Watcher 23's voice, tinged with shock and fear, echoed across the battlefield:
"They… they're terrifyingly strong… They're not human!"
Under the dim, ashen sky, thick dust swirled in the air, and the atmosphere seemed to have solidified. Watcher 21 stood at the forefront, his eyes vigilant, his inner strength like a lurking beast ready to erupt. His gaze swept across the battlefield, sharply catching an anomaly—Watcher 20 had vanished without a trace.
"Stay calm!" Watcher 21 barked in a low tone, attempting to steady the others. Yet, unease gnawed at him, growing more intense by the moment.
Watcher 23 gritted his teeth and drew a throwing knife. With a flick of his fingers, a series of cold, gleaming blades tore through the air like meteors, screaming toward their targets. However, when the knives struck Haiihito, they made no impression, not even sparking against his body. In that instant, Haiihito's figure stood immovable, like an unassailable iron wall exuding an aura of suffocating oppression.
"This… this is a monster," Watcher 23 muttered, his voice trembling.
Kyobei smirked lightly, raising his hand in a casual gesture. A surge of psychic energy, as unstoppable as a tidal wave, froze every throwing knife mid-air. The blades, suspended and gleaming coldly, hung motionless, as if caught in time. Then, with a flick of Kyobei's fingers, the knives shattered into shards, cascading to the ground like metallic rain.
Watcher 21 could hold back no longer. With a roar, he smashed his fist into the ground, sending a wave of rubble hurtling toward Kyobei. Each step he took thundered with the force of an earthquake, his raw power crackling in the air. Yet Kyobei only regarded him with icy detachment, a psychic shield materializing around him, deflecting every attack.
"Futile resistance." Kyobei chuckled, his tone dripping with mockery.
Undeterred, Watcher 21 launched himself into the air, his fists tearing through the air like a storm. His blow finally penetrated the psychic barrier, heading straight for Haiihito's chest. But the moment his fist made contact, his face twisted in shock—it was as if he'd struck a mountain. Not only did Haiihito remain unmoved, but the impact reverberated painfully through Watcher 21's arm.
Haiihito looked down at him coldly, devoid of emotion. Slowly, he raised his massive hammer high into the air. The weapon, brimming with catastrophic power, descended with devastating force. Watcher 21 had no time to evade—the blow, like a thunderbolt, crashed into his abdomen.
"Boom!" The ground trembled violently, the air splitting apart with a deafening roar.
Watcher 21's body, like a ragdoll caught in a hurricane, was hurled across the battlefield. Tumbling through the air, he finally landed in a heap in the distant darkness, swallowed by the dust, along with the last vestiges of his life.
Watcher 23 stood frozen, like a statue carved from ice. The scene before him was too overwhelming to comprehend. His lips moved soundlessly, unable to form words. The knife in his hand slipped from his grip, clattering onto the ground with a crisp sound that failed to rouse him. His legs trembled uncontrollably, cold sweat pouring down his face, soaking him to the bone.
"Impossible… 21 is…" he stammered, his voice laden with despair and terror.
Kyobei's piercing gaze, as cold and sharp as a blade, swept over Watcher 23, cutting into his very soul. That frozen stare was like the abyss itself, its oppressive weight suffocating. Watcher 23 stumbled backward, his voice quivering:
"No… please… don't kill me… I'm just…"
Before he could finish, Haiihito strode forward, his hammer dragging behind him, each step resounding with a heavy thud. The ground quaked underfoot, the ominous sound reverberating like thunder. His merciless eyes locked onto Watcher 23, his voice chilling:
"The weak have no place here."
Watcher 23 felt as though he were pinned to an icy wall, death's shadow enveloping him. His body froze, paralyzed by the weight of his impending doom. No amount of struggle could stave off the inevitable.
In no time, Watcher 23 met the same fate as Watcher 21. The four unstoppable combatants erased him without hesitation, wiping away every trace of the threat he once posed.
The 30 Watchers stationed in this unprecedented conflict were obliterated. Myoun's movements were ghostly, weaving through currents of air and shadow, his figure dissolving into nothingness. Every enemy who attempted to confront him vanished in an instant, leaving no survivors. Erukasu's mastery of manipulation and killing intent formed a deadly aura, each shadowy strike as swift and fatal as death's scythe. Kyobei's psychic power stood impenetrable, halting even the swiftest projectiles with ease. Haiihito's overwhelming strength reduced his foes to mere paper, his hammer flattening all who dared to oppose him.
None of the Watchers survived. The battlefield, littered with corpses and shattered remains, bore witness to their annihilation. Despite their rigorous training and formidable skills, the Watchers were helpless against the four extraordinary ability users.
Amidst the silence of death, only the stench of blood and the aftermath of devastation lingered. The land seemed incapable of enduring further carnage. The scars left behind—ashes, debris, and corroded remnants—stood as solemn testimony to the battle.
From afar, the battlefield was eerily quiet. Myoun floated mid-air, his brown cloak billowing lightly in the wind. A cold smirk tugged at his lips, his sharp gaze glinting with ferocity. Erukasu followed closely, his presence oppressive, the air seemingly heavy under his influence. Kyobei and Haiihito stood beside them, silently surveying the carnage. Together, their combined presence was like death incarnate, inescapable and unrelenting.
In the shadows, however, an unnoticed detail stirred.
A faint glimmer flickered in a hidden corner. It was a covert surveillance lens, nearly imperceptible.
"Fourteen… those four, we need to investigate them, don't we?" A low voice in the shadows trembled with urgency.
"Hold on, Fifteen." Another voice, calmer, replied, "Let's report to Zero-Two first—"
Before the sentence could be finished, Myoun's piercing gaze sliced through the air, fixing on the camera. That stare, impossible to evade, felt like death itself. In an instant, time seemed to stop.
Then came a sharp crack as the lens shattered, shards scattering like falling stars.
Silence engulfed the surveillance room where Watchers 14 and 15 hid, terror gripping them. The realization of these four individuals' true power and concealed identities weighed heavily. Every detail about them screamed danger, their existence shrouded in an ominous mystery waiting to be unraveled.