The air went stale, the fight between Nereus and Nahci had already concluded, but it seemed that there was another dilemma. Olem was relentless with his taunts, gaining the upper hand and exposing Nereus's past bit by bit with each passing moment.

*"Nereus... I can't believe it... You had to suffer all of that.... alone"*

*"You were bounded by fate..."*

"Tsk... I am no longer chained by my past.... I am who I am!" Nereus shouted, he gathered all his strength in one go.

He closed his eyes briefly, focusing all his remaining energy on casting a spell. With a shaky hand, he traced a sigil in the air.

"Water Shield."

A translucent barrier formed around him, flickering with blue light. It wasn't much, but it was enough to buy him time, enough to hold back the poison's spread for now.

"For a defective like you! You have many tricks up your sleeves!"

Hybrids who couldn't meet the military's expectations were immediately executed, deemed defective, and disposed of like failed weapons. Nereus had fled Warfaind because there was nowhere else to go.

A continent of peace, where no one asked questions. But now, he was being hunted, his past dragged back into the light by this twisted quack doctor.

"Do you want to know how I know you're a defect, hybrid?" Olem's voice was low now, filled with smug satisfaction.

"Because I was one of the doctors who created your kind!"

Nereus's eyes widened, his disbelief had caught up on him

"What…?"

Olem's face twisted into a cruel smile.

"I WAS THE ONE WHO CREATED YOUR KIND! YOU FAILURE OF A SEA CREATURE!"

"DON'T YOU GET IT YOU EMPTY HEAD?! I AM YOUR CREATOR!!"

Nereus's heart raced, the sudden reveal hitting him like a punch to the gut. Olem was his creator—a twisted reflection of what he could have become. But where Nereus had sought peace, Olem had embraced cruelty, producing disposable units of war without any remorse.

"No... This can't be...." Nereus's despair grew larger, but he struggled to hold his emotions back.

"I should thank you," Olem sneered, "because you remind me of my mistakes! I had to dispose each one of you into nothingness, yet you stand in front of me, one of my failed creations trying to attack me!"

Nereus couldn't let Olem get into his head, not now. He still had his friends and his team. He wasn't alone, and he wasn't going to let Olem get the best of him.

"You seem to be missing the point here, doctor...."

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He closed his eyes, focusing on the water still coursing through his veins, calming his mind, even as the poison burned inside him.

Nereus's eyes snapped open, a cold determination replacing the fury.

"You're wrong," he said, his voice steady.

"I'm not a tool of war anymore. I'm not a defect. And I'm sure as hell not created by the likes of you!"

With a burst of energy, Nereus summoned the last of his strength, casting a barrier of water around himself.

"I'll finish this quick..."

The shield pulsed with power, and for the first time, the poison coursing through his veins began to slow. His focus sharpened as the world came back into view.

Olem stepped forward, his claws twitching with anticipation.

"So you still think you can win?" he sneered.

Nereus tightened his grip on his blades, his body shaking but his mind clear.

"I'm not letting you win," he growled. And with that, he dashed with the intent to finish it once and for all.

The two engaged in another clash, this time with more vicious attacks. With deadly accuracy, Olem's claws lashed out, but Nereus's water shield remained strong, preventing most of the poison from getting through.

"Entertain me more! You defect!!"

The fight continued, with each hit shaking the cave and increasing the tension.

Then, with a roar, Nereus cast his final move.

"Water Bolt!" He fired three consecutive blasts of water at Olem, each one slamming into his arms and legs, forcing him back.

"YOU FAILURE!" Olem let out a furious growl, his body pinned against the rocks, but he wasn't done yet.

However, the air between Nereus and Olem trembled as Nereus got closer to him. Crackling with dark magic, a swirling portal of black and purple energy materialized.

"No... No! It's not time yet!" Olem shouted, instantly shivering at the sight of the portal.

Nereus's eyes widened in shock as his blades clashed against the portal's barrier, stopping him dead in his tracks.

"What the—" Nereus growled as he stumbled back.

The portal expanded, and from within its swirling depths, a figure slowly stepped forward. Cloaked in shadow, a hooded figure emerged, their presence immediately oppressive and suffocating.

*"It's the same cloak again...."*

The cave seemed to darken with their arrival, the air growing colder and heavier with each passing second.

Olem's smirk disappeared in an instant. His face paled as he realized who had arrived.

"M-Master…"

The hooded figure didn't respond. He simply stood there, his face hidden beneath the shadow of his cloak, but the sheer weight of his presence was enough to send shivers down everyone's spine.

"Olem...."

Nereus staggered back, his body still weakened from the poison, but he could feel it—the overwhelming power surging from this figure.

He was nothing like Nahci or Olem. This… this was something far worse.

The cloaked figure lifted a hand, his fingers shaking slightly, without saying anything. Then an unseen force abruptly pulled Olem, who was kneeling, up into the air, his body shivering as he was suspended like a puppet in front of the figure.

"Master, please—" Olem tried to speak, but his voice was cut off as the hooded figure clenched his hand into a fist.

"Enough...."

Olem's body spasmed violently, his limbs twitching as if they were being crushed by an invisible force.

The hooded figure remained silent, his grip tightening.

"Tsk... 1 more? How many do you need to take us down!" Nereus tried to raise his water-infused blades, but his arms shook under the immense pressure.

He didn’t have the strength to continue. His mind screamed at him to move, to fight back, but his body refused to obey.

The hooded figure tilted his head slightly, the shadows concealing his face, but his gaze was unmistakable. His cold, piercing stare landed on Nereus.

"You.... Nuisance..."

With an almost casual flick of his finger, the hooded figure pointed toward Nereus.

The air shifted.

Nereus’s eyes widened as an invisible force slammed into him, lifting him off his feet and hurling him across the cave. He crashed into the far wall with brutal force, his body crumpling to the ground as the remaining water shield around him shattered like fragile glass.

"NEREUS! HEY ARE YOU OKAY?!" I was in awe, a moment ago Nereus was standing in front of them, and in a second, he was already at the entrance of the mine.

It wasn’t even a fight.

Nereus had barely lifted his head when the hooded figure spoke, his voice low, but it resonated through the cave like a thunderclap. Cold. Unforgiving.