[Skill Level Up!]
[Seismic Burst – Level 4 → Level 5]
I didn't have time to enjoy the rush.
Below me, the cloaked man turned and activated a glowing blue shield. The Essence shimmered across its surface, dense and layered.
I yelled as I fell, voice tearing from my throat.
"RUUNNNNN!"
I watched as Steve and the others turned on their heels and ran away from the man.
My staff blazed with fire. It gathered at the tip into a spinning inferno, compressing into a sphere of focused destruction. I activated [Blitz Hakai] the moment before impact.
The staff came crashing down like a meteor.
The shield held for less than a second.
Then, crack.
The spinning stopped. The heat folded inward.
And then everything exploded.
Boom!
The blast hurled me backward through the air, fire spiraling around me as I tumbled.
I caught myself mid-fall and turned my head to look.
A crater smoked where the man had been. He was half-buried in it, limbs twisted at odd angles, the ground beneath him shattered like glass.
His cloak was completely gone now.
I saw a young man, brown hair matted with blood, his face bruised and skin charred. Smoke curled off him in thin wisps. His body twitched, and I watched in disbelief as he moved.
He was still alive.
But both his arms hung limp at his sides, clearly broken. There was no way he could fight anymore.
Then my perception flared, danger from behind.
Both of the other men were rushing straight at me.
I forced myself to stand. My legs shook, bones aching, but I didn't have the luxury of rest. I turned to face them just as the hammer-wielder screamed out in rage.
"You bastard! I'll kill you!"
His body tensed, then he roared, "Meteor Smash!"
I barely had time to react.
His figure blurred, vanishing into a blur of speed and fury. I caught a glimpse of his hammer, glowing red-hot, his arms lit up with the same fiery glow, and even his eyes shone with crimson light.
My instincts screamed.
I threw up my defense as fast as I could.
[Spatial Shield]
The air in front of me thickened, distorted, and compressed, space itself bending into a barrier.
Then came the impact.
The hammer crashed into the shield with a deafening boom. The compressed space held for a moment but only a moment, before it shattered with a sound like glass breaking under pressure.
I didn't have time to breathe. I raised my staff in front of me just as the hammer followed through, smashing into it.
Bang!
The world spun.
Pain shot through my arms as the impact launched me backward like a ragdoll. The wind tore past my face before the crash came. I slammed into the dirt beside the half-buried man I'd just taken down.
Dust and debris flew into the air as my body skidded across the ground. I gasped, chest heaving, the force of the blow leaving my lungs half-empty.
The hammer guy charged at me again, but before he could get close, Steve stepped in, placing himself between us. His sword gleamed in the light, ready. A second later, the rest of our group arrived, weapons raised, faces tense.
We stood in silence, the air heavy with heat and threat. I forced myself upright, my legs still shaky, and limped toward the man half-buried in the ground.
He was barely conscious, groaning quietly.
I lifted my staff and pressed the tip right above his head, the flames on it still burning. Then I turned to the hammer-wielder and met his eyes through the torn hood.
"You take one more step, and I'll smash his head like a watermelon," I said, my voice cold. "And don't think I've forgotten, you've got one more guy hiding somewhere."
The battlefield fell quiet again. Even the distant sounds of Arkas's fighting had faded.
Then the hammer guy laughed.
A slow chuckle at first… then a full, loud, echoing laugh.
"Hahahaha!"
"What makes you think I care about his life?" he said, sneering.
I tilted my head slightly.
"You don't? Well, that's fine by me."
I channeled Essence into my staff. Flames whirled around the tip, spinning faster and faster until a fireball formed, just above the man's head.
It grew quickly, almost the size of the man's head, the heat so intense the ground beneath him began to sizzle.
The hammer guy muttered something under his breath, but I ignored it.
"You can say your goodbyes, then," I said calmly.
The fireball shrank, condensing tighter as it spun. The hum it gave off became sharper, louder.
Just as I opened my mouth to speak again, the other man—the earth-user—called out.
"Alright, wait! Wait!"
I could feel his eyes burning into me as he added, "What do you want?"
"Simple," I replied. "Get lost."
He gave a dry, almost amused chuckle.
"You really think we came all this way just to throw a few attacks and then run? You might kill one of our guys, sure but what about the rest of the kids around you? We might not be able to kill you, but wiping them out won't take much."
My brow furrowed. I didn't respond right away. I studied his face, trying to read whether he was bluffing.
"Go ahead," I said finally. "Try it. I've already seen this man's face. The army will track him down, and all of you, one by one. So kill who you want… but I guarantee you, my friends will be waiting for you in hell."
The fireball pulsed louder, its spin wild now, humming like a blade cutting through the air.
Then I felt something shift.
A new presence.
My senses snapped toward the edge of the field.
The man who had been hiding finally moved.
He walked slowly, calmly, heading toward us with confident steps.
As he approached, I felt the change immediately. The air around him vibrated, the pressure thick and unnatural. My instincts screamed at me, this one was different.
"Steve," I said quickly, without taking my eyes off the newcomer. "Everyone, get behind me."
No one questioned me. Steve stepped beside me, sword steady in his grip. The others moved behind us, forming a tight line.
And I stared at the approaching figure.
My heart pounded harder.
He came to a stop between the hammer-wielder and the earth-user. The two of them stepped back, almost instinctively falling behind him.
'Is he their leader?' I wondered.
The air was heavy with tension. A few long seconds passed before the man finally spoke.
"Billion Ironhart," he said, his voice raspy and strangely artificial, like he was forcing it through some kind of filter.
"You've really surprised us. Not even Level 50, and yet you had the power to drive a Level 103 into the ground. That's… unheard of."
My jaw tightened, but deep down, I felt something warm, satisfaction. Pride.
I had taken down someone far above my level. Sure, I'd caught him off guard, and maybe that guy wasn't the strongest out there. For all I knew, his class could've been a rare one, or maybe just common. Still, no matter how I looked at it, that was a win.
The man continued, his presence pressing against me like a rising tide.
"I'll be honest with you. I know your vice commander is nearby, lurking. I've been trying to pin her down, but she's slippery. Impressive."
He paused, then offered something that made every nerve in my body tighten.
"So here's the deal. You come with us. Join our side… and we leave your friends alive. For now."