The battlefield was littered with scorched earth, broken weapons, and fallen warriors.
The Black Fangs were relentless, but Kael, Caziel, and the others fought with everything they had.
Burn sigils flared bright as Branders clashed with waves of enemy troops.
Kael's hands were stained with power and blood, his body screaming in pain, but still, he pushed.
Beside him, Caziel fought like a demon—calm and calculated, his spear flowing like water through flame.
Yuna, on the other side, led the Branders with blazing fury, her Burn Sigil exploding in waves of heat with every strike.
Enemy after enemy fell.
Kael crushed two more Black Fangs with a crushing wave of telekinesis, blood roaring in his ears.
Then...
...he arrived.
The leader of the base stepped from the smoke.
He wasn't massive. He wasn't armored like a warlord.
But his presence was terrifying.
A Glow Sigil… but not like the others.
His aura pulsed with Titan strength, his movements flickered with Phantom speed, and flames danced off his shoulders with the fury of a Blaze type.
A fusion of sigils—or something even more advanced.
The battlefield went quiet.
Even the Black Fangs stopped to watch.
Caziel locked eyes with him, weapon ready. "You're the one controlling this place?"
The leader cracked his neck. "Call me Veyrith. And yes, this blood belongs to me."
Caziel didn't wait.
He rushed forward, spear primed for a lethal strike, but Veyrith vanished in a blur of ghostlike speed, reappearing midair.
He brought his fist down like a meteor.
CRASH.
Caziel hit the ground, a crater exploding beneath him. One hit. Just one.
"CAZIEL!!" Kael screamed.
Yuna didn't hesitate, flames blasting from her feet as she leapt into the air, twin streams of fire launching from her palms toward Veyrith.
He moved through the flames at phantom speed. He appeared behind her.
A blade slipped from his sleeve.
Shhhk.
It slid into Yuna's stomach.
She gasped, eyes wide, blood spilling from the wound.
Not deep enough to kill, but enough to cripple.
Kael watched it all unfold.
He couldn't breathe. Couldn't blink.
Everything slowed—not from time manipulation… but from rage.
His chest tightened. His right arm—the angelic one—began to glow erratically. Light exploded in pulses. His vision flickered.
Then… the world shook.
A telekinetic blast erupted around Kael, lifting debris, enemies, even allies into the air. Rocks hovered.
Dust froze mid-spin. The ground cracked beneath his feet.
His powers—healing, telekinesis, and the underlying current of time—began to swirl chaotically around him.
He wasn't casting anymore. He was losing control.
His body shook with wrath.
Every breath he took made the world tremble.
And through the storm, Veyrith just smiled. "So… this is the one they spoke of."
Kael's eyes glowed gold and silver. His voice, when he finally spoke, was low and inhuman.
"You hurt them."
The air began to warp.
"I'll hurt you."
Everything within ten meters crushed inward—enemies screamed as their bones snapped under invisible pressure.
Kael didn't care.
He was done holding back.