The sight of the snake alone was enough to make their hearts skip a beat. But worse still—its master was here.
Chuck felt it in the tremor of his hands. Fear. The same fear gnawed at all of them.
But it wouldn't stop him.
Stepping forward, Chuck clenched his fist, forcing the tremor in his hand to still. He wouldn't falter—not now, not when they'd finally found him.
"Come on, are we doing this or not?" he shouted, voice carrying a layer of forced bravado. "Send that thing at us already!"
Jay and Flu snapped their heads toward him, wide-eyed. Did he really want to fight something like that?
Bumi only smiled at Chuck's display. The act didn't fool him. Through the senses of his serpent, he could feel it—taste it—the thick, suffocating scent of fear rolling off them all.
"Oh, this little fella?" Bumi gave the serpent's massive head a casual pat. "Just a warm-up. Something to rattle your nerves."
Then he leapt.
From that impossible height, the ground should've shattered his legs, but he landed with ease—knees barely bending, as if gravity itself dared not touch him.
Chuck's breath caught. 'That's… impossible. He has to be wearing Deviant Gear.'
It was the only explanation any of them could cling to. The alternative was far worse.
"You won't be fighting it." Bumi's lips curled into a wicked smile. "You'll be fighting me."
Behind him, the colossal serpent shimmered, then vanished into nothingness—like smoke scattered on the wind.
A cold sweat traced down their foreheads. Every one of them knew the truth—fighting Bumi would only end one way. He was too strong.
"Fine." Chuck drew his blades. Jay and Flu stared at him, wide-eyed, wondering how he could look so steady when the air itself felt like it was crushing them.
But Chuck wasn't steady. His heart thundered, his hands trembled. He was just as terrified as the rest of them.
The only difference was the fire behind his fear—unyielding determination.
"You know we're gonna lose, right?" Jay muttered with a crooked smile, raising his shield anyway. If Chuck was standing, then so was he.
"As long as we don't lose too badly, I guess." Flu muttered, pulling a rubber band from his wrist. He tied back the bangs that usually hid his face.
For the first time, his silver eyes glowed clearly, catching the light as they locked onto Bumi.
"That's the spirit," Bumi said with a wicked grin, spreading his arms as if inviting them closer. "Come at me, hatchlings."
They all dashed forward with impressive speed, each one of them keeping the same tempo as the last. This was something that could only be achieved with great understanding of one another.
Bumi didn't move. He stood loosely, waiting for them to reach him. They were fast, sure, but not fast enough for him.
They eventually closed the distance, and the first to strike was Flu.
He jumped forward with a roundhouse kick aimed for Bumi's head. But it didn't faze Bumi; he caught the kick with his palm and pushed it away. But while still in the air, Flu's form blinked, and now Chuck was in front of him.
There was no snap, no activator, nothing. This caught Bumi slightly off guard. He knew how all their talents worked—which was why he knew Flu had to mark people physically before he could use his ability on them, and even then a snap of his fingers was required. But he was certain that he didn't see him tag any of them and he didn't hear a thing.
He was partially right. Flu normally did need physical contact to mark objects and people for teleportation. But not during this state.
Celestial Sage.
With his eyes activated, Flu could mark and teleport anything in his line of sight with just a glance. It drained his Chi at a much quicker rate, but during the short time it was active, he could move and switch anything, anywhere.
Chuck wasted no time. Immediately, he found himself in front of Bumi and swung his blades without hesitation. The blades struck Bumi dead on, but Chuck knew it was because Bumi didn't attempt to dodge. He knew Bumi could easily counter an attack like that.
Out from Bumi's wounds didn't come blood, but turrets of small snakes that pushed Chuck back with force.
And just like that, Bumi's form had vanished. He was nowhere to be seen.
At least for Jay and Chuck. Flu, with his powerful eyes, had sighted the captain immediately and teleported him back into the center of the three.
"Where are you going, Captain?" he asked with a smile. Even though his eyes were burning, he could still see and feel everything in the area due to his ocular abilities. There was no hiding from him.
Bumi smiled back, but it was one of irritation. He threw his hand out. He was no distance away to connect a punch, but it didn't matter—another turret of snakes flew from his fist, headed straight for Flu.
But they didn't reach.
The gravity around them had suddenly grown ten times stronger, planting them to the ground almost instantly. Even Bumi was slightly affected, his body straining under the effect.
Jay had both hands pressed to the floor. The gravity affecting Bumi and his snakes was his doing. He had used his powers to attract them toward the ground. The effects were supposed to push everything he chose to the ground instantly, but somehow Bumi was still standing.
Chuck looked around, confused. Both had been drained from using their abilities extensively, and yet the effects lasted longer than usual.
Little did Chuck know, they were doing this because of him.
'Chuck used his talent, even though it hurt because of me. Now it's my turn to do the same,' they both thought as they fought.
Chuck himself thought that since they weren't holding back, he would do the same.
Red smoke emerged from his body as he glanced at Jay. With a nod, Jay knew what he had to do. Using his repulsion power, he repelled the snakes and Bumi from the ground.
The effects were immediate. All the snakes launched high into the air, but Bumi still didn't move. He remained standing.
It didn't bother Chuck. He released two large arcs of crimson smoke: one horizontal slash heading toward the snakes midair, and the other vertical, aimed at Bumi on the ground.
Both attacks hit their marks, the snakes exploding midair and Bumi blowing up on the ground as well.
But when the dust settled, there was no sign of him yet again.
A few meters away, a snake suddenly burrowed out from underground and opened its jaw wide, far wider than natural. Out from it crawled Bumi.
"Few, those boys were tougher than I thought—"
Blink!
The three boys suddenly appeared above him, and when they landed, a brawl began.
The three of them attacked their captain relentlessly and precisely with dangerous blows. If it were someone else, then they would have definitely lost against the three, but this was Bumi.
He lazily dodged all their attacks while dealing attacks of his own. Every once in a while, Flu would suddenly teleport him, making him lose his bearings. But he was still able to counter and dodge with ease.
The high-speed battle raged on, with neither side giving in. Bumi was intentionally attacking in patterns that were easy to counter, but he never let any one of their strikes touch him. He was stalling, waiting patiently for their Chi to dwindle and for them to tire, wanting to see how long they could hold on.
Sure enough, the first to slip up was Chuck. He had already used too much of his ability before, and even now he attacked without holding back, tiring faster than everyone else.
Bumi didn't fail to notice. He attacked immediately, fingers shifting into snakes large enough to rival a python, aiming to coil around Chuck.
But Chuck was instantly teleported a few steps behind, missing the snakes' grab by inches.
Flu gritted his teeth. His Chi pool was drained, and he could barely teleport anyone more than a few feet.
But that was all Chuck needed. He sprinted forward, Jay and Flu moving the same, covering Bumi from three sides.
Bumi made to move, but the instant Jay saw him budge, he attracted him to the ground. Surprisingly, it worked. Bumi was rooted in place—not fallen, but immobile.
They reached him at the same time and attacked.
Jay sharpened his shield with its active skill and stabbed it into Bumi's back. Chuck thrust both his blades into different sides of his stomach. Flu jumped up and delivered a powerful kick to his head.
The kick was strong enough to knock Bumi's head clean off his body, which came as a shock to all of them.
Bumi's head rolled on the floor, smiling.
The boys immediately snapped their heads toward the standing, headless body.
'It's not his real body!'
Pop!
The body exploded into a massive turret of small snakes, covering the three boys and the surrounding area.
They managed to push the snakes off and stand, ready to strike, but soon realized the small snakes were the least of their worries.
The body erupted into a torrent of snakes, covering the boys and the clearing. They fought them off, only to see the true threat: ten massive piles of snakes rising, coiling, forming ten identical clones of Bumi.
Now, the battle was just beginning.