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***
"This truly is… unexpected."
Von Lycaon took a deep breath, finally forcing himself to accept the sight of a Bangboo savagely beating down the Dead End Butcher.
"This Bangboo is very unusual." Rina pondered aloud. "It looks like a special anthropomorphic model, with advanced combat intelligence far beyond what ordinary Bangboos have."
"Is this a new product from the Marcel Group?" Ellen mumbled around her lollipop, her tone tinged with longing. "If I had a Bangboo like that, my life would be a lot less troublesome."
"Our master has close ties with the Marcel Group, but I've never heard of such a model," Lycaon shook his head, speculating. "From the looks of it, this Bangboo is closely tied to the Cunning Hares."
"Perhaps it belongs to Lord Sol Mercer. In that case, our high-priority observation list just gained a new entry."
A Bangboo with Void Hunter-level strength was far more terrifying than a new Hunter appearing.
Where did this Bangboo come from? Who did it belong to? Could it be mass-produced? These were questions of utmost importance.
Lycaon focused intently on the battlefield, unwilling to miss even a single frame of detail.
Everything his eyes captured was intelligence.
A few minutes later, the Dead End Butcher collapsed to the ground, its huge frame seemingly lifeless.
Ellen stroked her chin, analyzing. "The Dead End Butcher's destructive power is enormous, yet the surrounding buildings remain mostly intact. That means this battle hasn't been going on for very long."
"Miss Ellen, your analysis is amazing!"
"And that Bangboo lady is also amazing—she didn't take much time at all to kill the Butcher!"
Corin's eyes shone with admiration, her voice full of wonder.
No matter how she looked at it, she couldn't compare.
"Not quite, little Corin." Rina smiled gently. "Normally, the Dead End Butcher suppresses its vast Ether within, only fighting in its base form."
"Even in its base form it already meets the standard of a level 5 Ethereal. But compared to its true form, the [Feeding Stance], it's still far inferior."
As she spoke, the Ether activity detector loaded by Butler spiked rapidly, flashing a crimson warning.
"Look, the Dead End Butcher's Ether activity is surging." Rina's voice carried both awe and solemnity. "When it reveals its true form, the Dead End Butcher is one of the most dangerous Ethereals one can encounter in a Companion Hollow."
"Then… can the Bangboo lady still win against the Dead End Butcher in its [Feeding Stance]?"
Corin's voice wavered with worry.
"With the Bangboo's ability, defeating it should still be possible," Lycaon answered, eyes locked on the battlefield. "But it won't be as easy as in its first phase."
His gaze sharpened. The seemingly defeated Dead End Butcher was undergoing a terrifying transformation.
Dark prismatic Ether swelled violently within it. Its already powerful green muscles swelled further, thickening grotesquely.
The arm Baal had severed was rapidly reconstructed under the flood of Ether—within seconds, a new massive dark-green limb had formed.
Worst of all, two fleshy sacs bulged on its back, writhing and inflating. Violent Ether energy surged within them.
Nicole shouted toward Baal, "Careful! When the Dead End Butcher unleashes its full power, it grows two energy arms. They're extremely dangerous!"
"Understood."
Baal nodded calmly.
She had faced many monsters with second phases before. Even some special Lawachurls possessed them—it was nothing extraordinary.
Besides, this beast's transformation took time. Time enough for her to prepare a killing strike.
At that thought, Baal slid her katana back to her hip, her pale hand resting firmly on the hilt.
Her mind and spirit aligned in perfect meditation.
Golden lightning surged violently around her, arcs so intense the air itself ionized with crackling snaps, branching bolts splitting through the space.
The thunder compressed under her precise electromagnetic control, focusing tighter and tighter along her blade's edge, its power escalating exponentially.
"Roar!"
The Dead End Butcher rose first, bellowing in rage toward the sky.
The two colossal energy arms whipped and lashed behind it, tearing the air with howling gales.
Anby, watching nearby, was shaken by the sheer force of its presence. Her pupils contracted as her hand clenched her sword hilt.
Lycaon's eyes hardened, carefully observing Baal's response.
Yet Baal kept her eyes closed in meditation, as if she sensed nothing.
But Lycaon knew. The Bangboo was already prepared.
She wasn't dodging. She wasn't retreating.
Was she going to meet the Dead End Butcher head-on?
The four-armed Dead End Butcher charged Baal, each step making the earth quake, loose stones bouncing and rattling across the ground.
All four monstrous hands struck down simultaneously—the tiny Bangboo beneath them scarcely larger than a single palm.
"Thy fate is sealed. Death shall bloom."
Her cold voice rang out, like a decree of destiny itself.
Baal's violet eyes snapped open, carrying the cold majesty of thunder.
"This moment—extinction descends!"
Breathe. Focus. Draw. Strike.
A perfect iai cut—the pinnacle of technique.
Golden lightning erupted skyward, piercing even the Hollow's barrier.
Her blade flashed from her hip, carrying boundless thunder, as if extinguishing all life under its edge.
Nicole, Anby, Lycaon—all saw their vision swallowed in radiant gold, their breath frozen in awe.
It was as if they glimpsed a realm of utter death, devoid of all but silence.
Unbidden, their eyes locked on the most dazzling figure in the storm—the tiny violet Bangboo.
Majestic. Beautiful. Divine.
The world fell silent, all sound erased.
The only noise that remained—the pure, crystalline sound of blade cleaving flesh, surpassing even the music of gems.
Flesh split. Bone severed. Ether evaporated instantly under lightning's wrath.
The Dead End Butcher, newly transformed into its [Feeding Stance], hadn't even begun to show its fury to the world.
One stroke—
And it was hewn in two, its massive halves crashing to the earth, throwing up clouds of dust.
Cleft in twain.
A chasm split from the Electro Archon's feet, extending forward for a kilometer, unstoppable even by the Dead End Butcher's bulk.
"…"
All stared in silence—at the sundered corpse of the Dead End Butcher, at the kilometer-long gash in the earth, at the tiny violet Bangboo still holding her blade.
Could such a feat truly be done by a human?
No.
Could such a feat truly be done by… a Bangboo?