Mystic Calling：Stone of Glory

"Damn it, this bastard just won't quit! He's back again?!" Seraphina growled through gritted teeth, panting heavily.

"Let's split up, Seraphina!" Ethan narrowed his eyes, then shot forward like a bullet, heading straight for the 16-Tier powerhouse who'd just appeared. He recognized this guy—one of the three 16-Tier monsters who had descended on Emerald Castle back then.

An Umbral Berserker, covered in strange, bristling fur.

This guy was a beast—his power was insane.

The force radiating off him was every bit as intense as that giant centipede Cicero was fighting.

But what made him even more dangerous was his raw physical strength. The guy was built like a tank.

Definitely not someone to take lightly.

"Alright then—bring it on!"

Ethan wasn't about to back down. He took a deep breath, steadied himself, then launched forward like a lightning bolt, slamming his fist down with full force.

The Umbral Berserker sensed Ethan's power and immediately turned, throwing a punch of his own.

BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM!

Their fists collided mid-air, sending out a rapid-fire series of explosive cracks. The surrounding space rippled violently, spiderwebbing with fractures as their blows clashed again and again.

Power surged from both of them, colliding in the sky like a storm of raw energy. From a distance, it looked like they were evenly matched—but a closer look told a different story.

Ethan was being pushed back.

They exchanged blow after blow, the number impossible to count, until finally Ethan was sent flying, crashing backward through the air. Meanwhile, the Umbral Berserker just floated there, completely unfazed, his body twisting unnaturally as he hovered.

"Heh… Looks like you're done," the Berserker sneered, his voice cold and mocking. "Didn't get to kill you last time, but now? Now I will. Time to die, Ethan!"

With that, he dove straight at Ethan, his body a blur of motion, raw power radiating off him in waves.

BOOM!

RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE…

Ethan gasped for breath, then quickly formed a massive energy sphere in his hands and hurled it forward.

Every time he created one of these, he poured everything he had into it—his full strength, no holding back. The resulting blast was always devastating.

But this time, the moment the sphere made contact with the Berserker—it shattered.

Shattered instantly.

And the worst part? The guy had crushed it using nothing but brute strength.

"Shit!"

Ethan's mind reeled. He hadn't expected this guy to be that strong. Just as he braced himself for a desperate last stand, a sudden flash of golden light lit up the sky nearby.

"You're too slow, Draaven."

The voice was icy, and shockingly, it came from a tiny Hell Bug—no bigger than a palm.

But the energy radiating from it… it was 16-Tier too?

Before Ethan could even process what was happening, the Hell Bug shot forward and merged straight into the Umbral Berserker's body.

"AAAHHH!"

A bloodcurdling scream tore through the air.

But instead of weakening, the Berserker's power began to surge—skyrocketing to terrifying new heights.

"What?!" Ethan's face twisted in shock—something was seriously wrong.

And then, just like that, the air around the Umbral Berserker cracked open with a deafening snap. A pulse of energy surged outward, and in the blink of an eye, the creature began to transform—evolving right before Ethan's eyes.

The monstrous form melted away, replaced by a strikingly handsome man.

Two pairs of wings unfurled from his back, sleek and sharp like blades. His entire body was etched with black runes, but those runes shimmered with a golden glow, pulsing with power.

The pressure rolling off him was overwhelming—so intense that even Ethan felt a chill of fear crawl up his spine.

Because this guy's power…

It had just skyrocketed to SS-rank within the 16-Tier.

"What the hell…?!" Ethan's expression darkened.

The transformed Berserker turned his gaze toward the sky and spoke coldly, "Draaven, kill him. You know how little patience I have."

"Yes… understood," Draaven replied without hesitation.

In the next instant, he lunged forward again.

A tidal wave of raw power slammed into Ethan, shattering the defensive barrier he'd just thrown up like it was made of glass.

"Shit, he's strong!" Ethan's pupils dilated.

This kind of power… he couldn't match it. Not alone.

Just as he was about to be overwhelmed, three streaks of light shot in from different directions—Ataneya, Andona, and Namyanna.

The three of them unleashed their own devastating attacks, locking Draaven in place with a coordinated strike that pinned him midair.

"Perfect timing!" Ethan exhaled in relief.

If it had just been him, there was no way he could've held this guy off.

But now—with the three of them backing him up…

They might actually have a shot.

Ethan didn't waste a second. He sucked in a breath, then launched himself forward, his energy flaring to life again.

BOOM!

He drove his fist straight into Draaven's chest.

He knew damn well this wasn't the time to rest. If he was going to die, he'd die fighting.

"You filthy insects!" Draaven roared, his voice laced with fury. "You think you can stand against me? Dream on! Today, you all die!"

And just like that, the battle exploded into chaos.

Ethan and the three women clashed with Draaven in a brutal four-on-one brawl. The sky lit up with shockwaves and bursts of energy, the air thick with the scent of ozone and blood.

It was vicious.

But even though Draaven had forced his way into the SS-rank of 16-Tier, it was clear—he couldn't handle all four of them at once.

Five minutes in, and he was already starting to falter.

And then, just as things were tipping in their favor, the Hell Bug suddenly burst out of Draaven's body and shot into the sky—fleeing.

It ran.

"AAAHHH!"

Draaven let out a scream of agony as his body began to crack—literally. Hairline fractures spread across his skin like shattered glass, and within seconds, his entire form splintered into pieces.

His Primordial Force exploded outward, breaking apart and flowing into Ethan and the others.

After reaching 16-Tier, leveling up became exponentially harder. The amount of Primordial Force required was massive—far more than they could gather on their own.

Their only real option was to take it from enemies like this.

"Damn… that Hell Bug got away," Ethan muttered, frustrated. He knew exactly how dangerous that thing was—being able to forcibly boost someone's Tier like that? It was a walking disaster. If they'd managed to kill it…

But there's no such thing as "if" in battle.

With Draaven down, the four of them immediately split up again, diving back into the chaos of the battlefield.

Meanwhile, not far away, Elira was locked in a savage fight of her own—going toe-to-toe with two 16-Tier powerhouses.

They looked just like Raviel—clearly from the Angelic race.

And the energy radiating off them?

Terrifying.

Both of them were at the absolute peak of 16-Tier S-rank.

To put it bluntly, among all the Hero Units on the field, barely anyone had reached that level.

And now there were two of them.

And they were both ganging up on Elira.

...