Nox didn’t say anything.

She just held the cub tighter, her eyes locked on Arthur.

He wasn’t raging. He wasn’t reckless either.

He was finishing it.

Every hit felt like it carried the same thought.

End it.

Don’t let it move again.

Don’t let it hurt anything else.

The guardian’s mana spiked again.

Stronger this time.

Desperate.

Arthur felt it.

His eyes narrowed slightly.

"...Still got more?"

The guardian screamed.

Not in pain, but jn desperation as the tainted mana surged wildly through its body, no longer controlled, just forced.

Then it slammed its foot down.

The ground answered.

A field of spikes erupted outward.

Wide and fast.

Covering everything around it.

Not aimed.

Just destruction.

The spikes shot out in all directions, tearing through the ground and filling the space instantly.

Back with the others, the spikes stopped just short.

Too close.

Close enough that one more step would have meant death.

Ryn let out a sharp breath. "...That was close."

Torren didn’t respond.

Because they all realized the same thing.

Arthur was closer.

Much closer to the guardian than they were.

And now..

They couldn’t see him.

The spikes blocked everything.

The entire field was covered.

No movement or sound.

Just silence.

Nox’s grip tightened around the cub.

Her voice came out before she could stop it.

"...Arthur?"

There was no answer.

As her heart skipped a beat.

"...Arthur!"

Nox’s voice cracked through the field.

Yet no answer came back.

The spikes still stood tall, packed tight, blocking everything. No movement. No sign of him.

For a second, it felt wrong.

Too quiet.

Then...

They felt it.

A pressure dropped over the area, heavy and sharp at the same time. It wasn’t wild like the guardian’s mana. It was controlled. Focused. Like something had drawn a line and decided nothing would cross it.

Torren let out a slow breath. "...He’s fine."

Ryn nodded, eyes fixed ahead. "Yeah. He’s more than fine."

They had felt this before.

During training.

Back when the commander pushed Arthur to his limits in the training drill previously.

But this...

This wasn’t the same.

That was controlled practice.

This was real.

Full intent. No holding back.

Even standing far from him, it pressed on their skin. On their chest. Like the air itself had weight.

Nox’s grip on the cub loosened slightly. She didn’t say anything this time.

She just stared at the spikes knowing he was somewhere in between.

"...Arthur."

The fear didn’t leave her eyes.

But something else mixed in now.

Trust.

Inside the forest of spikes...

Arthur stood still.

Not a scratch on him.

The moment the spikes had risen, he had already moved.

Or rather...

He didn’t need to.

His eyes were calm as he let the skill settle.

"Sovereign’s Domain."

The space around him shifted.

It wasn’t visible.

Not clearly.

But everything inside it answered him.

The spikes that should have pierced him stopped.

Then...

They broke.

Not one by one.

All at once.

The moment they formed around him, something pushed back. A force they couldn’t resist. The earth shattered, crushed, forced apart like it didn’t belong there.

Arthur tilted his head slightly.

"...So this is how it feels together."

Vector Sovereignty.

Inside his domain.

No resistance or delay.

Just control.

The spikes didn’t just stop.

They were erased like they had never mattered.

Arthur exhaled once, slow and steady.

In the last fight, he had needed this.

Back then, it was the only way to overpower the guardian.

Now?

He didn’t need it to survive.

He could have kept going without it.

But that would take time.

And time meant risk.

His eyes flicked once toward where his team stood behind the wall of spikes.

"...Not doing that again."

He had already made that mistake once.

Letting the fight drag.

Letting things get messy.

Letting people get close to danger.

Not this time anymore.

The domain tightened.

Sharper and cleaner.

Arthur rolled his shoulder lightly, like he was loosening up.

"...Let’s end it properly."

He glanced at the spikes still around him.

"...And clean this up."

A faint gust moved.

Then..

Everything began to change.

Outside.. The guardian laughed.

Loud and rough.

"You’re dead!"

It hadn’t felt Arthur move.

Hadn’t seen him escape.

To it, this was over.

It stood there, chest rising and falling as its tainted mana surged through its body, forcing it back to full strength. The wounds were gone. Replaced with thicker layers of earth fused into its flesh.

Stronger, harder and more durable.

It believed it had won.

Then..

The wind came.

Not from one side.

Not from a direction it could follow.

Just..

Everywhere.

A single sweep.

Clean.

As every spike in the field... was gone.

Cleared out in one motion like they were dust.

The guardian’s laugh stopped.

it was cut short. And its eyes widened slowly.

Arthur stood there.

Same place, same posture.

Like he had never moved at all.

He looked... bored.

The silence hit harder than any attack.

The guardian felt it then.

That pressure.

Heavy.

Unavoidable.

Fear crept back in before it could stop it.

It stepped back once.

Then forced itself to roar, trying to push the fear down.

Trying to convince itself.

"I’ll kill you!"

Its mana surged again, wilder now. The earth around it responded instantly.

Spears formed.

Dozens.

Then more.

Layer after layer until the air itself looked crowded with them.

All pointed at Arthur.

All ready to fire.

Arthur didn’t move.

He looked at them.

Then he yawned.

Actually yawned.

"...You really don’t learn."

Torren let out a short laugh from the back. "He’s mocking it now..."

Ryn didn’t respond.

His eyes stayed locked on Arthur.

Because he could feel it.

This was different.

He wasn’t playing anymore.

Arthur raised his hand slightly.

Not to control the spears... not this time.

Instead..

A small flame appeared.

Tiny.

Almost nothing.

Then wind wrapped around it.

Tight and controlled.

The flame sharpened and then condensed.

It didn’t grow bigger. Instead it grew denser.

The difference was clear.

One small point.. against a storm of earth spears.