The ground beneath Yash liquefied.
He was being dragged down once again.
Without wavering, Surya dashed toward Tigera.
Forced to react, Tigera shifted her focus toward Surya.
Meanwhile, half of Yash's body had already sunk beneath the surface.
The other half remained above.
Crack.
Yash broke free.
The moment he escaped, Tigera pushed Surya away and lunged at the prince.
Yash barely dodged.
As soon as Tigera landed, Yash rushed forward.
Their hand-to-hand combat began instantly.
Fast.
Brutal.
Precise.
The exchange lasted only a few moments.
Tigera was overwhelmed almost immediately.
Yash's fighting style mirrored Krishna's.
He switched between martial arts without warning, never allowing his opponent to adapt.
[Yash]: Iron Kick!
The kick landed directly on Tigera's sword.
Crack.
The blade shattered into pieces.
Yash (thinking): If it weren't for this cave, I would've ended this with Iron Maxima long ago.
Surya, who had recovered his footing, understood the disadvantage they were fighting under.
He stepped forward.
Without hesitation, he punched Tigera toward the ceiling of the underground cave.
Boom.
The unexpected strike launched her several meters upward.
Stone exploded around her.
Yash immediately understood Surya's intention.
He jumped into the opening created in the ceiling.
[Yash]: Iron Kick!
Another strike landed.
Tigera was sent flying again.
This time she was blasted completely out of the underground cave.
Surya followed through the hole moments later.
They were finally outside.
Fresh air.
Open sky.
No underground restrictions.
[Surya]: I guess it worked.Can't complain.
The muscles around Yash's right leg tightened.
Steam escaped from his body.
[Yash]: Iron Maxima.Twenty percent output.
He vanished.
The next moment, his kick crashed into Tigera's chest.
Crack.
Several ribs shattered.
Before she could recover—
[Yash]: Iron Maxima.Twenty-five percent output.
Still airborne, Yash twisted his body and landed another kick directly on her face.
Boom.
The residual shockwave tore through the clouds.
Everything within a five-hundred-meter radius above them was cleared instantly.
Tigera crashed into the ground.
Silence.
She didn't move.
The battle was over.
[Surya]: That was hardly a battle.
Yash landed smoothly beside him.
[Yash]: It would've ended even faster if not for that cave.
*
Ruin Society,
The army resumed its march.
They approached the gates.
Cannons were mounted.
War elephants advanced.
Their trumpets echoed across the battlefield.
Pratik stood atop the wall of Ruin Society.
From that height, he could see everything.
Hundreds of thousands of soldiers.
Mythical beasts.
War machines.
And somewhere among them—
powerful personnel.
Far below stood an army.
Far above stood a single teenager.
Watching.
Waiting.
The moment the war horns sounded, Pratik jumped.
The soldiers charged toward the gates.
War elephants marched from both sides, shielding the advancing army.
The Northern Gate Battle had begun.
As the front lines reached the walls—
Pratik landed.
Boom.
The impact blasted nearby soldiers away.
Without slowing down, he rushed straight toward the commander.
Grabbing the man's face, Pratik slammed him into the ground.
The commander was attacked before the battle had even properly started.
The moment the strike landed—
Pratik opened his Range Shiftling.
[Pratik]: Range Shiftling.Hyper Mass.
A crushing force spread outward.
Every soldier within a hundred-meter radius suddenly felt their bodies become impossibly heavy.
Men collapsed.
Armor shattered.
The ground itself cracked beneath the pressure.
Then—
A hand grabbed Pratik's fist.
Foi.
The commander stood up.
With a single motion, he threw Pratik away.
Pratik crashed through a war elephant.
The beast died instantly.
Foi slowly stepped forward.
He looked less like a man and more like a monster.
2.5 meters tall.
A massive beard.
Curved mustache.
Completely black eyes.
His mere presence felt oppressive.
Even the black clothes he wore seemed heavy enough to crush an ordinary human.
Pratik stood up and dusted off his clothes.
[Foi]: You are strong. I shall be your opponent.
[Pratik]: Very well.
Despite his calm expression, Pratik hesitated slightly.
Pratik (thinking): This guy is absurdly strong. Is he as strong as Ratan?
[Pratik]: Trigger One,Acceleration.
The ground beneath him exploded.
Pratik disappeared.
He appeared above Foi and launched a powerful kick.
Foi effortlessly dodged.
Then grabbed Pratik's leg.
Boom.
Pratik was slammed into the ground.
A fist followed immediately.
The punch landed on Pratik's chest.
The shockwave blasted soldiers away.
A crater formed beneath them.
The earth trembled.
Pratik (thinking): He's fast.
The moment Foi lifted his arm again—
Pratik retreated.
[Pratik]: You really are strong.
[Foi]: I am a Five-Starred Personnel. That should be expected.
His voice was calm.
Heavy.
Like rolling thunder.
For the first time, Pratik had encountered a true Five-Starred Personnel.
Four-Starred Personnel were already monsters.
A Five-Starred Personnel was an entirely different existence.
Without wasting another second—
Pratik activated another trigger.
[Pratik]: Trigger One and Trigger Two combination,Accelerated Density.
Steam erupted from his body.
His skin reddened.
His muscles expanded before compressing back to normal.
Even his clothes stretched and returned to shape thanks to their nanite composition.
Pratik shot forward.
Foi threw a punch.
Pratik answered with one of his own.
[Pratik]: Dark Plasma!
Dark Energy coated his fist.
A second layer formed over it.
Crocus's Dragon Breath.
Their punches collided.
BOOM.
The resulting shockwave shook the battlefield.
Even the wall behind them groaned under the force.
Nearby soldiers were instantly vaporized.
Vice Commander Uson, observing from afar, immediately changed tactics.
[Uson]: Avoid the duel! Break the gates! Focus on entering Ruin Society!
Pratik noticed too late.
He rushed toward the gate.
Foi intercepted him immediately.
[Foi]: You dare lose focus while fighting me?
Foi punched him away again.
At that exact moment—
The gate finally broke.
The massive structure collapsed.
The invading soldiers cheered.
Then they looked beyond the entrance.
And their celebration died instantly.
Corpses.
Hundreds of them.
The bodies of soldiers who had invaded through the sea route.
Fallen trees littered the battlefield.
Sitting casually atop them were—
Mala.
Lila.
Grimori.
Kel.
Behind them stood the Ganas.
The Bronze and Silver Guards who had successfully breached Ruin Society during Gin's battle had already been completely neutralized.
[Grimori]: Looks like it's time to begin our little game, Mala.
[Mala]: That's right.
Let's see who racks up the highest score.
[Kel]: Pretty sure I'm already in the lead.
[Lila]: Shut up. We're starting over. We have more targets now.
[Gaja]: Now this is getting exciting.
Everyone slowly stood up.
Dusting off their clothes.
Stretching.
Almost as if they had simply been waiting.
[Mala]: I can't wait for this.
A cold chill spread through the invading army.
For the first time since arriving—
They realized they weren't invading Ruin Society.
They were walking straight into a battlefield prepared for them.
To be continued...