The warm atmosphere of the brotherly reunion evaporated in an instant.
Woo-woo-woo!
Sirens blared throughout the room, accompanied by red emergency lights flashing in a rhythmic, frantic pulse.
"What's happening?!" Axel shouted, instinctively reaching for the gun at his waist.
Philip launched himself back to the command console, his fingers flying across the holographic keyboard with blinding speed. His expression shifted instantly to one of intense focus.
"Radar has detected a massive biological signal from the East... It's already breached the outer defensive perimeter!"
The central holographic screen expanded, displaying a live feed from a patrol drone.
The image that appeared made Axel's jaw drop.
Amidst the golden cornfields that the villagers had just begun to harvest, a colossal "Stone-Armored Boar"—standing over 10 meters tall—was charging madly.
Its skin was encased in thick, rock-like plating, and its twin tusks curved like giant ivory scythes, obliterating everything in its path.
CRASH!!
The reinforced electric fence, designed to keep out common monsters, was shattered like dry twigs upon impact.
"Because we expanded the agricultural zone and released too much pure mana into the atmosphere..." Philip gritted his teeth. "It attracted a 'High-Tier Apex Predator' from the deep forest."
"What about the automated defense systems?!" Axel yelled.
" The mana-cannons aren't fully installed yet! As for the missiles..." Philip hesitated. "If we fire them now, the blast radius will wipe out the villagers' crops!"
While everyone was in a state of panic, Murphy walked silently to the glass balcony of the command room. His sharp gaze locked onto the plume of dust rising from the city's edge.
"Those cornfields... the villagers worked hard to plant them."
His voice was calm, flat, but laced with a terrifyingly cold murderous intent.
Slide...
Murphy slid the balcony door open. The high-altitude wind whipped his tattered cloak violently around him.
"Wait, Murphy! What are you doing?!" Philip shouted, rushing to stop him. "You're not wearing any armor! That rag you're wearing won't protect you from anything! Wait for me to deploy the combat drones to stall it!"
Murphy turned back, offering a faint smirk to his younger brother.
"No need... It's just chasing away a pig. It won't take long."
As soon as the words left his lips, Murphy launched himself off the 50th-floor balcony, free-falling straight toward the ground below!
"Brother!!" Philip rushed to the edge, clutching the railing, his heart nearly stopping.
But as he watched his brother's figure plummet, Philip's keen eyes caught sight of something.
Hanging at Murphy's waist was an "Ordinary Iron Sword."
It was a cheap, standard-issue blade Philip had mass-produced a year ago, given to Murphy just before he left for the mountains.
'Wait...' Philip frowned, his genius mind processing the data in a split second.
'He went through hellish training for a year. His clothes are torn to shreds... so why is that sword completely free of chips or scratches?'
Normally, Murphy's raw Kinetic Energy was so violent it would shatter normal weapons after a few uses.
For that old sword to still be in pristine condition meant one thing: Murphy wasn't just "pumping" power into the blade recklessly anymore.
He had learned to "transfer" and "control" the flow of energy, making it pass through the object perfectly, as if the sword were an extension of his own body.
The anxiety in Philip's heart vanished instantly.
He pressed the radio button, his voice steady and commanding.
"Cancel the combat drone deployment! Put the close-quarters combat feed on the main screen. Now!"
BOOOOOOM!!!
A massive cloud of dust erupted as a human figure slammed into the earth, blocking the beast's path.
The ground beneath him buckled, forming a crater from the impact.
Murphy stood up slowly, dusting off his tattered clothes.
GRAAAARRRR!!!
The Stone-Armored Boar roared, enraged by the tiny obstacle in its way. It pawed the ground, preparing to charge.
Murphy took a deep breath.
His eyes began to glow with a golden hue.
Crackle... Crackle!
Golden kinetic energy flowed from the Core in his chest, but it didn't explode outward like before.
Instead, it circulated through his veins and muscles, manifesting as tiny "Kinetic Sparks" dancing across his skin like lightning.
His body was now like a supercharged engine, humming with compressed power.
"Come on..."
THUD! THUD! THUD!
The boar charged with terrifying speed, the ground shaking with every step.
Murphy didn't retreat. He sprinted straight at it!
Whoosh!
Using Flash Step, Murphy vanished from the villagers' sight.
He reappeared instantly on the boar's "Giant Tusk!"
Murphy landed on the tusk and began running up the face of the beast, even as it thrashed its head wildly.
His balance was superhuman; his feet seemed glued to the creature's surface.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Every step Murphy took on the rock armor created a sonic boom! The concentrated kinetic force from his feet sent shockwaves deep into the stone, cracking the thick plating with every stride.
The boar squealed in pain, trying to shake the flea off, but Murphy was far too fast.
"This ends now."
Murphy reached the beast's blind spot at the back of its neck.
His right hand reached for the hilt of the sword at his waist...
Shing...
He drew the blade. There was no blinding light, only a high-pitched "Whistling" sound—the sound of air being compressed to its absolute limit around the edge of the blade.
"Kinetic Blade: Silent Sever."
Slash!
Murphy flicked his wrist in a single, fluid motion, as light as a brushstroke.
But the wave of kinetic energy released from that swing was sharper than a laser cutter.
It sliced effortlessly through a meter of solid rock armor, severing the beast's spinal cord in a fraction of a second.
The colossal body froze mid-rampage...
The crimson glow in its eyes flickered and died.
Then, the mountain of muscle and stone collapsed to the ground with an earth-shaking thud.
CRASH...
Dust billowed out, covering the area.
As the dust settled...
Murphy stood tall atop the corpse of the beast.
He flicked the blood (what little there was) off his blade and calmly sheathed it.
The lightning sparks on his body faded away... leaving only a faint smile on his face.
Up in the Sentinel Building... Philip watched the screen with a smile of pure pride.
"Incredible... That sword. It's still completely unscathed."
The villagers, who had been hiding in bunkers, slowly peeked out.
A moment later, a roar of cheers erupted across the fields, welcoming the return of their Guardian.