Victor Wang saw a burst of fireworks shoot up from Vimara Village. Though he didn't know what had happened, he rushed there immediately.
He arrived just in time to see Alphonso and Kuiyuan locked in a standoff, while Kavus and Sudabeh, terrified, were sprinting toward the forest.
Not knowing what had happened, Victor Wang immediately went after the two children. Running could never beat flying—after entering the forest only a short distance, he intercepted them easily.
But to Kavus and Sudabeh, there was danger ahead and danger behind. Panicked and overwhelmed, they had no idea what to do.
Just as Victor Wang was about to calm them down, he heard movement deeper within the forest. The Fatui operatives stationed there to support Alphonso had begun moving toward the fireworks signal. Step by step, the two sides collided.
A sizable group—over thirty Fatui—emerged with formidable presence, all of them converging toward Kavus and Sudabeh.
Victor Wang placed his hands on the children's shoulders, turning them around one by one. "I know your sister Rana. Listen to me—stay here and don't run."
Whether they believed him or not, Kavus and Sudabeh didn't dare resist.
Only then did Victor Wang face the Fatui. He opened with a show of force: Starfall. A massive meteor dropped from above, vaporizing the trees below it. The earth shook violently, leaving behind a large crater.
Only a few among the Fatui excelled in speed, and Starfall's area was tremendous. With a single strike, half of them vanished along with the trees.
Such destruction in a single instant struck fear into the remaining Fatui. Even so, they pushed forward with grim determination—but fearing another devastating blow, they scattered.
Victor Wang saw clearly that this wasn't the gaze of those embracing death—it was the stare of people being cornered, as if something behind them had sealed off every possible escape, leaving "running away" no longer an option.
He sighed inwardly. So, this is the point I've reached… able to eliminate so many at once, and without hesitation.
He raised his hand again. Under the Fatui's horrified gazes, he unleashed Wind's Grand Ode in its Electro-infused form. The moment the enemies dispersed, the powerful suction pulled them all back together.
Sensing disaster, the Fatui scrambled to raise shields—some encased themselves in layer after layer of Cryo armor, hoping sheer mass could withstand the Wind's Grand Ode. Others exhausted every scrap of energy from their elemental storage devices, trying to blast themselves free. A handful actually succeeded.
Those who failed could only watch helplessly as a blazing crimson orb drifted into the center of the vortex. Boom! An Erosion Blast detonated—then another explosion followed as Pyro and Electro reacted into Overload.
Anyone whose shield wasn't strong enough simply ceased to exist. The few who survived were blasted away, unable to continue fighting. It was nearly a complete wipeout.
Only the handful who had escaped the Wind's Grand Ode were still creeping forward, trembling.
"This isn't fun at all…"
Before he could finish off the stragglers, Victor Wang sensed a blade of wind behind him. He whipped around, bending sharply backward—almost parallel to the ground—but before he could fall, he caught himself with one hand and rolled aside.
"Uwah! It's the Rishboland Raja—the Rishboland Raja came to catch us!!"
"And the Gator Raja… It's because we didn't listen to Sister Rana and left the village—they showed up to punish us!"
Kavus and Sudabeh shouted in terror.
Victor Wang finally saw them.
Two enormous beasts had appeared behind him at some point.
One stood four meters tall—a Consecrated Fanged Beast, its joints, tail, and spine armored in jagged bone plating. Green skin, glowing eyes, razor fangs.
The other was over two meters tall and six to seven meters long—a massive golden Consecrated Horned Crocodile, its rugged back replaced entirely by bone spikes, a single horn jutting from its head.
Despite their size, they appeared without making a sound. The earlier attack had come from the Fanged Beast's tail blade—aimed at Victor Wang's head and narrowly missing the children. Even in the brief moment of reaction, Victor Wang had thrown shields over both of them.
"You two—" Victor Wang quickly surveyed the surroundings, trying to find a place to put the children. At that moment Kuiyuan arrived. "Go hide with him!"
"He's a bad guy…"
While they spoke, the two beasts lunged. Dodging quickly, Victor Wang answered, "It's fine. My shield will protect you—go!"
He was getting anxious. Even with the Jade Shield, the beasts' raw strength could send both shield and children flying; the fact that Kavus and Sudabeh hadn't been hit earlier was pure luck. They continued hesitating—until Arana, who had been watching from afar, finally stepped in and led the kids away from the battlefield.
Only then did Victor Wang fight freely. In one swift motion he severed the Consecrated Fanged Beast's tail, then leapt onto the Horned Crocodile's back. After carving a gap into its bone plating, he shoved two Electro/Pyro-infused Erosion Blasts inside. The beast was blown clean in half, unable to move.
But when he looked back—the Fanged Beast's tail had already grown back. Its fangs, claws, and tail blade combined with an unnervingly agile body made it far harder to handle than the Horned Crocodile.
Before he could finish the Fanged Beast, the Horned Crocodile also healed completely.
Not believing it, he blew it up again—this time watching closely. He noticed its body turning to sand, regenerating its wounds. The Fanged Beast used a similar method—its body turned to wood, allowing severed limbs to reconnect seamlessly.
These were not normal Consecrated Beasts.
Victor Wang switched tactics. Every time he destroyed a body part, he burned what he could, and flung the rest far away with Anemo. Sure enough, the missing limbs no longer regenerated, and their bodies gradually shrank. It worked.
He exhaled in relief, wondering whether these two altered beasts had been created by The Doctor.
Then he noticed something had changed on Kuiyuan's side.
"Children, come with me."
A gaping, transparent hole had appeared in Kuiyuan's chest—and standing beside him was a man wearing a bird-beaked half-mask, pale blue hair, and a quietly oppressive aura. A segment of The Doctor.
He spoke to Kavus and Sudabeh in a voice dripping with temptation.
The two children looked up at him—then nodded obediently, as if hypnotized, and began following.
But a sudden mutation erupted—Kuiyuan's body shattered like porcelain, breaking apart from the wound outward. There was no flesh beneath—only mirrors. From each fractured surface, a black-robed figure flew out. Dozens of Mirrormasters erupted from his body in a coordinated ambush toward The Doctor.
"Fire."
With a snap of his fingers, flames burst from The Doctor's body, instantly destroying the icy mirror images. The real Mirrormaster slid aside behind a Frost Mirror Shield, the ambush having failed.
===BREAK===
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