Zakar's Tyrann Sword clashed against a sphere of roaring fire, splitting it in two with a sharp metallic ring. The halves detonated behind him, shaking the ground and sending embers hissing across the ground.

Justin stood opposite him, chest heaving, flames wreathing his body like armor forged from anger itself. His eyes glowed not just with heat, but with something far more venomous. Hatred. Pure, consuming hatred.

Zakar narrowed his gaze. "Hmm. You seem to be taking a personal revenge on someone." His tone was steady, though his body shifted, ready for the next strike.

Justin didn't answer. He only trembled, his stare growing distant. The flames around him flickered erratically, as though they weren't fully his own.

Zakar paused, reading the signs. His instincts screamed at him.

'Just as I thought… He's being possessed. Something like what Kyara said about the Negative Entity. That means he's not himself. He's being used. He's only here to slow me down, to keep me from Sera and Myia.' Zakar thought to himself lightly.

"Shut up!!" Justin roared suddenly, his voice cracking with unnatural fury. His hands flared, summoning a massive torrent of fire that erupted forward.

The blast hammered Zakar in the chest, throwing him off his feet and skidding him across the dirt. The smell of burning cloth and singed flesh filled the air.

"Fuck," Zakar hissed, forcing himself upright despite the blood that now trickled down his cheek. His eyes locked on Justin again only to freeze.

Justin was changing.

The flames that cloaked him collapsed inward, sucking into his body. His skin paled, cracking with white lines of energy. His hair bleached into snowy strands that fell across his face. And when he lifted his head, it was not Justin's face that stared back.

It was someone else.

A white-haired man with a painted grin that seemed carved into his skin. His robe swept the dirt with each step, pristine even in the chaos. His eyes shimmered like fractured glass, gleaming with mockery.

"Hello," the man whispered, voice smooth as silk yet threaded with something cruel.

Zakar's grip tightened on his sword. His mind reeled.

So it wasn't just possession… Someone else was buried inside him this whole time.

'Now it makes sense. I could rate Justin's fight now and he seemed to be more powerful than the S rank assassin that came after me. Hmm. Not to speak of the sudden change in mood and words. He was inhabiting Justin's body? For how long?' Zakar thought worried for a moment.

His gaze darted to the side and his heart lurched. Justin lay sprawled on the ground, unconscious, blood seeping from dozens of shallow wounds as though he'd been flayed alive from the inside.

Zakar's knuckles whitened. "Who are you?"

The white-haired man tilted his head, his smile widening. "Who I am? Haha… not so sure who the hell I am. I think I just wandered in here." He lifted his hands loosely, as if mocking the question.

Zakar's voice thundered with rage. "Answer the damn question and stop making a fool of yourself!"

The man laughed a chilling, hollow sound that echoed across the broken land. "Feisty. I like that." He snapped his fingers.

From behind him, the earth split open. Two colossal serpents slithered out, their scales chalk-white, their eyes a sickly gold. They reared, hissing, their bodies so massive the ground quaked beneath them.

Zakar's system flared instantly, windows flooding his vision.

[ Identity Found ]

[ Name: Nero Void ]

[ Rank: S-Rank ]

[ Type: Deadly ]

[ System: Serpent System ]

[ Class: Tailor ]

Zakar blinked. A Tailor? How? He thought that Kyara and her team were the only Tailors. His thoughts stalled, disbelief tangling his mind. How is an S-rank Serpent wielder a Tailor? Is he the test Kyara warned me about? Or something else—

His thoughts were cut short as one of the serpents swung its tail.

BOOOOM!!

The impact tore the earth apart, cratering the ground where Zakar stood. His body was smashed into the dirt, blood splattering as bones cracked under the force. Dust erupted skyward, swallowing the field in a suffocating haze.

Zakar coughed, his chest convulsing. Blood ran from his lips. His vision blurred, but he forced his arms to push against the broken ground. His Tyrann Sword quivered in his grip.

A shadow fell across him. Nero stood there, watching lazily as if bored, his grin unwavering. "That's it? That's the strength of the one supposed to stand against the Negative Entity? Disappointing."

The second serpent lunged, mouth gaping wide. Zakar rolled just in time, its fangs shattering stone where his head had been. He swung his sword upward, slicing along its jaw. The blade cut deep, scales splitting, but the beast only shrieked in rage and whipped its tail.

Zakar was flung across the battlefield, crashing through boulders, his body bouncing lifelessly before grinding to a halt. He gasped for air, ribs burning, blood matting his hair.

Still, he rose. Slowly. Painfully. His knees shook, but he stood, sword lifted.

Nero clapped mockingly. "Not bad. You don't fall easily. I'll give you that."

Then, with a snap of his fingers, lightning surged down the serpents' spines. Their bodies glowed with sickly energy, scales sharpening like blades. The air filled with a hissing chorus as both beasts lunged again.

Zakar roared and charged forward, Tyrann Sword flashing. And hus sword met the scale in a cacophony of sparks, his strikes carving bloody lines across the serpents' bodies.

For every wound he inflicted, however, he took three more tails whipping, fangs tearing, scales cutting his flesh.

His system screamed alerts into his vision.

[ HP: 47% ]

[ Internal bleeding detected ]

[ Rib fractures detected ]

Zakar gritted his teeth. He couldn't falter. Not now.

He ducked under another strike, his sword flashing upward to carve into one serpent's eye. The beast shrieked, thrashing wildly, slamming him into the ground in its frenzy.

Blood gushed from his mouth. His body felt like it was being broken apart piece by piece. Still, he pushed the blade deeper, twisting, until the serpent collapsed with a thunderous crash.

But victory was short-lived.

The second serpent's tail lashed across his chest, lifting him into the air. His body arced before slamming into the ground with bone-shattering force. His vision went white.

Nero's shadow loomed over him again. The man crouched, his grin inches from Zakar's face. "Impressive. Truly. But you're still not enough. Not yet."

He stood, flicking blood from his hand as though it were dirt. "You asked for name ealier. Well my name is Nero Void. I am an Upper-Class Tailor. If you truly wish to fight the Negative Entity, you'll need far more than what you showed today."

He snapped his fingers. The surviving serpent coiled around him, its golden eyes gleaming. "I don't want you dead. Not yet. You're… entertaining. And besides killing you would spoil the fun."

His grin widened. "Goodbye, Zakar. Let's see if you survive long enough to make me take you seriously."

In an instant, Nero and the serpent vanished, the air falling eerily still.

Zakar collapsed to his knees, sword trembling in his grip. His body was broken, his blood pooling beneath him. But his eyes burned not with despair, but with fury.

He spat blood to the ground. "…I'll hwve to change my stats to be stronger. Strong enough to wipe that grin off your face."

The silence swallowed his vow, the battlefield reeking of smoke and blood.

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