Reality trembled with a soundless word.

  “...Meaningless...”

  The voice seeped into existence as the Eradicator’s existence-fracturing punch lunged forward, aimed straight for Emma..

  Yet the blow never landed.

  It rebounded.

  BOOOOM!

  The force turned back as if all possible realities around, had folded upon itself. The faint silhouette before Emma was hurled backward, its armored body colliding with the frozen earth. The crash rattled the snowfield, a hollow echo rolling across the area.

  Emma’s breath caught for a moment. Everything had happened so swiftly her mind lagged behind, struggling to string together what had occurred.

  She turned her head camly to the hand that gripped her,

  It was Liz.

  The girl’s emerald eyes carried a faint glow. Meeting Emma’s stunned gaze, Liz smiled faintly, her lips curving with a calmness that almost mocked the chaos.

  “About that Omnipresence Dragger you created…” she said lightly, her voice tinged with playfulness, “it’s kind of cool, by the way.” Her tone shifted into something more careful, almost as if lecturing a junior. “But… I suggest you don’t use your Ash of Creation for anything too complex right now. That is... if you’ve been using it before coming to this fruit. Otherwise… it might damage you.”

  Emma’s lips quivered into a small, polite smile. She drew in the cold air, nodding once as she answered with quiet composure.

  “Thanks. I’ll take that into consideration.”

  Liz released her grip, nodding in satisfaction before stepping past her. “No problem,” she replied, her words soft as she walked, her gaze flicked toward Dan, her glance sharp and brief, signalling him that it's time.

  Dan understood.

  With heavy steps, he strode forward, his long black coat dragging across the snow. As he passed Emma, his deep blue eyes met hers, his tone unruly as always.

  “It’s best you shift back,” he said bluntly, almost dismissively. “Don’t get caught up in this.”

  Emma gave a slight nod. No resentment, no hesitation. She took slow steps backward, her boots crunching in the snow until she rejoined where Jett and Ron waited.

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  Dan moved to Liz’s side as she stood, her emerald eyes locked on the place where the enemy had crashed. The snow there lay unsettled, fractured into jagged pits and uneven ridges.

  Then came the sound.

  Grrraaaaghhh…!!

  A deep, guttural growl slithered through the silence.

  From the wreckage of snow and ice, a silhouette slowly rose.

  It emerged step by step, until the outline took form: a figure vaguely human in shape, yet wrong in every detail. Its body was clad in a dull, darkened armor, polished and smooth, like the husk of some unnatural knight. But the helmet.. it was no helmet at all. It resembled a head mask, molded too tightly to be merely worn, as though fused to its being.

  Thick green smoke hissed from the vents at its nose, curling upward in venomous spirals. The vapor spread around its body, coiling like a shroud, seeping into the air until the snow itself seemed tainted.

  The ground under its boots blackened faintly, frost retreating as if negated by its presence.

  Growl!

  Green sparks of lightning flickered across its armored frame, sharp cracks echoing as the arcs burst outward. Its very presence defied existence, negating everything around it from existing.

  The battlefield itself bent under the pressure.

  Liz’s emerald eyes narrowed as she saw this, her voice calm, almost analytical, “This one is different,” she said evenly. “ It's an Upgraded Eradicator perhaps.”

  Her gaze did not falter as she continued, tone steady, though her breath misted faintly in the cold.

  “When I used my power against it to protect Emma…” her words slowed as though recalling the moment, “…I felt our forces cancel each other out. As if my strength found its mirror. So I suppose this creature carries something just as powerful.”

  Beside her, Dan remained silent, his dark blue hair shifting faintly in the wind as he stared into the Eradicator’s faceless helm. He did not answer right away. The only sound was the hiss of green smoke curling upward from the Eradicator. Then, with his usual tone, he spoke. “Let’s just finish it off.”

  Liz glanced at him briefly, a small smile tugged her lips. His tone was always the same, reckless and unruly, which made her to always feel a strange feeling of being at peace sometimes..

  Her gaze soon returned to the Eradicator, whose presence swelled by the moment. Rage rolled off its body in waves, so heavy it felt as if it would rip out all of their groundless existences..

  Her smile grew wider. In that instant, her deep green eyes glimmered faintly with light.

  Crack!!!

  The Eradicator’s armored legs shattered the snowy ground beneath it, splinters of ice spraying outward. With a guttural roar, its voice tore through the frozen world.

  Roooooar!!!

  The beast lunged, armored frame cutting through the air instantly, heading directly for Liz. She did not move. Her feet remained planted in the snow, her hands steady at her sides. Instead, her smile curved upward, sharp, mocking.

  Still dumb… like the rest..The thought passed through her mind with a quiet amusement.

  But before the Eradicator could reach her, before the it could even think of laying a finger on her.

  It's vision blurred, its body was no longer driving forward through snow but instead suspended high in the blackened sky.

  Right before its helm, a pair of deep blue eyes glowed in the dark, cold and endless like the ocean’s depths. They carried no emotion, no warmth, only a single, absolute command.

  Collapse...!

  The word did not need to be spoken. It was carved into existence.

  Boooom!!!

  The aura of Dan’s Lime-state surged, the sheer pressure enough to collapse reality upon itself. The Eradicator’s existence buckled under it, its body trembling as if it's groundless nature demanded it's collapse.

  Yet.. something resisted..

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