Zeak clutched his ringing ears, fury twisting his expression.
"What the fuck was that!?"
As the deafening sound faded, panic quickly replaced his anger.
Nero was gone.
Zeak's head snapped around wildly.
"Where is he!? Fuck—did he run!?"
Sten immediately took command.
"He couldn't have gotten far," he barked. "Spread out and find him. He knows our faces—we can't let him report back to the king."
Though confusion still clouded Gareth's thoughts, he reluctantly drew his sword and scanned the forest with the others.
Just as they prepared to separate—
Nero's voice came from their right.
"I'd rather avoid a pointless fight if possible."
The group spun instantly, blades raised.
But Nero was already moving.
Using the dense forest as cover.
Then—
His voice came again.
This time from the left.
"Leave me alone, and I'll disappear."
Maria narrowed her eyes.
"We can't let you leave alive. You've learned too much."
A new voice answered—
From behind them.
"I've learned too much?"
Nero's tone was sharp with disbelief.
"I don't even know what the hell is actually going on here."
Bren reacted immediately, hurling a throwing knife toward the sound.
Thunk.
The blade embedded itself deep into a tree trunk.
Empty.
Nero was already gone.
Then his voice echoed again.
Left side.
"The only thing I've learned…"
A pause.
"…is that all four of you are idiots for thinking I work for your king."
Bren cursed and threw another knife.
Missed again.
A second later—
The same blade came flying back from the shadows.
It struck the ground directly between Zeak's legs.
Zeak jolted backward in shock.
"Stop fucking around, you bastard!"
His voice cracked with rage.
"Hiding in the trees like a coward!? When I get my hands on you, I'll break every bone in your body!"
Another knife suddenly shot from the forest.
Gareth intercepted it instantly with his sword.
Clang.
Maria's grip tightened.
"He's trying to kill us."
Nero corrected her immediately.
"It was aimed at his shoulder."
Silence.
Then his voice shifted again.
Moving.
Circling.
Predatory.
"If I wanted to kill all of you…"
His tone turned cold.
"…you'd already be dead."
Sten scoffed.
"Nice bluff."
He raised his sword higher.
"There's no way you can take on all five of us."
Zeak smirked, though tension still lingered in his body.
"Then why don't you stop hiding and prove it?"
CRACK.
A thick branch suddenly shot past Zeak's throat and slammed into the tree behind him with violent force.
Zeak froze.
Nero's voice followed immediately.
"Be careful what you ask for."
Then—
He stepped out from behind a tree.
Calm.
Cold.
Visible.
Every sword turned toward him instantly.
Zeak roared and charged first.
His blade swung wildly.
Fast—
But reckless.
Nero avoided every strike with fluid precision.
Like water slipping through stone.
Each swing missed by inches.
"Fight back!" Zeak snarled.
Maria rushed in next, striking from Nero's blind side.
Steel flashed.
Nero immediately drew his combat knife.
Clang.
He parried Maria's strike while twisting away from Zeak's next attack.
No wasted motion.
No panic.
Sten saw his opening and lunged in to assist.
But Nero reacted instantly.
He sheathed his knife mid-motion—
Then closed the distance with Zeak.
Too fast.
Zeak attempted to strike with his sword's pommel—
But Nero caught the weapon arm.
Twisted.
Hard.
The sword tore free from Zeak's grasp.
Before anyone could react—
Nero dropped his stance and drove a brutal palm strike directly into Zeak's abdomen.
The air exploded from Zeak's lungs.
His body lifted slightly before crashing hard into the forest floor.
Zeak collapsed, choking violently.
Unable to breathe.
Maria and Sten immediately pressed forward together.
This time—
Coordinated.
Their blades attacked in relentless succession.
High.
Low.
Left.
Right.
A disciplined barrage.
Nero seized Zeak's sword and used it defensively.
Steel rang repeatedly through Thornveil.
Clash after clash.
Despite Nero's superior reflexes, the pressure was mounting.
Their teamwork was forcing him back.
Then—
An opening.
Small.
But enough.
Nero pivoted sharply—
And drove a devastating kick into Sten's stomach.
The force folded him instantly.
Sten dropped to his knees, vomiting as his body convulsed from the impact.
"STEN!"
Maria's composure shattered.
Her anger overtook her discipline.
Her strikes became sloppy.
Predictable.
And Nero exploited it immediately.
He parried her downward slash—
Stepped inside her range—
Then unleashed a brutal roundhouse kick directly into the side of her head.
The impact snapped through the forest.
Maria's body spun violently before collapsing unconscious into the undergrowth.
Silence followed.
Heavy.
Broken only by Zeak's choking breaths.
And the sound of steel still humming in Nero's hand.
Gareth stood frozen.
What he was witnessing had long since surpassed his expectations.
Maria—down.
Sten—collapsed.
Zeak—barely recovered.
And Nero—
Still standing.
Still calm.
Nero turned slowly toward Bren, stolen sword resting in his right hand as he began walking forward.
Measured.
Controlled.
Bren's grip tightened.
But he didn't falter.
With his sword raised in his right hand, he flicked another throwing knife with his left.
The blade cut through the air—
But Nero shifted his head slightly.
Missed.
And kept walking.
Gareth finally found his voice.
"Why are you doing this!?"
Nero stopped.
For the first time since the battle began, he looked directly at Gareth.
"…Why?"
His tone was flat.
"You asked for my help."
A pause.
"Then your companions drew their weapons."
"Threatened to kill me."
He turned back toward Bren.
"I'm defending myself."
Bren's left hand rose again.
Nero immediately raised the sword, expecting another knife—
But then—
The ground beneath his left foot suddenly gave way.
A circular hole opened instantly.
His leg dropped in.
Stone snapped shut around it.
Nero's eyes widened.
"What the—"
Before he could react—
Zeak exploded forward.
His fist slammed into Nero's ribs.
THUD.
A deep, heavy impact echoed through the forest.
Zeak grinned—
For half a second.
Then confusion hit.
His expression twisted.
Why…
Why does it feel like I punched a wall?
Nero didn't flinch.
Didn't stagger.
Didn't even breathe differently.
He simply turned his head slightly and looked at Zeak.
Bored.
Zeak's grin vanished.
"…What are you made of?"
Nero's gaze narrowed slightly.
Around Zeak's body—
A faint green aura shimmered.
Thin.
Subtle.
But present.
Inside his mind, Angelo's voice sharpened.
"He recovered too quickly."
A pause.
"That glow…"
"His strength increased."
Nero muttered under his breath—
"…Alright."
"Time to take this seriously."
He moved to grab Zeak by the collar—
But Zeak instinctively leapt backward, creating distance.
Smart.
Nero lowered his arm.
Then—
With raw force—
He ripped his trapped leg free.
Stone shattered violently.
Fragments scattered across the forest floor.
Bren's hand lifted again.
Nero reacted instantly.
He moved.
A second stone trap erupted exactly where he had been standing.
Nero's eyes sharpened.
So that's his ability.
Ground control.
Before he could press forward—
Heat surged from the side.
A fireball screamed toward him.
Angelo's voice flashed with surprise.
"Was that—"
Nero bent backward instantly.
The flames barely missed his face.
His grin widened.
"Magic."
Zeak capitalized immediately.
He lunged in, aiming a brutal strike while Nero was off-balance—
But Nero dropped fully to the ground and rolled away.
The blow missed.
"Zeak!"
Sten's voice rang out.
From behind—
He was still bent forward, one arm briefly clutching his stomach
A faint green glow flickered across his body—just like Zeak's—as he forced himself through the pain.
He hurled his sword toward Zeak.
The weapon struck the ground nearby.
Zeak grabbed it immediately.
Nero pushed himself back to his feet.
Now—
The fight changed.
Zeak rushed him head-on with renewed aggression.
Sten launched fire from range.
And Bren manipulated the battlefield itself.
Stone walls erupted from both sides of Nero—
Trying to crush him between them.
Nero moved instantly.
He twisted between closing stone.
Dodged Zeak's sword.
Slipped past another fireball.
Steel.
Flames.
Stone.
All attacking in coordinated succession.
For the first time—
This wasn't a simple fight.
It was a layered assault.
And Nero's expression sharpened.