The heavy blow hit Nakamu squarely—a direct, devastating impact courtesy of a giant Shadow Ogre, an ultra-fast variant from Ayush's ranks. The raw force knocked the wind clean out of Nakamu, making him blackout instantly.
"Bro got hit so hard his system literally restarted," Ayush muttered under his breath. The Shadow Ogre carefully tossed Nakamu's unconscious body onto the boat deck before melting back into the shadows.
Junie and Miku rushed to the boat's railing, gripping the edge till their knuckles turned white. "Ayush, no! Are you fr right now?!" Junie screamed over the crashing waves. "We are NOT leaving you behind to get wiped out by this guy!"
"I literally don't have a choice!" Ayush shouted back from the shoreline, waving his hands frantically. "My shadow connection breaks if I get too far away from my summons! If I jump on that boat, my soldiers vanish instantly, and Len will just snip us all from the sky like sitting ducks! I have to hold him here!"
Before Junie could argue any further, Ayush moved like a flash, blitzing right behind her. He delivered a quick, precise chop to the side of her neck. Junie's eyes rolled back, and she collapsed into Miku's arms.
Ayush blinked, staring at his hand in genuine disbelief. "Yo... wait, hold up. That anime neck-chop move actually works in real life?! Mind blown, bro. No shot."
Shaking off his shock, he glanced past Miku toward the battered, unconscious bodies of Aryan and Vikas. He turned back to Miku, his playful tone completely disappearing, replaced by dead seriousness.
"Miku, please," Ayush urged softly. "This is the only way any of us make it out of this lobby alive. Just do this for me. Get them out of here."
Miku's eyes welled with pure frustration, but seeing the absolute resolve locked on his face, she gritted her teeth. "You better survive this, Ayush. No matter what... do NOT die here!"
She engaged the boat's engine, and the vessel sped away into the thick mist, leaving Ayush standing alone on the scorched sand.
Ayush turned around slowly, cracking his knuckles with a heavy sigh. "Alright... smooth 1v1 setup. Let's see who's actually the strongest—and who's just mid."
Len's crimson fiery arm flickered with intense heat as a dark, amused grin spread across his face. "I'm genuinely intrigued by that power of yours, kid. Show me what you've got. Impress me."
Ayush's relaxed demeanor instantly vanished. His expression went completely cold, void of all emotion, casting a chilling, heavy shadow across the beach. He looked up at the darkening sky, noticing the sudden, erratic shift in the weather.
"What's with this weather?" Ayush muttered, his voice cold as ice. "It was literally a gorgeous, aesthetic sunrise like an hour ago. What is wrong with this dumb island?"
"There's nothing wrong with the island, kid," Len replied calmly, folding his arms. "It's just nature. You see, this place doesn't exist on any human made map for a reason—it shifts its global coordinates every day. It just moved again. I honestly feel bad for you... your little main-character squad just abandoned you on a lost landmass."
"Oi, watch your mouth," Ayush snapped, his eyes flashing dangerous shadow energy. "They didn't abandon me. They're my friends, and I saved them. They care about me just as much as I care about them, fr."
Len chuckled softly, shaking his head. "Hahaha... fair enough. If it makes you feel any better, I didn't bother finishing them off. They're just battered; any decent Healer can patch them up easily. I deliberately let them run... because it's you I'm interested in."
Len took a heavy step forward, his pressure flattening the sand beneath his boots. "Besides, you can't kill me anyway. At least, not on this island. Everyone bound to this realm is practically immortal unless our bodies are completely atomized—which is kind of impossible for a human like you."
Len stopped, narrowing his glowing red eyes as he analyzed Ayush from head to toe, suspicion dripping from every word.
"What really bugs me is... what even are you?" Len murmured, staring right through his soul. "That power doesn't belong in this world. You don't seem like you're from around here at all."
Ayush felt his heart skip a beat, a cold sweat breaking out on the back of his neck, but he locked his jaw and forced his face to stay completely unreadable.