"Hey! We aren't kids playing soldier," Izuna snapped, crossing his arms. "We’re actual soldiers! But first things first—where can we find Kevin? The child from the forest before?"

  Kale’s heart nearly stopped. "Izuna, you idiot!" he hissed in a panic. "Why would you mention Kavin out loud?"

  The guard’s face shifted instantly from annoyance to deadly seriousness. He lowered his spear, the tip pointing directly at Izuna’s throat. "What do you know about that child?" the soldier demanded. "Answer me, boy! Were you the ones responsible for kidnapping that child’s mother?"

  "Wait, wait! You’ve got it all wrong!" Izuna waved his hands frantically.

  Beside them, Miss Reyu remained silent, her breath hitching. She knew the way the system worked; if she spoke now, the guards wouldn't believe a disheveled woman. They would only see three suspects and throw them into a dungeon before anyone could explain the truth.

  Kale clenched his fists, his mind racing. This is bad. We’re trapped between a suspicious guard and a locked gate.

  Suddenly, a thunderous explosion echoed through the stone walls. Two Royal Guards were sent flying like ragdolls, their armor clattering against the pavement.

  "What is happening?!" the lead guard shouted, turning toward the noise. But before he could even raise his weapon, a dark blur streaked through the air. A massive hand gripped the guard by the throat, the force of the impact killing him instantly.

  Kale, Izuna, and Reyu stood frozen in horror. Standing atop the wall, silhouetted against the sun, was the Tattooed Man.

  "Yo, brats," he spoke, his voice a terrifying, low growl that vibrated in their chests. "You really thought you could escape me? I wanted to deal with this quietly—less violence, less mess. But I guess I have to get my hands dirty after all."

  He looked down at the bodies of the Royal Guards with total indifference. "I wanted to avoid a conflict with the military, but you brats just had to make it hard for me. Now, I’ll kill the three of you here, and then I’ll take that boy by force. There's no point in playing nice anymore. If things are already ugly, I might as well make them hideous."

  Izuna spun around and gasped. Emerging from the shadows behind them were ten more men in black suits. At their head stood Riban, his face twisted into a cruel sneer.

  "You got lucky last time," the Tattooed Man called down from the wall, his voice eerily calm. "But this time, I’ll make sure you both die without wasting another second. You better do it right this time, Riban... or I’ll kill you myself, you dim-witted ass."

  Riban let out a cold, jagged laugh. "Don’t worry, Boss—"

  "That man... he is Grivear," Reyu whispered, her voice trembling with a mix of terror and hatred. "He was once an officer in the Special Forces."

  "What?" Izuna gasped, his eyes darting between the man on the wall and the weeping woman. "But why? Why would an officer do this?"

  Grivear let out a cold, dry chuckle. "So, you seem to know quite a bit about me, huh?"

  "Yes! I know everything!" Reyu shouted, her voice cracking with years of suppressed pain. "Because you were the one who murdered my mother and father nine years ago! My father was a respected soldier, and you slaughtered him just for a bribe!"

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  This woman has been through far too much, Kale thought grimly, his hand tightening on his weapon he just pick up from the ground when the royal guard drops it'.

  "Ha ha ha!" Grivear’s laughter echoed off the stone walls. "That fat old man? What was he even good for? Even if he had lived, what could he have possibly achieved? He was a burden, holding back the true potential of the forces. At least I got paid well to put him out of his misery."

  Reyu’s eyes burned with pure rage. She looked like she wanted to tear him apart with her bare hands, but she stood frozen, her body shaking from the realization of her own helplessness.

  "That’s beyond cruel," Izuna growled. He didn't wait for a plan. In a flash of blind fury, he charged. "Fire Fist!"

  Izuna ignited his hands, flames roaring as he launched himself toward the top of the wall with incredible speed. But Grivear didn't even flinch. Just as Izuna was about to strike, a massive uprooted tree came whistling through the air. It slammed into Izuna mid-flight, sending him crashing back down into the dirt.

  Riban stepped forward, his skin already turning into that familiar, dull grey stone. He lunged at the grounded Izuna, but this time, Izuna rolled out of the way just as a rocky fist shattered the earth where his head had been.

  Kale stood his ground nearby, eyes darting between Izuna’s struggle and the four other men closing in on Miss Reyu. Crap, he thought, we’re being spread too thin.

  Riban swung again, his movements heavy and destructive. "Stop running around, you little punk!" he screamed, frustrated by his missing targets.

  "I’m not running, you big-brained idiot!" Izuna yelled back, narrowly dodging a horizontal swipe. "This is called dodging! If I take you head-on, I’ll just end up broken again."

  Izuna remembered Kale’s words: Fight with your brain, not just your muscles. Instead of putting all his energy into his fists, Izuna used small, concentrated bursts of flame from his feet and palms to propel himself in short, jagged bursts of speed. He was a blur of orange light, circling the stone giant. Where is his weakness? Izuna wondered, his eyes narrowed as he analyzed every movement Riban made. Every armor has a chink. I just have to find it.

  Riban swung his massive fists with reckless abandon, each strike carving deep craters into the earth and kicking up a suffocating cloud of dust. For a moment, Izuna vanished within the haze. Riban growled, squinting through the grit—until a voice pierced the silence.

  "Fire Fist!"

  Izuna erupted from the dust cloud like a solar flare. His flaming fist collided directly with Riban’s eye. Before the giant could roar, Izuna twisted his body mid-air, using the momentum to drive a heavy kick into Riban’s other eye.

  I knew it! Izuna thought. His eyes aren't as hard as the rest of his skin!

  Landed lightly on his feet, Izuna didn't stop. He swept his leg across Riban’s ankle, knocking the off-balance giant to the dirt. Vaulting back into the air, Izuna pulled his arm back as flames spiraled around his limb.

  "Fire Flare!"

  He punched the air, launching a concentrated sphere of white-hot flames. BOOM! The fireball slammed into Riban’s chest, the impact echoing like a cannon blast. For the first time, a visible crack spider-webbed across the man's stone-like skin.

  Izuna landed, his chest heaving as he wiped the soot and grime from his face. "Huff... huff... did I get him?"

  "You brat..."

  A low, trembling rumble came from the crater. Riban stood up slowly, the stone on his body glowing with a dull, menacing light. "You foolish, little punk... I'm done playing around."

  Suddenly, the air pressure dropped. A violent wind began to swirl around Riban as his body expanded, muscles and stone merging until he stood five times his original size. Two jagged, rhino-like horns erupted from his nose, and his eyes glowed a murderous crimson. He was no longer a man—he was a mountain of living rock.

  Before Izuna could even blink, the giant moved. He wasn't slow anymore; he was a blur of crushing weight. He charged, his horn aimed straight for Izuna’s chest. Izuna managed to dive out of the way, but the mere shockwave of the impact sent him flying through the air.

  BAM!

  Izuna slammed into Kale, the two of them skidding across the dirt.

  "Hey, Big Bro..." Izuna groaned, coughing up dust as he struggled to stand. "This is bad. He’s using a Magic Weapon... it has to be at least Level 3."

  Kale stared at the towering monstrosity, his eyes narrowing in frustration as he gripped his own weapon. "I see it," he replied, his voice grim. "We’re in trouble."