"Long time no see," Lucius said with a faint smile.
"I've been missing you," Ren replied sarcastically.
Without hesitation, Ren formed a dense sphere of gravity in his palm and hurled it straight at Lucius.
He already knew what would happen.
One of the machines instantly moved in front of Lucius, taking the full impact.
It exploded on contact.
"One down," Ren muttered.
Lucius didn't react.
He simply stood at a safe distance, observing.
The remaining four robots charged at Ren simultaneously.
Ren flicked his hand, twisting gravity around them and launching each one into separate buildings.
Concrete shattered.
Glass rained from the sky.
But in the next moment, they were already back.
They surrounded him.
Four glowing energy spheres aimed directly at his body.
The blasts fired.
Ren barely dodged, weaving between the explosions before raising his hand again.
Gravity shifted violently.
All four robots were slammed upward and pinned to the ceiling of the building they were standing on.
Lucius was nowhere in sight.
Watching from afar.
Suddenly, missiles launched from the trapped machines.
Ren was forced to dodge again.
The gravitational hold collapsed.
"These robots are troublesome," Ren admitted quietly.
He raised his hand again.
"Gigantic Ball of Gravity."
The sky distorted.
A massive sphere of compressed gravitational pressure formed above the battlefield, towering like a floating building.
Its presence alone forced the four robots to their knees.
Their frames creaked under the invisible weight.
Ren teleported upward.
With a single motion, he hurled the enormous sphere down.
It collided with the robots and the ground beneath them.
The explosion was deafening.
Flames and debris swallowed the street.
When the smoke cleared, the four robots were gone.
Destroyed.
Lucius was still nowhere to be seen.
But he was watching.
Meanwhile, on the Planet of Discoveries…
Anthony stumbled back into the cave.
His steps were unsteady.
The moment he crossed the entrance, he collapsed to the ground.
Exhausted.
Shaken.
Before anyone could speak, Rio entered behind him.
"I am quite impressed by the human anatomy," she said sweetly. "Now I really want you to stay as my little pets."
Cosmic immediately drew his sword and aimed it at her.
"What did you do to Anthony?!" he demanded. "You said you would let us leave!"
"Well… I know," Rio said cheerfully. "But I changed my mind!"
"You can't just change your mind in the middle of it!" Cosmic shouted.
"Who said that?" Rio tilted her head and made a dramatic thinking gesture.
That was enough.
Cosmic teleported in front of her and slashed.
Blood splattered.
But in the very next second, everything changed.
They were no longer in the cave.
They stood in the middle of a dense forest.
"You might have forgotten," Rio said with a mischievous smile, "but I can do anything on this planet. I am its god."
"Go to hell," Cosmic replied coldly.
He attacked again.
This time, Rio didn't even look at him.
She dodged smoothly, precisely, as if the planet itself whispered every movement to her.
Suddenly, dozens of strange creatures emerged from the trees.
They attacked.
Two creatures slammed into Adrian, launching him into a tree.
Four rushed toward Rose and Leo.
"According to my calculations, dodge right," Leo said calmly.
He moved right.
Rose followed instantly.
"Dodge left."
They shifted.
"Attack."
They struck.
"Dodge right and teleport."
They moved in perfect sync.
Despite her usual attitude, Rose trusted him completely.
Together, they defeated the four creatures with calculated precision.
Meanwhile, Adrian defeated his opponents as well, though he was slightly injured.
Cosmic continued attacking Rio relentlessly.
He aimed to split her in half.
But she kept dodging without even looking.
Her movements were effortless.
Even Cosmic was shocked.
"As long as you're on this planet," Rio said brightly, "I am the strongest."
Cosmic ignored her.
He raised his blade.
"Slash of the Cosmos."
The attack was faster.
Sharper.
Deadlier.
Rio dodged again.
However, something was clear.
She couldn't regenerate.
She couldn't attack him directly.
She could only summon creatures.
But Suddenly—
All of them were teleported into the sky.
High above the planet.
They looked down.
The boiling ocean waited beneath them.
This was it.
Their lives were over.