True power.

It has been, and will always be, a crushing pressure that causes the ones under it to fall to their knees.

Helpless to go against it, they have no choice but to show subservience. In truth, true power can not be resisted.

It consumes all.

*****

'D-damnit!'

Adonis struggled to rise, but there was no use to it. He could feel a weight on him that was impossible to shrug off.

Looking at everyone else, they seemed to be having the same problem.

But—

"Urahhh!" Clark jumped from

His position, shattering the earth where they all knelt as he flew towards Ralyks.

'Of course! Clark has [Crush Resistance] based on his Class.'

Adonis swiftly released his [Absolute Defense], and Belle used her Wind Magic to propel Clark in his epic rush.

~WHOOSH!~

The determined boy was about to punch Ralyks and send him away from his current position.

However, what ended up happening was completely different from his intentions.

Before Clark could land a single hit, Ralyks held his throat, causing the boy to get stunned instantly.

"Urk!"

Still, he refused to give up.

He sent his most powerful fist towards Ralyks, but before it could even reach the man, a very tough layer of defense stopped him.

"Nice try."

That was what Ralyks said before ascending high into the air and hurling Clark down to the ground in a series of swift moves.

~BOOOM!~

The ground shattered, and the boy was nearly buried in rubble as he lost consciousness.

"CLARK!" Many shouted—especially Eric and Justin—but they only caught the attention of their predator.

"Worry more about yourselves." He appeared right behind the two of them.

His crimson eyes glowed as he spoke, like a demon whose malevolent presence was impossible to escape.

Justin tried to use his [Marionette] to at least bind Ralyks, but before he could do so, he heard a thud and suddenly found himself on the ground.

Eric was about to use [Grand Sound Magic] to completely mess up his target, but what he found out was that his attack bounced back towards him.

The result?

"Arghhhhhh!!!" Eric screamed before falling to the ground as well.

His smaller body fell on top Justin's taller form—the both of them clearly unconscious.

~ZTTTZZZZ!~

Sparks of electricity buzzed all around, and the space around began to vibrate.

"Lightning Torrent Of Destruction!" A fierce feminine voice echoed in the air.

Bigger sparks coalesced to form a swirling barrier of pure lightning, and everything began to close in on the target.

However, the man just walked through it like it was nothing.

"W-what?!" As the ebony who cast the Spell was still recoiling from shock, Ralyks appeared right behind her.

"L-Lightni—!"

A swift chop on her neck sent her falling unconscious instantly.

Ralyks didn't even spare her a thought as she landed on the floor. Instead, he looked at his next prey.

"Alicia… right?" He now stood in front of her, his merciless crimson gaze falling on the girl who was smiling nervously.

"What do you have for me… huh?"

Before Ralyks could realize what was happening, his entire body was beginning to freeze from the leg up.

He looked at the smiling Alicia whose smile grew broader the longer his dark form took on white.

"Ice Magic: Absolute Zero Chamber…" She smirked, her eyes displaying how happy she was to have gotten the enemy.

Unknown to her, though…

"Ice Magic, huh?"

… The man she was trying to defeat could not be stopped by something so trivial.

Almost as fast as he began to freeze, all the ice on his body broke apart.

"Why don't I give you a taste of the same?"

Alicia's eyes widened as misty breaths began to escape from her lips. Her body grew stiff, and layers of white began to cover her like a shell.

"STAY AWAY FROM ALICIA!" A loud voice emerged from someone who was running straight towards Ralyks.

He was short—at least, more than the others. He also looked a lot weaker than the rest.

The boy had transformed his hand into a blade as he rushed towards Ralyks

His pathetic excuse for an attack came for the overwhelming opponent that was Ralyks, causing the latter to shrug as he watched it come.

"Hmph… weak." He waved his hand and sent a wave of energy towards Rey.

"Hup!" The boy slid on the ground, successfully dodging the blast that would have made many lose their footing.

Rey successfully closed the distance between him and his enemy, a determined expression on his face.

He elongated his hand and broadened the blade he had turned his arm into, just so could have more reach.

~SWISH!~

As he slashed through the air, Ralyks easily caught the thing with his thumb and index finger.

"Too slow." Before Rey could even react or step away from the fight for a moment, a strike was sent to his stomach.

"Puack!"

Rey's eyes bulged, nearly popping out of their sockets, as saliva flew out of his mouth.

"Too impulsive." Another strike was sent to the boy's back, causing him to scream out even more.

And then, just as Rey staggered, his body unable to fully process the pain he was going through, a last attack came.

"Too slow."

With a swift backhand hit from Ralyks, Rey's helpless body was sent landing on the ground.

His head dug into the earth as his butt pointed towards the sky in pure humiliation.

He was down for the count.

As Ralyks turned away from Rey, and back to Alicia, he noticed her deep glare.

"Y-you didn't have to go that far!" She yelled, despite shivering from the ice that still encroached her body.

"He'll live. Worry more about yourself."

"Why do you—!"

~WHUUUUSH!~

A brilliant gust of both wind and light echoed from behind Ralyks, causing him to turn back a little and generate a shield to defend himself.

~BOOOOM!~

Destruction swarmed the area, and everything around was filled with smoke once again.

"Bothersome…"

With a single Spell, Ralyks got rid of the smoke that swirled around him.

Once he did, though, he saw a fine alliance between three individuals.

Billy, Adonis, and Belle.

These three were huddled together as a group and desired to fight him together.

"Oh? What an interesting development."

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Thanks for reading!

I hope you enjoyed the fight. Nearly forgot about Billy there, right? Haha…