Zama's massive hand wrapped around Leo's head like it was nothing—his fingers easily eclipsing Leo's face. With a grunt of disinterest, Zama lifted him effortlessly into the air.
"I'm not in the mood to kill you, mortal," he said flatly. "Your intentions weren't entirely foolish. That's the only reason I'm letting this go. You can't stop me anyway."
With a flick of his arm, Zama hurled Leo across the glowing void.
Leo didn't rise to his feet. Instead, he sat on the ground, chest heaving, and looked up at the towering figure.
"I'm not done," he said through the pain. "What did you mean by 'left alone'? I don't think you were."
Zama vanished, reappeared in front of him in a blink—and without a word, drove his foot into Leo's face, knocking him flat.
But again, Leo got up. Blood ran down his lip in the spiritual form, but his eyes had not dimmed.
"I said—tell me."
Inwardly, Leo gritted his teeth.
That feeling... it stabbed deeper than his fists. When he said 'left behind,' I felt it. That same suffocating ache from my past world. I was abandoned too. But I learned something...
Being left behind once doesn't mean you can't hope again. It doesn't mean you can't find new light. New friends. A new future.
Zama paused, studying him for a moment. Then a wry smirk curved his lip.
"Oh? If you insist that much... then I'll tell you."
He raised a finger. "But only on one condition."
Leo stared at him warily.
"If you can hit me once. Just once. I'll tell you. Until then…" His tone darkened. "I'll keep hitting you—until you die."
Leo let out a dry chuckle. "Oh? If you say so."
His voice dropped—colder now, carrying weight.
The spiritual mask on his face began to dissolve, fragmenting like ash in the wind, until it vanished completely. His true face shone through, and his presence suddenly shifted, darker and sharper.
Then Leo narrowed his eyes.
"Let's begin."
Leo surged forward with a sudden burst of speed, his fist cutting through the air as it aimed straight for Zama's face. The shock registered in Zama's eyes for the first time.
He's changed... the ancient being thought, his expression tightening for a flicker of a second. But then his voice lowered again, dismissive.
"He still can't stop me."
Zama leaned back just enough to let the punch graze past his cheek, then retaliated with a swift kick toward Leo's face. But Leo ducked, sliding beneath the strike and attempting a counter. Zama twisted away, almost effortlessly, and with a single leap, flipped mid-air and drove his heel down on Leo's head.
Leo hit the ground hard.
Zama descended slowly, his presence pressing heavier with each step.
It's impossible... Leo thought, trying to rise again. I can't stop this guy...
"H-Hey, Zama," Leo called out, his voice slightly trembling. "Why don't we just stop this? You can just tell me everything."
Zama's eye twitched. His calm cracked.
"Don't mock me."
In a blink, Zama appeared above him, grabbed Leo by the head, and flung him across the air like a discarded weapon. Leo tumbled violently—but then landed, kneeling.
"You're defeated."
Zama stopped cold.
"What?"
Leo pointed behind him. "Look. That ice."
Zama turned—and his gaze narrowed. A small shard of ice protruded from the back of his leg. A tiny, nearly invisible needle.
"You said to touch you, didn't you?" Leo said, catching his breath. "I touched you—with my magic."
I knew I couldn't beat him in power, Leo thought, his hands trembling slightly. So I made him come closer. I only needed one opening... one chance.
"Now tell me," Leo demanded.
But Zama's face twisted—not with defeat, but with fury.
In a flash, he appeared before Leo and slammed his foot into Leo's face, sending him flying. And as Leo tumbled through the air, Zama was already there, meeting him mid-fall with another kick. And another. Each blow came faster, fiercer—no longer measured but wild, raw with emotion.
Leo tried to guard, tried to strike back—but his attacks were ineffective, feeble against Zama's overwhelming strength.
Zama seized Leo by the head and drove him into the ground with terrifying force. Dust and shards of spirit crystal shot into the air. Then came the punches—raining down, merciless and fast.
"Why do you want to know?" Zama roared, each word punctuated by a blow. "Why?! You don't know anything about me!"
Another punch.
"I was alone! You dare say I'm not?!"
Another.
"What do you think you are?!"
Leo's shattered spirit floor beneath him. But even as the world blurred, his eyes—dimmed but not broken—locked onto Zama's.
Zama's fist, mid-swing, came to a sudden halt.
It wasn't hesitation.
It wasn't mercy.
It was Leo's hand—trembling, but unyielding—gripping his wrist.
Leo raised his eyes, battered yet burning with fire.
"Okay," he said with a strained breath, "this is getting out of hand."
Zama's expression twisted with fury. "Don't act cocky now!" he roared, pulling back to strike again. But Leo was faster.
He seized Zama's arm, twisted it around, and in one fluid motion locked his neck with a firm grip. Then, planting his foot on Zama's torso, Leo launched himself backward, using the momentum to create distance.
"Time for round two," Leo said, steadying his stance.
Before Zama could react, Leo vanished.
A shockwave cracked through the ground.
Zama braced for an attack from the front, but it never came.
Instead—
Crack!
A foot collided with the back of his head.
Staggering forward, Zama barely had a breath before another blow—this time to the back of his knee—sent him down. Off balance, caught in motion, he couldn't recover.
And then came the punch.
A full-force strike, right to the chest.
The impact echoed across the battlefield as Zama's body flew back, skidding across the ground.
Leo exhaled sharply, the air around him humming.
I can't use my strongest magic here, he thought, clenching his fist tight. This world… it's jamming anything too powerful.
But even without it—he wasn't done yet.