A new, electric confidence surged through Nero's veins. The forest, once a domain of lurking threats requiring stealth and caution, now felt like a personal proving ground. With his strength elevated, equal to almost the peak of the Red Knight level and a second Law at his command, his approach shifted. He no longer saw himself as a hunter stalking prey, but as a force of nature moving to claim its due. A measure of caution remained—wisdom dictated never to be truly reckless—but the time for timid advances was over.
He moved not with flame, but with lightning. With a thought, he activated Flash Step. His body dissolved into a streak of golden light, zipping between the colossal trees. He wasn't running; he was a current flowing along the path of least resistance, the world blurring into streaks of green and brown. Each teleportation ended with a soft crack of displaced air, a signature of his impossible speed.
