The moment that the explosion occurred, the siblings sighed with relief. Eventually, they assembled after their victory.

"Nice, that takes care of that," Dan said as he placed his hands on his hips.

"Umm... You do realize that we just killed someone. Oh my gosh, that means that we're murderers," replied Harrison as he covered his mouth with his right hand.

"Nah, maybe we just knocked it out. Besides, whatever it is, it tried to kill us first. Even if it is dead, I'd say we're even," replied Dan.

"Classic Dan, I'd expect nothing less," retorted Diana.

He placed his hand on his forehead and sighed, "This chick is starting to get on my nerves."

She playfully punched him on the shoulder, "Awe, don't get so worked up, big guy. I was only pulling your leg."

Sam rolled his eyes with annoyance, "What am I gonna do with you two."

"Unbelievable. So this is the might of a Codexian that has unlocked their dormant cells. This has been a spectacle, truly it is," applauded Gordon as he clapped his hands with admiration from afar.

The four turned around, and their jaws dropped when their eyes fell on the Knight of Bloodshed.

"How did you... how did you survive?" Diana stammered.

Gordon has been through far more terrifying scenarios. His Codexian physiology has made him more durable than a human would. Accomplishing feats that no human could, punching through a solid wall with his fist, and experiencing little to no damage during life-threatening catastrophes like explosions caused by explosive shells. 

"Well, madam. I'm a man of many talents. Put it simply like this, death and I haven't agreed upon our predestined date."

Dan looked at Sam, puzzled, "I don't know about you, man, but I'd say that this guy has lost a couple of screws."

"Maybe we should admit him to an asylum after this," scoffed Sam.

"Not a bad idea," replied Dan.

Gordon took his foil from his back strap, "Now then, to put the pleasantries aside. I'll introduce myself. My name is Gordon, the Knight of Bloodshed, and I've come here to retrieve you."

Diana clenched her fist and looked at him sternly, "who sent you here?"

He unsheathed the swords from both sides and aimed at them. With a smirk, he spoke, "The Council of Codex. Now that I've formally introduced myself, I will give you an ultimatum. Surrender yourselves, lest you be spared from my wrath."

"We're gonna have to say no to that, buddy. We don't do business with strangers," replied Dan.

"Very well, have it your way."

Dan then propelled numerous fireballs at him, and he retaliated by swiveling the double-edged sword into a full rotation. The sword mimicked the characteristics of a rotorcraft, and by doing so, he could shield himself from the barrage of attacks.

"Not bad, kid, but you can do much better than that!" Gordon exclaimed.

The Knight of Bloodshed charged at him, and from there, he took a giant leap and attempted to thrust his foot on his face with a flying kick. Dan blocked the attack by placing his elbow in front of his countenance. However, he could not anticipate what would come next. As Gordon's foot landed on the latter's elbow, he used his left leg and kicked him under his chin. When that happened, he was sent flying through several trees.

With their eyeballs protruding, the others were shocked to their core. They never imagined that one could utilize such great skill. It was unheard of and rare at best. 

"What the? How can he?" Diana inquired with disbelief.

Still stationed in the air, he performed a somersault and landed on his feet just a few millimeters away from them.

"Believe it!" Gordon said in response.

He swung his blade at them and sent forth a series of projectile slashes.

Swiftly, Harrison stood in front of them and stomped the ground. The ground shook with force, and erected a large boulder from the ground. Although the boulder protected them from the slashes, the same could not be said about it, as it was diced into several pieces.

The other three dropped their jaws. At the very least, they were at a loss for words. Although they were gods in their viewpoints, it would be that they encountered an adversary that challenged their misconceived notions.  

Diana then swiftly reacted and directed her hands at the nearest tree. Her wine-purple aura coated the tree. She levitated it from its roots and launched it at the Knight of Bloodshed.

Gordon smiled, "My, my, this looks like a lot of fun."

While the tree fell towards him, he sliced and diced it into several slabs. After that, he struck the remaining pieces at them like hitting several tennis balls with a racket.

"And catch!" He shouted.

Sam then fired his U.V. rays at the pieces. There were just too many, as he didn't have enough time to incinerate all of them. As a result, the remaining portions were able to hit him and Diana.

Fortunately, Harrison dodged the attacking pieces with dexterity.

Gordon scoffed as the two locked eyes, "Let's see what you got, squirt. Don't expect me to go easy on you just because you're little shrimp."

As he looked to his side, the latter grabbed a rock the same size as his upper body. Although heavy in mass, his powers enabled him to lift it like paper. He raised it above his head and charged at Gordon. He threw the rock at him, but Gordon slit it into tiny fragments.

"Is that all you got, little man," he remarked.

When he looked at him, the little scoundrel had already punched him in the face. The force of his punch was so great that he was sent flying toward the nearest tree. When he collided with the surface of the tree, he fell to the ground.

He held his chin and spoke as he crawled up, "Not bad, squirt. Since you knew that I had a greater advantage over you because of my sword. You threw the rock at me to distract me. Pretty clever, but I won't allow such underhanded tactics to get the better of me!"

Then, Harrison charged at him while he crawled up to his feet. His clenched fist morphed into a fist made of rocks. When he was about to strike him, Gordon performed a somersault over him while the latter punched the tree he collided against in half.

"Ah Crap, I missed!" Harrison said with frustration.

When he turned around, Gordon punched him on the left side of his face, sending him crashing through several trees.

Gordon grabbed his sword, and Sam emerged from behind and fired a U.V. ray at him. In response, Gordon placed the right side of the blade in front of him to deflect the attack. When the ray touched the double-edged sword, it reflected. Fortunately, Sam flew under the beam and approached him. He fired more U.V. rays at him, and Gordon responded by deflecting all the rays.

After deflecting the rays, Sam was able to land a decisive punch toward the jaw. When his fist connected, the force of that punch repelled him backward. Although he could've landed on his back, he swiftly performed a somersault and landed on his feet. As he did that, his feet plowed through the soil. It seemed he was on his knees then, but he was in that stance to keep him anchored.

He narrowed his brows and groaned. Sam flew to him and attempted to strike him with another haymaker while he got up to his feet. Due to his accuracy, he grabbed his fist with his left hand. He pulled Sam closer to him and dropped the sword to the ground. Since his right hand was empty, he clenched it and punched Sam in the gut. Sam opened his mouth in shock, for he didn't anticipate that terrifying assault. He fell on his knees, still astonished. Gordon grabbed him by the neck, and Diana hurriedly approached them from afar. 

Gordon launched Sam at her. She failed to respond when he did that, as she couldn't kick Sam away like an inanimate object. Nor could she use her aura to levitate him to break his fall, as it would cause his skin and garments to deteriorate. He fell on top of her since she failed to decide what her next move would be.

Then, Harrison appeared from the side and charged at Gordon. With his right fist, taking the form of rocks, he tried to strike Gordon with it. However, the Knight Of Bloodshed quickly reciprocated and grabbed the sword he dropped on the ground. He used it to block the attack with his sword. When his fist made contact with the sword's surface, a shockwave erupted, thus repelling them apart and uprooting trees from the soil.

"Impressive, brat, I underestimated you," Gordon said.

Harrison charged at him once more, with his fist aiming directly at his chest. Gordon performed another somersault and landed on his feet behind him. From there, he kicked Harrison in the spine. The young lad fell on the ground when his foot collided with his back. He grabbed Harrison by the neck to immobilize him and tightened his grip. A sensation of numbness spread around his body, causing him to surrender to his foe.

He lifted him and placed his sword under Harrison's neck, holding him hostage. Fortunately, his trickery saved him from trouble as the other three rushed to the young lad's rescue.

"Don't come closer, or I'll slit his throat out!"

"What do we do?" Dan asked Sam.

Sam took a step further and raised his hands.

"Fine, you have us cornered. We surrender! What do you want us to do?"

A large smirk was carved on Gordon's features.

"Well, it's simple, I want you to swear an oath to me, but if you try something stupid, I'll slit his throat out."

He sighed and closed his eyes. Not knowing what to do, he pondered. Since the decision that he would take next would decide the young lad's fate. At last, he opened his eyes and stepped forward.

"Alright, fine, whatever, man. I'll do whatever you say."

"Right then, kneel and acknowledge the greatness that I exude."

He looked around, but before his knees could kiss the ground, he gave Gordon a stern glance. Once he kneeled before him, he spoke, "I acknowledge you for being an asshole!"

Gordon furrowed his brows and clenched his teeth. A growl was heard from under his breath once his piercing eyes locked onto Sam. If looks could kill, Sam would've been dead for the count.

With outstanding speed, Sam also punched him in the gut. This was a comeback for what Gordon did to him moments ago. Gordon groaned in agony, and as he was about to retaliate, Sam blasted him with a powerful ultraviolet beam by aligning his hands next to each other. And with that, the Knight of Bloodshed was sent flying, crashing through several trees until, eventually, he was met with a massive boulder.