Haidoro sighed.
His wounds were recovering at a much slower pace.
He had removed Griho from the battle.
But...
That wasn't enough.
If Griho survived, he would surely hunt Haidoro down again.
Haidoro knew that better than anyone.
To make sure such a disaster never happened, he reached a conclusion.
He had to finish Griho now... while he still had the chance.
Haidoro pointed a finger toward Griho's unconscious body.
[Haidoro]: This ends here.
A concentrated magma beam shot forward.
It missed.
Just before it could reach Griho, the unconscious body teleported away.
Haidoro narrowed his eyes.
Support had arrived.
[Haidoro]: Seems like I'll be occupied for the time being.
Haidoro said, looking behind him.
Standing there were Ganaraj and Kark.
Kark—the fusion of Mala and Grimori's souls.
Ganaraj—the strongest fighter currently standing with the team.
He was also the only one capable of matching the speed of the weakened Haidoro.
Under normal circumstances, Haidoro could have wiped them out effortlessly.
But now things were different.
His Dark Energy Reserves had fallen to less than half of their original amount.
His soul had suffered deep injuries, preventing him from transforming into his Dragon Beast Form.
It would take time before that damage healed.
This...
This was the team's best opportunity to bring down the monster.
[Haidoro]: Where is the other boy?
Haidoro asked calmly.
Ganaraj and Kark instantly understood who he meant.
Pratik.
[Kark]: None of your business.
The moment those words left his mouth—
Haidoro activated his Range Shiftling.
Speed.
Before Kark could even perceive what had happened, Haidoro had already appeared in front of him.
A devastating strike was about to land but Ganaraj pulled Kark away at the last instant.
[Kark]: What was that?!
[Ganaraj]: His speed enhancement. Even after being weakened this much, he's still as fast as I am. We need to bring that monster down before he recovers.
Ganaraj said, cold sweat running down his forehead.
The battle between Haidoro and Griho had drastically altered Planet Giro.
The temperature had risen to terrifying levels.
Whatever little life had remained...
...had long since vanished.
Only vast lakes of boiling magma remained.
As Haidoro turned back—
Something slammed into him from above.
Pratik.
A powerful kick crashed onto Haidoro's shoulder.
He had most likely been the one who teleported Griho away and safely delivered him to Nini and Lila.
The kick was immediately followed by countless slashes from behind.
Most were deflected.
The ones that missed carved through distant mountains as though they were paper.
Surya.
Surya had joined the battle as well.
After landing their attacks, both Pratik and Surya instantly retreated to a safe distance.
Before Haidoro could recover—
A massive bolt of lightning descended from the heavens.
A Superbolt.
Weather Sorcery.
Kel had joined the battle too.
The team quickly spread out, surrounding Haidoro from every direction.
Every pair of eyes remained fixed on him.
Now that Griho had fallen...
They were the only ones left capable of standing before this monster.
Even after enduring all those attacks...
Haidoro laughed.
A deep, hearty laugh echoed across the ruined planet.
[Haidoro]: Excellent teamwork. I appreciate it. So now it's six against one? I like it. Just make sure none of you fights half-heartedly.
His laughter faded.
A cruel smile slowly spread across his face.
[Haidoro]: Because a half-hearted fight...will only end with your deaths.
Those words alone were enough to send fear through even the bravest among them.
The compressed Aura surrounding Haidoro slowly began leaking outward.
Its overwhelming pressure alone could have knocked unconscious any ordinary sorcerer.
[Haidoro]: Let us begin.
*
Grahan's Spacecraft
Yash was alone.
He found himself trapped inside a gigantic maze, searching for the correct path.
[Yash]: He has a huge advantage over me.
Even if his future sight becomes inactive during my turn, it immediately reactivates during his.
On top of that, he keeps changing the games... and even the rules.
Yash finally stopped running.
[Yash]: He's constantly manipulating my decisions while making everything appear fair.
This maze is just another one of his games.
He has distorted my sense of direction using Grandor's stolen abilities.
At the same time, he's influencing my choices.
Everything has been designed so that even my instincts betray me.
Yash let out a slow sigh.
[Yash]: Since he's also a participant, that means he's somewhere inside this maze too.
But he doesn't know the correct route either.
Yash looked upward.
The maze walls stretched all the way to the ceiling.
There was no way to jump over them.
Little did he know...
The finish line was only one wall away.
[Yash]: Breaking the walls isn't allowed. Using abilities during this round isn't allowed either. Then what does that suggest?
Silence.
Abilities couldn't be used on the maze itself.
But using them against the opponent..was perfectly legal.
Grahan had obviously created this rule to corner Yash.
Little did he realize...
That same rule could later become his greatest mistake.
Yash had to hurry.
Grahan was already only five walls away from the finish line.
For a brief moment...
Everything seemed hopeless.
Then—
Yash's eyes widened.
[Yash]: I should've realized it sooner.
A small smile appeared on his face.
[Yash]: Of course... I couldn't remember because Grahan kept interfering with my decisions. Let's see if he can stop me now.
Yash disappeared.
Grahan was happily jogging through the maze like a child enjoying a game.
[Grahan]: I'll earn bonus points along with the real value points after winning this round. That'll make the score...
He chuckled.
[Grahan]: Yash,0. Grahan, 4. What a comfortable lead.
He giggled to himself.
[Grahan]: Maybe I was being a little too harsh on a kid... though I have to admit, this is getting exciting.
Only one final wall remained between Grahan and victory.
[Grahan]: Even though I can't use my abilities on the maze or to enhance myself, I can still use them against that boy. He's probably still wandering somewhere deep inside.
[Grahan]:Poor kid. Only if his opponent wasn't me.
A few moments later...
Grahan finally crossed the finish line.
He looked around.
No sign of Yash.
A victorious grin spread across his face.
[Grahan]: Hooray! Grahan wins!
He announced while jumping excitedly.
A mechanical beep echoed throughout the maze.
[Grahan]: Hey, Beepe! Announce the winner already. End the game.
[ANNOUNCER]: The game has officially ended. The winner is...
Grahan's smile grew even wider.
[ANNOUNCER]: Yash!
Grahan's eyes widened.
A hand rested gently on his shoulder.
[Grahan]: When... did you...?
[Yash]: I arrived quite some time ago.
Thanks to you.
Yash replied with a calm smile.
[Grahan]: Why couldn't I sense you?
[Yash]: I simply hid my presence. Using abilities inside the maze wasn't allowed... but using them after reaching outside was perfectly fair. Right, announcer?
[ANNOUNCER]: ACCORDING TO THE RULES... YES.
The robotic voice answered.
[Grahan]: Then how did you even reach here? Even after I tampered with your sense of direction?
[Yash]: I simply followed you the entire time, buddy.
Yash smiled.
For the first time...
Grahan truly understood.
The opponent sitting before him was far beyond what his age suggested.
The realization made him burst into laughter.
Yash tracked back Grahan through the abilities that were blocking Yash.
Grahan could understand that happening because using abilities for oneself wasn't allowed.
Once Yash deduced the point Grahan was heading towards, he dashed towards the destination faster without actually following Grahan.
Real laughter.
[Grahan]: I like it. That was brilliant! Now I'm even more excited for the next rounds!
His smile slowly became sharper.
[Grahan]: But don't expect me to go easy on you anymore.
He gave Yash a cold warning stare.
Yash answered with the same calm, unwavering smirk.
Scores:
Yash: 4
Grahan: 0
To be continued...