Pratik did a few small jumps to warm himself up.
He spat a mouthful of blood onto the dark ground.
Kalmish and Kiara watched him with sharp, unwavering eyes.
Pratik slowly closed his eyes.
Pratik(thinking): I can sense them...I can sense them.I know what I have to do.I need to keep changing my methods of deduction before they get corrupted.
Why aren't the Death Angels taking the mental damage?
The answer was obvious.
Kiara had already targeted Pratik's brain before he activated his Range Shiftling.
Had she attempted to interfere with his mind after the Range Shiftling was activated, the mental damage—or even the distortion of his senses—would have been redirected to one of the Death Angels.
Timing...
Timing was everything.
She wasn't a particularly strong fighter.
But as a support...
She was terrifying.
After stretching for a while, Pratik finally locked in.
[Pratik]: Let's do it!
Pratik shouted.
He deactivated every healing ability he had.
Dark Energy Reserves coated both of his fists.
Kiara focused every bit of her attention on Pratik.
Kalmish covered his fists with white Aura and dashed toward him.
Just before Kalmish entered striking range...
Pratik punched himself across the face with full force.
CRACK!
Both Kalmish and Kiara froze for a split second.
What...?
During that tiny opening—
Pratik coated his fists with Dark Energy Reserves once more.
Then...
A second layer of Plasma wrapped itself around the first.
The energy rotated violently around his fists.
[Pratik]: Dark Plasma!
A devastating punch crashed into Kalmish's chest.
BOOM!!
The impact echoed throughout the endless darkness.
Kalmish was launched backward like a cannonball.
His body tore through the black landscape before finally crashing into the distance.
Kiara's eyes widened.
How...?
How did that happen?
Those weren't forced thoughts.
She genuinely couldn't understand it.
Then...
Realization struck her.
Pratik had punched himself to create overwhelming pain.
The sudden shock temporarily disrupted her telepathic interference.
That tiny opening...
...was all Pratik needed.
He had even deactivated his healing beforehand, ensuring the pain would linger just long enough for him to regain complete control over his own mind.
It was insane.
The punch had cracked his own skull.
Kiara stared at him in disbelief.
No sorcerer...
...could possibly be this insane.
Then...
A memory from ten years ago flashed across her mind.
A young man.
Black hair.
Calm eyes.
Krishna.
Kiara(thinking): ...No. Sorcerers can be this insane. This is merely the second one I've witnessed.
[Kiara]: He knocked the Warden away with a single punch?
She muttered to herself.
[Kalmish]: Don't be stupid. I am still here.
Kalmish's voice echoed calmly.
He walked past Kiara while casually cracking his neck and shoulders.
His chest had turned bright red and swollen from the impact.
Within seconds...
It regenerated completely.
Pratik also reactivated his healing for a brief moment.
The fracture in his skull disappeared almost instantly.
[Kalmish]: Seems we've encountered a truly troublesome opponent this time.
Kalmish said with a carefree smile.
Silence followed.
Pratik and Kalmish slowly began circling each other.
Neither attacked.
Both simply observed.
Studied.
Analysed.
Searching for even the smallest opening.
The atmosphere grew heavier with every passing second.
No one dared make the first reckless move.
They stopped.
Without another word, Kalmish lunged toward Pratik.
Kiara devoted every bit of her concentration to Pratik.
That...
...was her biggest mistake.
"Agraham Sunesha, Divine Punishment... Chains of Heaven."
A calm voice echoed through the battlefield.
Golden chains burst out of nowhere.
They wrapped tightly around Kiara's body before she could even react.
She was completely restrained.
The moment the chains sealed her...
...her ability to interfere with minds was shut down by the technique's mechanism.
Kalmish's attention instinctively shifted toward her.
That single glance...
...was all Pratik needed.
He stepped in and drove another heavy punch into Kalmish's abdomen.
BOOM!
The Warden was launched high into the air.
From the darkness...
Mala walked out.
She rolled her shoulder as if waking from a nap.
[Mala]: That was rough.You did a good job, brat.
[Pratik]: Thank goodness you're alright.
Pratik said with a genuine smile.
[Mala]: Of course I am.
During the brief moment when Pratik had broken free from Kiara's telepathic interference...
Mala had secretly contacted him through telepathy.
She had only given him one instruction.
Keep Kiara focused on you.
Pratik agreed without hesitation.
The reckless move of punching himself...
...had not only broken Kiara's influence for a moment...
...it had also convinced her that Pratik himself was the greatest threat.
Exactly what Mala wanted.
Mala's recovery ability was monstrous.
Even injuries that would leave most fighters bedridden for weeks barely slowed her down.
The moment Pratik smiled again...
The bloodlust inside him faded.
Range Shiftling...
Shadow Lord's Grave...
...collapsed.
The endless darkness disappeared.
The battlefield returned to normal.
Yet Kalmish remained standing as though nothing had happened.
Every injury Pratik had inflicted had already healed.
[Pratik]: How are we even supposed to beat this beast?
Pratik asked with an irritated, goofy face.
[Mala]: Figure something out yourself.
Mala replied with an equally goofy...
...yet somehow completely serious expression.
Kalmish slowly walked toward them.
The white Aura surrounding his body intensified.
Its pressure increased with every step.
Pratik and Mala instinctively tensed.
Kalmish(thinking): Seems I'll have to use my second strongest technique...I hate relying on it.
His eyes shifted between Mala...
...and Pratik.
Then...
Something felt off.
[Kalmish]: Hey, kid...
Pratik tilted his head in confusion.
[Kalmish]: Do you happen to know the sorcerer Krishna?
The atmosphere instantly became heavy.
Even Mala looked toward Pratik.
[Pratik]:He's my teacher. Well... He teaches me only occasionally. He's also the one who kind of adopted me.
Kalmish's eyes widened.
Kalmish(thinking): I see... That explains it.His battle sense... His deceptive tactics...The way he thinks during combat... He learned all of it from that man.
The Warden slowly exhaled.
His Aura settled down.
[Kalmish]: In that case... You may leave. I hold no grudge against you for freeing my prisoner.
Pratik and Mala stared blankly.
They could hardly believe what they had just heard.
"What do you mean?"
Both of them asked at the same time, stretching their ears toward Kalmish with identical teasing smirks.
[Kalmish]:You choose to fight?
White Aura exploded around Kalmish once again.
"We are leaving!"
Pratik and Mala shouted together before immediately turning around.
They began walking away at an almost suspiciously fast pace.
[Pratik]: That was way too close. We almost provoked him into another fight.
[Kalmish]: Wait.
Both of them froze instantly.
Their brows twitched.
What now?
[Kalmish]: Before you leave... Free the Vice Warden.
Only then did they remember.
Kiara was still restrained by the Chains of Heaven.
Mala casually snapped the chains apart.
Kiara stretched her arms with an annoyed sigh.
Without wasting another second...
Pratik and Mala sprinted away.
Soon they reunited with Yash...and his half restrained uncle.
Apparently...
During all that time...
Yash's uncle had already wiped out all five hundred giant creatures by himself. Even though his hands were cuffed and his one eye had a blindfold.
No one questioned it.
There wasn't enough time.
The group rushed back to their spacecraft and escaped the planet without looking back.
Back inside the prison...,
Kalmish stood silently beneath the massive ceiling.
His eyes remained fixed upward.
Kiara walked beside him.
[Kiara]: Seems things are starting to spiral out of control.
[Kalmish]: We must inform Empress Chandrika immediately. If Sir Krishna is truly involved...this situation could become far worse.
[Kiara]:Does that mean the green-haired kid...
[Kalmish]: He must be Prince Yash. Which is exactly why the Empress needs to know. If anything happens to the Prince...Let's just say... The world isn't prepared for the consequences.
To be continued...
---
EXTRAS:-
THE NAMING TRADITION OF GRETO
The naming tradition on Planet Greto differs from Earth's.
If someone is born into the Royal Bloodline, their full name follows this pattern:
[First Name] + [Mother's Name] + Putra (son) / Putri (daughter)
For example:
Yash Chandrika Putra
Yash → First name.
Chandrika → Mother's name.
Putra → Son.
So the name Yash Chandrika Putra literally means:
Yash, son of Chandrika.