Zael stepped out of the crater slowly.
Dust rolled off his body while the last traces of his injuries disappeared completely. The torn parts of his clothes regenerated through abyssal energy reinforcement, leaving almost no evidence of the attack aside from the destroyed battlefield around him.
The moment he fully stood—
The pressure changed.
Everyone nearby felt it.
The awakened fighting around the area instinctively backed away while even some beasts hesitated. The atmosphere between Zael and the two cloaked figures became heavy enough to suffocate weaker people.
Auralis tightened her grip on the hammer.
"…Those guys are bad news."
"They're strong," Aurelia muttered, eyes sharp behind her glasses. "Very strong."
Lily frowned slightly.
"And they came specifically for Zael."
Above the ruins, the two cloaked figures stared down calmly.
"You survived," one of them said, sounding genuinely surprised.
Zael rolled his shoulder once.
"…Barely tickled."
The second figure snorted coldly.
"Arrogant brat."
Zael looked at him lazily.
"And ugly too. Rough combination."
The man's aura exploded instantly.
Blood-red energy burst around him violently as he vanished from his position.
Fast.
Extremely fast.
But Zael reacted immediately this time.
Sovereign Instinct sharpened his senses as Void Step activated almost simultaneously.
BOOM!!
Their collision shattered the ground beneath them.
Zael blocked the incoming blade strike with his own weapon, abyssal energy and blood-red mana grinding against each other violently.
The cloaked figure's eyes narrowed beneath his hood.
"You've grown."
Zael smirked slightly.
"…You sound disappointed."
The second attacker arrived instantly from behind.
A black spear shot toward Zael's spine.
Phantom Split activated.
Zael's body blurred apart into afterimages as the spear pierced through empty space instead.
Then—
Counterattack.
Night Sever.
A dark crescent slash tore across the battlefield toward both figures at once.
The first cloaked man blocked directly while the second dodged sideways—but the force alone still pushed both backward several meters.
Their expressions changed slightly.
Because that attack—
Was dangerous.
Very dangerous.
Zael didn't give them time to recover.
He stepped forward again, movements accelerating unnaturally fast as Eternal Flow chained his skills together seamlessly.
Void Collapse.
Space twisted violently around the first attacker, trying to crush him in place.
The man roared as blood-red energy exploded outward, breaking free by force—
Only for Zael to already be in front of him.
Resonance Strike.
One hit.
Then another.
Then five more almost instantly.
The vibrations stacked violently before detonating.
BOOM!!
The cloaked figure shot backward through several ruins before crashing hard into the ground.
The second attacker appeared above Zael immediately, dark energy gathering into a massive spear construct.
"Die."
The spear descended.
Zael looked up calmly.
Then—
Abyssal Consumption activated.
The dark energy spear visibly distorted mid-descent before streams of its power started getting absorbed directly into Zael's body.
The attacker's eyes widened instantly.
"What—?!"
Zael raised one hand.
And crushed the remaining energy barehanded.
Silence.
Complete silence.
Even the nearby awakened stopped fighting for a moment just to stare.
Because this fight—
Was absurd.
As the fight continued, Zael quickly realized something.
Individually—
Neither of them could match him.
Not anymore.
One-on-one, he could overpower either of them within minutes.
But together?
That changed things.
The blood-red energy user specialized in direct combat, overwhelming force, and explosive pressure. Every strike carried terrifying impact behind it, enough to crack the battlefield apart repeatedly.
The second one was worse in another way.
Precise.
Patient.
His black spear attacks constantly targeted openings, weak points, blind spots. Every movement was coordinated perfectly with the first attacker.
They complemented each other too well.
Whenever Zael pressured one, the other interfered immediately.
Whenever he tried finishing a combo, an attack interrupted the flow.
Annoying.
Very annoying.
BOOM!!
Zael blocked another blood-infused slash before twisting sideways to avoid three black spears aimed at his head and chest.
The moment he dodged—
The first attacker was already there again.
Too coordinated.
Their teamwork clearly wasn't new.
"Persistent bastards," Zael muttered.
The blood-red attacker sneered beneath his hood.
"You think strength alone makes you invincible?"
Zael's eyes sharpened.
"No."
Then he vanished.
Void Step.
He appeared directly in front of the spear user this time.
Fast enough that the man's pupils contracted instantly.
Zael's fist slammed into his stomach before he could react properly.
CRACK.
The cloaked figure coughed blood violently as his body folded inward.
But before Zael could follow up—
The other attacker arrived immediately.
A blood-red blade tore downward toward Zael's neck.
Zael clicked his tongue and shifted backward.
Exactly.
This was the problem.
They kept covering each other perfectly.
The injured spear user retreated instantly while the blood-user took the front again without hesitation.
Like a practiced machine.
Zael exhaled slowly.
Then—
The abyssal energy around him intensified.
Darker.
Heavier.
The pressure leaking from him became noticeably more dangerous.
Even the two cloaked figures stiffened slightly.
Because they could feel it.
Zael had been holding back.
Not intentionally.
More like—
He hadn't considered them worth the effort before.
But now?
They were starting to irritate him.
Abyssal Authority activated more fully.
Dark patterns spread faintly across Zael's skin while the surrounding beasts began trembling instinctively.
Several weaker creatures outright collapsed from the pressure alone.
The blood-user attacked first again.
This time Zael didn't dodge.
He met the strike head-on.
BOOM!!
The collision sent shockwaves across the battlefield—but unlike before—
The cloaked attacker's expression suddenly changed.
Because Zael hadn't moved an inch.
Not one.
Meanwhile—
His own arms shook violently from the impact.
Zael tilted his head slightly.
"…That all?"
Then he grabbed the man's blade directly.
The attacker's eyes widened.
And Zael punched him.
Once.
The sound alone distorted the air.
The cloaked figure shot across the battlefield like a broken missile, crashing through ruins and sending debris flying everywhere.
Before the second attacker could react—
Zael was already behind him.
Sovereign Instinct had completely adapted to their rhythm now.
Every movement.
Every timing pattern.
Every coordinated attack.
He could see through them clearly.
The spear user spun instantly, launching dozens of black spears at point-blank range.
Zael absorbed half.
Dodged the rest.
Then grabbed the man by the face.
And slammed him straight into the ground.
BOOM!!
Cracks spread for hundreds of meters.
The man struggled violently—
Then a blood-red slash forced Zael to release him again.
The first attacker had returned.
Injured.
Bleeding.
But still fighting.
Still protecting his partner.
Zael stepped back slowly this time.
Not tired.
Not pressured.
Just thinking.
Because defeating them?
Easy.
Killing them?
That was becoming troublesome.
And unfortunately for them—
Zael was starting to lose patience completely.