Kai was not strong.
Not really.
If someone were to measure him using a system—something absolute, something fair—his stats would all be the same.
15.
Average.
Nothing special.
No overwhelming strength.
No monstrous durability.
No refined skill.
Just… normal.
But—
That didn't matter.
Because his ability changed everything.
Lightning wrapped around his body, crackling violently across his skin like a living storm. It didn't make him stronger in the traditional sense—
It made him faster.
A thousand times faster.
And with that speed—
His attacks carried explosive force far beyond what his body should have been capable of.
It didn't matter how weak he was.
As long as he moved fast enough—
Even a clumsy punch…
Could hit like a falling meteor.
High above the battlefield—
Kai reached the sky.
For a brief moment, everything felt… quiet.
Then—
He dropped.
Like a bullet.
No—
Like a missile.
The air screamed around him as he plummeted straight toward the battlefield below, his body wrapped in lightning.
And once again—
The world slowed.
Everything crawled.
The three figures below—the flaming bull, the lightning bear, and the ice-wielding girl—moved like statues trapped in syrup.
Kai's eyes locked onto them.
There.
He fell straight into the center of their clash—
And landed.
Smooth.
Controlled.
Silent.
For a fraction of a second—
Nothing moved.
Then—
He did.
He vanished.
Reappearing in front of the humanoid bull, his body already twisting into motion—
And—
Punch.
It was sloppy.
Unrefined.
No technique.
But it didn't matter.
His speed turned it into something else entirely.
Before the force could even register—
He was already gone.
Turning—
Moving—
Appearing in front of the lightning bear.
Its massive frame bristled with sharp, jagged spikes, electricity surging violently across its body.
Kai didn't hesitate.
He punched again.
And again.
And again.
Every strike was clumsy.
Poorly aimed.
Unbalanced.
But fast.
Too fast.
Each hit landed before the last one could even fully connect.
Like nails being driven into something fragile—
Again.
And again.
And again.
Then—
Time snapped back.
BOOM!!
A massive shockwave exploded outward from the battlefield.
The delayed impact of Kai's movements released all at once—
Lightning surged violently across the ground, spreading like a web.
The force alone made nearby survivors go numb, their bodies locking up from the electrical discharge.
Only two remained unaffected—
The lightning bear.
And Kai.
His eyes glowed.
Bright.
Fierce.
Like lightning given form.
Then—
Something changed.
Fire ignited in his palms.
Not controlled.
Not refined.
Just raw power.
It coalesced violently, swirling and compressing as he thrust his hands forward—
BOOM!
A blast of flames surged toward the lightning bear.
But he didn't stop there.
Wind followed.
Unstable.
Rough.
But enough.
It fed the flames—
Amplifying them.
The fire expanded violently, turning into a roaring explosion as it crashed toward the beast.
At that exact moment—
She moved.
The General's daughter.
Her expression cold.
Focused.
She raised her hand—
And unleashed it.
A massive wave of ice surged forward like a frozen tide, swallowing everything in its path.
Kai's eyes flickered.
Wait…
Hot… then cold… then hot again…
Doesn't that… break things?
He didn't fully understand it.
Didn't know the science behind it.
But he remembered it.
A lesson.
A fragment of something he once learned.
And right now—
That was enough.
He pushed more power into the flames.
The fire surged again—
Meeting the wave of ice at the perfect moment.
Heat.
Then cold.
Then heat again.
For a split second—
Everything froze.
Then—
BOOOOOOM!!!
An explosion erupted.
Not just fire.
Not just ice.
Both.
Colliding.
Violently rejecting each other.
A massive shockwave blasted outward, tearing through the battlefield and throwing everything back—monsters, debris, even the ground itself cracking under the force.
Kai was pushed back slightly, his wings flaring instinctively to stabilize himself mid-air.
The battlefield fell into chaos.
Steam hissed into the sky.
Ice shattered.
Flames scattered.
And in the center of it all—
Destruction.
Everything looked… perfect.
The combinations.
The timing.
The way he moved without hesitation.
Kai wasn't skilled—he knew that.
But somehow, his body flowed as if it had been made for battle. Attacks chained together naturally, one leading into the next without thought. Fire, wind, lightning—he used them instinctively, like breathing.
The bear—
It was breaking.
Its body cracked under the pressure, fractures spreading across its form like shattered glass barely holding together. Each hit, each burst of force, pushed it closer to collapse.
Then—
Kai turned.
The humanoid bull.
Something was changing.
Its fur darkened… no, not just dark—
Black.
A deep, endless black that swallowed the light around it.
Its flames followed.
From blazing red—
To something darker.
Something wrong.
Black fire.
The air around it twisted unnaturally, heavier, suffocating. Its presence alone felt… different.
Ancient.
Demonic.
Kai's eyes narrowed.
What is that…?
And then—
A strange feeling stirred within him.
Recognition.
Not from memory.
Not from knowledge.
But from instinct.
…Why does it feel… familiar?
Then—
Something inside him snapped.
The rush.
The destruction.
The overwhelming thrill of battle—
It swallowed him.
His thoughts blurred.
His breathing deepened.
His eyes—
Turned bloodshot.
A grin began to form, wild and unrestrained, as he stared at the monster growing stronger before him.
Yes…
Fight.
Destroy it.
Tear it apart—
He moved—
Or at least, he tried to.
But before he could—
Everything ended.
In an instant.
The monster—
Frozen.
Encased completely in ice.
Still.
Silent.
Dead.
Kai stopped.
His body stiffened.
Slowly—
He turned.
The girl stood beside him.
Calm.
Cold.
Untouched by the chaos.
For a brief moment—
Fury surged through him.
I was just getting started—
You got in my way—
The thought flashed through his mind—
Sharp.
Ugly.
Wrong.
And just as quickly—
He froze.
"…What am I saying…?"
The words slipped out under his breath.
The haze began to crack.
His vision cleared.
And then—
He saw it.
The survivors.
Some had made it to the vehicles.
Others hadn't.
They crawled out from rubble, injured, dazed, some barely conscious. The aftermath of the shockwaves—his shockwaves—had reached them.
Not all of them were safe.
Not all of them were unharmed.
And they were looking at him.
Not with relief.
Not with gratitude.
But with fear.
Like he was one of them.
A monster.
Beside him, the girl spoke—her voice cold, controlled.
"You should pay attention to your surroundings when you fight."
Kai didn't respond.
"You could kill someone with a stray attack."
Only then did he notice—
The ice.
Sheets of it spread across parts of the battlefield, forming barriers, shields—protecting the survivors from the worst of the destruction.
She hadn't just been fighting.
She had been protecting.
While he—
Had been lost.
Lost in power.
Lost in destruction.
Lost in something that felt far too natural.
Kai stood there, unmoving.
What… was I doing?
I was trying to help… right?
So why…
Why are they looking at me like that?
The answer came, quiet and unavoidable.
Because I hurt them.
His expression hardened.
Even if I was helping…
It doesn't matter.
They still got hurt.
Silence wrapped around him.
Then—
His eyes changed.
The confusion faded.
Replaced by something colder.
More distant.
"…Fine."
His voice was quiet.
Empty.
I don't care anymore.
Help yourselves.
He turned away.
Without another word.
Without looking back.
Lightning flickered around him—
And in the next instant—
He shot into the distance, heading toward the direction the military truck had gone.
Toward Ashley.
Toward Miss Cambrian.
Leaving behind—
The survivors.
The battlefield.
And the uneasy silence that followed in his wake.