Ethan stood firm, his voice calm.
"You," he said, locking eyes with Kaelrox, "are probably the strongest among them."
He glanced toward the battlefield, where the chaos of war still raged.
"If you fall, the rest will understand the gap."
Then his gaze shifted—right back to the staff in Kaelrox’s grip.
"But I’m not planning to kill you."
"There’s sothing you’ve got that caught my eye in that brief exchange."
His lips curled into a small, almost relaxed smile.
"If you’re willing to hand it over," he said casually, "I’ll let you live."
On paper, Ethan’s aura didn’t seem stronger than Kaelrox’s. In fact, by raw asurents of power, he looked technically weaker.
But at this exact mont—
Kaelrox didn’t feel that way.
Not even close.
Because he could sense it—Ethan’s composure wasn’t a bluff, and it wasn’t arrogance either.
It was control. Absolute, terrifying control.
Kaelrox’s pupils tightened.
He’d never expected Ethan to be this overwhelming. And that punch earlier—brutal and simple as it was—had nearly torn his body apart from the inside out.
He forced his energy under control, staggering back several paces as his chest heaved for breath.
After a long beat, he finally raised a hand, reaching into his robes and pulling out a fist-sized crystal orb.
Glass-clear on the outside, but inside... it churned—with the slow, dark pulse of sothing alive. A sealed ocean, deep and suffocating.
"I didn’t co here to be your enemy," Kaelrox said at last, voice lower now, more grounded. "Your army breached The Nether Sea. As one of its natives... I had to take a stand."
Ethan didn’t so much as lift an eyebrow.
His focus slid past Kaelrox, sweeping over the battlefield again. The invading forces from the Nether Sea were relentless—but their intention was crystal clear.
They hadn’t co to protect anything.
They ca to harvest.
Predators, waiting for the mont to strike.
Ethan looked back at him, voice going ice-cold.
"Your stance has nothing to do with ."
"You’re standing in Erald Castle’s domain. That alone is a capital offense."
He lifted his hand slowly and pointed.
"So make your choice."
"Leave your head."
"Or surrender everything in your control."
"If not—I’ll end you here and now."
Kaelrox flinched. Visibly.
He knew full well—
He couldn’t beat Ethan.
Worse, the space around them was locked tight. No seams, no portals. No escape path left.
A few seconds of silence passed.
Then he drew in a sharp breath, skin pale.
The fear had finally cornered him.
And in the next instant—
He raised the crystal high above his head.
A massive sphere of energy ford in his palm, boiling with compressed power.
Then he hurled it forward with everything he had.
The mont it left his hand—space shuddered.
Energy surged like a tide, converging faster and harder. The entire field began to hum as if the world itself had taken a breath.
Hum—
Hum—
Hum—
The pressure wasn’t chaotic.
But it carried a dominion that soaked into the bones.
An aura that said one thing, loud and clear:
Kneel... or be crushed.
Ethan’s eyes sharpened—for the first ti, a flicker of seriousness crept into his gaze.
He surged forward, closing the distance in a flash, hand reaching out to touch the energy sphere directly.
But just as his fingertip brushed the surface—
A formless backlash slamd into him like a hamr, hurling him backward.
Kaelrox jerked his head up.
The fear on his face twisted—morphed into wild, manic joy.
"HAHAHAHA—!"
His laughter echoed like thunder across the battlefield.
"You arrogant fool!"
"Do you even know what you’re touching?!"
He stared at Ethan, eyes blazing, his voice ringing like a cultist proclaiming gospel.
"This is the core essence gifted to us by Lord Kardamon—the Supre Being of our world!"
"To control this... is to control the very fabric of existence!"
"To hold this... is to ascend!"
"To beco absolute!"
Ethan’s brow twitched slightly.
He’d done his research on The Nether Sea.
The so-called "Supre Beings" were supposed to be deep-sea monstrosities—old, powerful, but still within the bounds of natural order.
But this na—
Kardamon.
He’d never heard it before.
He looked back at the glowing orb.
And this ti, he saw it.
This wasn’t just raw energy.
This was—
A shard of world origin, forcibly refined, devoured, and compressed.
The lingering aura inside was cold and savage—sothing not of this world but from... deeper. Lower.
A whisper from a realm far more hellish.
Ethan’s breath caught. Everything clicked together.
The true master of the Nether Sea wasn’t so mythic sea creature.
It was—
Infernal power. A force born from the Pits below.
He slowly adjusted his stance, exhaled quietly.
Then, he took one step back.
His shoulders sank ever so slightly. His expression shifted—just enough.
Just enough... to show a flicker of uncertainty.
Maybe even—fear.
Kaelrox caught it instantly.
His eyes lit up like wildfire.
That’s it...
The tension in his chest unraveled, replaced with barely contained excitent.
He raised both hands high, hoisting the staff and the crystal orb into the air like a preacher at a ritual.
The staff humd. The orb throbbed.
Kaelrox began chanting in a rapid, frenzied tongue—unintelligible and feverish, like he was ready to gamble everything he had.
Energy surged between orb and staff, weaving into threads of dark power. The very air turned thick, slow, heavy.
And that was the mont—
Ethan moved.
No warning.
No wind-up.
He just appeared.
One second Kaelrox was mid-chant, reaching the peak—then bam—Ethan was right in front of him, closer than breath.
"I’ve been waiting for this," Ethan said, voice cool and even.
"Waiting... for you to lower your guard."
Kaelrox’s pupils shrank.
Too late.
Ethan reached out.
And ripped the staff and orb away in one clean motion.
At the exact sa ti—
Thunder exploded out from his body, crackling with violent energy.
BOOM—!!
The blast of lightning swallowed Kaelrox whole, launching him like a missile across the battlefield and slamming him into open void.
Ethan looked down at the items in his hands.
Even just holding them, he could feel it.
Core-level power. Primal force.
Energy from the foundation of a world—and far below its surface.
Terrifying. Ancient.
But before he could even think about channeling it—
The staff began to lt.
The crystal orb shattered.
The two artifacts dissolved into molten streams of raw energy—
And surged into Ethan’s body without warning.
"—!"
Agony tore through him instantly.
Not shock. Not pain.
Ruin.
An alien, berserk force stord through his core—ripping apart his ridians, smashing through ntal defenses, shredding his consciousness as it carved through everything inside him.
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