The Rogues Of: No Man's Land

Tao exhaled, his breath steady despite the chaos around him. Smoke and debris choked the air, but his golden aura burned through the haze, illuminating the battlefield. Kane wheezed, struggling against the iron grip of Tao's tail, his fingers weakly clawing at the suffocating hold.

Master Sora groaned as he pried himself from the crater his body had made in the stone wall, his demonic energy flaring to life once more. His red eyes flickered with irritation. "You're getting cocky, boy."

Tao smirked. "And you're getting sloppy."

Before Kane could recover, Tao spun mid-air and whipped his tail, launching Kane like a ragdoll toward Master Sora. The gunman barely had time to register what was happening before his body slammed into his ally, sending both tumbling across the cracked ground.

Tao landed with a powerful stomp, the sheer force splitting the stone beneath his feet. His gada pulsed with golden energy, ready for the next exchange.

"Alright," he muttered, rolling his shoulders. "Let's see if you two can keep up."

Master Sora rose to his feet first, dusting off his robes. His patience was running thin. "Kane," he said, his voice sharp. "No more playing around."

Kane groaned but nodded. "Yeah, yeah, I got it."

Then they attacked at once.

Kane leveled his gun, his Primal Engine surging. The barrel gleamed, the energy inside compressing, then with a single pull of the trigger, he fired a titanic bullet of pure destruction. The round screamed through the air, tearing apart the battlefield as it homed in on Tao.

At the same time, Master Sora clenched his fists, his Demon Mana igniting. Black flames roared around his body before twisting into the shape of a colossal, jagged scythe. With a growl, he swung the weapon, sending an arc of dark fire slicing toward Tao.

Two lethal attacks. One from above. One from the ground.

Tao's grin widened. "Perfect."

Time slowed for Tao.

His eyes gleamed with precognition, his instincts guiding him to move before his mind even finished processing. He twisted his body, the massive bullet just grazing past his cheek, its destructive force ripping through the distant walls behind him.

The black flame scythe was next. Instead of dodging, Tao leaped forward, meeting the attack head-on.

The gada in his grip pulsed, and instinctively, he activated something new.

Suddenly, a flood of information filled his mind, techniques, abilities, battle instincts far beyond what he should have known. It was as if something inside him had finally unlocked.

Then it appeared before his eyes.

A spectral interface, not quite a screen, but a vision imprinted directly into his consciousness.

**[Rogue Codex - Combat Adaptation Unlocked.]**

New Skill: Simian Guard - Unbreakable Stance

New Skill: Marauder's Instinct - Counterforce Amplification

Tao had no time to question it. His gada moved on its own, shifting into a defensive stance he had never used before. The black flames crashed into him but instead of burning him, they were redirected. The moment they struck, Tao twisted his gada's handle, channeling the momentum into an explosive counterstrike.

The force reversed, sending the flames back at Master Sora, their power doubled.

The Demon King barely had time to curse before his own attack engulfed him.

Kane's eyes widened in horror. "What the hell is this guy?!"

Tao cracked his knuckles, stepping forward as Master Sora stumbled from the blaze, his clothing half-burned, his breathing ragged.

"This isn't just some raw strength boost," Sora muttered, his gaze dark. "You're adapting mid-fight."

Tao smirked. "Took you this long to figure it out?"

Kane gritted his teeth and fired another barrage, his bullets now splitting into miniature homing blasts, each carrying enough force to level a building.

Tao sighed. "Annoying."

His tail lashed out, knocking bullets out of the air mid-flight, while his gada swung in a brutal arc. The golden energy surged and the sheer shockwave sent both Master Sora and Kane sprawling.

Tao didn't let up. He vanished from sight, reappearing right behind Kane before he could even react.

Then he whispered. "Too slow."

One devastating palm strike to the gut. Kane choked, blood spewing from his mouth as his body folded over Tao's hand. He crashed into the floor, motionless.

Master Sora was already moving to retaliate, but Tao was already behind him too.

The Demon turned in shock, only to see golden lightning crackling around Tao's entire body.

"I think it's time to end this," Tao said, his gada lifting high, divine power coiling around it.

Master Sora clenched his fists. "Tch… don't get ahead of yourself, brat."

But even he wasn't sure if he believed his own words.

Yet, elsewhere, another storm was raging.

On the 100th level of the story block.

The floor wasn't just breaking apart, it was disintegrating.

The steel had liquefied in places, magma oozing through every crack like a festering wound. Smoke thickened the air, stifling, making it hard to breathe. The walls buckled under the heat, glowing a dull, angry red as the molten energy coursed through them. Every breath tasted like ash and iron.

Dragon-Boy stood in the center of the carnage, a walking cataclysm.

His body had shifted even further, scales jagged like volcanic rock, pulsing with ember-light. His right wing, now full-grown, radiated blistering heat, turning the air around him into a mirage of distortion. His claws dripped magma, each drop hissing and sizzling as it met the ruined ground. He wasn't just a fighter anymore.

He was a volcanic eruption wearing human skin.

Across from him, Morticia remained composed, his body untouched by the inferno.

Blood coiled around him like living serpents, curling through the air in slow, predatory movements. His skin was porcelain-pale, yet unnervingly solid, every muscle carved to inhuman perfection. His eyes, once dull, now glowed a deep, unnatural crimson. And his fangs, long, razor-sharp, gleaming, were bared in something that wasn't quite a smirk… and not quite a snarl.

Dragon-Boy grinned, licking the blood off his split lip. "Damn. You got that ancient vampire menace look down. How many brooding novels you read to get that right?"

Morticia tilted his head slightly. "How much longer do you intend to joke?"

Dragon-Boy flexed his claws, magma dripping from his fingertips. "Oh, buddy, all the way to the grave."

And then they moved.

Faster than the human eye could follow.

Dragon-Boy shot forward like a missile, the sheer heat of his charge melting the steel beneath his feet. He twisted mid-air, his wing propelling him forward as he slashed downward, claws wreathed in molten fire. The entire battlefield lit up like a supernova.

Morticia didn't dodge.

He met the blow head-on.

His blood surged forward, hardening into jagged crimson blades, clashing against Dragon-Boy's claws with a deafening screech. Sparks and embers rained down in a molten storm as their attacks collided over and over, each strike heavier, faster, more ruthless.

Dragon-Boy ducked low, spinning on his heel, and slammed his molten fist into Morticia's ribs.

Morticia barely budged.

Dragon-Boy's smirk faltered.

Morticia's arm snapped forward, fingers transforming into blood-formed talons, and he raked them across Dragon-Boy's stomach, ripping his flesh.

Dragon-Boy's scales cracked open, blackened blood splattering the ground. He barely had time to register the pain before Morticia was behind him.

Morticia simply flicked his wrist. A Rogue Codex materialized, a jagged black tome bound in hardened coagulated blood. "Let me show you what I've learned from my training."

**[System: Rogue Codex – Crimson Testament]**

Something cold and wet slithered around his throat. A blood tendril.

"Shit-"

The tendril yanked him backward with brutal force, slamming him spine-first into a steel support beam. The impact ruptured the metal, sending jagged shards flying in every direction. Before Dragon-Boy could recover, Morticia was already there.

A fist rammed into his gut. Dragon-Boy's eyes bulged.

He coughed up a glob of blood, barely able to breathe before, another strike.

And another.

And another.

Each hit was like a pile-driver, caving in flesh and bone with the precision of a butcher at work. Blood sprayed in thick, heavy splashes, mixing with the molten air.

Dragon-Boy growled through gritted teeth. His body was screaming at him to move, but Morticia's grip was like iron.

And then, Dragon-Boy felt something sink into his side.

His entire body locked up.

Fangs. Deep. Piercing.

Morticia had bitten into his ribs.

A surge of burning, unnatural cold shot through Dragon-Boy's veins, spreading like frostbite. He thrashed violently, wings flaring outward, but Morticia's grip tightened like a noose.

Dragon-Boy let out a snarl, fire surging around him. But it didn't matter.

His strength was leaving him. Fast.

Morticia exhaled slowly, his breath icy against Dragon-Boy's burning skin. His voice was eerily calm.

"Keep burning, little dragon. It won't matter."

Dragon-Boy's vision blurred. His primal engine, his magma, his power, was slipping.

He was being drained.

For the first time in the fight, real fear crept into his chest.

Morticia whispered, his voice dripping with finality.

"Because in the end... even fire goes cold."