The jungle simulation of the dome had turned into a battleground.
Kruna is on one side, is in sweats. And Aftor is on the other side, his heart beating like crazy
Kruna smirking. "Continue bro, are you a fucking coward so? Haha"
Aftor became angry fast. "I'll shit in your mouth. I'll tear you to pieces for a lesson to everyone, you arrogant piece of filth."
Kruna smirked again "Oh dear, don't be too hard on yourself. You were doing quite well."
Aftor was panting heavily, his shirt ripped and covered in his own blood, yet his eyes were still blazing with fierce passion.
Aftor laughed and wiped blood from his lips with the back of his hand.
"To be fair. You were doing well too, Kruna. Excellent. Still, I haven't finished playing yet. I'll destroy you"
Aftor fresh cuts on either forearms bled constantly.
Standing opposite him, Kruna had twin blades lowered and several small cuts over his arms and torso, yet he kept a steady, composed posture.
He roared and sliced open both forearms again, this time more deeply.
"Poisoned Expansion!"
The blood shot outward in a large, fierce explosion.
The vines this time were longer, thicker, and terrifyingly quick. They burst from the earth like living snakes, prickly tendrils flying towards Kruna from all sides, wrapping around trees and flinging themselves like spears.
Purple poison dripped from the thorns and hissed whenever it landed on the ground.
Kruna's eyes squeezed.
"Twelve."
His body shuddered violently. Twelve flawless Kruna copies suddenly appeared around him, each one strong and equipped with twin blades.
Twelve Krunas moved as one, a dangerous silver whirl.
"Destroy them" the original Kruna ordered softly.
The twelve clones erupted into activity.
Perfect synchronicity marked blades flashing. Mid-air shredding of the first wave of vines took place.
Before they could even reach the clones, the second wave was cut apart.
Kruna's copies moved like a coordinated killing machine, turning the incoming ivy storm into nothing but falling green confetti and purple mist.
Aftor's eyes stretched but he kept grinning.
"Twelve?! You bastard! You've been keeping out on us."
One of the Kruna clones came down close to him and slashed upward.
"Too sluggish."
Aftor nearly avoided but another clone was already behind him, blades humming.
Aftor made more vines from his wounded arms to stop them, but the clones were too many and too quick.
They cut through the sarmaşık like a silver hurricane.
The team was losing it on the viewing platform.
Macker was yelling while perched on the railing. "He did that on the rengan fight too, it's so sick it's not even fair"
Nix was shouting like crazy. "Watch them move! This is my favourite army of all time!"
Ema was wide-eyed recording everything. "The precision he is governing all twelve flawlessly… This is absurd."
Sano watched mutely, but he seemed impressed nevertheless. "Sick. Extremely sick. Kruna gaslighting Aftor"
Orced said nothing but his grin had widened. He was definitely loving the show.
Aftor was laughing in the stadium even as he was shoved back.
"You're bragging now, huh? FINE! Let's observe how you approach this."
He cut his forearms once more and gave everything to the vines.
The ivy grew spikes and launched themselves in a furious storm, then thickened even more.
The twelve Krunas, however, were unrelenting.
From all directions, they converged on Aftor like a silver meat grinder, cutting through the assault.
Aftor's grin became wild.
"Sufficient fooling about."
He abruptly drove the blade down once again into his own stomach, this time twisting it.
"Advanced Gunfire. Perfect Burst!"
Like a machine gun, blood shot out of the wound in an unending crimson barrage at high velocity.
Towards the Kruna clones, the blood bullets ripped across the air. Many clones fell apart right away when they were hit.
The bullets were too widespread even if the genuine Kruna had to duck and weave.
Aftor gasped with laughter through the discomfort.
"Kruna, how do you feel about that? Can your clones match this technique?!"
Calm and frigid, Kruna's voice sliced across the turmoil.
"You're becoming desperate."
Once more, he reached up both hands to his temples.
"Fanson Handai!"
More spectral blades than ever before appeared above him.
Like a silver apocalypse, they fell down, tore apart the last vines, and hit Aftor's gunfire.
The two methods collided in mid-air in a fantastic flash of steel, blood mist and sparks.
Still firing blood bullets from his stomach wound and trying to defend with more vines, Aftor was driven to retreat.
"You're indeed wild!"
Aftor screamed, laughing. "This is the greatest battle I've seen in months!"
As Kruna stopped the multiplying to concentrate power, his twelve clones just disappeared.
He laughed sarcastically.
"So let's terminate it."
He committed himself completely to Fanson Handai.
The exploding blade rain turned into a real storm, with hundreds of spectral blades falling like a concentrated, never-ending barrage right on Aftor.
Aftor tried to fight back, making more blood blades and vines, but there were just too many of them.
One blade slipped past and dug deep into his right shoulder.
Another side cut.
A third grazed his leg. Aftor stammered, still laughing. "Not exactly terrible..."
In yet another last-minute effort, he slashed his stomach once again to fire another gun. fire broke out.
But Kruna had vanished when he glanced upwards.
Aftor's eyes opened wide. "Where the hell are you?"
Just behind him, a single, chilly voice murmured. "Right now. Finish this!"
Kruna appeared in a blur, one blade already driving forward in a single, perfect thrust.
Clean, exact, and terrible, the blade glided directly across Aftor's chest.
Aftor stopped, eyes wide.
The knife dropped from his grip.
Kruna bent in near, her voice subdued and steady. "I let you work yourself out. I let you squander your blood on those elegant methods. You demonstrated all of your moves for me. Then I discovered the opening. Aftor, you are strong. You are, however, predictable when you become enthusiastic.
He turned the blade once before pulling it out.
Coughing but still smiling weakly, Aftor sunk to his knees. "You... crafty bastard... good fight..."
The dome proclaimed the spar's conclusion.
The squad on the platform exploded. Macker was cheering. "Holy crap! No way this is happening"
Nix leapt up and down. "Kruna is a monster! That last hit so personall!"
Ema continued to record. "I can't think what to say anymore."
Sano nodded lazily. "Clean triumph."
Smiling with real pride, Orced clapped slowly. "Well done, both of you."
Having been observing silently from the side, Eriky moved forward carrying a tray.
He distributed fresh cups of tea and coffee as he calmly and efficiently passed between the team.
He said gently, handing a steamy cup of tea for Kruna-san.
"And coffee for you, Aftor-san. You both battled hard. This will aid with the stiffness; drink it.
Aftor chuckled painfully but thankfully with the coffee. Thank you, Eriky"
Kruna nodded lightly as she took the tea. "Nice battle, right Aftor? You pushed me more than I thought you would."
Aftor grinned, still on his knees. "Next time I am going to push you even harder. Depend on it."
Laughing, teasing, and cheering on both combatants, the team gathered around them.
The dome's healing field was already helping their wounds to heal, but the respect and adrenaline in the air were still thick.
Sky Boys Island kept its quiet glide above the clouds.
Everyone knew, though, that the real war was just starting.