Keon's eyes never left the battlefield, his mind racing as he watched the Abyssalflame Serpent hesitate for the first time. The Bloodwick was adapting—twisting, evolving mid-battle. This was bad.
He turned his head slightly toward Stella, who was still catching her breath. "Hey, that plasma cannon of yours," he asked casually, as if they weren't standing near the most chaotic fight he'd seen so far. "Think it's ready for another emergency mode blast?"
Stella wiped sweat off her forehead, her gaze still fixed on the monstrous clash ahead. "It's barely at 30% charge," she grumbled, adjusting the device on her wrist. "I need at least another two minutes before I can override it again. If I force it now, it might overheat—maybe even explode."
Keon clicked his tongue, watching as the Bloodwick cracked its neck, its freshly mutated form pulsing with unstable energy. "Two minutes, huh? That's a long time…" He exhaled, rubbing his chin as if deep in thought.
Then, with a grin, he stretched his arms. "Welp. Guess I'll have to keep things entertaining until then."
Keon exhaled, his fingers flexing as he activated his Rift Barrier. There was no sound, no glow—just a shift, a pulse in reality itself.
One moment, the Abyssalflame Serpent and Bloodwick were locked in their brutal struggle. The next, both vanished.
In the blink of an eye, they found themselves inside the void of the Rift Barrier. No air, no sky, no ground—just an empty, endless dimension. Bloodwick twitched, its bone spikes rattling as it struggled to process the sudden change. The Abyssalflame Serpent, however, barely reacted. It simply existed there, unbothered by the void, as if it belonged.
Then, with a flick of Keon's will—
Bloodwick was gone.
Yeeted.
Reality cracked open, and Bloodwick was flung out of the barrier dimension at terrifying speed, crashing far into the distance with a thunderous impact.
The Abyssalflame Serpent remained for a second longer before Keon released it too, placing it right back where it had been—completely unharmed.
The undead serpent lifted its skeletal head, scanning its surroundings. It had left… and now it was back. Meanwhile, Bloodwick was nowhere to be seen.
For the first time, the Abyssalflame Serpent hesitated. It tilted its head slightly, processing the impossible event that had just occurred.
Keon crossed his arms, watching from a safe distance.
"Hah. That worked better than I expected."
A chilling screech split the air.
Bloodwick was back.
The twisted mass of blood and flesh—pulsing red like a living nightmare—ripped through the sky, its two massive arms on its back twitching with violent intent. Bone spikes now jutted out of its shifting, formless body, glistening with a wet, unnatural sheen.
But what made it truly terrifying wasn't its appearance—it was its speed.
It blurred forward, covering a ridiculous distance in an instant, its focus locked entirely on Keon.
Keon barely raised an eyebrow.
"Didn't learn the first time, huh?"
Bloodwick lunged—
And vanished.
Keon flicked his fingers. A faint pulse of something indescribable rippled through the air. No flash, no portal, no trace of energy.
Just gone.
A moment of silence.
Then—
A wet, grotesque splatter tore through the clouds above.
Bloodwick was falling from the sky.
Keon watched, unimpressed, as the mutated horror twisted mid-air, adjusting itself with those monstrous back-arms. Instead of coming at Keon again, it whipped around—aiming straight for the Abyssalflame Serpent.
CRASH!
A shockwave detonated across the battlefield as Bloodwick smashed into the undead, its giant arms slamming down like massive hammers. The serpent hissed in fury, its skeletal body rattling from the relentless blows.
Abyssal flames burst outward, scorching the air, but Bloodwick didn't stop—it just kept pummeling the undead with mindless, bloodthirsty rage.
Keon exhaled, crossing his arms, watching like an observer at a colosseum fight.
"Yeah. That's more like it."
A sudden shift in the battlefield.
The Abyssalflame Serpent—an undead, a being of pure, lifeless existence—froze mid-motion.
Then, something unnatural happened.
Its flames surged.
The blue Abyssalflames that always burned with cold intensity suddenly flared with a furious glow, illuminating the battlefield like a raging inferno. Its skeletal body tensed, its glowing eyes narrowing in a way no undead should be capable of.
Anger.
Undead didn't feel.
Undead didn't rage.
Undead didn't burn hotter.
But this one did.
A deep, guttural hiss rumbled from the Abyssalflame Serpent's hollow throat, its massive body coiling with renewed energy.
The air around it distorted from the sheer heat, cracks forming in the ground beneath it.
Then—
BOOM!
The undead exploded forward, its skeletal form moving faster than ever, tail whipping like a meteor towards Bloodwick. The force of its movement ignited the ground beneath it, leaving burning scars in its wake.
For the first time—
An undead showed true fury.
Bloodwick reacted instantly.
Its mutated giant arms twisted, gripping the ground as it flung itself backward just in time to avoid being torn apart by the Abyssalflame Serpent's devastating charge. The sheer heat wave from the serpent's body left deep scorch marks on Bloodwick's flesh, but the mutation only made it more resilient.
The battle had changed.
The undead was no longer fighting with cold, calculated strikes. It moved with aggression, a sharp contrast to its previous precision.
BOOM!
The serpent's tail slammed down, the force rupturing the battlefield and sending shattered rock and debris into the air. Bloodwick barely managed to twist its body, avoiding a direct hit—but one of its extra arms was caught in the impact.
A sickening crack echoed.
Bloodwick shrieked, but instead of retreating, it did something far worse.
Mutation surged.
Its flesh rippled, and from its back, more spikes burst forth, extending and twitching like they were alive. Its wounded arm twisted back into place, but now twice as thick, veins of deep crimson pulsating like a beating heart.
Then—
It grinned.
Bloodwick lunged forward, arms moving at blinding speed, aiming to smash the Abyssalflame Serpent into submission.
CRACK! A blow connected.
BOOM! Another sent fire scattering.
BANG! The battlefield trembled as the undead was forced back.
But then—
WHOOSH!
The Abyssalflame Serpent vanished beneath the ground.
Bloodwick's wild strikes hit nothing but air as the skeletal horror burrowed deep, its body snaking through the earth at impossible speed.
And then—
From below—
BOOM!
The undead erupted from beneath Bloodwick, jaws wide open, its abyssal fire engulfing everything.
The battlefield was now hell itself.
From the side, Keon watched in fascination, arms crossed, grinning slightly.
"This is getting good."
Beside him, Stella sighed, exhausted.
"Keon…" she muttered, resting her head on her arms, "I swear, if you make me watch any more of this mess—"
Keon glanced at her. "Plasma Cannon. Is it ready for another emergency mode?"
Stella groaned. "Do I look like I have a miracle battery? It's still charging."
Keon clicked his tongue. "Tsk. Useless."
Stella shot him a lethargic glare. "I heard that."
But their talk barely mattered because—
BLOODWICK HAD SURVIVED.
And it was angry.
More mutations surged, its body expanding, its extra arms twisting and contorting into even larger monstrosities, bone spikes now jutting out like blades.
Keon tilted his head, watching with mild amusement.
"…Alright, that's enough."
He raised his hand.
A pulse of something unseen rippled through the battlefield.
Bloodwick and the Abyssalflame Serpent suddenly disappeared.
Keon had ripped them both into his Rift Barrier—his own dimension, Again.
Complete silence.
Then, after a pause—
WHOOSH!
Bloodwick was violently ejected far, far away.
Keon then casually released the Abyssalflame Serpent unharmed, leaving the undead utterly confused as it found itself alone, flames still burning in silent rage.
A second passed.
Then—
A DISTORTION.
BOOM!
Bloodwick came ROARING BACK with unbelievable speed, targeting Keon.
Keon, without even blinking, yeeted it again.
A heartbeat.
Then Bloodwick mutated once more, and instead of going after Keon—
It turned back to the Abyssalflame Serpent.
The battle was not over.