The explosion came before I could move.
Boom!
The entire house shook violently as the fire surged outward, the pressure slamming into me from every direction, and the flames roared through the broken house in a wave that swallowed everything in its path. The heat hit first, burning across my skin as the force followed, lifting my body off the ground and throwing me backward again.
Wood shattered. Beams snapped.
The remains of the house collapsed further as I was driven through what was left of the house, my back hitting hard against another wall before it gave way under the impact, sending me crashing out through the other side.
I hit the ground outside and rolled, flames still clinging to parts of my body as the burning wreck behind me collapsed completely, the fire rising higher as it consumed what was left.
My eyes opened slowly, the world coming back in fragments before settling into place, the heat still pressing against my skin and the smell of burning wood thick in the air as I forced myself up, my body protesting with every movement while blood ran down from multiple cuts and the burns across my arms and back throbbed with each breath.
A notification hovered in front of me.
[!Warning: Health below 25%]
I exhaled once, steadying myself, and lifted my gaze.
The house in front of me burned fiercely, flames climbing through what remained of its frame, and in front of it stood ten figures, their attention fixed entirely on me.
Three of them held bows already drawn, their arrows tipped and ready, while the rest gripped swords.
I checked their levels and all of them were above level 40. One of them stepped forward slightly, lowering his bow just enough to speak.
"Didn’t think you’d survive that."
I rolled my shoulder once, ignoring the pain, and met his gaze.
"Oh... you’re not going to survive what’s about to come."
Another notification flashed.
[Overdrive Charge – 150%]
I didn’t wait.
"Berserk Mode."
The shift was instant.
My heart slammed once, heavy and sharp, and the surge followed immediately, strength and speed spiking as the pain dulled, pushed aside by the flood of energy rushing through my body. The burns, the cuts were still there but I felt a rush like today was my last battle.
"Impact Burst."
The ground cracked beneath me as I launched forward, the distance between us collapsing instantly as I tore through the burning remains of the house, flames parting around me as I landed directly in the middle of the archers.
They barely had time to react.
My axe moved.
One swing.
Then another.
Two heads separated cleanly, their bodies dropping before their arrows even left the string, and I turned immediately, my arm already moving as I threw the axe toward the third.
It spun once. Then struck. The blade buried itself into his chest, the force driving him back as he collapsed.
I wanted the archers gone first.
"Impact Burst."
My body shot forward once more, faster, heavier, the energy carrying me straight into the nearest swordsman as my fist drove into his chest. The impact folded him instantly, his body lifting off the ground and flying backward, crashing hard into the burning debris behind him.
"Get him!"
The shout came from the side, and the rest moved together, their formation tightening as they rushed me all at once.
Suddenly, I saw a silver flash.
One of them swung, and the blade released something with it, a slash of energy cutting through the air toward me, fast enough to force a reaction.
"Impact Burst."
I shifted sideways instantly, the burst tearing through my legs as pain flared from the repeated use, but the movement carried me clear of the attack as it tore through the space I had just occupied. I landed hard near where my axe had fallen, rolled once, and grabbed it without slowing.
Then I moved straight toward them.
The first came at me head-on, his sword raised, but I stepped inside his swing and drove the axe across his neck, the blade cutting through cleanly as I shifted past him without stopping. The second followed immediately, his strike aimed lower, but I lifted my leg and drove it into his knee, breaking his stance before finishing him with a downward strike that split through his guard.
They didn’t stop coming.
Three more closed in together, their attacks overlapping, blades moving in sequence, but my body moved faster now, the Berserk surge pushing every reaction ahead of theirs. I slipped past the first, deflected the second, and drove forward into the third, the axe cutting through his torso as I turned into the next motion, the yellow glow flaring along the blade with each strike.
One after another.
They fell.
The ground around me filled with bodies, the fire behind me still burning as the fight compressed into shorter exchanges, faster kills, no wasted movement. One tried to pull back, but I didn’t let him, closing the distance and ending it before he could regain footing.
The last one stood for barely a second longer. Then dropped.
I stood still, chest rising and falling as I took a deep breath, the energy still pulsing through me, the pain beginning to creep back in as the surge steadied.
Then my sense of danger flared again.
I didn’t think.
"Impact Burst."
My body shifted instantly, rolling out of the spot just as something struck.
A beam of blue light crashed down where I had been standing, the impact tearing into the ground and forming a crater in an instant, the force of it pushing outward as debris scattered across the street.
I came to a stop and turned immediately.
My gaze lifted, scanning the street and the house before it landed above.
On the roof of a nearby house, something stood, large, mechanical, resembling a mounted weapon more than a living thing. Its frame was anchored into the roof, its front angled toward me, and as I watched, it shifted slightly, energy gathering again at its core.
Like a ballista.
But not one I had seen before.
It hummed and I could feel it charging.
"Oh so you are the culprit."
I tightened my grip on the axe, my eyes locked onto the machine as the hum intensified, and without waiting for it to complete, I moved.
I rushed forward.
The distance between me and the house closed quickly as my steps grew heavier, faster, each one pushing me closer. The machine adjusted slightly, tracking me, the glow condensing at its center as the air around it began to distort.
Right before I reached the wall, I bent my knees—
"Impact Burst."
The energy surged through my legs, the ground cracking beneath me as the force launched my body upward, my momentum shifting instantly from forward to vertical as I shot straight toward the roof. The world narrowed around the movement, the angle tightening as I rose, my grip shifting as I brought the axe above my head.
Everything lined up.
"Ruin Strike."
The energy gathered instantly, condensing around the axe blade, the glow flaring red first, dense and heavy, before the yellow from my passive skill surged into it, mixing, intensifying, the two forces merging into something more violent. The air around the axe distorted as the energy vibrated, building pressure with no place to go.
Then I swung.