The strike would have landed.
But Draik intercepted.
He surged in from the side, forcing Luna to twist mid-attack and redirect her blade to block his incoming blow.
Sparks of energy exploded between them as their clash forced her backward.
anwhile, Albert landed atop a building and the spawn followed imdiately.
It launched itself after him, claws slashing in wide, destructive arcs that tore chunks from concrete and steel.
Each swing was heavy, brutal, aid to crush rather than cut.
Albert leapt again, drawing it farther from the others. And Wester followed, laughter echoing wildly through the destruction.
Behind them, his remaining n finally recovered from the shock. They began to move.
But then sothing worse happened.
Several people within the crowd suddenly convulsed.
Dark purplish essence erupted beneath their skin, crawling upward in vein-like patterns until it reached their heads. Their eyes glazed over as power surged through them.
And then they paused for a second, then attacked, like zombies.
Weapons turned on allies. Abilities flared at point-blank range. Bodies were thrown aside as those suddenly empowered struck with twice or even three tis their normal strength.
These were Wester’s plants.
And this caused the battlefield to collapse into madness.
Above it all, Wester and the spawn pressed Albert.
Wester moved with inhuman speed now, his muscles visibly reinforced by the dark purplish aura wrapping his body.
Each step cracked stone and each movent carried overwhelming force.
Albert t him head-on.
He swirled his energy around his arms and drove a punch into Wester’s advance, the impact detonating outward and blasting Wester away before he could make contact.
Then, the spawn struck imdiately after.
Its massive claw ca down in a crushing sweep, but Albert exploded with force, his energy bursting outward and nullifying the strike mid-swing.
He clenched his jaw and compressed more power into his right arm.
Then he moved.
With a guttural grunt, he aid for a weaker section of the spawn’s body, preparing to deliver a point-blank strike before it could react.
But Wester caught up, recovering almost instantly from the strike just then.
Matching Albert’s speed, he surged in from the side once more, hands coated in dark purplish essence and aid straight for Albert’s ribs.
They collided.
And then, an explosion ripped through the space between them, dust and debris erupting outward and swallowing everything in a choking cloud.
The next second, Albert burst free.
He leapt backward out of the dust, energy swirling around his body as he landed and created distance.
He was panting now.
Blood dripped from his arm, a fresh wound carved by Wester’s strike.
The dust then cleared.
Wester stood there, with the spawn looming behind him like a living catastrophe.
There was also a cut on Wester’s face, with blood seeping from it, but even the wound was threaded with his dark purplish aura, pulsing faintly as if resisting the damage.
He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and grinned.
"Like I thought," Wester said. "You’re a monster, Albert."
His smile twisted.
"I’m jealous. Even after gathering all this power, I still can’t reach you."
Wester’s energy surged again.
The dark purplish essence poured from his body and layered over him like a living shell.
It did not make him larger. Instead, it compressed tightly against his fra, hardening his skin, reinforcing muscle and bone, turning every movent denser and heavier, as though his body had been reforged from within.
Albert inhaled, then exhaled slowly.
Facing that spawn alone was dangerous enough, and facing one alongside an advanced incarnation, an avarice no less, demanded absolute focus.
The odds were bad. Very bad.
Even at a glance, Albert could see it. Wester’s controlled followers were overwhelming the other incarnations, pushing them back through artificially amplified strength.
And here he stood, locked between a spawn and Wester.
"Your human is impressive," Seban said calmly, stepping in front of Gremit as the latter prepared to move. "Standing against both a spawn and Wester. His potential is remarkable."
Seban’s gaze drifted to the battlefield,
"His keeper must be powerful, even among keepers. He is highly compatible with his space, and on top of that, he has an exceptional talent for mastery."
He smirked faintly.
"But you see it too," Seban continued. "His chances are slim enough that you are tempted to intervene, even when you know the implications."
Gremit’s bristles rose.
The porcupine-like Erwald turned his heavy gaze toward Seban, the quills along his back whitening as power gathered beneath his fur. The air around him tensed, vibrating with restrained violence.
Seban did not move.
"If you step in," Seban said evenly, "I will not stand aside. You will have to deal with as well, Gremit."
Gremit said nothing.
He was already torn.
Stepping in risked attracting stronger spawns, and fighting Seban would split his focus. Not stepping in ant watching their people be slaughtered.
Around him the situation worsened.
More incarnations fell back under the relentless pressure of Wester’s enhanced followers. Even Luna was being forced onto the defensive, harried by Draik and another attacker, unable to break free.
At this rate, they would be wiped out.
Gremit stepped forward, right paw planting firmly into the ground as he prepared to engage.
Seban mirrored him, power stirring in response.
And just then...
...they arrived.
They jumped into the battlefield from the ruins across the road, coming from the northwest.
So rushed ahead while three raced toward Albert, Wester, and the spawn.
Then, Albert was in the worst position yet.
Wester smashed through his explosive defense with a brutal punch, sending Albert skidding backward. Before he could recover, the spawn pounced.
Its massive hand slamd down.
Albert poured everything he had into his energy, violent currents spiraling outward as he braced beneath the crushing weight, barely holding the creature’s palm from pulverizing his skull.
It was then an impact detonated in a violent explosion, flas bursting outward as the spawn reeled back with a furious roar.
The pressure on Albert vanished. And above him was both a fiery fist and foot, which had struck the spawn.
At the sa mont, an enormous hamr of ice plumted from above.
Wester reacted instantly, springing backward as the weapon crashed into the ground where he had stood.
Frost erupted on impact, ice spreading violently across the street as stone shattered beneath it.
Wester landed lightly, creating distance while his expression darkened as he straightened.
His eyes locked onto the newcor.
"You..." he muttered.
Icard exhaled slowly, a faint mist escaping his mouth as he faced Wester. His posture was calm and controlled, with his expression hard and focused, hiding a quiet rage behind them.
"Let’s settle this between us this ti, Wester." Icard said, his eyes resting firmly on Wester.
"I’ll handle you myself"
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