Meanwhile, in the ocean-split arena, hundreds of Tomi clones swarm around the King, attacking from every direction.
The King swings his massive darkness sword, cleaving through a dozen clones in a single strike. Each explodes in a cloud of dark gas.
Jen ducks behind the real Tomi, catching her breath.
"We're outmatched," Tomi says, his voice strained. "Even with our power-ups, only a real Chosen could actually fight him."
Jen nods, eyes narrowing at the king.
"Yeah… all we can do is stall for time. I can feel Boa and Ignis fighting inside him."
Tomi glances at the King's chest and sees faint pulses of yellow and red light.
The King lifts his sword, and many dark pillars erupt from the arena floor, piercing the clones and shattering many of Tomi's hidden traps.
"I don't know how much longer we can hold him off," Tomi admits, his hand tightening on his weapon. "But I still have an ace up my sleeve."
Jen exhales deeply.
"I have one too… hopefully I won't have to use it."
The King locks eyes on them, his darkness aura surging. With a roar, he charges.
Meanwhile, in the spirit realm, tears streak the sky as orange, yellow, and black flames ripple through the crumbling castle.
The King rises. Boa also gets to his feet. Suddenly, a green light erupts from Boa's chest, releasing swarms of green energy birds and butterflies. They flutter around him as he surveys the creatures.
The King charges, blade raised.
They clash, magical swords meeting with a spark.
Boa notices green birds and butterflies emerging from the King as well, illuminating the realm and causing spiritual trees, vines, and terrain to sprout from the ground.
"Give it all to me!" the King shouts.
"You're not worthy of such power!" Boa yells back.
Their auras surge, shaking the realm.
"I have too much on the line to die here!" the King growls. Darkness peels from his head as his eyes glow green, his power swelling.
He overpowers Boa, striking him down through the spiritual terrain.
Grabbing the darkness clinging to him, the King struggles to remove it.
"Wicked power… this is holding me back!" he says, pulling at the shadows. But his chest flashes with grey and black as he drops to a knee.
"I get it now… this power… is from God himself… you can't control me!" he roars, green and dark energy swirling like a storm around him.
Ignis rushes to Boa.
"What is going on?" he asks.
"He's fighting himself," Boa gasps. "Hold him off! I need more time to grasp this power. I can feel an uprising inside me… I can do more!"
Ignis nods.
Boa's aura erupts, yellow and green flames raging like a storm. The two storms collide—and then cancel out violently. Boa is sent soaring, stunned.
"Boa? What's happening to you?" Ignis shouts.
He hears the King's laugh and sees his eyes—one green, one black.
"Even God can't stop me… his powers are now mine too!" the King declares.
Dark slime wings sprout from the King's back. Another pair of pure green energy wings emerges alongside it. His crown floats above, glowing in dark and green aura.
"Whatever you're planning, Boa, you better do it quick!" Ignis yells.
Suddenly, Boa explodes in green light. Ignis stares in shock.
"I hope this is part of the plan!" he mutters.
Ignis unleashes a massive fire blast from his hands. The King strides through it casually, barely affected.
Dropping his sword, the King transforms the ground into black.
"I told you… I have a whole universe behind me!"
The terrain shifts. Green orbs float upward as the ground becomes formless. Ignis free-falls. The realm transforms into a vast space filled with green stars.
The King swings his arms, sending the green orbs hurtling at Ignis, growing into mini-planets.
Ignis blocks them, explosions erupting around him as his body is tossed ragdoll-style through the space realm.
A blazing spiritual dragon erupts from Ignis, flames scattering the mini-planets.
"In every universe, there lies a sun… the most powerful planet!" Ignis roars, his flames raging across the space realm as if he's a burning sun.
Meanwhile, on the eastern land, the robotic dragon unleashes torrents of blue flames, burning countless dark monsters into ash.
Taeo speaks through the comms to Gilga and Gaia.
"We don't have to waste time here. We need to continue the grand plan! One of you has to come with me—decide!"
The robotic dragon transforms back into Taeo. He opens a portal and vanishes.
Gilga smiles with excitement
"I've been building this whole time. It's my turn to shine!"
Gaia shakes her head.
"No! They're my friends, and they're in danger. I need to stay to help them!"
Gilga raises his blade, clashing it against Gaia's.
"How about the winner of this duel gets to stay while the loser goes back to building the grand plan?"
Gaia growls, as they both turn away from the clash to cut down a swarm of dark monsters with quick slashes.
"Let's make this quick! No mecha suits, magic, or tech allowed!"
Gilga becomes delighted
"Deal!"
Their swords meet again, sparks flying.
Meanwhile, Ortis rushes toward the collapsed Yuri. He spots the broken mecha, blood pooled across the ground. His eyes widen in shock at the sheer amount of blood. Dark monsters closes in fast.
"Yuri!" Ortis roars, cutting through the creatures one by one.
A monster nearly reaches Yuri—until a light laser blasts it apart. Hopper steps forward, rifle smoking.
"Lady Gaia asked me to assist you," Hopper says.
He fires again, mowing down more monsters around Yuri.
Ortis swings his sword against another beast.
"Hopper! Check on Yuri, when you have the chance!"
Hopper reloads, then kneels by Yuri. He peels away the broken mask and sees him unconscious, blood leaking from the ruined suit.
"He doesn't look good," Hopper mutters. "We need to hurry back to the city!"
Ortis shakes his head, still fending off enemies.
"We have to save the other beacons of light too! Their light is barely holding back the darkness!"
Hopper turns. The twelve other beacons of light lie nearby, unconscious, their faint auras keeping the monsters just three feet away. Hopper raises his rifle and opens fire, burning down the horde.
Gilga and Gaia's duel surges into view, their strikes tearing down monsters as they clash. Their chests glow with massive aura.
"Data conversion field—expand!" they shout in unison.
A green data field bursts from their chests, expanding across the battlefield.
Gilga kicks one of the weakened beacons into the air. A portal opens, swallowing the star.
Gaia raises her sword as glowing pixels spiral upward.
"Advance tech—emerge!"
Eleven portals erupt beneath the remaining beacons of light, pulling them in. The portals close, sealing their safety. Gaia collapses to one knee, panting hard.
Gilga chuckles.
"Wow, what a show-off. We could've done it one by one to save energy for our duel. But you rushed… and what did it cost you? Your stamina."
He clashes swords with her again, smirking.
"And you forgot about those three over there."
Ortis and Hopper still fight desperately to protect Yuri from the swarming monsters.
Gaia snaps back with fury.
"I've already calculated they can pull through! And this is enough energy for me to win this duel!"
She pushes with all her might, overpowering the clash. Her blade cuts across Gilga's chest, forcing him to flip back.
Gilga laughs through the sting.
"Wow, the confidence—I love it!"
He lunges back in with wild excitement.
Suddenly, Yuri stirs awake. His eyes snap open as he shouts.
"Ah—where am I?! Who's there?!"
Hopper reloads his rifle, relief in his voice.
"Ortis, he's awake!"
Ortis cuts down a lunging dark monster, shouting back.
"Are you alright?!"
Yuri's voice cracks with emotion.
"I don't know! I can't feel anything—I can't move!"
Hopper fires off more rounds, keeping the monsters at bay.
"I still have access to Lady Gaia's pouch. Hold on just a bit longer, I'll heal you!"
Yuri's eyes dart wildly, panic taking hold. Then he notices his own blood beginning to stir and flow around his body.
"Guys… something weird is happening!"
A towering dark monster slams Ortis to the ground, pinning him with it's massive claws. He grits his teeth, holding his blade against the crushing weight. His gaze shifts to Yuri, where blood coils in the air like a current.
"That looks familiar!" Ortis yells.
The blood around Yuri spirals upward, forming a river that lifts him into the air. Yuri thrashes, screaming.
"Help! Help! I'm going to drown!"
The river swallows him, flooding over his body in a crimson tide.
Hopper suddenly spots another dark monster morphing into something far more dangerous. Its body twists and reshapes, becoming the hulking form of the Blood Orc. Black blood seeps from its chest, forming a massive sword in its hand. With a roar, it charges forward, effortlessly deflecting Hopper's laser fire.
Ortis slashes through another monster, but his attention drops to his bleeding hands. His blood slithers and writhes like worms in the air.
"This is actually great!"
He looks back at Yuri, who drifts helplessly through the airborne blood river.
"It's the orc's blood—it's helping you! Use it like he did!"
Yuri's eyes widen. His fingers twitch. His voice steadies.
"You're right… it's actually helping!"
He steadies himself, swimming through the river of blood. Closing his eyes, he focuses, and the crimson torrent begins to absorb into his body.
Suddenly, Hopper crashes to the ground in front of him, coughing up blood.
"God damn it… it's just as strong as the real one!"
Yuri steps forward, his broken mecha falling away piece by piece. His chest glows as the hilt of a sword created by blood pushes out from his skin. He grips it tight, pulling free a gleaming blood-forged blade.
"Have no fear. I'll deal with this one!"
The blood sword clashes with the black blade of the Blood Orc, sparks of crimson and shadow flying across the battlefield.
Ortis watches in awe—then smirks.
"If he can do it… so can I!"
His blood arcs outward, shaping into a second crimson blade. Now dual-wielding a blood sword and a light sword, Ortis tears across the field, cutting down dark monsters with new speed and power.
Hopper wipes blood from his mouth, staggering back up. His eyes widen at the sight.
"Wow… both of them just got a big power-up!"
Yuri roars as he pushes the orc back with a wide swing of his blade. The darkness latches onto his skin, burning into him as dark worms begin to burrow inside. He endures the pain and lets out mighty roar, transforming his blood sword into a massive greatsword that cleaves the orc clean in half with great power!
Breathing heavily, he staggers back—until Hopper rushes in, his aura of light searing away the darkness and forcing the worms out of Yuri's body.
"Careful, Yuri! Stay close, you don't have a source of light!" Hopper shouts.
Yuri glances at his bleeding arm and focuses.
"Alright then, I'll just use ranged attacks like you do!"
His blood shifts violently, molding into the shape of a massive minigun. He lets out a feral roar as a storm of blood bullets rains across the battlefield, mowing through waves of dark monsters.
Meanwhile, Gaia and Gilga clash sword against sword, every strike calculated with their ultra thinking. Sparks of light explode with each blow as they test each other's limits.
"You're almost as great as me, Gaia!" Gilga yells. "But why can't you hear God's voice?!"
Their blades meet again, this time cutting into each other's sides. Blood pours, yet neither falters.
"It's because I'm not deluded like you," Gaia replies coldly. "We obsess over godhood in different ways!"
They charge, exchanging dozens of sword swings. Cuts and slashes carve small wounds across their bodies, but their eyes never leave each other.
Gilga growls.
"How are we so different?!"
Both thrust their light swords forward, the impact erupting into a blinding explosion that hurls them into the dirt. Bloodied but standing, they rise at the same time, their gazes locked as dark monsters lunge toward them. Without even breaking eye contact, they punch, kick, and toss the creatures aside.
Gaia wipes blood from her lip.
"I want to build a universe myself—unlike you, who only seeks to better himself."
Gilga crushes a monster's chest with his fist, grinning.
"Only a fool refuses to extend his reach over the beyond when one is given that kind of power!"
The two then collide again, trading a furious barrage of punches and kicks. Each strike is predicted, each counter blocked—their movements flawless, as if they are perfect mirrors of each other at their absolute peak.
Gilga blocks Gaia's strike and twists with a counter, grinning as their fist clash.
"I can't believe the Star Games are this exciting—and this is only the first stage!"
Gaia sidesteps, parries, and pushes back with another strike.
" If we were teamed up, we'd definitely reach the final stage. But just like Rose said—what's the fun in that, if you don't have a rival team of equal strength to fight against in a competition like this?!"
Their knees collide with bone-cracking force, followed by spinning kicks, then devastating punches that send shockwaves across the battlefield.
Gilga growls as he meets her fist with his own.
"With that kind of thinking, we're doomed! Didn't you simulate that outcome in your head? We're almost alike, Gaia—we need to get ahead of the other planets, or else Isha will never have a Star winner!"
Gaia twists away from his next blow, stepping back with sharp precision.
"We're not alike at all. When did I ever agree this would be a duel?"
Suddenly, Ortis and Yuri rush in from both sides. Their blood swords slash across Gilga's ribs, cutting deep into his side. He stumbles, coughing blood.
Gaia straightens, her voice steady.
"I only agreed to the end terms."
Gilga spits blood onto the ground, eyes burning.
"That's… cheating!"
Gaia's gaze is cold.
"You don't make the rules. You should have simulated this outcome… you've been outwitted, that's all."
She opens a swirling portal beneath him. Gilga roars as he falls through, vanishing into its depths.
The battlefield quiets as the group clears enough monsters for a moment of rest. Everyone gathers around Gaia.
"I don't have enough strength to open another portal for us," Gaia admits. "We'll have to get back to the city another way."
Hopper tries to access Gaia's digital pouch, but nothing responds.
Then Ortis steps forward, resting a hand on her shoulder. His light aura pulses outward, flowing into her body and restoring her drained energy and also giving her his power of light.
"Who said we need to head back to the city? When you can join the others that are still fighting."
Yuri and Ortis stand within the glow of Hopper's light. Yuri smiles widely.
"All this time, you've been supporting everyone from the sidelines…"
Hopper nods, his own aura brightening.
"Now it's your time to show everyone how great you really are!"
Gaia's eyes widen as her chest heaves. Courage surges through her veins, her spirit burning brighter than ever as the power of light courses through her!