The moment Ethan laid eyes on him, his brow creased.
System alert:
Enemy Power Level — Tier 26, early stage.
(Hidden Amplification → Tier 26, mid-stage)
…Just as expected. A real problem.
The man gave a slow, crooked smile, his voice dragging up from somewhere deep and cold.
"You've got nerve, storming in here like this."
He raised his staff. The runes along its shaft flared blindingly bright.
"But this is where it ends. Your life—stops now."
As the last word fell, the Sky Fortress itself seemed to awaken.
Energy surged toward him from every direction, invisible tendrils lashing out—wrapping around Ethan's arms, chest, throat like a thousand unseen chains.
The air twisted.
The deck groaned beneath their feet.
The power tried to drag Ethan down, to pull him into some bottomless abyss.
But Ethan's expression didn't flicker. He was calm—eerily so.
Then—
BOOM.
His killing force detonated.
The air split open with a thunderclap.
