Darius took one step forward and the entire rooftop trembled.

"...What do you want?"

West looked at him quietly for a few seconds before chuckling. "What I want...?"

The wind atop the three hundred storey resort tower howled violently around them.

Below, Misty High City glittered endlessly with lights, traffic, and tallnskyscrapers stretching into the horizon.

Darius stood there with killing intent leaking from every inch of his body while West faced him calmly with both hands tucked casually into his pockets.

"Oh it is quite interesting how much you seem to care about your children..."

He slowly began walking forward. "...but the children of others are just..."

His eyes sharpened. "...Collateral damage."

Darius frowned immediately. "What are you talking about?"

West chuckled softly while tilting his head slightly. "Oh... you don’t even remember do you?"

He slowly began walking around Darius in circles while speaking. "Do you often slaughter innocents and call it collateral damage?"

Darius’ expression hardened but West continued anyway.

"Eighteen years ago."

"There was a territorial conflict between gangs around the lower districts."

"You and another awakened fought in the middle of a residential zone."

West’s voice remained calm as he narrated. "You activated your bloodline abilities without caring who was nearby."

"Spikes erupted through buildings..."

"Roads..."

"Homes..."

"And one of those spikes..." West stopped walking. "...burst out from beneath where a four year old child was standing."

There was a brief silence before he continued. "That child..."

West slowly looked directly into Darius’ eyes. "...was my big sister."

Darius’ pupils shrank slightly as West continued. "My mother held her body in her arms while it turned cold..."

"And all you people could say was..."

West’s smile disappeared completely. "...Collateral damage."

For the first time since arriving, Darius genuinely looked shaken but only briefly.

Soon his face hardened again. "Look kid..."

He exhaled slowly. "It’s nothing personal."

"Stuff like this happens all the time during awakened battles."

Then he shrugged coldly. "Your little sister was just in the wrong place at the wrong time."

The temperature around West dropped instantly.

"Hm..." he slowly drew closer to Darius. "Perhaps if I destroyed this entire building with your children inside..."

"...I could call it collateral damage too."

Darius snapped. "NOT IF I KILL YOU FIRST!"

He shot forward instantly at a violently fast pace.

A Tier 2 awakened moving seriously was terrifying and it caused the surrounding air to ripple.

His hand shot toward West’s throat but West suddenly swerved sideways and spun around with absurd speed.

WHOOSH~

The moment he reappeared behind Darius, his eyes widened in disbelief.

’Impossible... Wasn’t West Tier 1? How was he that fast?’

Darius was having a hard time comprehending how a tier 1 was fast enough to evade an attack from a Tier 2 awakened...

West spoke quietly from behind him. "You destroyed my family..."

"...the least you can do is allow me repay the favour."

Darius roared while activating his branches violently.

BOOOOOOM!

The entire rooftop exploded as massive black spikes erupted everywhere from the marble floor like a blooming nightmare.

The luxurious top floor was instantly shredded apart causing pools to explode and glass to shatter.

Decorations were obliterated while dust and debris swallowed everything.

Darius expected blood and screams with a view of West getting impaled...

However, when the dust slowly cleared, West stood atop one of the giant spikes casually.

There was not a scratch or even dust touched him.

The wind blew softly against his clothes while he stared down calmly as Darius’ expression darkened.

"Should you really be trying to fight me right now..." West tilted his head. "...while knowing I have your kids?"

Darius stared for a few moments before regaining composure.

"If you really wanted to kill them..."

"...they’d already be dead."

He slowly crouched. "You have something else in mind."

A savage grin spread across his face. "All I have to do..."

"...is destroy you before you get it done."

Dark spikes suddenly erupted from Darius’ body itself forming a suit of armor and both weapons on him.

He suddenly vanished...

BOOOOOOM~

He appeared before West instantly while swinging a massive spike-covered arm toward his torso.

The attack was monstrously fast causing the air around them to explode.

This was an attack that would no doubt cleave West in half upon contact, but instead of the wet flesh severing sound Darius expected...

CLAAAAANG!

A loud metallic sound rang out as Aurethia suddenly appeared between them.

Her glowing saber intercepted the strike and the collision detonated like artillery.

The remaining rooftop exploded apart entirely causing massive shockwaves blasted outward.

Concrete chunks rained into the city below and even West himself was blown backward from the force.

For the first time ever, Aurethia slid backward several feet.

"I heard you were a summoner..." Darius spoke while both his branches throbbed violently. "...but that’s not going to help you here."

In the next instant, the battle began in full swing.

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

Darius attacked relentlessly causing dark spikes to erupt from every direction.

The entire vicinity became death traps but Aurethia moved beautifully.

Her silver form blurred across the battlefield while her saber carved through incoming spikes.

She parried attacks, destroyed projectiles and intercepted killing blows.

When Darius saw that she could truly hold her own, he started to attack with wide-range bursts.

He intentionally flooded the battlefield with too many simultaneous threats for Aurethia to fully cover.

West immediately realized that Darius was separating them strategically but before he could do anything about it...

Darius suddenly appeared behind him with explosive speed.

Once Aurethia saw that her master was in danger, she moved to intercept Darius but this was exactly what he wanted...

BOOOOOOM!

A hidden spike trap detonated from below Aurethia’s blindspot, she spun and raised her blade to deflect at the last moment but the impact was so powerful...

It sent her entire body flying off the edge of the skyscraper.

CRAAAAASH~

Aurethia body was shot through the air like a comet and blasted through another building across the street entirely but the force kept pushing her farther and farther.

Darius smiled viciously after seeing that West was exposed without his bodyguard summon.

A massive spear-like protrusion formed around his arm as he arrived before West in a flash.

West’s eyes widened slightly while Darius grinned savagely.

"Got you."

As the spear thrust forward, West suddenly let out an absurdly girly scream.

"Auuhhh!"

BOOOOOOOOM!

Shockwaves erupted outward upon collision and the skyscraper split further apart.

As the dust slowly started to clear, Darius grin had completely vanished.

He stared in disbelief upon realizing that his attack had stopped...

West had caught it barehanded, letting the spear tip hover inches away from his chest.

He smiled deviously before speaking; "Just kidding."

When Darius observed properly, he noticed that West’s skin no longer looked human. It was changing...

Dark fur spread partially across his arms and shoulders while strange glowing patterns appeared on his skin in streams of crimson and electric blue. His muscles thickened visibly while clawed fingers gripped Darius’ transformed arm effortlessly as strange protrusions poked out of his back.

Even his eyes had changed had changed color while glowing fangs appeared in his mouth.

He looked monstrous now...

The air around him distorted slightly as strange glowing blue footprints slowly appeared all across the vicinity with some e even suspended across the air.

Darius felt genuine danger for the first time that night as his eyes remained widened in disbelief. "How? Aren’t you a summoner?" 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

West smirked. "I am... but I’m also a transformation awakened... possessing a total of six branches."

Darius felt a cold chill crawl up his spine as he remained frozen in place.

"And since I revealed this information to you... I’m sure you’ve obviously realized that I don’t intend to let you live..."

Darius barely had time to react before a monstrous punch slammed into his ribs and launched him through three collapsing pillars instantly.

CRAAAAASH!

Concrete exploded and steel bent inward as Darius smashed through an entire support section before stabilizing himself mid-slide with spikes protruding from his feet.

He looked up immediately and West was already there, appearing atop a glowing footprint.

BOOM!

Another punch slammed onto him causing all the spiky armor on his body to blast into pieces as he slid across the rooftop.

West vanished again and reappeared atop another glowing footprint on the left.

Darius crossed his arms this time in anticipation.

BOOOOOOM!

The impact blasted the surrounding rooftop apart completely causing the remaining structure to give way beneath them.

Both figures fell straight downward through the collapsing levels.

Floor after floor shattered while people inside the luxury resort screamed as ceilings burst apart and debris rained everywhere.

West appeared beneath Darius mid-fall and kicked upward violently.

THOOOOOM!

Darius blasted through another floor into the open air outside the skyscraper and the city wind roared around them as West followed immediately.

The luminous footprints stretched across empty air itself as though the world had become his stepping stones.

Darius finally understood. ’This bastard... with double awakening and six branches... he has become as powerful as a tier 2 awakener...’