The moment Thyssar charged, Ethan, Elira, and Ataneya all felt it—an overwhelming pressure crashing down on them like a tidal wave.

"Damn, he's strong!" Ethan gritted his teeth. He was no pushover—his current strength was already on par with the weakest of the Tier 15 S-class Crimson Ultimate heroes. But even so, in this fight, he was clearly the weakest link.

The pressure was real.

Thankfully, he wasn't alone.

With Ataneya and Elira holding the front line, Ethan stayed behind them, supporting from the rear. It wasn't ideal, but it was enough to keep him in the fight.

And then the battle exploded.

The entire plain trembled under the sheer force of their clash. Shockwaves rippled out in every direction, tearing through the earth, shaking the mountains that surrounded them. It was chaos—raw, violent, and unrelenting.

Thyssar was a monster.

A true Tier 15 SSS-class powerhouse.

Even with the three of them working together, they could barely hold their ground. Blow after blow, they fought him to a standstill, but it was clear—they weren't winning. Not yet.

Then, out of nowhere, a sudden spike of danger sliced through the air.

CRACK!

A blinding flash of energy pierced straight through Thyssar's back.

Splurt!

Blood sprayed into the air as a gaping wound tore open across his spine.

"ARGH!" Thyssar howled in pain, staggering forward, caught completely off guard.

He spun around, eyes wide with fury and—just for a second—fear.

"Who?!" he roared, his voice shaking with rage and panic. He was already struggling to hold his own against three opponents. Now, someone else had joined the fight—and they'd just landed a clean hit.

That changed everything.

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

Sonic booms cracked through the sky as four figures descended like meteors.

Feylora. Seraphina. Andona. Namyanna.

They'd finished their fight.

The Tier 15 S-class Crimson Ultimate hero under Thyssar's command? Dead.

And now they were here.

The sneak attack? That had been Feylora—her power now fully awakened, her strike precise and devastating.

"Another Tier 15?!" Thyssar's face twisted in disbelief, then panic. The balance had shattered. The tide had turned.

He was outnumbered. Outmatched.

And he knew it.

"Retreat!" he snarled, spinning on his hooves and trying to bolt.

But it was too late.

Ataneya and Elira were already on him, locking him down with relentless precision. They weren't giving him an inch.

There was no escape.

"Get the hell out of my way! Don't push me—unless you all want to pay the price!"

Thyssar roared, his voice twisted with rage, his face contorted into a savage snarl.

Elira just scoffed, completely unfazed. "Still barking threats? At this point? Go ahead—try it. Let's see what that 'price' looks like."

"You asked for this!" Thyssar snarled. "Then witness my true power—RAAAHHH!"

In the next instant, his entire body ignited in a ghostly, burning aura—his Primordial Force erupting like a wildfire. His form blurred, transforming into a blazing wraith of raw energy, and then—

He shot forward like a missile.

Straight at Elira.

Too fast.

Way too fast.

"ELIRA, LOOK OUT!" Ethan's eyes went wide, pupils contracting as he shouted, panic flashing across his face.

"AHHH!"

A scream tore through the air.

Elira was hit—hard.

The impact sent shockwaves rippling across the battlefield as Thyssar's burning soul-force slammed into her, overwhelming her defenses.

"You arrogant insect!" Thyssar bellowed, his voice echoing with madness. "Let me devour your power—YES! Let it feed me! HAHAHAHAHA!"

He was already beginning the process—trying to consume Elira's essence, to rip her strength from her very soul.

But then—

A sudden shift.

A flash of fire.

"Foxfire Aegis—Seal!" Ataneya's voice rang out, calm but commanding.

Her six tails ignited in a blaze of searing foxfire, forming a radiant shield that exploded outward in a wave of burning light. The flames surged through the air, slamming into Thyssar's soul-form and halting it mid-devour.

The entire space trembled. The air itself seemed to catch fire.

Elira's eyes snapped open—sharp, focused, deadly.

She didn't hesitate.

Darkness surged from within her, erupting like a tidal wave.

"Eclipse Implosion—Devour!"

BOOOOOOM!

A vortex of pure shadow spiraled into existence in front of her, like a black sun collapsing in on itself. It spun violently, pulling everything toward its center—especially Thyssar's soul-force.

He screamed.

A high-pitched, agonized shriek that echoed through the void as his essence was dragged into the swirling abyss.

Elira had become a black hole—consuming everything.

And she wasn't stopping.

The last of Thyssar's soul-force was ripped apart, devoured by the imploding eclipse. The explosion that followed shook the entire plain, sending shockwaves through the mountains.

Then—silence.

And in that silence, something began to change.

Elira's body glowed.

Her Primordial Force shimmered, pulsing with a radiant, evolving energy. Waves of power rippled out from her, shaking the ground beneath her feet.

"What the hell…?" Ethan blinked, stunned. "Is she… evolving?"

He stared at her, eyes wide with realization.

Elira had already been at the peak of Tier 15—an SS-class Crimson Ultimate Hero. But now… now she was breaking through.

She was ascending.

BOOM!

A pillar of light erupted from the ground, engulfing her completely. The energy was blinding, raw, and overwhelming.

Ethan immediately pulled up her status panel.

And there it was.

Her Tier had broken through—15Tier SSS-class.

And it wasn't stopping.

Her evolution progress was already past 50% and still climbing.

But something was off.

The energy inside her was unstable—too much, too fast. It wasn't being fully absorbed. If it kept building like this without being channeled properly…

It could backfire.

"Looks like I'll have to siphon off some of this excess power before it tears her apart…" Ethan muttered under his breath. Without wasting another second, he flashed forward, closing the distance between him and Elira in an instant. Reaching out, he began channeling a portion of the overflowing energy from her body into his own.

DING!

"System Notification: Player Valkarion, congratulations—your Tier has advanced to 15, S-class."

BOOOOM!

A surge of power erupted around him as his body absorbed the energy, his aura flaring with newfound strength.

Just like that, he broke through.

It wasn't surprising—he'd already been on the verge of Tier 15. This sudden influx of raw Primordial Force had simply shattered the final barrier.

But it wasn't enough.

Not even close.

Elira's body was still glowing with unstable energy, her form trembling under the weight of the power she'd absorbed. The Primordial Force she'd devoured from the Centaur High King—Thyssar—was just too much. Too dense. Too wild.

Even after Ethan's breakthrough, the overflow was still raging inside her.

They needed more help.

Fast.

Ethan turned sharply, eyes locking onto Seraphina, Namyanna, and Andona. "You three—get over here! Help me siphon off the excess energy from Elira before it overloads her!"

The three women exchanged quick glances, then nodded without hesitation.

They rushed over, forming a circle around Elira and Ethan. Without needing further instruction, they extended their hands, channeling the volatile energy into themselves, splitting the burden.

And just like that—

DING!

"System Notification: Player Valkarion, congratulations—your Hero Unit Seraphina has advanced to 15Tier, S-class."

DING!

"System Notification: Player Valkarion, congratulations—your Hero Unit Andona has advanced to 15Tier, S-class."

DING!

"System Notification: Player Valkarion, congratulations—your Hero Unit Namyanna has advanced to 15Tier, S-class."

...