My Life Changed with the Unlimited System

The air inside the warehouse crackled like a wire ready to snap.

Pressure rolled across the floor in invisible waves, warping the light and making it harder to breathe. Every slam of axe and sword sent a tremor through the steel beams above.

Verran's eyes narrowed. He wiped the sweat off his brow, his hand trembling slightly.

"This is not good," he muttered, glancing toward Kaida.

Kaida didn't answer right away. Her arms were crossed, jaw tight, eyes locked on the battlefield. She was trying to stay calm, but even she couldn't hide the twitch in her fingers.

"Steve will kill him," she said finally, almost like she was convincing herself. "Dravik may be strong, but he's not built to last in a drawn-out fight like this. Not against that kind of power."

Verran exhaled slowly, shifting his stance. "Should we help him?"

Before she could answer, a voice cut in. It was sharp, high, and panicked.

"What are you two mumbling about?" Donald snapped, his eyes wild as he gestured toward the battle. "He's not going to lose, right?"

Neither of them replied.

Kaida's lips pressed into a thin line.

And Verran… he didn't look away from the clash. He just shook his head once and said, low and grim, "That was uncertain now."

Everyone went silent right after. All eyes were on the battle again.

Every breath was heavy, thick with heat and tension. Sparks drifted down like fireflies as two forces stood locked in silence.

Steve adjusted his footing, his boots cracking the floor beneath him as he shifted into a lower stance. His combat axe rested against his shoulder, humming faintly with earthen energy.

Flecks of dust rose around him, disturbed by the pulse of power rising from the ground itself.

Across from him, Dravik let out a slow, vicious exhale. His sword pulsed with orange light, the flames coiling around the blade like serpents. The air shimmered around him, waves of heat making the steel beams groan as if protesting his presence.

Then, without warning, Dravik charged again.

He surged forward like a comet, his blade slicing through the air in a wild arc of fire. Each step left scorched footprints behind, the ground blackening beneath him. Flame trailed the sword's path, searing through the space between them.

Steve sidestepped, fast and fluid, the movement surprisingly light for someone of his build. His axe met the blade head-on with a deafening sound that split the warehouse air. Sparks burst out violently, the collision throwing waves of heat and dust outward.

"You're holding back," Dravik spat, teeth bared, eyes glowing with fury. "Scared to go all out?"

Steve's voice was steady, almost relaxed. "If I used more, you'd already be on the floor."

Dravik barked a laugh. It was loud, bitter, and angry. "Then let's try that."

He struck again, faster this time. His sword danced like flame itself. His attacks were unpredictable, vicious, and wild.

Arcs of fire burst with every swing, leaving trails of heat that lingered like afterimages. He spun low, brought his blade across, then vaulted upward in a fiery slash meant to split Steve from waist to shoulder.

But Steve's axe was always there.

Blocking. Turning. Redirecting.

His body didn't move with flair but it moved with certainty. Like the earth itself shifting to block a falling tree.

Then, without warning, Steve twisted his hips and slammed the butt of his axe straight into Dravik's side. The impact was brutal.

CRACK.

Dravik staggered, the blow stealing his breath. A harsh growl tore from his throat as he stumbled sideways, flames flaring uncontrollably around him.

Blood dripped from the corner of his mouth.

He wiped it with the back of his hand, grinning like a devil.

"Finally," he hissed. "I was wondering if you had any bite."

Steve rolled his shoulder, tightening his grip. "You're the one bleeding."

"You think that matters?" Dravik's eyes lit up with pure malice. "The real battle starts now."

He lifted his sword, and this time the flames didn't just wrap around it, they exploded. The weapon was swallowed in a firestorm.

The ground beneath him cracked open from the sheer heat. Flames spilled out in a wide arc as he charged again, reckless and furious.

Steve met the onslaught head-on. His axe swung upward in a wide, brutal arc, colliding with Dravik's sword in a blast that shattered the nearest support beam.

The warehouse shook.

Concrete split. Metal groaned. Dust poured from the ceiling like rain.

The temperature swung wildly as one side scorched and suffocating, the other trembling with the deep hum of the earth's wrath. Where Dravik moved, fire followed. Where Steve planted his feet, the ground cracked and rose like it obeyed him.

"You think you're untouchable because of a name?" Dravik shouted between strikes. "Five Ghosts of Nemesis... What does that mean when you're dead?!"

Steve didn't answer with words.

He answered with force.

His next blow dropped like a hammer from heaven. The axe lit up with a brownish-red glow, the runes carved into its head pulsing with deep, seismic energy. When it hit the ground, the impact sent a quake through the entire warehouse.

Dravik was thrown backward, tumbling across the floor as flames scattered like dying embers. He rolled, coughed, then rose to one knee, panting.

Steve walked forward, slow and steady.

"No more speeches?" he asked, his voice calm. "Good. Then shut up and stand down."

But Dravik wasn't done.

He pushed himself up, body shaking, flames reigniting along his arms.

"This isn't over," he growled. "Not until one of us falls."

Steve took a slow step back, his boots grinding against the cracked floor. The calm mask he had worn throughout the battle finally shifted—just enough to reveal the curve of a smirk.

"Enough," he muttered. "There is no need for that actually but... If you want it, I'm more than happy to help."

Then he raised the axe.

The weapon rose above his head, the blade humming with deep, resonant power. The warehouse seemed to hold its breath. Dust floated mid-air. Cracks spiderwebbed from beneath his feet as if the earth itself was recoiling.

The axe began to glow, not with fire or lightning, but a heavy, dense light, like the weight of a mountain concentrated into a single point. The pressure doubled. Tripled.

Every muscle in Steve's body tensed.

Then he swung.

"Mountain's Wrath!"

The moment the axe came down, the world moved with it.

The ground split apart. The floor beneath Steve cracked in wide fissures, surging outward like veins of raw destruction.

The shockwave tore through the warehouse like an avalanche of force, screaming with the sound of crumbling stone and breaking steel.

Dravik braced himself, snarling as he raised his sword. Flames surged to life, wild and bright, licking at the air in defiance.

But when steel met steel, fire met earth, it was no contest.

The explosion of force that followed was monstrous. The flame was snuffed out mid-swing. Dravik's body was flung backward like a ragdoll, slammed hard into the wall with a sound like a bomb going off.

He crashed down in a heap. Blood burst from his mouth, splattering the cracked floor.

His sword dropped beside him, lifeless. The heat in his body faded. His breathing turned ragged, shallow.

"Dravik!" Kaida's voice pierced the chaos, followed instantly by Verran's shout.

The two turned to each other, no words needed. Their eyes locked. Fury and urgency flashed between them.

And then they stepped forward.

Their auras surged, lightning and wind crashing into the already ruined air.

This fight was far from over.