Souta threw a punch and Rowan threw a punch. Both of their fists collided causing a shockwave. The atmosphere was stirred and the ground trembled. The amount of energy that was gushing out was enormous.

Bang!

"Akh!

"

Souta gritted his teeth and swung down the sword in his other hand. Rowan shifted his body to the side and thrust a fist once again on Souta's face.

Rowan's fist was about to land on Souta's face when he suddenly opened his palm and changed the direction of his hand. He grabbed the black spike protruding on Souta's shoulder and he pulled the monster in his direction. Then, he delivered an elbow on the monster's stomach which was covered in black armor.

Bang!

Souta was flung away and crashed on several houses causing wreckage in the residential area of the clan. But Clan Leader Rowan wasn't done. He opened his palm and a ball of energy flew in the direction where Souta's crashed.

Boom!

Rowan was about to throw another ball of energy when he felt energy fluctuations behind him. He bent his body and a halberd passed just above his head.

"Tsk! You can even dodge that!

" Eztein clicked his tongue in annoyance. He then jumped in the mid-air while launching a series of thrusts at the Clan Leader.

"You're strong for an Annihilation Realm. With your strength, you could even rival the top Annihilation Realm masters of my clan.

"

Rowan said while deflecting the force of the attack with his hand. Suddenly, the ground shook and the floor beneath his feet collapsed.

Boom!

The earth opened and boulders of rocks swallowed him.

"Souta is right! You're not even trying to fight us!

"

Gragas said with a serious expression. He then raised the huge hammer in his hand and swung it on the ground once again.

Earth Swallowing Smash!

...

Ugh!

Souta stood up from the rubble. Rowan's attacks were heavy and powerful, and it was just a simple attack for a shackled realm expert. If he didn't have a parasite then he wouldn't last long against Rowan.

"The only thing that I could do now is to buy time.

"

He muttered as he looked above him. The members of the Witch Clan were on the mid-air looking down at him. They were observing him as they prepared to launch an attack the moment he moved.

Someone was controlling Rowan to kill Amanda but Rowan himself didn't want to kill Amanda. Maybe that's the reason why Rowan wasn't even serious about fighting him. He hasn't even shown his soul weapon yet and he already forced Souta to use his released form. As expected of a shackled realm expert.

Although Rowan didn't want to kill Amanda, Rowan would surely kill Souta, Eztein, Gragas, and Yenxa once he was sure that Amanda was out of the clan's territory. It was to make the person behind him believe that he tried to kill Amanda but was stopped by this small group.

It was a good story but Souta didn't like it. He was doing all of this to earn points to make himself stronger and stronger until no one could rival. That's the only way for him to survive in the chaotic event in the near future.

He didn't care about anything else. His focus should be on earning points and nothing else.

Boom!

Souta turned his head and saw that Eztein and Gragas were going all-out to hold Rowan. Yenxa was nowhere to be found as he asked her to hide for a while. In the battle against a shackled realm expert, just a simple normal attack of Rowan would be enough to decapitate her. Her parasite would be useless if she got done in one shot.

"I should help them...

"

He muttered and he took a step forward but a spear landed in front of him.

Bang!

He looked at the people floating in the mid-air and said,

"This group is really a problem. They have surrounded the area and would attack anyone that leaves the perimeter. What a good excuse so that the Clan Leader could play with us.

"

Boom!

A powerful energy surged in the sky appeared in the direction where Gragas and Eztein were fighting Rowan. It caused everyone to turn their heads as the pressure that the energy brought was many times stronger than before.

"AAARRGH!!! NOOO! DON'T FORCE ME!!

"

Rowan roared as he grabbed his head. His voice was filled with madness and his eyes turned red. His irises and sclera were pure red as if blood had painted it.

Souta opened his eyes widely when he saw this scene. 'No, this guy isn't going to play easy anymore. He is serious.' He slightly bent his knees and he dashed forward.

The clan members were focused on their leader so they couldn't react when Souta moved suddenly.

Swoosh!

Souta stretched out his hand and casted Shadow Bind spell. Black tentacles emerged but it only lasted a few seconds before it got shredded apart. The intense energy waves around Rowan were strong enough to tear apart his Shadow Bind spell.

He increased his speed and his huge body tore the air. A loud sound exploded as Souta arrived in front of Rowan.

Boom!

The Clan Leader was out of his mind and it seems that he didn't notice Souta. His body just kept releasing the powerful energy that prevented anyone below A-rank from approaching the area.

"Souta!

"

Eztein and Gragas narrowed their eyes. They didn't know what's going on so they didn't dare to approach the powerful Clan Leader carelessly. But they didn't expect that Souta would charge like that.

Swoosh!

Souta gritted his teeth as he gathered his energy on the vajra sword.

"Take this!

"

Archetype: Vajra Extremity!

Fifth Form: Rage of the Thunder God!

A loud thunderclap echoed in the sky as black lightning struck down and covered Souta's huge body. The black lightning boosted his strength and a gigantic figure made of black lightning materialized behind him. The figure had four arms, two pairs of eyes, and a pair of horns on the side of its head.

The aura that it possessed was fearsome and terrific. It was like looking at a higher being.

"Break for me!

"

Souta roared as he swung the sword down. The gigantic figure behind him turned into a torrent of energy that rushed towards Rowan.

BOOM!!!

Gragas and Eztein took a distance as the explosion was too powerful. There's a high chance that they will get caught if they stayed in their position. This attack was enough to severely injure an S-rank but who knows how it would fare against a shackled realm expert.

The battle here was intense but the battle among the two elders was much more fearsome as both elders were going all out. The aftershocks from the battle were enough to shake the territory of the clan. Even the formation around the clan, the barrier, was forming a crack because of their boundless strength.

"Just by looking at it, I could remember how those powerful Extinction Realm masters fought in the war decades ago,

" Gragas muttered with a gloomy look.

More than fifty Extinction Realm masters participated in the war decades ago. It was a historical event that changed the balance of powers in the entire central continent. Only a few people knew that inside information of the war and the ordinary people didn't even have an idea why the top masters in the continent were battling.

"It's a bitter memory but how could we escape from this situation?

" Eztein asked with a wry smile.

"In any case, let's just help Souta,

" Gragas said as he tightly wrapped his fingers around the handle of his hammer.

BOOM!

Rowan came out of the smoke and he grabbed Souta's face. He smashed the huge monster on the ground and he continued to move while grabbing the monster's face.

"Ahhhk!!

"

Souta glared at Rowan and he tried to yank Rowan's hand on his face which was several times thinner than his.

But it was futile. Rowan was too strong for the current him.

Bang!

Their figures crashed on the barrier and spider-web cracks formed on the surface.

Rowan looked at Souta with bloodshot eyes before he shouted,

"Witch Clan! In the name of I, Rowan Brune, command you to attack the traitors! Don't hold back!

"

"This **er is really out of his mind!

" Souta gritted his teeth as he slashed his sword but Rowan simply raised his other hand and deflected the attack.

He was sure that the fifth form of his Archetype had damaged this Clan Leader. The only problem wasn't that it didn't enough power. It would probably take one hundred attacks of fifth form to injure this man but with his current condition, he could only use fifth form about ten times. Any more than that would undoubtedly take a toll on his body.

"Fuck! This brings back memories! It feels like I'm fighting a raid boss!

"

Souta grinned as a surge of dark energy gushed out of his body. It boosted all of his active darkness attribute skills by several times.

Element Drive: Darkness Force!