The sky was in flames.
Not from fire, but from the Essence surges colliding midair. Dozens of wounded warriors were barely hanging on, some crawling away, others unconscious. The S-Rank leaders were struggling to even keep the two EX-Rank beasts at bay.
"Fall back!""We're losing containment—get the injured out!""The barrier's breaking!"
The commander's voice cracked through every comm, but no one could hold position. The Rift trembled. Debris flew. Screams echoed across the battlefield.
And then—
Riku stepped forward.
His boots crunched against the crystalized terrain as he walked past a line of retreating A-Ranks.
"Where are you going?" a bruised warrior snapped.
"You'll die, D-Rank!" another screamed. "You think this is training?!"
Even an exhausted S-Rank glared and shouted, "You're support! STAY IN THE BACK!"
But Riku said nothing.
He just kept walking.
Until he stood between the two titans.
Both EX-Rank beasts stopped, sensing something had shifted. The floating crystal beast's tentacles recoiled. The volcanic juggernaut narrowed its glowing red eyes.
Riku raised his hand.
A single pulse of white light glowed in his palm.
And then…
He vanished.
One step.
Two punches.
BOOM. BOOM.
A shockwave erupted so violently that the entire battlefield went white for a second.
When the light faded, both EX-Rank beasts—creatures that had devastated half the army—were collapsed on the ground. One embedded into a crater a hundred meters wide. The other shattered into a thousand shards of essence glass, dissolving slowly into the Rift air.
Silence.
Total, crushing silence.
Riku stood in the center, his fist still glowing faintly.
Gasps rippled through the ranks.
A trembling A-Rank whispered, "He… took them down with two punches."
"Is that even possible?"
"What is he…?"
Before anyone could ask, Riku walked over to the nearest group of collapsed warriors. He knelt, placed his palm on the ground, and closed his eyes.
A wave of warmth radiated outward.
Broken bones mended. Fatigue vanished. Burned-out Essence cores sparked again. Even minor internal injuries were healed.
He had restored some of their essence energy—something most medics couldn't do without hours of prep.
The warriors stared in awe. S-Rank. A-Rank. Even the commander.
No one had a word to say.
Riku stood up, dusted off his jacket, and glanced back at them.
"…Told you," he muttered, a faint smirk on his face. "Just a little work with my Essence."
He turned and walked away, the battlefield stunned in frozen silence behind him.