Steven closed his eyes, drawing a deep breath.


    His heartbeat pounded like war drums in his ears, each thump reverberating through his bones.


    His body burned with anticipation, muscles coiling like a predator ready to strike.


    Then, the storm awakened.


    Blue sparks crackled across his skin, slithering like living serpents.


    Electricity danced between his fingers, crawling up his arms and legs in jagged veins of light.


    His breath came slow, steady, but his body trembled—not with fear, but with raw power surging through him.


    His eyes snapped open, glowing an eerie electric blue.


    A storm trapped within human flesh.


    Then—


    A blinding flash. A deafening roar.


    The battlefield shattered as an explosion of lightning erupted from his body.


    Dust and debris blasted outward in every direction.


    The ground beneath him scorched black.


    His form became a streak of thunder, a force too fast for the eye to follow.


    Each step left behind a trail of searing electricity, scorching deep into the earth.


    Air crackled around him, the pressure of his presence alone sending loose stones hurtling away.


    His blood felt like molten fire, his veins screaming under the strain, but he gritted his teeth.


    The beastmen froze mid-charge.


    Their instincts screamed at them to flee.


    Too late.


    Steven was already among them.


    His sword blurred in a deadly arc, slicing through the thick hide of a towering gorilla warrior.


    The beast barely had time to react before lightning surged through the wound, racing up its body in a violent burst of energy.


    The creature’s eyes bulged.


    Smoke poured from its mouth as it convulsed violently, limbs locking in place.


    Then, with a gruesome crack, the electricity burst from its skull—its eyes melting into blackened pits.


    The beast hit the ground, a smoldering corpse before it even knew it was dead.


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    Steven twisted mid-air, channeling a surge of thunder from his feet.


    The force launched him off the falling body, sending him streaking like a comet toward his next target.


    A wolf-headed beastman raised his axe in desperation—too slow.


    Steven’s blade cleaved downward, splitting the weapon in half before carving straight through the beast’s shoulder, ribs, and spine.


    A violent shockwave of electricity blasted outward upon impact, igniting the fur of the surrounding beastmen.


    They screamed, raw and agonized, as lightning crawled across their bodies, frying them from the inside out.


    Their fur ignited in bursts of white flame, their skin bubbling and peeling away.


    Some clawed at their own faces, eyes rolling back as their hearts ruptured from the sheer voltage coursing through them.


    Others collapsed mid-step, twitching violently, their corpses still crackling with residual energy.


    But Steven didn’t stop.


    He moved like a wraith, vanishing and reappearing in bursts of light.


    He leapt from corpse to corpse, using the dying bodies as stepping stones.


    Jumped across the trees.


    The beastmen’s numbers worked against them—packed too tightly together, giving lightning the perfect path to spread its devastation.


    Each strike of his sword sent bolts of thunder leaping from one enemy to the next, like a spiderweb of destruction.


    A monkey warrior shrieked, swinging a club at his head.


    Steven was gone before the blow could land.


    He reappeared behind him, blade already in motion.


    A flash of blue light.


    The monkey’s head separated cleanly from his shoulders, spinning through the air.


    His body staggered forward a few steps before finally crumpling to the dirt.


    Smoke curled from his exposed neck, his nerves still firing in a futile attempt to move.


    The battlefield lit up in an endless storm.


    Beastmen fell by the dozens, their shrieks blending into a chorus of horror.


    The air reeked of burning flesh, singed fur, and ozone.


    Blood boiled within their veins, their muscles cooked from the inside out.


    Some tried to run, only to collapse mid-stride, bodies betraying them as lightning devoured their strength.


    The ground was littered with charred bodies, some still twitching, others reduced to little more than blackened husks.


    Lily, Magnum, and the Dwarf King stood frozen, unable to tear their eyes away from the carnage.


    The battlefield—once teeming with snarling, bloodthirsty enemies—was now a graveyard of smoldering corpses.


    The storm had consumed everything.


    Steven stood in the center of it all, steam rising from his skin.


    His chest heaved, sweat and blood mixing on his burned flesh.


    His blood vessels, once throbbing with electricity, slowly faded, but his body bore the cost of his power.


    His arms were scorched, deep gashes leaking crimson down his fingers.


    His armor, once polished and strong, was blackened and cracked.


    His sword trembled in his grip, its metal still humming with residual energy.


    He swayed slightly, exhaustion clawing at him.


    And yet...


    The few remaining beastmen hesitated, their once unshakable bloodlust reduced to nothing but fear.


    Even Talon and his airborne warriors, who had circled overhead, flapping their wings in readiness, now hesitated, keeping their distance.


    For the first time in their lives, they had witnessed something more monstrous than themselves.


    And its name was Steven Driesell.


    The beastmen roared in fury, their bloodlust rising like a tidal wave as they charged forward, trampling over the charred remains of their fallen kin.


    Their eyes gleamed with savage hunger, their claws thirsty for vengeance.


    Above them, Talon’s airborne warriors circled like vultures, their razor-sharp talons poised to tear through flesh.


    But then—


    A voice cut through the chaos, clear and unwavering.


    “O, Benevolent Spirit of Wind! Guide your children!


    Spirit of Water! Protect your children!”


    Magnum’s chant carried across the battlefield, each word laced with divine power.


    Suddenly—


    A gust of wind surged forth, wrapping around Steven’s battered body like an unseen force cradling a broken warrior.


    His body had suffered—the relentless storm had drained him.


    His muscles screamed with agony, his vision swam in and out of focus, and blood still dripped from the wounds carved into his flesh.


    But as the wind lifted him, the pain dulled.


    A shimmering veil of water spiraled around him, its soft glow pressing into his wounds, coaxing his body to heal.


    Torn flesh knitted together, seared skin was restored, and exhaustion loosened its grip.


    His body floated weightlessly, gliding through the air like a fallen soldier carried home by unseen hands.


    Magnum guided him, bringing him gently to the ground beside his allies.


    Magnum stood tall, his silver-blue eyes calm yet burning with unshakable resolve.


    He turned toward his sister, his expression firm.


    “Lily.”


    “I know, brother.”


    She was already prepared.


    Her bow was steady in her hands, her eyes sharp as a hawk’s.


    With practiced ease, her fingers danced over the quiver, pulling three arrows at once, their fletching glinting under the storm-lit sky.


    The Dwarf King stepped forward, his heavy axe resting on his shoulder.


    His voice rumbled like the deep earth.


    “I will fight as well.”


    The battlefield shifted.


    The raw devastation Steven had unleashed left the enemy staggering, but this was not the moment to falter.


    It was time for Lily and Magnum to strike back.


    Lily inhaled deeply, feeling the familiar warmth of spirit energy flowing from her brother.


    It did not force its way into her, nor did it overwhelm.


    It simply merged—natural, effortless, as though it had always been part of her.


    The air shimmered around her.


    The very tips of her arrows gleamed with wind magic, their edges honed to an unnatural sharpness.


    The bowstring thrummed under her fingers, charged with unseen energy as she drew it back, waiting for the perfect moment to release.


    Magnum, meanwhile, rose into the air, a cyclone of wind and water coiling around him.


    His robes billowed, his outstretched hands pulsing with magic that crackled against the storm.


    The beastmen hesitated, sensing the shift in power, but their bloodlust would not let them retreat.


    They charged forward, roaring, their weapons raised high.


    Above them, Talon’s winged warriors shrieked as they dove down like falling stars, their claws ready to carve through flesh.


    But Lily and Magnum were waiting.


    The battle was far from over.