Marshall Albert was the first to notice Makaze's behavior and was able to guess the blade's intentions. He brandished his longsword and clashed with Wrath, pushing him back a few steps before saying

"The Cloud Sea Sect will make sure your 'King' will be given a deserving punishment."

In response, the sin spat on the ground and retorted

"Hah! I'd like to see you try!"

In reality, the Marshall truly wanted to acquire the orb and bring it back to his sect, however, he was unlucky enough to meet a tough opponent who wouldn't budge. Furthermore, the longer he fought Wrath, the more disadvantageous the situation became.

The Marshall was the strongest person on the battlefield but he never expected to be stopped by one of the seven sins. If he knew beforehand that Isadore will side with Arthur, he would've brought another Marshall.

Now, the orb is about to be shattered and all hopes of acquiring it will be lost not only to the Marshall but also to the woman battling Saly.

Seeing more enemies gang up on her, the woman finally went all out. She transformed into an enormous pink-ish snake covered in lengthy scales.

In fact, she resembled a wingless dragon more than a snake but her loud hissing and sharp and tall fangs protruding out of her mouth were distinct features of a snake. Despite her large body, she was as fast as lightning, attacking all three opponents at once.

Saly was supported by Midolf, who used his abilities to protect the little girl. As for Curtis, he raised his shield and took the hit head-on, causing him to be sent flying to the back.

The snake hit all three and dived straight at the Makaze, trying to stop it. Unfortunately, her path was stopped by two equally large beasts. Several thunderbolts landed on her but they did close to no damage, same thing for Radolf's eternal black flames, which tried to burn the snake's scales but failed.

****

Makaze's sharp tip was pointed at the large orb, it stopped a distance away from the ancient artifact and strangely stopped emitting its loud growls. After a few seconds passed, countless kinds of swords and sabers appeared around the Dark Blade, all pointing at the orb.

When enough blades appeared, they all flew at the orb and stabbed it, Makaze hitting the very center and causing a small crack. Through the minuscule hole, a dense amount of savage energy leaked and shattered most of the blades stabbing the orb.

In less than 5 seconds, only Makaze remained, unaffected by the savage energy which tried to push it away.

…

Under the battlefield, Arthur was writhing in pain, he felt as if his soul was pierced and being pulled out of his body. The pain was unlike anything he had ever felt and it was slowly destroying both his body and consciousness.

Numerous notifications errors popped in front of him, warning him of the consequences of his actions. The orb was tightly linked to his soul and shattering it by no means a beneficial thing.

However, Arthur wasn't going to kill himself just to destroy this artifact, he had a plan in mind. With the ARK gone, his last evolution was automatically canceled, causing him to become weakened and this was like a golden opportunity for him. If he can also get rid of the orb and immediately evolve, he can restore his body and heal his weakened and partially complete soul.

While struggling and gripping his chest, Arthur raised his hand with great difficulty and tapped on the roof beneath his head. This simple movement activated the Elemental Wheel and moved the motionless arrow.

The dark arrow started spinning like crazy until all the colors became jet black, completely changing the function of the formation. The wheel, which was initially under the undead, left its place and started floating in the air while releasing a malevolent darkness.

This was supposed to act as a restraint for Katrina but Arthur was forced to use on the orb. The incredibly large black wheel became smaller in size until it matched the rotating orb, then it enveloped it like a dome.

The black dome covered both Makaze and the orb, sealing both of them for a short amount of time.

Arthur leaned against a wall and vomited some blood before opening his lips and mumbling with an inaudible voice

"Consume and devour, destroy and empower… the power to uplift the downtrodden, by the Dark Oath, I order you to feed!"

***

"I can feel it! It's him! Gluttony!"

Wrath excitedly laughed while looking at the black dome above the battlefield. He could feel the nostalgic and familiar feeling of one of his past comrades, the fallen gluttony.

It is not literally him but it's his innate ability, the power to devour everything and anything.

…

While it is true that the Orb of the Fallen Overgods was very beneficial to him, he still couldn't keep it hidden with the risk of it being stolen and used against his brother. His actions may have been reckless but if it's for the sake of his brother then it's definitely worth it.

Lucy was still stuck inside the cocoon and there was no response from Claud, however, he had no doubt that his copy will successfully pull Lucy from death's grasp.

As the situation was reaching its climax and the orb was going to be devoured by the awakened Makaze, the silent Katrina made a sudden move.

She abruptly stretched her hand, bypassing all the hurdles in the way and getting hold of Arthur. Before the Divine Beasts could move, a large white hand was already holding Arthur.

The Matriarch paid no attention to the surrounding beasts and directly glared at Gutcha, who was taking Angelina hostage. Though his boss was captured and could be killed by the Matriarch, Gutcha showed no fear or hesitation.

Arthur clearly and repeatedly told him to prioritize Lucy and when Saly appeared, he also told him to do anything in his power to get her out of here if things went downhill.

As he was held by Katrina, Arthur coughed some blood and chuckled, not worried about his life.

"*cough* it seems you don't value your *cough* daughter's life. Gutcha, kill her."

Though he was far away from Arthur, he still heard him so, without any hesitation, Gutcha stretched his hand, which was covered in Dark Magic, and attacked the semi-consciousness Angelina.

"No!"

Katrina didn't think Arthur would actually kill her and this decisively too. With a speed that even surprised Gutcha, she flew straight at him but she wasn't father than his hand.

The pigolo was about to stab her heart with his hand and end it once and for all only to meet some kind of resistance. This resistance wasn't done by the Matriarch but something else.

Before he could react, Gutcha was flung away by the anxious Katrina, crashing into the undead. Her strike was enough to break most of his bones and render him unable to fight, in fact, he was on the brink of death.

Worried about her daughter's life, Katrina held Angelina's body and inspected chest only to find a strange cube protruding out of her heart. The cube was visible for a slight second before it entered her body.

The Matriarch recognized the cube and knew it was the same one which created a cocoon around Lucy, so she instinctively turned her head toward where Lucy was supposed to be only to see naught but air.

By the next second, the hand holding down Arthur disappeared as a chilling coldness spread to all corners of the battlefield, freezing both undead and specters.

Lucy knelt on the ground while holding Arthur's body. Not only was she in top form, but she was also wearing a black metal armor from head to toe. The only way to recognize her was the long silver hair coming out of the metallic helmet.