Utopian System

Its wings extended while dragging Elio away from the wall, a cruel smile forming on its face. In the air, without support, the human should be easy prey.

\'A clean cut,\' thought the Artromus, its free claw heading for Elio\'s neck. \'And I\'ll be 10% closer to...\'

\'No!\'

The realization hit like lightning. Of course! This wasn\'t just any human. The inexplicable strength, the increased power... Elio had to be the Von title bearer.

That could explain things.

But before it could fully process this revelation, something impossible happened.

Elio\'s body began to glow, and in a fluid movement with a reaction speed that shouldn\'t be possible, he raised his arm. The plate of his armor, that creation of the god the Artromus so despised, intercepted its attack.

The Artromus felt its claws, with their 50 attack points, bounce harmlessly off the protection.

\'How...?\'

A familiar roar alerted it too late. The winged salamander, that abomination that combined fire and wind, appeared behind it. The flames enveloped it again, and once more it was trapped in Elio\'s grip.

\'Enough games,\' thought the Artromus, its patience wearing thin with each new insolence from this human.

A simple block meant nothing.

Its claws became a blur of movement, attacking from multiple angles with a speed no human should be able to follow. Each blow carried the intention to shred, to end this annoyance once and for all.

But Elio... Elio blocked every attack.

"I hope you\'re not thinking of escaping now!" Elio smiled.

The human\'s eyes glowed with an intense crimson radiance, while lines of blood ran down his cheeks. His movements were precise, impossibly precise, as if he could see each blow before it happened.

Understanding hit the Artromus with the force of an avalanche.

\'Active! He has a damned Active perception!\'

The Artromus could enhance their perception beyond natural limits, an ability that made them superior predators. But no one had ever mentioned that humans possessed a similar capability.

And there was more.

The strength with which Elio kept holding him... \'It\'s not just perception,\' the Artromus realized with growing alarm.

\'These parasites can activate their strength too.\'

It was a disturbing revelation... As Artromus didn\'t have that capability.

While the Artromus dominated enhanced perception, these humans, or at least this human, could also exceed the limits of their physical strength. That\'s why he could compete with it, why its calculations had been so wrong.

The blood flowing from Elio\'s eyes testified to the price he paid for this ability, but the determination on his face made it clear he didn\'t care about the cost.

However, the Artromus would have no more of this.

A blast of cutting wind struck Elio with demolishing force, breaking his defensive posture. It was time to end these insolences.

The Artromus felt satisfaction seeing the human\'s defensive posture finally break.

\'It\'s over.\'

Its claws headed for the exposed neck, but then... The glow in Elio\'s eyes intensified until becoming blinding, blood flowing more abundantly while his muscles expanded unnaturally. Somehow, he recovered his defensive posture at the last instant, blocking both the claws and the cutting magic.

"You won\'t escape from me!" Elio smiled.

The winged salamander attacked again, its flames devouring more of the Artromus\'s resistance. \'2,840 points less...\' Pain and fury mixed in its mind.

"ENOUGH!"

With a roar that shook the air, the Artromus activated its own perception. Its black eyes acquired a supernatural glow while planting its powerful legs on Elio\'s chest. A wind impulse enhanced the movement.

If the human insisted on not letting go, fine. The Artromus would rip that satisfaction from him.

With a violent movement, it freed itself from Elio\'s grip. In the next instant, its wings propelled it at dizzying speed, surrounding the falling human.

\'Without wings, without support,\' thought the Artromus with cruel satisfaction while positioning itself behind Elio.

\'You can\'t turn to defend yourself now.\'

Elio\'s nape was exposed, vulnerable.

It was time to show him who truly dominated the skies, to show the delusional human it never needed to escape from a simple parasite.

♢♢♢♢

The winged salamander merged with Elio\'s consciousness, its control over wind and fire flowing through him like an extension of his own being.

The helium responded to his will, propelling him toward the city\'s protective barrier, his only refuge.

But the speed difference was painfully obvious.

The monster was a shadow of death cutting through the air with supernatural speed, each wing beat reducing the distance between them.

"Attack!" Selene\'s voice cut through the air from the damaged bridge.

Lucien and Selene coordinated a desperate assault. The soldiers\' fireballs illuminated the air like shooting stars, trying to gain precious instants for Elio.

\'It\'s too fast,\' Lucien understood, his eyes unable to follow the Artromus\'s aerial dance.

The Artromus danced between the projectiles with insulting grace. Its movements were fluid, precise, each turn and bank shortening the fatal distance with its prey.

The Artromus\'s eyes shone with activated power, reflecting cruel satisfaction while reaching the perfect distance. Its claws tensed, prepared for the final blow.

The barrier seemed painfully distant.

\'You\'re dead.\' .net

The Artromus smiled, its claws cutting the air in a perfect, lethal arc...

...and went through nothing.

The triumphant smile froze on its monstrous face.

Its activated eyes, which should be able to follow any movement, hadn\'t caught anything. There hadn\'t been a flash of speed, nor a trick of light.

Elio had simply ceased to be there.

♢♢♢♢

Moments before...

The barrier glowed just a few meters away.

Elio could feel the Artromus approaching; his forced perception allowed him to track every movement of the monster, although the effort made his head throb and his resistance drain with each second.

\'A little more,\' he thought while blood dripped from his eyes. \'Just need the perfect moment.\'

The exclusive use of helium had been a decoy, making the Artromus believe that was all his movement capability.

At about 5 meters from the barrier, the Artromus reached him... It was time.

The power of camouflage flowed through him, making him invisible while a neon and helium explosion catapulted him downward.

The mortal claws cut the air where Elio should have been, but at that precise instant, the air whistled around him while the Artromus\'s attack passed harmlessly over his head.

And that was just the beginning.

The wind emblem pulsed inside him, amplifying his control over the element. The impulse that followed was devastating: a combination of noble gases and pure power that shot him upward like an invisible arrow…

Perfectly positioning him behind the Artromus.

The winged salamander roared, its power merging with Elio\'s. All the mana he had been accumulating was released in a single monstrous impulse.

"TOO LATE TO ESCAPE!" Elio roared as the shock wave sent the Artromus flying toward the barrier.

The impact\'s force was so brutal that the air itself seemed to distort.

On the carbon bridge, Lucien barely had time to shout a warning before the expansive wave reached them. He, Selene, and the soldiers were torn from their positions, the wind\'s power too intense to resist.

The Artromus, for the first time, felt something that dangerously resembled fear.

It was approaching God\'s barrier with no way to stop.