Unjust world

Ethan barely had time to process what was happening. All he saw was a blur—the monstrous tongue slicing through the air, hitting the ground with a force that shook the earth. Dust erupted, obscuring his vision, but he could hear the sickening sound of something being crushed and the deafening silence that followed.

But outside his line of sight, the battle was a different story.

Even after deactivating his energy shield, Zeta 4 had registered the tongue's trajectory with his sensors. Within milliseconds, he calculated that the impact would be within acceptable limits for his structure. He remained still, allowing the blow to land. When the tongue struck, the impact created a crater around him, but Zeta 4 held the massive appendage in place for a brief moment—long enough to prepare a counterattack.

Kiyoshi moved instantly.

The samurai dashed forward like a bolt of lightning, his blade already drawn, reflecting the distorted glow of the surroundings. With impeccable precision, he unleashed four rapid cuts. The shockwaves from his attacks echoed like rolling thunder, and the sacred steel of his sword severed the monstrous tongue into grotesque chunks. Even so, the toad—a creature of primal instincts—managed to retract what remained of its tongue, narrowly avoiding a final blow.

As Kiyoshi continued his relentless assault with fluid and agile footwork, Zeta 4 emerged from the crater. His body, though corroded by the creature's toxic sludge, was already repairing itself. Advanced nanotechnology surged through his metallic frame, regenerating the damaged areas with frightening efficiency.

On the ground, Kaerith, the insectoid humanoid, positioned herself beside Ethan and Seryne, her antennae twitching as they picked up the chaotic movements around them. She seemed to be synchronizing with the toad's actions, ready to react.

"We need to retreat," Seryne said to Ethan, her voice filled with calm certainty.

Ethan was about to respond when he felt something firm on his shoulder. A massive hand.

It was Korrak.

Without a word, the beast grabbed Ethan by the waist as if he weighed nothing and leaped onto the rooftop of a nearby building.

The wind howled past Ethan's ears as the world below blurred into nothingness. He shouted in protest.

"You forgot Seryne!"

As they landed on the rooftop, Korrak set Ethan down gently. But before Ethan could complain, he noticed Seryne was already standing beside him.

She was perfectly composed, as if nothing had happened.

"How did you…?" Ethan started, but the words died in his throat. He shook his head and decided not to question it.

Meanwhile, in the battlefield below, Lian Xuan stood atop another building.

The old cultivator closed his eyes, gathering the scarce moisture in the air. Every droplet resisted him, but he persisted, slowly shaping them into a translucent sphere.

When the water sphere took form, Lian Xuan infused it with his Qi. The liquid glowed, bubbling with spiritual energy, and began to elongate—transforming into a celestial spear.

Intricate spiritual symbols appeared along its surface, weaving into the form of a serpentine dragon.

He opened his eyes, his expression resolute.

"Fall."

The spear shot forward at devastating speed, cutting through the sky like a meteor.

The toad, however, was a creature of sharp instincts. Before the attack could land, it dodged with a massive leap.

The impact of the spear against the ground was catastrophic. A deep fissure spread outward, radiating scorching heat.

But the toad wasn't fleeing.

It was counterattacking.

Using the momentum of its leap, the colossal beast hurled itself directly toward Lian Xuan.

The cultivator remained unmoving, his presence as unshakable as a mountain.

As the impact became inevitable, he channeled his Qi into an invisible barrier.

The toad slammed into it at full force, only to be sent hurtling backward, its massive body trembling from the backlash.

The creature wasn't finished. In its fury, it lashed out with its mutilated tongue, its barbs ready to pierce through flesh.

Lian Xuan raised his palm, glowing an intense blue.

When the tongue collided with his spiritual energy, the resulting shockwave was catastrophic.

The air around them distorted, and thunderous ripples of power exploded outward.

This moment of collision gave Kiyoshi and Zeta 4 the opening they needed.

Kiyoshi lunged forward with deadly precision. His blade cleaved through the last remnants of the toad's tongue in a single, flawless strike, forcing the creature to stagger backward.

At the same time, Zeta 4 repositioned himself at the monster's flank. His arms transformed into a plasma cannon, glowing an intense red.

He fired.

The beam struck directly into the toad's eye, detonating it in a cloud of charred flesh and corrosive energy.

The monster howled in agony, its scream echoing across the desert.

Zeta 4 wasn't done.

He activated his thrusters, propelling himself above the beast.

From the air, his arms reconfigured again, gathering even more energy.

A final red-hot plasma blast descended like a pillar of destruction, striking the toad's back with full force.

The impact was devastating.

The creature crashed into the ground, creating a massive crater.

The plasma's heat melted the black sand into shimmering glass.

The colossal toad twitched one last time.

Then, it lay still.

Zeta 4 landed beside the smoldering corpse, his sensors scanning for life signs.

He turned to the group and declared in his cold, metallic voice:

"Life signs eliminated."