Everyone stood frozen in horror.
They had just witnessed people dying right in front of them.
But then—
"HELP!"
A woman's desperate cry echoed through the battlefield.
Aqua quickly turned around.
A mother was desperately trying to protect her son, a young boy who looked about five years old.
She was crying out for help.
But nobody came.
Everyone valued their own lives more than theirs.
Aqua clenched his fists.
Damn you, system.
Without thinking, Theo immediately ran toward them.
"THEO!" Abu shouted.
He tried to stop him.
But Aqua had already started running after Theo.
Abu gritted his teeth.
Now he had no choice.
He grabbed Clay's hand and dragged him along.
"Come on!"
Theo reached the mother and pulled her away from the approaching insects.
A fly suddenly attacked him.
Theo quickly killed it.
Then a mosquito flew toward him.
He killed that one too.
Theo turned around.
And froze.
A ladybug stood over the mother.
Its mouth was tearing into her head.
One of its limbs had pierced into the young boy.
Theo's eyes widened in horror.
Suddenly—
Aqua leapt onto the insect.
He stabbed it five times with his knife.
Then he grabbed its head and ripped it off.
The ladybug collapsed.
Theo stared at the scene.
Then he heard a voice.
Let me take control.
Theo froze.
Aqua looked at him.
Theo stood completely still.
Purple sparks began appearing around his body.
Then the air around him began to move.
Theo started sucking in all the air around him.
The surrounding air rushed toward him.
Then—
BOOM!
A massive explosion erupted.
Everything around Theo was sent flying.
Dust and rubble filled the area.
Aqua dug his feet into the ground and managed to stay in place.
"Theo!"
He tried to see through the dust.
But he couldn't.
The only thing Aqua could see was Theo levitating in the air.
Slowly, Theo turned toward the insects.
Aqua activated Analysing Gaze.
A tiny system window appeared beside Theo.
SYSTEM WARNING
Character is overloaded!
If not stopped within 15 minutes—
Character will die.
Theo suddenly disappeared.
A massive explosion erupted in the distance.
Lightning flashed across the battlefield.
Theo was using his lightning ability.
Then he suddenly noticed an old man.
His eyes locked onto him.
Theo sprinted toward the old man with superhuman speed.
Aqua's eyes widened.
"Not good!"
Aqua quickly activated his dark ability.
Darkness wrapped around Theo's leg.
Aqua pulled him away and threw him into the air.
Then another system window appeared beside Theo.
SYSTEM WARNING
Beware.
Character's consciousness is depleting.
To stop the process—
Pain must be inflicted.
Aqua looked up.
Theo was falling from the sky.
A group of lightning needles formed around him.
Then Theo threw them directly toward Aqua.
Aqua immediately ran.
The lightning struck the ground behind him.
BOOM!
Inside Theo's Mind
Everything was black.
Light seemed to be slowly seeping through water.
Theo looked around.
Suddenly—
"Hey!"
A child's voice echoed through the darkness.
Theo quickly turned around.
Nobody was there.
Then a deep voice came from his right.
"Do you want revenge?"
Theo slowly turned.
A gigantic eye appeared before him.
The moment Theo blinked—
It was gone.
In its place stood the silhouette of a man.
The man slowly turned toward Theo.
The only thing Theo could see clearly was his eyes.
They were golden.
Their pupils were shaped like those of a cat.
Theo took a step backward in fright.
Suddenly—
His legs slipped.
Theo fell into something that felt like water.
Outside
Aqua suddenly saw Theo smiling.
Then Theo began slowly disappearing from Aqua's right hand.
Aqua's eyes widened.
He knew what was happening.
It was one of Theo's skills.
Aqua quickly tried to grab him.
But he was too late.
Theo disappeared.
Then—
BOOM!
Theo suddenly appeared beside Aqua and kicked him directly in the stomach.
Aqua was sent flying into the sky.
Before Aqua could recover, Theo appeared in front of him.
In midair.
Then Theo punched Aqua in the face.
Aqua crashed into the ground.
He lay there motionless.
For a moment, he looked dead.
Theo slowly appeared beside him.
He looked down at Aqua.
Then Theo turned toward Clay.
A terrifying smile slowly spread across his face.
But just as Theo became distracted—
Aqua moved.
A sphere of water suddenly formed around Theo's head.
Theo's eyes widened.
Aqua then activated his dark ability.
A black box formed around Theo, trapping him inside.
Aqua released the water around Theo's head.
Then he activated his fire ability.
Flames began burning around the box.
Aqua breathed heavily as he tried to catch his breath.
Then—
Theo screamed.
Aqua's eyes widened.
The air around the box began to distort.
Cracks began appearing across the dark barrier.
Aqua quickly tried to cover the cracks.
But Theo screamed again.
The ground suddenly cracked beneath both of them.
Aqua looked down.
"What?"
The ground split open.
Beneath it was nothing but pure white.
Both Aqua and Theo fell.
A system window appeared in front of Aqua.
SYSTEM WARNING
YOU ARE NOW IN AN OUT-OF-BOUNDS AREA!
A helper will be provided.
Please wait…
"Out-of-bounds area?" Aqua muttered.
He looked around.
The hole seemed to stretch endlessly.
Theo was unconscious.
Aqua continued falling.
Then—
It felt like he had broken through a wall.
He entered something completely different.
Aqua's eyes widened.
He couldn't breathe.
All around him were planets.
Massive planets.
And giant monsters so enormous that some of them were the size of planets themselves.
Aqua could barely focus.
His head felt like it was about to explode.
Then he saw it.
A gigantic dragon.
It was the size of a planet.
The massive creature turned toward them.
Then it flew directly at them.
Aqua desperately tried to cover himself with water so he could move through the strange environment.
Then he reached for Theo.
Theo was unconscious.
Blood was coming from his ears and nose.
Aqua grabbed him.
The planet-sized dragon continued flying toward them.