As Adrian returned to Lucius's planet, he stepped into the inner section and immediately saw Lucius waiting. A knife was pressed tightly against Riley's throat, a thin line of blood trickling down her neck.
The madness and wild grin Lucius once wore were gone. He looked calm. Serious.
"Impressive, Adrian," Lucius said in a low, controlled tone. "You continue to surprise me." His smile slowly returned. "But your story ends here. You and Riley are the only humans left in this universe… and I plan to kill you and make her my wife."
"You damn bastard!" Adrian roared as he lunged forward.
Before he could reach him, Lucius pressed a hidden button. A massive steel wall slammed down between them, sealing off the path. Adrian's fist crashed into it instantly, cracking the reinforced barrier and shaking the entire structure, but the delay was enough. By the time he shattered the wall completely, Lucius had already escaped through a concealed door.
Adrian charged after him into the complex's middle section.
He didn't slow down. He smashed through walls, tore through corridors, and blasted apart anything that stood between him and Lucius, ignoring the collapsing debris around him. Every impact echoed through the facility as he forced his way forward with raw desperation.
Eventually, he spotted Lucius fleeing into the outer section. Adrian followed without hesitation—only to be surrounded by dozens of clones.
The clones attacked simultaneously, throwing punches and slashes from all sides. Adrian ducked beneath one blade, grabbed a clone by the throat, and hurled it into three others before teleporting short distances to avoid incoming strikes. He knocked several aside with brutal efficiency, creating a temporary opening, then sprinted forward, completely ignoring the remaining attackers.
But Lucius had already reached a massive tower fitted with a heavy turret system.
Without warning, thousands of super-charged bullets rained down toward Adrian. The barrage tore through the air like a storm of metal, several rounds piercing his arms and shoulders, drawing blood, yet he refused to stop. Through sheer force, he ripped a massive chunk of stone from the ground and hurled it directly at the tower, smashing into it with explosive force. The structure detonated in a fiery blast that consumed the upper levels.
As the smoke cleared, Lucius stood before him once again—knife still pressed to Riley's throat, this time cutting deeper.
"Now, now… don't move," Lucius said with a thin smile. "Or your precious little girlfriend dies."
Adrian's mind raced. Teleport behind him. Open a portal beneath him. Anything.
"Don't even think about it," Lucius added calmly, as if reading his thoughts. "I'm fast enough to kill her before you can blink."
He gestured slightly. "Remember… don't move."
The remaining clones surged forward.
They punched, kicked, and slashed at Adrian from every angle. Blows struck his ribs, his jaw, his back. Blades cut into his skin, fists cracked against bone, yet Adrian did not raise a hand to defend himself. He endured every hit, teeth clenched, blood dripping down his body while Riley remained at knifepoint.
Lucius watched with fascination. "Good… good," he murmured, stepping back slowly.
Then everything changed in a single instant.
Luca appeared silently behind Lucius. With one clean, precise motion, he swung his blade. Lucius's head separated from his body before his expression could even shift, the knife falling from his hand as his body collapsed.
Adrian stood frozen for a brief second, staring at Lucius's lifeless corpse.
Then he moved.
With fury unleashed, he tore through the remaining clones alongside Luca. Their movements were swift and ruthless—Adrian crushing skulls and teleporting between enemies while Luca carved clean paths through groups with calculated precision. Within moments, the battlefield was silent again.
Riley had already fainted from blood loss and shock.
"What do we do now?" Luca asked, relief and concern mixing in his voice.
"I'll keep opening portals," Adrian replied, steady but exhausted. "We'll jump from planet to planet until we find somewhere safe."
"Good idea," Luca nodded.
But before either of them could act, a familiar voice echoed from above.
"Good job killing my clone."
They looked up. Lucius stood on the roof of a distant tower, completely unharmed.
He lifted a single finger.
More than ten Ren clones appeared instantly, surrounding Adrian and Luca in a wide formation.
Without hesitation, each clone launched a gravity ball directly at them. The spheres tore through the air in perfect synchronization, warping space as they closed in. Luca reacted quickly, dodging with fluid precision, while Adrian barely managed to avoid direct impact while carrying Riley in his arms, the shockwaves grazing him painfully.
One Ren clone teleported directly in front of them and struck Luca with a crushing blow, sending him flying across the battlefield. Before he could regain balance, multiple clones activated "Sword of Gravitational Pressure" simultaneously, their blades carving through Luca's body in rapid succession. The overwhelming gravitational force pinned him midair as more abilities struck him relentlessly, leaving no chance to recover.
Within seconds, Luca's body fell lifeless to the ground.