As the roaring in her ears gradually subsided, Nicole opened her eyes and, realizing she hadn't been split in two, finally let out a breath of relief, her tightly clenched heart easing a little.
The shadow still loomed over her. She looked up to see the Dead End Butcher's massive axe hovering above her head, but it remained completely still.
In front of her stood Zane, whose presence brought Nicole an overwhelming sense of security. In her eyes, Zane appeared taller and more imposing than ever.
Light scattered and filled the surroundings—a spectacular scene created by the collision of Ether energy. The Dead End Butcher roared fiercely, pouring all his strength into the attack, but it was useless.
The massive axe didn't move an inch.
The blade caught in the black-and-gold Ethereal's grasp looked like a toy, casually squeezed and immobilized.
Zane held the giant axe effortlessly with one hand. He then lowered his head and extended his hand toward Nicole, who was sitting on the ground with her knees bent, staring at him in a daze.
"A clever rabbit... who knew you could look this cute."
Nicole didn't mind Zane's teasing. She quickly placed her hand in his and used his strength to get to her feet, immediately retreating to the side.
She knew better than to get involved in a clash between heavyweights.
In fact, while facing death just moments ago, what had worried her most were the commissions she hadn't completed yet—and the compensation money she was about to earn.
Now, everything seemed fine. Victory was within reach. A bright future was right ahead!
Looking at Zane, who was slightly smaller than the Dead End Butcher, Nicole had originally only thought he was strong when seeing him in his Ethereal form.
But now... for some reason, in her eyes, Zane's Ethereal form was growing more and more handsome...
On the battlefield, Zane looked at the towering Dead End Butcher with a spark of anticipation in his heart.
"Show me all you've got. Be a worthy opponent."
His calm voice fell, and the Dead End Butcher seemed to be enraged. With a furious roar, it abandoned its weapon, raising its arms to smash down at Zane.
"I remember the senior once taught me a move for a situation like this..."
Zane casually tossed the giant axe aside. As the Dead End Butcher's punch came crashing down, he caught it one-handed, spun around, and wrapped his other arm around the enemy's.
He loosened his grip, locked the limb, pressed down, twisted—and with one arm, exerted force.
According to the senior, this should have been enough to dislocate an opponent's arm.
But unexpectedly, with a sharp crack, Zane directly tore the Dead End Butcher's entire arm off.
Now that was a complete disarm.
The Dead End Butcher roared furiously and staggered backward, not even bothering to retrieve the weapon that had fallen to the side.
Zane lifted the severed, thick arm with one hand, glanced at it briefly, then tossed it casually over his shoulder.
The heavy arm landed with a thud right in front of Nicole.
"It scared you, didn't it? Here, an arm as an apology. What do you think? Satisfied?"
Zane turned halfway around, folding one arm across his chest, the other hand resting thoughtfully on his chin as he stood tall, looking at Nicole.
"Y-yes, very satisfied," Nicole nodded frantically. She wasn't entirely sure what was going on, but it was clear enough that Zane had crushed the Dead End Butcher.
Seeing her reaction, a flicker passed through Zane's eyes as he turned his gaze toward the distant Dead End Butcher.
Techniques did have their uses.
But it was a pity—the Dead End Butcher wasn't strong enough to need any real technique.
Techniques were meant for opponents of equal caliber.
As for enemies like this...
All he needed was overwhelming force.
At the battlefield's edge, Billy marveled at Zane's stylish rescue, while Anby simply hugged the deactivated Panta and quietly watched Zane's figure.
He had grown stronger again.
And not just by a little—it was a leap in power compared to last time.
On the battlefield, Zane slowly lowered his arms.
In just a short moment, the Dead End Butcher's severed arm had regrown. It spread its four arms wide and roared in rage at Zane.
Then, gathering massive amounts of Ether energy, it charged straight toward him, its enormous body radiating an oppressive force.
With every step, the ground trembled.
Zane walked forward as well, his pace quickening—first a walk, then a run, then a full sprint.
Ether energy surged around him with every step, even slowing the falling rain.
In the blink of an eye, the distance between the two closed by more than half.
Suddenly, Zane halted. One foot stomped into the ground, both arms rising, his other leg lifting high in front of him as he spun once from the momentum.
His upper body leaned back, forming a T-shape, with his arms stretched one forward and one backward. Ether energy gathered densely at his raised calf, radiating a vibrant glow.
All of this happened in an instant.
The Dead End Butcher had already reached him, fists swinging down like a furious giant ape.
Zane kicked out with one leg—like a heavy spear driving straight toward the enemy, or an arrow launched at blinding speed.
Ether energy erupted in a brilliant burst of light, the impact like a giant whale breaching the ocean, or a blue dragon soaring into the sky.
Boom—!
Nicole kept her eyes fixed on the battlefield, but she didn't even catch what happened. In an instant, a massive shadow vanished from view.
At the same time, a huge swath of the ground was obliterated by terrifying force, with countless chunks of earth and stone flying high into the air, completely blocking everyone's line of sight.
The shockwave expanded outward in every direction, scattering the rain.
The rain stopped falling. It was as if even the heavens had fallen silent, the rumble of thunder disappearing entirely.
As the dust settled and the smoke thinned, there was not a single patch of intact ground left—except for the spot beneath Zane's feet and the trajectory the Dead End Butcher had been blasted along.
This pristine path wasn't because Zane had held back—it was because all of his power had been focused solely on the Dead End Butcher.
The shattered terrain around them was merely collateral damage from the shockwave.
This was the most straightforward, brutal, and extreme expression of violent beauty!
Silence fell over the world.
You could hear a pin drop.
Zane slowly lowered his leg and stepped toward the Dead End Butcher, who had crashed through several buildings and now lay buried under rubble.
It seemed he had completely lost the ability to fight back.
"I... this..."
At the battlefield's edge, Billy ignored the rocks hitting him and pointed at the devastated ground, struggling to find the words.
Could anything alive really survive a kick like that?
"Billy, now that Zane has a human form, should we invite him to join Hare's House?"
"Just thinking about it gets me all fired up!"
Nicole was already practically bouncing with excitement. If Zane became part of Hare's House, who would care about the other agencies?
Overnight fame, wealth, and success would be within their grasp!
"Nicole, what exactly does Hare's House have to offer that would attract Zane? Honestly, we'd probably just be a burden to him..."
Anby, as calm as ever, mercilessly poured a bucket of cold water over Nicole's enthusiasm.
"Ah... this..."
...