Paltio began to advance directly toward the purple toad, but the enormous creature unleashed its ocular attacks without mercy, now even more powerful thanks to the energy it had absorbed from Chiki.
Nakia lifted Chiki onto her wings, attempting to pull him away to safety, but no safe haven was in sight.
"Toco-Toco, you have to help me!" Paltio shouted as he dodged a laser beam.
The feline shot toward him, understanding the situation.
"It won't catch me as easily as that foolish chihuahua… meow," Toco-Toco remarked, referring to Chiki with his characteristic sarcasm.
"Master Paltio, I see you have a plan," Mok said as he prepared one of his rings.
"Yes, I do, Mok, but it's hard to get close to that thing," Paltio replied, watching as the toad launched another attack.
"Alright, I'll help you," Mok declared with determination.
"I'm in too!" Alita exclaimed, conjuring fireballs in her hands.
"I've got your backs!" Ron added, positioning himself at the front of the group, his armor gleaming brightly.
"And what about me?" Rykaru asked innocently, looking at the others.
"You stay behind me," Ron instructed, gesturing to his position.
The little one nodded and moved to stand beside Kilibur, protected behind Ron.
Alita began launching her fireballs at the amphibian, but it retaliated by firing its lasers, creating a thick cloud of dust when the attacks collided with the girl's flames. Mok pulled out his electric ring and sent bursts of electricity into the ground beneath the creature, though it didn't flinch.
"I thought that since it's an aquatic animal, this would work…" Mok murmured, disappointment evident in his voice.
The giant monster mocked them as it continued its assault, firing both its lasers and its enormous tongue, which darted around like a spring moving rapidly back and forth.
Mok decided to use his earth ring, magically creating several sharp stakes that he sent flying directly at the toad. However, the creature merely deflected them with its laser beams. Next, Mok used his ice ring, hurling chunks of ice toward the beast, supported by Alita, who launched water projectiles. Despite their combined efforts, the massive creature remained unreachable for the team.
Finally, Mok resorted to his nature ring. Magical vines erupted from the ground, gathering the scattered knives and arranging them as deflective shields.
"Paltio, take your chance!" Mok shouted.
Paltio moved swiftly, trying to get closer to the toad. He leaped into the air and positioned himself in front of the monster's stomach. The toad noticed and began attacking him with its eye beams. Toco-Toco sprang to his rescue, blocking each attack with astonishing speed.
"Prince, climb up quickly! I'll cover you!" the cat meowed, skillfully deflecting the beams.
Nakia also sprang into action, launching feathers like fire projectiles toward the toad, joining the team's efforts to support Paltio.
"It's a very tough monster to defeat," Ron said through gritted teeth as he held his defensive stance.
"So it seems…" Alita replied, hurling another fireball at the toad, though without success.
"You must flee! You're no match for the Sapurus!" Kilibur warned, his voice heavy with concern. However, no one seemed willing to give up.
Paltio struck the toad with his energy needles, but the creature was so massive that it didn't even pause for a second. It was like trying to topple a mountain with tiny pebbles.
"We need to go higher, Golden!" Paltio shouted, glancing toward where his friend stood.
Golden nodded and, using his telekinesis, launched Paltio as if catapulting him into the air. The boy soared through the sky, but the toad wasn't about to let him approach so easily. It began firing laser beams from all its eyes. Swiftly, Paltio used his gloves to create a protective shield that deflected the attacks.
Mok leaped as well, using the magic of his air ring to divert the trajectory of the beams. For a moment, he floated beside Paltio, holding his sword ready to act.
"Go, Master! You can do it!" Mok shouted with determination, his voice cutting through the chaos of battle.
With a precise motion, Paltio managed to grab hold of one of the weapons Toco-Toco had thrown from his position. He swung himself like an expert acrobat and climbed up to where the toad's eyes were located. But the creature's tongue was quick to pursue him, lashing out like a deadly whip.
Alita and Nakia seized the moment when the toad focused some of its eyes on Paltio to launch fire projectiles at its tongue. The creature roared in pain but didn't stop.
"Take your chance, boy!" Golden shouted, watching Paltio's every move intently.
Paltio ran as fast as he could, almost as swiftly as Toco-Toco during their training sessions. He was a blur, like lightning, as he reached the vicinity of the toad's eyes. At that instant, he began launching his energy needles directly at them, temporarily paralyzing them—just as he had done before with the feline during practice. All of the toad's eyes became immobilized, though they knew it wouldn't last long.
The toad's tongue tried to shield its eyes from Paltio's attack, but before it could reach him, Mok intervened. With his red blade slash, he pinned the tongue to the enormous creature's head. However, it wasn't enough—the tongue began to slowly free itself, writhing with immense force.
Seizing the opportunity created by his butler, Paltio positioned his glove parallel to where the toad's eyes sprouted, as if it were a tree branching out. With a clean and precise motion, he sliced through the eyes as though cutting through butter with a hot knife.
The enormous toad began thrashing in agony, now completely blinded. A guttural voice, brimming with rage and anguish, reverberated through the chamber:
"Damn you! You'll pay for this!"
"Golden, it's now or never!" Paltio shouted, feeling an unfamiliar energy surge through his body like an electric torrent. Luminous rings began forming around his boots, just above where they ended, outlining them with an intense glow. The rings of light seemed to pulse with a life of their own, extending upward by a few inches, as if embracing his legs without directly touching them, spinning rapidly. With one leg raised, he brought his foot down with devastating force, as if delivering a powerful stomp. The impact pierced through the toad, leaving it lifeless on the ground.
Once the creature collapsed, Paltio slowly descended from its body, but before he could rejoin his friends, his knees buckled, and he collapsed onto the floor.
"Oh no! Paltio!" his friends cried in unison, rushing toward him in concern.
"Master!" Mok exclaimed, hurrying to the unconscious prince.
"What happened?" Ron and Alita asked simultaneously, looking at Golden in astonishment.
"I told him he wasn't ready to handle thirty percent of my power," Golden replied, his tone serious but laced with worry.
"Thirty percent?" his friends repeated, incredulous and uneasy.
"Yes, that's right," Golden confirmed, lowering his gaze.
"Yeah, that Paltio always wants to improve so quickly…" Ron murmured, scratching the back of his neck with a mix of admiration and concern.
"Daddy, daddy! Are you okay?" Rykaru said, approaching Paltio's prone body and gently shaking him, as if trying to wake him up.
Meanwhile, once the creature was defeated, a piercing alarm began blaring throughout the area. It was so loud it seemed to vibrate inside their heads. Immediately, through the door they had entered—where the enormous frog leg had previously blocked the exit—they heard a swarm of footsteps approaching at full speed. It sounded like thousands of people closing in rapidly.
"What are we going to do now?" Paris asked nervously, glancing at everyone as the footsteps grew louder.