Marlon sensed the wave of shadow energy gathering in Stormis' hands, growing stronger with each passing second.

He let out a quick sigh and shifted into an active stance, his body tensing as he prepared himself.

Stormis released the attack, and it blasted toward his location.

It was fast, yet it did not carry the same overwhelming effect as the previous spell that had consumed an entire mountain.

Marlon applied strength to his legs and leapt away in a burst of speed, launching himself toward the peak of another mountain just before the attack clashed with its target.

A resounding explosion echoed through the region. The tip of the mountain he had stood on moments ago shattered apart, fragments of stone and debris crumbling violently toward the ground below.

Marlon paid no attention to the destruction behind him as he caught sight of several identical dark magical attacks flaring into existence and surging in his direction.

And so, he continued leaping from one mountaintop to another, moving without pause, each mountain he departed from being torn apart moments later by Stormis' relentless assault.

He did not bother descending to the ground, nor did he slow his pace. He simply kept moving.

By fighting this way, he avoided expending aether points unnecessarily, while also buying himself enough distance and time to react to whatever attacks Stormis unleashed next.

For now, his sole objective was clear. Tire Stormis out.

Yet, judging by the current situation, it would take an absurd amount of time before that happened.

Minutes passed.

After dozens of once-mighty mountains had been violently reduced to half their former height, Stormis still continued attacking without pause.

He remained standing in the same location, unmoving.

Unlike before, he showed no sign of boredom from the repeated sequence of actions.

That realization made things easier for Marlon in one sense, but at the same time, it filled him with unease.

In this state, Stormis was untouchable.

Untouchable not because Marlon lacked the power to stop him, but because subduing him would require inflicting severe harm or worse, killing him outright.

Had Stormis been a true enemy, the Punch of Death would have ended everything the moment control was lost.

In other words, Marlon's offensive abilities were far too lethal, forcing him to remain on the defensive.

And even then, it was exhausting.

As he leapt toward yet another distant mountaintop, movement at the edge of his vision caught his attention.

He glanced in that direction and spotted a lone figure approaching from afar.

Focusing his sight, he recognized the familiar clothes, and then the face, tight with worry, as she sprinted desperately toward the battlefield.

It was Mrs. Victoria.

Marlon's expression twisted instantly.

"Why is she here?"

With Stormis in his current state, she would be dead the moment she drew any closer.

Even if she was not struck directly, the violent aftereffects of Stormis' coordination alone would severely injure her. The aether radiating from him was already thick enough to cause harm.

"I need to do something…"

He could not allow anything to happen to her.

After all, this was his fault.

He should never have gotten greedy and agreed to spar with Stormis in the first place.

"Mirror Clone Unit."

Ten clones materialized instantly, and he sent all of them rushing toward her.

Even then, Marlon never broke eye contact with Stormis. He could not afford to let him notice anything happening behind the scenes.

Each clone possessed seventy percent of his overall power, including his agility. In less than two minutes, they closed the distance between themselves and Victoria.

Victoria came to an abrupt halt as she saw ten Marlons sprinting straight toward her.

Shock flickered across her face, yet she did not retreat.

She could feel it, the oppressive, malicious energy saturating the air, the unstable fluctuation of mana that declared her son had entered the forbidden state.

The very state that had led them to forbid him from sparring with anyone.

Still, despite her fear, she felt a trace of relief.

Seeing ten Marlons, even knowing they were clones, meant one thing. He was alive.

"Where is my son?"

She asked as they neared her, her voice strained with urgency.

The clones offered no response.

They stopped in front of her, forming a silent barrier and blocking her path.

Victoria halted and stared at them, worry deepening in her eyes.

"Let me through," she said, her voice trembling. "I need to speak to Stormis before he enters the final stage."

The clones remained motionless, their blank stares only increasing her frustration.

She understood why they were here.

They were meant to protect her, from her own son, who had gone berserk.

But when the final stage began, no one would be able to protect either of them.

Only her husband could do so, effortlessly even, but he was neither aware of the situation nor anywhere nearby.

Taking a shaky breath, she began explaining herself to the clones, desperation seeping into every word.

Meanwhile, high above, Marlon continued dodging attack after attack without pause.

All the mountains in the surrounding region, once tall and gallant, rising proudly as they kissed the clouds, now lay reduced to crumbled shadows of their former glorious selves.

Thick dust blanketed the entire area, swallowing the battlefield whole.

The one Marlon was standing on was nothing more than the crumbles that remained of one such formerly glorious mountain.

He stole a quick glance toward the situation involving Victoria.

From where he was, he could see her explaining something to his clones frantically, speaking as though they could understand her words.

He imagined she had something important to say.

So, he used swap.

The familiar portal appeared beneath his feet and beneath the clone he targeted with the skill. It was instant. The two of them switched places in a split second, so fast that neither the worried Mrs. Victoria nor the berserk Stormis noticed anything amiss.

"You don't understand. If you don't let me through, we would all die."

He heard her trembling voice clearly now. Her tense face came into view, far more vivid than when he had been observing from afar.

"Take a breath, Mrs. Victoria."

He spoke in a gentle tone.

Mrs. Victoria's eyes snapped toward him instantly.

She scrutinized him quickly, her gaze sharp and searching. After confirming that he was the real one, she let out a heavy sigh of relief.

Marlon did not waste time.

Behind him, his clone was already engaged in combat. Explosions echoed through the distance, accompanied by shockwaves and the deafening sound of mountains crumbling apart.

The clones would only last for a few minutes.

Everything had to be done quickly.

"What can we do to calm him down?" he asked.

Mrs. Victoria took a moment before responding, then began to explain.

"I will only tell you this because Stormis trusts you, and because his father believes you are meant for greater things."

She paused briefly before continuing.

According to her, Stormis possessed a special ability that doubled his combat prowess in exchange for a portion of his sanity.

That state, however, was reversible once the purpose of the transformation had been fulfilled, and in this case, that purpose meant Marlon's death.

Marlon was stunned.

Why would Stormis want him dead?

As if sensing his confusion, she quickly clarified.

"It's not him. It's the power. It twists the purpose of the transformation and makes it far darker than it should be."

She continued calmly.

"If his original intention was to obtain a single candy, then after transforming, he would aim to obtain the entire candy company."

"You understand what I mean, right?"

"Yeah," Marlon replied.

Such a power was indeed dark. Still, something else troubled him.

"Is that why his abilities haven't been revealed to others yet?"

She nodded.

"But that's not the worst part. The final stage is far more dangerous."

She continued her explanation.

Apparently, the final stage would double the already doubled power.

If Stormis was at level fifty before entering the first berserk state, then he would rise to level one hundred. With the final stage, he would reach level two hundred.

In this situation, Stormis would reach level two hundred and eighty.

That was the same level as an S-rank powerhouse.

But that still was not everything.

In the final stage, all of his human emotions would be wiped out completely, and his purpose would expand even further.

Even if he succeeded in killing Marlon, he would not stop.

He would devour the entire pocket world.

(For reference)

Level 1 to 15, FF-rank

Level 16 to 30, F-rank

Level 31 to 60, E-rank

Level 61 to 100, D-rank

Level 101 to 150, C-rank

Level 151 to 200, B-rank

Guardian

Level 201 to 250, A-rank

Level 251 to 300, S-rank

Seekers

Level 301 to 400, SS-rank

Marlon swallowed hard.

That was insane.

A power like that.

How could a human possibly possess it?

His expression hardened even further.

He had to stop it.

....

DEATHSKETCHER HERE 👋🏼

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