Raithasu stood alone before the five Eclipse Units.
Five enemies. Five different abilities. And not a single ally in sight.
Yet, despite the overwhelming odds, he refused to take a step back.
At first glance, however, it was clear that the previous exchange had taken a serious toll on his body. His breathing was uneven, his movements were no longer as effortless as before, and the flames surrounding him flickered erratically.
Then something changed.
FWOOSH!
A surge of fiery energy burst from Raithasu's body. Flames coiled around his shoulders and arms, spreading across his silhouette like an awakened power struggling to break free.
For a moment, the cave glowed with the light of his flames.
But beneath that power was a serious problem.
Sera's poison had badly damaged his eyes.
His vision had become a blur of shifting shapes and indistinct colours. He could barely distinguish one enemy from another, and keeping his eyes open for more than a few seconds sent sharp waves of pain through his skull.
He was practically fighting blind.
Auren watched him carefully.
"His movements have changed," he observed. "He's having trouble seeing us."
"Then let's finish this," Darev growled.
Raithasu didn't wait for them to make the first move.
He charged.
THUD! THUD! THUD!
His footsteps thundered across the stone floor as he rushed toward the five opponents. He couldn't clearly see their positions, but he could still make rough guesses based on their movements and the sounds around him.
Find the weakest one first.
His blurred vision swept across the figures ahead.
The fastest one might be the hardest to catch. The one controlling the chains is dangerous from a distance. And that poison user...
His eyes throbbed.
I can't afford to let her attack again.
A figure moved rapidly to his side.
Kairon.
Raithasu shifted his body and guessed the direction of the attack. He drove his fist forward, aiming for Kairon's stomach.
BOOM!
The punch connected.
For a fraction of a second, Raithasu felt the impact travel through his knuckles.
Got him!
Then Kairon disappeared.
FLASH!
Raithasu's fist struck empty air.
Before he could react, Kairon reappeared directly behind him.
"So you can still hit hard," Kairon murmured. "But you can't keep up with me."
He seized Raithasu by the back of his neck and hurled him forward.
CRASH!
Raithasu slammed into the cave wall. Stone cracked around his body, and fragments scattered across the ground.
He dropped to one knee.
Pain spread through his back and shoulders.
The wall behind him crumbled, leaving a shallow depression where his body had struck.
For a moment, the only sound was the faint crackling of the flames surrounding him.
The five Eclipse Units watched.
They had already realised that defeating Raithasu individually would be difficult. Together, however, they could exploit his injuries and prevent him from recovering.
And now his damaged vision had given them exactly the opportunity they needed.
Raithasu slowly pushed himself away from the wall.
His knees trembled.
He could barely make out the figures standing before him.
Still, he smiled.
"So... that's all you've got?"
His voice was rough, but the defiance in it was unmistakable.
"You're going to need more than that to defeat me."
Kairon frowned.
"Still talking?"
Raithasu closed his eyes.
The pain became unbearable.
Every time he tried to open them, the world dissolved into a chaotic blur. The light from his own flames made the situation even worse, turning vague shapes into flashes of colour.
So he stopped trying to see.
Instead, he listened.
The faint scrape of a foot against stone.
The movement of air before a strike.
The shifting weight of a body preparing to attack.
He began to focus on every sound and every vibration he could detect.
If I can't see them... I'll have to sense where they are.
Seconds passed.
Raithasu remained motionless.
His head hung slightly forward, and the flames around his body gradually diminished.
Nyx tilted his head.
"What's wrong with him?"
Nobody answered.
Raithasu didn't move.
Not even when the five Eclipse Units began spreading out around him.
Darev crossed his massive arms.
"Did he finally run out of strength?"
Sera narrowed her eyes.
"Don't assume that. His behaviour has changed, but we don't know why."
Kairon stepped forward.
"Then I'll check."
He approached Raithasu cautiously, his gaze fixed on the motionless figure.
One step.
Then another.
Raithasu remained still.
Kairon stopped a short distance away.
"Hey. Are you still alive?"
No response.
Kairon leaned forward slightly, trying to examine his face.
That was his mistake.
WHOOSH!
Raithasu vanished from his position.
Kairon's eyes widened.
Before he could activate his speed, a fist crashed into his stomach.
KRAAACK—BOOM!
The impact folded Kairon's body around the punch. His feet lifted from the ground, and the force sent him flying backward.
He struck the stone floor and rolled several metres before coming to a stop.
His body twitched once.
Then went still.
Kairon was unconscious.
Silence fell over the cavern.
Nyx stared at him.
"What just happened?!"
Even Auren's expression changed.
None of them had seen Raithasu move.
He had crossed the distance between them so quickly that Kairon hadn't even had time to activate his ability.
Raithasu straightened slowly.
His eyes remained closed.
A thin stream of blood trickled from the corner of one eye.
He wiped it away with the back of his hand.
"That was one."
His breathing grew heavier.
"Four more to go."
For the first time, the Eclipse Units understood that Raithasu's blindness hadn't made him harmless.
He had simply found another way to fight.
But they had no intention of allowing him to repeat that trick.
"Don't let him approach you!" Sera shouted. "Keep your distance!"
Nyx's body suddenly collapsed.
SPLASH!
"Got you!"
Nyx tightened his grip.
Then he looked toward Darev and gave a sharp signal.
"Now!"
Darev charged.
His enormous fist pulled back as flames gathered around his knuckles.
Raithasu sensed the movement and attempted to free himself, but Nyx's grip held firm.
BOOM!
Darev swung.
But Raithasu disappeared just before the punch could connect.
Darev's fist slammed into Nyx instead.
SPLAT!
"AAAAAAAAH!"
Nyx's body burst apart beneath the impact, splashing across the floor and sending liquid fragments against the surrounding stones.
Darev froze.
Then he slowly looked over his shoulder.
Raithasu was standing directly behind him.
One foot rested against Darev's shoulder, and his body was poised to spring away.
Darev's face twisted with rage.
"YOU LITTLE—!"
He swung wildly.
Raithasu dodged.
Another punch followed.
BOOM!
Raithasu slipped past it.
Darev attacked again.
CRASH!
His fist smashed into the cave wall, sending chunks of stone raining down.
But Raithasu had already moved.
He darted around Darev's enormous body, striking from different angles whenever an opening appeared.
Darev roared and continued swinging.
Every missed punch destroyed something.
A stone pillar shattered.
A mound of treasure collapsed.
The cave wall fractured beneath another blow.
BOOM! CRASH! KRAAASH!
The beautiful cavern was becoming a battlefield of broken stone and scattered gold.
Sera watched the destruction with growing alarm.
"Darev! Use your head!"
Darev didn't respond.
"Darev, listen to me!" she shouted again. "You're damaging your own body! Stop attacking blindly!"
But it was already too late.
The repeated impacts had begun to damage Darev's internal systems. His movements became increasingly erratic, and the reactions that should have allowed him to distinguish friend from foe were failing.
A harsh mechanical noise escaped his throat.
KRRR... TZZZT!
His head jerked sideways.
Then snapped back.
His eyes flickered.
And suddenly, Darev stopped pursuing Raithasu.
He turned toward Auren.
Auren barely had time to react before Darev launched himself at him.
"What's wrong with you?!" Auren shouted.
BOOM!
Darev's fist smashed into the ground beside him.
Auren jumped away, narrowly avoiding the impact.
Darev didn't stop.
He attacked again, striking anything within reach.
His movements had become completely uncontrolled.
He was no longer fighting Raithasu.
He was attacking everyone.
Including his own teammates.
Nyx, whose body was still reforming across the floor, stared at him in disbelief.
"Darev, have you lost your mind?! We're over here!"
Darev's head snapped toward him.
For one brief moment, Nyx seemed to realise what was about to happen.
"Oh, no..."
Darev opened his mouth.
FWOOSH!
FWOOSH!
A stream of fire erupted from his throat and swept across the cavern.
Nyx barely managed to pull his body away before the flames struck the floor where he had been.
The explosion tore through the surrounding stone.
KABOOOOOM!
Fragments of rock flew in every direction.
Dust swallowed the cavern.
When it cleared, the beautiful treasure chamber had become a shattered ruin.
And Darev was still attacking.
Sera gritted her teeth.
"His system has malfunctioned. He can't distinguish between us and the enemy anymore!"
She glanced toward Kairon.
"Wake up! We need you!"
She rushed to the unconscious speedster and began trying to bring him around.
Auren, meanwhile, could do nothing but stare at the destruction unfolding before him.
Darev was tearing the cave apart with every uncontrolled attack.
Raithasu, however, had found a way to use the chaos.
He leapt onto Darev's enormous back.
His boots struck the armour covering the giant's shoulders.
CLANG!
Raithasu ran across Darev's back, using the uneven armour as footholds while the giant continued to thrash around.
Darev slammed his fists into the walls.
BOOM! BOOM!
Each impact shook the cavern.
Raithasu jumped between the moving armour plates, trying to maintain his balance.
For a brief moment, it looked as though he had found the perfect position.
Then another figure landed on Darev's back.
Kairon.
Sera had managed to bring him back to consciousness.
"You're not the only one who can fight up here," Kairon said.
He rushed toward Raithasu.
Raithasu turned at the sound of his footsteps.
Their fists collided.
BAM!
Kairon followed with a kick.
Raithasu blocked it.
THUD!
Raithasu countered with a punch aimed at Kairon's ribs, but Kairon twisted away and struck back.
The two fought across Darev's moving back, trading punches and kicks while the giant beneath them continued to rampage.
BAM! CRACK! THUD!
Neither could land a clean finishing blow.
Raithasu could no longer rely on his vision, but he had begun anticipating Kairon's movements through sound and instinct.
Kairon, meanwhile, was using his speed to avoid being caught by another devastating punch.
They were evenly matched for the moment.
Then, without warning, Raithasu's head exploded with pain.
It felt as though something had driven a blade through his skull.
His entire body stiffened.
What... is this?
The poison.
The damage to his eyes.
The repeated impacts.
The strain of forcing his body to keep fighting despite his injuries.
Everything seemed to strike him at once.
His flames flickered violently.
His knees buckled.
Kairon noticed the change.
"What's wrong?"
Raithasu couldn't answer.
The pain intensified until he could no longer maintain his balance.
His fingers slipped from the armour.
And then—
He fell.
WHOOSH!
Raithasu dropped from Darev's enormous back.
He struck the stone floor with a horrifying impact.
KRAAAASH!
The ground cracked beneath him.
Dust and fragments of rock burst outward, spreading across the cavern floor.
For several seconds, nothing moved.
Raithasu lay motionless among the broken stones.
His flames had disappeared.
His body had finally reached its limit.
Several bones had fractured under the force of the fall, and the pain that had been building throughout the battle had overwhelmed his ability to remain conscious.
Above him, Kairon stared down from Darev's back.
Sera stopped moving.
Nyx's half-reformed body froze.
Even Auren fell silent.
The five Eclipse Units had fought together to bring Raithasu to this point, and the battle had nearly destroyed them as well.
But now their most dangerous opponent was lying unconscious beneath them.
For a moment, nobody dared to speak.
Then Auren slowly lowered his hand.
"Is he... finished?"
Sera looked toward Raithasu's motionless body.
She couldn't be certain.
And that uncertainty was more frightening than any answer.
Because even after everything that had happened, none of them could be sure that Raithasu had truly been defeated.