Zael stepped forward slowly.
The moment he moved—
The atmosphere changed.
Not dramatically.
Not explosively.
Yet every mythical awakener present felt it instinctively.
Danger.
The leader's grin faded slightly.
Meanwhile Auralis climbed out of the rubble nearby and immediately pointed toward the battlefield.
"Took you long enough."
Zael ignored her completely.
His eyes swept across the five mythical awakeners calmly before settling briefly on Lily and Aurelia.
Both were injured.
Not critically.
But enough.
Then he cracked his neck lightly.
"…Alright."
The leader narrowed his eyes.
"You finally decided to fight?"
Zael nodded once.
"You talked too much."
The battlefield exploded.
BOOOOM!!
Zael vanished instantly.
Not Void Step.
Pure speed.
The first mythical awakener barely reacted before Zael appeared directly in front of him.
The man's eyes widened.
He raised both arms instinctively.
Too late.
Zael punched him once.
BOOOOOOM!!
The man disappeared through six ruined pillars instantly before crashing into a distant cliff wall hard enough to crater it deeply.
Silence.
The remaining mythical awakeners froze briefly.
Not because their companion lost.
Because they hadn't even seen the punch properly.
Then Zael moved again.
The second opponent roared and activated Shadow Compression immediately, dark energy condensing around both fists as he lunged toward Zael aggressively.
Zael sidestepped casually.
Then grabbed the man's face.
And slammed him directly into the ground.
BOOOOOOM!!
The entire battlefield shook violently.
The mythical awakener coughed blood instantly as the terrain collapsed beneath him.
Before he could recover—
Zael kicked him.
Not even seriously.
The impact still launched the man across the battlefield like a broken missile.
Auralis whistled.
"…Damn."
The infernal-type awakener attacking her roared and charged toward Zael next, flames exploding around his enlarged body.
[Infernal Titan Form — Maximum Output]
He punched downward with enough force to melt portions of the battlefield itself.
Zael finally used Void Step.
He appeared above the man instantly.
Then kicked him downward.
BOOOOOOM!!
The infernal awakener crashed headfirst into the ground hard enough to create another massive crater.
Before he could rise—
Zael landed casually on his back.
CRACK!!
The man screamed as the remaining ground beneath him collapsed further.
Still alive.
Barely.
Zael wasn't killing them.
Just utterly destroying them.
The remaining two mythical awakeners attacked together immediately afterward.
One unleashed another Thousand Edge Barrage while the other generated massive compressed mana spheres around the battlefield simultaneously.
This time Zael actually looked mildly interested.
"Oh. Combination attacks."
Then he raised one hand.
Crimson-black lightning gathered instantly.
[Blood Thunder Domain]
BOOOOOOM!!
The battlefield darkened.
A massive surge of blood thunder exploded outward from Zael, annihilating the incoming blades and mana spheres instantly before swallowing both awakeners completely.
The two screamed as lightning tore across their bodies violently before they crashed smoking into opposite sides of the battlefield.
Silence followed.
Total silence.
Five mythical awakeners.
All defeated.
And none of them had lasted more than a few exchanges.
The leader stared blankly at the destruction around him.
His confident expression had completely disappeared now.
Because this—
This wasn't a fight anymore.
It was domination.
Zael turned toward him calmly afterward.
Then spoke lazily.
"So."
His void-like eyes locked onto the trembling leader.
"You still want the girls?"
The battlefield went completely silent after Zael's final question.
For a moment, nobody spoke.
The environment around them was a complete mess. Craters littered the ground, broken ruins were scattered everywhere, and Damien's companions were either buried in rubble or struggling to stand after being utterly overwhelmed.
Yet strangely—
Damien started laughing.
Not bitterly.
Not angrily.
Genuinely.
"Damn," he muttered while wiping blood from the corner of his mouth. "You're strong."
Zael remained silent.
Damien stretched his shoulders lightly before grinning again, his golden eyes practically shining with excitement.
"I'm Damien by the way," he said casually. "And honestly? I've been craving a battle like this ever since I awakened."
He gestured vaguely toward his defeated teammates.
"None of the people around my age—or even slightly older—could really satisfy me."
Auralis snorted from behind Zael.
"You say that after getting folded?"
Damien ignored her completely, his attention remaining locked onto Zael.
Then his expression shifted slightly.
Not hostile.
Just curious.
"On another note…" he continued slowly. "You're one of us, right?"
Zael's eyes twitched faintly.
Instantly, his thoughts sharpened.
For the briefest moment, his heart clenched.
One of us.
The words immediately brought back memories he hadn't thought about in a while. Kael's warnings. The danger surrounding awakened bloodlines. The reason Kael had been hunted in the first place.
After learning the truth, Zael had consciously hidden his own abnormalities whenever possible. Bloodline-related abilities were disguised as skills. Origin powers became "special talents." Even during battles, he tried avoiding anything too obvious.
Because if people discovered the truth—
Things would become dangerous very quickly.
But now, looking at Damien, Zael slowly realized something important.
This wasn't about bloodlines.
And strangely enough—
That realization relieved him.
Not completely.
But enough.
Still, another question immediately replaced that concern.
What exactly did Damien mean by "us"?
Because Zael clearly understood one thing now.
Damien wasn't ordinary either.
The strength he displayed earlier wasn't normal for mythical rank awakeners. Even his aura had felt different at times during the fight.
Then Damien spoke again.
Seeing Zael remain silent, he scratched the back of his head awkwardly before sighing.
"Alright, let me be frank first."
A strange pressure slowly leaked from his body afterward.
Subtle.
Ancient.
Wild.
Not overwhelming like Zael's draconic aura.
But unmistakably abnormal.
Damien grinned.
"I also have talents above mythical rank."
Silence filled the battlefield instantly.
Even Lily looked surprised.
Auralis outright blinked.
"…Excuse me?"
Zael himself couldn't completely hide his surprise either.
Authority of Infinite Growth had always felt like something absurdly unique. Even after everything he experienced, he still subconsciously treated talents beyond mythical as anomalies that shouldn't really exist.
Yet now—
Someone else casually admitted to possessing one.
And from Damien's expression…
It didn't sound rare to him.
Zael's eyes narrowed slightly.
"…What do you mean by 'us'?"
Damien's grin widened immediately after hearing the question.
Then he tilted his head slightly before replying with a question of his own.
"Did you really think you were the only one?"
Silence.
And for the first time in a long while—
Zael genuinely felt caught off guard.
Because Damien didn't sound like he was speculating.
He sounded certain.
Like Zael had unknowingly stepped into something far larger than he initially believed.