The fight began.
WHOOM!
The beast dashed first, closing the distance in a fraction of a second. Jack's eyes followed him calmly.
CLASH!
The first punch collided—not with Jack, but with the wall behind him.
Jack was already gone.
He reappeared midair behind the beast, hands still in his pockets, coat drifting as if gravity itself hesitated around him.
"You're fast," Jack said. His voice carried Aura, layered with pressure that bent the air.
The beast spun instantly, unleashing a savage flurry of strikes.
BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.
Each blow shook the chamber, stone screaming under the force—but Jack slid between them with minimal movement, no wasted steps, his body turning just enough to let destruction pass by.
For the first time, Jack moved deliberately.
He drew his hands out, rolled his shoulders, rotated his neck until it cracked lightly.
"I'll give you more than the others," he said evenly. "Just enough… to keep this interesting."
The beast roared, power swelling in his chest. A massive energy wave erupted forward.
Jack lifted one foot and tapped the air.
The blast split cleanly in two, folding away from him like it had struck an invisible edge.
He vanished.
WHAM!
Jack reappeared behind the beast, his knee driving into the spine with a thunderous pulse. The beast staggered—then forced himself upright.
This one was different.
They clashed again.
Not wildly. Not desperately.
A sharp exchange of blows, sudden reappearances, space bending and snapping back as Jack moved through it. The chamber blurred, light and shadow tearing past each other.
Jack's strikes were smooth, measured—but his Aura spoke louder than his fists. It pressed down, thick and suffocating, making the walls groan.
"You hold power…" Jack whispered mid-strike, "…but no conviction."
The words landed heavier than the blow.
The beast snarled and struck back, dark energy slicing through Jack's coat, tearing fabric at his side.
For the first time, the beast's eyes lit up.
He bled.
Jack glanced down at the tear. He didn't flinch.
"…Good."
His eyes burned brighter, twin suns igniting.
"Now you're paying attention."
He stepped forward—fully this time. No teleportation. No vanishing.
Each strike now sent shockwaves through the palace itself. Columns cracked. The floor fractured. The beast met him head-on, roaring, forcing power beyond its limits—
—but Jack's Aura surged harder, deeper, something violent and divine pressing outward.
The beast faltered.
Jack was already above him.
Midair, one hand raised, glowing red and black like a dying star.
"Disappear."
The word struck first.
BOOOOOM!
The blast collapsed the chamber inward, light swallowing stone, sound vanishing into crimson silence.
When the smoke cleared, Jack stood alone.
Not a scratch on him.
His coat fluttered as he exhaled softly, the glow in his eyes dimming just slightly.
"Fun while it lasted."
As he turned to leave, something caught his attention.
A portal.
Jack stopped.
The air thickened as he faced it, ancient and pulsing, alive in a way that rejected him outright. Memories stirred—of the 68th floor, of a rift that had denied him without explanation.
A low hum filled the cavern.
Jack stepped forward.
The portal responded violently, surging with blinding force and hurling him back.
He didn't move.
The pressure crashed against his Aura like waves against a cliff.
"…Tch."
He exhaled slowly, then spoke. Calm. Deep.
Dense enough that the flames around him flickered out for a moment.
"Still not strong enough…"
The words didn't echo—they resonated, distorting space itself.
Cracks spread beneath his feet as black and red energy pulsed outward.
"This portal…" he said quietly, studying it, "isn't just a gateway. It's a test. A wall between this world… and something greater."
A faint smirk tugged at his lips.
"Fine."
His presence intensified, the walls trembling in response.
"If this world thinks I've reached my peak…"
His eyes sharpened.
"…it's dead wrong."
The portal surged again—but held.
Jack turned away, sliding one hand back into his pocket as the realm smoldered behind him.
"Soon," he said flatly. "You won't be able to hold me back."
He walked on, flames parting before him, his shadow stretching long and jagged, pulsing like an ancient spirit whispering war.
Behind him—
Reality tore.
Not shattering like glass, but ripping apart as the portal ruptured into a vast rift—the 70th floor.
Cold, death-scented wind howled outward.
Beasts emerged.
Not monsters—but abominations.
Forms stitched from nightmares. Too many limbs. Movements that bent wrong. Mouths opening where faces shouldn't exist.
They surrounded Jack.
He didn't turn immediately.
One hand still in his pocket, he sighed.
"…Really?"
He lifted his head. Red light bled from his eyes, shadows stretching unnaturally.
"Beasts," he said calmly, almost disappointed. "Acting exactly like humans.
Trying so hard to look terrifying…"
His gaze swept over them.
"…but hollow all the same."
A calm, unsettling smile crossed his face—perfect, empty of warmth.
"It's not strength that makes monsters frightening," he whispered, Aura leaking out like black fire. "It's silence."
The floor trembled.
Then—
BOOM.
The battle ignited.
Jack moved with precision. No rage. No frenzy.
One beast lunged—gone.
Another tried to scream—its head twisted midair with a flick of Jack's finger.
He dismantled them effortlessly, a god in motion, bored with the act of destruction itself.
The 70th floor had awakened.
Far above, in the high chamber of the Ranger Council, silence pressed heavier than stone.
Elite rangers filled the circular table—legends, all of them—yet their faces were pale, tense.
At the center sat Iris.
Composed. Still.
An apple turned slowly in her hand, its surface reflecting the dim light like something fragile.
"The world is slipping into chaos again," one council member said sharply. "And this time—it's him."
Another clenched his fists.
"Jack… or Leo. From seventy-five million years ago."
Disbelief rippled through the room.
"We barely survived him once," someone muttered. "And now he's returned. Stronger. Darker. Not human anymore."
Iris spoke softly, almost to herself.
"He's Leo… but not the one I knew. He's a shadow," she said. "With memories."
A senior ranger rose.
"Your team is the strongest we have," he said heavily. "And even you couldn't touch him."
Silence.
"…We're out of options."
Another voice followed, grim and steady.
"Then it's time we request multi-dimensional assistance. If Jack becomes unstable…"
Thunder rolled outside.
"…every world could fall."