Harun's vision didn't just blur this time it fractured.
The world in front of him felt unstable, like it was slipping out of his grasp piece by piece, and no matter how hard he tried to focus, everything kept distorting into something unrecognizable. Blood continued to drip from his chest in slow, heavy drops, soaking into the broken ground beneath him, and with every second that passed, his body felt less like his own and more like something that was barely holding itself together.
He inhaled sharply, but even breathing felt wrong, like his lungs had forgotten how to work properly.
I don't have time…
That thought didn't come as panic.
It came as truth.
His eyes slowly lifted toward Anwar, who still stood there like nothing had changed, like this entire battle had been nothing more than a minor inconvenience. There was no urgency in his posture, no tension in his muscles, not even the slightest hint that he considered Harun a real threat.
That realization hurt more than the wounds.
He's not even taking me seriously…
Harun's fingers tightened weakly, his nails digging into his own palm as he forced himself to stay conscious.
This isn't like before… Raj… Kareena… they were strong… but this…
His jaw clenched.
This is different.
Anwar wasn't overwhelming him with raw power alone.
He was controlling everything.
The pace, the distance, the outcome.
From the very beginning, Harun hadn't been fighting to win.
He had been surviving.
A bitter taste filled his mouth as more blood rose up his throat, and he coughed violently, his body bending slightly from the force.
"I can't… focus…" he muttered under his breath, his voice barely stable.
His thoughts refused to stay in place, slipping away every time he tried to hold onto them, and for a moment, something inside him began to break not physically, but mentally, like the part of him that still believed he could win was finally starting to collapse.
Then a thought emerged.
Quiet.
Cold.
Unavoidable.
Then fine
His breathing steadied, not because he recovered, but because he accepted something.
"If this is what it takes…" he whispered, his voice low but firm despite the tremor in it, "then I'll sacrifice myself."
There was no hesitation in those words.
No doubt.
"If my death is enough if my life if everything I have is enough to protect this town these people"
His eyes shifted.
Aqsa.
She stood there, trembling, tears streaming down her face, her entire body frozen between fear and helplessness as she looked at him like she didn't understand what was happening anymore.
That sight hit harder than anything else.
"then I'm ready."
For a moment, everything inside him became still, like the chaos had been replaced by something much simpler.
A decision.
But even that didn't last.
Because another thought forced its way in.
Khaizar said she's the vessel…
Harun frowned slightly, even as his vision continued to shake.
But that doesn't make sense.I checked there was no mark no arrow
His gaze shifted toward Khaizar, who still lay unconscious, completely still, as if the battle had already left him behind.
Then why would he say that?
"I think you're thinking too much."
Harun's head snapped up.
Anwar was looking directly at him, his expression unchanged, but his eyes slightly sharper now, like he had been observing everything happening inside Harun's mind without needing to hear a single word.
"Anyway," Anwar continued, his tone calm and almost bored, "this has gone on long enough."
A faint crackle of red lightning danced across his fingers.
"I should finish this."
Harun exhaled slowly, the sound uneven but steady.
"Good."
His grip tightened around nothing, his hand trembling slightly before forcing itself to steady.
"I was going to say the same."
His eyes hardened, not with anger, but with something deeper.
"If I lose here then everything I said everything I promised"
His voice dropped.
"was meaningless."
For a second, silence filled the space between them.
Then
"YAAAAAHHH!"
Harun forced his body forward.
Not smoothly.
Not cleanly.
But with everything he had left.
Space distorted behind Anwar as Harun activated Event Horizon Step, appearing instantly at his back, his movement slightly unstable but still fast enough to catch the moment.
"Dark Web Influenza."
The black fibres erupted violently from his body, spreading outward like something alive, forming a dense, suffocating web around Anwar in an instant. The structure tightened for a fraction of a second, locking him in place.
And then it detonated.
The explosion wasn't singular.
It was layered.
Multiple blasts triggered simultaneously, overlapping and amplifying each other as the entire area collapsed under the pressure, the ground cracking violently as debris shot outward in every direction. The force tore through the battlefield, swallowing Anwar completely in smoke and destruction.
Harun stood there, breathing heavily, his chest rising and falling sharply as he stared into the smoke.
Did that work?
For a brief moment
Silence.
Then
A figure stepped out.
Unharmed.
Anwar brushed dust off his shoulder like it was nothing.
"That looked impressive," he said calmly, his tone carrying mild interest but no real concern.
Harun's eyes widened slightly, not in shock, but in realization.
It didn't even touch him
But he didn't stop.
He couldn't.
Because stopping meant dying.
Before Anwar could fully settle
Harun attacked again.
"Heavenly Multi-Directional Slash."
His blade moved in a rapid, almost desperate sequence, releasing a storm of black slashes that surrounded Anwar completely, each one striking from a different angle with precise timing. The attacks overlapped perfectly, leaving no clear escape path, every direction covered, every possibility sealed.
The battlefield lit up with continuous detonations as the slashes struck.
One after another.
Relentless.
Total.
For a moment, even Harun believed
This has to land
But inside that storm.
Anwar moved.
Not fast.
Not frantic.
Just controlled.
Each step placed exactly where it needed to be, each movement minimal but perfect, slipping through the attacks as if he had already seen them before they happened.
When the final explosion faded.
He was still standing.
Not a single scratch.
This time, he smiled.
"Now that was interesting."
A deeper crackle of red lightning formed in his hand, sharper, more intense than before, condensing rapidly into the shape of a spear.
"Let's see how long you last."
And before Harun could react
Anwar moved.
Anwar didn't move like a normal opponent.
There was no visible acceleration, no clear shift in posture that Harun could track. One moment he was standing in front of him, calm and composed and the next, he was already inside Harun's range, the red lightning spear in his hand humming with a sharp, unstable energy that made the air itself feel like it was being torn apart.
Harun's instincts reacted.
His body didn't.
He forced his arm up, trying to bring the Eclipse Blade into position, but the delay no matter how small was enough.
Anwar's first strike came clean.
The spear cut through the space near Harun's neck, missing by inches as Harun twisted his body just in time, but the speed of it left behind a burning trail across his skin, like the lightning itself had grazed his existence rather than just his body. Before Harun could stabilize, before he could even regain proper footing, the second strike was already there.
This time
It landed.
The spear drove into his chest again, not piercing fully like before, but slashing deep across the already torn wound, widening it brutally. Blood burst out instantly, spilling down his torso as his body jerked from the impact, his breath collapsing completely.
Harun staggered back, his legs failing to hold him properly as pain finally caught up with everything that had been delayed until now.
But what scared him more
Was what came next.
The black fibres didn't respond.
They flickered.
Weakened.
Like something inside him had lost connection.
"No" his voice came out rough, almost disbelieving as he looked at his own arm, watching the fibres retract unevenly instead of reinforcing him.
"What is happening?"
For the first time since the fight began—
Fear touched him.
"I can't use it?"
Anwar exhaled quietly, almost disappointed.
"So this is your limit."
There was no mockery in his voice.
Just conclusion.
Then.
He moved again.
"Infinite Thunder Slash."
This time there was no single weapon.
No single direction.
Multiple red lightning constructs formed around Anwar in an instant spears, blades, thin arcs of energy all compressed, all controlled, all aimed.
And then
They were released.
Harun couldn't follow them.
He couldn't even see most of them.
The first impact hit his shoulder, tearing through flesh like it wasn't there. The second pierced his thigh. The third slammed into his side. And then they kept coming faster, sharper, more precise each strike landing exactly where it would break him the most.
His body jerked violently with every hit.
Blood sprayed.
His stance collapsed.
By the time the attack ended
He was still standing.
But barely.
His entire body was covered in wounds now, deep cuts layered over earlier injuries, blood soaking into his clothes, dripping down his arms, pooling beneath his feet. His knees trembled uncontrollably, struggling to keep him upright as his vision flickered dangerously.
"I can't" he whispered, his voice cracking completely.
The truth hit him harder than any attack.
"I can't beat him…"
For the first time.
Harun accepted it.
Anwar watched him for a moment.
Then shook his head slightly.
"You had potential."
That was all he said.
Then he turned.
Like the fight was already over.
He walked toward Aqsa without hesitation, lifting Khaizar onto his shoulder in a single, effortless motion, as if his weight meant nothing.
Aqsa's breathing became erratic the moment she saw him approaching. Her eyes darted back toward Harun broken, bleeding, barely conscious and something inside her snapped.
She ran.
Not because she believed she could escape.
But because standing still meant accepting everything.
"You're the vessel," Anwar said calmly as he raised his hand, his voice carrying no emotion. "I can't damage you."
A pause.
"But I can stop you."
"Volt Chains."
Red lightning burst forward, forming chains mid-air that wrapped around Aqsa's body instantly, binding her arms, her legs, her torso. The moment they tightened, her entire body froze.
She couldn't move.
Couldn't even struggle.
Her muscles stopped responding completely as the electricity paralyzed her system.
She collapsed slightly, held upright only by the chains.
Harun saw everything.
And something inside him
Refused.
"YOU!"
His voice tore out of him, raw and broken.
"I'M NOT DEAD YET!"
His body screamed in protest as he forced himself forward, stumbling at first before catching his balance, reaching down and grabbing the Eclipse Blade from the ground.
The moment his fingers wrapped around it.
Something responded.
The black fibres surged back.
Not fully.
Not like before.
But enough.
They crawled along his right arm again, weak but present, like a dying flame refusing to go out.
Anwar glanced at him.
"Still standing?"
There was faint annoyance in his voice now.
"You're persistent."
"You should stop."
Harun didn't answer.
He swung the blade.
A black slash burst forward, unstable but real, cutting through the space toward Anwar.
And for the first time
Anwar had to shift.
Slightly.
Not to dodge completely.
But enough to acknowledge it.
That alone.
Changed something.
Harun's breathing grew heavier, but his eyes sharpened again despite everything.
"I still don't understand" he said, his voice low but clearer now.
"Aqsa doesn't have the mark"
"There's no arrow"
"So how is she the vessel?"
Anwar's expression didn't change.
"I don't explain things to insects."
With a flick of his hand, Aqsa's consciousness shut off completely, her body going limp within the chains before he lowered her and Khaizar both onto the ground without care.
Then.
He turned back.
"This time"
His voice lowered slightly.
"I'll kill you."
Harun lifted the blade again.
His stance unstable.
His body broken.
But his eyes—
Still burning.
"I was going to say the same."
And then.
They moved.
At the same time.
This time the clash was different.
Not one-sided.
Not completely.
Harun attacked relentlessly, his blade moving with everything he had left, each strike fueled not by technique anymore, but by pure will. He didn't care about efficiency, didn't care about precision he just kept attacking, refusing to stop even when his body begged him to.
Anwar responded.
Calm.
Controlled.
Every strike from him carried overwhelming force, his red lightning dominating the space around them, clashing against Harun's fading dark energy again and again. Each impact sent shockwaves through the ground, the battlefield cracking further under the pressure.
Harun landed hits.
Small ones.
Shallow.
But real.
Anwar blocked, deflected, countered.
And then
He smiled.
"This is getting interesting."
A pause.
"and irritating."
His hand rose slightly.
"Thunder Field."
The entire area changed instantly.
Red lightning spread across the ground, the air, every direction, forming a controlled field that pulsed with energy.
Harun's body froze.
Completely.
"What?"
His muscles locked.
His grip tightened involuntarily.
"I can't move"
Anwar stepped forward slowly.
"Storm Execution."
Multiple lightning blades formed instantly.
And then
They struck.
From every direction.
Chest.
Arms.
Legs.
Neck.
Head.
Each one piercing through him with brutal precision, not chaotic, not random perfectly placed to break him completely.
Harun's body remained standing.
But it wasn't his choice.
His vision blurred beyond recognition now.
His body
Destroyed.
There was no part of him left untouched.
Blood poured endlessly.
And yet
He felt nothing.
"I can't feel anything"
His thoughts slowed.
Faded.
"I can't move"
Darkness crept in.
"Maybe this is it"
A final breath.
"I failed"
And this time.
He couldn't stand back up.