While the rest of the dark emissaries had been sent to join the great battle, Striker carried a different mission. Drake had warned him,vthe heroes would come here, searching for clues about who might be backing him.

But there were no clues.

There never had been. Drake owned every piece of Project Ultimate. Striker? He was only the hammer helping forge that dream into reality. Together, they gathered elites, awakens who didn't fit the world's system. Anomalies like Garvin and Magus.

Broken ones like Quint, Metallo and Freak Eye, men who carried seething grudges against the laws that bound them. And then there was Madi…

Madi wasn't driven by hate or revenge. His obsession was research. That alone tied him to the cursed.

Together they became the Dark Emissaries. Together they built the cursed organization with one single purpose:

To see Project Ultimate succeed.

Years of blood and cores. Years of research. Years of carrying that madness forward. They had been so close. So damn close until the heroes, especially Tryst Guild, appeared.

And everything fell apart.

They stalled the project. They ruined years of work. They became the bane of Striker's existence.

He hated pointless fights. Killing didn't excite him.... not much, anyway. But even with that cheerful smile plastered across his lips, he burned with fury. His voice was soft, calm even, but the words were sharp blades.

"Well, well, well. What a pity. You came here hungry for answers…" His crimson eyes gleamed. "But what you'll find is death."

Striker leapt down.

Aiden and Elexa tensed immediately, their guard high. But Striker knew. Their guard wouldn't save them. Not against him. He was one of the strongest emissaries alive. That wasn't up for debate.

"Get ready," Aiden muttered. He stepped forward, teeth clenched. "Morph."

His body warped instantly.... muscles bulging, skin tightening, claws ripping through his hands, two long tusks jutting from his back like ivory spears.

Beside him, Elexa rose into the air. Blue lightning burst around her body, crackling with fury, her eyes burning into storms of pure thunder.

Aiden advanced, eyes locked on Striker. "I don't care if you're a dark emissary. I don't care how strong you are. You're in our way...." His voice hardened, heavy with promise. "....so you'll be uprooted."

He launched forward, fist ripping through the air toward Striker's skull.

Striker chuckled lightly. Red lightning exploded over his frame, then he was gone.

Fast.

Too fast. Aiden's instincts screamed as the attack came from his left. His body was too slow to block it—

But he wasn't alone.

A massive bolt of blue lightning ripped across the battlefield, intercepting Striker mid-strike.

The impact forced him back, his boots skidding across the ground until he dug in. He stared at his hand, blue lightning still crawling over his skin. For the first time, his smile faltered, if only for a heartbeat.

Striker frowned.

The lightning still lingered on his skin, crawling, burning. That wasn't normal. That only meant one thing.... Elexa's lightning control was almost on par with his own.

His eyebrow twitched upward, surprised. Well, now… that's unexpected.

But there was no time to blackout, no space for distraction. Not in a fight like this.

Aiden was already moving.

His body twisted, bones snapping, muscles warping as he shifted into another monstrous form, this one towering twice the size of a man, a warped hybrid of wolf and brute.

The transformation finished in an instant, claws like sabers slashing through the air straight for Striker's head.

Striker reacted just as fast, faster. Red lightning condensed on his fist, humming with lethal force. He swung.

The collision shook the air. Aiden's claws met condensed lightning and shattered. His scream caught in his throat as the blast ripped through his chest. The attack didn't just land, it spread, permeating his body, his HP bar plummeting in an instant.

But before Striker could follow up, a streak of blue light slammed in front of him.

Elexa.

Her strike came like thunder itself, and Striker didn't hesitate.... he lashed back. Blue lightning against red, speed against speed, their clash detonated through the chamber. The shockwaves were violent enough to rattle the walls, the floor trembling under their duel.

Aiden sucked in a breath, forcing himself to steady. The pain ate at him, chest burning, but he couldn't just collapse. He looked toward the fight, if one could even call it looking. All he saw were streaks. Red and blue tearing through the air, colliding, vanishing, clashing again. The room shook under the storm of their power.

Speed. Damn it, they're both speed incarnate, Aiden thought grimly.

His gaze flicked around the chamber. If this was supposed to be where the truth about the cursed's backer lay, then there had to be something.... anything, he could use.

His scowl deepened. The place was huge, wide open, but empty. Almost barren. No papers, no machines, no evidence. Nothing that screamed secrets of the cursed.

His frustration cut short as the ground cracked open.

A figure crashed down, sending dust and stone blasting outward. Aiden's heart skipped a beat....

Elexa.

She rose slowly from the crater, brushing debris from her body. She wasn't finished. Not even close. A few bruises, a scratch here and there, but she could still fight. Still burn.

Of course, Aiden thought bitterly. Why the hell would I expect this to be easy? Quint was a nightmare. Why the hell would Striker be anything less?

Elexa's voice cut through the ringing in his ears.

"I think… we'll need to give it our all if we want to take him down."

Her words were hard, but her eyes were sharper. She knew the truth, Striker was strong. Unreasonably strong. Winning would mean bleeding everything they had onto the battlefield.

And in the back of her mind, she felt it. That bone-deep dread.

He's still holding back.

What happens when Striker stops holding back?

She didn't want to find out.

Aiden nodded, stepping forward.

Striker floated above, red lightning crackling viciously along his figure. He looked down on both Aiden and Elexa like they were nothing but insects.

Elexa was fast.... fast enough to rival him, something even Striker had to note. Aiden, though? At first glance, unimpressive. But that earlier strike… it was powerful enough that Striker knew he couldn't write him off entirely.

Still, no excitement stirred in his chest. If anything, victory already felt inevitable.

"You two… are weak."

The words landed heavy, but they hit Aiden harder than Elexa.

That was the same damn thing another Dark Emissary told him back in Maurina, right before nearly killing him. Aiden had sworn back then he'd prove him wrong. Instead, he almost died. Hearing it again, the same dismissal, lit something ugly in his chest.

His lips curled into a sharp grin.

"Says the man whose colleague I already killed."

Striker's brow arched, red lightning flickering sharper for just a breath.

"What are you saying?"

Aiden's smug smile didn't fade.

"You know that Dark Emissary who liked taming beasts and monsters? Yeah. I killed him first. He was an annoyance."

Striker froze. Just for a moment. The shock passed, his indifference sliding back into place like a mask. He shrugged.

"So you killed him. What of it?"

And then, he smiled.

Not a twisted grin, not the leer of a monster, but a calm, almost saintly smile. A smile that didn't belong to a villain at all.

But Aiden wasn't a fool. He knew better.

"What of it?" Aiden spat. "Don't the cursed even value their elites?"

Striker's red eyes met his, unflinching. He shook his head slowly.

"You're wrong. We value every member, even the Red Vanguards. That's exactly why not one of you heroes will leave here alive. Not one."

His gaze locked hard onto Aiden.

"You killing one of us...now....that's a sin. But don't delude yourself. You think killing Quing makes you my equal? Don't make me laugh."

He dropped from the air, landing heavy, lightning splitting under his boots. His hand stretched forward, and red lightning surged, swelling, condensing and twisting into form.

A weapon.

A massive axe of raw lightning. Its crackles split the air with every pulse, its presence as dangerous as Striker himself.

"Alright then…" His voice was almost casual. "…let's finish this."

The axe swung.

The slash ripped the air apart, a long arc of red lightning screaming toward Aiden and Elexa. Too fast. Too brutal. Aiden knew instantly he couldn't dodge it.

But he wasn't alone.

A flash of blue lightning blazed past, seizing him in its grip. Elexa. She yanked him clear, vanishing them both out of the lightning's path.

Aiden hit the ground hard, Elexa tossing him forward, his half-wolf form still snarling. She didn't waste a second... her body already lit up, gathering energy for something terrifying, something fatal.

Aiden's claws came down, a strike so fast it looked like teleportation.

But at the last instant, the red lightning axe scattered splintering into a swirling dome of crimson arcs. The dome detonated outward, each bolt lashing like a predator's fang.

Aiden tore through the first. Then the second. Then the third.

But the fourth hit. The fifth. The sixth.....

The storm overwhelmed him, slamming him against the wall with a bone-cracking crash.

---

TO BE CONTINUED.....

AUTHOR'S NOTE

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– Ultra

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