Duko’s pupils constricted into pinholes. He read the notification three times, not understanding what he was seeing.

That didn’t make any logical sense. It wasn’t just the fact that Grey had killed a Volthari—again—but that he had done so with such speed.

Everyone had heard the Volthari’s roar. Every one of them had felt that pin prickling against them—though some more obviously than others.

But not a single one of them could have possibly expected that mere seconds after experiencing that feeling that they would receive such a notification in kind.

Impossible. Just simply impossible.

For a moment, there was a flicker of fear in Duko’s eyes. First it was Amunet, and now it was Grey.

Amunet’s abilities he had seen with his own eyes. The destructive wave that those arms had wrought were well beyond what any Proving Class entity should have been capable of. At least not one of a Cracked World, and certainly not from a blank slate of a Race like the humans.

And now there was Grey...

Slowly, Duko began to calm down. The last of the lightning doing damage beneath his skin peeled away and he exhaled a breath of calm.

There was no way that things were just simply that Grey was this strong. That didn’t make sense.

When his panic was washed away and his mind started to work again, he recalled something.

’Resonant Frames have a huge advantage against Elementalist Races...’

They had all seen Grey’s battle with the three alien Races that invaded Zone 234. While Grey was so enraged that The Great Udon was revealing the location of the most valuable talents of Earth, what he should have been just as enraged about was how their magnanimous host had revealed so much of their abilities to the world.

By showing their battles beat for beat, people were able to analyze and learn from them, understanding what made them tick.

They had seen Grey curve away Volthari lightning already, and that was before he swallowed one of their seeds. Logically speaking, even setting aside if he had actually had time to grow since then, just that alone would have made Grey many times better.

’He’s the perfect counter to Volthari...’

Duko’s eyes narrowed.

This conclusion was one the others also quickly reached, but that didn’t put them at ease. If being a counter to Volthari was so easy, every Resonant Neural Frame wielder would be one. But they all knew that wasn’t the case.

Grey was on another level, a talent the likes of which rarely appeared.

Duko stood. ’But, if his weaknesses are the same... he is easily defeatable.’

Just as Duko was about to settle down, he heard yet another roar fill the air.

He squinted up and barely saw a large bundle of red-gold flickering wildness amongst the clouds. Given the distance, for him to be able to see it through so much fog, the brightness of the red-gold near the actual target must have been absolutely astronomical.

And that roar...

Where had he heard it before?

"Daddy’s coming, bitches!"

A line of red-gold streaked down from the skies.

BOOM.

Duko’s eyes widened.

Grey wasn’t going to wait around and hope he didn’t run into them.

He was going hunting.

...

Grey crashed into the ground below, his butterfly wings of pulsing magnetic energy spreading out in a wide arc.

Before him, a Syrn stood, its head rapidly turning toward him.

"Look alive." Grey said as though handing out a kind warning. Then he blitzed the bastard.

The Syrn’s skin flickered with black energy, a scythe manifesting in its hands.

It swung the scythe down in an arc from one side, its tail shifting behind it to pierce upward toward Grey’s temple and through his blindspot.

It was quite clever.

Or it would have been if Grey didn’t both have Last Paladin Spirit and Resonant Sense.

Grey didn’t even try to dodge. He took control of the head of one of his hammers. As fast as he was swinging it an instant before, he swung it even faster as the magnetic lines got a hold of it.

Suddenly, the heavy hammer felt as light as a feather in his hands, and rather than slowing, it accelerated, a blazing heat emitting from its head.

BOOM.

He tore through the Syrn’s blacklight like it wasn’t even there.

"As if the same fucking shit will work twice. Next time, send a new stable of alien bitches."

The Syrn’s chest shattered into a rain of mystical, violet-black blood. It coughed, its body curling as its eyes practically popped out of its sockets.

It was sure that it had gauged Grey’s speed properly, only for Grey to not even bother with his attacks so that he could focus on swinging faster.

The scythe and tail swipes hit nothing but air as the Syrn was sent flying backward.

Grey practically seemed to flicker and disappear, tendrils of white gold extending from his joints as his speed reached unconscious levels.

Appearing high above the Syrn, he slammed down.

It was already dead after the first strike.

This one was for extra measure.

BOOM.

—

[Champion "Mantis" has been slayed by Champion "Udon’s Daddy"]

—

Grey didn’t even seem to notice the notification. He bent down, picked up the scythe, and took a bite out of it.

It didn’t hit his belly with the same explosion, but he also didn’t give a damn. The stamina he used up came back with a flourish, and slowly, more parts of his body started to open up.

It was practically pennies compared to what he had gotten before, but he didn’t seem to care for the difference right now.

Every little bit counted.

And he was going to be sure that he took advantage of every inch.

Grey shot into the skies. He wasn’t about to wait around here. Every single one of these sons of bitches was going to die.

BOOM.

Grey landed on the ground, and across from him...

A female Dormaji stood.

Monai’s eyes narrowed.

She was not alone. Unlike the others... she had managed to gather her team with her.