The beast unleashed another deafening screech. The debris suspended above it—jagged slabs of concrete and twisted rebar—hurtled toward Allen like a meteor shower.

  Allen didn't flinch. As the first slab neared, he leaped, using the momentum of the falling ruins as stepping stones. He vaulted from one piece of masonry to the next, his boots leaves a trail of golden sparks against the stone. But the onslaught was too dense to navigate perfectly. Smaller shards, moving with the speed of shrapnel, grazed his face, opening thin red lines across his cheeks.

  As he kicked off the final piece of rubble, his eyes locked onto the Strix Temporalis. In the seconds he'd spent airborne, the monster had righted itself, spreading its massive, blood-stained wings.

  "Damn it," Allen hissed.

  He gripped his warhammer with every ounce of strength left in his forearms, preparing a mid-air strike. But he was a fraction of a second too slow. The Strix beat its wings, generating a localized atmospheric pressure wave that slammed into Allen like a physical wall.

  Since Allen was unsupported in mid-air, the impact sent him hurtling backward. He hit the ground with a sickening crunch. A chorus of snapping bone echoed through his frame, followed by a violent spray of blood from his lips.

  "This... is going to be a problem," Allen wheezed, tasting copper. "I’ve always hated gravity manipulators."

  Shinobi appeared at his side in a blur of purple, hauling him up. Titan stood a few paces ahead, staring down the monster and gauging the threat.

  "Go," Allen croaked. He shrugged off Shinobi’s support, forcing his trembling legs to hold his weight.

  "Get out of here. Even if you help, you won't be able to put a dent in that thing. Besides... I want to try something."

  Shinobi and Titan exchanged a look. There was a cold, sharp edge to Allen's voice that they hadn't heard before. Shinobi glanced toward a distant skyscraper and gave a subtle nod before firing his grappling hook, swinging toward the skyline. Titan lingered for a heartbeat, his eyes fixed on the bird.

  "Crush its head into the pavement," Titan grunted, his voice gruff. "And don't you dare die on us, Knight."

  Allen managed a bloody grin. It was the first time the General had used that title without a hint of irony. "Don't worry, General. That bird has a date with destiny."

  Titan suppressed a smirk as he turned and sprinted away, his heavy footsteps fading into the distance. "Yeah... a date with destiny."

  The golden hammer in Allen's hand dissolved, reverting to its simple wooden staff form. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the Emerald of Truth, watching it vanish into the air as he began his slow, deliberate march toward the monster.

  Most of the surrounding district had been leveled by the Strix’s gales, but one building remained suspiciously untouched—not because of its structural integrity, but because of the sheer number of people guarding it.

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  Crimson Shadow’s personal guild of "villains" held the perimeter, intercepting data and ensuring the Heroic Federation’s eyes remained blind to Allen’s true power.

  "Heads up, team! My brother and Titan are retreating. Shift to Emergency Plan A-2!" Shadow commanded.

  At his word, the hackers scrambled, packing up gear while the tech-defense team worked to scrub their digital footprints. Code A-2 was the ultimate warning. It meant Allen was about to unleash the same level of devastation he had used against Seira—the Gigax Leo.

  Once they resettled in a building four kilometers away, the intelligence officers re-established the satellite blackout.

  "Sir! We have company in the building across from us!" one of the hackers shouted.

  Shadow looked through the glass. Shinobi and Titan were perched on the opposite roof. They offered a grim nod before turning their attention back to the Strix Temporalis. Even from this distance, the monster was a colossal, terrifying silhouette.

  "Someone tell those two to stop looking over here," Shadow muttered. "I’m not sure we can intercept the Federation's damn satellites while covering Allen’s fight at the same time."

  Shinobi checked his phone, tucked it away, and stood with his hands on his hips. Seeing the gesture, Shadow knew exactly what his brother was thinking—a silent reproach regarding the hacking speed of Shadow's guild. Some things never changed between siblings.

  Meanwhile, the man in purple watched Allen. His smirk had long since faded into a mask of icy boredom.

  "His emotions are still at Level 0... he can't even tap into the primary triggers." He yawned, turning away from the sight of Allen spitting blood. "An apprentice is just an apprentice. After what happened with Seira, I thought he’d hit Level 1 by now. This isn't interesting anymore."

  He began to walk away, but a sudden, brilliant flash of jade light forced him to stop. He turned back, his jaw tightening in disbelief before a manic, jagged grin split his face once more.

  "Now that is the apprentice I know! Show me! Show me how you control the wind!"

  Allen continued his march, his white suit now a canvas of his own blood. In his right hand, he held the staff; in his left, the green stone pulsed with a jade radiance every time the wind brushed its facets.

  "Style Shift."

  Allen crushed the emerald. It didn't break into shards but dissolved into a fine green mist that swirled around him in a violent vortex. As the monster tried to dissipate the fog with its wings, the mist intensified, erupting into a massive jade tornado.

  From within the eye of the storm, Allen struck outward with his staff, cleaving the tornado in two. The wind dissipated into thousands of shimmering green embers that drifted from the sky like emerald snow. Allen was no longer on the ground; he hovered in the center of the clearing, suspended by the air itself.

  His suit had transformed into a sleek, pale green armor. He offered the monster a mock, courtly bow.

  "Knight of Truth Style."

  The Strix Temporalis screeched, its eyes flashing as it tried to crush Allen with a sudden spike in gravity. But Allen only smiled, gripping the staff with both hands.

  "Weapon of True Air."

  The staff was enveloped in a jade flash, followed by a miniature cyclone that caused the weapon to shrink and reshape itself. When the wind cleared, Allen was holding a sleek, high-tension green crossbow.

  He drew back the bowstring. A bolt of pure green energy materialized as the very air around them seemed to go still, as if holding its breath.

  "Lesser Star Gale Shot."

  The moment Allen pulled the trigger, the bolt vanished. In its place, a massive, horizontal tornado erupted, bridging the gap between Allen and the Strix in a millisecond. The green wind acted like a thousand invisible saws, shredding asphalt, steel, and flesh alike.

  Minutes later, the storm subsided.

  Allen stood amidst the carnage, casually lighting a cigarette. The crossbow rested on his left shoulder. The Strix Temporalis—or what was left of it—was scattered across the crater. Feathers, viscera, and broken purple bone littered the ground.

  As for the monster's head? Allen was using it as a stool.