Silence filled the chamber. All the enemies stood motionless on either side — expressionless, as if they weren’t even breathing.

  And in the middle stood that terrifying figure in the black hood. Rayn stared at him, thinking, “Who is this? Everyone stopped moving the moment he appeared… and for some reason, he reminds me of the Metro Station boss…”

  Breaking the silence, Rayn asked in a steady but firm voice, “Who are you? Are you their controller?”

  Even after his question, the air remained dead silent. That silence alone seemed to freeze the chamber — heavier, colder. After a moment, the enemy spoke in a deep, icy voice, “I am Varkion… and I’m no controller — but I’m no less than one.”

  Before Rayn could react, Varkion suddenly appeared right in front of him in the blink of an eye.

  Rayn flinched, trying to move back, but before he could — Varkion raised his sword high and slashed at lightning speed.

  Rayn barely dodged, but before he could counter, Varkion spun and drove a powerful punch straight into his chest.

  Rayn crossed his arms to block it, but the sheer force was overwhelming — he was sent flying and crashed hard against the wall.

  The chamber shook violently with a thunderous crash; cracks split through the walls, and the ground trembled beneath them.

  Lying on the ground, gasping for breath, Rayn thought, “This enemy… he’s not just as strong as the Metro Station boss… he’s far stronger.”

  Varkion began moving toward Rayn — slow, heavy steps that made the entire chamber tremble with each impact.

  Seeing him approach, Rayn — though injured — quickly forced himself to his feet and started running backward, trying to create distance.

  The moment Varkion saw him retreat, he moved like a storm — appearing beside Rayn in an instant — and swung his sword straight at Rayn’s throat.

  For a split second, time seemed to slow for Rayn thought:— “He’s too fast… I need to move faster,”.

  At the very last moment, Rayn drew his dagger and blocked the strike. Then, using his full speed, he darted across the chamber — racing from wall to wall, across the floor and even along the ceiling. His movements flashed like streaks of light.

  It looked as if lightning itself was dancing inside the chamber — Rayn’s motion leaving trails of blinding energy in every direction.

  Varkion, unfazed, chased after him at the same speed, the same deadly precision. Now, Rayn had only one choice — to fight. He gripped his dagger tighter and launched a counterattack.

  A catastrophic battle erupted inside the chamber. Each clash shook the walls, split the floor, and filled the air with smoke and sparks.

  Rayn fought desperately, blocking Varkion’s relentless strikes and countering whenever he could.

  Rayn began unleashing a barrage of attacks he’d mastered over the years — Cross, Hook Punch, Roundhouse Kick, Side Kick, Double Punch, Shadow Kick, and Whip Kick — each strike faster and heavier than the last.

  The shockwaves of their fight shredded through the surrounding enemies — bodies sliced apart and collapsing one after another.

  The entire chamber was on the verge of destruction, but slowly, Varkion began to overpower him.

  Rayn could still parry the sword blows, but every punch from Varkion sent him crashing into the walls.

  Deep gashes now covered Rayn’s body; his clothes were soaked in blood — and still, he refused to stop. Seeing every strike fail, Rayn gathered every last ounce of strength he had left.

  His movements became even faster — Backfist, Spinning Back Punch, Cross Counter, Rising Punch, Phantom Strike, Spinning Hook Kick, Crescent Kick, Flying Kick, Flash Kick — all unleashed in a blur of lightning speed.

  But none of it worked. Varkion dodged each blow with eerie calm, no anger, no fear, no rush — like he had already seen every move before it happened.

  Rayn went for one final Flying Kick — but suddenly, a searing pain shot through his chest. A blade had pierced through his back and out his front, its edge crackling with blue electricity.

  Rayn tried to scream, but no sound came out — only a faint gasp of agony escaped his lips. His eyes widened, and his body went limp, suspended in midair.

  When he looked down, he saw Varkion’s weapon was no ordinary sword — it had transformed into a Lightning Whip Sword, vibrating and glowing with electrical fury.

  Varkion slowly pulled the blade out from Rayn’s chest, and as he did, the weapon shifted back into its original form — the glowing lightning fading into a cold metal shadow.

  Rayn’s body hit the floor with a dull thud. Varkion walked toward him without a hint of emotion, then drove the sword into Rayn’s chest again — once, twice, then several more times.

  The metallic clangs echoed through the chamber as blood spread across the steel floor.

  After the final strike, Varkion knelt beside Rayn’s lifeless face. No breath. No heartbeat. In a quiet, mechanical voice, he activated his comm device:— “Control Room, report in… one Bloodfang is dead. Yes — heartbeat and breathing, both terminated.”

  Meanwhile, Nazar was sprinting at a terrifying speed. But the farther he ran, the more confusion grew inside him — because none of the enemies around were attacking him.

  He was slicing through one opponent after another, pushing forward without slowing down, Yet not a single one tried to stop him. Nazar couldn’t make sense of what was happening.

  Even after running for a long time, it felt like he wasn’t reaching anywhere — as if he was trapped inside an endless labyrinth.

  New paths kept appearing in front of him, while the ones behind vanished into darkness — like someone unseen was controlling his every move.

  Finally, after what felt like ages, Nazar saw a massive metal gate ahead. The moment he got close, the gate began to open slowly with a deafening metallic roar. Nazar looked inside — and froze. It was a vast hall, its walls glowing with a cold blue light.

  At the far end stood a throne, and upon that throne sat a man — his face was calm, yet his very presence radiated dread — He was the Controller.

  At that same moment, somewhere else, we see Haarun. His breathing was heavy, chest rising and falling rapidly.

  The trees around him were shredded into fragments, the ground cracked and scarred from battle. The forest was choked with thick smoke and dust.

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  Branches were broken, bark scattered across the dirt, and faint wisps of smoke still rose from freshly splintered roots. There was no smell of burning, yet the air carried a heavy, scorching heat.

  The birds had fled; the woods had fallen silent— only the sound of broken branches dropping to the ground echoed faintly, like the forest itself was breathing in exhaustion.

  Haarun tightened his grip on his twin red daggers — breathing hard, but still standing tall, ready to fight again, as if the fire inside him refused to die.

  In front of him stood Nerath — one hand holding a blade of his Chain Sickle, the other spinning the second blade like a fan, as he advanced slowly, each step heavy and deliberate.

  Haarun didn’t waste a single second — he dashed forward at lightning speed and unleashed a relentless assault on Nerath.

  But Nerath wasn’t backing down either. His Chain Sickle spun wildly, whipping through the air like a storm of blades, blocking Haarun’s attacks one after another while striking back with deadly precision.

  Their battle looked like a storm of thunder and steel— each clash echoed through the forest with deafening metallic crashes, sparks flew in every direction, lighting up the dark like bursts of fireworks in a warzone.

  Nerath’s attacks came at Haarun from every possible angle — above, below, behind, and both sides — his weapon twisting and curving through the air with blinding speed.

  Haarun struck back as best he could, but it was clear — he was being pushed on the defensive. Finally, seeing a brief opening, Haarun leapt back, retreating fast.

  He dashed through the shattered trees, disappearing into the deeper shadows of the forest — as if planning his next move from within the darkness. Seeing Haarun flee, Nerath muttered in a cold, calm voice:— “Good… let’s see how far you can really run.”

  The moment the words left his mouth, Nerath dashed after him — both of them racing through the dense forest, as if the entire jungle itself had become their battlefield.

  Haarun was leaping from tree to tree at sonic speed, his shadow slicing through the leaves like a phantom.

  But Nerath wasn’t far behind — he too jumped from branch to branch, mirroring Haarun’s movements, neither of them touching the ground anymore.

  Suddenly, from behind, Nerath spun his Chain Sickle and hurled it forward — the blade ripped through the air, lightning-fast, heading straight toward Haarun’s neck. At that instant, time seemed to slow for Haarun.

  His eyes locked onto the spinning weapon — and in a blur, he launched himself upward, leaping high into the air and slicing through the wind itself. The Chain Sickle grazed his neck but didn’t slice through completely.

  Still, the impact tore his hood, his mask split in half and fell to the ground, and a thin line of blood trickled down the side of his face.

  Without wasting a second, Haarun dropped back down and started running again — but Nerath was still right behind him. Seeing him close in, Haarun thought to himself:— “I have to do it now…”

  And with that, he pushed his speed even higher — left, right, upward — moving so fast he almost vanished from sight. Then suddenly, he stopped, spun around, and charged straight at Nerath.

  When their attacks collided, a strange surge of energy burst out around them — electric arcs crackled through the air, each strike shaking the wind like thunder.

  As they fought, Haarun realized something — they had reached the riverbank again.

  He abruptly stopped attacking, turned, and sprinted against the current — Nerath is still right behind him, silent but deadly.

  After running a short distance, Haarun noticed the trees were ending — and ahead lay a vast stretch of massive stone pillars rising from the ground.

  The moment the stone pillars came into view, Haarun suddenly boosted his speed — Then, out of nowhere, he changed direction and darted deep into the forest.

  His feet barely touched the ground anymore. He moved like a blur — sliding between trees, racing over roots, slicing through the air itself.

  The dense shadows of the jungle blurred around him, leaves and dust spiraling in his wake like a storm.

  Right now, his speed had gone beyond human limits — as if he’d shattered every boundary he once had.

  Within seconds, Haarun vanished from Nerath’s sight, leaving only the sound of the wind whispering through the silent woods.

  Realizing Nerath was no longer behind him, Haarun kept running — a faint smirk forming at the corner of his lips.

  In his eyes now burned a calm, icy confidence, Then, in a low voice, he whispered:— “Now it begins… the real game.”

  Some time earlier — Sa’ut stood in the middle of a clearing, surrounded by countless enemies. Their eyes were empty, their faces lifeless.

  Stitched wounds, metal limbs, and cold, expressionless gazes — they looked like corpses… somehow still moving.

  No one spoke. No one made a sound. They just slowly began to close in around Sa’ut, like the dead had come back to life. Before Sa’ut could even react, the enemies suddenly lunged at him all at once— like a pack of starving beasts.

  But Sa’ut didn’t hesitate. His eyes turned cold in an instant, and he gave a command to his drones — in perfect sync, they all lit up with a crimson glow and unleashed a barrage of laser fire toward the oncoming horde.

  The lasers were powerful — so much that one misfire could set the whole forest ablaze. That’s why Sa’ut couldn’t go all out; he fired with surgical precision, every shot deliberate, avoiding the trees.

  Still, each blast hit like an explosion — bodies shattered, smoke and toxic gas spread through the air, and the ground filled with wreckage and remains. The air grew heavier, Yet the enemies kept coming.

  While controlling the drones, Sa’ut muttered under his breath:— “What even are these things in human form? Their numbers never end…”

  His eyes showed exhaustion, but his fingers didn’t leave the controls. He knew — if he used his full power now, the forest would burn… and he’d probably burn with it.

  After a while, only smoke and the stench of metal filled the area. Sweat rolled down Sa’ut’s forehead. Breathing heavily, he thought to himself:— “So many bodies torn apart… and still no fear in their eyes? These things… they’re not alive.”

  Then, suddenly, a thought struck him— the river. That place where the river flowed… A strange feeling ran through him, as if something important was waiting there.

  In that instant, the air around Sa’ut grew still, and time seemed to slow — as if his thoughts were moving faster than the world itself. He thought to himself:— “That river’s current... it was flowing faster than the wind. That means…”

  Before he could finish the thought, Sa’ut quickly pulled up a holographic map of the forest on his screen and began scanning the direction opposite the river’s flow.

  Within seconds, something caught his eye — a waterfall, not too far away. And around it, unlike the rest of the forest, there were no trees — only sunlit rocks gleaming in the light.

  Sa’ut contacted Haarun immediately. But at that moment, Haarun was locked in full-on combat with Nerath — both of them moving at literal sound-breaking speed.

  They were flashing from one spot to another in the blink of an eye. Wherever their feet touched, the ground split, trees shattered, and rocks exploded into fragments.

  It didn’t look like a fight between two people — it felt like an entire army clashing in one body.

  Along with the deafening noise, sparks burst from every weapon clash, and shockwaves rippled through the entire forest.

  Right in the middle of this chaos, Haarun sensed Sa’ut trying to reach him. As soon as the signal hit, Haarun darted a few steps back and accepted the call. The moment the call connected, Sa’ut spoke urgently:— “Are things okay on your side?”

  Haarun replied with an irritated tone:— “Nothing’s okay. I can’t use my full power because of this damn forest.”

  Before he could finish, Nerath hurled his Chain Sickle like a boomerang. Slicing through ten or twelve trees, It attacked Haarun from behind.

  Haarun leapt back with a huge jump, but even then, the blade grazed his leg — blood immediately dripped down. He winced in pain, but steadied himself and said coldly:— “And listen — I’d rather fight one strong enemy than a swarm of weak ones any day.”

  Then he took a long breath and asked:— “What about you? Did you manage to reach Riyy and Rayn?”

  Meanwhile, Sa’ut was firing countless laser shots through his drones. Gas, acid vapor, countless lasers, and smoke rising from piles of broken bodies mixed together, forming a glowing storm around him.

  Because of the risk of setting the forest on fire, Sa’ut couldn’t fire long-range shots — but even then, the lights and sounds from his drones were intense enough to ruin a normal person’s eyes and ears.

  The sound of Sa’ut’s lasers could be heard from kilometers away, and the flashes were visible even from far above the treetops.

  In response to Haarun’s question, Sa’ut spoke quickly:— “I couldn’t reach them. I got hit by a huge wave of attacks, and I’m still stuck fighting.”

  Then Sa’ut calmed his voice a little and added:— “You need to do something. A few kilometers from you, there’s a waterfall.”

  Haarun immediately asked:— “What do we get from the waterfall?”

  Sa’ut replied confidently:— “Just act like you’re struggling. Drag that strong enemy there. And then all these countless weak ones… they’re yours.”

  The moment Sa’ut finished, Haarun whispered in a cold, razor-sharp tone:— “Let’s go, my strong friend… now you’re the one who’ll feel weak.”

  At the same time, Sa’ut jumped high, stepped onto two of his drones, and rose into the air.

  Wasting no time, he flew straight toward the waterfall — and behind him, a swarm of enemies burst into a sprint, chasing him.

  Sa’ut boosted his speed, weaving between the trees with precision. A few moments later, he spotted Haarun sprinting toward him at full speed.

  Sa’ut instantly pushed his speed even higher, and when the two got close, they didn’t stop — they just slapped a quick hi-five, switching their enemies in one smooth motion.

  Haarun landed right in front of the massive horde chasing Sa’ut, then made a huge leap and dropped straight into the center of the crowd.

  He drew both of his daggers, a faint smile curving at his lips, and confidently said:— “So… Can I slice all of you apart?”