Everyone turned as the masked figure stepped into the street.
Zain moved first.
"What do you want?"
The masked figure tilted his head slightly.
"I just came to check up on Sulaiman."
His gaze locked onto the boy.
"Your brother thought you were dead. He told me to confirm it… and if you were alive—"
A pause.
"Kill you."
Aisha immediately stepped in front of Sulaiman.
"Yeah right. You're not touching him."
Ryo's eyes sharpened.
"I've got a score to settle with you."
Scarlet stepped beside him. "You mean we have a score to settle."
Abraham smirked. "This is going to be interesting."
Leona rolled her shoulders. "Very."
Zain chuckled. "So what's it gonna be? You fighting us… or hiding behind that mask forever?"
Ryo didn't wait.
He lunged—
But the masked figure vanished.
And reappeared directly in front of him.
A fist drove straight into Ryo's gut.
The impact folded him.
He was launched across the street, smashing through stone and skidding into the center of town.
Dust filled the air.
Ryo forced himself up, gripping his stomach. Villagers stared from windows and doorways in shock.
"RUN!" he shouted. "It's not safe here!"
Panic erupted as people scattered.
Inside his mind, Nurami's voice echoed.
"That's a brutal punch," his damik muttered. "Out of all the humans I've bound to… no one's taken a hit like that and stayed standing."
Ryo wiped blood from his mouth.
"Good to know."
"Don't misunderstand," Nurami continued. "It's my job to help you. As long as you're alive, that's it."
Energy surged.
"For now… Stage One will be enough."
Power exploded through Ryo's body.
His aura flared violently.
Without hesitation, he launched back toward the battlefield so fast the ground shattered beneath him.
The masked figure barely had time to react—
Ryo's fist connected with the mask.
The sound echoed like thunder.
The figure slid backward several meters.
A grunt slipped from behind the hollow mask.
Around them, chaos unfolded.
A-rank soldiers dropped from rooftops, engaging the others.
Scarlet's waves splashes through the night.
Leona bent the earth into walls and spikes.
Abraham's lightning snapped through the air with precision.
Benjamin's wind currents redirected attacks away from fleeing civilians.
Aisha stayed close to Sulaiman—but he wasn't hiding.
Even with only Stage One unlocked, he formed twin glowing daggers in his hands.
Creation.
Unstable—but sharp.
He moved fast, surprisingly controlled, holding his own against an A-rank soldier.
Zain observed briefly.
Impressed.
In the center of town—
Ryo and the masked figure clashed again.
Punch.
Block.
Counter.
Shockwaves cracked the stone beneath them.
"You've improved," the masked figure said calmly.
Ryo smirked through the pain.
"You talk too much."
He vanished—
Reappeared behind—
Another punch—
The mask fractured slightly.
A thin crack spread across its surface.
For the first time, the masked figure went silent.
Then—
A low laugh.
"Good."
Dark energy burst outward, forcing Ryo back.
The air grew heavy.
Oppressive.
"You're finally becoming interesting."
Ryo steadied himself.
"Then stop holding back."
The masked figure touched the crack on the mask slowly.
"Not yet."
His aura expanded.
This time—
Unrestrained.
And the pressure alone began to split the ground.