In an instant, he charged toward Erik, considering him the weakest, but the three blocked his path.
Paul skillfully avoided the combined attacks of Jasmine's whip and Alfred's sword, but from behind them, Anthony appeared, grinning ferociously.
"Fly away, ye piece of trash! Heavy Impact!"
Paul was hurled away, his body smashing through the wall and landing heavily in the courtyard in front of the base.
The others reached him quickly, facing Paul again, who looked at them with as much hatred as madness.
With four opponents to face, the monster seemed momentarily slowed. Jasmine, with her whip, could block or slow Paul; Anthony pressed him with fast, merciless axe strikes; Alfred and Erik, though exhausted, alternated in coordinated attacks, trying to hinder his regeneration with deeper wounds.
Yet, what the group was overlooking was that Paul, even with his new appearance, was still an awakened.
A shiver ran through his body. Veins began to pulse with a purplish light, his muscles stiffened unnaturally, and he raised both arms.
Alfred's eyes widened. "DODGE!"
With an inhuman roar, Paul slammed his arms to the ground, and the next moment, a massive shockwave erupted, sweeping everything within ten meters, including the four.
One of Paul's abilities allowed him to absorb damage and convert it into energy he could release at will. Normally, this kind of skill was only used at the brink of death, after absorbing enough damage, but since Paul could regenerate, he could use it much more frequently.
"Ye son o' a bilge rat… who'd ever think ye could still use yer blasted abilities!" Anthony muttered, moving debris aside as he got up, spitting the blood from his mouth.
Jasmine and the duo, Erik and Alfred, who had also suffered significant injuries, arrived beside him.
"Please... tell me he can't use his other ability." Jasmine silently prayed, but it seemed the gods had no intention of granting her wish.
With another feral roar, Paul's skin began to smoke and turn red, and his eyes filled with blood.
They all frowned at the sight, but the next moment he vanished, appearing in front of Anthony, who barely managed to cross his axes at his chest before being launched like a cannonball.
Erik and Alfred immediately activated their strongest offensive abilities, feeling their mana near its limit, and even though their attacks managed to wound him, the damage was far less than expected.
Then Jasmine joined in.
"Chain!"
The whip seemed to move on its own, wrapping around Paul's neck and tightening dangerously.
But with a feral scream, he grabbed the end of the whip, pulling it from his neck, and used it to swing Jasmine, who didn't have time to let go, hurling her toward Erik and Alfred.
The two barely avoided her and stepped back immediately, dodging Paul's next attack.
"Going berserk in that state must be illegal," Erik murmured, exhausted.
Paul's second and final ability was Berserk. It increased all his stats, but if there was a silver lining, the skill didn't last long. Once the effect ended, the user experienced severe weakness, and one had to wait for that moment... if they survived.
"GHHHA!"
With an uppercut to the stomach, Alfred was lifted into the air, then Paul interlaced his fingers and struck downward, as if hammering a nail, pinning him to the ground.
The sound of breaking bones could be heard as Alfred spat out a large amount of blood.
"ALFRED!"
Diving forward, Erik managed to push Alfred out from under Paul's foot. Alfred's body thudded against the ground, while Erik took the brunt of the attack.
He felt his body on the verge of breaking, but rolled away and got back up.
"I… will… kill you!…", Erik panted between coughs, gripping his sword with bloodied hands, breathing heavily, his heart pounding frenetically.
The only thing driving him forward was the hatred he felt toward one of the main culprits who had made the archipelago what it was today.
At that moment, Erik didn't even realize he had crossed into intermediate Grade 2, but he was too focused on not dying, narrowly dodging one of Paul's deadly punches.
Then, from one of the rooftops, Anthony jumped, axes raised high. This time, his smile was gone, replaced by a murderous glare, blood still dripping from his lips from the earlier attack.
Seeing him, Erik tried to draw Paul's attention, but the latter's senses were too sharp, counterattacking with a punch.
The blows canceled each other out, but at that moment, Erik drove his sword into Paul's side.
Paul tried to shake it off when Jasmine's whip wrapped around him, attempting to strangle him.
"How dare you hurt MY FACE!!" With her bloodied face making her look like a furious demon, Jasmine pushed her ability to its limit, enhancing its effects.
Paul struggled, but Anthony arrived, pouring black liquid into his mouth before he could be thrown.
"KHAKHAKHA! PAUL! HOPE YE LIKE BOILING OIL! BURN HIM!"
Anthony laughed heartily while Alfred, still on the ground, weakly raised his hand, his vision blurred, and summoned all his strength for one final spell.
A lightning bolt, weaker than before, shot toward Paul, and the effects were immediate.
His body began burning from within, testing his regeneration, which struggled to keep up with the damage.
When the flames subsided and his body was heavily damaged, Erik tried to cut off the arm holding the artifact, but Paul protected it with his other arm, which was severed.
Gritting his bloodied teeth, Erik changed grip to strike the head, but Paul lifted his leg, filled it with massive energy, and slammed it down.
"FUCK!"
Erik, screaming in rage, was forced to throw himself back as far as possible, but still got caught in Paul's ability.
When the destruction settled, Erik, Jasmine, and Anthony, all heavily injured, looked around cautiously, but Paul was gone.
"He… escaped?" Jasmine asked, incredulous.
"We need to find him and kill him, now," Erik said coldly, helping Alfred.
"Relax, lad, he's already on his last legs. He'll be dead any moment now." Anthony replied.
"You really want to live with the thought that that thing could still be roaming around?" Erik asked, and Anthony had to admit he was right.
"On one point, you are right, though. He's weakened, and in that state, it'll take only one of us to finish him off."
Erik wouldn't let Paul escape, not after all this.
'Maybe Adel…'
He guessed Adel had been following the fight, though he couldn't be sure, so the group split up to search for Paul.
****
Paul ran like a wounded beast, moving on three limbs since the other arm had been severed.
The Berserk effects were fading as he sped through the flames, debris, and clashes in the citadel, leaping over walls and heading into the island jungle.
There, he could only run a little longer before the ability wore off, collapsing to the ground exhausted.
His back rose and fell rapidly, his regeneration factor showing only a fraction of its original power.
Then he suddenly opened his eyes, shielding the arm holding the artifact, getting a deep cut on his back, and in an instant, became alert toward the figure emerging from the shadows.
"You are truly something else, you know? At that moment, I doubt anyone could've reacted… or maybe I've just rusted."
Adel swung the halberd, wiping blood from the blade and watching Paul curiously.
He had seen most of the four's fight against Paul, and though he wanted to make an endless list of Erik and Alfred's flaws, his focus was on Paul and the artifact he carried.
The effects were only supposed to cause paranoia, agitation, and obsession, not turn him… into that thing.
"Strange. You look like the modified servants of those overgrown mosquitoes, yet you still keep your human traits. You make me wanna reopen my research journal."
Paul charged blindly at Adel. His speed had drastically dropped, as had his strength, but he still ranked within Grade 3.
Adel watched him calmly, dodging the punch easily, tilting his head, then stepping back to avoid the claws, stepping back again to dodge a bite.
The reason Adel handled him so easily was that every attack was ridiculously simple, and their trajectory predictable, especially now with only one arm.
It might've been problematic against his full strength, but it was time to end this.
Paul charged again, but Adel dodged, swung his halberd, and neatly decapitated Paul, who fell dead.
"Hmm… I just don't get it."
Touching the body, Adel confirmed Paul was dead, yet the rune on his wrist still glowed black.
In fact, when Paul appeared, the rune had started glowing ominously after a long time, yet nothing unusual had happened during that period.
Lost in thought, Adel didn't notice that Paul's blood began flowing toward the artifact, which greedily absorbed it, and when full, the gem shattered, erecting a dark barrier around Adel.
"Strange." An unknown voice spoke behind Adel, sending shivers down his spine. "Technically, my servant should be him, but he's dead… Anyway, human, since you are here, would you like to make a pact with me?"
The figure radiated power on par with the peak of Grade 4, and though his tone was soft, the aura of death was suffocating. Anyone would've been terrified, but Adel… was crying?
"Ah, mighty gods... this humble person thanks you from the bottom of his heart for this wonderful gift."
With his face streaked with tears and a smile twisted by ecstasy, Adel knelt and prayed like the most fervent believer.