"Ahh shit," Raphael cursed and looked down. The equipment he used was unlike anything anyone had seen or heard about.
He had personally hunted and took down the creature, and he had lucked out on a huge discovery.
His eyes settled on his chest, feeling the pulse of the object within him.
'Even with all this power, is this what I amount to?' the strange, forlorn thought came to him, filling him with distress.
He had a wife and son back on Earth. They were definitely watching him right now on the big screen, fighting for his life.
Raphael looked up, then frowned, a sudden bubbling rage swelling within him.
"I will not go down without a fight," he uttered coldly, letting out a heated breath.
He accessed the object within his chest and drew energy from it.
Immediately his veins bulged, a terrifying heat coursing through his body and entering his Evolution Seed. His eyes glowed like molten gold, his veins pumped lava, and his heart beat like a war drum.
As soon as the energy was sucked into his Evolution Seed, it triggered something within him… something destructive—to both himself and anyone who stood before him.
They say a cornered beast was the fiercest. When one's back was pushed against a wall, with nowhere to escape to, there was only one thing to be done.
Fight!
Images of his wife and son flashed before him, the trembling hands of his father as he was captured by the Gods. The screams and tears of people as they were killed mercilessly.
Raphael, a 35-year-old blacksmith, had been turned into a warrior. Not because he wanted to, but because he had to.
His Evolution Seed shook, having had its fill of energy.
Raphael coughed, and heated blood streamed down his mouth.
"Overdrive," he voiced out…
Then suddenly a dark red aura, mixed with thin lines of blue, burst out of him, rising into the sky with deadly momentum. It spread through the surrounding five metres and reigned supreme.
The aura was so potent and thick that one could barely make out his figure within it.
'1 minute,' Raphael gave himself a timeframe, knowing fully well that when his power died down, so would he.
He sluggishly raised a leg, taking a simple step forward. However, that small movement carried him tens of metres ahead.
His fist drove into the Ena'Ori's mid region like a hammer, forcing its four eyes to bulge and almost pop out of their sockets.
A flurry of powerful strikes rained upon the Ena'Ori warrior, yet he delicately parried each one—meticulously slapping them to the sides as if to prove a point.
The first strike was only lucky—so the Ena'Ori thought—and he felt confident, especially when he was using his special technique to boost his physical strength.
In a moment of calm and composed bravado, Raphael's hand skipped by without warning, moving twice as fast and delivering a straight punch to one of the Ena'Ori's eyes.
Before he could make head or tails of what was happening, a kick to his side caused him to bend slightly and wince, and a knee to his nose bridge knocked his head back, sending blood spraying through the air.
The Ena'Ori jerked his head back, a tight frown on his face. Yet he couldn't even say what was on his mind when a punch whipped his head to the side.
Raphael paused for a second, smoke rising from his body and wisps of flames dancing at the edges of his clothing and armour.
The Ena'Ori breathed raggedly right before he was kicked so hard on his neck, his mother's face flashed before his eyes, and he was sent flying over a hundred metres back.
Raphael fell on a knee, trying his best to regulate his breathing.
Overdrive was something most humans used only when they were on their last legs. It was a skill unique to the human race.
It was a skill that let them output more power than their Evolution Seed could, at the exchange of immense life force or something of equal value.
Raphael had chosen to use lifeforce, even though he had something else of equal value—perhaps even more value.
But he hadn't carried out this foolish action due to greed. No, no, no… He had a better reason, a reason though seeming foolish was quite thoughtful and far-seeing.
He didn't know if what he had was a new discovery, or if he was just being paranoid. Either way, he wasn't going to waste such a chance to create a generation of warriors who will drive out those bastards or even better, kill them.
As that thought settled in his mind, Raphael pushed off the ground and rose to his full height.
"For Earth… for the people… and for the departed souls," Raphael said to himself and entered a stance, gearing up for whatever would be thrown at him while making a preparation at the same time.
"Come at me, freak!"
Meanwhile the Ena'Ori was in pains from the deadly kick. He had been thrashed before, beaten up and gotten in life and death fights, but never had he felt such a presence.
Even those much more powerful than his ancestors didn't give off this feeling.
That aura of defiance, that almost indomitable will to survive.
The Ena'Ori smiled, his nonhuman visage looking more inhuman.
He sized Raphael up while popping his neck. His brows furrowed a little, but he was good nonetheless. That kick had done a number on him, although he wasn't fazed.
His power up took time to manifest fully. He had used Poison Engine about a minute ago, alas, he was yet to reach the crescendo.
Regardless, the power up he had gotten looked to be enough for what he wanted to do.
His four eyes began to glow a bright green colour, and the poison within him circulated, healing the bruises caused by Raphael.
The poison didn't just stop there, it began to enhance him in odd ways.
His muscles didn't bulge or get denser, and neither did his claws or fangs gain a coating of poison. Instead, the glow in his eyes spread.
Greenish veins pulsed on the whites of his eyes. They extended beyond his eyes even, stretching around them like a stigma—pulsing with each wave of poison they pumped.
Suddenly everything slowed down in the Ena'Ori's perception. Raphael wasn't as fast as before, still, he was just as deadly.
Why? Simply because the Ena'Ori's perception had been enhanced, not his reaction speed nor his movement speed.
However, this wasn't his first time using his technique. He knew the ins and outs of his power, and also knew the best ways to use it.
There was barely five seconds between their previous exchange before they engaged again, meeting at the centre of the platform with a furious bang.
A shockwave blew out. Their strikes rung out like two gorillas boxing, and their speed was something else entirely, unable to be tracked by most.
Raphael pushed harder than he had ever done before. He was not just fighting for himself anymore, he was fighting for his family watching him. If he never returned home, he refused to fathom what would befall them.
He gritted his teeth and growled, his glowing red eyes locking onto his target.
His muscles groaned under the pressure, his blood pumped faster and faster, his Seedchurned.
Suddenly, Raphael accelerated, breaking the sound barrier.