Zanka no Tachi

For a moment, an eerie silence fell between heaven and earth!

Then a burst of red light erupted with savage force!

It set the sea ablaze and scorched the sky asunder. Extreme heat filled every corner of the world, sweeping away the sinister chill brought by the Threnodian!

The instant the blade left its sheath, the flames surged into a white-hot pillar. The raindrops reflecting the battlefield vaporized in midair before they could hit the ground.

Rover stood with his blade in hand, flames coiling around it like a crimson dragon winding along the edge. He took a step forward, and the pillar of fire swept out, crashing head-on into the Reversal Rain gathered in a beam.

"Sizzle..."

Water and fire met with an ear-piercing hiss. The Reversal Rain evaporated layer by layer and was driven back, but the Faceless Inferno Lord replenished it desperately. Meanwhile, the Overlord Class Tacet Discords spawned from the shadows of the rain had already lunged close.

"Flame Rampart!"

Rover swept his hand, and the earth split open. Towering pillars of fire burst from the fissures, forming a city of blazing flames that wiped out every Tacet Discord in a single strike!

"So strong..." Cartethyia watched from afar, her eyes shining.

"It's not over yet!"

Jinhsi stared toward the Faceless Inferno Lord, her expression still tense.

Sure enough, the Faceless Inferno Lord let out a muffled roar, its form swelling once more. The Reversal Rain turned from murky to dark red, the battlefields reflected in each drop grew even more horrific, and the Tacet Discords spawned faster.

Rover tightened his grip on Ryūjin Jakka. Flames danced along the blade, reflected in his golden eyes.

"First art of swordsmanship, Brush Slash!"

Ryūjin Jakka gave a soft hum and trembled. All the flames on it withdrew, and its tip swept through the air, leaving only a faint white trace.

It was utterly unremarkable, as though nothing had happened.

But the next instant, the Faceless Inferno Lord's violent momentum was abruptly cut off, and every raindrop exploded.

That was right: they exploded, not evaporated, but vanished into nothingness!

As everyone watched in horror, the Faceless Inferno Lord's massive body was cleaved in two. Its halves fell apart and crashed heavily to the ground!

"Did we win? The Threnodian's been killed!" Everyone froze for a moment, then could not contain the wild joy in their eyes.

But Rover shook his head, recalling Imperator's words: Threnodians could not be completely destroyed, only shackled. Those words were like a curse.

A strange phenomenon suddenly appeared between heaven and earth!

The sky darkened. It was not clouds blotting out the sun; light itself was receding. The Reversal Rain stopped, but something heavier than the rain filled the air, as though the entire Norfall Barrens were sinking.

The Faceless Inferno Lord's remains turned into dark motes of light and slowly gathered. They grew denser and brighter, finally forming a silhouette the size of an ordinary person.

The "Crownless" stood up!

This Crownless was completely different from the Overlord Class Tacet Discords before. It was the Threnodian's true form, the source of all the horror. It represented calamity itself—a walking natural disaster!

Red and gold light intertwined around it, sacred and evil coexisting. Half of its mottled, battered armor was rusted, while the other half was gilded. Ancient battle markings were carved into its mask. One eye was scarlet as blood, the other golden as the sun.

Its aura was restrained to almost nothing, yet everyone's instincts screamed a warning. The power hidden in that body was far more terrifying than that of the colossus before.

It moved, and the mountains shook and the earth split.

The simple act of straightening its body reduced the rock beneath its feet to dust. A blast wave exploded outward, pressing the nearby defenders flat against the ground. Even Jiyan bent over, barely managing to stay up by bracing his spear against the ground.

"This... how is this possible...?" Jiyan's voice trembled. "It might be even stronger than Rover..."

But that was only his guess. A clash at this level was a battle between gods as far as "mortals" were concerned. No matter how strong a "mortal" was, he could not measure the difference in strength between gods!

Rover's expression did not change. Facing this fearsome god, he remained calm and composed, and without a word, he gave everyone courage.

"In that case, let me show you this blade's true power!"

Rover held Ryūjin Jakka across his body. The flames on the blade suddenly went out, without so much as a spark remaining. The blade changed from crimson to a dull iron color, as though all its heat had burned away.

"Bankai, Zanka no Tachi!"

The instant the words left his mouth, the temperature of the blade abruptly reversed. It did not grow cold; rather, it had become so hot that even the flames themselves burned away. All the heat was compressed into the cutting edge, invisible to the naked eye, but the air around the blade warped like melting glass.

At that moment, the blade's heat rivaled the surface of the sun: fifteen million degrees. The entire world became bone-dry. Moisture evaporated, and mountains, seas, and rivers rapidly dried up.

He could not maintain this state for too long. Otherwise, all of Solaris would be the first to perish from the heat.

Crownless moved, too fast to leave even an afterimage, and drove a fist at Rover's face.

Rover turned sideways and swept Zanka no Tachi across.

"East, Kyokujitsujin!"

The blade passed over Crownless's fist. There were no flames, no explosion, but its entire right arm, from fingertips to shoulder, turned to ash in an instant, with not a scrap left!

Crownless roared and clenched its left fist in the air. A war spear appeared, wreathed in countless vengeful souls, and once again came chopping down at Rover's head!

"West, Zanjitsu Gokui!"

The ground within ten zhang of him suddenly collapsed and turned into churning magma. Before the war spear could even get close, it instantly became flowing molten iron, unable to touch him at all!

In this state, Rover was like the sun itself. All tangible matter would melt instantly before him!

The Threnodian Crownless abruptly retreated. For an instant, his clouded eyes cleared; he had evidently realized how troublesome his opponent was.

Then the corners of his mouth lifted slightly in a humanlike expression, and cunning flashed in his eyes!

This thing had actually developed intelligence!

He spread his arms, and the blood moon on his chest came to life. Torrents of blood poured out, covering the ground.

Then countless figures emerged from the sea of blood. First came skeletons, and then flesh grew upon them until they were almost indistinguishable from how they had been in life.

"Ah!!!"

The warriors of the Breaking Formation Battalion screamed. Their eyes turned bloodshot, and they were on the verge of collapse.

These people were all their comrades, brothers, and loved ones, who had fallen in the war against the Threnodian. They had never expected them to become its puppets, used against Rover.

This demon was utterly deranged, exploiting the soft side of human nature to make its opponent show mercy!

"Ha!!"

Rover laughed. There was mockery, anger, and killing intent in his smile, but not a moment's hesitation!

"Very well. Let's see whose methods are superior!"

"South, Kaka Jūmanokushi Daisōjin!"

The blade pierced the earth, and ash covered the sky, likewise transforming into countless burning skeletal warriors!

These were all Tacet Discords he had slain. Now they too had become battle thralls, fighting solely for him.

Among the Tacet Discords were Crownless, Impermanence Heron... There were no fewer than a dozen Calamity Class ones, and the Overlord Class ones were beyond counting!

The sight horrified everyone. Just who was the War Threnodian here?!

The two sides clashed. The flame warriors swept all before them, tearing apart their opponents' puppets before throwing themselves at the Threnodian Crownless. They fought desperately, trading their lives for wounds, entangling it, tearing through its defenses, and suppressing it completely!

"Roar!!"

The Faceless Inferno Lord roared. Perhaps, at that moment, it learned what fear was.

To be attacked together by its own former subordinates was nothing short of a nightmare for it!

"It's time to end this!"

Rover leaped, his blade pointing downward, and plummeted like a meteor.

"North, Tenchi Kaijin!"

The blade pierced the Threnodian's chest. All its heat was released at that moment, and its opponent's body began to vanish into nothingness, inch by inch, spreading from its chest to its limbs. At last, only a dim core remained, suspended in midair.

After four moves, the Faceless Inferno Lord had been utterly defeated!

But the core was still writhing. Dark motes of light converged on it from every direction: the frequencies of war left on the battlefield, which it was reabsorbing. It was recovering. Slowly, but recovering all the same.

"This really is never-ending..." Rover frowned.

It seemed the Faceless Inferno Lord really had found a Resonator. Otherwise, it could not have been so tenacious. To suppress it completely, he had to deal with the root of the problem...

Just then, Imperator's voice sounded in his mind.

"Rider, let me out. With the Separation Authority, I may be able to sever its connection to the Resonator."