The air was thick with smoke, the ground broken apart like shattered glass, and the scent of ash lingered as if the battlefield itself was struggling to breathe. Hundreds of bodies—Tyrannodrones and Hand assassins, human and monster alike—lay scattered around me. Some were bisected, others crushed, many reduced to mangled, unrecognizable remains. Their green-yellow energy sparks fizzled out on the ground like dying fireflies.
All of it… caused by me.
I held my Omni-Saber down at my side, the blade still humming faintly from the last arc-shaped slash that had cut down over twenty enemies in a single sweep. The sunlight reflected off it sharply, making the quiet aftermath feel almost sacred. As sacred as a graveyard made in minutes could be.
Across from me, two silhouettes finally stepped into view, hesitant, stiff, shocked.
Madame Gao—quiet, composed, but fear was dancing inside her eyes like a trembling candle flame. Her Qi flickered around her body, a defensive instinct she could barely maintain after witnessing the carnage.
And next to her, Elsa. She had her staff raised, but her jaw was trembling. I could see her eyes tracing the field of bodies, as if her brain was trying and failing to process how one person could do all this. Her boots crunched over the gravel and broken armor pieces.
I raised the Omni-Saber and pointed it directly at them.
"You're next."
My voice echoed across the ruined courtyard, deep and controlled, a cold promise that made both women stiffen.
Gao shifted her stance immediately, lowering her body like a seasoned martial master. Her Qi swirled around her palms.
Elsa clenched her fist around her staff, her eyes narrowing to hide her panic.
For one second—just one—they exchanged a look.
Then I moved.
The Clash Begins
My body blurred as I surged forward, the ground exploding beneath my feet from the force. Air cracked like thunder with each step.
Elsa's eyes widened—too slow.
My fist shot upward in a rising uppercut aimed squarely at her jaw.
At the same time, my left hand snapped outward in a straight-line jab toward Madam Gao's face.
Two attacks.
One motion.
Supersonic speed.
Elsa was sent flying backward instantly, though I had pulled the punch. Not because she deserved mercy, but because I needed her conscious.
Madam Gao, however—her Qi shattered like brittle glass under my blow. She was launched sideways, skidding across rubble, coughing violently as she tried to realign her energies.
Shockwaves rippled behind my fists, cracking the ground, tossing broken Tyrannodrone pieces into the air like confetti.
Even with that, I hadn't used my full strength.
Elsa knew it too. I could see it in the way her eyes widened, trembling. If I had gone for the kill, both of them would've been corpses by now—nothing left but splatter.
She spat blood but regained her stance, staff shaking. "You monster…"
"Not a monster." I stepped forward, eyes cold. "Just efficient."
Gao came back into view, wiping dust from her robes. "He's stronger than you reported," she hissed toward Elsa.
Elsa snapped back, "I didn't know! the other rangers aren't this strong—this one is different!"
I didn't let them talk for long.
I lunged again, this time unleashing a barrage of blows—fists, elbows, knee strikes. Each attack carried enough force to shatter bones, rupture Qi barriers, and produce blast-like shockwaves that sent debris swirling in mini tornadoes around us.
Elsa barely blocked a single strike before she was hurled back again.
Gao managed to meet my palm with her own, Qi against raw power—
Her arm bent at a horrible angle.
Her eyes widened from the sheer impossibility of the force she was facing. My strength had risen drastically after hitting C-level. The Hand—and their mystical Qi arts—were nothing in comparison.
Five exchanges. That was all it took.
Five.
On the fifth clash, I caught Madam Gao by her collar, twisted, and hurled her across the battlefield. Her body bounced against a ruined pillar before collapsing.
Elsa froze.
Too late.
I walked toward her, each step purposeful. Heavy. Echoing.
Her breathing quickened. Fear—real fear—took hold.
"W-wait—"
I didn't.
My hand wrapped around her throat, lifting her off the ground. Her legs kicked, her staff dropped, her face reddened as she struggled to breathe.
I tilted my head slightly. "What is Mesogog planning?"
Her lips curled into a manic smile, even while choking. "Your doom is near, Rangers… your—"
I tightened my grip.
I could feel the resistance in her mental energy. Something was suppressing her thoughts. Something was restricting her words.
Her sudden silence told me everything.
She wasn't refusing.
She physically couldn't say it.
A control seal. A brainwashing lock. Something Mesogog placed to keep his pawns ignorant and obedient.
I dropped her, letting her fall like a sack of grain. She coughed violently, clutching her throat, but her smile lingered.
"How disappointing," I muttered.
I opened the Grid Shop mentally.
ITEM PURCHASED: Mind-Severing Needle — 200 Grid Points.
I crouched beside her before she could crawl away.
"This will hurt."
The needle pierced the back of her neck—lightly, but the effect tore through the metaphysical chains in her mind. Her body convulsed as the restriction shattered.
Then she gasped, eyes going wide, clarity flooding back.
And fear.
Real fear.
"Oh… oh god… What have I done…"
I grabbed her by her collar and lifted slightly. "Tell me. Now."
She swallowed hard.
"Mesogog… he's not trying to mutate the city."
My eyes narrowed.
"He's trying to revive a giant buried beneath the earth," she whispered. "A prehistoric titan—not just a creature… a ruler of monsters. And when he awakens, every sleeping prehistoric beast beneath the crust will rise with him."
The air stilled.
A shadow passed over me.
I had expected something bad.
But not… this.
That Bastard was trying to revive a Celestial and release the monsters from hollow earth.
Not an extinction-level event.
My grip tightened. "You're certain?"
Her voice cracked. "Yes. But—destroying the mutagen machines… will stop the process. The awakening needs the mutagen as a catalyst. You can delay him. Maybe even stop him."
I exhaled slowly. The weight of her words settled onto my shoulders.
So this was the real game.
This was the true threat.
A brewing apocalypse beneath the earth… ready to rise.
Elsa trembled. "That's everything… I swear…"
I nodded once.
Then—bam—struck her on the side of the head just hard enough to knock her out.
She slumped to the ground, unconscious.
I didn't kill her. Not because of mercy. Because she had been brainwashed into this mess, a victim of Mesogog's twisted ambitions.
I turned away and stared at the final machine nearby—the last of the mutagen generators.
I walked toward it.
Raised my Omni-Saber.
And destroyed it with a single downward slash.
The hum of the shattered machine faded… and somewhere far away, an alarm began to blare.
As I walked, I thought to myself, "What the heck are S.H.I.E.L.D. and S.P.D. doing?"
--- ✦ ---
(MESOGOG'S LAIR)
Inside his dark fortress, the screens around Mesogog flickered violently. Red warning lights flashed over and over.
MUTAGEN GENERATOR 3: DESTROYED.MUTAGEN GENERATOR 2: DESTROYED.MUTAGEN GENERATOR 1: DESTROYED.
…
The monstrous creature stared at the screens, jaw trembling with fury.
"No… no… NOOOOOO!"
He slammed his clawed hands onto the console, sparks erupting.
"Damn Rangers! I'll kill you all! I'll kill you al—"
Suddenly—
His body shook.
His form flickered.
Mesogog staggered, pressing both hands to his head. "Not… now… NOT YET—"
He screamed as his monstrous form warped back, shrinking, bones rearranging, muscles reforming. The transformation was agonizing, even for him. But before the transformation was completed, he slammed his hands on a massive red button.
He fell to his knees.
A moment later—
Dr. Anton Mercer gasped for air, sweat dripping down his forehead.
His eyes widened as if waking from a nightmare.
"This is madness. I… I have to stop this," he whispered.
His voice trembled—not with weakness, but with a rising resolve.
"I have to stop him."
--- ✦ ---
So yeah. Zayne and the world are in a deeper shit. Expect more actions next episode, guys.