He didn't waste breath on curses or panic. His specialty wasn't brute force—it was precision. Space and melee techniques fused into a deadly blend of speed and surprise.

He was a fourth-tier upper-grade Awakener—stronger than Zoey or Camden—and the first to escape the brunt of the ambush.

Up above, Millers' eyes tracked the field, tension growing.

Shit. He's getting too close.

Varek was pushing through, edging closer to Axel's location with every step. The firepower wasn't enough to keep him back.

"I need to stall them… now."

Millers pressed a switch on his wrist.

Two small, disk-shaped drones detached from his shoulders, wings humming as they came to life.

"Alice."

"Jarvis."

"We're online," a calm robotic voice replied.

Millers didn't hesitate.

"Priority target—ugly bastard heading toward Axel. Slow him down. Don't let him get anywhere near him."

"Confirmed."

The two drones zipped off into the treetops like guardian angels, darting through the foliage toward Varek's path with precision-guided intent.

Millers winced as the last of his two high-grade combat drones—his most guarded secret weapons—were destroyed.

He had poured everything into them: iterations of Crowe's experimental research, his own mechanical Awakener talent, and years of work. They weren't even battle-tested yet.

Not to mention, the cost had drained half his entire life savings.

"…Fuck it."

Millers grit his teeth and powered forward.

"I said it before—if I'm here, none of you are getting through!"

He roared as he shot through the air, launching himself straight at Zoey and Camden like a battered missile.

"Is there a fight going on outside?"

Even while deep in cultivation, Axel remained vaguely aware of the chaos unfolding around him. But unlike before, he couldn't afford to divert even a sliver of his attention.

This wasn't just a typical breakthrough.

Right now, he was compressing the very core of his Force. Every ounce of spiritual energy he had was being poured into the Original Pool. If he slipped—even slightly—the volatile energy could spiral out of control and explode inside his body.

So, despite his growing unease, Axel grit his teeth and forced himself to stay locked in, heart pounding.

"…Still alive out there. Guess Millers is holding up."

Just one drop. One successful compression. Then he'd move.

"Master, Alice is offline."

KLANG.

Varek's blade cleaved through the second drone like it was paper. Sparks and synthetic blood spurted into the air as the robotic remains fell to the dirt.

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"Fucking gnats," Varek muttered, wiping a cut on his cheek with the back of his glove. He booted the last wreck aside with contempt.

Those two damn drones had kept him at bay for far too long.

If Zoey and Camden hadn't been here to help apply pressure, Varek doubted he could've gotten this far. Traps, turrets, pop-up weapons—Millers's defenses were a damn nightmare.

But now, they were all spent.

Varek's expression darkened with satisfaction as he strode toward the iron shell that protected Axel's meditating body.

"No more toys. No more time."

He raised his blade, a sneer twisting across his face.

Clang!

"Get the fuck away from him!"

A loud crash thundered behind him—Millers had landed hard, blowing a crater into the ground. His armor was ruined. Sparks spat from his gauntlet. Oil and blood mixed freely, dripping from his crushed arm.

The mask on his helmet was cracked in half, exposing the raw, bloodied side of his face. His eyes—one wild, one grim—burned with cold fury.

"I told you already," Millers growled, voice low and ragged. "If I'm standing, you're not getting through."

With effort, he reached for the emergency raw stone chamber in his armor—empty.

"…Out of fuel?" he muttered, emotionless, before slowly retracting his hand as if nothing had happened.

But the others saw it. Varek's eyes narrowed. Zoey and Camden exchanged a glance. Millers was running on fumes.

"No more tricks, huh?" Zoey chuckled, stepping forward. Her armor was sleek, candy-pink, and nearly pristine—just a few scorch marks here and there. In contrast to Millers, she looked like she'd barely broken a sweat.

She popped a pill into her mouth, and the core on her armor surged with new energy.

Nearby, Varek calmly removed two blood-refined raw stones and pressed them to his chest, his aura rising steadily.

They had all come prepared. The Force in the Abyss had become corrupted—no longer safe to absorb. They'd stocked up.

"Enough wasting time," Varek snapped. He raised his blade again. "Kill him, then take the kid."

But then… something shifted.

The air around Millers began to buzz. His broken armor trembled. And suddenly—his entire body ignited with a dull red glow.

Not the gentle light of a calm Awakener. Chaotic. Manic.

The light of someone stepping toward the edge of infection. Their expressions changed instantly.

"…You're out of your goddamn mind!" Zoey hissed.

Varek took a step back, blade still raised but grip tighter now. Camden cursed under his breath.

Millers didn't move.

That one eye—bloodshot, unblinking—stared them all down.

"Maybe I am," he whispered hoarsely. "But if I go down… I'm taking someone with me."

Millers's one visible eye had already taken on a faint red hue. The chaotic, surging Force pulsed through every cell in his body like a storm. There were no more calculations, just one thought remained:

"I'm here, you're not getting through."

He said it again—but this time, the words landed differently.

"He's about to mutate…" Varek muttered, narrowing his eyes.

Zoey and Camden nodded grimly. This was something else—something terrifying. That burning glow in his eyes, the wild light in his aura…

This was the last blaze before a person was consumed.

"Die!"

With a guttural roar, Millers launched himself forward, armor smoking, movements wild and reckless. Zoey and Camden didn't hesitate—they both retreated in sync.

They didn't need to fight him. They just had to wait. Wait until the Force consumed him. Wait until he lost control and became another mindless monster.

Varek, watching the insanity unfold, felt a flicker of respect. "Die a hero or live long enough to be the villain," he muttered coldly.

Then he turned his attention to the iron sphere. Axel.

He raised his blade and began slicing at the alloy shell, piece by piece.

"Tch."

With a sharp plink, like water striking glass, a strange ripple spread through the air.

Inside the sealed sphere, Axel's breath caught.

The Force that had been surging through his body came to an abrupt halt. Then…

Drip.

A single drop of golden liquid condensed in his Original Pool. And suddenly, everything changed.

"Ahh…"

A low, involuntary groan left Axel's throat. His entire body felt like it had just soaked in a scalding bath—intense, overwhelming, but undeniably alive. His nerves tingled, his veins pulsed, his chest swelled with power.

He had done it. The first drop of compressed Force was born.

Inside his spiritual vision, the gaseous energy respectfully encircled the lone golden droplet, as though recognizing a new monarch.

His stats jumped.

Force: 3035 (66)/3129

Those 66 points were his newly compressed liquid Force—more potent, more refined than anything he'd wielded before.

Axel exited his inner vision. And then he saw it.

Millers—glowing with red energy, eyes bloodshot and body trembling—standing alone.

"Millers… what the hell did you do?!"

Axel's heart dropped. To hold them off… to buy Axel time… Millers'd absorbed the Abyss's violent Force.

The iron sphere around Axel had been the last defense. And now it was gone.

Across the battlefield, Varek had finished cutting through the final layer.

He pulled back the alloy panel. And met Axel's eyes. Eyes burning with raw, incandescent rage.

A breath later—

SLASH!

A crimson blade streaked out from the sphere, erupting like lightning.

The Red Flame Blade, ignited with Axel's newly compressed Force, roared as it cut through the air.

"What the—?!"

Varek didn't even have time to move. He felt the pressure—like the air itself had turned to lead—then a searing heat slashed across his body. The sword cut cleanly, like a hot knife through butter.

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