THE VILLAIN'S POV

The Old Pact had entered the battlefield.

"I can't hold us here for long .. her Domain will reject us at any moment! Hurry, Alon!"

Millicent's voice echoed across the battlefield, her figure wreathed in a radiant blue starlight aura.

On the other side, Ser Alon Valerion wasted no time. The moment he stepped in, he lunged at Beatrice and cleaved her in half with a dazzling speed.

"I know that, damn it!"

Leaving Beatrice stunned by the sudden blow, Ser Alon followed it up with a massive beam of light, engulfing her completely and turning her into dust.

"Let them see who the Iron Emperor truly is."

With Beatrice wiped out in under three seconds, both Mergo and Gavid Lindman appeared around Ser Alon, surrounding him as they recognized the threat he posed.

Both were SS+ rankers with terrifying strength and speed.

Yet their blades never even grazed Ser Alon, who blinked behind Gavid in a flash, his body still blazing with light.

With an even faster swing, Ser Alon unleashed a blinding, rocket-like strike. Gavid barely had time to react, raising Aether in defense .. only to be hurled hundreds of meters away, crashing violently into a distant mountain.

On the other side, Mergo activated the Ushigatana's power, releasing thousands of invisible slashes in under a second in a desperate attempt to cut the Iron Emperor down.

"Cleave!"

Releasing a thousand strikes, Mergo expected at least some to land…

Only to witness something unthinkable.

Ser Alon Valerion, moving at the speed of light, effortlessly dodged every single slash—appearing right in front of Mergo in less than a second.

"Unlucky for you... I move at light speed."

His sword gleamed with blinding radiance before delivering a devastating strike that sent Mergo crashing into the ground like a meteor.

Floating above the battlefield, Ser Alon sighed after taking down both enemies in under ten seconds.

"I'm getting too old for this kind of fight."

As he gathered more power of light around him, the Iron Emperor's aura flared intensely.

"Let's end this quickly."

This was a power unknown to the new generation.

If Emperor Maekar Valerion fought at lightning speed…

Then the Iron Emperor moved at the speed of light!

"Don't drop your guard, Alon! That witch's still alive!"

Millicent shouted through gritted teeth as she continued her duel with Beatrice.

Their battle was hidden .. only witches of their caliber could even perceive such a clash.

Witches of higher ranks fought by manifesting their Domains within the battlefield.

Once a witch cast her Domain, she could conjure impossible phenomena and bend reality itself.

This was why witches always sought to dominate the battlefield first.

Beatrice had established a tremendously strong Domain. It had taken Millicent considerable time to pierce through it using her stellar magic and open an escape portal .. bringing herself and Ser Alon into the field.

But Beatrice didn't give her a moment to breathe. She pressed in relentlessly, forcing Millicent to remain locked in combat.

Millicent knew she couldn't last long—and she wouldn't be able to cast any more spells due to her focus being entirely consumed by their duel.

On the other hand, Beatrice couldn't act freely either .. which was the only silver lining of the situation.

"Everything rests on you now, Ser Alon!"

"I told you .. I know!"

And Ser Alon didn't waste time.

Meanwhile, the elite students fought with newfound ferocity as hope finally appeared on the horizon.

Phoenix, in particular, was astounding—battling both Godfrey and Gvardiol simultaneously.

He unleashed hellish flames like a walking furnace.

Utilizing his empowered form, he held off two SS rankers at once while incinerating the Ultras forces in the process.

Daemon Valerion had to back off, afraid of being caught in the inferno.

Phoenix Sunlight…

He was a real monster.

With a rocket-powered punch, he sent the giant Godfrey flying, then exchanged fierce blows with Gvardiol.

Gvardiol unleashed his shadows at full power—but Phoenix's flames dispersed them all.

The Lord of Sunlight ramped up his speed, pummeling Gvardiol relentlessly.

Locked in close combat, Gvardiol felt as though he was fighting a moving sun. The heat surrounding Phoenix was terrifying.

As Phoenix grinned at him, Gvardiol understood just how powerful this man was.

"This is... dangerous."

"Trust me .. you haven't seen anything yet."

Grabbing Gvardiol's face with crushing force, Phoenix dragged him across the ground, beating him to a pulp without pause.

"I'll turn this place into a blazing inferno!"

With flames surging endlessly, Phoenix continued to carve a path for the elite class—clearing the way for them to reach the portal.

Millicent's spell hadn't been perfectly accurate .. she had opened the portal behind the Ultrans, lacking the exact coordinates of Frey's location.

Still, the path home had never been closer, which drove everyone to fight with renewed ferocity.

Among them, Frey and Ghost continued mowing down the Ultrans in large numbers, having finally shaken off Gavid's pursuit.

Frey unleashed more and more dark slashes.

But then, he came to a sudden halt, a grimace darkening his face.

"Damn it!"

He cursed harshly, feeling his body begin to stiffen, refusing to move as it should.

It was as if his weight had multiplied several times over.

Even simple movement became a struggle.

"What's wrong, Frey?!"

Ghost, covering his back, kept tearing through enemies but quickly noticed Frey's slowing pace.

Frey himself didn't fully understand what was happening to him, yet he forced his body to swing the twin blades again and again.

"Nothing! Focus on reaching the portal!"

The end was near.

They only needed to secure the path now—thanks to Ser Alon, who manipulated the element of light with perfect mastery, summoning a terrifying number of light swords above the sky.

Then, without warning...

He launched them all down on the Ultrian forces like artillery shells, painting the battlefield with blood.

With the Iron Emperor's arrival, the tide of war shifted once again .. back in the Empire's favor.

Elsewhere, Gavid Lindman finally clawed his way out of the crater Ser Alon had buried him in. For the first time, he smiled ..wide and ominous.

"That old man's stronger than we expected…"

Glaring upward, Gavid drew in a deep breath.

"But they've taken the bait."

He spoke those ominous words ..and unleashed a thunderous war cry that shook the entire battlefield, his voice drowning out the roars of thousands of soldiers and the thunder of explosions.

It was so loud that Frey and his companions felt their eardrums nearly burst.

"To all forces—NOW!"

Gavid's shout resounded with terrifying authority.

It was time to execute the plan.

"Do it!"

The command was vague, yet it brought unease to every imperial soldier who heard it.

"What are they planning?"

Ser Alon Valerion asked through gritted teeth, confusion in his eyes ..but he didn't need long to find out.

Because without warning, the entire Ultrian army turned and sprinted ... toward the portal Millicent had opened herself!

"Break through!!"

Thousands of soldiers charged.

All of them heading for the portal, intending to breach the Empire itself and carry the war into their territory.

Realizing this, Ser Alon clenched his jaw, his body glowing once more.

"You think I'll just stand here and let you do as you please?!"

The Ultrans were planning to use the elite class's escape route as a gateway to invade the Empire .. turning their enemies' plan against them.

But Ser Alon had no intention of letting that happen.

His body radiating with light, he prepared to intercept them.

Yet Gavid Lindman laughed, mocking the Iron Emperor's effort.

"Hold your horses, old man. Your opponent has already arrived."

And in that instant…

Everyone on the battlefield—Ser Alon included—felt the hair on their bodies stand on end, as a suffocating pressure suddenly descended from the sky.

All eyes turned upward.

Ser Alon knew instantly ... the man was already behind him.

Spinning around at the speed of light, he found his opponent had mirrored his movement perfectly.

A rocket-like punch was already flying toward his face.

From the man's fist, serpents of violet lightning erupted, overwhelming Ser Alon's brilliant light.

Overwhelmed by the sheer momentum, the Iron Emperor was launched backward, crashing into the ground .. his body shaken by the force.

"Alon!!"

Millicent screamed, unable to process what she had just witnessed.

Her eyes were fixed on him.

And so were Frey's.

The man who had entered the battlefield had extremely long black hair, blistered grayish skin, and glowing crimson-red eyes.

He didn't look human.

But many recognized him instantly—for he had been the final adversary in the last great war between the Empire and the Ultrans.

"No way…"

"Is that…?!"

Shocked voices spread across the battlefield.

Despair returned once again.

And Frey, eyes narrowed, uttered the name...

"Dragoth…"

The strongest leader of the Ultras had finally appeared.

"Impossible…! Didn't Abraham Starlight kill him in the last war?!"

Everyone on the Empire's side asked the same question .. but reality couldn't have been more different from what they believed.

Sitting in the distance, Mergo let out a long sigh as he sat on the ground.

"Freeing you wasn't easy, so don't waste my efforts… Human Demon."

The liberation of Dragoth ..

That was the real reason Mergo hadn't led his army directly, instead leaving it to the young Laurence.

Once Dragoth had been brought back, Mergo returned late, which explained his appearance before Frey only at the end of the battle.

But none of that mattered anymore.

"The Human Demon has returned… though the long imprisonment seems to have affected his mind."

With a playful grin, the drunken old man leaned against a large boulder, watching the battlefield from afar.

"He might be a little insane now."

Right as those words left his mouth ..

Dragoth unleashed a terrifying battle cry, his full dark power erupting as the very air around him trembled.

Peak of SS+ rank.

No, the pinnacle—just one step short of breaking into another realm of power.

That was Dragoth, the Human Demon.

And Ser Alon—having released all his strength—returned to the skies, facing Dragoth head-on.

The Iron Emperor had reached his peak as well.

A catastrophic clash was about to begin.