Theo gasped, drawing in a cold breath as he surveyed the devastation below. Seren's face was etched with a solemn expression. They had narrowly escaped the tower of light produced by the lullaby. The once-imposing Backdoor Collective building now lay in ruins, reduced to little more than rubble. A colossal crater, 200 meters wide, gaped in the earth, its depths seemingly endless.

"This power... what did Matilda's group use to cause such catastrophic damage?" Seren asked.

Theo's reply was tinged with bitterness. "I'm not certain, but it's likely some artifact from the cursed category." He shuddered.

Before Seren could inquire further about the 'cursed category', a massive object shot out of the abyss. Their heads whipped around as they witnessed a giant ball of sand crash onto the debris-strewn ground. As the sand dispersed, it revealed a battered figure within, terror etched across its face.

Theo's eyes widened in disbelief. "H-how did he survive that?" he stammered, recognizing the supervisor.

The supervisor, clothes in tatters, rose unsteadily. With a vicious snarl, he plunged his hand into the sand and yanked out an unconscious Javier. Without hesitation, he threw his body to the side and began brutally kicking the helpless man.

Bam!

"It's all because of this!” He kicked Javier’s body.

Bam!

“Worthless!”

Bam!

“Piece-of!”

Bam!

“Garbage!" the supervisor roared, each word punctuated by a savage kick.

"No! Stop!" Theo cried out, instinctively moving to intervene. But Seren held him back.

"We can't fight now!" Seren hissed.

Theo looked back at him as he said with urgency, “We have to! Javier fought with his life on the line for us and now that he’s still alive, we need to save him!”.

Before this mission, Theo didn’t think much of Javier as they had barely interacted much in the past, but after seeing Javier fight the supervisor, he had grown to respect him.

"Look around us. Javier sacrificed himself for this chance. We can't throw it away." Seren said as he put on an emotional tone to persuade Theo.

Theo's gaze swept the area, noting the approaching guards from the Collective rushing to the supervisor. He felt a crushing sense of helplessness and guilt.

After a few tense seconds, he finally said, "...Okay, let's go," There was defeat in his barely audible voice.

“Good,” Seren said, patting Theo on the back.

As they fled, Theo cast one last look at Javier, his heart was filled with contempt for the crazed supervisor who kept on kicking him.

'...I'm sorry'

…

The supervisor finally paused, breathing heavily as he finished venting his anger. He surveyed Javier’s battered body—bruised from head to toe with arms and legs broken—and took a deep breath to calm himself before fixing his sharp gaze on Javier once more.

With a cruel grin spreading across his face, he picked up Javier by the neck and walked over to the edge of the bottomless pit. With malice gleaming in his eyes, he callously tossed Javier’s lifeless body into the abyss, watching it disappear into darkness.

“Sir, are you alright?” a voice suddenly came from behind him.

The supervisor turned around to see hundreds of guards standing at attention before him. He gazed at the guards for a few seconds who had solemn looks on their faces. He then commanded in a low voice, “Two individuals escaped on a soul puppet. Find them right now,”

“Yes!” The guards responded in unison.

Then another guard rushed forward beside him with urgent news. “My team spotted two suspicious people leaving the building hurriedly so I placed a tail on their backs.”

A twisted smile crept across the supervisor's face at this. “HAHAHA! I will make sure to take my sweet time killing both of you!” he said with a crazed expression that sent chills down the spines of the standing guards. “Especially you, Seren!”

His crazed laughter echoed across the ruined landscape.

…

“Alright. Just… don’t hurt her” Dorian said to Zane.

Zane’s wicked grin widened, reveling in the power he held over Dorian. “Good choice,” he taunted, pressing his fingers harder against the waitress’s temple, eliciting another whimper from her. “Now, let’s see those relics.”

With a heavy heart, Dorian began to extract his relics one by one. Dorian first materialized the steel body relic in hand. With deliberate slowness, he then gently placed the relic down. The silence between them was oppressive.

“Keep going,” Zane said. “I want to see everything you’ve got.”

Dorian's anger was beginning to boil over, but he felt helpless. Zane held the woman he loved in his grasp, capable of ending her life in an instant. Just as he was placing the steel body relic down, a desperate idea struck him.

"...Your name is Zane, right?"

Dorian began, his voice steady despite the turmoil within. Zane's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Zane, by any chance... do you know what happens when a relic..."

He picked up the steel body relic and squeezed it in his hand as he said with a malicious grin, "...breaks?"

Cracks spiderwebbed across the steel body relic with streaks of light coming from within before Dorian hurled it at Zane with all his might. Panic flashed across Zane's face.

'T-this little-!' He cursed in his mind. As he saw the relic emitting an eerie light hurtling through the air, a sense of impending doom washed over him. "Golden Beetle!" Zane shouted, activating the best armor he had as he released the waitress and attempted to escape.

The light from the relic intensified, bathing the room in a blinding glow before–

BOOM!

The relic exploded, engulfing both the waitress and the fleeing Zane in a maelstrom of energy.

Oliver watched with a weak look on his face, his body battered and barely able to stand. He had been thoroughly beaten by Dorian earlier and was now reduced to a mere spectator. Even if he wanted to help Zane, he lacked the strength to do so. After what felt like an eternity, Oliver finally saw a figure emerging from the dust cloud.

Cough! Cough!

Zane coughed violently, his entire body was covered in thick golden armor. However, the explosion had taken its toll, leaving cracks all over the protective shell from which blood oozed out.

"Just how much does he want to kill me that he even sacrificed the girl?" Zane muttered, his eyes darting around warily as he searched for Dorian through the settling dust.

"Where did this fucker go–" But then his words were cut short when he spotted a figure crouching through the haze, its broad back facing him.

"Don't... lump me... together with yourself... asshole," Dorian's weak voice carried through the air as he tightly embraced the waitress.

In a split-second decision, he had shielded her from the explosion with his own body. This was the only solution he could think of to save the girl while still keeping his relics on him.

The girl's lips quivered as she moved her hands away from his back, her eyes widening in horror at the sight of her palms covered in his blood. Dorian's entire back was a gruesome mess of red, with exposed muscles and even bits of bone visible through the shredded flesh.

Sob Sob

"Dorian... I–" Before the girl could finish, Dorian gently silenced her words as he pressed his lips against hers. Her teary eyes widened in surprise, but she didn't resist, closing her eyes and melting into the kiss.

Zane watched with a bewildered look, not sure what to make of this. He could attack Dorian right now while he was vulnerable but decided not to for some reason.

In that moment, the girl for a second forgot others were watching them but she didn’t care as he attempted to press her body even closer to his. She felt safe around him. However, suddenly her world turned dark as Dorian delivered a swift karate chop to the back of her neck, rendering her unconscious.

Zane watched with a perplexed gaze as Dorian stood up, cradling the unconscious girl in his arms.

"Zane," Dorian began, "I need you to understand something. This girl... she's not just collateral damage. She's..." He paused, struggling to find the words. "She's everything I can't have."

"What are you talking about?" Zane asked, his voice tinged with impatience.

"I fell in love with her," Dorian confessed, his eyes meeting Zane's for the first time. "But my position in the Backdoor Collective, my ties to the Black Hand... they made it impossible. I couldn't drag her into this world. But you, the Ravens, still got found out about my relationship with her"

Zane scoffed. "Spare me the sob story. What's your point?"

Dorian said calmly. "My point is this: I'll fight you. No holds barred, no tricks. But in return, I need your word that you won't harm her. She stays out of this."

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

"And why should I agree to that?" Zane challenged.

"Because if you don't," Dorian's voice dropped to a dangerous low, "I'll make sure neither of us walks away from this alive."

A tense silence fell between them. Zane then watched as Dorian walked to a corner of the restaurant, gently placing the girl on the floor. As Dorian returned to face him, there was something different in his eyes now, something Zane couldn't quite place. It wasn't anger, panic, delight, or even love. He didn’t quite understand what emotion Dorian was looking at him with.

"Tch," Zane clicked his tongue before saying, "Whatever, I have no interest in playing the villain for today." Then his voice dropped to a low, menacing tone as he intoned.

"Rank 2 Chimera Relic: BREAK!"

In Zane's Mind core, cracks began to form on the Chimera relic, but unlike Javier's relic, it didn't shatter completely.

Outside, Zane's body underwent a rapid transformation. His entire torso, including his face, was now covered in golden armor. His arms morphed into the powerful limbs of an ant, while his legs became thick and hairy, like that of a white ape.

Dorian smiled, a calm settling over him as he said in an eerily composed voice, "Rank 2 Elemental Fusion Relic: Break."

WHOOSH!

A violent wind surged through the restaurant, causing debris to swirl around them. Suddenly, Dorian's body began to lift into the air of its own accord. His left arm started to melt before transforming into molten lava, while his right arm became a blinding white, crackling with bolts of lightning that shot out randomly.

Crackle!

A stray lightning bolt suddenly arced towards Zane. But Zane, boosted by the relic break, quickly reacted by using his white ape legs to dodge the attack.

Oliver, watching from the sidelines, could barely stand upright against the violent winds that buffeted his weakened body. He watched helplessly, lacking the soul energy to start a relic break of his own. All he could do was observe and silently pray that Zane would somehow emerge victorious against Dorian.

After Dorian finished his transformation, for a moment, no one moved as a tense silence filled the air.

Then suddenly, Dorian initiated the first attack, lifting his hand skyward.

Crackle!

A searing bolt of lightning shot forward, illuminating the destroyed restaurant with a blinding flash.

Zane's eyes widened as he evaded the attack, using his ape-like legs to leap high into the air. "Too slow!" he taunted, looking to crash down on Dorian with his full weight.

But Dorian wasn't finished.

Crackle! Crackle! Crackle!

Multiple lightning bolts erupted from his fingertips, arcing towards the airborne Zane.

"Shit!" Zane cursed, abandoning his attack and dropping to the ground. He darted around the restaurant, barely escaping the onslaught of the lightning bolts as they reduced everything behind him to smouldering ash.

Just as Zane thought he had the rhythm down, a stray bolt caught him in the shoulder. "Argh!" he cried out, tumbling across the floor. Gritting his teeth, he quickly regained his footing.

"My turn," Zane growled. Using his ant-like strength, he ripped a chunk of concrete from the floor and hurled it at Dorian. "Catch this!"

The floating elemental fusion user didn't even flinch. His lava arm morphed into a whip-like appendage, slicing through the boulder with ease. "Is that all?" Dorian asked, his voice unnervingly calm.

Undeterred, Zane tore through the floor like it was paper, unleashing a barrage of boulders at Dorian. "How about this?!"

Dorian's lava whip danced through the air, cutting through the boulders like butter.

Using the boulders as a distraction, Zane launched a sneak attack from behind, leaping high into the air. "Got you now!"

But Dorian was prepared. With a powerful gust of wind, he flew through the air as he propelled himself backward towards Zane. "What?!" Zane panicked, curling into a ball and using his golden armor as a shield.

BANG!

Dorian delivered a devastating roundhouse kick that sent Zane crashing into the wall, leaving a sizable dent. "Stay down," Dorian warned.

As Zane struggled to his feet, Dorian pressed his advantage. He didn’t let him rest for a second as streams of lava and bolts of lightning rained down on Zane's position. "Give up, Zane. You can't win this!"

Zane gritted his teeth. Using his ape-like agility, he bounded from table to table, staying just ahead of the elemental onslaught. His breathing was heavy, his golden armor now dented and scorched.

"You can't run forever!" Dorian called out, his voice eerily calm despite the chaos surrounding them.

Zane's mind raced as he dodged another barrage of elemental attacks. He knew Dorian was right - he couldn't keep evading forever.

As he leapt over a stream of lava, narrowly avoiding being incinerated, Zane realized he needed to change tactics. He focused on his Chimera relic, willing it to adapt further. Suddenly, his right arm began to change, taking on a reptilian appearance with icy blue scales.

Dorian, noticing the transformation, raised an eyebrow. "Another trick up your sleeve? It won't save you."

Zane didn't respond. Instead, he charged forward, zigzagging to avoid the lightning bolts Dorian was hurling at him. As he closed the distance, Dorian's lava arm morphed into a massive fist, ready to crush Zane on impact.

At the last second, Zane thrust his transformed arm forward. "Frost Breath!" he roared.

A jet of icy air shot out from his reptilian arm, rapidly engulfing Dorian's lava fist. The sudden drop in temperature caused the molten rock to harden and crack. But the frost didn't stop there - it continued its relentless advance towards Dorian himself!

Dorian's eyes widened in shock, caught off guard by the sheer speed and intensity of the attack. "Impossible!" he exclaimed, quickly raising his other arm in defense.

"Wind Barrier!" Dorian shouted, unleashing a powerful gust of wind to repel the oncoming frost.

For a brief moment, it seemed like the wind might hold back the freezing assault. But then, without warning, the frost exploded outward, shattering through the wind barrier and enveloping Dorian in a cloud of frigid air.

From the sidelines, Oliver let out a whoop of excitement. "Yes! He got him!" he cheered, pumping his fist in the air.

As the icy mist began to dissipate, Dorian emerged, still floating but visibly affected. His right arm had turned a pale blue, and he was visibly shivering. Yet, there was a sharp, dangerous glint in his eyes.

“Yes! Keep hitting him with more of those frost breaths Zan–”

“Grrrhh!”

Oliver's celebration was cut short by a pained grunt from Zane. He turned to look at his ally, and his eyes widened. Zane was down on one knee, using his leg for support. His skin, too, had begun to turn a sickly pale blue.

Dorian scoffed, his voice strained but triumphant. "Did you think you could unleash such power without consequence? This attack is a double-edged sword. The frost energy affects the user just as much as the target."

Zane, despite his condition, let out a quiet, hoarse laugh. He lifted his head, meeting Dorian's gaze with defiant eyes. "Maybe so," he rasped, a smirk playing on his blue-tinged lips. "But the question is, Dorian... who's going to last longer? You... or me?"

Dorian didn’t reply, the tension in the air thickening as they faced each other, both affected by the frost but neither willing to back down.

"Frost Breath!" Then Zane roared, unleashing a jet of frigid air towards Dorian.

Dorian quickly raised his lava arm to counter. Steam hissed and billowed as fire met ice, creating a thick fog that filled the restaurant.

From the sidelines, Oliver watched with growing concern. "Zane, be careful!" he called out, his voice laced with worry as he noticed Zane's increasingly blue-tinged skin.

Zane didn't hesitate. Using the fog as cover, he charged forward, his ape-like legs propelling him with incredible speed. His ant-like arms swung in a flurry of punches, catching Dorian off guard. Several blows connected, sending Dorian stumbling backward.

"Tch!" Dorian grunted, his lava arm morphing into a shield to block the onslaught.

Zane pressed his advantage, quickly adapting his strategy. His right arm transformed into a reptilian appendage, scales glinting with frost. "Ice Claw!" he shouted, raking his frozen claws across Dorian's chest.

Dorian hissed in pain, the frost spreading across his torso.

Crackle!

He retaliated with a burst of lightning, forcing Zane to dodge.

But Zane was relentless. He again sliced the floor with his ant-like arms, tearing through concrete and rebar as if it were paper. With a mighty heave, he ripped out a giant boulder from the earth, easily the size of a small car. Zane's eyes gleamed with determination as he turned to face Dorian.

"Let's see you handle this!" Zane shouted, his voice hoarse from the cold still affecting his body.

He inhaled deeply, his chest expanding as he gathered his power. "Frost Breath!" The icy blast enveloped the boulder, transforming it into a massive projectile of solid ice, its surface crackling with intense cold.

With a primal roar, Zane hurled the frozen boulder at Dorian. The air whistled as the massive ice projectile hurtled towards its target.

Dorian's eyes widened in surprise. His molten lava arm morphed into a whip, lashing out to slice through the incoming threat. But to his shock, the lava whip sizzled and hissed against the frozen surface, unable to cut through.

"Damn!" Dorian cursed, quickly realizing his mistake. He thrust his other arm forward, producing a powerful gust of wind that propelled him away from the path of the frozen boulder. It crashed into the wall behind him, shattering with a thunderous boom and sending icy shrapnel flying in all directions.

Just as Dorian regained his balance and turned his gaze back to Zane, his eyes widened in disbelief. A barrage of smaller ice boulders, each the size of an average human, were hurtling towards him. Zane had used the distraction to prepare a follow-up attack, freezing and launching debris from the destroyed restaurant.

Dorian gritted his teeth, his body twisting and turning as he desperately tried to dodge the onslaught. His wind powers helped him evade most of the projectiles, but a few found their mark. One struck his shoulder, another his thigh, and a third grazed his cheek. Each impact elicited a sharp gasp of pain from Dorian, the intense cold biting into his flesh and leaving patches of frost on his skin.

From the sidelines, Oliver watched in awe, his earlier despair replaced by a glimmer of hope. "Keep it up, Zane!" he cheered, though his voice was tinged with worry as he noticed the blue tinge of Zane's skin deepening with each use of his frost powers.

Suddenly, Dorian's eyes flashed with determination. "Enough of this!" he roared. His lava arm began to glow with an intense heat, growing larger by the second until it was large enough to cover the entire ceiling.

"Magma Surge!"

A massive wave of molten rock erupted from Dorian's arm, hurtling towards Zane with devastating force.

Oliver's eyes widened in horror, his heart pounding in his chest. "Zane, move!" he screamed, expecting him to dodge or counter with his frost breath.

But to everyone's shock, Zane did the unthinkable. With reckless abandon, he leapt straight into the oncoming lava, disappearing beneath the molten flow with a sickening hiss.

"You fool!" Dorian exclaimed, taken aback by the suicidal move. His face, usually composed, contorted with disbelief and a hint of regret.

Oliver fell to his knees, despair etched across his face.

For a moment, an eerie silence fell over the battlefield, broken only by the bubbling of the lava. Dorian floated silently, his expression unreadable as he looked upon the boiling lava beneath him.

Rumble

Then, a low rumbling sound filled the air, growing in intensity with each passing second.

Dorian looked around in confusion, his brow furrowed. "What's that noise?"

Suddenly, the lava began to churn and bubble violently, as if something beneath was fighting to break free. Without warning, a figure erupted from the molten rock, steam hissing from his skin and lava dripping from his form like water.

"That felt fucking refreshing!" Zane proclaimed, his body seemingly unharmed by the lava. His eyes gleamed with an almost manic energy, a wide grin splitting his face as he stood triumphant amidst the destruction.

Before Dorian could react, Zane twisted his body and delivered a bone-crushing roundhouse kick.

BANG!

Dorian was sent crashing into the wall. "That's payback for earlier," Zane said with a triumphant grin.

Dorian emerged from the rubble, staring at Zane in disbelief. For a moment, there was silence. Then, suddenly, Dorian burst into laughter. "Hahaha! I haven't seen an idiot like you in a while," he said, shaking his head. "Jumping straight into molten lava and betting that your frozen skin will hold? Truly stupid… But I haven't had a good fight like this in ages!"

Zane looked confused. "Did my kick make you lose a few brain cells?"

Dorian smiled, despite half his body being frozen blue and his arms bruised purple from blocking Zane’s kick. "I'm completely fine," he said, his voice oddly heartfelt.

A normal Rank 1 Lexrach would have long been dead under the assault of Zane’s attacks, but a Rank 2 Lexarch’s vitality is miles above a Rank 1’s and they could keep going for longer under severe injuries.

Suddenly, Dorian crouched low, like a runner at the starting line. "I hope you can survive my next attack," he said ominously. "Elemental Fusion Relic: Wind!"

Powerful gusts burst forth from the soles of Dorian's feet. Zane's eyes widened. "Just how many moves does this guy have?"

"I'm not done yet!" Dorian tensed his body. "Phantom Step!" Pale blue lights erupted from his feet.

Zane could sense the absurd level of speed Dorian had just achieved with the combination of both these relics. He chuckled nervously. "Haha, I'm in for one heck of a beat down."

Just before launching forward, Dorian locked eyes with Zane. "Let me show you why I can even best a Rank 2 Superior!"