff tore through the forest, snapping trees apart as it flew back into his grip.

"What cheap parlor trick is this?"

The Draconic Greatsword flared with immense golden light.

The blade swelled until it was the size of a tree.

Red lines engraved themselves across the flat of the blade.

The hilt and guard widened with it.

At the end of the hilt, a red string hung from a small dragon charm.

The air around Scorin tightened.

Dust lifted at his feet as he held a blade that was clearly meant for judgment.

"This is where you fall, Zephran."

Scorin's wings spread wide.

He kicked off the ground so hard the earth itself seemed offended.

"Wh-when did you reach this level?"

Scorin's eyes stayed locked on Zephran as the swing was already coming down.

"After my training with my brother."

Zephran raised his staff and tried to block the massive incoming slash.

It didn't matter.

The staff split clean in half.

The blade tore through his neck without slowing.

An aftershock erupted from the force, ripping a straight path through the forest.

The trees never grew back in that line.

Zephran's head slid from his neck.

Before it could hit the ground, gold particles consumed it whole.

More gold gathered around the stump of his neck and devoured the rest of his body, as if Zephran had never been there at all.

Scorin's [ AURELIAN CATACLYSM ] dissipated.

The Draconic Greatsword broke apart into gold dust.

He turned and looked at me.

 I was frozen in shock.

"You okay?"

 Nira flicked my nose with her foot.

"Come on. Get up already."

 Noxx tried to push me up with his head, but I dropped back onto all fours.

I laughed while staring at Scorin.

 "I think I'm out of Umbral Grace."

Nira looked at Scorin and glided in front of his face.

 "Be a prince and pick her up."

Scorin didn't hesitate.

 He marched toward me and lifted me into his arms, one under my back and the other beneath my legs.

"Ready to go?"

 I nodded while Noxx jumped into my arms and Nira slipped into the lantern on his collar.

"Alright. Let's go."

 Scorin kicked off the ground and flew into the sky with me in his arms.

I looked at him as we climbed higher.

 "I need to check on my brothers."

He nodded, keeping his eyes forward.

 "I helped them before I came here."

I grabbed his face and forced him to look at me mid-flight.

 Scorin stopped in the air so suddenly it looked like he had been attacked.

"You did what?!"

 I shouted at him while we hovered in the sky.