The glowing particles dissolved into thin air, leaving behind an endless void. Marshmallow stared at the white floor where his companion's body had lain just moments ago. Tears streaked his face, mixing with the anger that boiled inside him like molten lava.

Next to him, Lynx sobbed openly, and even Parabellum, usually composed, had glassy eyes, unable to hide the pain of loss. The Dragon Goat stood a bit apart, but sorrow was etching itself onto his face.

"Raven," Marshmallow whispered. "This can't be real."

It was then that BloodLust appeared among them, materializing like a shadow taking form. His face was twisted in a grimace of disappointment and irritation.

"Congratulations," he spat out with a voice dripping with sarcasm. "I didn't expect the Overdrive of a single Very Unique Skill to surpass even Ascensione. What a waste."

His eyes narrowed, revealing poorly concealed frustration. "And to think I couldn't even acquire his Negakinesis. If only he had died by my hand..." He clicked his tongue, annoyed. "No matter. I still have enough power to crush you like bugs."

Those words were like a spark in a powder keg. Marshmallow felt the anger explode inside him, erasing every trace of pain and leaving room only for blind fury. He rose slowly and fixed his eyes on BloodLust.

"Enough talk," he growled. "It's time to end this."

There was nothing left to say. No threats, no provocations. Just the awareness that this would be the decisive battle. The last three Wyolanders against the last Novgovian. As if moved by an invisible signal, the remaining three Wyolanders lined up. The Dragon Goat joined them on the side as his humanoid form twisted and expanded more and more into his draconic aspect.

Lynx was the first to move. With her typical complex and fluid hand gestures, she summoned the Tree of Life. In a matter of moments, a majestic creation reached towards the starry sky with its branches extending in every direction, creating an intricate network of living wood.

Parabellum nodded as his body already began to glow a fiery red. He transformed into a pure fire elemental in seconds, just as he had done against Zal'Gorath. The Dragon Goat, meanwhile, began to take flight, and for the moment, Marshmallow remained watching.

BloodLust observed the scene with an expression of amused contempt. With a nonchalant hand gesture, his feet lifted off the ground. He slowly began to levitate, his body rising into the sky with an eerie grace.

"You really think you can beat me?" he asked with a voice laden with scorn.

Marshmallow didn't take the bait. Instead of summoning his weapons, he decided to rely solely on his Unique Skills. He felt his power coursing through his veins and wanted to beat BloodLust right when he felt most confident.

The Dragon Goat was the first to attack. With a deafening roar, he unleashed a column of hellfire towards BloodLust. The flames were so intense they lit up the space around them, but BloodLust moved with mind-boggling speed. His body contorted in the air, executing a pirouette that took him out of the flames' trajectory. The heat barely grazed his hair but didn't touch him.

"You should do better," he taunted.

Meanwhile, Parabellum didn't need to be asked twice. With a war cry, he hurled a concentrated fireball at the enemy, and at the same instant, Marshmallow released a bomb of pure light as he climbed to the top of the giant tree created by Lynx.

BloodLust smiled with fluid movements like water as he dodged both attacks. The explosions of fire and light dispersed into the void, illuminating the battlefield for a moment.

"Disappointing," he replied, bored.

Marshmallow gritted his teeth, accepting the provocation. "You ain't seen nothing yet," he growled in response. But deep down, they knew they couldn't continue like this. The Novgovian was too fast; he really seemed to move at the speed of light. They needed a strategy, something that could catch BloodLust off guard.

It was then that he noticed a movement in the Tree of Life. Lynx had hidden inside it to control it better and gave him an almost imperceptible nod. Marshmallow understood instantly. It was time to try "that" move.

With a slight nod, Lynx and Marshmallow set the plan in motion. Parabellum and the Dragon Goat, as if they had read their minds, intensified their attacks. They began bombarding with rapid-fire fireballs and columns of hellfire. The waves of fire followed one after another without pause, forcing BloodLust into an increasingly frantic aerial dance, even if it was still completely manageable for him.

Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

And all of a sudden, the Tree of Life changed shape. Hundreds, perhaps thousands of wooden birds detached from its branches, hurling themselves against BloodLust in an impressive flock.

"Now!" Marshmallow yelled, activating his Lifekinesis.

In an instant and spectacular effect, the wooden birds came to life before his eyes. Their wooden wings softened, transforming into real feathers. Their eyes, previously just carvings in the wood, filled with life. In a split second, what had been a flock of statues hurled like projectiles against the enemy transformed into an army of living creatures.

"What the he—" BloodLust's exclamation was smothered by the mass of birds that had suddenly surrounded him. The Novgovian, caught off guard by this unexpected attack, found himself enveloped in a whirlwind of beaks, claws, feathers, and avian clamor.

With a scream of rage that made the air itself tremble, BloodLust reacted. From the vortex of feathers and beaks, sharp metal spikes erupted in every direction. Like deadly lances, they pierced through the birds, massacring the entire flock as if he had only needed to snap his fingers.

The bodies of the birds turned back to wood and fell to the ground like a macabre rain. BloodLust emerged from the massacre with eyes glowing with homicidal fury, but those few seconds of distraction had been enough. Marshmallow, who had been waiting for this moment, had the chance to take good aim. He extended both hands towards the enemy and activated his Gravitokinesis with all his strength.

An invisible but incredibly powerful force field descended on BloodLust. The Novgovian, caught by surprise, was crushed against the ground with tremendous force. His body, previously floating in the air with such grace, was now pinned to the ground as if hit by a meteorite.

"Damn you!" BloodLust cursed with a voice distorted by the immense pressure weighing on him. Marshmallow had already figured out how to use Gravitokinesis most efficiently. The smaller the area of effect, the greater the power exerted. Against the tentacled monster, he hadn't understood this yet, but now he did. This was why BloodLust himself was having difficulty breaking free from that gravitational grip.

Parabellum and the Dragon Goat wasted no time. Combining their forces, they unleashed a wave of fire so intense it made the previous flames look pale in comparison. The heat was so intense that the air itself seemed to distort.

The flames completely engulfed BloodLust, creating a miniature hell where he lay immobilized.

"Did we do it?" Lynx asked, with strong hope coloring her voice. But when the flames dissipated, hope turned to horror. Where there had been a fiery inferno before, now stood a complete crystal cocoon. Slowly, the crystal crumbled, revealing a practically unharmed BloodLust.

The Novgovian rose slowly, shaking off the last fragments of crystal as if they were nothing more than annoying dust. Meanwhile, he had also managed to move away from Marshmallow's gravitational field. Now, a cruel smile curved his lips.

"I must admit, you're entertaining. I didn't expect you to have these aces up your sleeves." his smile widened even more into a predatory grin. "But now it's my turn."

The Wyolanders stood petrified, unable to move from shock. How could BloodLust have such a perfect defense? It seemed he had the ideal Unique Skill for every situation. Parabellum, overwhelmed, burst out hysterically: "He really does have one more than the devil."

Suddenly, BloodLust's body began to change. His muscles swelled under his skin as if on the verge of exploding. The veins on his neck and arms dilated, visibly pulsing. His face turned a bright red as if all the blood in his body had concentrated there. His irises disappeared, swallowed by a milky white that extended to occupy the entire orbit. They looked like the eyes of a demon.

With a bestial roar, BloodLust lunged at his enemies. With unimaginable speed, and a body that defied the laws of physics as it moved, the Dragon Goat was the first to fall under his fury. BloodLust reached him in flight, and three precise and devastating punches rained down on the dragon's body. Each impact produced a nauseating sound of shattered bones.

One last powerful blow against the back of the Dragon Goat's head hurled him to the ground, creating a crater and dust smoke in the white marble. Rivulets of blood poured furiously from his fangs, and his draconic body was reduced to a rag. He was still breathing, but barely.