How? How could a mere human be that strong?
These questions had no importance anymore. He, the great Morpheal, had been humiliated. He did everything he could, but it was not enough. His opponent's powers were beyond understanding. He had not even felt a single sign of Energy from that man during the entire fight.
Morpheal had retreated as soon as he noticed this, but was caught off guard by that last attack. It didn't even connect, but it was enough to damage his enchanted skin. There was only one way he could think of to challenge that man. That was why he had rushed to his study.
He needed to initiate the transfer process now. It would not be at full potential, but it was close enough. He quickly activated the machine as soon as he entered the room. All calculations and adjustments had already been made, so it was ready to work at any moment.
Morpheal stood in front of the Energy Transfer Unit and connected it to his core through his chest. The machine was designed to transfer the stored Energy to him, starting slowly and increasing rapidly in the safest way possible to adapt his body to the immense power. He had manipulated and upgraded his patterns and core specifically for this process since he began the project.
The Energy gathered inside the orb rushed into his core. It was only the beginning, but it was already overwhelming. Morpheal felt his core overflowing with it. He focused on condensing the excess Energy and circulating it through his body to smooth the effects. Even though he used it to recover the Energy he had lost in the fight, there was simply too much to handle at once.
The heavy doors opened while the Energy kept pouring inside him. They were here, those two pesky humans.
"You are late! There is nothing you can do now. My core has already expanded tenfold; I can feel it. And it will keep expanding even more. Soon, those despicable Demon Lords and their lowly servants will be no match for me. Soon... I will be strong enough to challenge the Gods! I will become a new Demon Lord!"
They stood there for a moment, assessing the situation. Good; the more time they wasted, the more power he would gain.
"Don't let the real ones hear that, okay?" the male said. "So, this is what this is all about. You created an army and manipulated an unstable, leaking Gate to draw raw Energy to make yourself stronger." He stepped closer to the contraption, with the female following cautiously behind. "You want to start the Third Interracial Demon War."
"That doesn't sound good." The female was already terrified by the scene in front of her. Who wouldn't be? Even Morpheal himself wouldn't know what to do in the presence of such raw power. Even that unreasonably strong man wore a different expression now. He had an arrogant look before, but now he seemed to understand the seriousness of their situation.
"Eight major Realms were destroyed, along with countless minor ones. Gods perished. Trillions of intelligent life forms died. That was only the result of the Second War," the male explained.
"S-Shouldn't we do something about it? He seems to be getting stronger every second. I don't think I can withstand it any longer." She must have been getting crushed under the intense Energy pressure radiating from Morpheal.
"I was thinking of letting him go if he were a harmless researcher, experimenting on his own to gain more power. I respect the chase for power. But the situation has changed. Don't worry, I'll stop him."
So, he was still arrogant. His stupidity would bring about his demise. Morpheal just needed a little more time.
"So, you have seen the Second Demonic War. I commend your tenacity. Living long enough to see the Second War, and even surviving it, is not an easy feat. Especially for a human. But unfortunately, you will not live long enough for the third."
"Oh, you got me wrong. I did not participate in the second. I had better things to do."
"Hah, you didn't even fight in it. Then let me show you the–"
"I fought in the first, though." He carelessly caught the female, who had just fainted from resisting the excessive Energy, and gently lowered her to the ground.
It was impossible. "You are lying." The First Demonic War was only a subject in history books, even during his childhood. Only a handful of beings were still alive from that period. There was no way a mere human...
The man took a step, and Morpheal felt something he shouldn't have. The area should have been filled entirely with his own Energy, but something else appeared out of nowhere. An Energy so dense it almost felt solid. It had so much mass it felt like an endless void. It was wildly powerful, yet completely calm and pure.
The human male pushed back the pressure Morpheal caused as he slowly approached. It seemed that the man was immovable, but Morpheal was not about to give up. Even with all the Energy pouring inside him, he felt inferior. Maybe he could have had a chance if he absorbed all the stored Energy, though it was still a big maybe.
Morpheal drew upon everything inside and modified his body once more. Maybe he could stall for time to gain more power. His movements were limited due to his connection with the orb, but he could still defend himself with this much power. He readied himself to fight.
The human male stopped right in front of him. Morpheal attacked as soon as he got within melee range, but couldn't follow through. The man was no longer there, and a sudden, foreign feeling erupted in his chest.
He looked down to find the cause. The man's left hand had effortlessly pierced his enchanted skin and strengthened body. Morpheal had not even seen the attack.
The man's hand grabbed his core and started to distort it with his own Energy. The result of countless hours of work inside his chest lost its balance and shattered under the immense Energy pressure. Morpheal screamed in agony as he desperately tried to get his core under control, but the Energy kept pouring in from both sides. It was simply too much to manage.
Morpheal lost consciousness as his body dissolved from the inside out due to the massive influx of raw Energy. The last thing he saw was the reflection of the giant Energy orb he had created, mirrored in the empty eyes of his opponent.
***
Elise opened her eyes slowly. The last thing she remembered seeing was the Traveler taking a step toward the Demon. After that, darkness had fallen. She woke up lying on a rocky hill. The Traveler stood next to her.
Elise immediately noticed the injury on his left hand. It extended almost to his elbow, and even though there was no blood, his skin looked partially melted. However, it was visibly recovering at an incredible rate. She could see the muscles re-forming string by string, as fresh skin covered them instantly. What could have damaged him to this extent?
He was looking at something far away. Elise followed his gaze before asking anything. The volcano they had recently visited could be seen in the distance. They were so far away now. She opened her mouth to ask questions, but the volcano glowed fiercely, silencing her before she could speak.
The volcano and the surrounding ground started to crack and bulge. Before she could even understand what was happening, the mountain exploded with cataclysmic force. Though they were miles away, the shockwave reached them in no time. She tried to guard herself, but it was unnecessary; the Traveler had already formed a protective shield around them.
After the impact, rubble started to rain from the sky. A giant hole formed in the clouds directly above the explosion, revealing a dark sky swirling with glowing, colorful waves of light. It would have been a beautiful sight to behold if not for the lethal rain of giant rocks falling from it.
"What happened?" Elise asked nervously.
The Traveler wore a dark and thoughtful expression, but it disappeared the moment he turned toward her.
"Come, let's go back. I'll explain on the way." He offered a hand to help her up just as a large rock crashed into the ground right next to them.
"Go back? To where?" she asked, though she already knew there was only one way back. And she was not looking forward to it.
"Your home, of course. You had some unfinished business there, if I remember correctly. I noticed your attention drifting sometimes. I assume this is the cause. I want my apprentice to pay full attention."
He started walking back the way they came, but paused and turned to her as if he had just remembered something.
"Oh, by the way, you passed the test! Congratulations! You are my official disciple now. Let's work hard together from now on." He turned and kept walking. The devastating injury on his left forearm had already healed completely. "Don't fall behind!"
Elise stared at his back for a moment. Was that it? She turned to take one last look at the scene behind her. The ground in the middle of the explosion was entirely gone, with massive glowing cracks spreading across the landscape. Only a few pieces of rock floated on the boiling pink liquid, while rubble still plummeted from the sky. There was absolutely no sign of the purple creatures that had once infested the area.
What a test that was.
***
Several shadowy figures stood upon a floating rock inside a pink, glowing lake. What could have happened here? They began searching for clues. An apocalyptic explosion had obviously taken place. The massive residual Energy was scattered all over the place. They quickly swept the area, but the explosion's lingering aftermath suppressed any other traces.
After some time, a signal from the others echoed in their heads: they had found a trace. They immediately teleported through the shadows to join them, looking at what they had discovered. Other shadows had also converged on the site.
It was just a circular area on the ground. The outside was heavily damaged and scorched, but the ground inside was completely unscathed. It was clearly the remnant of a protective barrier. But the most important discovery was the faint trace of Energy lingering within and along the borders of the circle.
There were two different Energy signatures. The one inside the barrier was obvious, but the other was incredibly faint, as if someone had purposely erased it.
The traces of their prey.