The Pale Glow Revealed
The dark hall of Bernetter's den loomed silently, shadows crawling along jagged walls.
A faint pale glow cut through the darkness, slowly revealing a face — the professor from the academy, the one who had once tried to kill Kaizer.
Kaizer's eyes widened in pure shock, heart thundering,
"How… how are you even alive? I-I… just saw you unconscious. But… how?"
Ferin, calm but curious,
"What… do you know him?"
Kaizer tensed, voice trembling but firm,
"Of course I do. He's the corrupt and perverted professor from our academy. When I challenged him, he was about to kill me… but then he came… and saved me.
( He pointed toward Shammroy.)
Querion, eyebrows raised,
"Did Shammroy save you?"
Kaizer nodded quickly,
"Yeah!"
Querion turned to Shammroy, voice laced with skepticism,
"But when?"
Shammroy smirked faintly, calm as ever,
"Well! When we arrived here and told you two that we were going to defeat the cosmic beast, you went blacked out. I… handled it then."
Ferin, frowning in confusion,
"Apart from that… Kaizer, if you know this guy, why didn't you recognize his name when we heard it from the old lady back at the restaurant?"
Kaizer panicked, hands raised defensively,
"Hey! Hold on! I swear… I didn't know they were talking about him! Don't suspect me. Besides… his name isn't Bernetter. In the academy… he was Gerian."
Shammroy, Querion, and Ferin's eyes narrowed simultaneously, suspicion brewing.
Bernetter, stepping forward, voice sharp and mocking,
"Hey… do you think I'm a brat?"
Querion snapped,
"Shut up!"
Bernetter tilted his head, a dangerous smirk forming,
"What?"
He thought to himself,
Bernetter thinking,
"What are they thinking about me .… who am I really they thought of?"
Then, with a growl, he unleashed his power. The ground trembled, dust falling from the ceiling.
Shammroy, arms raised in caution,
"Whoa! Calm down. I know you weren't dead… but I didn't expect this."
The First Strike
Without warning, Bernetter vanished, reappearing to strike Shammroy with a lightning-fast punch.
Shammroy caught the fist mid-air, skidding back with controlled force, teasing,
"God… why are you so angry? Keep calm, dude."
Behind him, Ferin and Querion lunged to attack, but Bernetter's body slipped away like liquid, moving impossibly smooth.
Shammroy's eyes widened,
Shammroy amused,
"What… did he apply some kind of lubricant?"
Bernetter, expression unreadable, eyes glowing with killer intent, began a flurry of attacks with impossible speed. The group dodged with all their skill, muscles straining, hearts pounding.
Querion's weapon—a long knife sword in one side, spear-stick in the other—cut and jabbed at Bernetter, forcing him to momentarily crash to the ground.
Kaizer delivered a sharp kick to his face,
Ferin's fists, crackling with green demonic lightning, thundered into him.
Shammroy grabbed Bernetter by the neck and hurled him across the hall.
But Bernetter rose instantly, skidding across the floor, landing in a crouch.
Assault of Precision
He rushed the group again, leaping onto a wall with uncanny agility. Mid-air, he snatched Querion's weapon, swinging it toward him.
Querion blocked, but a shallow cut marked his face. Exhaustion crept over him as he staggered back.
Bernetter's assault continued relentlessly,
A mid-air kick smashed into Kaizer.
Behind him, Ferin's green thunderous punch struck his side.
Bernetter lunged at Shammroy to grab his neck, but Shammroy's precise pressure-point technique paralyzed his hand.
The hall echoed with the clash of power, sparks flying, stone cracking under the force of their blows.
The Calm After the Chaos
Bernetter knelt briefly, chest heaving, before quickly escaping Shammroy's grip, standing tall again, clutching his paralyzed hand.
Shammroy's eyes softened, voice carrying weight and understanding,
"One of my close one … once told me… everyone has their own story.
Some are made powerful, some are made heroes…
and some… are made villains."
The hall fell silent, the pale glow of Bernetter's eyes lingering as tension hung thick in the air.