"I get it--this is your ability, isn't it? You were hiding it all of this time?"

Macheo squinted his eyes at the sudden existence of ferocious energy. In an instant, the leviathans formed of water had been blown away by an unseen force; reduced to nothing but droplets of water that sank into the now damp stone.

The enigmatic energy began to coalesce, verdant particles leaving in their trail a gaseous cloud as they merged into a figure hovering over Iris. In the face of such wild, untamed mana--Macheo could do nothing but keep his guard up as he waited to see its true nature.

"...I didn't want to use it. You didn't give me a choice…It's over...I can't save you anymore--I can't. I can't."

Iris spoke in a trembling tone, raising her head to reveal tears clouding her eyes. Seeing this sympathetic, saddened look from his own opponent sent a shiver down Macheo's spine as he raised his guard further; manifesting a sphere formed of water around his body.

As the gaseous aura left her body, manifesting into whatever she held within herself, Iris' mana evaporated at a rapid rate. Such an aggressive drain of magical energy strained her body, each fiber of muscle under her skin feeling as if they were being peeled by an overwhelming force.

"What the hell is this? I can't shake this fear from my body...My blood--it's running cold," Macho thought to himself, finding just the act of breathing to become shakily done.

The merging of gaseous winds started to become clear; it was a humanoid figure with a sharp, elongated jaw and arms that stretched into a wingspan of several meters. As its form was completed, it was still left obscured by the cloud of gas that surrounded its body, hovering with no lower half to speak of.

It began to part; the formless substance that hid its appearance started to spread out, revealing to Macheo's eyes what was summoned by the girl.

Seeing it forced his breath to leave his lungs as his heart paused for a moment; its face was ghastly beyond all measure, blackened skin that could not be called flesh, no lips to speak of to cover the large rows of teeth that constantly chattered, an unnerving click resounded through the now stale courtyard.

Its long, bony arms seemed to possess two elbows; at the end of these wretched, scabbed arms, a set of long, decrepit fingernails of a black complexion inhabited the end of its bony fingers. From the enigmatic entity's pores came vile liquid, oozing out in a mixture of crimson and poignant black as a bellowing wail unleashed from its mouth.

There was not a single cell in Macheo's body that wanted him to approach the mysterious figure, feeling his knees shake just by looking upon its accursed appearance.

"--AKHLYS, please...Don't kill him."

Hearing the supposed name of this horrifying entity come from Iris' pleading mouth, Macheo attempted to discern its nature--finding nothing coming to his mind. Looking at who should be his opponent, the girl was trembling, averting her gaze from the figure she manifested herself.

It was true terror that they both shared in.

"I can't let that mist come near me. I can't breathe it in," Macheo came to the obvious conclusion, maintaining his barrier to keep the gaseous substance away from any orifices of his.

"Run!"

Iris yelled out at the top of her lungs towards Macheo. It was a futile warning falling upon arrogant ears, even if the look in her distressed, fear-ridden eyes was genuine--he could only see this as an attempt to look down on him.

"Your bluffs won't work! If you truly had something powerful up your sleeve--you would've used it the moment the battle started!"

Shouting out in response with a veil of fear over his angered words, Macheo's response felt to Iris to be something to convince himself.

"Forget about your pride! I don't care about who is winning or losing this--you'll die if you don't get out of here!"

Lifting herself up to her knees, Iris didn't look back towards the entity she had manifested; sitting within the cloud of deathly mist as tears evacuated her eyes.

"It's your own damn ability, do you think I'll believe such bullshit?!"

"I can't control it!"

As if displaying her own words, a harrowing screech had cascaded from the rotten mouth of the astral being, propelling the mist directly towards Macheo. For a moment, he intended to stand his ground with his barrier, but the presence of the summoned entity threw that notion away as he jumped into the air, standing atop one of his midair platforms formed by magic.

It would be proven to be the correct choice as he looked down to see that the gaseous form of a verdant and black complexion had begun to deteriorate the marble flooring, shifting it into a rusted black before it began to peel away.

--Why did I release it? Why did I think it would be different this time? I still can't handle it…

"Achelous: Storm of Arrows!"

From atop his perched position--standing on the vibrant circular stepping stone, Macheo yelled out his next incantation, bringing forth a haze of azure that hung above the courtyard.

Raining down upon the wretched personification of poison and misery, darts formed of water shot down with malicious force; enough so to shatter the marble that came into contact with it. Iris raised a protective shield of light above herself but quickly realized there was nothing pelting against her barrier.

All of these arrows of highly pressured water were directed only at AKHLYS.

--He could easily direct those towards me as well...Why? It would be easier to take out the summoner to take out two birds with one stone.

Iris was perplexed at this action from her enemy, watching as his gaze was solely focused on the dreadful being below him, sending a flurry of these arrows at its form. As they made contact with the deathly aura around AKHLYS, the water's form was altered into pungent grime, becoming one with its own target.

Futile usage of his magic garnered a click of Macheo's tongue as he did away with the spell, leaping back as a funnel of gas was launched in his direction.

"At this rate, you'll harm the primorelf girl as well!"

Macheo shouted out towards Iris as he landed on another platform of his, evading the stream of malicious gas.

"...I know. I can't stop it...Please, take her and run…"

Looking at her own trembling hands, she began to realize the dreadful decision she had made to unleash her innate ability. By her own two hands, she may be the death of Uylia--as well as Macheo himself. Watching him fight for his life silently against the creature of her own creation, there was no evil present on his expression--only concern.

"I will not abandon my domain--or those within it. One day--I will be king!"

That resolve was echoed in his honed eyes, dashing forward as his smooth locks of gold were tugged on by the passing wind.

"King?..."

"That's right--once I claim triumph in this ruin of hell, I will return to Lacrauv as the rightful heir! That's my place in this world--standing atop it as the destined ruler; as such, none under my jurisdiction will die!"

The spiel of his true nature seemed to come from nowhere, but Iris understood well why these words were suddenly spoken with such passion.

--He's prepared to die here--I can see it in his eyes; he's scared of that fate but ready for it. If nothing else, if I leave her alive--he wants me to know it was a brave royal who he fell on this day.

Seeing him dash through the air, jumping from platform to platform--pushing past the fear inside of him to approach the entity that dragged dread in its trail--Iris could see it--the hope that Heldjrim had held onto for the young man.

Beneath that insurmountable arrogance, past his degenerate actions--it was there; who Macheo truly was. A boy carrying such a burden, forced to adapt to the hellish nature of the trial--yet he retained this side of himself.

--What am I doing, just sitting here, helplessly, covered in tears and snot...Stand up, Iris! He's probably out there right now, fighting with everything he has!

Slowly standing herself up, her knees shook under the strain put on her from the ability, slowly looking up to watch as Macheo flung lances of water towards the unmoving entity, dodging strikes of poison as a nervous smile took place on his face.

With the speed that the golden-haired noble boy moved, flinging his water-based spells at the poisonous figure, it looked as if waterfalls were sprouting across the abyssal skies. Each splash of clear liquid shifted into black grime, leaving the courtyard in a somber state--yet that radiant look in Macheo's eyes turned that notion completely around.

"--Return, AKHLYS!"

Clasping her hands together, trembling and sweating heavily as her body heated up from the strenuous usage of mana, Iris called for the entity to return. Beckoning for it to turn to nothingness, such a request was promptly denied as a sharp feedback jolted through her body, causing her to briefly yell out in pain.

AKHLYS unleashed an ear-piercing screech that felt as if it would bring the surrounding gates of stone down upon them.

"Halt your idiocy! I've got this handled, girl!"

Macheo yelled out as he watched her attempt to seize the malicious figure. As the gaseous entity became momentarily stunned by Iris' action, he saw this opportunity--rushing in with a speed nothing short of breaking the sound barrier, holding in his palm an orb of gyrating water.

"Macheo, no!"

It was something only seen from her angle; as the one responsible for manifesting this creature, she knew well that it wasn't fully incapacitated. Though her call came a moment too late for the speed the man of young age moved at; as he thrust his water-wielding arm towards AKHLYS, the deathly spirit turned to face him--grabbing hold of his forearm.

The moment the lavish fabric of black and crimson came into contact with the scabbed, rotten skin of the deathly entity, it withered away--leaving the bare skin of his left arm to come into direct contact with its grasp.

--No...It's too late. If it comes into direct contact like that--there is nothing you can do…

However, Macheo was smiling.