Everything in that split second seemed frozen in time. The Exiled, hurtling upward toward the rooftop, caught sight of the muzzle flash from Cyrus's rifle and the bullet's trajectory cutting through the air toward it in the blink of an eye. Raw instinct commanded it to raise its arms in defense.
Crack!
The special bullet punched through the creature's rough palm with ease. Dark blood splattered. It continued toward the Vine-born's chest... but instead of reaching the fatal point of its heart as Cyrus had intended, the defensive hand had altered the bullet's path by mere millimeters!
Bang!
The Exiled's massive form plummeted from the rooftop, crashing into the ground below with tremendous force. Dust and debris billowed in all directions.
Cyrus's eyes widened. Direct hit? Mission accomplished? Hope flickered in his chest for a brief moment.
But then... his smile faded. As the red mist below began to thin slightly, it revealed The Exiled's form lying motionless on the ground... for only a moment...
After what felt like an eternity but was only seconds, the body began to twitch! The red mist around it started reforming rapidly, thicker and more terrifying than before. And then... it began to move, rising to its feet once more! The grievous wound on its chest was healing at a sickening pace!
"Shit! What the hell!?" Cyrus cursed in frustration and disbelief. "It took a direct hit! Why isn't it dead!?" He looked down at his rifle in confusion. Or did... did I miss?
"Cyrus! What's happening!?" Genus's voice crackled through the small communicator by his ear. "Did you miss the target!?"
The Exiled, now back on its feet, roared with rage. It wasted no time on Cyrus atop the building, instead charging toward the panicked crowd evacuating below in a frenzy!
The stone walls Genus had erected earlier shot up to block its path again. And again. But it demolished them easily with its tremendous strength. It was furious, bloodthirsty, and trying to kill every life that stood in its way!
But Cyrus had gone silent. He didn't provide supporting fire after seeing The Exiled rise again. He still stood stunned on the rooftop, his mind drowning in the failure of missing three crucial shots in a row...
"Cyrus! What's wrong with you!? Why aren't you shooting!?" Genus shouted through the communicator, her voice filled with urgency and worry.
Genus's words snapped Cyrus out of his trance. He tried to gather his focus, shouldering his rifle to aim once more, but his heart still trembled.
Below, The Exiled drew closer and closer to the crowd. Its claws and razor-sharp thorns slashed through the bodies of unlucky townspeople one after another. Screams of pain and despair echoed throughout the area.
One corpse... two corpses... three corpses... four corpses... the body count climbed rapidly.
Genus saw the situation deteriorating rapidly. She knew that if left unchecked, River Bend would become a massacre ground. She decided to face it head-on!
"Hmph!" Genus growled low in her throat. Some kind of energy radiated from her body. The ground beneath The Exiled's feet trembled before numerous sharp stone spikes shot up from the earth like demonic fangs, stabbing into the Vine-born's form!
This won't work! If I let it rampage any longer, it'll destroy everything here for sure! Genus thought with determination. She began unleashing a continuous barrage of attacks. Stone fragments, dirt, and concrete from the surrounding ruins were controlled to pelt The Exiled like hail.
But its defensive power was too strong. These attacks only managed to create small scratches on its rough hide!
On Raven's side, he still wasn't ready for another round of combat. After using "Gear Four" in the previous clash, the energy in his fists was nearly depleted. He stood panting heavily, trying to gather his strength and wait for it to "recharge."
Barton was still struggling to get his injured body upright. The old wounds from his earlier fight with The Exiled were taking a heavy toll.
Meanwhile, Leon, who had been running frantically toward the sounds of battle, was starting to regain some clarity. Anger and guilt still churned in his heart, but the last image of Eva he'd seen before losing consciousness... it wasn't of him hurting her, but of her gentle smile...
He slowly picked up the massive iron hammer that had fallen nearby. Its weight felt solid and reassuring in his hands. It... where was it?
Then Leon saw the hallucination overlay again...
"Hey, Leon..."
He saw the face of a young girl... short brown hair, large round eyes that had once been bright but now held a melancholy gleam yet still maintained their gentleness... Eva...
"You can get up now... everyone else is struggling..." her voice echoed in his head.
Leon shook his head violently. When he looked up again, Eva's image had vanished, leaving only the emptiness of the fog. But her words remained etched in his heart.
Right... what am I doing just sitting here! He quickly pulled himself together, gritted his teeth, and charged back into the heart of the battlefield!
On Genus's side, as she fought The Exiled with everything she had, she was beginning to falter. It was starting to predict the trajectory of the stone fragments she controlled and dodge them with increasing agility.
Cyrus himself was still hesitating to shoot, afraid of missing and hitting Genus instead. He needed a clear signal from her to find a safe position to fire.
"Golem!" Genus shouted. The ground beneath her feet shook violently before masses of stone and debris assembled into two massive stone golems! Both golems roared and charged at The Exiled immediately.
But The Exiled's power was far superior. The two golems could only delay it for a few seconds before being smashed to fragments!
The Vine-born was getting fed up with this game. It roared and charged at Genus with high speed! It drove its knee into her stomach with tremendous force!
Ugh!
Genus doubled over in pain before it spun around and swept its foot into her ribs with full strength! Genus's body flew back and slammed into a wall, but she remained conscious. She gritted her teeth and swung back with a fist encased in stone fragments at its face!
Bang!
But it seemed to have no effect! The Exiled didn't even flinch. It charged again, this time throwing a direct punch at her stomach!
Genus coughed up blood. Her body visibly weakened.
"Genus! Genus! What's the situation!? Can you hear me!?" Cyrus's voice came through the communicator frantically.
Genus coughed up blood, her condition far from good. But then she saw an opportunity. The fog around them was thinning slightly, and she spotted Raven running straight toward The Exiled from behind!
She gathered her last reserves of strength, using her stone-encased palm to push The Exiled backward toward Raven! "Raven! Now's your chance!"
"Perfect, Genus! Thanks!" Raven shouted back. He reached The Exiled just as it was losing its balance!
The Vine-born sensed Raven's approach. It quickly spun around, meaning to defend itself, but it was too late!
Raven roared. Massive energy exploded from his body once more!
"Gear Three!!!"
His right fist, wrapped in dark energy, slammed into The Exiled's stomach with full force!
Boom!
The impact shook the surrounding ground. The Exiled doubled over in pain, dark blood spurting from its mouth!
But Raven wasn't finished!
"Gear Four!!!!"
This time it was his left fist, releasing even more insane energy than before. He didn't throw the punch straight out but instead swung both blazing fists back to their limit before exploding all his power toward the same spot... the chest area where Cyrus's bullet had grazed... the location of its heart!
Massive energy was pumped into that point continuously!
"AGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"
The Exiled screamed in agony like never before. Its body began to crack, crimson light from within seeping through the fissures. It coughed up blood in chunks!
Genus, despite her severe injuries, refused to give up. She gritted her teeth and gathered what little strength remained.
"Golem! Earth's Foot!"
The ground beneath The Exiled's feet split into a deep pit before a massive stone foot shot up to stomp on its body repeatedly! Simultaneously, another golem she'd created though smaller than before charged in to pummel the weakened Vine-born's body relentlessly!
Cyrus on the rooftop was breathing heavily, sweat pouring down his body. His rifle was so hot he could barely hold it. He'd fired several supporting shots but wasn't sure if they'd hit anything vital because smoke and debris from the battle obscured everything.
He could see the situation below was coming under control but hadn't received any signals from Genus or Raven, so he decided to climb down quickly to assess the situation firsthand.
At the same moment, Leon arrived at the fierce battlefield. What he saw were the corpses of three or four townspeople scattered on the ground, their eyes wide with terror, the metallic smell of blood permeating the area.
Rage boiled up in Leon's chest once more. He gripped the iron hammer tightly and rushed toward where The Exiled was being overwhelmed!
The Exiled, under relentless assault from Raven's power and Genus's golems, looked to be at death's door! Its body was covered in grievous wounds, dark blood flowing without cease. But it still refused to die easily!
With its last burst of strength, it squeezed out every bit of power it possessed!
"AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"
A violent wave of deep red energy exploded from its body! Genus's golems were instantly pulverized! Raven, who was closest, was blasted away several meters by the explosion, his body slamming into a wall so hard he lost consciousness immediately!
Genus herself was also swept away by the energy wave, falling to the ground in a heap, barely able to move. She looked battered and critically injured.
The Exiled stood gasping heavily, its body trembling, but it remained standing. Its crimson eyes swept around like a victor before focusing on Genus's prone form nearby... it saw nothing but openings!
Genus tried to get up, but her body no longer obeyed. She saw The Exiled walking straight toward her with bloodthirsty eyes...
It grinned terrifyingly. It targeted Genus... the woman it considered the strongest in this group... and the most annoying too...
It charged toward Genus at high speed! Then it kicked her body with full force! Not satisfied, it proceeded to beat her down repeatedly!
Genus coughed up blood, feeling like bones throughout her body were shattering. She was barely conscious.
After that, The Exiled spotted a long, sharp iron rod lying nearby. It was debris from a collapsed building structure. It grinned cruelly, grabbed the iron rod, intending to use it to end Genus's life for good!
At that very moment... Leon arrived at the scene!
What he saw made his heart nearly stop... Genus lay in a pool of blood, breathing raggedly, and The Exiled was raising the sharp iron rod high, preparing to stab down!
Cyrus had also just arrived from another direction. He too witnessed that horrifying scene! An image he couldn't believe! One of his most important companions was about to be murdered before his very eyes!
"GENUSSSSS!!!" Cyrus roared, trying to rush in to help, but it seemed too late...
The sharp tip of the iron rod was about to plunge into Genus's body...