Primordial Heir: Nine Stars

Meanwhile, far from Elreth’s battlefield...

A different war was unfolding in the ruins of a shattered arena overtaken by the wilderness. The cracked marble of its once-majestic floor was now buried under overgrown roots and broken stone pillars. The air was still thick with residual prana, warped and chaotic—a sign of an unnatural phenomenon.

Lux stood still, his chest heaving as he tried to make sense of what he just witnessed. As he had never expected to encounter a demonized human.

Before him stood the mage who moments ago looked like a middle-aged man with a stern face and composed aura. But now—now he was no longer human.

The transformation was swift, violent, and utterly grotesque.

The man’s flesh twisted, bones cracked audibly, and his skin bubbled like boiling tar before erupting into green scales that shimmered with malice. A jagged, bone-like tail burst from his lower back with a sickening crack, coiling and twitching with predatory menace. Two curved horns jutted out from his forehead, and his eyes... his eyes were no longer human. Glowing yellow slits flickered with madness and hatred.

He had become something else—something forbidden.

”A demonized lizardman mage...” Lux muttered, his eyes narrowing, a faint grin curling at the corners of his lips. ”Now this is getting interesting.”

The moment he spoke, the madness in the demonized mage’s face twisted further.

”Die you vile scum!”

The creature opened his mouth, spitting out words in a garbled mix of broken language and otherworldly noise. Lux didn’t flinch. He embraced the chaos with a savage smile.

”Time to crush some big bug!” he roared.

A bright flash exploded from his chest. Lux activated Saint Chaos Body, and white gauntlets wrapped around his arms in a flash of divine light—like twin halos had solidified into fists. These weren’t just gauntlets—they were forged from the Law of Light, his prana refined into the purest form of anti-evil energy. But deep within them hid the chaotic twist—reverse healing, the power to decay and destroy.

This was Lux’s greatest trump card. A nightmare to any who dared to stand before him.

Without another word, the battle erupted.

WHOOSH!

The demonized lizardman darted forward, his form blurring with unnatural speed as the Law of Wind exploded around him. Slicing wind blades erupted from every direction—curving, screaming, howling like spirits from the abyss. They tore through the earth, reducing rock and tree to splinters in an instant.

Lux ducked under the first blade, the wind slicing a deep gash into the ground behind him. The second came faster—he leaned back, narrowly dodging as it passed inches from his nose, slicing a few strands of his hair.

But the third?

SLASH!

A deep cut appeared on his shoulder, crimson gushing out. The wind howled louder now, forming a vortex around the lizardman as he cackled.

Lux skidded to a stop, blood trailing down his arm. He stared at the mage, then down at his wound.

”...First blood, huh?”

A pulse of silvery light flared from his chest, enveloping his wound.

SHHHH!

The gash sealed, and his skin knit together like time had reversed itself.

”You’ll have to try harder than that,” he growled.

They clashed.

Fist against wind. Light against storm. Chaos against madness.

BOOM!

Lux leapt forward, slamming a punch directly into the air, shattering a wind barrier the lizardman had conjured. The gauntlet’s decay spread into the vortex, unraveling it into harmless gusts.

CRACK!

The lizardman countered, summoning a crescent wind blade that spun like a chakram. It caught Lux in the side, sending him tumbling into a stone pillar that exploded into dust on impact.

BAM!

Lux coughed blood, his silver eyes blazing with adrenaline and fury. The pain was sharp, his ribs likely broken again. But he didn’t stop.

Another silvery glow.

Heal.

Back on his feet.

”Now we’re having fun!”

The lizardman screamed and began casting a massive spell, lifting into the air. Green light erupted around him, spiraling into a hurricane. The entire sky above the forest darkened as the winds howled.

”Cataclysm Wind Storm!”

Dozens—hundreds—of jagged wind spears rained from above like falling stars. The entire area began to collapse under the sheer pressure. Trees were shredded. The earth fractured.

Lux’s body blurred into motion, dancing through the storm, dodging, deflecting. Even so—

THUD!

A spear pierced his thigh. Another slashed across his chest. Blood sprayed, his body staggered.

Another spear pierced his side. He dropped to one knee, panting.

His vision blurred. Pain screamed through every nerve.

The lizardman cackled madly from the sky.

Lux raised his head, spitting blood. ”You... really want to see me angry, huh?”

He slammed his palms together.

”Saint Chaos Body—Second Drive!”

A new explosion of light engulfed him. His gauntlets doubled in size, now burning with golden-white flame. His hair shimmered silver, his aura surged—like a god descending.

The Law of Light was now fused with partial spatial bending, allowing short-range teleportation bursts.

BOOM!

He vanished.

Then reappeared—right in front of the lizardman, now face-to-face in the sky.

”Hi.”

CRACK!

The punch slammed into the lizardman’s jaw, snapping his neck halfway. The gauntlet’s decay rushed into his body, causing the skin around his neck to rot instantly. The lizardman screamed, a wild telekinetic blast hurling Lux back—but the damage had begun.

The corruption spread slowly across the creature’s neck and shoulder, sizzling his skin like acid.

BAM! BAM! BAM!

Lux teleported again, unleashing a flurry of punches. Left. Right. Uppercut. Each infused with decaying reverse light, punching deeper into the lizardman’s corrupted body. The lizardman retaliated with wind claws and a spiked tail whip that cracked into Lux’s back, slicing flesh and bone.

Lux roared as the blood gushed out, nearly blacking out.

But he bit his lip, drawing more blood, forcing himself awake.

”Not yet...”

He healed again—ribs resetting, flesh closing, bones clicking.

Twenty minutes passed.

Both fighters stood covered in wounds, blood, and exhaustion.

Lux’s Saint Chaos Body flickered, the glow dimming. His prana reserves were dangerously low.

The lizardman was panting heavily, scales cracked, half his face melted from the decay.

’’You fucking lunatic from that damned Leclair’s family! I will kill you!” the lizardman growled.

Lux smiled grimly. ”Yeah, I’m still here.”

The demonized mage roared and summoned one final attack—his tail extending, forming a blade of hurricane wind.

He darted forward, trying to finish Lux off with a single, piercing thrust.

But Lux didn’t dodge.

He stepped forward.

And let the blade pierce his side—straight through his abdomen.

Blood exploded out.

But Lux’s silver eyes were calm.

Because his gauntlet had already connected with the lizardman’s chest.

”Goodbye.”

He activated all remaining prana in his body.

”Saint Chaos Implosion!”

The gauntlet erupted in white chaos light. The decay flooded into the lizardman’s body—his cells unraveled, his prana circuits shattered.

BOOOOOOOM!

The explosion of light swallowed them both.

Moments later...

Lux stood amidst the crater, his body drenched in blood, steaming, barely conscious. The gauntlets shattered, his Saint Chaos Body faded.

The lizardman lay dead—his body rotting away, slowly turning into ash.

Lux fell to one knee, clutching his side.

He had done it.

Victory.

”Does fucking demonized humans, I shall crush them all.” he muttered with a smirk, before collapsing onto his back, staring up at the ruined sky.

Above, the clouds parted slowly, sunlight breaking through.

Lux sat cross-legged on the broken ground, his breathing steady and slow. His chest rose and fell rhythmically as he focused inward, entering a deep meditative state. Around him, the chaotic atmosphere pulsed with residual mana and fragmented energy—remnants of his brutal battle. He began his breathing technique, gently drawing in that volatile prana that lingered in the air like a living storm.

The chaotic prana surged toward him, lashing out in resistance, but Lux was calm. He guided it inward, drawing it into his core with practiced ease. With every breath, he purified the unruly energy, converting it into something stable—usable. As it gathered, a sudden crack echoed deep within him.

Lux’s eyes widened. It wasn’t pain—but a powerful rupture, like a shell being broken from the inside.

CRACK—CRACK!

His core shattered—and then, with a burst of brilliance, reformed. A new core pulsed inside him, larger and more refined, pulling in the chaotic prana like a star drawing in light. Energy rushed to fill the void, flooding his being with power that felt deeper, denser, more alive.

”Heh,” he exhaled, opening his eyes slowly as a smirk formed on his face. ”To think my rank would increase here of all places... I’ve stepped into the Adept level.”

His tone was light, but his body told a different story. His limbs ached, every muscle throbbed with fatigue. The battle had taken more from him than he cared to admit. Despite his advancement, Lux could feel the heaviness in his bones, the sluggish weight of exhaustion dragging at his steps.

Still, he rose—unsteadily, but determined.

His ears twitched.

In the distance, he could still recall the booming echoes of destruction—the sound of an explosion so massive it had shaken the very air. It had come from Elreth’s direction. And now... silence.