đźź Chapter 77:
🟧 Narrator's POV:
Only five minutes stood between Takeru, Ryo, and Elnar and preventing Number One and Orfin from blowing up the capital. Despite how little time they had, that didn't stop them from wondering how the gang planned to survive the explosion themselves.
That was exactly what Takeru asked them:
"How is your gang supposed to survive this? You'll die too."
Number One corrected him sharply:
"Not all of us, you fool. My brother and I will survive, and that's all that matters."
"Just you two? And the others will die? Do they even know that?"
"Of course they know. They're loyal to me."
"So you don't even care about your gang's lives?"
"I care about no life except my brother's. The rest are nothing but numbers to me. Death… birth… another death—that's life."
Number One then turned to Orfin and called him by his real name:
"Isn't that right, Rey?"
When Elnar heard that name, he immediately remembered someone with it—a name his father once mentioned. The former king had left behind twin sons: the first named Khefi and the second Rey.
At that moment, Elnar understood the true identities of Orfin and Number One:
"You… you're the sons of the former king… Khefi and Rey."
Takeru and Ryo could hardly believe what they heard. The ones who ignited a war against the kingdom were its former princes:
"Hold on, Prince Elnar… so this whole conflict is because of former princes?" Ryo asked, struggling to wrap his mind around it.
Takeru, on the other hand, wasn't sure if Elnar was right or simply mistaking them for someone else:
"I don't know your country's history, but don't you think you might just be confusing them with someone else?"
Before Takeru could finish, Number One—who was revealed to indeed be Khefi—confirmed Elnar's words:
"It's not confusion. It's the truth. We were once the princes of this kingdom. And just as this people burned us… we will burn them."
Elnar replied with clear disappointment:
"That's truly pitiful. If your father could see you now, he'd be ashamed."
But contrary to Elnar's words, Rey claimed the opposite:
"Look around—wasn't the former king himself a disgrace to the kingdom? So much so that he was killed by his own people? We've got nothing to lose. Our family has always been hated."
The red ruby began to glow, marking the countdown to Ferenta's destruction. With iron determination, Elnar charged forward to stop this catastrophe:
"I don't care if you're princes or not—I'll end this."
Using Phantom Replication, ten clones shot forward toward Rey and Khefi. Khefi easily destroyed the ones heading toward him, none of which contained the real Elnar—meaning the true one was heading toward Rey.
Since Elnar had fought Rey before, he considered him the weaker link, even though he had never faced Khefi.
Khefi attempted to stop Elnar by firing air blades, but a sudden punch from Ryo slammed into his face.
Meanwhile, Takeru rushed toward the ruby to absorb it with his Factory Skill. But Khefi quickly stopped him with a kick to the stomach, sending him crashing back against the entrance:
"Not so fast, you brat. Stay away."
On the other side, Rey pulled out two combat knives to face Elnar. They clashed with Elnar's sword, creating a spark before exchanging rapid attacks. Elnar soon disarmed Rey of both knives.
Just as he was about to strike Rey, a crushing gravitational force smashed him into the ground, shattering the floor beneath.
Elnar tried to move, but it was impossible.
Ryo and Takeru looked toward Khefi, realizing he was the source of the gravity.
Ryo dashed toward Khefi to stop him from crushing Elnar, while Takeru attacked Rey by firing explosive rounds from his pistol. But just before the bullets hit Rey, a spatial rift appeared—swallowing the bullet and making it reappear right in front of Ryo's face.
The bullet exploded on Ryo.
Khefi had used the skill as well.
Takeru realized something crucial:
"You… you've used the Skills of Number Five, Four, and Three so far… how?"
Khefi grinned with arrogance:
"Because I'm the one who created these skills, boy. I'm the one who granted them their powers."
Takeru still didn't fully understand how powers worked in this world, but Khefi's words reminded him of what Heizen had said about the Shadow Style—that it wasn't invented by him but bestowed upon him.
Ryo aimed a punch at Khefi, only for Khefi to block it effortlessly with his palm. Ryo couldn't believe how easily he countered him.
He remembered something similar:
"Wait… could it be that you even have Number Two's skill?"
Khefi looked genuinely surprised. He hadn't expected Ryo to know about Number Two's power.
"Dragon… have you encountered Onder before?"
"So his name is Onder… yes, I fought him. And I defeated him."
Khefi hadn't expected his strongest subordinate to have been defeated. Instead of being shocked, he was excited:
"Amazing, dragon. Killing you will be exhilarating. Not like that boy over there—fought me twice and still hasn't improved."
Takeru knew the insult was aimed at him. He threw a bomb at Khefi, but it wasn't fast enough to hit him. Khefi looked at Takeru with contempt:
"Tch. Is that all you've got? Same as before. You should've stayed out of what doesn't concern you."
The gravity pinning Elnar down faded once its duration ended. As he stood up, Rey's knife slashed inches in front of his eyes—had he not reacted, he would've lost his sight.
Elnar realized defeating Rey was pointless unless Khefi was taken down. So he went to assist Ryo, who was relentlessly attacking Khefi, though his punches felt like pillows thanks to Khefi's shock-absorption skill.
So Elnar switched tactics—using something sharper.
In one synchronized moment, Ryo's claws and Elnar's sword shot toward Khefi.
Khefi created two spatial rifts, redirecting both attacks.
Two more rifts opened behind them—Ryo was stabbed by Elnar's sword, and Elnar was slashed by Ryo's claws.
Khefi continued his assault, firing air blades. Both Ryo and Elnar were struck across their bodies.
Meanwhile, Takeru headed for the ruby again to absorb it. Rey tried to stop him, but Takeru fired another explosive shot—though it missed, allowing Rey to dodge.
Still, Takeru finally reached the ruby. The moment he attempted to use his skill, Khefi crushed him under gravity again:
"Don't think I'll take my eyes off you so easily, boy."
The first minute of the battle had already passed—
And victory was still clearly on Khefi and Rey's side.
Only four minutes remained.