Long held Mai and Miki tightly in his arms. They stood precariously near the top of the tower on the shield of light Dreamy had just created. Behind them, the Witchiecoop Tower shook violently, sections of the walls cracking as the electrical system in the central control room exploded from the heat of Dung's flames.
The acrid smell of burning filled the air, striking Long's face each time the wind shifted. Gas pipes exploded in succession like falling dominoes. Thick dust, shattered glass, and falling debris rained down without pause. It was still raining outside, but the downpour could not extinguish the fire consuming the flammable materials.
Miki had shrunk and now fit neatly inside Mai's bag. Long carried Mai while dodging debris that fell like shooting stars, chaos engulfing them from every direction.
Then, suddenly, the rain stopped.
From afar, a giant pillar of fire hurtled toward the tower at terrifying speed. It halted, hovering above the tower's peak.
It was Dung.
He had returned—Ms. Phan's magic had not been powerful enough to send him far away. His bloodshot eyes glared down at Long and Mai. His entire body burned fiercely from his fusion with Reddy, making him look like a demon god rising from a nightmare. Long and Dung's battle was not over.
Dung bent his knees and lunged toward them, who stood unsteadily on Dreamy's shield of light halfway up the tower. An earth-shattering explosion erupted at the point of impact, engulfing the surrounding space in a raging inferno.
Dreamy hastily erected a circular shield of light. Inside it, Miki rapidly expanded, wrapping Long, Mai, and Dreamy in protective coils. Long clung tightly to Mai and Dreamy, struggling to maintain his balance. But Dung's blow was too powerful. They were hurled downward. The impact sent rocks and dirt flying, and then the force flung them even farther away.
Mai lay on the ground, her body aching, yet she still tried to crawl toward Long. Dreamy and Miki lay motionless beside her. Her voice trembled.
"Are you… okay?"
Long lay still, only able to move his head. He turned toward her, gasping.
"I… it hurts so much… my body won't listen to me anymore…"
In the sky, Dung raised his hand. A fireball appeared—at first no larger than a ball—then swelled to an enormous size, engulfing the entire area. The power of the Superior AI Witch was truly terrifying. He intended to use the EN source sponsored by Witchiecoop to build the fireball until it incinerated everything.
Mai whispered helplessly, fear thick in her voice.
"Are we really going to die here today…? I can't accept it…"
Long closed his eyes, breathing raggedly.
"I'm so sorry… I wish I had more EN right now…"
Suddenly, a Manualee woman approached, leading a child. They were the mother and child Long had saved earlier from Dung's vicious fire punch.
"Use my EN," the woman said firmly.
Long hesitated.
"Is that okay…? That's EN you worked hard to earn. I'm not sure I should take it…"
The woman looked up at the growing fireball.
"If we die here, EN—whether we're poor or rich—won't matter anymore. I'm placing my hope in you."
Another Manualee spoke up.
"Use mine too."
Then another.
"Me too."
Soon, many of the people who had been caught in the chaos stepped forward, offering their EN to Long.
His eyes welled with tears.
"Thank you… everyone…"
A deafening explosion echoed overhead.
Long slowly rose to his feet. His entire body glowed with a layer of blue light, as though he himself were aflame with blue fire. It was Dreamy's power—a magical light shield enveloping him, blocking spells while enhancing his physical strength, temporarily easing his wounds and numbing his pain.
He turned to Mai and the Manualee woman, his voice steady.
"You two, get everyone out of here. I can only maintain this power for five minutes—just five minutes to face Dung."
Mai froze.
"Only five minutes? You've lasted longer before…"
Long shook his head slightly, sweat streaming down his face.
"Everyone has already given me everything they had. It's not as much as the EN you once gave me. I've poured it all into this magic, and it will only last five minutes. This is our only chance to defeat him."
He drew a deep breath. The blue light flared brighter around him.
"There's no time. Evacuate now!"
He slammed his foot against the light shield and shot upward like a blue arrow, charging straight at Dung. His first punch exploded like lightning, smashing Dung into the collapsing tower. The structure trembled violently. Then Long's blue light tore through the giant fireball, illuminating the sky.
Dung laughed, his voice filled with challenge.
"Very good… keep going, Long!"
But Long did not hesitate. His punches struck like lightning, one after another, leaving Dung no time to counter.
One minute passed. Light and fire clashed fiercely, as if tearing space itself apart.
Two minutes passed. Dung's breathing grew heavy.
Three minutes passed. His fusion with Reddy fractured. They separated, their power no longer unified.
By the fourth minute, Long gathered every remaining ounce of strength and unleashed a punch encased in a shield of light, striking Dung squarely in the cheek.
That punch carried not only Long's strength, but also the cries of the oppressed people of Manualee, the innocent children used for experiments, and the AI Witches stripped of their right to exist.
Dung collapsed. He lay motionless as the flames around him faded, leaving behind a heavy silence.
In the fifth minute, Long used the last of his strength to open a barrier with his light shield and compress Reddy until it shrank into a small, weakened red monkey. The blue light around him flickered and vanished. He had exhausted all the EN the villagers had given him. It was not as much as the EN card Mai had once provided, and only slightly more than the physical EN from her grandmother—but it was everything they had. All their hopes had rested on him.
And he had won.
Long collapsed. The assimilation with Dreamy ended. They separated and lay motionless on the ground.
Cheers erupted across the battlefield. The people of Manualee and Mai rejoiced in victory.
Mai ran to Long and threw her arms around him, her voice breaking.
"Thank you… thank you for keeping your promise…"
She wept as the cheers continued around them.
Long—the mysterious poor boy from Hope Village—had completely defeated Dung, captain of the AI Witch Liquidation Team and wielder of a Superior AI Witch.
But the joy did not last.
A purple gate suddenly appeared.
Director Dong stepped through, smiling at Long.
The most dangerous one had arrived.