The beast in front of him was called a Gore.

It was a rare species from a fallen super world.

In the old days, they served as protectors of their planet. Growing to divine at full adulthood, they were one of the first species to give corruption a real run for its money.

Unfortunately, they eventually fell. The heavy hitters of their species became mutts to the sons of corruption.

One of the ugliest falls in recorded history, some said.

Enzo didn’t particularly care about the history right now.

"Strong exterior, and a bloodless interior."

He muttered it low, almost to himself, as his blade found the soft spot in the beast’s hide.

—woosh

The Gore wailed. It thrashed hard enough to shake the ground beneath it, but the divine flame was already inside, burning outward from the core. The sound it made wasn’t just pain. It was something older than that. Something that had no name in any language Enzo knew.

He kept moving.

The void cutter could absorb divine energy and simulate abilities. The powers within it were like lit flames that needed wood to keep blazing.

Previously, Enzo’s divine flame had been smoldering. Slowly burning out, especially after giving the burning man a flick of it. He had felt it thinning each time he reached for it.

But that was before.

Now he was in the body of a divine being that could wield the void cutters.

He had an unlimited supply of divine energy to spark those flames.

The difference wasn’t subtle. It was immediate and total.

As the fire tore through the beast’s body, a single organ became visible through the ruin of its chest. Exposed. Beating. Pulsing against the open air like it hadn’t realized yet that it had nowhere left to hide.

Enzo didn’t think.

He pointed the sword directly at it.

"Boom!!!"

It burst apart. A thick stream of luminous liquid splattered outward, hitting the ground and hissing where it landed, the light bleeding out of it fast.

"Again!!"

He was already moving before the sound of it settled.

—woosh

The second strike landed before the Gore could recover. Before it could even register the first was done.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,

The Wonderland of Yuno Al’K worked similarly to one of Enzo’s own skills, Silent Zone.

But Silent Zone only ever affected one individual.

This was something else entirely.

The wonderland could affect anything within its boundaries, pulling away sight, feeling, and to a degree, even thought itself. It reached into the senses and dismantled them quietly, one by one. The kind of ability that didn’t announce itself until it was already done.

It wasn’t just Leon moving freely inside it. Nibbleskin, whom Enzo had permitted to enter alongside Battlebeast, was operating at full pace.

Both of them were.

"A white hole devourer?"

Battlebeast’s voice came out flat. Not surprised. Certain.

He let it sit for a moment.

"So she was right. It was one of you that killed her."

Despite having lost his sight entirely, he looked directly toward Nibbleskin. Half human, half beast. The shape of him still readable even without eyes.

Some time ago, one of the nine sons of corruption sent to this planet had been ambushed and killed. Her final transmission had come through mid-attack. She reported a mythical creature with abilities matching those of a white hole devourer before the signal cut out.

No one believed her.

The divine kingdoms were the only ones who could possibly possess such a creature, and the Lords had long since made it clear, in terms that left no room for interpretation, that they were to stay out of the conquest entirely.

But it was looking like those bastards couldn’t keep their hands to themselves anymore.

"You seek to rekindle the war with the heavens?"

Battlebeast’s tone didn’t shift. He almost sounded tired of it.

"You don’t understand the natural progression of this world. The waxing and waning of life is unavoidable. Even you will be consumed, light devourer."

He pulled out a chainsaw sword as the last word left his mouth.

A flick of his wrist.

—clang

The blade seemed to cut the air itself. A thin line of distortion trailing behind it before it steadied.

"You talk too much."

Nibbleskin’s voice was flat. No heat in it. Just the words.

"I am not a member of the divine kingdom."

He paused.

"Your death will be carried out by me."

No hesitation after that. No buildup.

He swallowed the space between them, appearing directly in front of Battlebeast in an instant, and drove his fist forward.

The white hole devourer was a rare species among rare species. Even Lady Victoria could testify to that without blinking.

But they weren’t just rare.

They were insanely powerful.

The force behind a single strike was the same as that from an exploding star. Not comparable to one. The same.

The impact landed.

"Boom!!"

The shockwave cracked the ground outward in a ring. Dust and debris kicked sideways. The air pressure alone was enough to push everything in the surrounding area back a half step.

"Grrrr."

Battlebeast steadied himself in the air. Jaw set. Eyes forward. His grip on the chainsaw sword hadn’t loosened by a fraction.

He exhaled through his nose.

"You’re strong."

The smirk came after. Small. Controlled.

"But battle isn’t just about strength."

He had taken the majority of the strike’s weight through the sword. Redirected it. Filed the data away. Already building toward his counter before Nibbleskin’s arm had even finished extending.

In the next breath, the two were trading blows.

A rapid, relentless exchange that neither of them slowed down for. Each strike meeting the last. Each counter answered before it fully landed. Tremors spiked through the surrounding earth and air with every point of contact, the ground cracking further each time one of them touched it.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,

"Are you ready?"

Up in the sky, just outside the wonderland’s boundary, Raven and Zeke stood close behind Gaia.

Her new mechanical hand caught what little light reached up this high. Cold. Precise. Unmoving.

She didn’t look back at them.

"Yes."

She jumped.

The other two followed without a word.

The air hit them immediately. It tore at their bodies as they crossed into the wonderland’s boundary, rushing up around them, skin pulling under the pressure of the drop. Eyes watering. Clothing snapping hard against their frames.

They didn’t slow.

They couldn’t have, even if they’d wanted to.

The ground was coming up fast.

"White Tower." 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

A cold voice rang out from somewhere in the open air between them and the earth below.

Then it appeared.

A massive structure materialized directly ahead of them, plummeting toward the ground at the same speed they were. Side by side with the descent. Its presence hit before anything else did. The air grew heavier around it. Denser. Like it was being pressed inward from all sides.

The White Tower was an area-type treasure.

It suppressed everything within its range, forcing the energies of those nearby into chaos, turning power against its own user. At the same time, it boosted the strength of whoever held it and those it deemed worthy to receive it.

It was falling now.

Fast.

And it wasn’t stopping for anything.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​