Primordial Expanse: I have the Strongest Talent!

Alex felt like a cornered beast, with each dodge bringing him closer to the inevitable moment his luck would run out and the S tier devil, which no clear resemblance to Caius anymore, would kill him.

And then it did.

The Devil's claw came down in a brutal arc, aimed directly at Alex's chest. Time seemed to slow as Alex's body froze, with his mind caught between the futile instinc to flee and the crushing realisaton that there was no way he could escape what was coming.

But just as the claw was about to connect, the air exploded with a deafening roar.

A massive bolt of lightning struck between Alex and the devil, splitting the ground and creating a shockwave that sent both combatants flying in opposite directions. Alex landed hard on the ground, coughing hard as dust and debris filled the air. His ears rang and his vision blurred, but he couldn't care less about any of this.

The most important thing was that the attack had missed him — and he felt it.

That familiar, electrifying presence.

Standing amidst the smoke and chaos was Brontes, with his towering frame crackling with arcs of golden lightning. A mane of stormy clouds flowed along his neck and head, showering him with an almost sentient energy.

His glowing blue eyes locked onto the devil with an intensity and rage that promised retribution.

Alex's heart swelled with relief, letting his body sag as he gasped out. "You… finally answered."

Brontes turned his head slightly, with a deep, guilty rumble echoing across their connection.

Brontes was clearly asking Alex for forgiveness for being so late, but Alex felt no anger or negativity towards Brontes.

How could he? He'd just saved him after all.

The devil snarled, with its malevolent aura flaring in response to the new arrival. "Another worm to challenge?" It growled in a tone dripping with disdain. This was the moment Alex finally realised that any semblance of Caius that might have remained in that devilish body were no longer there.

If it were still the Caius Alex knew, he would have recognised that 'worm' to be Alex's tame the very moment he appeared, only in a much more domineering and terrifying form.

Alex stumbled backwards, leaning his body against a shattered tree trunk as his lungs fought for breath. As a higher life form, he didn't have a need for air, but the familiar respiratory rhythms were helpful for him in recovering his energy.

The adrenaline pumping through his veins was the only thing that kept him upright. Brontes stood between him and the devil, radiating an overwhelming aura of power that pushed back the oppressive darkness.

'He's still hiding his Divine class aura… Even in this moment he is leisurely holding back. The difference between us is just that much more evident…'

The devil, a clearly monstrous abomination, snarled as its burning eyes fixated on Brontes. His voice was guttural, dripping with disdain.

"You think another challenge will change anything?"

Brontes didn't respond because he simply couldn't yet. Instead, his body crackled with golden lightning, and arcs of electricity danced across his towering form. He wasn't at his full size, as that would encompass the entire landscape and probably squash Alex and half the city in the process, so he downsized to a measly 25 metre behemoth.

His mane of storm clouds churned, with swirling energy thundering around him, rumbling like the storm clouds that had appeared ominously overhead. The air itself seemed to grow denser even.

Alex felt the familiar resonance of their bond flare to life. He could sense through his emotions that Brontes wanted him to rest and let him take care of this situation.

Alex nodded weakly, slumping to the ground.

"Be careful." He whispered gently to Brontes, though he knew the beast needed no reminder. In fact, he doubted he needed that reminder at all, but it felt reassuring.

The devil lunged first, closing the distance between him and Brontes with terrifying speed, befitting his S tier status. Its claws slashed through the air, leaving streaks of dark energy in their wake, even splitting the very space itself in some places.

Brontes met the attack head on, with his massive arm crashing down and generating a shockwave of lightning that collided with the devil's strike. The impact sent ripples of energy outward, uprooting and completely eviscerating nearby trees and carving deep furrows into the earth.

The devil instantly recoil, hissing in fury, but Brontes gave him no time to recover. Lowering his head, he charged like the literal force of nature he personified. Lightning trailed behind him in a blinding arc, and when his horns collided with the devil's chest, the resulting explosion lit up the clearing like a second sun.

The devil was hurled backwards, smashing through a cluster of boulders before skidding to a halt. Its chest smoked where Brontes' horns had struck, but the creature only laughed, with a deep, bone chilling sound ringing out.

"Impressive." It growled in undertones, digging into the ground with its claws as it did so. "But not enough to kill me."

Dark tendrils erupted from the devil's body once more, writhing like living shadows. They lashed out at Brontes, with each one crackling with the devil's corrupted energy. Brontes reared up, with his front clawed feet slamming down.

Even though this was the first time he was actually witnessing this scene in person, Alex recognised the attack Brontes had unleashed the moment he started showing precursors of doing so.

'Aetherstorm Genesis…'

As a Mythos tier ability, still not knowing where it placed on the scale of ranks, Alex couldn't even imagine fully what the unleashing of this would be like. But now, he would get to witness it in person.

Brontes loomed over the battlefield with his mane of storm clouds beginning to exponentially increase in size, extending outwards until they encompassed the surrounding thousand kilometres around them. Arcs of lightning crackled though the dense air. Each pulse of his energy pushed back the oppressive darkness radiating from the devil, as if the heavens themselves had descended to intervene.

The devil in all his hunched and monstrous form, snarled as its claws scraped the ground, creating sparks of corrupted energy, shimmering like a sort of black fire.

Its voice was just as guttural and distorted as always, echoeing throughout the vast storm cloud. "You think your storms can extinguish my abyss?"

Brontes responded with action.