Without delaying any further, Malekh pulled his swords from dimensional storage. In his right hand, a blade appeared that looked like Exgrandal, and in his left, one that mirrored Exelion, except both their blades were pitch black.

"Come then," Malekh said, issuing the challenge.

Ard and Eva glanced at each other and shared a nod. Without hesitation, they lunged forward to strike. Ard raised his hand and leveled his sword; a massive black chain wrapped in a dark aura erupted from the tip of Exgrandal, instantly binding Malekh’s body. He surged forward, raising his sword with both hands alongside Eva, who lunged with Exelion at his side. But Malekh only smiled.

"Hah... don’t think something like this can stop me... haaaaaah," he said, his voice sounding horrific.

Malekh flexed his power, his body growing slightly larger than theirs as his muscular frame bulked up even further. "Klang!" The chains binding him shattered. His hands, gripping his swords, parried Ard’s swing and Eva’s thrust. "Claaaaaaang!" The collision of their weapons unleashed a deafening roar and a violent gust of wind that battered the city below. Not stopping there, Ard spun his body and swung his blade diagonally toward Malekh’s necks. Simultaneously, Eva performed a somersault, soaring above Malekh before diving down for a piercing strike from above.

"Clang... Clang!" Malekh parried both attacks. Ard and Eva continued to strike at high speed, looking like grey comets swarming a massive demon. Ard fired several gray fireballs at Malekh. Eva shot gray laser-like beams of light at him.

Malekh raised his two hands, and a sphere of black light encased him, deflecting the magic thrown by Ard and Eva. However, the two continued to pelt Malekh’s shield. "Crack." A fracture appeared in the black sphere surrounding Malekh’s body.

"Bastard!" Malekh screamed with a terrifying voice.

He spread his two arms, and from his swords, two bolts of pitch-black lightning shot toward Ard and Eva. Both were bound by the black lightning and rendered unable to move. Malekh pulled his hands back, dragging Ard and Eva right in front of his face.

"Le... let us go!" Eva screamed.

"Damn you... you think something like this can defeat us?" Ard shouted.

"Hahaha, don’t worry, I’ve only caught you. But since you’ve made me angry...very angry, watch what I’m going to do to this world," Malekh said, his voice sounding monstrous.

Suddenly, two more arms erupted from his back. He raised his new hands straight up and looked toward the sky. A ball of black light the size of a baseball appeared right over his palms. Gradually, the ball grew larger and larger until it was as massive as a sun, looking absolutely terrifying. Black clouds swirled around the sphere and the wind blew violently as the ball rotated.

"Hey... what are you planning to do!" Ard shouted, watching the spectacle.

"Coward... fight us! Don’t destroy the world!" Eva screamed.

"Hahahahahaha... I will destroy this world... and you won’t be able to stop me," Malekh laughed in response.

Ard immediately spun Exgrandal in his hand, severing the black lightning that bound him. He soared upward and slashed his sword, hacking off one of Malekh’s arms. "Aaakh!" Malekh screamed in agony as his arm fell toward the ground. Ard then moved fast, cutting off the arm that had emerged from Malekh’s back, causing the sphere of black light in the sky to slowly vanish. Ard then instantly slashed the black lightning binding Eva, who simultaneously took off another arm with Exelion along with the arm on Malekh’s back. Once again, the two stood face-to-face with Malekh.

"You’ve lost. Give up," Ard said, pointing Exgrandal toward Malekh.

"Lost? You think because you cut off four of my arms, I’ve lost? Watch this... arrrrrgh!"

Malekh groaned. From the two stumps where Ard had cut him, new arms emerged, even more muscular than before. They multiplied until Malekh had six arms in total. Each hand pulled a massive sword resembling Exgrandal and Exelion from dimensional storage. Seeing this, Ard and Eva immediately braced themselves.

"Graaaaah... I’ll kill you!" Malekh charged forward, attacking Ard and Eva.

"Clang... clang... clang... clang!" Their swords clashed in the air once again, but this time, Ard and Eva were pushed back by Malekh’s extra limbs. The two split up to gain distance, but Malekh split his body into two smaller forms, each possessing six arms. The two clones attacked Ard and Eva separately. With great effort, Ard and Eva fought on, struggling to dodge Malekh’s relentless onslaught.

"Slash!"

Ard and Eva, constantly dodging and parrying, began to suffer shallow cuts and wounds from the blind, frantic strikes of the swords that they were just a fraction too late to block. In the dark sky, they looked like two gray comets being relentlessly pursued and shadowed by two swirling black comets, the darkness punctuated only by the sudden flashes of their clashing blades.

***

Meanwhile, Alicia, Milia, Beatrice, Rosalind, Pyria, Mirea, Claudia, Ainsley, Geoffrey, Irwin, and Adeline stood a safe distance away, their heads tilted back as they watched the battle unfold in the air. Anxiety was etched on their faces as they tracked Ard and Eva’s condition. Geoffrey, visibly frustrated and itching to help but unwilling to break their pact not to interfere, turned to the others beside him.

"Hey... if this keeps up, they’re going to lose, aren’t they? Can we really not help?" Geoffrey asked, his patience wearing thin.

"You heard what they said... so please, shut up. You’re not the only one itching to help them," Claudia snapped.

"She’s right. Please, stop talking so much and just watch," Milia added, clearly annoyed.

"They... they’re hurt," Adeline whispered.

"Please be quiet, Adeline," Beatrice said, her hands pressed together in front of her as if in prayer.

They watched as Ard and Eva were repelled at the same time and swapped opponents. Once again, they became gray comets pursued by two streaks of black.

"Ugh... I can’t stand watching this. What if we all just go?" Pyria asked through gritted teeth, her hand gripping the hilt of her sword.

"Could you all just be quiet, please? Don’t make the situation even more heated than it already is," Rosalind answered.

"Patience... we aren’t allowed to interfere. Please understand," Mirea said, though she looked just as furious.

"Don’t let it get to you... let’s pray for them to win," Alicia added.

"Blam!" Suddenly, an explosion echoed from above. Everyone looked up again to see Ard firing an incredible number of gray fireballs at one of the Malekhs; they exploded upon contact with Malekh’s body and weapons. On the other side, Eva was still playing a game of cat and mouse with the second Malekh, who was peppering her with black beams.

But shortly after, Ard was struck down and "boom!" he slammed into the ground. Eva immediately dived to help him, but both Malekhs followed close behind, kicking her from the back and sending her spiraling down toward where Ard had fallen.

"Okay... I’m going in. I can’t take this anymore," Geoffrey said, raising his sword.

"Ugh... everyone, let’s go!" Claudia replied, raising her own blade.

"Yep, let’s go... I haven’t been able to stand this for a while now," Rosalind said, summoning her green dragon and drawing her sword.

"Wait... please, don’t be reckless!" Alicia shouted.

"Alicia is right... everyone, calm down. Have faith in them," Mirea added.

"But we’ll be too late. I can’t take that risk," Milia countered.

"She’s right. We’re leaving now," Pyria added.

"Adeline, call your Pegasus," Beatrice said, drawing her sword.

"Okay, sister Beatrice," Adeline replied as she summoned her Pegasus.

"Hey... where’s Irwin?" Ainsley shouted.

They all suddenly turned to look at their sides, and only then did they realize that Irwin was no longer among them. No one had noticed his absence, and they began to search for him in a panic.

"There!" Adeline shouted, looking up and pointing at the sky.

Everyone followed her gaze. A massive black dragon with Irwin on its back was soaring toward the spot where Ard and Eva had crashed.

"Irwiiiin!" they all screamed, calling out his name.

***

Meanwhile, Ard, who had managed to catch Eva as they fell, struggled to stand up with her. But "boom!" the two Malekhs landed right in front of them, instantly merging back into one. He leveled two swords at Ard and Eva’s faces.

"Any last words?" Malekh asked furiously.

"Huh... who said we’ve lost?" Ard shot back.

"He’s right. We can still fight," Eva added.

"Hah... you’ve already lost. I originally wanted you to watch me destroy the world while you were my prisoners, but you’re too dangerous to be left alive. So, I apologize. After I kill you, I’ll make sure to wipe this world out," Malekh said.

Malekh raised all six of his arms, each wielding a sword, preparing to hack down at Ard and Eva. They stared back at him without flinching, even as they held each other. But before Malekh could strike, "blam!" a fireball slammed into his back. "Agh!" Malekh screamed and spun around, only to see the open maw of a black dragon right in front of him.

"Die! I will avenge my sister!" Irwin screamed.

"Huh... Irwin!" Ard and Eva exclaimed, shocked out of their minds.