Meanwhile, in another part of the battlefield, the tide had shifted. Two figures were locked in brutal, hand-to-hand combat.

One had long black hair, braided into four thick ropes that whipped violently through the air with every movement. His opponent also bore long black hair, though looser, and a faint scar ran across his cheek like a permanent reminder of bloodshed.

The clash between them was fierce, vicious strikes, sharp counters, a dance of violence where neither gave an inch. It wasn't a friendly duel. No, this was death sparring. Every move aimed to kill, every strike sharpened with intent. But they weren't looking for a cheap shot. No tricks. No shortcuts. They wanted the kill clean, brutal, and undeniable.

After a few savage exchanges, they finally broke apart, both taking a step back for a moment's breath.

Jay let out a low chuckle, shoulders rising and falling as sweat dripped down his face. Across from him, Garvin stood ready, his stance solid, eyes still burning with hunger for more. Both men were battered, bruised, and bleeding but neither showed the slightest hint of retreat.

Because this fight only ended when one of them stopped breathing.

Garvin moved first. With a sudden push, he surged forward like a storm unchained. His body thrummed with the raw power of the energy he'd stolen.... absorbed from the heroes attacks he devoured. That energy didn't just strengthen him; it fed his body, sharpened his strikes, made his every move monstrous.

In his mind, there shouldn't exist a single person capable of standing against him now. Reality, however, was cruel.

Because Jay, with no such energy coursing through his veins, still stood there, still fought back. And worse.... Jay's strange, eerie power countered Garvin's energy to perfection.

Garvin snarled. It didn't matter. He wasn't just brute force. He was a brawler, a born fighter. Even before awakening, he'd been stronger than most men could dream of. When his skill finally manifested....an ability to absorb energy, he had believed himself unstoppable. Broken, even. As long as an opponent wasn't leagues above him in raw might, he could drain them, counter them, crush them.

It had made him arrogant.

The Dark Emissaries had already shaken that belief. Their freakish abilities proved not everyone could be measured on the same scale. But now? Facing this mundane human....Jay was a different kind of insult.

A man with no energy.

No flashy awakening.

And yet....he stood.

More than stood. He fought like a monster. His martial arts mastery made Garvin's seasoned brawling look sloppy, almost childlike. His timing, his footwork, the precision behind his fists,it was like fighting a blade disguised as flesh.

The two clashed again, minutes stretching into what felt like hours. Strike for strike, blow for blow but the cracks began to show.

Garvin's power swelled, his body roaring with the surging energy he'd absorbed. Jay, meanwhile, relied on his qi, hardening his body to withstand the storm. But Garvin's strength was overwhelming. The strikes tore through defenses, each blow leaving fresh bruises, each hit carving deeper into flesh.

Finally....one brutal strike landed clean.

Jay's body was launched across the battlefield, smashing into the dirt. He rolled violently, the ground tearing at his flesh before he finally skidded to a stop, chest heaving, blood dripping from his mouth.

Garvin's chest heaved, sweat pouring down his body, streaks of blood tracing lines across his cheeks. He'd taken his fair share of punishment trading blows with Jay. But Jay… Jay looked worse.

He lay sprawled on the ground, chest barely rising and falling. If not for that faint movement, anyone would've thought he was already dead.

Jay's eyes fluttered open. He groaned, sat up slowly, and muttered under his breath.

"...Damn. That was brutal."

Forcing himself to his feet, he stretched, rolling his shoulders as qi surged through his body to dull the pain. He winced but smirked anyway. Tch. Am I really gonna have to go all out just to put down this dark-armored thug?

He could do it, he knew he could. If he unleashed all the qi he'd been stockpiling, Garvin wouldn't last more than a few minutes. But he wouldn't. Not here. Not against him.

There were reasons for that. Three, to be exact.

The first: storing qi was troublesome. Painfully so. It cost him too much effort to gather such reserves just to waste them on Garvin.

The second: what if a real opponent showed up? Someone who'd push him to the brink? If he burned it now, he'd have nothing left when it mattered.

And the third....maybe the real reason? Ending it like that… wouldn't be fun. Jay wanted to crush this arrogant brawler with pure skill, prove he could do it without leaning on his stockpile.

But in his current state, he knew he couldn't....not unless he tapped into something else.

A thought hit him. Something he hadn't considered until now.

Jay stepped forward, his gaze fixed on Garvin, who was already squaring his shoulders for round two.

"Hey," Jay said, voice low but carrying. "Do you know what the deadliest of the Jungle Arts is?"

Garvin tilted his head, frowning in confusion.

Jay smirked. "Guess."

Garvin's brow furrowed. "What the hell are you babbling about?"

"Nothing," Jay shrugged, his grin widening. "Just telling you… this round's the last. I'll end it with the deadliest Jungle Art."

Then he hunched forward, his body shifting. Fingers hardened, twisting into razor-sharp black claws. His teeth lengthened into fangs, eyes narrowing into bestial slits. His entire aura sharpened into something primal, savage.

"Fifteenth Jungle Art…" Jay's voice rumbled, deep and feral.

"Lion's Roar."

---

Back in the cavern—

Striker rose high into the air, crimson hair whipping around him, red lightning sparking and raging in every direction. The sheer force of his aura cracked the walls, shook the ground, sent tremors through the battlefield.

The fight hadn't even resumed yet. That devastation? That was just his presence.

He grinned, his voice carrying like thunder.

"I'll kindly show you why the Red Lightning is feared as the most destructive of all lightning forms."

And then—he vanished.

No, not vanished. Teleported.

One instant he was above, the next he was right in front of Aiden.

Aiden's eyes widened just a fraction before his chest morphed, scales of dark greenish hide wrapping over him like living armor.

Striker's fist, crackling with red lightning, slammed into him the next instant. Aiden's vision blurred black. His body was hurled like a ragdoll, smashing through the massive stone doors of the chamber.

Elexa didn't even get the chance to check on him. Striker's next target was already clear. He blinked, no he vanished, then reappeared right in front of her.

Their clash erupted instantly. Lightning and red lightning tore into each other, the battlefield drowned in their storm.

Elexa wasn't called terrifying for nothing. She wasn't just deadly because of her skills she was a menace because of how she fought. Precision, ferocity, sheer dominance. In the Elacto Guild, only her brother might rival her in combat, and even then… she doubted he could take her head-on. She was a monster, plain and simple. Add her lightning arts to that, and things turned chaotic fast.

She earned her title across the Five Continents....The Terrifying Princess. The "princess" part stuck because of her beauty. Strip that away, and she was just terrifying. Maybe too terrifying.

But the one standing across from her now… was terrifying in his own right. Maybe worse. Maybe her perfect counter.

Unlike the earth-wielding emissary that overwhelmed her earlier, Striker wasn't just strong, he was fast. Too fast. Maybe even faster than her. His blows carried raw power, each one heavier than hers by several crushing notches.

Her stomach caved under his fist. Red lightning detonated on impact, and Elexa's scream tore out as her insides burned, mangled under the strike. She barely mitigated it, weaving her lightning at the last second to soften the blow. It saved her life....but it still wrecked her body.

Striker lifted his hand again, lightning condensing along his arm like a guillotine. This one… this one would end her.

The strike came down—

Elexa's eyes snapped open, cold, focused. She whispered under her breath:

"Volt Avatar."

Her body shattered into streaks of pure lightning, dispersing into blinding bolts. The killing strike ripped through empty air.

She reformed yards away, her body flickering back into existence.

Striker's expression didn't shift much, but his eyes betrayed the truth, he was stunned, even if only for an instant. By now, though, he should've known better. These "heroes" were freaks too.

Aiden staggered back into the room, his face grim, voice sharp.

"You feel it too, don't you?" he asked.

Elexa nodded once. "He's going all out. If we want to win, we have to do the same. No more holding back. Tell me you've still got something left."

Aiden's expression stayed like stone. Then his lips curved into a grin.

"You bet I do. Time to show this red bastard why heroes always win… why villains always get crushed in the end."

He had one card left. One he'd only unlocked not too long ago. A new mode. Dangerous. Powerful.

A message screen flickered alive as he willed it open.

[Would you like to activate Tailed Beast Mode?]

Aiden didn't hesitate. His reply was instant.

Accept.

---

TO BE CONTINUED…

AUTHOR'S NOTE

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– Ultra

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