Nata stared at Maria with a gaze so cold it could freeze fire. "You think I care about a piece of trash like this?" she said, her voice devoid of empathy.
BANG.
She fired her weapon directly at her own assistant, who was still struggling in Maria's grip. Maria stood frozen, her eyes wide with shock. "What... what kind of crazy woman are you?" she whispered.
The battle ignited instantly. Nata charged, a blur of motion and malice. Maria unleashed a web-shot, but Nata sidestepped it with terrifying grace, closing the distance and ignoring the sting of the webbing.
Maria swung her pole, catching Nata on the shoulder, but the impact only seemed to fuel Nata's rage. She lunged, landing a brutal headbutt that sent Maria reeling backward against the van.
Before Maria could regain her footing, Nata unleashed a flurry of strikes—gut punches and vicious slaps to the face. Just as Nata wound up for a heavy blow to the face, Maria dropped low, swept Nata's legs, and brought her to the asphalt. Maria locked her legs around Nata's neck, pinning her, and clamped a hand over her mouth.
"You think a human can win against a sorcerer?" Maria hissed, her voice vibrating with power. "You're trying to defeat a CONQUEROR'S grade sorcerer! You'd need a nuclear bomb to stop us!"
Suddenly, Maria's hand ignited with a searing, brilliant blue energy. Nata's eyes rolled back into her head, and she collapsed, unconscious.
Maria stood up, gasping for air, shaking off the adrenaline. She turned toward the van to find Ruka standing there, having effortlessly restrained the rest of the guards. Ruka cracked her neck, looking bored, as if she had just finished a casual stroll. "What now?"
Maria hurried over, grabbing Ruka by the shoulders to inspect her face. "Are you alright? Look at me—are your eyes okay?"
Ruka laughed—a mocking, hollow sound. "My eyes are fine! Stop acting so worried. My sister is just scared of my beautiful eyes, haha!"
Maria's heart sank. "Stop it, you idiot! I'm talking about your ability! You can stop time! Don't you remember?"
Ruka stared at her blankly. "Time? What are you talking about? What is this 'time' nonsense? And where's the other... zombie?"
Maria staggered back, horrified. "Zombie? Ruka, have you lost your mind?"
Suddenly, Vanessa roared from the transport truck. "You idiots! Stop talking to her! She's still trapped in the 'fake world'! Her memory has been completely scrambled. Get her in the truck now! I don't want to start a war with the police here. Move!"
Maria shoved Ruka toward the transport truck, hauling her inside as the engine roared to life. They peeled away from the scene, leaving the unconscious Nata behind in the chaos.
In the centre of Tokyo, chaos has taken over everything. The streetlights in the area are flickering and turning off one after another, plunging the streets into an eerie, electric twilight.
Jin watches the chaos. People are running frantically, screaming. "The same thing again... just like in SINISH!" he thinks in agony. "No, this time I won't let it happen!" Before Naker can even move, Jin claps his hands with all his might. A stormy wind breaks out, cutting everything in its path.
Akos stares at Naker with an icy gaze, as if trying to read the very soul of the monster.
Suddenly, the ground beneath their feet begins to change. The concrete "peels" as if it were dead snake skin, revealing a terrifying truth.
Sakoura, from the high building where he stands, lets out an ironic laugh. "Ohhhh... someone activated the UNIVERSE ZONE..."
Naker's [UNIVERSE ZONE: Uncovered SPACE OF DEN BURROW] had just begun.
Within a 50-metre radius, time and space seem to freeze. Everything is cancelled. Even the decisions the citizens had made two minutes ago—to run, to hide, to scream—are erased. Everyone remains motionless like statues, trapped in the monster's sphere of influence. It is not Sakoura's SPREAD SPACE; it is something more primitive, something more absolute.
In a fraction of a second, Akos is launched into the air with dizzying speed, dragged by the monster that hoists him high atop a "mountain" of living snakes. Naker throws a punch so powerful it sends
Akos crashing into a pillar. But Naker doesn't stop. From the centre of his zone, he spews thousands of snakes. The citizens, trapped within the 50-metre radius, run in a panic as the earth opens up. A taxi with ten people inside tries to escape but crashes into a wall.
Akos tries to get up, but Naker's zone cancels every effort he makes. The monster emerges from a wave of snakes and lunges. A punch strikes Akos, launching him through two buildings. He leaves a huge hole behind him.
Akos is already in the air, shocked. "How can he be so fast?" Jin wonders from below, unable to move.
"He isn't using NATURE ENERGY... so where does he draw so much power from?" What the hell does he eat to stay so strong?"
Akos falls again, but this time he stabs his katana into the floor to slow his descent. The whole floor cracks under the intensity.
"Now I get it, you scum..." says Akos, staring at him. "You aren't even a user of natural energy!"
"What are you doing, you idiot? You're talking to a monster that doesn't even speak!" yells Jin.
Akos ignores him. "I don't think you'll be so strong for much longer!"
Naker lunges at him with incredible speed. Akos remembers his battle in Sinish with Sakoura. He remembers the darkness, the bones, the blood. "For Sakoura to increase his energy, he ate people... This one here... Naker increases his strength from something I don't see. I have to find it!"
Naker attacks. Akos kicks his legs in the air to avoid the blow, but Naker is everywhere. In a fraction of a second, Naker hits him with a punch to the stomach, sending him landing on a mangled car.
Akos grits his teeth. The mystery of Naker's power is still wide open, and the battle has just begun to escalate.
Naker gave him no quarter, his relentless pursuit turning the city into a graveyard of shattered concrete.
Akos scrambled through the ruins, his breath coming in ragged gasps. He vaulted fourteen meters into the air, crashing through the glass facade of a skyscraper to find shelter. But Naker was right behind him—the monster didn't stop to use the door;
He simply tore through the wall, turning the entire structure into a rain of debris.
As he ran, Akos felt a surge of resolve. My energy is higher than his, he thought, clutching his side. I have the reserves to win this.
But the thought was cut short by a sound like tearing metal. Naker's arm morphed instantly.
[SLASH SNAKE]
A massive, blade-like projection of solidified energy erupted from the beast's limb, screaming toward Akos like a guillotine of shadow. It carved through the skyscraper as if it were made of paper.
The entire building groaned, shuddered, and began to collapse in a roar of dust and twisted steel.
Akos dived, falling through the collapsing floors at high speed, desperately trying to find an opening to counter-attack.
But Naker was faster. He dropped like a stone, closing the distance in a heartbeat. He caught Akos by the legs mid-air and slammed him face-first into a support pillar.
Akos spat blood, his vision blurring, but the horror wasn't over. Naker didn't just punch—he launched his entire massive bulk into Akos, his body acting like a living projectile.
The force of Naker's full body-weight driving into his own sent Akos flying through the wall of the building, across an alleyway, and crashing into the structure on the other side.
The impact was bone-shattering. Akos lay buried in the wreckage, his ribs screaming in agony, while Naker stood over him, looming like a nightmare in the dust.
Naker stepped into the ruined building, his boots crunching on shattered glass and pulverized concrete.
He found Akos sprawled on the ground, blood streaming from his nose and lips, his body trembling from the sheer trauma of the impact. Naker didn't offer a moment of mercy; his eyes glowed with a feral, predatory red light as he stared down his prey.
Without breaking stride, he struck the empty air.
[SLASH SNAKE]!
For the second time, the beast's arm morphed, erupting into a massive, blade-like projection of solidified energy.
The attack screamed through the air, vibrating with the intent to end Akos once and for all. The slash connected with devastating force, but it didn't just stop at Akos; it carved through the main support column of the building like a hot knife through butter.
The structure—a nineteen-meter monolith of steel and stone—groaned, buckled, and then surrendered to gravity. It collapsed in a thunderous roar of dust and debris, pancaking the levels and burying the area in a suffocating, impenetrable cloud of grey smoke.
Naker landed amidst the wreckage, his form looming through the haze. He didn't gloat, and he didn't stop. He began to stalk through the thick, swirling dust, his senses locked on the faint, rhythmic pulse of life somewhere beneath the rubble. He was hunting.
Outside, the street was a scene of total devastation, silent except for the settling dust and the predatory, rhythmic thud of Naker's footsteps. The smoke was so thick it blocked out the city lights, turning the wreckage into a dark, claustrophobic maze.