Pure savagery is what inhabited his flesh; as he reached the banshee, he squeezed his fist tight enough to burst the air caught in his hand. As he flexed his body, a form of [Draconic Might] naturally activated before he threw his fist forward.

[Dragon Strike: Monster]

As his fist reached the abdomen of the banshee, who tried to protect herself with layers of her sturdy hair, the threads were torn through before the blow reached the witch's body as if a bomb had just descended upon the land.

The resulting wind pressure unleashed from his knuckles carved up the land, leaving a destructive path once more as the banshee was left stumbling back.

"--" Emilio watched.

"Aaaa.." The woman's mystical voice left in pain.

Even yet, she had not yet fallen; the supernatural figure proved to be sturdy beyond normal means once again. Though she was clearly reeling from the blow as her abdomen was caved in and blackened blood seeped from her lips, yet the fight was not over.

"Emilio! Stop messing around and finish the enemy!" Asher yelled out from the back.

It was partially true and false at the same time to say that the Dragonheart was merely playing around, but it wasn't as though he was fighting at full capacity either. In order to truly keep the will of the destructive beast within him suppressed, he needed to make simple movements, use simple attacks, and contain his actions.

Still, it seemed it wouldn't be enough to simply rely on the most basic of offensive tactics as he readied himself again.

'...Let's do this. I'll finish it in my next attack,' he thought.

As the banshee tried going for another scream out of nowhere, a few small-scale explosions hit her from the left.

"--?" Emilio looked over.

It was a surprising, but relieving sight: the golden-haired elf was smiling, standing above the hill leading down into the quarry with his rune cannon in hand.

"Just in time!" Blimpo grinned.

"More like late as hell!" Joel called out.

The distraction served at least to provide the Dragonheart with ample time to ready his internal power; at the simple gesture of moving his arm, he summoned a massive swirl of azure flames around himself.

It seemed when using [Draconis Monster], the power of the Dragonheart was transcended; refined and purified despite the monstrous instinct that tried to take over.

'Cultivate it and nurture the flames..into a killing force,' he thought.

The others knew to stay a safe distance in the wake of the Dragonheart's finishing attack as Emilio weaved the bright-blue inferno around himself, gathering it into a shape before him.

Just as the banshee came to after being hit directly with explosions, she howled out while at the same time unleashing a barrage of snow-white hair towards the Dragonheart.

But, it was already too late.

Emilio stomped down, shattering the soil beneath him before thrusting his hand forward, gathering and twisting the bountiful blaze into the shape of a colossal dragon head that tunneled forward through the quarry. It roared out with an unmatched heat, bulldozing straight through the destructive shriek and the witch's hair alike.

[Dragonheart: All-Consuming Lord of Skies]

It swept by in an instant, unstoppable and mighty in its wrath before snatching the banshee in its fiery jaws. With the commanding gesture of squeezing his fist, the Dragonheart ordered the draconic construct to sweep up into the air with the ghastly figure in its jaws before–

"Explode," he quietly yet intently commanded.

The solidified flames expanded into a shining explosion of bright-blue flames, of which the others witnessed. Blimpo excitedly spectated this as if watching fireworks, jumping up and lifting his goggles as he laughed.

"Amazing, 'Milio! Where'd this come from?!" Blimpo let out.

"That's one helluva attack," Joel remarked.

"Yeah," Vandread agreed.

Though Asher was more focused on the state of the Dragonheart, having his hand close to his claymore as he watched Emilio closely. The question was if the Dragonheart managed to fully suppress the Draconis Monster, or not; the invigoration of triumph might've been the factor to push him over the edge.

As the volatile blaze died down, nothing but ash was left of the freakish entity, leaving the Dragonheart alone in the charred battlefield before he turned around to face the others.

"Emilio," Asher called out, "Is it you?"

For a moment, Emilio caught his breath before his sapphire eyes faded back into their natural, purple state; a singular thumbs-up was given with a tired smile.

Asher let out a sigh of relief, moving his hand away from his claymore, "It's you."

As soon as it was solidified that Emilio was in control, the others reunited, catching him before he fell face first into the dirt.

"Woah! Gotcha!" Joel said.

Joel and Vandread both caught the exhausted young man as he chuckled. Walking felt like an impossible task for Emilio, as the glitched path in his system seemed to be incredibly taxing on his body.

"Good job," Vandread complimented quietly.

"Yeah, that was some crazy stuff!" Blimpo remarked, "I didn't see much of it, but..dang!"

Though the path forward was now open, the group decided it was ample time for rest as they made a makeshift camp just beyond the quarry.

There was a clear trail in the forest beyond the stone valley, likely leading to where they needed to go. Emilio sat against a tree, sitting across from Blimpo who tinkered with his rune cannon.

In the meantime, Vandread and Joel went out into the forest to look for food–either by hunting or gathering fruit.

"How're ya feeling?" Blimpo asked while fiddling with his weapon.

"Exhausted," Emilio yawned.

While it was a success that he managed to control the monstrous form of his system, it was undoubtedly still a tool that came with many risks, though with many potential benefits as well. As he sat there, his muscles cramped and his body felt as dense as lead; healing magic couldn't do anything about the deeply-seeded exhaustion.

'If I use Draconis Monster..there's always the possibility that I'll slip and lose control. At that point, I'll destroy much more than I'm trying to protect. Even if I do reel it in, what if I'm unable to defeat the enemy? That's what happened with the Dread, if I recall–I couldn't take it out, so I ended up passing out. I was a liability in battle. This is something I need to work on,' he thought.

"Do ya have any more tricks up your sleeve? It's like you have as many abilities as I have gadgets!" Blimpo asked with a laugh.

Emilio scratched his head tiredly, "Something like that."

Sitting silently the whole time, Asher made it his responsibility to keep watch, leaning against a tree with his claymore kept in his hands.

–

[???]

Beyond the forest of white-and-black leaves lay a checkered castle; made of quartz walls and hung with pitch-black flags. The flooring of this mysterious keep was covered in checkered tiles, leading through the isolated, royal chambers to a throne room.

Upon the throne, which sat before a gateway of mythical proportions, sat a man of a youthful appearance with snow-white skin, a white, kingly uniform with a salt-and-pepper cape and a sable crown.

His left eye white, and his right completely black, even down to his sclera; he slammed the bottom of the pitch-black halberd down against the tiles, resonating with a commanding echo.

"Come, Hound," the man spoke in a gentle, yet powerful voice.

In an instant, a figure appeared in front of the royal man with speed that came as a blur, instantaneously arriving with a maniacal grin spread across its lips. It was anything but human; a devilish figure with skin that resembled metallic armor, sleek and smooth with horns that curved back from its head.

"Race through the land and bring me the heads of those that dare to reach the Quandary Gate," the kingly figure ordered, raising his halberd, "Show them the instantaneous wrath of 'The Speed Demon'."

There was no verbal response from the enigmatic, demonic figure as it simply replied with a subtle, quick nod before disappearing in an instant with terrifying speed.

–

[The Checkered Forest]

Joel followed behind Vandread in search of suitable food for the group, though it was difficult to find much of anything that didn't seem toxic or swift enough to run away into the mist. In order to be able to find their way back to the campgrounds, Joel left marks on the trees they passed by.

For some reason, the dark-skinned figure came to a stop, pausing completely almost mid step as he looked forward with wide eyes. Joel noticed this, perplexed for a moment before finally opening his mouth to ask what was going on.

"Hey, have you found somethi–"

It happened far too quickly; far too sudden; far too aggressively–a blur sped through the trees, coming in from over one-hundred meters away and zooming past the two before even a fraction of a second could pass.

"Gyuh–!"

Neither of the two were unable to react to the incomprehensible speed before blows were left across both of their bodies, flashing by like thunderclaps that resounded through the misty forest.

There was no fighting back against it; like a wave of violence passing through, unseen and unrecognized, though felt.

"Ngh..!"

Joel fell down, wincing as bruises formed on his body only a few moments after receiving the swift blows.

Though hit as well, Vandread caught himself on a branch before falling, picking himself up but clearly feeling the effects of the speedy attacks as well.

'What was that?' Vandread questioned.

"Joel!" Vandread called out.

"I'm fine..I think," Joel brought himself back to his feet, coughing as he rubbed his chest with a wince.

There was no enemy to be found around them, though it was very much clear that one had passed by them in that singular instance.

"What the hell was that about?" Joel questioned.

"Don't know, but it's not good. We need to head back and tell–" Vandread began to say.

Again, it was that ominous sensation; perhaps it was the instincts of the veteran adventurer that had been honed over decades, but once more, a chill ran up his spine.

"Hey–!" Joel called out.

Vandread pushed the silver-haired man aside just as the leaves of a bush far away rustled before–it all warped again as a blur passed by. It was for the briefest of moments, in between fractions of a second, but Vandread saw it: a blurred smile.

A dozen blows pounded against the scarred man's body in that instant, taking both the attacks meant for himself and Joel. While each blow wasn't mighty individually, the successive impacts they came with along with the speed attached to them made them felt to the core of one's body. Vandread spit out a mixture of blood and saliva, stumbling back as he swept his gaze around.

All that could be seen were the leaves of bushes brushing aside and branches swaying, though it was far behind the actual movements of the unseen being.historical

'Fast..! No, this goes beyond just "fast"--I've never seen speed like this!' Vandread thought.

"Joel! Get back to the camp–! Tell the others–go!" Vandread shouted.

Though the emerald-eyed man was clearly hesitant to flee from the enemy, he knew it was the optimal decision made by Vandread as he nodded and got up, running along where he marked the trees.

Behind him, the silver-haired man could hear the whistling of wind increasing with the movements of the speedy entity, though Vandread did his best to occupy its attention.

"I'm right here," Vandread said, holding his daggers up.