Above, Eliana’s fused Guardian seized him in colossal hands of vines and slammed him downward.

  The sky blackened.

  Thunder roared. Clouds twisted into the face of a god, eyes glowing with wrath. Lightning spewed from its mouth in torrents, each bolt vast enough to carve seas apart.

  Bumble’s eyes tracked the bolts as if they were drifting lazily, each serpent of lightning crawling in slow motion toward him.

  He did not move.

  CRAAAAACK—!

  The storm’s fury struck him dead-on. Blinding arcs of divine lightning swallowed his body whole, spearing him from crown to heel. The sky itself screamed, thunder splitting the heavens.

  BOOOOM!

  The impact hurled him hundreds of kilometres down into the island. Stone vaporized. Mountains quaked. A crater spread outward in jagged fractures, smoke and ash billowing into the sky.

  For a moment, silence reigned.

  Then—

  SHHHH-BANG!

  The earth exploded as Bumble erupted from the crater, his massive frame leaping back into the open air. His body still smoked with the remnants of lightning, his uniform not even scorched, his grin was intact. His eyes gleamed cold blue, unshaken.

  “Even the girl is a magic genius.”

  Eryndor’s roar shook the heavens. His left arm raised, veins bulging as his mana shattered itself. His mightiest spell.

  “ABSOLUTE DEVASTATION!”

  From the rift above, a burning asteroid 200 kilometers large descended — molten, screaming, tearing the clouds as it plummeted toward Bumble at high speed.

  The island itself seemed to convulse in terror.

  Irisa’s eyes widened. “You idiot! Do you want to kill us all?!”

  Eryndor’s voice echoed, weary but certain.

  “I entrust our protection to you. Do not squander it.”

  Then he collapsed, unconscious, spent to the last drop.

  The asteroid burned brighter, the sky aflame.

  Balling’s voice cracked through the broadcast, his usual flamboyance stripped to raw panic.

  “WHAT THE HELL—?! The competition’s canceled! Forget the prizes, forget the rules—RUN! The whole damn island’s about to blow!”

  He ripped the mic from its stand and hurled it aside. BOOM—the sound echoed as it shattered against the wall. Without hesitation, Balling bolted out of the office at Mach 500, the world blurring into streaks of color as he tore through hallways.

  He skidded to a stop in front of a small room where the cameraman and his girlfriend huddled by the equipment. The walls quaked around them, dust raining from the ceiling.

  “Oi! No time for explanations!” Balling barked, eyes wide. His usual smug grin was gone—replaced by the urgency of a man who knew death was seconds away. He thrust his hands forward.

  “Grab on and take us away—NOW!”

  The cameraman hesitated for a heartbeat, but Balling’s girlfriend seized his arm, forcing his hand into Balling’s grip.

  “Good choice,” Balling muttered.

  Then—FWOOM—

  In an instant, the three of them vanished from the room, their forms ripped from reality.

  Bumble stood unmoving, scarlet aura flaring like a sun. His voice was calm, almost mocking.

  “Erasing the island for me, are you? How thoughtful. But…” His smile curved. “I can’t have you destroying my fleet.”

  He drew back his right fist.

  And then—

  The world stopped.

  Across the battlefield, every being froze in place.

  Ziraiah’s arms locked, her lightning fizzled.

  “I… can’t move.”

  Irisa’s eyes widened in horror. “Neither can I…”

  Eliana struggled, but her body wouldn’t obey. “What is this…?”

  Irisa’s breath caught, realization dawning. This Bravo… it’s his. Is this...the power of an Enforcer.

  Across the island, titans of every race found themselves locked in place. Even the mighty Strata, even Pytho, even Valtos Brigade himself—they could not move so much as a finger.

  Only in the dark chamber did a few still stir.

  “Giveluek!” the man in white roared.

  The titan struggled, sweat pouring. “I’m trying! I… I can’t move!”

  The others stared at the Seer’s image in shock.

  The man in white’s eyes glinted. “…Fine, I'll handle this myself.”

  The mermaid sneered. “Don’t fret. He won’t let his fleet perish. He’s not the type.”

  Back on the battlefield.

  The entire island gleamed red.

  The stone. The soil. The sea. Every particle. Fortified in one instant, glued together by an unbreakable grip of Bravo.

  The world itself shuddered under the hold.

  Not one challenger could move.

  Not one could breathe freely.

  Bumble drew back his arm, his aura screaming.

  Then he punched.

  KAAAAAAA-BOOOOOOOOOM!

  The shockwave shattered the asteroid into a billion fragments, vaporizing it before it ever touched the island.

  The ground beneath Bumble didn’t crack. The island didn’t shift. Nothing moved.

  But the sky—

  The sky within three thousand kilometers raduis parted, ripped apart into a yawning circle of clear blue, clouds shredded into nothingness.

  Silence followed.

  Valerius, hurled skyward like broken debris, crashed back to the earth before he could even breathe.

  Bumble was already there.

  The Enforcer blurred forward, his kick colliding with Valerius’s ribs.

  CRACK.

  Valerius’s body tore through the ground, his limp form skidding violently across the battlefield until he reached the crater’s edge. Bumble seized his head and slammed his face into the dirt, pinning him directly in front of Ziraiah, Eliana, and Irisa.

  The earth shuddered with the blow.

  Valerius’s blood soaked the ground. His eyes, barely open, fluttered weakly.

  Bumble lifted his head by the hair, forcing the siblings to look.

  Ziraiah’s breath caught in her throat, frozen in horror. Eliana covered her mouth, trembling.

  Ziraiah’s rage boiled, her hand rising to cast a spell—

  “STOP.”

  Bumble’s voice cracked like a god’s command.

  Ziraiah froze mid-motion. Her body betrayed her. Her eyes widened in terror as she realized—she couldn’t move.

  No… how? After everything I’ve grown into… how can I still be this weak? She strained with every fiber, her body shaking, but nothing answered her will.

  Valerius’s lips quivered. Blood bubbled as he forced the word out:

  “R…run…”

  Barely audible. A dying plea.

  “Please…”

  ---

  Far away, in another realm, many eyes watched through Valerius’s vision.

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  One voice murmured, sharp. “Should we help him?”

  Another scoffed. “Help? He doesn’t even have the strength left to summon a Champion.”

  A third snarled. “Damned fool. He should have done it from the start.”

  Another sighed. “Blinded by rage.”

  A fifth, colder voice: “Even if he summoned one, his arsenal holds none that could rival that man.”

  “Then he should hurry and level up his ability,” one muttered bitterly.

  A softer voice spoke after a silence. “Would you fight for him?”

  “…No,” came the reply. “I was only speaking.”

  And they continued to watch.

  ---

  Ziraiah’s tears fell freely, streaking down her face.

  “I’m so sorry, Val… I hate this. I hate being useless. I can’t help you.”

  She looked to Eryndor, unconscious at her side.

  He’s passed out. Val can’t move. What am I supposed to do?

  Beside her, Irisa’s silver eyes hardened. Poor girl. You don’t even realize. You’re not up against some challenger… You’re up against a monster. Even I couldn’t win against him.

  Eliana’s voice broke into a whisper. “...Lerius…”

  Bumble slammed Valerius’s head into the ground again. Blood sprayed. He hauled it back up, pressing his lips near Valerius’s ear.

  “I don't know how you have two kinds of bravo... but know this.” His grin widened. “That monstrosity within you will never be released.”

  Bumble’s grip tightened around Valerius’s arm, his voice calm, almost conversational — yet every word dripped with cruelty.

  “Just like last time. I let myself be distracted by the monstrous Bravo inside you, and I forgot about your siblings. Three years ago, I was certain none of you carried even a shred of Vitalis. And yet here you are… stronger than anyone was at your age, aside from Pungence that is. Honestly—” his lips curved into a grim smile, “—I’m impressed. But it changes nothing.”

  He pulled. Slowly.

  Valerius’s scream tore through the crater as his arm strained against Bumble’s monstrous strength. His muscles bunched, veins bulged, fibers ripping audibly under the pressure. Blood slicked his skin.

  Bumble’s voice was merciless, steady as iron.

  “First your skin will split. Then your muscle will shred. Your ligaments will snap. Your bones will crack. Step by step… piece by piece.”

  Just as he spoke, it happened. Valerius’s skin split open in crimson lines, his muscles tearing like cloth. Ligaments popped one by one. His bones splintered under the strain. His roar turned hoarse, teeth grinding as he struggled to hold his body together with every ounce of will.

  Ziraiah’s cries echoed, raw and broken. Eliana’s face was pale with horror, tears streaming down both their cheeks as they watched his body unravel.

  Bumble leaned closer, voice a whisper of death.

  “I will break every bone. Sever every limb. Until you’re nothing but a heap of flesh at my feet.”

  With a final wrench, he ripped Valerius’s arm free. Flesh and bone tore apart in a spray of blood.

  Ziraiah’s scream cut the air. “Please! Stop—I’m begging you!”

  But Bumble only slammed Valerius’s face into the dirt, grinding his skull into the earth beneath his heel. His shadow loomed vast and merciless as he seized Valerius’s remaining arm.

  “You’re not going to die just yet,” he said coldly, pulling slow, savoring the agony. “You’ll live long enough to watch your sister kill your brother… and then take her own life.”

  Bumble’s words fell like a sentence of doom.

  “You all die here today. But know this—it is not your fault. You were simply born into the wrong race.”

  His left palm glowed. Red energy pulsed as a blade of Manifestus formed — a knife, crimson as fresh blood.

  He uttered one word.

  “COME.”

  Ziraiah’s body jolted. Her legs moved against her will. She stumbled forward.

  “No—!” She strained, fighting her own limbs. But Irisa’s barrier of Cushion caught her.

  Bumble’s eyes flicked to Irisa.

  “RELEASE IT.”

  Irisa’s body obeyed before her mind could resist. The barrier dissolved.

  Ziraiah walked forward, helpless. The crimson knife shimmered into her palm.

  Bumble’s voice dripped poison.

  “Now. Look at your brother lying there.”

  He leaned close, blue fire in his gaze.

  “STAB HIM IN THE HEART!”

  Ziraiah’s eyes widened, her whole body trembling.

  No. No, I can’t…

  Her tears spilled. “No… please… don’t make me… I’m begging you!” Her voice cracked, raw with desperation.

  She cried bitterly, each step heavier than the last.

  Eliana trembled, tears flooding her vision. She tried to summon light, to move a finger, anything—

  But then Bumble’s gaze cut to her. Cold. Merciless.

  Fear consumed her. She froze completely.

  Ziraiah screamed through her sobs.

  “Someone help me! Please!”

  Valerius’s mind raged. His blood boiled.

  Move, damn it. MOVE. MOVE, YOU DAMNED BODY!

  But his body betrayed him. He could only watch. Helpless.

  Ziraiah stood over Eryndor, her shadow falling across his unconscious body. The knife in her trembling hands hovered above his back were his heart is.

  “KNEEL,” Bumble commanded.

  Her knees buckled. She collapsed, kneeling over her brother.

  Around the crater, Bumble’s soldiers stood rigid, their faces pale in the glow of Manifestus. None dared breathe too loudly.

  One man muttered under his breath, unable to hold it in.

  “…Isn’t this… too cruel?”

  Another, his hands trembling at his weapon, swallowed hard.

  “Was Bumble always this merciless? He’s already crushed them. He doesn’t need to…”

  A third soldier snapped his head toward them, eyes sharp with fear. His whisper was a hiss.

  “Silence. Don’t question an Enforcer’s methods. If you value your life—watch, and say nothing.”

  The first two fell silent, their eyes averted. Some turned their heads away, unable to bear the sight. But none dared move. None dared breathe.

  Eryndor’s face was still in the dirt, unconscious, unknowing.

  Ziraiah raised the knife with both hands, sobbing uncontrollably.

  Valerius’s vision blurred with tears. His heart tore itself apart as he screamed inside his skull, powerless.

  And all around the crater, Bumble’s men stood silent. Some could not watch, turning away in disgust.

  Ziraiah’s breath hitched as her tears dripped onto her brother’s back.

  Then, with a scream that shattered her soul—

  She brought the knife down.

  To Be Continued...