However, in the midst of that deadlock, from Steve's blind spot, the stitched creature suddenly vanished. In the blink of an eye, it appeared right on Steve's left side, along with a mysterious sword floating behind it like a pet.
The creature's hand was now engulfed in a swirling vortex of deep green wind energy.
Mercilessly, it smashed its green wind fist right into Steve's body.
BAM!!
Steve's body was sent flying like a bullet, crashing through multiple layers of marble pillars and sturdy kingdom walls until he was thrown outside.
While Steve was still airborne from the impact, the creature's floating sword darted after him, intending to pierce him mercilessly.
With extraordinary reflexes, Steve twisted his body, parrying and catching the sword's blade barehanded. He threw the sword far behind him.
Just as he got rid of the sword, the stitched creature lunged again from the front. Steve and the creature collided, locking hands in a brutal test of physical strength. The energy pressure from their grip was so immense that the ground beneath their feet cracked and caved in.
The creature's strength was truly absurd.
Steve began to look overwhelmed; his body was slowly being pushed down closer to the ground. However, a millisecond before his body completely collapsed, Steve twisted his hips and kicked the creature squarely in the jaw!
BAM!! The creature's head jerked violently, breaking its grip and sending its body flying high into the sky.
Not wasting the opportunity, Steve immediately leaped up after it.
He concentrated all of his Pure Darkness aura into his fist, holding it for a moment to compress the pressure so its destructive power would be multiplied insanely.
Once they were close, Steve slammed his dark fist with full force! The creature was slammed down like a meteor, crashing into the ground and creating a massive explosion that leveled the surrounding area.
Not finished yet, Steve condensed his remaining energy to form a sharp blade out of Pure Darkness.
With one swift swing, he slashed the air, unleashing a wave of pitch-black aura that shot forward, cleaving through the void toward the creature.
At the bottom of the ruins, the stitched creature froze. As its eyes caught sight of the approaching black slash, its body suddenly stiffened. A long-forgotten memory from the past suddenly flashed in its mind a memory of death where its body was once cleaved by an exact same slash.
Its fear instantly evolved into explosive anger. The creature went berserk! Its eyes widened completely as its survival instincts forcibly activated.
It stretched out its hand, summoning its sword back in an instant.
Gathering all its remaining green wind energy, it swung the sword, creating a giant green storm aura slash to meet Steve's attack.
The two giant slashing waves of black and green finally collided brutally in the air.
BOOM!!!
An extraordinarily deafening energy explosion erupted in the sky, wiping out the remaining kingdom ruins below in a blinding flash of light.
The smoke from the slashing explosion slowly thinned in the sky, leaving an eerie silence. Steve narrowed his eyes, sensing something off.
"Wait, why is it running away?" Steve muttered in confusion, as his eyes caught the silhouette of the stitched creature fleeing with all its might through the shadows.
The monster ran like it was possessed, thinking that distance would grant it safety. However, it underestimated Steve's speed, which had completely merged with his fighting instincts.
WHOOSH!
The creature flinched. In the blink of an eye, Steve was already standing tall in its escape path, his leg raised in a ready-to-kick stance.
THUD!
Steve's kick landed squarely! The stitched creature was violently sent flying like a bullet, slamming into a distant mountain with a loud boom. The monster slumped limply, head facing down, no longer able to stand after that devastating blow.
In that brief moment of the enemy's weakness, Unknown's voice yelled loudly in Steve's mind. "(Quickly remove the influence of Pure Darkness from it!)"
Steve's reflexes worked fast. He reached out his hand, summoning his remaining energy to form a miniature black hole right in front of the helpless creature.
The suction power of the dark vortex instantly absorbed all the Pure Darkness energy that had been possessing and tormenting the stitched creature's body all this time.
Suddenly-"Ding!"
Steve's perception flipped upside down. In the blink of an eye, he found himself standing in the middle of an endless, pure white void, completely silent from the noise of battle.
"Huh... Where is this?" Steve said, confused.
Before him, a mysterious humanoid figure wearing a scarf faintly appeared. The figure looked peaceful, without the slightest trace of an evil aura.
Softly, the mysterious figure spoke, "Thank you, whoever you are, for releasing me from my suffering all this time." It nodded and slowly faded away.
Steve gasped. Before he could process those words, his sight dimmed. His vision went pitch black, and he felt as if he were daydreaming in the middle of the void.
His consciousness fully returned when Unknown's voice snapped loudly in his head. "Hey, what's wrong with you?!"
Steve was startled, his head turning in confusion. "!, Nothing," he replied quickly, trying to calm his anxiety.
"Then hurry up and get the weapon! Don't waste time!" Unknown replied urgently.
"Right!"
Steve stepped closer to the storage sword he had been aiming for. Once the hilt of the sword was in his grasp, Steve realized he didn't know how to use it.
"What should I do with this thing?" he asked hesitantly.
"Just release its energy!" Unknown answered, casual but impatient.
Steve frowned. He thrust the sword forward, focusing the vortex of energy within himself and channeling it into the weapon's blade.
Perhaps because their energies were aligned, the storage sword immediately reacted violently. From the tip of its blade, a pitch-black portal opened wide.
A split second later, four legendary weapons emerged from the dark vortex: a massive Scythe, an heirloom Sword, a Battle Axe, and a Bow!
That was the jackpot Unknown had been waiting for all along.
Unknown saw that their opportunity was now perfect. "(Done, let's head back!)" Unknown shouted hastily, his aura starting to radiate within Steve's body.
Without lingering, Steve dropped his defenses. "Open!"
SHIFT! Unknown fully took over control of Steve's body. At the same time, the four divine weapons floated around him, each emitting a glow of RGB (Red, Green, Blue) energy identical to Unknown's power.
Unknown smirked. He raised one hand, opening a portal in front of him.
Unknown prepared to bring these four weapons back home to Earth.