As Miya opened his eyes, a renewed determination surged through him.


    He wouldn''t let Jan''s strength intimidate him.


    He had faced formidable opponents before and knew Jan was just one of those people.


    "Noah, get up,"


    From beneath the rubble where Cam''s wind spell had sent him tumbling, Noah emerged, dusting himself off with a grunt.


    "Yeah... I''m up," he replied, his pride slightly bruised but his determination undeterred.


    "Let''s give him no room to breathe,"


    Miya dered as his katana ignited under his aura, its de shimmering with an ethereal blue light.


    Noah, eager to redeem himself, followed suit.


    His greatsword pulsed with a warm, earthy brown aura as he advanced alongside Miya.


    The two warriors stood side-by-side, a formidable duo united in their purpose.


    Jan watched them approach, a bead of sweat forming on his brow.


    DOOOM...DOOOM...DOOOM!


    And then, a faint ringing filled his ears...


    "...!"


    A vision of the immediate future shed before his eyes.


    "Blooming de Dance - Final Form: Eternal Spring"


    "Mountain Quake Sword - Fifth Form: Seismic sh!"


    In his vision, Miya and Noah unleashed abined attack of unimaginable power, a devastating strike that could cleave through the entire building.


    Jan saw himself narrowly defending, but Cam, caught in the crossfire, was not so lucky.


    The vision snapped shut, and the chilling wind from the attack jolted Jan back to reality. He realized in horror what their n was. If he didn''t act quickly, Cam would be caught in the crossfire.


    "Cam!" he shouted, his voice a sharpmand.


    "You need to run downstairs now!"


    Cam, startled by his sudden urgency, began to protest. "Why—"


    "Just do it," Jan interrupted and his expression hardened with determination.


    "Go!"


    Jan, having glimpsed the future, understood the danger thaty ahead.


    His recent solo dungeon dives had honed his Qi and strengthened his Sensory Aura to the point where he could briefly see into the immediate future.


    But this premonition filled him with a chilling realization.


    "There''d be too much damage,"


    He muttered, his expression hardening as he shifted from a defensive to an offensive stance.


    He shifted his weight back, extending his arm for bnce, his gaze locked onto Miya and Noah.


    As the moment of their attack approached, time seemed to slow.


    "Blooming de Dance - Final Form: Eternal Spring"


    "Mountain Quake Sword - Fifth Form: Seismic sh!"


    The words echoed through the lobby, but their intended targets were no longer there.


    In the blink of an eye, Jan had closed the 50-meter gap, appearing before the astonished duo in a sh of golden aura.


    With a fluid motion, he drew his longsword, the de slipping effortlessly from its scabbard.


    As he adjusted his grip, the muscles in his body rippled, each one infused with the vibrant golden hue of his aura.


    The de itself transformed, its once silver surface now gleaming with an obsidian ck, pulsating with raw power.


    The air around him warped and distorted under the immense pressure of his aura.


    Miya and Noah had their des interlocked within theirbined attack, and found themselves unable to move as their bodies were frozen by an unseen force.


    "What''s... happening?" Miya, paralyzed by the strange pressure, could only watch helplessly.


    It was as if Jan''s aura had tapped into true fear, a deep-seated instinct to submit to overwhelming power.


    What Jan was about to do was something only those in the realm of the truly strong could achieve.


    huuu...


    "Formless Technique: Distorted Cut - 10% Power, The Star Divider"


    SHIING!


    In a single, fluid motion, Jan swung his longsword diagonally, starting from his right shoulder and ending at his left hip.


    As he passed between Miya and Noah, he sheathed his de...


    BANGGGGGGG!


    The force of the strike created an unimaginable shockwave of pure energy that ripped through the air, sending both Miya and Noah hurtling backward, out of the apartment building and towards their own base.


    ***


    [Pinnacle Academy, Dystopic Simtion - Outside]


    "I-I surrender!"


    Louise, who had a member of Team B by the cor, looked at him with a cold, impassive expression.


    For a moment a dark impulse flickered in his eyes, a desire to eliminate the opponent then and there.


    However, before he could act on it, the student''s form dissolved into pixels, leaving behind the g they had been carrying.


    BOOOOOM!


    A powerful surge of aura erupted from the central building, shaking the ground beneath Louise''s feet.


    "Louise, did you feel that?"


    Valencia asked, brushing off her clothes after finishing off the remaining members of Team B.


    Louise''s eyes widened, and a grin spread across his face.


    "Yeah," he replied, his voice filled with excitement. "Take this."


    He tossed the red g towards Valencia, and to her surprise, it instantly transformed into a bright blue, signifying its capture for Team A.


    "What are you doing?"


    Valencia questioned, her brow furrowed in confusion.


    "I''m going after him," Louise dered, his voice a cool, confident drawl that sent a shiver down Valencia''s spine.


    "After Jan?"


    "Yes," Louise replied, his voice barely a whisper. "I won''t keep you waiting... my love."


    Thest part he muttered but with that, he turned and sprinted towards the apartmentplex, leaving a stunned Valencia behind.


    "Did he just...?"


    Valencia shook her head, dismissing the unsettling encounter.


    "Ah, never mind."


    She turned her attention to the remaining members of Team A and headed back to base.


    ...


    ...


    ...


    Louise, his eyes fixed on the gaping hole in the upper floor of the apartmentplex, grinned with fierce determination.


    Jan had to be up there.


    With a powerful surge of aura, he leapt onto a low-hanging branch, propelling himself higher into the canopy.


    He danced from one treetop to the next, his movements fluid and graceful despite the heavy polearm strapped to his back.


    Reaching the highest branch, he paused, gathering his energy for the attack he had practised countless times.


    The air around him snapped as he channelled his elemental attribute into the tip of his polearm igniting with a zing me.


    "Jan!" Louise''s voice boomed through the forest.


    "If you don''te out now, then I''ll make you show yourself!"


    A surge of fiery energy coursed through the polearm, extending the de into a menacing, dragon-like form.


    "Ignited me - The Piercing Dragon!"


    Louise roared, hurling the weapon downwards with all his might.


    SHAAAAAAAAA!


    The ming polearm plummeted towards the apartmentplex, its trajectory aimed directly at the centre of the roof.


    BOOOOOM!


    Then a blinding sh of light erupted as the weapon struck its target, followed by a deafening explosion that shook the very foundations of the building.


    __________


    Authors Notes:


    - Louise and Valencia couldn''t see Noah and Miya flying out due to the coverage of the trees.