The others stared down at what Raze had thrown toward them, their eyes locking onto the small, round pills resting in their hands. Even before examining them closely, they knew exactly what they were. These were Qi pills, yet not just any Qi pills. Etched clearly into the surface of each one was a familiar marking: DM.

It had been a long time since any of them had seen pills like these. In Pagna, they were infamous. A staple of desperate battles, last stands, and impossible odds. Qi pills were designed to allow warriors with weaker cultivation to temporarily rise up and fight opponents far beyond their natural limits. However, the pill they now held was something far more dangerous, and far more valuable.

This wasn't just a Qi pill.

This was a cursed Qi pill.

When completely exhausted, when the body had nothing left to give, the pill would restore energy in an instant. Mana, Qi, strength, everything would return in a violent surge. But the cost was clear. Once consumed, the user had exactly one minute. One minute of borrowed power before the body collapsed completely.

A second chance.

A final chance.

Liam didn't hesitate.

"We have to take them," he said, already lifting the pill to his mouth. Without another word, he swallowed it whole. The others followed immediately, trusting his judgment. There was no time for hesitation.

The moment the pills dissolved, power flooded through their bodies.

The sensation was violent. Qi rushed back into their cores, mana surged through exhausted pathways, muscles screamed as they were forced to move again after reaching their limits. It felt unnatural, like the body was being dragged back from the brink against its will, but none of them resisted it.

The cursed pills Raze had once created, the very pills that had helped him build his fortune in Pagna, were now being used here, in Alterian, in the middle of a battlefield that should never have existed.

"Why did Raze suddenly disappear like that?" Londo asked, forcing himself upright as wind magic stabilized his breathing. "He knows we can't take this thing head-on."

"I think I know why," Kelly replied, narrowing her eyes as she felt the strange stability returning to her body. "Do you remember all the books he collected? The ones about time magic? There was a reason for that."

Kelly's guess was correct.

Because of the cursed Blazer, Raze had forced himself to activate his time reversal. The moment Harvey mentioned two remaining Grand Magus, Raze knew something was wrong. The Blazer had erased more than a random memory, it had erased an entire Grand Magus from his mind. That was not something he could allow to remain lost.

Not yet.

Meanwhile, Harvey observed the sudden surge of energy around them with growing amusement.

"What's this?" he said, his distorted voice echoing from the massive puppet. "Power rising again? And the Dark Magus disappears? Was he frightened the moment he saw me?"

Harvey began to laugh, the sound deep and warped as it resonated through the earth and dark magic binding the puppet together.

"The Dark Magus was nothing more than a symbol," Harvey continued. "A figurehead for a new world. And since he has lost his way, I suppose I must take up the mantle myself."

The giant puppet arched backward, its massive frame bending unnaturally as dark magic surged through its limbs. Then it snapped forward violently, all of its extended limbs shooting outward at once. Anything in their path, stone, metal, air, was instantly consumed by the dark magic coating them.

However, the group had changed.

With the cursed Qi pill empowering them, their movements were faster, sharper, more precise. They scattered instantly, avoiding the strikes with ease that hadn't been possible moments before.

"If we just have to last one minute," Liam shouted, "then focus on dodging! Don't waste energy trying to attack!"

Dark orbs began forming in the air again, pulsing violently before firing toward them in rapid succession. This time, instead of splitting apart, the group moved closer together, instinctively working as a unit.

B stepped forward and slammed her fist into one of the beams, shattering it completely. Blood Qi surged around her arm, forming a shield that blocked another strike head-on. Before a third attack could reach her, Kelly unleashed a powerful gust of wind, blasting B sideways and out of danger.

Dame took to the air, lightning exploding around his body as he zipped between attacks. He didn't stop throwing punches, each one cracking against dark magic with explosive force. If the borrowed power was only going to last a minute, then he intended to use every second of it.

"Hahaha! Useless! Useless! Useless!" Harvey roared as the puppet advanced. With every step, the ground shattered beneath it. "You can dodge all you like, but eventually you will run out of energy!"

The puppet drew closer, its presence overwhelming. Once within reach, its limbs and dark magic would be impossible to avoid.

Then, the battlefield changed.

The sky darkened, not from clouds, but from absence. Light itself vanished as if swallowed whole. The world twisted into something that resembled the void of space, every source of illumination consumed by a spreading darkness.

"What is this?" Harvey said, pausing mid-step. "Some new form of dark magic?"

Before he could react, something moved.

A blur of motion tore through the darkness.

A violent impact followed.

A massive shockwave rippled outward as a sharp object pierced straight through one of the puppet's arms. Dark magic shattered. Earth magic cracked. The limb was severed cleanly, crashing to the ground below.

Hovering in the air was a lone figure, a dark wing spread wide behind him, wind magic keeping him aloft.

Raze.

"This is everything I've been through," Raze said, his voice steady as power vibrated around him. "Everything I've done to reach this point, Harvey."

His eyes burned with resolve as he faced the monstrous puppet.

"And from that attack alone," Raze continued, "I already know I can beat you. This will be far easier than taking down a Grand Magus."

****

*****

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