CHAPTER 26: MATTER MANIPULATION!
Panc grinned at that moment. He took a deep breath.
"Let me show you what real power is… you fools!"
He shouted with all his might.
"MATTER MANIPULATION!"
Panc raised both arms into the air. His palms faced the sky. A transparent effect began to emanate from his palms.
Raimen's Flame Cyclone and Bumb's Black Earth were about to reach Panc.
Panc clapped his hands together.
Raimen's Flame Cyclone vanished instantly.
But the Black Earth continued advancing with its last bit of power.
"So I can't control that?"
Panc's voice was calm.
"But what I can do… isn't limited to this."
He brought one hand down to the ground. The earth beneath it suddenly turned into iron. Panc lifted the ironized earth as if rolling up a carpet and used it as a shield.
BAM!
The Black Earth struck the ironized earth with full force. A massive explosion erupted.
When the explosion faded, the Black Earth had failed to penetrate the iron shield.
"Was that all? I thought you'd push a little harder."
Raimen growled in frustration.
"Damn it. I knew this wouldn't be easy. I can't do much to him, but you can, Bumb. It seems he can't control your Black Earth."
Bumb nodded.
"Yeah, I noticed. Then I'll attack, and you support me from behind."
"Alright, let's get this done."
Bumb suddenly lunged forward.
"BLACK SWORD!"
A black sword formed in his right hand as he charged.
Raimen, meanwhile, formed a massive Flame Sphere in his hands and hurled it at Panc.
Panc's eyes narrowed.
"I need to be careful this time. The Flame Sphere behind is just a distraction. Their real goal is to confuse me, then cut me down with that black sword."
He quickly moved to a nearby tree. The moment he touched it, the tree instantly turned into diamond.
He uprooted the diamondized tree and used it as a shield.
The Flame Sphere collided with the diamond, causing another explosion.
But that wasn't all. Bumb then drove his black sword into the diamond.
The diamond tree in Panc's hands suddenly began to rot.
Panc released the tree and stepped back.
"You two are truly strong. But I'm not done yet either."
Bumb shouted.
"Raimen, let's do it again!"
At that moment, Panc placed both hands on the ground. All the leaves on the ground instantly turned into glass.
"Go!"
Hundreds of glass leaves shot forward at high speed toward Raimen and Bumb.
Raimen raised his right hand into the air. A curtain of fire appeared before him.
Bumb crossed his arms.
"BLACK WALL!"
Black earth surged around him like a protective wall.
The glass shards reached them. But Raimen's fire was so hot that the glass melted before it could touch him. Bumb's defense was equally solid—his Black Earth absorbed and destroyed all the glass fragments.
Panc smirked again.
"Hmph…"
He extended his left hand toward Raimen.
Raimen's fiery defense suddenly shifted direction and turned toward Bumb.
Raimen's flames began melting Bumb's Black Earth defense.
Raimen's eyes widened.
"You bastard! Bumb, watch out!"
At that moment, ten glass shards struck the exposed Raimen. Most embedded themselves in his torso. Two struck his right and left arms.
Raimen collapsed to the ground from the impact.
Meanwhile, Bumb's Black Earth defense also gave way, and five glass shards pierced him as well. He too fell.
Panc looked down at them.
"You were pretty confident a moment ago? Why are you on your knees now?"
Raimen coughed as he spoke.
"Y-you cheating bastard!"
Bumb struggled to his feet.
"Raimen, we can't beat him with our Djinn powers alone."
Raimen also stood up.
"I know. I have a plan. We just need to wear him down a bit more."
"Whatever you say."
They both pulled out the glass shards embedded in their bodies.
Raimen tensed up. He raised both hands into the air, palms facing Panc.
"FLAME INVASION!"
A wave of flames erupted from Raimen's hands like a flood. It was so intense that the entire forest seemed to be drowning in fire.
Bumb was shocked.
"Raimen, what are you trying to do? The flames are melting everything!"
Panc quickly extended his right hand toward the incoming Flame Invasion. He placed his left hand on the ground.
The Flame Invasion suddenly turned into water. But it was still so vast that the flood continued to topple trees.
At that moment, Panc clenched his left fist on the ground. The fallen trees transformed into massive boulders. One after another, enormous rocks emerged.
Panc had finally stopped the Flame Invasion. He directed the rocks with his hands. The rocks formed a cage-like structure, trapping all the water that had been flames moments before.
Panc let out a relieved breath. But he was sweating heavily.
Raimen grinned at that moment.
"Hah!"
"Bumb."
Bumb looked at him in confusion.
"Huh?"
Raimen's voice was cold and threatening.
"I think… I found his weak point."
TO BE CONTINUED...