The ground where he had stood shattered outward as all four arms slammed down in alternating rhythms, pulverizing stone into molten slurry. Heat tore through the air in waves, each impact warped the cavern even further, erasing the terrain Naro had memorized moments ago.

  Naro staggered back, vision swimming. Blood streamed freely now, the stump of his shoulder screaming as exposed nerves met scorching air.

  'Move !'

  He dashed.

  The world folded and snapped back together a dozen meters away. His knees nearly buckled when he reappeared.

  No warmth followed.

  No stitching of flesh.

  The absence was louder than pain.

  'So that's it,' he thought grimly. 'I'm not allowed any mistakes.'

  Paro's head snapped toward him with unnatural speed.

  One of the lower arms tore free a slab of rock and hurled it. Not aimed at Naro...

  But aimed where he would dash.

  'He's learning.'

  Even with his mind in shambles, the Demigod still had some instincts left it seemed.

  Naro dashed anyways.

  The slab detonated where he emerged, fragments teared into his side. He grunted, barely keeping his footing, armor cracked and glowing.

  A massive upper arm came down from above.

  Naro threw himself forward and slashed mid-fall.

  'Storm Strike.'

  The blade extended just enough, carving into Paro's forearm, shearing through stone and spilling magma.

  But Paro was not moved.

  The impact jolted straight through Naro's shoulder as pain lanced white-hot up his spine.

  He bit back a scream.

  'Being one-handed changes the timing ! This is going to get difficult.'

  Both of Paro's horns glowed and the cavern screamed as magma surged upward in a ring around Naro. The heat stole his breath, skin blistering wh ere armor failed.

  Naro dashed straight through it.

  Reappearing low, inside Paro's reach, he drove the sword upward again, thrusting with his whole body instead of leverage.

  Storm Strike'd true.

  The blade punched into Paro's abdomen, magma bursting outward like a wound forced open.

  Paro grabbed him a heartbeat later.

  One hand clamped around Naro's chest and hurled him into a pillar.

  Stone exploded as Naro hit the ground hard enough to bounce, breath tearing from his lungs.

  He rolled blindly as another arm smashed down where his head had been.

  The blood pool beneath him hissed.

  His fist clenched.

  'Stand up.'

  His body screamed refusal.

  "STAND UP OR EVERYTHING'S OVER !"

  He forced himself upright, legs shaking, sword dragging slightly now. His balance was wrong. Every movement pulled at the ruined shoulder.

  Paro loomed closer.

  Each step made the cavern smaller.

  "Naaaaa... roooo..."

  The sound scraped against something raw inside him.

  For a fraction of a second:

  Hama. Zyr. A birthday.

  'No.'

  He cut at the air as if erasing those thoughts and frowned beneath his visor.

  Naro spat blood onto the stone and raised his sword.

  "I won't let you make my will waver," he yelled,"Shadow of Paro !"

  The Runes lit up faintly along the blade as he shifted his stance.

  'I only have one arm... And only one option.'

  He had to use the Dash-Storm Strike combo even more frequently.

  His eyes burned with wrath. 'It's the only way I can win this.'

  "Even if I'm tattered and broken. Even if this sword breaks. Even if my will breaks!"

  He pointed his blade at the grinning fiend.

  "I will end you!"

  Paro raised all four arms, preparing another attack.

  And Naro vanished into the heat, already bleeding out, already committed, with nothing left but steel, conviction and rage.

  -------------------------------------------------------------------------

  Naro reappeared mid-stride, blade already moving.

  'Storm Strike.'

  The sword bloomed forward as if pulled by his momentum alone, ripping across Paro's lower ribs in a diagonal slash that carved stone open like wet clay. Magma sprayed outward, scorching the cavern wall behind him.

  Naro was gone before the spray hit.

  'Dash.'

  He snapped back into existence near the ceiling this time, boots scraping against rock for less than a breath before he pushed off again.

  The blade elongated just long enough to pierce into one of Paro's upper arms. Stone cracked. The arm recoiled reflexively, fingers spasming.

  Paro's Authority surged in response as the cavern convulsed.

  Pillars melted into slag. The floor buckled upward in jagged waves.

  Naro dashed through it.

  Again.

  And again.

  The world fractured into moments: heat, pressure, the scream of stone giving way, the brief violent rightness of Storm Strike landing cleanly.

  'Left flank. Shoulder joint. Lower spine.'

  Each hit was precise. Each one was paid for in blood.

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  His breath rasped louder now, dragged through clenched teeth. Sweat pooled inside his armor, instantly boiling away. His remaining arm shook every time the sword extended, the recoil slamming straight into his shoulder and down his spine.

  He reappeared inside Paro's guard and slashed horizontally, Storm Strike flaring wide. The blade carved across Paro's torso, severing a glowing magma vein entirely.

  The Guardian staggered.

  Stone cracked under Paro's feet as his balance shifted, four arms flaring outward to stabilize. The cavern answered with a violent surge— magma geysers erupting in a ring around him, turning the battlefield into a furnace maze.

  Naro didn't slow.

  He dashed through the eruption, skin blistering where armor had already failed. The heat punched the air from his lungs.

  The sword lengthened as he fell, biting deep into Paro's shoulder joint. The impact rattled his bones.

  Something inside Naro's chest twitched.

  A hollow vibration, like his body lagging half a beat behind his will.

  He landed hard, stumbled and corrected his stance.

  'Dash.'

  His vision smeared slightly when he reappeared. Just for a fraction of a second.

  That was plenty of time.

  Paro adapted.

  One arm slammed down where Naro would have dashed next, stone detonating outward. Another swept across the air behind it, cutting off retreat. The horns flared brighter, molten lines crawling along their twisted length.

  The space between eruptions narrowed.

  Naro dashed anyway.

  He emerged low, nearly colliding with Paro's leg, and drove the blade upward with everything he had.

  The sword punched into Paro's abdomen again, deeper this time. Magma burst outward, washing over Naro's chest and visor.

  Naro screamed, ripped the blade free and vanished.

  The pain was impossible to bear.

  He reappeared on a crumbling ledge, knees buckling. His breath came in broken pulls now, chest spasming.

  His arm trembled violently.

  His body was starting to lag behind the Dash.

  Paro advanced slowly:

  Collapsing the space step by step, every movement warping the cavern further. The floor behind Naro disintegrated into molten slurry, cutting off ground entirely.

  All four arms lifted.

  Naro didn't wait.

  He dashed into the convergence.

  Reappearing above Paro's head, the blade extended violently, driving straight into the crown between Paro's horns. Stone split with a sound like a mountain breaking.

  Paro reeled.

  The cavern screamed.

  Naro hit the ground on one knee, coughing blood inside his visor. His arm screamed now, nerves aflame from repeated recoil and overheating joints.

  The sword felt heavier.

  No... Eveything felt heavy.

  Paro's head snapped toward him, the molten grin stretched wider by cracks in stone.

  "Naaaaa... roooo..."

  The sound grated, distorted, meaningless.

  Naro forced himself upright.

  He dashed again.

  And again.

  And again.

  Each use tore something looser inside him. His heartbeat stuttered. His vision tunneled. The timing window shrank until Storm Strike had to be perfect or it would tear his remaining arm apart.

  A final dash brought him behind Paro's back.

  'Storm Strike !'

  The blade carved a massive cross-shaped wound across Paro's spine, magma veins rupturing all at once.

  Paro roared- a tectonic scream that shook the cavern down to its bones.

  Naro vanished as the backlash came.

  He reappeared midair, body twisting wrong, shoulder screaming as something inside finally slipped.

  He landed hard, rolling across burning stone, sword barely held upright.

  Paro turned slowly now as he was wounded.

  Still standing.

  Just like his nephew in front of him.

  Naro dragged in one ragged breath.

  Then dashed again without thinking.

  -------------------------------------------------------

  Naro screamed in fury.

  The world snapped sideways and he reappeared already swinging, Runes flared as the blade extended along its familiar arc. Stone split. Magma burst outward.

  He didn't stop.

  He used the direction of the strike as his next origin point.

  Dash.

  Reappeared in the same line, the same angle as the the blade already moved.

  It across Paro's side again, deeper this time, carving through a section that had already been fractured. Magma sprayed in a violent sheet, splashing against the cavern wall.

  Naro was already gone.

  Dash.

  Same vector. Same height.

  The repetition was deliberate, relentless, insane.

  Paro roared, all four arms slamming down at once, His Authority surged in a furious attempt to erase space itself. The ground liquefied and collapsed inward, trying to swallow every possible emergence point.

  Naro dashed through it.

  He reappeared knee-high, blade rising in a brutal vertical slash.

  Storm Strike extended just long enough to bite into Paro's thigh, splitting stone and rupturing another glowing vein.

  The Guardian staggered.

  Naro screamed again, voice cracking inside his visor as blood filled his mouth.

  Dash.

  Same direction.

  Slash.

  Dash.

  Same direction.

  Slash.

  His body was breaking under it now- heartbeat stuttering, breath tearing at his lungs in ragged pulls. The Dash came a fraction slower each time, the reappearance snapping harsher, less clean.

  But Paro was worse.

  Authority poured outward in violent surges, stone formed unevenly. Magma erupted where it shouldn't, collapsing into itself, wasting force instead of controlling it.

  Paro tried to turn.

  Naro didn't let him.

  Dash - horizontal cut across the back.

  Dash - upward thrust under the ribs.

  Dash - diagonal slash, same line as before, reopening the wound instead of creating a new one.

  The cavern filled with Paro's roar:

  Each time Paro lifted an arm to strike, another lagged half a beat behind. One horn flared brighter than the other, magma crawling unevenly along its length.

  His Authority was failing him.

  Naro landed hard, his boots skid across the molten stone and his knees screamed.

  His only arm felt numb now...

  But he could not care less.

  Reappearing behind Paro's right side, he slashed and ripped through the same damaged section of Paro's spine again.

  Paro howled as the stone peeled away from his back in slabs, the magma spilled freely now, as it was no longer contained in veins or channels.

  The Guardian's form sagged

  Naro wasn't any better, he had hit the ground after his attack and was barely standing upright.

  His vision tunneled.

  His breath whistled wetly.

  Still- he raised the sword again.

  Dash.

  The world folded for what felt like too long.

  When it snapped back, he was almost late.

  The blade extended violently as he screamed, slamming the strike into Paro's chest where his heart could've been.

  The impact sounded like a mountain breaking.

  Paro reeled backward, all four arms flaring outward in a desperate attempt to stabilize.

  The cavern screamed as the ceiling stone collapsed. The magma surged uncontrollably, flooding cracks, burning away anything that wasn't reinforced by Authority.

  But there was no reinforcement left.

  Paro's knees hit the ground.

  The impact sent a shockwave through the cavern floor, but it was weak.

  Naro stood swaying before him, the sword shook in his grip as his blood poured freely from burns, cuts, and his ruined shoulder.

  Paro lifted his head slowly.

  The molten grin had collapsed into something almost... vacant.

  "Na-"

  Naro dashed one last time.

  He reappeared directly in front of Paro, the blade already mid-thrust.

  The Runes didn't flare.

  Nor did the blade extand.

  It was a simple thrust through the corrupted Demigod's chest that was its end.

  Paro froze.

  Cracks raced outward across his body, the stone collapsed inward as magma spilled freely, no longer bound, no longer him.

  Paro's four arms sagged.

  His horns dimmed.

  The Guardian fell forward in silence, collapsing into a collapsing mass of stone and cooling magma that no longer remembered its shape.

  Then Naro felt it:

  The sword jolted in his hand.

  Its weight shifted abruptly, the metal darkening from the hilt outward as the runes flared once, sharp and contained. The blade thinned, hardened, its surface roughening into something black and glasslike- obsidian in form, but far denser than stone should ever be.

  What remained of Paro cracked again.

  From the cooling magma and fractured stone, something heavy bled free, drawn toward the blade without sound or resistance.

  Heat without flame.

  Weight without mass.

  It flowed into the blade and then through him

  Naro gasped.

  The pressure didn't mend anything.

  Didn't close wounds.

  Didn't dull the pain.

  But his body stopped trying to fall apart.

  He landed hard on his knees, the sword embedding into the ground to keep him upright... successfully ?

  'It... It really took his Authority, it's just like the oracle said.'

  He dragged in air, shaking violently, vision flickering but refusing to black out.

  "It's... It's over," he muttered. "It really is."

  He had fulfilled Hama's promise but...

  No relief came.

  Only the pain, now fully present, crashed in without mercy.

  He should have collapsed but didn't.

  He forced himself to one foot.

  Then the other.

  He exhaled deeply.

  Somehow... Naro didn't feel triumphant at all.

  Was it because he killed his own family?

  Or because whatever the blade had taken refused to let him stop standing?

  The thoughts dissolved under the weight of sensation.

  Only one thing remained certain.

  "I have to get out of here," he said breathlessly "I have to get back to Rami."

  He didn't know how she would react seeing his missing arm... definetly worse than he did that's for sure.

  Naro went back to the shaft he had descended from but it was sealed.

  "Ah, right. Paro sealed it in the fight. How thoughtfull of him... Heh."

  For something that couldn't think at all, it seemed quite intelligent.

  Naro started walking.

  Was Hama the same now ? A husk made from his previous instincts but with no memory nor thought.

  "Ahahaha..."

  His foster father... There was no hope to him coming back.

  "Ahahahahahahaha..."

  The guardians... were truly dead.

  "What's the point of having a body with no mind ?" He said with a delirous yet depracating tone

  "What was the point of your past actions if you only leave death in the present ?" He continued in the same tone

  He gripped the sword then put it in front of his face.

  "Hey, won't you answer me ? I mean... your arrival pretty much killed more people by putting them against the devourer."

  "Shouldn't you know what it feels like ?"

  ...

  No answers, a blade could not speak after all.

  This snapped Naro back to reality as he was now in front of the sealed shaft.

  He sighed.

  He did not have the strenght left in his remaning arm to use Storm Strike... one more and he would have no arms.

  But...

  He could feel it now, feel that he could move, destroy or change the shape of the pillars Paro had put in place.

  But how could he do it ?

  "Move."

  As he uttered the words, the pillar moved enough so Naro could pass through the shaft.

  Naro's eyes widened, then settled.

  "Easier than I thought... Well it was an easy command I guess."

  Maybe if he truly gave it a difficult command or tried to move something even bigger it would be more taxxing.

  But Naro did not care, this was for the future Naro to deal with.

  He started his ascend.

  All Naro cared about was getting out of here, see his Fiancée and then maybe take a loooong nap.

  "Sounds like heaven," he smiled weakly.

  He continued ascending the shaft with no thoughts.