In the midst of a sky that had lost its color, Unknown stood with an intimidating, upright posture.
His figure was like the sole gathering point of light defying a sea of despair. Before him, Polypus glared with unstoppable anger.
"YOU...!" The giant entity's voice didn't just echo; it crushed the air and made the land beneath them tremble violently, as if the world were groaning.
In the blink of an eye, the sky was completely covered in shadows. Polypus spewed hundreds of pitch-black tentacles from within his portal. The tentacles shot forward, cleaving the air like a storm of spears intent on erasing Unknown from existence.
However, the King of Kings merely smirked.
With agility impossible to catch with the naked eye, Unknown danced in the air. He darted, spun, and swooped down sharply, reducing the lethal slashes of those giant tentacles to nothing more than a passing breeze.
Feeling toyed with, the black tentacles moved even more brutally and swiftly, chasing Unknown wherever he dodged. Not wanting to waste any more time, Unknown halted his momentum. He raised his sword high into the sky. RGB light glowed blindingly from the blade of his sword.
"Dimensional Slash!"
ZRAAAAAAASSSSHHHH!!!!
The slash didn't just cleave the air, it tore through reality itself! A giant crescent-shaped wave of energy shot forward at the speed of light, landing a direct hit right in the center of Polypus's black portal.
BOOOOMMMMMMM!!!!
A deafening cosmic explosion occurred. The dimensional space around them vibrated violently until it cracked like glass. The giant portal supplying the tentacles was forcibly split into two and shattered to pieces, leaving behind fragments of dark energy that faded into the air.
Polypus's pride as a higher-dimensional entity was completely trampled. The red veins in his giant eyeball swelled horrifyingly, radiating a dense murderous intent.
He released the remains of the shattered portal, then raised his giant hand, preparing to crush Unknown into dust in one absolute strike.
Seeing the shadow of the giant hand covering the sky descending toward him, Unknown simply let go of his sword. In an instant, a massive Battle Axe was in his grasp. He absorbed all the remaining energy from the tentacles he had just destroyed, concentrating the vortex of power into the edge of his axe.
With a solid stance in the air, Unknown pulled his axe back, positioning himself like a professional baseball batter preparing to hit a home run.
DHUAAAAAAAARRRRRR!!!!!
The swing of the axe hit hard! Its collision with Polypus's giant palm created a shockwave that swept away the clouds across the entire sky. Polypus was forced to withstand the push of that insane power with great difficulty, groaning as his own hand trembled bearing the blow of the King of Kings.
...
Meanwhile, at the AH headquarters evacuation center, Irrelevant ran, carrying Shiro and Gampler away from the battle site.
The three of them could only watch the devastatingly massive battle from a distance.
Shiro's face looked a bit annoyed because his pride as the strongest was slightly tarnished, but even so, he remained realistic about the situation.
.....
BOOM!!!
The energy explosion backfired on the Higher-Dimensional creature. Polypus, who tried to withstand the explosion of his own power, was pushed violently backward. His giant body's balance wavered, and slowly, gravity pulled the cosmic body down, crashing into the land.
Seeing that fatal opening, Unknown didn't waste any time. He let go of his axe, letting it just float in the air. His hand moved quickly, pulling a legendary bow from his weapon collection.
Unknown drew the empty bowstring. Instantly, an arrow of pure energy formed. However, that wasn't enough. In mid-air, Unknown created a giant magic circle spinning right in front of his arrowhead.
The arrow shot through the magic circle, its size multiplying until it matched the size of Polypus's giant body. The impact created a blinding explosion of light.
Unknown narrowed his eyes, seeing his target staggering. He darted, flying through the explosion's smoke, and grabbed his sword back... to unleash his intent: to slash its neck right now
He raised his sword high. Space and time around the sword blade began to crack.
"DIE! DIMENSIONAL SLA-" THUMP!
Steve's heart stopped beating.
Only for a split second. But for Unknown, it was the apocalypse.
"COUGH!!!"
His attack was canceled instantly. Steve's body jerked violently in the air as if pulled forcefully by an invisible chain. Fresh blood spurted profusely from his mouth, drenching his trembling hand holding the sword.
Unknown stared at his palm, which was now dark red. His breath was heavy, his chest feeling like it was being torn apart from the inside.
(Damn it... This kid's body... This body is too weak to withstand my power output any longer...) he growled angrily in his mind.
Meanwhile, down below, in the crater of destruction.
Polypus's once overflowing energy was now drastically shrinking, wasted into the empty sky. The terrifying cosmic monster's body slowly shrank, returning to his dignified but now messy humanoid form.
Polypus looked up, seeing Unknown dying in the air. Instead of attacking back, he just clicked his tongue in annoyance. His face looked disgusted.
"That damn creature... messing things up again," Polypus cursed while clutching his injured body.
WHOOSH!
Polypus turned around and shot away, fleeing through a dimensional rift, leaving the helpless Unknown unable to chase him.
Unknown slumped down, his vision starting to blur. He realized that if he kept control, Steve's body would explode, and they would both die a ridiculous death here.
"Damn it... he managed to escape..." Unknown gritted his teeth, blood dripping from his chin.
He had no other choice. With his last remaining consciousness before the body fainted, Unknown uttered,
"OPEN!"