Gabby moved like a phantom through the charging horde, her claws carving paths of dust and destruction. She was a focused whirlwind of speed and power.

​{200 Mercenaries have been destroyed.}

​"Alright, time to set the plan in motion," Sunny muttered from his perch high above, watching the slow, deliberate journey of the sniper bullet. His concentration was absolute; his family's life was the countdown timer.

​Below, Gabby struck another Mercenary.

​BAM!!

​"...??"

Gabby blinked, pulling back slightly. Her claw had met an unexpected, powerful defensive energy field around the target. She quickly leaped backward, narrowly dodging the Mercenary's counter-blade strike.

​"Defense? They can use skill?"

The realization was jarring. Her speed was useless against targets that could adapt and counter.

​BANG!!

She instinctively leaped to the side as thick, dark chains burst from the ground where she had stood moments before.

​"These bots!" she snapped, annoyance replacing mere frustration. She lunged forward, but the Mercenaries directly before her vanished from sight, strategically retreating with a coordinated military maneuver that shouldn't be possible for simple summons.

​'What's happening? They're adapting too fast.' she thought, landing on her feet, momentarily off-balance. The battlefield was shifting against her, not by brute force, but by unexpected intelligence.

​'With my title's effects, My Mercenaries aren't normal Mercenaries. Oh! How I wish I have Jinx's skill... I could simply suppress all her stats, and end this battle quickly.' Sunny mused. He was already thinking several steps ahead, his mind calculating which of his immense, hidden skills would be the most energy-efficient for the next confrontation.

​{100 Mercenaries destroyed.}

​"Keep it up!" Sunny yelled, his voice echoing from the clouds.

​Hearing his taunt, Gabby frowned. She was successfully destroying his army, yet his encouragement sounded genuine, not desperate.

'Why is he asking them to keep it up?' She felt a tremor of true confusion—the battle wasn't following the logic of power versus numbers.

​WHOOSH!

Gabby quickly leaped out of the way as a massive meteorite smashed into the ground, instantly engulfing the immediate area in a searing inferno.

​{1,004 Mercenaries destroyed.}

​Gabby frowned again, watching the fiery meteors continue to descend, annihilating more of Sunny's own soldiers. 'What is he planning? He's destroying his own Mercenaries.'

She tried to rationalize his strategy, desperately searching for the logic that underpinned the chaos. She dodged another meteorite, but to her shock, dark chains shot out from the resulting flames, lashing out in all directions toward her.

​"You are planning on pulling me into the flames! Not happening!" She launched herself straight into the air, dodging the grappling chains.

​"...?!"

Gabby was suddenly stunned. The target she hadn't been watching—the sniper bullet—was now directly in her path. It was slow enough for her to see but, critically, too close to fully dodge due to her vertical velocity. The chaotic dodging had placed her precisely where the trap was laid. She managed a slight twist, but the projectile exploded, bursting open her head.

​"All the attacks were just a distraction, to get you into position," Sunny stated, his voice devoid of triumph, only a cold confirmation of strategy. He watched Gabby's headless body drop from the sky, slamming into the inferno below and sinking into the melted rubble. Her speed, her greatest asset, had been weaponized against her.

​{Congratulations! Master killed the Great Mother's Core Slave: Gained: 1,000,000 EXP. 100,000,000 Personal money. And 1,000 Spirit stones.}

{Current Spirit stones: 1,527.}

​Sunny moved his gaze over the burning, ruined city, absorbing the rewards with the same clinical detachment he used to end the fight. He felt no remorse for Gabby, only satisfaction at the efficiency of the kill. He flew away, the fire his monument.

__

​Sunny descended some distance from the city and reverted to his human form, the massive power receding. He landed before Ash, who stood waiting for him, her eyes fixed on the smoke plume rising from the city.

​"You actually won," she said, turning her gaze from the inferno to Sunny. It wasn't praise, just astonished fact.

​"Why didn't you escape?" Sunny asked, walking past her.

​Ash straightened her posture, a flicker of pride in her eyes. "What? If I escape and you survived... You will wipe out my tribe! Besides, I need your help against those worms. And I can't just leave my ally." She emphasized ally—a pragmatic necessity.

"I know I didn't help in that battle, but I will in the coming one."

​Sunny rolled his eyes, recognizing her justification as a mix of fear, self-interest, and a surprisingly rigid personal code. "How long now?" he asked, redirecting the conversation.

​"Just a day. We will reach Elemental Prism in a day."

​{Um... Master, why are you tagging along with her?}

​'Of course, I don't know where Elemental Prism is located.' Sunny pointed out internally, justifying the alliance.

​{But Master has the map of all secret realms, dungeons, ruins. Including mythic realms.}

"...?!"

​Sunny paused, the System's statement finally registering, a testament to his own distracted focus over the last few days. 'I have that, and you didn't say anything?!!!'

​{".....?"}

​'I forgot! Bring it out!'

​{Yes, Master.}

​A large holographic screen snapped into existence before Sunny, displaying a complex, glowing map. Ash stepped closer, staring at the lines and symbols, then froze in shock.

​"Wait, isn't this the map of my world?!" she asked, her voice hushed. This was more than just a map; it was an intelligence asset that confirmed Sunny was a far greater force than she had imagined.

​Sunny studied the routes, his mind already calculating. Their current path was the shortest known to Ash, but the map revealed another, even shorter path.

​"Why didn't we take this path?" he asked, confusion giving way to suspicion.

​"That..." Ash looked away, momentarily avoiding his intense gaze.

​"Spit it out!" Sunny hissed.

​"That's the first and strongest tribe's territory... The Abyss Dragons. They're more difficult to deal with than Speed," she explained in a low whisper, revealing the tribe and her own deep-seated fear.

​Sunny blinked. "Abyss Dragon? What are those?"

​"They're dragons with both mental attacks and Abyss fire... We can't win against an army of them," Ash answered, her fear genuine.

​Sunny thought for a long moment, the practicality of the situation overriding his aggressive instincts. Mental attacks were a wild card he didn't want to deal with while his energy was so depleted.

"Let's keep moving," he sighed, the decision being one of temporary caution, not retreat.

​'One day, I will find a way back here, and wipe them out.' Sunny vowed silently.

​"Come on, we shouldn't keep Elemental Prism waiting... And your people," he said aloud.

​"I have been wondering," Sunny suddenly said, turning to Ash as they walked.

"We took three days to get to our destination, before then, the Worm tribe would have reached your tribe. Why are you still helping me?"

​"Good question," Ash replied, her expression neutral. "You now have a map, so you could easily complete this journey, but I made a promise. I will take you there." She turned to him with a small, knowing smile.

"Besides, there is a teleportation circle in Elemental Prism's territory. We will use that to get back."

​"Oh... OK." Sunny nodded slowly, though his analytical gaze didn't leave her. He could tell Ash hadn't visited the territory; all she had said about the Elemental Prism was likely secondhand information or rumors. He watched her from the side of his eyes as they walked.

​'She is just pinning everything on hope.' he concluded.

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