I kept my eyes locked on the spot where I could feel something moving toward me. My senses sharpened, tracking the disturbance in the Essence.
"Alright, whoever you are, go to hell."
I crouched and activated [Seismic Burst].
Boom.
The ground beneath me erupted, launching me into the air. My grip on the staff tightened as I twisted midair, pinpointing the source of the disturbance.
[Blitz Hakai].
I swung my staff down with full force.
Boom.
Air compressed and detonated outward, sending a shockwave that shattered the ground, kicking up dust and rubble. I landed hard, my knees bending to absorb the impact, then immediately activated another [Seismic Burst], leaping backward to regain distance.
Skidding to a stop, I narrowed my eyes, scanning the area. My perception stretched, tracking the flow of Essence.
Then, I saw it.
In the middle of the crater where my attack landed, a single footprint appeared. A deep, unmistakable human footprint.
But no one was there.
"Damn it."
Essence surged into my legs as I shot forward.
Whoever this was, they weren't getting away.
I activated [Psynapse Boost], heightening my perception to its absolute limit, but I still couldn't sense them. No breathing. No movement. Just a lingering ripple in the Essence, like a ghost had passed through.
I sprinted, trying to pinpoint any trace of them. Nothing. The disturbance had vanished.
I leaped high, twenty feet into the air, my left hand pointing downward.
[Havoc Sfera].
A spinning ball of purple Essence whirled into existence. I flung it down, and it whistled through the air before slamming into the ground.
Boom.
The impact cracked the earth, sending Essence spiraling out in chaotic waves. I landed, scanning the area. Ten seconds passed.
Nothing.
"Fine."
I gritted my teeth and activated [Havoc Sfera] again, this time shifting the Essence to wind. The sphere spun wildly, generating high-speed wind blades that tore through the ground in every direction.
'Where are you?'
My thoughts raced.
Arkas had sealed this area. No one was supposed to be here. If this person wasn't sent by him, then I couldn't let them leave after everything I had just shown. Who knew how long this person had been here?
I focused, expanding the wind sphere. Within seconds, the entire 100-foot radius around me was filled with concentrated wind blades, slashing and carving deep scars into the land.
Still, nothing.
I exhaled sharply and pulled out the communicator June had given me.
A small, black, square device barely seven inches across, with a three-inch antenna and five buttons.
I dialed Arkas.
Three rings. Then he answered.
"I discovered another person here, inside the broken military base," I said, keeping my voice calm.
A pause.
Then Arkas replied with only two words:
"Kill or capture."
And the call ended.
My expression hardened at Arkas' words.
If even he said "Kill or Capture," then this was serious.
My mind raced, trying to figure out how to track someone I couldn't see, sense, or detect through Essence.
'The person must have a special class. A high-ranked one.'
I kept my focus on the wind sphere, now a five-foot-wide storm of destruction, carving through the ruins like a reaper's blade. Yet, the person remained unseen.
Had they already escaped? It didn't feel like it. I hadn't stopped attacking since I first spotted the footprint, and if they were my level, they wouldn't have had the chance.
But what if they weren't my level?
That thought changed everything.
I extended my perception to its limit, 100 meters. The entire battlefield locked into my awareness.
Essence surged through me as I focused, searching for the faintest ripple. Meanwhile, I kept the wind blades flying, cutting through debris, walls, and anything that could serve as cover.
I inhaled slowly, steadying myself.
Then, I pulled.
Essence flowed toward me like a collapsing star, rushing in from every direction. The pressure was instant. My body strained, muscles locking up as I yanked Essence out of the air, the ground, the very fabric of this battlefield.
The pull was violent, forceful, enough to make the air itself shudder.
The wind blades kept slicing, the spinning sphere roared with chaotic force, but I didn't stop.
More. Faster. Harder.
At first, it was invisible, just a shift in the air but as I kept pulling, it thickened. The once unseen force turned into a glowing mist, swirling around me in a light green hue. It gathered faster and faster, condensing like a storm ready to explode.
The ground cracked beneath my feet. Loose rubble lifted into the air, caught in the pull. The ruined base trembled. My entire head felt like it was being stretched apart from the inside, but I gritted my teeth and forced myself to endure.
Then, just as I reached the breaking point—
I let go.
A deafening boom followed.
Essence erupted outward in a shockwave, expanding in all directions.
The explosion blasted through the ruins like a hurricane of pure force, shattering what was left of the broken walls, sending debris flying like shrapnel.
The wind sphere collapsed, its energy folding into the blast, amplifying it further. My own clothes whipped violently, dust and fire scattered like a storm unleashed.
For a split second, everything drowned in chaos.
Then the dust settled, and I stood in the aftermath, eyes sharp, scanning. If anything had been hiding, it wasn't anymore.
Almost seventy feet ahead, a figure stood, completely cloaked in black with a mask covering their face.
And that mask, it was identical to the one June had given me.
I narrowed my eyes and scanned the person. The results came back as nothing but question marks.
'Is this the true purpose of the masks?'
I reached up, touching my own. Relief settled in my chest. At least my identity was still hidden.
I took a step forward, but before I could move any closer, the man clapped his hands together.
A slow, deliberate clap.
Then he spoke, in an artificial voice.
"I never knew the empire had a talented youth like you. I've never seen anything like this before."
He paused, casually dusting off his cloak before speaking again.
"I must say, I'm impressed, Billion Ironhart."
My breath hitched.
My mind spun. My identity, how?
Was the mask not working? Or had he already known who I was before this encounter?
But there was no time to dwell on that. The order was clear: kill or capture.
My legs bent, and I launched forward.
[Seismic Burst]
Boom.
I gritted my teeth, funneled more Essence into my legs, and activated it again.
[Seismic Burst]
The second explosion of force sent me hurtling forward even faster. The ruined base blurred past me, and in an instant, I was in front of the man, bringing my staff down in a brutal overhead arc.
At the last second, he sidestepped.
My staff crashed into the ground. The impact shattered the earth, forming a crater beneath us.
My eyes constricted.
'He's higher leveled.'
I released my staff mid-motion and drove my elbow toward his chest.
He stepped back.
Without hesitation, my right hand snapped forward, fingers aiming for his throat.
Finally, he moved.
His right hand shot up, catching my wrist in a vice-like grip.
I tried to yank it free. His hold didn't budge.
My jaw clenched as I jumped, twisting my body mid-air while still trapped in his grasp.
Both my legs came together.
[Seismic Burst]
Boom.
My heels slammed into his chest, Essence exploding outward. The force sent him skidding back, and his grip finally loosened, letting me break free.
I landed in a crouch, grabbed my staff, and funneled Essence into it, increasing its weight.
Just as I prepared to lunge at him again, I heard it.
A chuckle.
"Kid, I think you've got something wrong."
Whoosh.
He moved.
Before my brain could even register it, his knee smashed into my gut.
A shockwave of pain erupted through my body as I was sent flying, crashing through buildings, debris, and shattered stone.