Manon's arrival shattered the balance of the battlefield.

Though calling it a battle was generous, it had devolved into a massacre. The fearsome clay gods, each one radiating the might of a Solaris Knight Commander, had dominated moments earlier. Now, they were little more than playthings in the hands of the ancient spearman.

He didn't fight them.

He toyed with them.

Manon moved with terrifying grace—each step fluid, each pivot impossibly smooth, his form honed beyond perfection. His spear danced through the air with such speed and precision that even Leon, blessed with superhuman senses and trained vision, could barely track the motion. Every thrust carved shockwaves into the air, and each swing struck with such overwhelming force that the golden city trembled, entire streets fracturing beneath the impact.

It was no longer a confrontation—it was a god defying the heavens, attempting to seize the divine seat for himself, and doing so without resistance.

Leon could only watch, spellbound by the sheer majesty of destruction.

"...Am I dreaming?" he murmured, barely above a whisper.

Beside him, Horus's voice came just as softly, filled with disbelief.

"I wish you were."

The power on display was almost incomprehensible. Horus tried to rationalise it—to compare it to someone, anyone, he knew. His thoughts drifted to Alrock—his longtime friend, the current Solaris Lord, and the strongest living member of the excellent Solaris House.

In his prime, Alrock might have stood toe-to-toe with one of these clay gods, perhaps even bested them. But what Manon was doing… It was surgical annihilation.

Effortless domination.

Even Alrock could not have handled them with such brutal elegance. This wasn't just strength. It was a level beyond comprehension. And as awe gave way to realisation, a chill crept down Leon's spine.

Manon's spear wasn't pointed at them now. But if it was… that mere thought was enough to send Leon into a downward spiral. He was plotting his escape while Manon was preoccupied, but his attention was robbed when a familiar presence approached him from the direction of the golden tree.

"Leon!"

Gale and Adelia, Leon's long-time friends from the academy, came running from the basement and rushed to the familiar face. Fenric and Eris trailed not far behind. The runic monk beamed from ear to ear as he saw Leon, while the necromancer frowned deeply while watching Manon fight.

Leon's face instantly brightened as he confirmed the safety of his comrades, and he rushed to reunite with them.

"Guys! What happened to you?!"

"Long story," Gale sighed. "We followed Lady Eris's trace on the ancient empire and were led into a ruin. There, an ancient spearman called Manon knocked us out and locked us up for trespassing."

"Ancient spearman, as in… that guy?"

Leon pointed at Manon, who was still fighting the clay gods, his finger couldn't help but shiver as he did so.

"Y-yeah… that guy."

This was Gale's first time watching Manon fight seriously, and it was equally as surprising to him as it was to Leon. When Manon captured them, he only used a fraction of his skills, and it was enough to render them unconscious.

"Manon, he… while he seems intimidating, he's strangely a nice guy." Adelia chimed in with a wry smile. "He didn't torture us or starve us… he treated us fairly while we were at his mercy."

"We even shared stories," Fenric laughed. "The ancient world sure was a magical place."

"Ancient world? Hah… It seems that we have a lot to catch up on."

Leon's head was going to explode as he couldn't fathom what his comrades had gone through over the past few days. But as the temporary commander of Eldorin, his eyes were focused on the prize.

"We should find a way to escape from this place. Sir Gallahad is currently fighting against the Demon Cult, and we should help him."

"Sir Gallahad?! What's he doing here?!"

"Long story," Leon reflected Gale's words to him and grabbed his head. "I'll tell you on our way back."

"Wait!"

Before Leon could grab everyone and make their escape, the silent Eris stepped forward and protested their retreat. Her grey eyes that seemingly possessed the ability to pierce through the veil of life and death stared right into Leon's soul as she spoke:

"We should help Manon. At least… We shouldn't leave him alone right now."

"Huh? Help that guy?"

Leon watched Manon play with the clay gods as if they were children and questioned if they were even needed here. ThiscontentishostedatM|V|LE^MPYR.

"Yes, we'll need to help him. Even if we can't get him on our good side, at the very least… We need to prevent the Demon Cult from seizing the Clay Emperor's mind."

"... explain yourself."

"The Clay Emperor… The Emperor of the Sekhmet Empire… The Demon Cult is corrupting him as we speak."

Eris began recounting everything she had learned from Manon over the past few days, her voice steady despite the weight of the revelation. The Sekhmet Empire, she explained, was not just ancient—it belonged to a world so old it existed before the Age of Dragons, even before the legendary Age of the Titans.

It was a civilisation rooted in the primordial era, long buried beneath myth and forgotten time. That single truth shattered the established historical canon. If the Sekhmet Dynasty truly existed in that era, then humanity had not only preceded the rise of dragons, but also the Titans themselves—beings once thought to be the oldest divine architects of creation.

"Wait… So the Sekhmet Empire existed before recorded history? Before even the Titans?" Ellahan whispered, her voice trembling. "Oh, Goddess Hyades…"

She felt her worldview collapse like a crumbling cathedral. Everything she had believed—the foundation of her faith, the divine order taught by the Holy Church—was built on the idea that the Goddess Hyades had created humanity alongside the Titans, who ruled as her stewards.

However, this revelation revealed an entirely different truth: humans were far older, perhaps even older than the Goddess who claimed to have shaped them.

"Yes," Eris nodded, not at all perturbed that Ellahan had interrupted her. "If Manon is telling the truth, the Sekhmet Empire was a monolith in that primordial world, and the Emperor… its steward. Humans from all over flocked under the protection of the mighty Clay Emperor, and he shielded them from the primordial war."

"Primordial war?"

"Yes," Eris turned to Leon, her gaze calm and steady, knowing that her following words… were going to change the world:

"The primordial war… on who would acquire the mandate of heaven."

"..."

Everyone present fell silent, unsure of what to make of the weight of Eris's words.

"Mandate of heaven? What's that?"

"I'm not sure either… Manon said he didn't tell me." The necromancer shook her head, as her childlike appearance trembled.

"But once the Clay Emperor and his faction lost the primordial war, he and his subjects were sentenced to death. A calamity, one that could only be classified as a heavenly disaster, descended upon the Sekhmet Empire, and their lands were burnt and turned into a desert wasteland. To protect what remained of his empire, the Clay Emperor gathered all his surviving subjects and sealed their souls within El Dorado."

The memory of the ghosts who brought her deep into the inverted pyramid resonated within her mind as she bit the bottom of her lips.

"The Clay Emperor hoped… that one day, he would be able to resurrect his subjects with clay, giving them a new lease of life in a new world without war. But, he failed and they were cursed to stay within the Eternal Storm."

"... until I broke it."

Leon trembled as his grip tightened on Ascalon. He remembered the moment the Eternal Storm disappeared, and his heart felt heavy. Hearing the young Knight's words, Eris's eyes widened in complete shock. She had been underground for the past few days and had no idea who was responsible for the seal on the Eternal Storm being broken. She'd assumed it was the Demon Cult, but as it turned out… it was one of her own.

"Leon, you… Broke the seal?"

"Yes, I used Ascalon's power, and it happened somehow."

Leon was unsure as to how he broke the Eternal Storm's seal. But the truth of the matter was that he had done it, and it had allowed the Demon Cult to corrupt the Clay Emperor and disrupt the eternal rest of his citizens.

"If that's the case… We have every reason to intervene in this matter."

Eris spoke with a grim tone.

"Amon… That bastard. He likely suspected this. That's why he sent you and the power of Ascalon here to investigate and prevent the Demon Cult from corrupting the Clay Emperor."

"That…"

As much as Leon wanted to dismiss her claim, Eris's suspicion held too much weight to ignore. Amon had always moved like a grandmaster, treating the world as a vast chessboard. He saw events unfold several steps ahead, manoeuvring people and circumstances with uncanny precision to shape the outcome he desired. If the Clay Emperor was merely another piece on that board, then it only made sense that Amon would deploy Leon—his most formidable piece—to tip the scales in their favour.

Leon stared at the otherworldly battle taking place, and Manon was gradually pushing back the clay gods in the golden palace. If he managed to pull that powerhouse onto his side…

"Okay, we'll stay and help him."