The battle raged around Adam, but his focus was on one thing—his wife's lifeless body. He gently laid her down before turning his attention back to Sern.
Sern was locked in combat with Raith, who summoned massive vines to restrain him. Though they slowed Sern down, they couldn't stop him. It was enough for Adam to seize the opportunity—he lunged forward, grabbing Sern.
Sern twisted in his grasp, his eyes glowing fiercely before unleashing twin beams of searing energy. Adam's own eyes flared in response, absorbing the attack before retaliating with an identical blast. As the beams clashed, Adam tightened his grip, attempting to slam Sern into the ground.
But Sern reacted swiftly, taking flight just before impact. He soared upward, the force of his movement creating a sonic boom. Then, without hesitation, he dove back down, fist cocked. Adam met him mid-air, throwing his own punch to counter.
The collision sent a shockwave ripping through the battlefield, flattening trees and shattering nearby huts. Raith and the others shielded their eyes from the blast, peering up just in time to see streaks of light tearing across the sky—Sern and Adam exchanging blow after blow. Each clash created another devastating shockwave, the sheer force shaking the earth below.
Finally, Adam was sent hurtling toward the ground. He crashed hard, his hair reverting to its original color. Pain shot through his body as he struggled to rise, only to see a blinding beam of energy racing toward him. He rolled aside just in time, barely avoiding the blast.
Sern hovered above, raining down laser attacks. Adam sprinted, dodging each deadly strike as explosions erupted in his wake.
Raith, seeing an opening, conjured massive vines that wrapped around Sern, yanking him down with tremendous force. As soon as he hit the ground, Spam, Scorn, Naté, and Emac charged in, pummeling him relentlessly.
Adam and Raith quickly joined, unleashing their fury in a relentless assault. Fists flew, energy crackled, and the ground trembled beneath their combined might.
Then, with a single sweep of his hand, Sern sent them all flying.
"Enough," he said, his voice calm yet filled with menace.
"Tell them to leave, and I will grant you a quick death," Sern said to Raith, who panted, barely holding himself upright.
Before Raith could answer, Naté charged.
Sern's eyes flashed. A searing beam of light shot forward, cutting clean through Naté's skull. His body crumpled mid-stride.
Emac and Spam lunged at Sern from opposite sides. Sern turned to fire at Spam, but Emac struck first, slamming a fist into his jaw. The impact jerked Sern's head aside, sending his laser harmlessly into the sand. The ground hissed as the heat transformed it into glass.
Sern's gaze shifted to Emac. Slowly, almost lazily, he reached out and clamped a hand around Emac's throat.
"No!" Adam screamed—just before Sern snapped Emac's neck.
Raith summoned vines, sending them surging toward Sern. But a continuous beam of searing light sliced through them, burning away the ever-growing tendrils before they could reach him.
Spam lunged, driving his knife into Sern's side—only for the blade to snap on impact. Sern turned, eyes glowing, ready to incinerate him where he stood.
Before the beam could fire, Scorn slammed into Sern, spearing him with full force. The attack barely made a difference. Still, Scorn pushed, straining with everything he had. With the help of Raith's vines, he managed to shove Sern back a single foot.
Sern responded with both hands, striking Scorn down hard. As Scorn lay stunned, Sern aimed another beam at him—
Spam tackled Sern from behind, driving him into the ground.
Raith seized the moment, covering Sern in a mass of thick vines. Sern tore through them, but Raith kept growing more, trying to keep him pinned.
Then, Emac stirred.
Regaining consciousness, he immediately reached for Sern with his mind—initiating a split-bond.
Inside Sern's mind, Emac conjured thick steel bars, each five inches wide, trapping him in a cage. Then he expanded it, forming a box twice as thick around him, sealing him inside.
In the real world, Sern froze. His body went still, locked in the mental prison Emac had built.
As Sern quieted, Emac turned his attention to Naté, joining Paps in examining him.
"He's healing," Paps murmured. "But he's taking his sweet time."
Emac nodded absently, still focused on keeping Sern contained in his mind.
Sern hammered his fists against the walls of his mental prison. Cracks formed. Focusing all his strength on a single weak point, he struck again—harder. The steel fractured. He forced his fingers into the gap and pried it open.
Emac felt the rupture and immediately tried to rebuild the prison. But before he could contain Sern again, Sern tore free—his mind snapping back to reality.
His eyes flickered open.
With a violent twist, he ripped through the vines binding him and split.
Naté stirred, blinking back into consciousness—just as Ugo's fist caved in his skull.
It happened in an instant. Before Paps could react, Naté was already gone.
Emac tried to split-bond with Sern again—but something resisted him. He disconnected, tried again, and still—nothing.
Meanwhile, Paps and Ugo clashed, trading brutal punches.
Raith, out of seeds, launched himself at Sern.
Sern's eyes burned red-hot.
A beam of searing light shot toward Raith, but he slid low, evading it. As he sprang back to his feet, he drove an uppercut into Sern's chin, snapping his head back.
Raith followed up with a rapid flurry of punches, hammering Sern's ribs with everything he had.
Sern swung a right hook.
Raith ducked and countered with one of his own, striking Sern's jaw.
Sern threw another punch—Raith evaded.
Again. And again. Blow after blow, dodge after dodge, until Sern abruptly retreated.
Then he split.
Energy rippled through the air as his Ugo clones emerged.
They tore across the battlefield, striking with devastating force, sending everyone crashing to the ground.
One by one, they captured and restrained the fighters. No escape. No resistance.
Then, methodically, Sern crushed each of their skulls.
When the last body fell, he merged back with his Ugo clones and rose into the sky.
Higher. Higher.
Reaching space, he looked down at the planet below—his work unfinished.
His eyes burned brighter than ever.
A continuous beam of searing light rained down, cutting through the planet's surface, drilling into its core. The ground cracked, split apart, magma spilling into space.
And then—detonation.
A blinding flash. A shockwave rippling outward.
The planet shattered. Its remains drifted, lifeless, into the void.
Sern watched for only a moment.
Then he turned and flew away.