She had just returned from escorting her husband and Norian Sterling back.

Her expression was solemn as she had already begun to miss him the moment he left.

"He is not around often, and when he returns, he always has to leave immediately."

She thought to herself as she shut the front door and turned toward the spacious and beautiful living room ahead.

She sighed softly.

She knew she was being selfish, placing intimacy with her husband above the safety of the entire world.

"But still, he should spend more time with me."

She pouted slightly and decided to let go of the thoughts troubling her mind.

After all, he had promised to return home early tonight, and hopefully he would not leave again so soon.

"Stormis..."

She called out in a gentle yet loud voice.

There was no response.

She called out two more times, but once again, there were no responses.

Even so, she was not worried.

After all, she knew how strong her son was.

She walked into his room to check if he was sleeping or perhaps occupied with the new video games she had bought for him.

Nonetheless, when she arrived, the room was empty.

At that moment, she recalled that Marlon had not left yet.

She figured Stormis would have already gone to meet him. Marlon was his mentor, after all.

So she made her way toward the penthouse.

However, upon arriving there, there were no traces of either of them.

Seeing the empty seats, her gentle expression twisted into a small but noticeable frown.

Then she turned toward the door attached to the fence.

"No... It can't be."

She thought to herself.

She rushed toward the door without hesitation.

Since she knew the magic words to open it, it was not hard for her to gain access inside.

As she opened the door, following the familiar blinding light, she stepped through.

At that moment, she felt a familiar presence, and her eyes sprang open with terror.

She muttered a low, trembling "No!" as she began sprinting forward.

=====

Stormis' transformation came with numerous changes, ones that even the space around them could clearly feel.

The atmosphere grew thicker with dread, such that even the drifting of wind slowed unnaturally.

But those were merely the changes that could be felt directly.

The changes that only required spatial observation to see, such as his powers, were far more astounding.

Stormis' level had doubled.

Only a few seconds ago, he was at level seventy, and now the level displayed by [Inspect] was level one hundred and forty.

At the same time, his power rank had suddenly shifted from D-rank to C-rank, an increase that would take an average hunter at least a year of constant effort to attain.

Marlon's expression crumbled immediately.

His danger sense kicked in fiercely.

He did not even need a warning to let go of Stormis and create quick distance between them.

Fortunately, Stormis still seemed to be undergoing transformation, and as a result, he did not chase after Marlon instantly, allowing him to retreat further away.

Marlon steadied himself and readied his stance for a fierce battle.

Whatever was going on with Stormis, talk-no-jutsu would not work.

At the same time, he could not kill him.

He had only two choices left.

Knock him out, or exhaust him completely.

But was that even possible in his current state?

He had to find out.

"FIGHT ME!"

Stormis' reverberating voice thundered across the region as he moved at an incredible pace, skipping long distances in mere split seconds.

He appeared in front of Marlon and struck immediately.

His fist was wrapped with thick blood energy that weaved violently through the air.

"Blood magic..."

Marlon did not expect that Stormis could also use a rare element like blood, especially since he had not seen him use it earlier.

But now was not the time to wonder about that.

He struck back with Blood Infusion combined with Titan Punch.

Their fists collided, sending a destructive wave ripping across the area.

The wave this time was stronger, striking the nearby mountain so fiercely that rocks began to fall in large numbers.

They both detached their attacks at once and struck again, sending out an even stronger wave with a far more potent effect on the surroundings.

BOOM!

BOOM!

With neither creating distance, the two of them engaged in a relentless exchange of attacks.

Explosive collisions thundered continuously across the land.

Waves drifted with destructive speed.

Smaller mountains were shattered, the air itself began to move at an unusual pace, and the entire area became heavily clouded with dust.

Minutes passed as the two continued their violent exchange. As time dragged on, the destruction became increasingly visible.

Marlon landed several successful attacks, but all of them were negated by the jet-black magic armor shielding Stormis completely.

It even appeared as though the attacks were being absorbed and immediately utilized.

Stormis also managed to land a few attacks on Marlon in non-critical areas.

Thankfully, Sovereign Crimson Physique was in full effect.

He did not sustain any injuries or wounds, and the pain was greatly reduced, so much so that Stormis' powerful attacks only felt itchy for a few seconds before subsiding.

Nonetheless, while the two of them remained unscathed, the same could not be said if others were present.

The mere impact of their exchanges would make B-rank powerhouses reconsider coming close, badly wound C-rank hunters, and anyone below D-rank would likely die after just a few seconds.

The prolonged and unsuccessful exchange seemed to be boring Stormis.

He gritted his teeth and created distance quickly.

Then, without even bothering to maintain his balance first, he tossed out a massive ball of shadow energy.

It spun through the air, growing larger and taking on a different shape as it flew toward Marlon.

Its speed was not fast.

It was several times slower than the other attacks Stormis had used so far.

But its effect was immediate and deadly.

Powerful forces were sent outward from it.

Like a vacuum, it began to suck in nearby objects, including even the drifting dust clouds.

The rock boulders on the ground, and even the soil itself, were being dragged inside.

Seeing it reminded Marlon of a particular skill Zareth once used.

"Shit..."

It was a skill that could not be counterattacked.

Especially not by physical attacks.

Trying to do so would be extremely foolish.

And he could not afford to take chances with a skill he did not fully understand.

So he blasted out of the way of the attack.

The shadow magic spell clashed with the mountains behind his previous location.

The scene that followed was almost indescribable.

The massive mountain, so tall that its peak pierced through the clouds, began to crumble gradually.

The shadow magic expanded as the mountain was slowly sucked into it.

In less than one minute, the entire mountain was swallowed up completely.

At that moment, the shadow magic spell dispersed and vanished, leaving behind a vast dent where the mountain once stood.

Marlon exhaled deeply from the top of a mountain, standing directly opposite the one that had just been swallowed out of existence.

He shifted his gaze back to the spot where Stormis stood.

Stormis was still there.

His posture was relaxed, yet the pressure radiating from his body had grown noticeably heavier.

The jet-black armor pulsed slowly, as if it were breathing, while faint traces of blood energy drifted around him like mist.

His eyes locked firmly onto Marlon.

There was no hesitation within them.

Only an even stronger hunger for battle.

Marlon narrowed his eyes slightly.

'This is bad.'

Stormis had not slowed down at all. If anything, he appeared far more stable now. The chaotic surge from earlier had settled into something far more dangerous and controlled.

He no longer looked like a kid.

He looked like a demon.

A demon waiting for chaos.

Marlon checked his inventory, and to his disadvantage, there were no aether potions or health potions left.

He was completely out of them.

He checked his remaining aether reserves, and there were less than ten thousand aether points remaining.

He could not even use Mirror Clone Unit.

If he did, he would completely run out of aether points.

He was in a very tight position.

Stormis lifted his hand after the few seconds of pause went by.

Marlon sensed the wave of shadow energy gathering in his hands, growing stronger with each seconds.

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