In this moment, Achilles unleashed both.
Draconian Pathogenicity V spread outward like wildfire, his will permeating into tens of thousands of Beasts as he began forming an army of Evolutius Beast Hybrids.
The most powerful among them—terrifying Draconic Behemoths with Apex Ethereal Physiology—now turned toward Seraphelle with a deadly glint in their eyes.
Would she take the easy way or the hard way?
Achilles had asked her just that, as around her body, he had already released thousands of invisible spore-like particles. They were repelled only by the silent purple barrier of light enveloping her.
And though she was clearly astonished, she never lost her composure—even as illusory clocks began to spiral into existence around her.
Achilles nodded slowly as he turned to Rose.
"The hard way it is. Burn her."
He said this to Rose…
But also sent it as a command to the dozens of Apex Draconic Ethereal Behemoth Hybrids now surrounding the area.
The cry of a Phoenix shattered the silence as pillars of green flame erupted from Rose and thundered downward.
The roars of beasts followed, seething in unison as the Hybrids unleashed terrifying attacks. Some of them surged toward the lone figure of Seraphelle standing at the center of the Dark Forest.
She was swarmed from every direction in a devastating display of power.
Above, Achilles floated—his attention already shifting to the expanse of beasts that surrounded Neon.
He could see the distant warships now, where Advanced Humans of Neon prepared to lay down their lives to defend the last remnants of hope from the encroaching swarm.
He looked upon it all—and the assimilations within him surged.
He tugged at the Qualities of Combination of assimilations that gave birth to Draconian Pathogenicity V.
He closed his eyes and felt the sea within him roil, syncing with the beat of his heart.
Then, silently, he whispered.
He did not hold back.
His heart beat wildly.
His heart beat freely!
From him, hundreds of thousands of invisible spores spread outward. His existence released a tremendous surge of authority—and yet, he felt as though he had only used ten percent of it.
And even so, his power was regenerating at an astonishing rate due to the many Qualities that resided within him.
The quality of leadership- that, he could grow into.
But the quality of power?
That, he already possessed in terrifying abundance.
So to the horror and disbelief of the distant Advanced Humans watching from their vessels, Achilles began to infect and command the massive swarm surrounding Neon. Every single beast within his radius began to transform into Draconic Hybrid Beasts ready to serve his will.
The implications were terrifying.
But Achilles took it in stride.
Even as his invisible spores spread far and wide, he turned his gaze back to Seraphelle, who now shook her head in disbelief.
"What are you?! This power should not belong to a human!"
She roared as the Dark Forest—her domain—began to move as if alive.
The trees twisted like limbs, sweeping away incoming hybrids, while others intertwined, forming dome-like barriers to repel the scorching green flames raining from Rose.
Achilles blinked, watching the forest move as though it were an extension of her body.
An extension of her body?
He had vines entrenched deep within Neon that acted similarly for him.
His eyes shone with sudden understanding as white flames cloaked his body. In an instant, he vanished from the skies—teleporting near the Dark Forest.
From his hands, dozens of crystalline purple vines burst forth. Their sharp tips pierced the nearby trees, and the moment they did—
He pumped hundreds of spores into them.
Seraphelle's astonishment hardened into sharp awareness as she turned toward him—just in time to see the vines surge through the forest, piercing tree after tree.
And simultaneously, his Dracon King's Haki exploded outward like a crashing tidal wave—disrupting every authority around them.
From the Dark Forest, he sensed a pure, dense sea of power.
It was connected to her.
And he penetrated it instantly.
He tunneled through that terrifying will and flowed into the depths of the forest—toward a sea of broken purple clocks that was the essence of Seraphelle the Eidolarch.
In shock, she waved her hands, and many of the towering, dazzling trees of the forest collapsed and withered, as if she were severing her connection to them.
The moment Achilles found his pathway into her...
The moment he discovered that dazzling sea of broken purple clocks...
He commanded the seas of Assimilation within him to pour in freely and without restraint.
He latched on to the very existence of the Clockwork Ancient One.
And what he found… stunned even him.
It wasn't just one sea.
There were three rivers, each branching outward—leading to her other bodies.
She had mentioned the Lunaris Throne had taken the heart of her current form, thinking it gave them full control.
But now, Achilles saw the connections of Existence itself, linking this form to three others—scattered in unknown corners of this dark, terrifying world.
And he did not falter.
He began sending his spores down those purple rivers, infecting them—claiming them.
Her face turned ashen.
Seraphelle could feel it.
What he was doing should have bordered on the impossible.
Even something as terrifying as the Leucochloridium Worm could not do this.
The Clockwork Ancient One screamed, horrified, her body rising toward the skies.
But Achilles now floated above the forest—still and unmoved—as he raised a single hand.
And her body froze in mid-air.
His eyes shimmered with the light of an undeniable power and a grand lineage most could never comprehend. His head lifted as he gazed down at her.
"You chose the hard way."
"Now bear its consequences."
The forehead of the Ancient One split, crimson-gold blood spilling as a horn began to rise from it—an alteration of her existence itself.
Achilles had begun to reshape her with the qualities he assimilated.
She hadn't even had time to manifest her Dharmic Ethereal Self.
And now, in this terrifyingly swift moment…
An Ancient One with vast power and ancient history was being subjugated!