The air was thick with tension as Kael and his team approached the desolate battlefield. The ground bore the scars of previous skirmishes—charred earth, shattered stones, and the lingering scent of ozone.
Suddenly, a figure emerged from the shadows—a Humanoid Varnok, towering and cloaked in dark armor, its eyes glowing with malevolent intent.
Without hesitation, Kael activated Maelstorm Overburn. His body surged with energy, crackling with lightning, flame, and storm essence. In a blur, he closed the distance between them, moving at hypersonic speed.
The Varnok barely had time to react before Kael unleashed Stormfire Whip Barrage. Multiple whips of hybrid essence spiraled from his limbs, slicing through the air and striking the Varnok from all angles. Each whip left trails of fire and static, disrupting the enemy's defenses.
The Varnok retaliated, swinging a massive blade infused with dark essence. Kael dodged effortlessly, his movements a blur, and countered with a devastating punch that cratered the ground and sent shockwaves through the battlefield.
Sensing an opportunity, Kael prepared his ultimate move. He braced one foot back, slammed his fists together at his core, and thrust them outward, releasing Thunderflare Cataclysm.
1. First Wave: A blinding pulse of lightning essence exploded outward, stunning the Varnok and disabling its magical constructs.
2. Second Wave: A spiraling storm surge followed, forming a cyclonic shockwave that lifted the Varnok into the air, tearing away its essence defenses.
3. Final Detonation – "Flarecore Burst": At the epicenter, the condensed flame essence ignited explosively, causing a roaring inferno shaped like a collapsing sun. The explosion's heat flash branded the terrain and left molten scars in the stone.
As the smoke cleared, the Varnok lay defeated, its armor melted and body scorched. Kael stood amidst the devastation, his aura still crackling with residual energy.
The last echoes of the explosion rolling across the cracked plains like distant thunder. Smoke spiraled upward in lazy columns, curling around blackened rocks and fractured ruins.
Kael stood at the epicenter of it all, steam rising off his body, eyes glowing with residual essence. The molten crater beneath his feet hissed with vaporous heat, its surface glowing a deep crimson. His breathing was steady—controlled—despite the sheer power he had just unleashed.
Behind him, silence.
Then came the crunch of boots against stone.
"…What the hell was that?" Riven whispered, barely audible.
The hot-headed brawler—still smoldering from his own mid-tier essence bursts—stared in open disbelief. His fists, once balled with readiness, now hung slack by his sides.
Silen, ever the composed analyst, adjusted her monocle with trembling fingers. "That was battlefield annihilation. Tri-layered detonation, elemental synchronization… did he compress all three essences internally and release them in staggered phases?"
Kael didn't answer. His focus was still partially tuned to the dying crackles of essence dispersing from the impact zone.
Leiya approached slowly from the side, her boots crunching over scorched debris. Her expression was unreadable at first—quiet awe masked beneath her usual smile. But the way she looked at him, like he was an unsolvable equation wrapped in stormfire, said more than words ever could.
"That didn't even look hard for you," she finally said, almost laughing. "You just… walked through him."
Kael rolled his shoulder. A faint spark of lightning flickered at his fingertips before fading. "It was a problem that needed solving."
Riven barked a short laugh, but there was no bravado behind it—only shock. "That wasn't solving a problem, that was rewriting the damn laws of Essence combat!"
"You were Blaze-tier the last time I saw you in action," Silen added, eyes wide. "But that was… different. Coordinated essence cycling, physical speed near—what—Mach 10? You blurred past my perception filters."
Kael offered a nod, but his expression remained focused. "He was too dangerous to hold back against."
Leiya tilted her head. "Are you saying there might be more of them?"
He glanced toward the ruined temple just beyond the battle site. The dark mist that had clung to the Humanoid Varnok's form was beginning to retreat toward the shadows of the crumbling structure.
"I'm saying this one wasn't working alone."
The words hit like a second impact.
No one spoke for a moment. The oppressive silence returned—not of awe, but of looming dread. If a Pyre-tier Humanoid Varnok had coordinated this ambush… what else might be watching?
Kael turned, facing the rest of the squad.
"We recover whatever essence core remains. Then we sweep the temple ruins. Eyes open. No assumptions. If they're getting smarter…" His gaze sharpened, the storm in his voice returning. "We need to be faster."
And at his speed, there was little doubt who would strike first.