Kuri turned toward the three subordinates beside him.

"Go kill them."

"Yes, sir!"

The three aliens hesitated for a brief moment before charging forward anyway.

Caelum rolled his wrist once and spoke to Maashikoru without even looking back.

"Stay as far away as possible."

"I know!"

Maashikoru immediately retreated.

A sharp tearing sound ripped through the air as the three aliens rushed in with murderous intent.

Then, in the next instant—

Whoosh!

Caelum’s figure flashed past them.

Three explosive bursts rang out almost simultaneously.

The three aliens collapsed at the same time, instantly killed before they could even react.

And just like that, Caelum’s true power level was exposed.

"I knew it."

Kuri grinned.

"There was no way things were that simple. But if this is all the strength you’ve got..."

Before he even finished speaking, he hurled out an energy blast.

Boom!

The ground exploded into a cloud of dust, instantly blocking Caelum’s vision.

In the same instant, Kuri used the opening to move at high speed and appeared beside him.

A vicious spinning kick slammed into Caelum and launched him flying.

At the same time, Kuri fired another blast point blank.

Brilliant light swallowed Caelum whole, the remaining force carving a massive trench through the earth before finally collapsing an entire mountain in the distance.

An 800 power level against 1300.

Without using Explosion Aura, Caelum was completely outmatched.

He had not been holding back earlier.

He genuinely had been unable to block that attack.

"Pathetic."

Kuri sneered.

But as a figure rose unharmed from the collapsing rubble, his expression immediately changed.

Not a scratch?

Impossible!

[Power Level Increased]

[Power Level: 900]

That single exchange had increased Caelum’s power level by another hundred points.

He brushed the dust off his clothes.

Then blazing aura erupted around him.

The ground beneath his feet exploded apart as his aura tore a path across the earth.

In an instant, he closed the distance and appeared in front of Kuri.

His fist shot forward.

Kuri tilted his head slightly and dodged the punch with ease.

Immediately afterward, he countered with a brutal elbow strike to Caelum’s back, smashing him into the ground.

A burst of light exploded again.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Something was wrong.

Kuri had extensive combat experience and immediately sensed the abnormality. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

This kid’s aura was continuously increasing.

There was definitely something strange happening here.

The best possible response was obvious.

Kill him immediately.

Do not give him any chance whatsoever.

So Kuri unleashed a relentless barrage of energy blasts.

One shot after another.

Again and again.

A violent storm of destruction rained down upon Caelum.

The earth shook violently.

Explosions echoed nonstop.

Only after exhaustion began setting in did Kuri finally stop.

Wiping the sweat from his forehead, he muttered,

"This should finish him off..."

A gust of wind swept through the battlefield.

The smoke slowly dispersed.

The shattered earth came back into view.

And standing inside the giant crater was a single figure.

Completely unharmed.

Not only that, the blazing aura surrounding him had become terrifyingly stronger.

[Power Level Increased]

[Power Level: 1200]

"How is that possible?!"

Kuri instinctively stepped backward in shock.

A monster that could not die and continuously grew stronger during battle...

How was anyone supposed to fight something like that?

Attacking was useless.

Not attacking was even worse.

While Kuri was still frozen in disbelief, Caelum had already charged forward again.

Kuri snapped back to reality and immediately turned to flee.

Run.

That was the only correct decision now.

Caelum’s attack missed.

Seeing that Kuri had completely lost the will to fight, Caelum stopped holding back.

His aura suddenly exploded upward again.

Even more violent energy erupted from his body.

Boom!

The terrifying pressure distorted the surrounding air and made the earth tremble faintly.

[Triple Explosion Aura]

Power Level: 3600!

The number displayed on Maashikoru’s scouter made him think the machine had malfunctioned.

His eyes nearly popped out of his head.

"T-This..."

Boom!

A visible trail of energy streaked through the sky as Caelum accelerated.

In the blink of an eye, he caught up to Kuri like a shooting star crossing the heavens.

Kuri turned his head and nearly lost his soul from terror.

But before he could react—

Caelum struck him from above and smashed him toward the ground.

An overwhelming torrent of energy followed immediately afterward and completely engulfed him.

One Energy Cannon later—

Kuri was annihilated without a trace.

And Kuri was not the only one terrified.

Even Karanqiham, far away inside the spaceship, was shaken to his core.

He did not need to see the battle personally.

Even from this distance, he could feel the horrifying aura radiating from Caelum.

A power level of 3600.

There was absolutely no way to win.

He immediately gave the order.

"Retreat! Leave Dalvabebit immediately! Hurry!"

"Yes, sir!"

"Trying to run?"

Caelum twisted his waist and condensed a massive crimson energy sphere in his palm.

This was Hawkeamps’ technique.

[Supernova Burst]

He hurled it into the sky.

The gigantic sphere tore across the heavens like a meteor, leaving a long visible scar through the clouds as it shot toward the fleeing spaceship.

A few moments later—

An enormous explosion erupted in the distance.

The space pirates were obliterated instantly.

Their entire spaceship exploded into shattered wreckage scattered across the ground.

Karanqiham barely escaped the blast at the last possible second.

His face had already turned pale green.

Caelum had almost killed him from an absurd distance away with a single attack.

His expression became ugly.

But there was no time to think.

Caelum had already appeared in front of him.

At close range, the overwhelming pressure of that monstrous aura made Karanqiham tremble uncontrollably.

He hurriedly shouted,

"Maashikoru hired you to deal with us, right?! Whatever he offered you, I can pay double! As long as you spare me—"

But Caelum’s killing intent did not lessen in the slightest.

Karanqiham panicked even more.

"If you spare me, I’ll gladly become your subordinate!"

Whoosh!

Caelum instantly appeared before him.

In the blink of an eye, his fist pierced through Karanqiham’s chest and heart.

Calmly, he said,

"I don’t need subordinates this weak."

"..."

Fear froze on Karanqiham’s face.

Then his life force disappeared entirely.

His corpse fell from the sky.

[Super Drop Rate Triggered]

[Ability Acquired: Secret Art • Paralysis Technique]

[Retain Ability?]

[Yes]

Caelum had not expected this guy to know a secret technique.

Still, it was useless.

Against overwhelming aura, fancy abilities meant nothing.

As long as someone’s aura was strong enough, most psychic powers, secret arts, and magic became meaningless.

Even time stop techniques could not restrain true powerhouses.

In the Super Universe, aura was everything.

When Caelum’s aura overwhelmingly surpassed Karanqiham’s, the Paralysis Technique would never have worked on him anyway.

That was why Karanqiham never even tried to use it.

Maashikoru arrived a while later.

Looking at the wrecked spaceship scattered across the battlefield and Karanqiham’s corpse on the ground, he stood there dumbfounded.

It all felt unreal.

"Y-You already solved everything?"

Caelum replied directly,

"Let’s go. Take me to the Sacred Water."

"Of course!"

Maashikoru hurriedly nodded.

"Please follow me."