Just as Anukus expected, his sudden surge in strength was not without a price.

This power was the result of a rare, innate ability he was born with, [Absolute Ignition]. True to its name, it granted him the potential to burn anything. Of course, it was not as simple as that. In theory, [Absolute Ignition] could ignite any substance, but in practice, it was hardly usable.

Even something as fragile as paper required a staggering amount of mana to burn. The energy cost was so immense it left him questioning the ability’s practicality. For a time, he dismissed it as little more than a curiosity.

Still, driven by his desire for greater strength, Anukus persisted in mastering it, and his efforts paid off that revealed two distinct ways to wield its power.

The first involved merging [Absolute Ignition] with his family’s ultimate spear technique, [Skypiercer]. Through this fusion, he created a powerful transparent flame capable of burning through space itself, a phenomenon he called [World-Burning Flames].

The second approach was simpler but dangerous, which he could burn his own mana.

By burning his own mana, Anukus could erupt with an extremely powerful strength for a short period of time. It made him as strong as a Transcendent even at a young age.

He called this technique the same as his innate ability, [Absolute Ignition].

But the downside of this ability was immense. Not only did it consume an enormous amount of mana, it also placed a severe strain on his body. Even in his best condition, Anukus could sustain this power for perhaps an hour. If he surpassed this time, he would have to spend several days in bed after that.

'I guess I must end this fast then.' Anukus thought to himself as he took one step forward.

A manic grin twisted Anukus’s face as he stared down at the small creature before him, gripping his fiery spear calmly. Each heated breath he exhaled raised the temperature around him, creating a distortion in the air that rippled outward.

Though the others nearby, Woods within his protective barrier and Barron shielded by a web of enchanted items and resistance spells, felt little of the rising heat, but the lone black-furred rabbit sat fully exposed to the blistering aura. But curiously, the creature appeared utterly unaffected.

Anukus didn’t waste a thought on the little beast. His smirk shifted to the rabbit’s master and narrowed his eyes with barely contained fury.

‘Just sit there and watch, you arrogant bastard!’ he sneered to himself while licking his lips. ‘Once I’m done with this one, I’ll come straight for your head!’

With his mana reserves brimming, thanks to his Star distribution and class advantage, and his artifacts amplifying his strength with sufficient energy, Anukus readied himself.

Then, his transparent flames, fierce and vast as a storm, blossomed out of his body.

Vwoooosh!

In an instant, he vanished, moving with such impossible speed that no one could track him. His very aura made even the deadliest monsters nearby tremble, or else incinerated them to ash in seconds before the transparent flames engulfed the area and stretched upward like a blazing pillar.

Then, with a powerful thrust, he launched his spear and sent it hurtling toward the rabbit. The weapon tore through the air with a fierce roar, and the winds seemed to howl under its weight. It crashed down with the force of a falling mountain, aimed squarely at the little creature.

In the eyes of anyone who could follow his speed, the rabbit seemed doomed to be obliterated in an instant.

But—

BOOOOOOOOMMMM!!!

The spear landed on the earth and triggered an eruption of debris that exploded in all directions. Each shard of rock and soil disintegrated into nothing the moment Anukus’s flames brushed them, burning to vapor before they even hit the ground.

However, the rabbit was nowhere to be seen in the destruction’s wake. It hadn’t been struck down, nor had it vanished into ash.

Instead, from behind him came a faint squeak.

“Kwii…”

“Huh?” Anukus froze, his eyes widening as he turned to find the small, round, and impossibly fast creature stood unscathed behind him, facing the fearsome warlock without a hint of fear.

For a moment, there was silence.

Then—

*Fwoosh!*

*Fwoosh!*

*Fwoosh!*

*Fwoosh!*

‘What…?’ Anukus struggled to comprehend. Everything blurred as he tried to track the rabbit’s movements while his eyes strained to catch even a glimpse of its movement.

“It… it’s moving so fast,” he muttered in disbelief, “it’s almost like teleportation…”

While Anukus was busy dealing with the beast, Woods was equally stunned by his Familiar’s speed. He hadn’t expected to lose sight of her movements entirely.

This series of amazement was merely the beginning, though many more shocking revelations were yet to come.

BOOOOOOMMM!

Another thunderous explosion echoed across the battlefield as Anukus’s attack obliterated the ground where the rabbit had stood just moments before.

But where was the creature now?

The answer soon became clear.

There it was, standing directly on top of Anukus’s spear, untouched by the crushing blow meant to obliterate it. Even more astonishing, it seemed wholly unaffected by the searing flames that licked along the weapon’s edge.

‘Survived the flames without a flinch?’ Woods marveled. ‘What is that fur made of?’

Anukus, realizing his attack had failed, tried to take action and prepared to slam the spear down to the ground. But before he could act, the rabbit sped away from its previous position and rushed toward him.

It launched itself forward for a powerful blow like a cannon ball, but the World Burning Warlock reacted faster and summoned a wall of flames to intercept the blow.

The tiny rabbit collided with the flaming barrier, generating shockwaves that caused the very air to tremble.

Amazement rippled through the observers. Though Barron and Woods could barely follow what was going on with their eyes, the flashes of motion they caught with their naked eyes, and the fact they couldn’t keep up most of the fight, spoke volumes about the intensity of the fight.

“She’s so fast…” Barron murmured.

“She?” Woods raised a brow.

“Many refer to the Dark Nyxxelith as ‘she.’”

“I see.” Woods nodded before returning his gaze to the battle.

He had to admit, his familiar Cottonball was proving herself a powerful opponent beyond decent in its abilities. Her strength was undeniable. But perhaps he’d been too quick to celebrate.

Despite the power Anukus had shown so far, Woods sensed that Cottonball was only warming up. Her true abilities were yet to be involved.

However, that was soon going to change with both fighters seemed to recognize this. Anukus adjusted his stance, and Cottonball shifted as well, lowering into a sprinting position.

For a moment, they locked eyes across the battlefield, each measuring the other for the next strike.

“You are quite good, I’ll give you that. But I’ve slain powerful monsters like you. This won’t be any different!”

BOOOOOOMMMM!

WHOOSH!

Destruction trailed behind Anukus as only a storm of flames that incinerating everything within a hundred-meter radius into ashes as he charged at Cottonball. The ground blackened in his wake, but she only sped up with her small form becoming a blur as she dodged the searing onslaught.

BZZTZZ!

White lightning sparked around Cottonball, intensifying as she closed in on her fiery opponent.

Her crimson eyes glowed fiercely, reflecting the heat that turned day into a blistering, apocalyptic scene.

Her black fur, charged with energy, burned a fierce red as it stood on end, the unmistakable sign of a skill being activated.

[Rush]!

WHOOOSH!

In a heartbeat, her speed tripled, and she became a streak of red lightning. Her small frame condensed an impossible amount of energy, and as she launched herself forward, the energy condensed in her small body exploded to create a burst of kinetic energy that seemed impossible given her mass.

Then, the fiery shield neared her as she thrust her body forward like a missile to hit her target, and made an impact.

BOOOOOM!

The shockwave was deafening, far surpassing the earlier blasts. At the impact point, Anukus’s flaming shield dissolved into scattered particles, casting destructive embers across the battlefield. Wherever the flames touched, the ground itself seemed to burn away.

But Cottonball wasn’t finished.

Flipping in midair, she absorbed the recoil from her powerful strike and steam erupted from her body as she expelled even more energy.

“DIE!”

She barely had a moment to recover when Anukus’s spear was was already nearing her fragile-looking body. It had gotten too close for comfort, and so, dodging at such a distance seemed highly implausible.

But Cottonball was a Mythical Beast.

[Bounce]!

She activated her next skill, [Bounce], and instantly, her body transformed into a literal bouncing ball, able to ricochet even midair and change directions at impossible speeds.

WHOOOOM!

Her fur flashed purple, coated in sparks of violet electricity, as she shot around like a streaking meteor. She ricocheted through the air, targeting the dark, forbidding helmet of her opponent.

BAM!

Her body made an impact, and she instantly ricocheted to the next target, almost as if she was landing on a trampoline.

From the helmet, her purple body landed on the arm of the opponent, and then towards the chest, and then… the spear.

CRACK!

Cottonball’s acceleration increased exponentially, and the purple bursts of power rose to an impeccable degree.

Then… IMPACT!

BOOOM!

With incredible acceleration, she smashed into Anukus’s fiery spear. Purple energy radiated from her tiny body as she launched herself through the weapon and shattered it in an explosion of fire and metal fragments.

She landed on the ground and found her footing on the floor not long after.

“What…?”

Everything had happened within a fraction of a second, leaving Anukus confused and too disoriented by the rapid strikes to react effectively.

When the dust settled, he found himself weaponless with only his shield and spear destroyed, and even his armor was fractured, spiderwebbed with cracks.

Cottonball exhaled, letting out a mist of steam curling from her mouth as she kept her gaze on her opponent she had to defeat.

But then, something caught her attention.

Anukus’s damaged armor began to restore itself almost instantly. With a mere stretch of his hands, a new shield materialized, and his spear reformed, good as new.

It was as if her assault had left no trace at all.

Narrowing her eyes, she met the smug gaze of the Warrior Warlock, who had a taunting expression on his face.

“Is that all you’ve got, little fur ball?” he sneered.

Cottonball’s ears twitched at his words. She wasn’t about to let him mock her.

VWUUUUUMMMM!

Like an engine roaring to life, she began to release her stockpile of mana, causing the pressure to vibrate through the air.

None of this affected Anukus, though, as he readied himself for another round with an excited grin on his face.

With his constant regeneration, he seemed invincible, but Cottonball would need to strike him with overwhelming force to end the battle.

She was faster and powerful enough to damage him, yet he would simply heal before any injury could become critical.

The only way to win seemed apparent, Anukus had to be destroyed in one shot.

But, could Cottonball, with all the amazing feats she had displayed so far, manage such a thing?

Well…

[Leap]!

…We are about to find out.

This time, blue energy swirled around her, coursing through her fur in a storm of violent electricity

In a flash, she launched herself just as Anukus swung his spear down to crush her, shooting upward like an unstoppable rocket.

She crashed into his shoulder plate, shattering it completely and blowing his entire shoulder apart.

“ARGHHH!” Anukus screamed in pain, gritting his teeth to endure the pain and calmed himself quickly, knowing that the damage was temporary as his shoulder would regenerate in moments.

Suspended above him, Cottonball saw his body already beginning to recover from the extensive damage.

If she didn’t act now, her efforts would be for nothing.

BZZZZTTZZZZ…

Purple sparks crackled as Cottonball activated her trump card.

[Replicate]!

In an instant, the single black-furred rabbit multiplied, first into two, then four, then eight, until finally, ten identical Cottonballs appeared in the air.

WHOOOSH!

A storm of purple sparks and blurs descended from above, as Cottonball, or rather, ten Cottonballs, ricocheted across Anukus’s body, each one bouncing off him with destructive force and rapid succession.

“GAH!! STOP!!”

Anukus flailed helplessly as the relentless assault tore his defenses apart while unable to keep up with the blinding speed and sheer force of each strike.

His fiery armor shattered in chunks, piece by piece breaking off faster than he could comprehend before his shield was splintered, his spear dissolved into shards, and his once-imposing armor riddled with purple-lit holes, leaking bursts of violet energy from each wound.

‘Damn it! I knew Mythical Beasts like the Dark Nyxxelith were in a different league, but I still have one last ski—’

WHOOOSH!

Before he could finish his thought, the ten Dark Nyxxelith replicas vanished from view and reappeared right in front of him, moving with dizzying speed in a flash.

With his armor in pieces and nowhere to escape, Anukus felt the crushing weight of their combined power closing in. He couldn’t hope to withstand the heavy impact like that, not without entering a critical state.

He also couldn't evade by leaping backward in time since the range of the creature was quite long.

His only chance was to dodge to the side, but even that seemed impossible now.

BOOOM!

At the same time, all ten Cottonballs barely missed their target by inches as Anukus finally dodge the strike, though the pressure of their near-hit sent him recoiling backwards.

But he had no time to recover as the ten creatures immediately rushed toward him at such a remarkable rate that Anukus feared for his life.

'Fuck! I have to stop them!!'

He realized his body wasn’t fast enough to dodge another coordinated strike, and their speed was too fast for his [Homing] ability to capture, making [Severance] equally ineffective.

His only option was to unleash [Absolute Ignition], but this time, in Mage mode.

[Absolute Ignition] had two modes, which is the Warrior and Mage. In Warrior mode let him wield his armor and his family's ancient spear, while in Mage mode is where he unleashed devastating magical attacks.

“I’ll show you real firepower, you pests!”

With a furious roar, he raised both hands and released a torrent of flame that blasted toward the ten Cottonballs.

BWOOOSH!

The roar of flames flowed through the air in a concentrated blast, everything directed at stopping the approaching bunnies.

BOOOM!

The shockwave caused by the impact launched Anukus flying once again, but he was able to quickly regain his balance by twisting himself in the air and landed on his feet.

To his delight, he had seen no sign of the creatures and assumed they had incinerated into ash. But much to his shock, only one wasn't impeded by his Magic.

Sure, it slowed down that thing a little, but the energetic creature charge continued.

Thankfully, Anukus had already left his previous position, so the shattering earth replaced what would have been his body.

As the ground beneath him broke to pieces, Anukus landed a considerable distance from the enemy and unleashed another wave of intense flames that brimmed with sheer power, only to find his adversary came out untouched.

"This creature is more difficult than I expected. Is this what fighting a Magic Beast of the Realm of Disasters truly feels like?"

Anukus had never faced such a beast at that level before, so he couldn’t be certain.

“It’s incomparably stronger than the creature that Half-Orc summoned. I suppose this is the gap between Tiers.”

Still, Anukus had a hidden trump card of his own, and he was confident it would be enough to win.

"It’s time to stop holding back!"

He stretched out both hands and focused intently on the small, deceptively cute creature advancing toward him.

"Any moment now, it’ll vanish like before. I can’t allow that!"

Gathering all his mana, he prepared to end the enemy in only one blow, or rather, consecutive strikes encapsulated in a single unstoppable moment.

Combining [Homing] with [Severance] and [Absolute Ignition], Anukus crafted a powerful new technique, a Unique Skill.

“[Malevolent Fiery Shrine]!!"

With that, his attack was initiated.

Slices that were impossible to avoid were mixed with flames so intense they seemed to burn through space itself.

Together, they forged a path of devastation that rose several meters high and spread wide, consuming everything before Anukus on a collision course with his true target.

“DIE!”

Destruction roared through the landscape, ripping through earth, buildings, wind, even the smallest microorganisms disintegrated in the unrelenting flames and slashes.

And finally, the enemy.

A symphony of *SWISH* and *VWUUSH* to form an elaborate layer of severance and flames, a vision of pure, unrestrained chaos.

This was an attack capable of obliterating even weaker Tier 2 Transcendents and Calamity-class monsters (Tier 1 Transcendents).

“You see it, don’t you? My true power!” Anukus roared with exhilaration.

His widened eyes strained to penetrate the roiling chaos, but the inferno made it almost impossible to see his foe’s condition clearly.

Still, he pushed his sight to its limit.

It appeared extremely overkill to unleash such fury upon a creature so small and adorable. But Anukus didn’t give a flying fuck, he was driven to see the pathetic state of this creature to be broken and leave it trapped in a cage of fatal torture.

Yet…

"W-what… WHAT IN THE FUCK?!"

A rounded innocent and unperturbed creature was casually hopping through the flames and slashes.

It continued forward, unaffected by the storm of slashes and explosions that constantly assailed it, as if strolling through a gentle rain. Not a single hair seemed to take any damage as it indifferently advanced through an unfettered storm, embracing the rain of destruction without a care in the world.

This Mythical Beast was hopping through the [Malevolent Fiery Shrine] like it was nothing.

“No… NOOO!”

Anukus couldn't believe his eyes.

Even as he stared with his bulging eyes, he refused to accept what he was seeing.

If he did, it would mean his entire analysis had been wrong all along.

His opponent wasn't just any Tier 2 Transcendent.

This mythical creature was a higher-level Tier 2 Transcendent.

And if that were the case, it could mean only one thing.

Anukus couldn't win.

“THAT'S NOT TRUE! THAT CAN'T BE TRUE!” He kept howling like a wounded dog.

"DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE!"

Anukus kept screaming over and over, a desperate, unhinged chant as he unleashed strike after strike, each more futile than the last.

Finally, as his voice and body became exhausted, he stopped.

The Dark Nyxxelith stood right before him.

And like that, his inevitable fate was sealed.

“🐰”

Death stared at Anukus.

The creature, deceptively small and harmless-looking, made it appear weak and pathetic before the hulking figure of the self-proclaimed Walking Calamity.

But the truth was painfully clear.

Compared to this creature, the weak and pathetic one was none other than Anukus. And the true Walking Calamity, or rather, the Walking Disaster, was this tiny little animal.

As Anukus was forced to lowered his head to meet the creature's gaze, he felt a sense of inevitability.

For the first time in ages, a primal fear that he thought he had forgotten clawed its way to the surface.

His body seems paralyze, while his arms remained outstretched, as if still mid-attack. He dared not move, not even to shiver, fearing that the creature would register the slightest motion as a reason to strike him down and end his life.

All the doubts and overconfidence that had clouded his mind evaporated.

Now that he stood so close to this creature, he knew the truth.

This was a Mythical Beast.

'H-how…?! How did that man summon this… thing!?' The thought about this intruder that summoned this monstrosity burned in his mind.

‘Could he be on par with the Elf Queen of High Tarxa? No… could he be even stronger?’

No, that was too terrifying to consider.

‘I don’t even know what to think anymore!’

All he knew was that if he didn’t act soon, he was going to die.

But dying wasn’t part of his plan.

There was one last way he could win this fight, a chance he hadn't yet forgotten.

‘I admit this monster is beyond my own abilities, but…’

Anukus's eyes turned to the man who had summoned the creature.

He stood perfectly still, like a statue, as if drained from the summoning.

'He must be exhausted after summoning this thing. Now is the perfect chance to strike him down.'

Anukus knew what he had said before, about how he would save him for later, but now wasn't the time to mess around.

If he didn't do anything drastic, he was going to die.

"But…"

Anukus grinned as he activated a Magic Artifact cleverly hidden as one of his teeth.

A rush of energy filled his mouth, and the air around him distorted as space warped in an instant.

Before the Mythical Beast could strike him down, it had already too late.

VWUUSH!

He vanished from his position and reappeared directly in front of Woods.

"Killing the Summoner cancels the Beast Summon. I just have to eliminate this guy!" Anukus thought as his eyes locked onto his target.

The shock and fear in Woods’ expression confirmed it, he hadn’t expected this ambush.

With a demonic smile now spreading all over his face, Anukus poured the last of his mana into his outstretched hand.

Anukus was not going to take any chances here! He was going to use his full strength, going all out as desperation had stripped him of caution, even against a weakened foe, he wouldn’t take any risks.

That was how desperate he had become.

"DIEEEEEEE!!!"

Once more, he unleashed the full fury of his [Malevolent Fiery Shrine].

A rain of slashes and scorching flames rained down, concentrated on a single point, which is Woods.

Slashes of unimaginable mass and numbers struck one after the other, and infused with flames powerful enough to sever even molecular bonds, created an attack that was sure to annihilate him this time.

"Hahaha! AHAHAHAHAHA!! AHAHA—!"

SPLOOSH!

Anukus’ manic laughter cut short as he watched, horrified, as his own arms were dismembered in an instant, with blood spurting out as they flew off.

"W-what…?"

The attack had come from behind, in the form of two familiar rounded creatures standing there.

"GUARGHHH!" Anukus screamed, stumbling a few steps backward as his body absorbed the pain.

"But… how? Why…? I-I killed them!"

"Sheesh! Such an annoying breeze, am I right?" The voice that came forth belonged to the man who was meant to be dead.

The slashes and flames of Anukus' attack dissipated into the wind, revealing Woods, standing completely unharmed.

"H-how…?!"

Not even a single scratch were on his opponent. No sign of damage had been dealt whatsoever.

It didn’t make sense. Woods should have been drained from summoning the Mythical Beast, and no mage even at the Tier 1 Transcendent should have been able to withstand an assault of that magnitude unless without possessing a powerful spell or equipped with a magic artifact.

Yet… YET…

"Sorry, did you think you’d actually killed these little ones? Thanks to them protecting me from your flames, I'll be toast," Woods smirked, gesturing to the six other Dark Nyxxelith around him.

No…

This couldn’t be happening.

There was no way he was seeing this correctly.

He was sure he’d burned those creatures to ash.

How were they still here?

“If you had some mental breakdown over this. I think it's Skill issue, man. Or maybe you're just plain weak.”

Weak? He, Anukus, the World-Burning Warlock, was being called “weak”?

He collapsed to his knees, his weakened legs crashing onto the heated earth like his legs became jelly. The pain from his dismembered arms made him forget every other physical sensation in his body.

Then, he felt them, the ten creatures slowly closing in with their crimson eyes fixed on him, glinting with an almost cruel menace.

Helpless, defeated in every way, Anukus could barely even command his body.

Woods looked down at him with a smirk.

“Oh, I know what it’s like to lose, man,” Woods said with mock sympathy. “To feel so desperate that you’re right, yet to fail nonetheless. It’s frightening, it turns your legs to jelly. I ask you to what end? Dread it, run from it, destiny arrives all the same. And now it’s here. Or should I say, I—”

Before Woods could finish whatever monologue that came out of his mind, the ten Cottonballs suddenly lunged at Anukus and swarmed him like a pack of ravenous beasts.

“ARGHH!! AGHHHHH!! AGHHHHH!!!!!”

“HOLY SHIT!!” Woods recoiled in utter horror as his familiars devoured Anukus in a frenzy, tearing through him like a school of piranhas, until all that remained were small scraps of flesh and fabric.

In moments, Anukus was gone, reduced to fragments and memories.

The ten Cottonballs licked up the remains, then merged back into one creature, which turned and hopped over to the stunned and horrified Woods with a cute animal squeak.

“^w^”

‘Even though she helped a lot, that…was something I won’t forget anytime soon.’

"Thank you, Sir," said the man beside Woods, his voice tinged with reverence, and a hint of fear.

Woods shrugged as he glanced back. “Told you, didn’t I? It’d be fine. After all, I’m one of Sir Ghost’s goons!”

BOOM!!

At that moment, a shockwave rippled through the ground as something crashed near the two, shaking the earth and sending up a thick cloud of dust.

Both Woods and Cottonball turned toward the source of the impact. Cottonball, who instinctively switched to defense mode, rushed toward the newcomer at lightning speed.

However…

“Woah!”

With his hands raised, the newcomer generated a subtle shift in the air around him. As Cottonball collided with him, instead of tearing him apart as she had done to Anukus, she simply bounced off, falling and rolling across the ground like a toy ball.

“:/… >:/”

Cottonball looked confused, but as she prepared to launch herself at the man again—

“Cottonball, stop!”

Hearing her master's command, she stopped like an obedient pet and watched him attentively as her master assessed the newcomer.

“Captain, I'm glad to see you here.”

The man standing before them was none other than Riley.

Thanks to his refined mana control, Riley had managed to prevent Cottonball from harming him. His skill allowed him to influence Cottonball's kinetic energy by carefully manipulating the mana particles around her.

When she charged at him at speeds exceeding Mach 10, Riley created a mana field that acted like an invisible barrier with a gradual decelerating force. This field gradually absorbed and dispersed some of her momentum, slowing her down over the distance.

By the time Cottonball reached Riley, her destructive energy that could have "obliterated a human" had been significantly diminished. The mana particles acted almost like a cushion, reducing her velocity to the point where her impact felt as soft as a pillow instead of a dangerous bone-crushing blow.

This interaction not only showcased Riley's precision in energy manipulation skills but demonstrated how his control over mana could alter physical forces to protect him.

It was clear his mastery had grown immensely.

“Sir Ghost, how did you get here this fast? Aquarius is supposed to be a hundred miles away,” Barron asked with amazement in his tone.

“It’s complicated,” Riley replied. “I’ll explain later. But first, tell me everything that’s happened here.”

————————————————————————

‘So, Woods actually managed to pull it off.’ Riley smiled beneath his mask as he looked at Woods, now standing victoriously before him. He had just finished listening to the full explanation from both Woods and Barron.

‘I knew giving him the third Mana Symbiote would pay off,’ Riley thought. ‘Luckiest and unluckiest member of the team… yet somehow he summoned a small creature that defeated a Deadly Three. Impressive.’

In Riley’s assessment, the Mythical Beast was a Tier 2 Transcendent, yet powerful enough to rival a low-tier Tier 3. A formidable creature, no doubt.

“We’re done here, but your father mentioned something about a second location,” Riley said, turning to Barron.

“Second location…?”

“Yeah. The place where our second ally is based. If the attackers hit here, they might target there next.”

Riley was almost certain this whole situation was engineered as a calculated way to clip the wings of the three Obsidian Councilors who were excluded from Scyllary’s New Order.

“They went after our cargo and then this place. It stands to reason they’ll target the last family.”

Barron’s eyes widened as the realization hit him. “Oh! You’re right. But… it’s pretty far, isn’t it?”

By “far,” Barron meant a few thousand miles.

‘It’s doable,’ Riley mused while shrugging to himself. ‘I made it from Aquarius in minutes. I should be able to reach it within an hour.’

Thanks to his mastery of manipulating mana particles, combined with years of study and sheer intelligence in his college days, Riley’s calculated mind and speed was unmatched.

Knowledge, after all, was power.

‘Shame I can’t teleport there directly. Maybe it’s time I dig into Epstein’s theories on space and dimensions. That is going to be hard when I have to control the mana particles to make it possible.’ Riley knew he’d need to set up checkpoints in key locations to streamline future travel.

“Just show me the place on the map and mark any major landmarks. I’ll find my way there,” he said confidently.

He had studied the maps of the Third Civilization Zone enough to practically calculate distances between locations, cross-referencing them with drawings and recorded footage. As long as he had some direction, he could navigate through cities with ease.

“All right! It’s back in the carriage, let’s head over together,” Barron replied.

“Let’s go.”

Riley, Barron, and Woods made their way to the carriage, and with a final wave of his hand, Riley extinguished the flames still smoldering around them.

————————————————————————

[Minutes Later]

Riley floated in the air, no, more like he sped through it with intense, almost unimaginable speed.

His body was properly encased in a stable barrier as he rushed through the vastness of the sky at Mach 10, moving ten times faster than the speed of sound.

This feat was possible due to Riley's mastery over mana particle manipulation.

In this world, mana was more than magic, it was a fundamental form of energy, as elemental as atoms and molecules. Riley could gather these particles from the air and condensed them to effectively increase their density around him.

This localized concentration allows him to create zones of high and low pressure around him. By precisely controlling this concentration of mana, he could use them to manipulate the air and generate both lift and thrust.

When he expels these condensed mana particles, he creates a powerful counterforce that propels him forward, following Newton's Third Law, where every action generates an equal and opposite reaction.

To achieve such extreme speeds, he further refined his technique, manipulating the surrounding air to reduce drag. By momentarily ionizing it, he created a plasma shield around him that minimizes friction and streamlined airflow, which allows him to slice through the atmosphere with remarkable ease. This aerodynamic shield streamlined the airflow around him, reducing resistance and enabling him to maintain his high velocity for miles on end.

Drawing energy from the environment and his own reserves, Riley sustained a steady supply of mana to make sure that he could travel long distances at incredible speed.

Overall, the level of control he exercised over mana particles transcended typical physical limitations, allowing him to navigate the skies faster than any aircraft the Austronesian Empire, or even Earth, could produce.

The knowledge that he could achieve such speed and sustain it over vast distances filled Riley with a profound sense of satisfaction in his own abilities.

‘I doubt the Imperial Secret Police could arrest me with this.’