"Go! Don't let them get away—kill them all!" Ethan wasn't about to let an opportunity slip by. He gave the order without hesitation—full pursuit. As the enemy forces scattered in a chaotic retreat, Ethan didn't give Zerathor even a second to breathe. In a flash, he closed the distance—his figure blurring into a streak of motion—and clamped his hand around Zerathor's skull. ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ Novᴇl_Fire(.)net "Die," Ethan growled, voice low and cold. A heartbeat later, golden energy exploded from his body. His fist drove forward like a meteor, punching straight through Zerathor's chest and shattering the already-cracked blood-red gem embedded within. The gem disintegrated into dust, and with it, the Primordial Force inside Zerathor surged out of control like a dam bursting. It turned inward, ripping through his flesh and bone in a violent backlash. Zerathor's eyes bulged, and he let out a hoarse, guttural scream. Before the sound could even finish, his chest caved in with a sickening crunch. His entire body twisted grotesquely—then, with a thunderous blast, he exploded into a cloud of blood and gore. A wave of golden sword energy swept through the mist, slicing it apart until nothing remained—not even a trace. Silence fell over the battlefield like a shroud. The enemy troops who witnessed it were paralyzed with fear. Their will to fight shattered completely. Zerathor had been the lord of the fourth level of Sky Citadel, ruling over everything in this tier. Now he was dead. That meant the fourth level was leaderless—ripe for the taking. When Ethan first attacked Sky Citadel, he'd been drawn by the immense power concentrated here. If he could hold this place long enough, his forces—and their levels—would grow without limit. But more importantly… Between the fourth and fifth levels of Sky Citadel, there was a spatial barrier. From the fifth level upward, each tier was its own massive world—vast, self-contained realms. The lords of those worlds were incredibly powerful, and they rarely descended to the lower levels. Right now, all of them had been summoned to the top by the Supreme Highlord himself. Which meant—for now—they weren't coming back down. This was their perfect window to strike. It didn't take long for Ethan to lead the Emerald Castle army in a sweeping advance. The first three levels offered almost no resistance. Most of the enemy forces had already been wiped out in the earlier bloodbath. The few remaining defenders fled in panic, leaving behind scorched ruins and shattered walls. When they stepped into the fourth level, the air itself felt heavier—thicker. There were no full battalions left here. Just two Skyfiends, standing guard at the massive gate, clearly the last line of defense. But unlike Zerathor's overwhelming presence, these two were weak. Their energy was unstable, flickering like dying candles in the wind. The moment they laid eyes on Ethan, it was like they'd been struck by lightning. Their legs buckled. One dropped to his knees, forehead slamming against the stone floor hard enough to bleed. "Please… don't kill us!" he begged, voice cracking with terror. The other collapsed right after, throwing his hands up in surrender. "We'll serve you! We'll do anything—anything you ask!" The entire fourth level went dead silent. Only the desperate pleas of those two echoed in the stillness, sharp and jarring. Ethan looked down at them, his expression unreadable, eyes cold as ice. "Pathetic. I don't need trash." Before they could even scream, a flash of golden sword energy cut through the air. They vanished—shredded into nothing. Silence returned, heavier than before. There was no one left to resist. The Emerald Castle army marched forward, their steps slow and steady, echoing through the empty halls. The last traces of enemy presence had been wiped clean, replaced by the oppressive aura of Ethan's rule. They had taken the fourth level. The air here was so dense it felt like liquid. Energy rolled through the space like white mist, swirling in the air like glowing particles—beautiful, almost holy, but laced with danger. Ethan took a deep breath, and the moment that power hit his lungs, his blood felt like it caught fire. Every inhale made his bones groan with pressure, like iron expanding in a forge. He reached into a swirling cloud of energy. It condensed into a glowing liquid that slid between his fingers, cool and searing all at once—like white fire burning in his palm. Without hesitation, Ethan brought it to his lips and swallowed it whole. A surge of raw energy blasted through Ethan's body the moment he swallowed the glowing mist. His power spiked instantly—level rising, strength surging. And it wasn't just him. All around, his soldiers were doing the same—faces lit with greed and awe as they absorbed the surrounding spiritual energy like starving beasts. Even Idra had leapt out from Ethan's body, crouched nearby, gulping down the white clouds in huge, eager mouthfuls. The space around them suddenly trembled violently, like the world itself was cracking apart. A terrifying force descended from above, heavy and suffocating. Ethan's instincts flared. His first thought was the worst-case scenario: someone from the upper levels of Sky Citadel had come down. If that were true, his current forces wouldn't stand a chance. But the scene he feared didn't happen. No enemy appeared. No divine figure descended. Instead, something else dropped from the sky—something unexpected. Not too big, not too small. Just… there. Hovering in the air, pulsing with a wild, chaotic energy that made the ground beneath it tremble. It radiated power—raw, untamed, and dangerous. It was obvious something was growing inside. "An egg? What the hell's in there?" Ethan muttered, narrowing his eyes. Everyone around him tensed up, weapons half-drawn, eyes locked on the strange object. An egg showing up out of nowhere in a place ? Yeah, that screamed trap. For all they knew, it could be a magical bomb left behind by the Sky Citadel's upper-tier freaks. No one wanted to find out the hard way. And the energy leaking off it? It was insane. If that thing exploded, it could easily take out all four lower levels of the Citadel in one blast. "My Lord, let me check it out first," Elira said, her voice steady but low. She stepped forward cautiously. As she got closer, the pressure in the air thickened, like invisible hands were wrapping around her throat. She stopped a few feet away, raised her hand, and sent a thin thread of magic toward the egg's surface. The shell lit up instantly, glowing with a searing white rune—ancient, pulsing, alive. A deep, rhythmic thump followed, like a heartbeat echoing through the air. Elira's eyes sharpened. The feedback from her spell made her fingertips tingle, almost go numb. She instinctively stepped back, then steadied herself. She stared at the egg for a long moment, then exhaled slowly and turned to Ethan. "My Lord… it's not a trap. It's definitely an egg. And whatever's inside—it's alive. Still asleep, but the power it's giving off… it's on par with Idra. Maybe even stronger." Ethan's eyes narrowed. He stepped forward, slowly, and reached out with his own energy—letting it brush against the egg's surface. The last time he'd found an egg , it had hatched into Idra—one of his most powerful allies. If this one was anything like that… Then he was about to gain another monster on his side. His energy wrapped around the egg, golden and radiant, lighting it up like a star. The shell shimmered, glowing brighter and brighter, until it looked like it might burst. But just as Ethan was about to push more power into it— Something inside… moved.