The hunters had disappeared, leaving the Z+ Saviors in disarray. Only a handful of them remained: Virelle, Watyrio, Gravito, Hannah, and Darso.
"Has anyone seen that pot guy?" Watyrio asked, his tone filled with mild irritation. "He's been missing this entire time."
Virelle shrugged. "He's probably fighting someone."
"I doubt it. He doesn't seem that reckless," Hannah said, crossing her arms.
"He looked reckless to me," Gravito chimed in, earning a sharp glare from Hannah.
Darso interjected, his voice grave. "This hunter we're up against is no joke. His stats are terrifying—ZZ+ in strength, ZZZ+ in speed, and Ċ+ in durability. He's a monster."
"That's Brock, the #1-ranked hunter," Hannah corrected, her voice tense. "Urioh is worse. His stats are ZZZ+ in strength, ZZZ+ in speed, and ĊĊ+ in durability."
Virelle tried to muster confidence. "We can handle this together, right? I'm not ready to die yet."
Darso placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "You're not alone. Together, we can take him down."
Gravito frowned, his voice blunt. "Don't sugarcoat it. The truth is, this guy is unstoppable. Believing otherwise is a death sentence."
Suddenly, Urioh emerged from the shadows, his sword dripping with blood. His sinister grin widened as he surveyed the remaining Saviors.
"Well, well, well," Urioh said mockingly. "The last of the Saviors. How quaint."
"You trying to mock us?" Gravito growled, clenching his fists.
Hannah stepped forward, trying to reason with him. "Urioh, stop this. Lucius and Ogamak lied to you—we're not a threat to this planet!"
Urioh's expression hardened. "I'll believe that when I see it."
Watyrio took a fighting stance. "Then we have no choice but to fight back."
Urioh smirked. "Bring it on."
Virelle and Gravito attacked simultaneously, flanking Urioh from both sides. But with a single motion, Urioh blocked their strikes with just his finger and knocked them both away effortlessly.
"Agh!" Virelle groaned, struggling to get up. "He's... too strong!"
Before she could react, Urioh's sword came swinging down toward her. Gravito barely intercepted it in time, chanting, "Gravity Magic: Jupiter's Wrath!"
The gravity around Urioh intensified, crushing him to the ground. But despite the immense force, Urioh slowly stood, his movements strained but unyielding.
"He's standing!" Gravito gasped. "Even under this much pressure!"
"Hurricane Magic: Category 4 Push!" Virelle shouted, unleashing a powerful gale that sent Urioh flying. But he planted his sword into the ground, anchoring himself and stopping his momentum.
"He's unstoppable!" Hannah yelled in frustration. "Virelle, retreat now!"
"No!" Virelle snapped. "I'm not leaving without a—"
Her words were cut short by a silent slash. She collapsed to the ground, lifeless.
Gravito's eyes widened in horror. "Don't tell me..."
Urioh broke free of the gravity spell, rising to his full height. His sword pulsated with an ominous energy.
"That's right," Urioh said, his grin widening. "I've awakened."
Hannah's face paled as she sensed the shift in power. "His stats... they've changed."
"What are they now?" Darso asked grimly.
"ĊĊ in strength, ĊĊĊ+ in speed, and Ċ- in durability," Hannah stammered.
Darso's expression darkened. "We can't match that. We need to retreat."
"But what about the low-ranked Saviors?" Hannah protested.
"I don't know what's happened to them, but right now, we have to focus on surviving," Darso said firmly. "Now go!"
Before she could argue, Darso used his darkness magic to send Hannah flying away.
"Don't worry," Darso said softly, a faint smile on his face. "I'll see you soon."
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Meanwhile, Yaxoc sprinted through the ruined city, finding Moonlight unconscious.
"Oh no," Yaxoc muttered, kneeling beside her. "Urioh must've done this..."
Examining her injuries, he noticed deep wounds on her legs.
"Just her legs... I can fix this," Yaxoc mumbled. He pulled out bandages, carefully wrapping them around the wounds.
"Imagination Magic: Healthy Mind Stability," he chanted.
A green aura surrounded Moonlight, healing her injuries and enhancing the bandages with a soft glow.
"That should do it," Yaxoc said, lifting her. He carried her back to his house, placing her gently on the couch.
"Now... what about Marcus and Luna?" he wondered aloud. Panic set in. "No... they're still out there!"
With lightning speed, Yaxoc searched the city, finding Luna unconscious but unharmed.
"Luna!" he called out, rushing to her side.
"She's not injured... just unconscious from some kind of injection," Yaxoc deduced. He carried her back to his house, setting her on a chair.
As he prepared to leave again, explosions echoed in the distance.
"Marcus..." Yaxoc whispered. "I have to find him."
But before he could move, Urioh appeared, blocking his path.
"Well, well," Urioh sneered. "The Savior who saved the two catgirls. How noble. Now, you've earned yourself a reward... DEATH."
"Like hell I'll accept that!" Yaxoc shouted, dropping into a fighting stance.
Urioh, fully consumed by his awakened power, lunged at Yaxoc with a devastating blow. Yaxoc narrowly dodged, countering with a strike of his own that staggered Urioh, forcing him to take a step back.
"That awakened form of yours... it's atrocious," Yaxoc muttered, shaking his fists to steady his resolve. "Too bad for you—I'm taking you down!"
With renewed vigor, Yaxoc launched a barrage of punches. But Urioh sidestepped each strike effortlessly, his movements unnervingly precise. Catching Yaxoc's fist mid-swing, Urioh tightened his grip.
"Agh!" Yaxoc groaned, feeling the crushing force in his hand.
"Fool," Urioh sneered, hurling Yaxoc into the sky like a ragdoll. In a blur, Urioh teleported above him, slamming a sledgehammer blow into Yaxoc's face. The sheer force of the impact sent Yaxoc crashing into the ground, shattering the earth and making the entire continent quake.
Dust and debris filled the air as Yaxoc, battered and groaning in pain, forced himself to his feet.
"You're... powerful," Yaxoc admitted, blood trickling from his mouth.
Urioh smirked cruelly. "And now, I'll end this."
Raising his sword high, Urioh prepared to strike the final blow. But just as he lunged, the battlefield twisted, and in a flash, both combatants were teleported to a different location.
Urioh halted, his expression twisted in confusion. "Who did that?"
His senses prickled, something felt wrong. Turning sharply, his eyes landed on Marcus, standing tall with a confident smirk.
"Hey there," Marcus greeted, his voice unnervingly calm. "How's it going?" His eyes gleamed with a radiant, otherworldly glow.
Urioh's confusion deepened as he took a step forward, narrowing his eyes. "Your eyes..." he muttered. "They're glowing."
Marcus casually ran a hand through his hair, his grin widening. "Isn't it exciting? I've never felt this good until now."
Urioh gripped his sword tighter, his tone sharp. "What are you talking about?"
Marcus tilted his head, his demeanor both playful and menacing. "Oh, you didn't completely kill me."
Urioh's eyes flared with fury as he clenched his fists. "What nonsense is this?"
"It's simple," Marcus explained, taking a step closer. "You did kill me—or at least you thought you did. I was only using 50% of my awakened power when it happened. But my awakening wasn't finished. The energy kept building, increasing the percentage until it completed itself." He flashed a grin, the light in his eyes burning brighter. "That let me escape death. And now, here we are."
Urioh's expression darkened, his grip on his blade shaking slightly. "You... cheated death?"
"More like I postponed it," Marcus said, his grin never faltering. "But let's just say it's your turn to see what a fully awakened Savior looks like."
Urioh swung his blade with deadly precision, but Marcus sidestepped effortlessly, teleporting behind him in a flash.
"Behind you!" Marcus shouted, his voice laced with a mix of mockery and warning.
Urioh instinctively turned, only to meet Marcus's fist. The sheer force of the punch shattered the ground beneath them, sending shockwaves through the battlefield and launching Urioh skidding across the terrain.
As Urioh staggered to his feet, Marcus appeared above him in a blur of motion. With a sharp kick to Urioh's jaw, Marcus slammed him into the ground, leaving a deep crater.
"Fire Magic: Burning Steps!" Marcus chanted, summoning waves of searing flames that spread across the ground, consuming everything in their path.
"Agh! Damn it!" Urioh snarled, shielding his face as the fire scorched his skin.
Undeterred, Urioh lunged through the flames, unleashing a furious barrage of sword swings. Each strike sliced through the air with deadly intent, but Marcus evaded every attack with ease.
As the blade came down for another strike, Marcus caught it mid-swing with one hand. Before Urioh could react, Marcus drove his forehead into Urioh's, the impact leaving him dazed.
"Gotcha!" Marcus growled, taking control of the blade. With lightning speed, he slashed Urioh from all directions, the blade glowing with raw energy.
"Take this!" Marcus roared, delivering a final, devastating slash that carved a deep wound into the left side of Urioh's face.
Urioh groaned in pain, staggering as blood dripped from his wound. He knelt momentarily, catching his breath. "You… you managed to hurt me," he said, his voice low and menacing. Slowly, he pushed himself back to his feet, his grin returning despite his injuries. "But you didn't finish me off."
"What?" Marcus's eyes widened in disbelief. He could feel his power surging again, an uncontrollable energy building within him.
Urioh laughed darkly. "This is just the beginning, brat," he taunted. His grin turned sinister as he leapt backward, disappearing into the shadows of the ruined battlefield.
"Hmph. Running away, are we?" Marcus muttered, his tone filled with disdain. "Coward."
Still, as he looked around the desolation, doubt crept into his mind. "Where did he go? He looked like he was done for…" Marcus let out a sigh, the adrenaline slowly fading.
With no sign of Urioh, Marcus turned away from the battlefield, walking off into the chaos that awaited him next.