The three kept hammering the fire dragon, tearing it apart piece by piece but even shredded, a massive chunk still plummeted straight down toward them.

Before it could crash, a figure flashed in front of it. Blades swung splitting, multiplying....until several deadly strikes rained down.

"Fifty Splitting Strikes," Ronan growled.

The flames disintegrated.

Ronan stood tall, holding a blade darker than night. His armor was gone transformed into this dread weapon. The two swords he once wielded had been destroyed in his battle with Magus. Now, only this remained.

"You good already?" Little One asked, panting.

Ronan gave a curt nod. Not good, not really but good enough. In the few minutes of breathing room he'd stolen, he'd forced his battered body to circulate energy, ease the pain, and patch his wrecked insides. Agonizing, brutal but he managed. He had to.

Because even with four heroes working together, killing Magus was nearly impossible. Fighting the Dark Emissary wasn't like fighting one enemy. It was like fighting five. Five skilled enemies at once. And he wasn't going to sit back.

With Onslaught still active, his chance at killing Magus was higher than anyone else's. He wasn't wasting it.

"Silver Wing, Little One, Shae....cover me," Ronan ordered. "I'll be the main attacker."

Balor's skills were useless here. He'd only get in the way.

Several stone pebbles shot into the sky, whistling so fast they tore the sound barrier. They hurled straight for Magus.

Magus flicked his hand. Wind pressure surged, crushing the stones one after another without effort.

But then, one pebble warped.

Got you, Magus thought, flicking his finger. A condensed lightning bolt lashed out, striking it only to shatter a rock decoy into splinters.

His brow twitched. He had been almost certain that was where Ronan's strike would come from. But Ronan wasn't stupid enough to show all his cards.

And then, Ronan was just there. Materializing out of thin air, blade cutting for Magus's neck.

He had tagged Little One earlier. With his Switch skill, he swapped places in an instant. Little One had been dangerously close to Magus...now, Ronan was.

Steel flashed down.

The crackle of lightning erupted. Power burst like a storm, engulfing the air.

But Ronan was already gone, he had swapped again, leaving a dead beast's carcass to be ripped apart in his place.

Ronan's face darkened. He was right. His suspicion was on point.

Magus wasn't detonating himself. He was detonating his shells.

Each element....fire, wind, lightning, earth, water. He had one skin, one shell for each.

Five shells… five detonations. That's what we're up against.

The lightning storm faded, and Magus emerged from it as calm as ever. Face composed, expression unreadable. Not even a flicker of strain.

Just that same unnerving, ice-cold calm.

Little One's voice cut through the chaos, loud and seething.

"Hey, coward! Why don't you come down here and face us?"

What he didn't expect was for Magus to actually descend. The Dark Emissary floated down and landed calmly on solid ground, his movements deliberate, his composure intact.

So… he values his honor? Little One thought, surprised.

The heroes tightened their circle around him. Magus's face showed no fear. No strain. Just that same cold, unnerving calmness that made the air itself feel heavy.

His gaze locked onto Ronan. "Remember what I told you earlier?" His tone was almost casual. "Most mages can use one to several elemental magic. I can use them all. But my mastery…" He paused, lowering his eyes toward the earth beneath their feet. "…is in two."

The heroes exchanged sharp looks. They understood the weight of that statement instantly.

Magus raised his head, eyes glinting. "So tell me.... what do you think happens when the two elements( fire and earth) are mixed together? What kind of danger do you think you're standing in already?"

He tapped the ground twice with his foot.

Cracks spiderwebbed outward in all directions, splitting the battlefield beneath them. From those fissures, flames erupted, racing along the jagged lines until the whole ground crackled with molten veins. The air warped with heat.

And then the temperature dropped.

All at once, the rocky field transformed. Lava flowed in rivers where stone had once been. The heroes' faces paled. Even Little One's bravado faltered as he stared at the nightmare terrain swallowing them whole.

---

Meanwhile—back in the Ashen Room of the Cursed Base.

Tailed Beast Mode Activated.

> Mode Info: Host grows stronger with the number of tails manifested. Willpower and energy determine how many tails can be wielded at once. Each active tail boosts overall power significantly.

Tails Summoned: 0/5

Aiden's body warped. His frame bulked up, heavier, more solid but strangely, still light, agile. His muscles thrummed with a power that hadn't been there before. The sensation was confusing, but one thing was certain, his strength was rising. Subtle at first, then undeniable.

A grin tugged at his lips.

He willed for a tail to burst forth. Nothing happened. He focused harder. Still nothing.

"Come on…" he muttered through clenched teeth.

He tried again, but this time he didn't just force it, he pictured what he wanted. He called for lightning. A lightning tail.

Nothing.

Unease clawed at him. Damn it. Is there something I need to learn first? A trick to controlling this? He didn't have time for trial and error. Not here. Not now.

The battle was still raging outside. Elexa was locked in brutal combat with Striker, her Volt Avatar flashing as she barely evaded the red lightning crashing down on her. For now, she held her ground but Aiden knew she couldn't last forever. He had to act. Fast.

He switched focus. If not lightning… then earth.

At first, silence. Then he felt it. A tingling heat at his lower back. His body tensed then burst.

A long, radiant yellow tail whipped into existence.

Not jagged like a scorpion's pincer. Not grotesque or monstrous. This was different, it was smooth, sharp, and almost… beautiful.

Aiden blinked, stunned. The tail shimmered with raw earth energy, its presence alone commanding the battlefield. Cool. Deadly. Eye-catching.

He couldn't deny it. He was impressed.

But more than that he could feel it. His stats spiked. Strength. Speed. Endurance. Health. Energy. Everything surged upward, easily a twenty percent boost across the board.

And Aiden grinned wide.

One tail… and I already feel this strong? Then this mode… this mode is insane.

Aiden's grin widened. Wait… all this from just one tail? If that was true, then this mode was insane. Cool beyond belief. And more than that, it made him a real fighter in this war.

He threw himself back into the fray, moving side by side with Elexa. She covered defense, he pressed offense. What amused him most wasn't just the speed or strength, it was the earth power flowing through him.

The yellow tail. It gave him that. Sure, he'd been gunning for the silver tail....the lightning one but instead, this one came. The earth. Solid, heavy, unshakable.

Aiden lashed out with the tail. It slammed into Striker's chest, cracking bone. Striker's face twisted in shock. Aiden grinned.

"Surprised?" he taunted.

The tail curled tight around Striker's leg and yanked him in. Aiden's fist surged with energy, earth thickening the blow, until he hammered it into Striker's jaw. The crack of bone echoed as Striker's body rocketed back, smashing the ground in a booming crash.

"That should teach you," Aiden muttered, grinning wide. He was stronger now. Now it was his turn to bully Striker.

"You really are strong," Elexa's voice reached him. He gave a quick nod, blood still hot from the fight. Her eyes flicked to the tail behind him, shimmering yellow fur glinting in the chaos.

"Beautiful tail you've got there," she said.

Aiden's smile tugged wider. Compliments… he'd been getting a lot of them lately. Clara, Mia, now Elexa. If not for the blood and death of this cursed war, he would've almost called this a blessing.

But he knew the truth. If any of the so-called heroes, mundane, elite, whatever they knew what he was thinking, they'd forget about the Cursed and turn on him. He was too crazy, too dangerous. And he didn't have time to care.

Striker stirred. Just like Aiden predicted, he wasn't down for long. Red lightning ripped across the battlefield, his figure snapping back into view. His smile was back, but it wasn't the warm kind, it was sharp, murderous.

Aiden felt his gut twist. "Wait… is it just me, or does that smile look like he's betting his life on killing us?"

Elexa actually chuckled. "Isn't it obvious? He is. He's going to try and kill us for sure. Only way out is to kill him first."

Her figure blurred, shooting straight at Striker. Aiden didn't hesitate. His tail whipped through the air as he rushed in beside her. Together, they clashed against Striker's crimson storm.

The red lightning tore at him, but Aiden forced the earth to rise, blocking, resisting. He wasn't perfect with it... hell, it was his first time using this power but it held. And when the chance came, he didn't hesitate. He struck with claws, with kicks, with fists, with the crushing weight of his tail.

Even with his strength boosted and his teamwork with Elexa flowing smoother by the second, the two of them together still weren't enough. Most enemies would've broken already, but Striker wasn't just anyone. He was a freak. A monster. And even the combined weight of Aiden and Elexa's assault struggled to hold him down.

Aiden was slammed hard into the wall, stone cracking under the impact. He groaned, dragging himself back up, his body screaming. If only I could match their speed…

His mind flashed back to the tails. The lightning one refused him, no matter how much he willed it. But… wasn't there another? One that could push his speed through the roof? And maybe, just maybe more easily accessible as well.

Aiden steadied his breath. In. Out. His focus burned, refusing to break. At first.... nothing. But then a spark. A sensation rushing through him like the air itself was answering his call.

A grin cut across his face.

From his back, right beside the yellow tail, a second burst forth. Long, vibrant, alive.

The green tail.

The wind tail had awakened.

TO BE CONTINUED…

AUTHOR'S NOTE

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– Ultra

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