Author's Note: For those interested, there are now five advanced chapters (we're on chapter 36) and a poll about drawing that we will be requesting in the future for this story on my on P-atreon, which you can read and vote for just $5.
I also finished the first volume of my other story, "Welcome to the Alternate Multiverse Chat Group."
So if you can, please go to my profile and check it out.
Remove the spaces and dash: p-atreon/ Krakenian01
X-X-X-X-X-X
Third Person P.O.V
The truth of the matter was that Leek felt nervous, the amount of power he felt emanating from the old man was almost as powerful as the one he'd had the first time they fought in that mindscape.
That time, he'd gotten his ass kicked spectacularly, only being saved by using the power of the Ozaru.
He remembered everything that had happened after the transformation, but it was like watching his own body acting autonomously, as if it were a dream.
But this time, he couldn't use that card, mainly because they were underground, but also because even if he knew how to create an artificial moon like Vegeta, he wouldn't do it unless it was the only way to save his life, otherwise, Huyan Xiong and Ye Shuo would see him in his uncontrolled form, and that could ruin his relationship with Glory City.
So, considering that option was out of the question, he could only hope that his strength, along with that of the three Black Gold-rank Spiritualists, would be enough to take down this old man, who already looked like a damn multi-stage boss from a video game.
And that didn't even take into account that the entire place kept shaking more and more; it was a slow progression, but his senses were sharp enough to notice.
It was fortunate that while they were destroying all those multiple stone doors, he had given a quick explanation of what was happening to his three battle companions, which could be summed up as: "That old man is the one who set the trap for Hong Yue Mu, and now he wants to steal the body of one of us to do who knows what"
He wasn't going to say anything about the Sage Emperor, at least not yet.
The ghost old man raised a hand with his palm pointed directly at them, and Leek, who had already received this attack more times than he was comfortable admitting, was quick to warn as he moved.
"Dodge it!" He shouted, moving to the side, while the Spiritualists mimicked his actions, barely avoiding the pressure attack.
Without delaying a second longer than necessary, the four leaped toward the spirit, Leek covered in a layer of ki, and the three Spiritualists already fused with their Demon Spirits.
The Saiyan, who was the first to arrive thanks to his ability to fly, threw a punch with all his might, only for it to be deflected to the side when a palm struck his fist from the side, leaving him exposed and receiving a side kick to the side that sent him flying to the side.
Ye Shuo, fused with his Sacred Snow Leopard, was next, being the strongest and most experienced of the four present, he launched a more accurate attack than the young Saiyan, a spinning kick aimed for the specter's nose.
But even though he was the strongest and most experienced of his group, his power couldn't compare to that of the old man, who not only had the strength of a newly promoted Legend-rank, but also had even more experience than him.
So his attack was dodged when the old man leaned back, letting the kick pass over his face before launching his own.
Ye Shuo's gaze narrowed, and moving his hand at great speed, he was able to place his palms on the old man's leg, avoiding being hit, but being pushed back by the power of the kick.
Huyan Xiong and Hong Yue Mu, both also fused with their spirits, took advantage of the opening, appearing at the old man's sides.
The first had his fist raised, ready to strike the man's side with all the strength his White-Horned Sacred Ox had given him.
While the latter, fused with his ascending silver wolf, launched a sword thrust, taking advantage of the greater speed it granted him, thus compensating for the fact that he was the lowest-ranking spiritualist, a one-star black gold.
Due to the position his previous attack had left him in, the old man realized he wouldn't be able to dodge in time, so he stomped his feet as the ground continued to shake before he raised both arms.
His right palm stopped Huyan Xiong's enormous fist in its tracks, while his right hand caught Hong Yue Mu's sword between his fingers.
The ground beneath the three of them sank slightly, the sleeves of Hong Yue Mu's and the old man's robes tore from the pressure, while Huyan Xiong felt his entire arm tingle.
The stalemate lasted barely a second before the fist and sword were pushed back a few centimeters, but that was enough time for the old man, who aimed his palms at both spiritualists before the palm attack struck them head-on, sending them flying.
"!!" The old man's keen senses warned him of the next attack, and he leaped back as he looked up, dodging the yellow energy sphere Leek threw at him, which buried itself in the ground in front of him.
"ROAAARRR!!" But before he could counterattack, he heard a roar behind him.
Ye Shuo, using his Demon Spirit's ability, roared, emitting icy energy that froze the ground and part of the old man's feet.
It wasn't an overly powerful attack; it would quickly freeze the body of anyone 4-star Gold rank or lower, slowing their movements considerably, and might even present some problems for those up to 1 or 2-star Black Gold rank at most.
But against the opponent he faced now, it would only delay him for a second before he could break free without any adverse effects.
But Leek made the most of that second, even in midair, he smiled and raised his arm with two fingers pointing to the sky.
"SOKIDAN!"
The old man didn't have enough time to free himself from the ice and dodge, so when the ki sphere emerged from the ground, it struck him in the face before exploding.
The man rose into the air, smoke billowing from his face, an opportunity Ye Shuo seized, leaping to where he was, landing a downward axe kick on his shoulder, sending him flying down and slamming him into the ground.
"Let's go!" Leek shouted before charging forward at full speed, attacking with a straight kick, while Ye Shuo also sped forward with his fist retracted, ready to strike.
The cloud of dust created by the impact of the old man's body on the ground dissipated, and the ground shook as the attacks of the spiritualist and the Saiyan collided.
The old man's palm stopped the first, similar to how he had done with Huyan Xiong, while Leek's kick was blocked with his forearm.
But then something else caught the attention of those attacking, the mummified skin in the center of his chest glowed, and instantly, the burn on his face from the Sokidan began to heal rapidly, while a crackling sound revealed the fact that the shoulder injured by Ye Shuo's attack had returned to its original place.
'Accelerated healing!' Both the spiritualist and the Saiyan thought the same thing.
"You…" The old man spoke in a low, deep tone, veins popping out on his forehead. "INSOLENT!" He shouted, ready to attack, but stopped short when he sensed danger at his back.
He swung his leg back, slamming the sole of his foot into Hong Yue Mu's wrist, halting the downward sword slash that attempted to bisect him.
"Grrr!!" The two spiritualists and the Saiyan put more force into their attacks as the ground shook more.
Whether this was due to what the old man had done or the Saiyan and the spiritualists' attempts to break through the old man's defenses, as they exerted more strength into each of their limbs, no one knew.
Each of them trembled due to the competition of strength and the awkward position they all found themselves in, especially the old man, who was trying to maintain his balance while standing on one leg.
And his situation worsened even further when Huyan Xiong, his body covered in scrapes from the previous attack, fell to his feet in front of him, his fist raised and aimed at his face.
"Let's see you dodge this!" The man shouted, punching with all his strength.
With his limbs unable to block and certain that if he took that attack, he'd be destabilized enough for the other three to strike as well, the old man gritted his teeth, and with a vein throbbed in his neck because the exertion, and he swung his head forward, slamming his forehead into Huyan Xiong's fist.
The eyes of the four attackers widened in surprise at the improvised method of parrying the blow, and they all felt the pressure emitted by the old man begin to increase while the piece of mummified skin on his chest began to glow and crumble.
"ENOUGH!!" He shouted in a voice filled with fury, pushing the four of them forward, using his soul force to "hold them up" and slam them into the ground before quickly rising into the air.
The piece of skin glowed brighter, burning away at the same speed as the old man's energy increased.
Leek and the three spiritualists stood up, watching as the specter reached the ceiling while the water around the small island they were on drained away, revealing the cracked bottom that began to fall apart.
Having fought the old man a total of three times, Leek knew that the blows he'd received hurt his pride far more than his "body," which led to him giving in to his anger, causing him to discard all reason and ultimately ending up with them in this situation.
His ki sense warned him that this old man was about to launch a full-force attack, an attack he couldn't block or dodge, at least not without sacrificing the three spiritualists who fought alongside him, so there was only one way to respond.
"EVERYONE!" He shouted, drawing the adults' attention. "THAT GUY WANTS TO KILL US WITH HIS NEXT ATTACK!!" He didn't bother to hide the urgency in his voice before explaining his plan or to watch his tone to be more respectful, as this would further emphasize the seriousness of the situation.
The entire cavern trembled furiously as it collapsed, and when Leek explained what they should do, everyone understood that if they didn't cooperate, even if they survived the attack for some reason, they would be buried under the rubble, so there were no questions or objections, no one had a better plan than the young Saiyan, so they immediately cooperated.
The dazzling green light emitted by the old man seemed to concentrate more and more on his chest, right where the mummified skin was, his teeth were gritted, and his eyes were red with anger, but just as he was about to roar words of contempt at those he sought to destroy, he saw yellow light and lightning emit from where his enemies were.
There, Leek floated about a meter off the ground as a roaring, furious layer of ki covered him, his hands clasped together, pointing towards him, while standing on the ground, each of the spiritualists had a hand on the Saiyan's back.
The muscles throughout his body bulged, taking away the appearance of a young man with strong yet flexible muscles and making him look like a hulk of muscle; his veins, not only in his arms but also in his neck and forehead, bulged as if they were about to explode.
In his palms, a sphere of ki trembled, with beams of energy escaping between the young man's fingers, as if the energy itself was struggling to escape Leek's control and disperse throughout the space.
"AAAAHH!!!" Leek screamed, feeling every muscle in his body struggling to keep from tearing due to the amount of energy he not only had in his body, but also tried to channel and compress to launch this attack.
From his experiments with Lanruo and Ning'er, he knew that he could not only transfer his ki to the spiritualists to strengthen them, but also take their energy, and when he and the girls did this, he felt virtually no pressure.
But now he was doing it with the power of three Black Gold-rank Spiritualists, and although the energy conversion rate was terrible, not even close to what he achieved with the girls in Glory City, due to none of the Spiritualists present having the proper training, the three of them still had enough energy to "overload" him, making him feel like he might explode the instant he loosened his control over the energy.
'NOT ENOUGH, THIS POWER IS NOT ENOUGH!!' Leek screamed in his mind, his ki sense telling him that with this power, he wouldn't surpass what the old man was building up; it would hold him back for a few seconds, but he would definitely be overwhelmed in the end.
Leek closed his eyes and made his decision; he might lose control of the energy and die if he accumulated more power, but he would definitely die in the clash of attacks if he didn't gather more.
Between possible death and certain death, there was no doubt about which was the correct answer.
The energy accumulated and compressed even more while Leek screamed in pain as his palms heated and reddened, every vein from his wrist to the last of his fingers widened and pricked.
Behind him, he heard the spiritualists speaking, he didn't understand what they said, but he noticed their worried tone, so he spoke through gritted teeth to prevent anyone from interrupting the flow of energy. "DON'T STOP!!!"
The beams grew more violent, shooting out through the gaps between the fingers, creating furrows in the ground as it crumbled, and blood dripped from some of the young man's nails, which burst from the pressure.
"FINAAAALLLL!!!!" Leek put his everything into this attack.
"DIE!" With all his power gathered, the old man launched his own attack, and the green beam of concentrated energy scorched everything it touched in its path toward the Saiyan and the spiritualists.
"FLAAAASH!!!!" And along with his scream, the cluster of yellow energy flew at full speed, leaving a trail of lightning in its wake.
Both attacks collided, and for a second, it was as if the world lost its colors, only for the entire place to be bathed in yellow and green lights after.
Rocks flew everywhere as if gravity were only a suggestion, while Leek was pushed backward, his black combat boots touching the ground again just before it cracked slightly, sinking a couple of centimeters.
His balance was poor, and the upper half of his body tilted backward as if he were about to fall backward at any moment.
The green lightning began to gain ground, but before he could fall backward, three hands stopped him, and the spiritualists shouted so their voices could be heard amidst the chaos.
"We've got you covered, boy!" Huyan Xiong spoke through gritted teeth.
"Don't worry about energy or maintaining your balance; that's our job!" Ye Shuo added, sending out more power even though he began to feel his reserves dropping below 30%.
"Just focus on finishing off that wretch!" Hong Yue Mu shouted his support, he still didn't have all the information about who this child of unusual strength was, but now that he knew that all of this was caused by the wretched old man who was attacking them having controlled him, he would give his all to support the child in this fight, not only to finish off the enemy, but also to clear his honor.
Feeling the three of them unleashing even more energy, Leek didn't hold back and channeled it all, while the skin and a couple of small veins on some parts of his arms burst from the exertion, letting the blood flow down his arms.
For a few seconds, it seemed like the Final Flash was advancing, but it was fleeting, because after a couple of meters, the advance stopped, and the worst part was the old man's voice that echoed throughout the room.
"THIS ENDS NOW!!" The man shouted, pressing even harder, and his attack advanced until there were only about five meters between the green beam and the Saiyan and the spiritualists.
Leek's arms trembled, and his vision blurred at the edges; it was strange, he no longer felt the pain, in fact, he could barely feel his body.
It was there, he knew it was there, but it felt… disconnected.
"Is this really all you have?" He heard someone ask.
Was that his voice?
Yes, Leek recognized it; it was his own voice, but it sounded more… aggressive?
Raising his gaze slightly, he saw himself, floating in front of him with his arms crossed and a serious look.
"You are the first and last line, your death means the extinction of the Saiyan race in this world"
There was annoyance, disappointment, pain, and hatred in that sentence.
'What else can I do?' Was the response he thought; he was overwhelmed in this clash of power.
He didn't have a convenient transformation or technique like Super Saiyan or Kaio-ken to bridge the gap.
In front of his eyes, the green beam closed the distance another meter.
'You can lose to someone stronger, but never by giving up, by surrendering, and simply accepting it, you're a Saiyan, so die like one!' The voice growled before adding in an equally powerful, but hate-free tone.
'Stop lying to yourself, say it! Say what you really want! What we both want!'
The green beam continued to gain ground; it was now only 3 meters away from him.
'I...'
'I...'
'Win'
'Win'
'I WANT TO WIN!'
'THIS SECOND CHANCE WILL MEAN NOTHING IF I CAN'T WIN!!!'
The Final Flash only extended a meter from his hands; if the green beam advanced that meter, then he and the three spiritualists would likely be instantly obliterated.
The Leek floating in front of him grinned like a madman and reached out before beginning to fade away.
'THEN LET'S SHOW HIM...' He began, and Leek felt his tail unwind from his waist and his fur stand on end, sending shivers down his spine.
"THE TRUE POWER OF A SAIYAN!!!"
Along with Leeks's scream, a new energy originating from his back completely covered his body before shooting out through his hands, empowering the Final Flash, piercing through the green energy beam, and advancing like an automatic drill through soft rock.
At the top of the collapsing cavern, the old man saw his attack being destroyed, and just before it reached him, he saw once again the monster that destroyed his mental space.
The giant ape roared straight at him with all his power.
"YOU!! MONSTR-!!!" Before he could finish his words, the yellow energy beam reached him, striking him in the chest, right where the piece of mummified skin that glowed green was, passing through his body without any resistance and continuing on its way, destroying the barrier that sealed this place, and then the stone ceiling.
#####
Third Person P.O.V
Outside the Dark Ruins, if there were someone, they would feel the ground shake before seeing a yellow beam of light shoot out from the ruins, traveling into the sky for several hundred meters before exploding, creating a ball of plasma and fire that scattered the clouds for several kilometers.
At the Hong Yue family camp, Hong Yue Zhou saw the fireball in the sky in the distance and felt his legs tremble.
"This…" He gulped before shouting to one of his guards. "Run!! Return to Glory City and report this to the City Lord!!!"
There were still a few hours left before the deadline he had agreed upon with Huyan Xiong and Ye Shuo was due, but this couldn't be ignored.
"But-" The guard snapped out of his shocked state, trying to tell the man that he should be the one to leave to protect himself from whatever had caused that explosion.
"Didn't you hear me?! Go!! NOW!!" Hong Yue Zhou shouted again, causing the man to shudder before turning around, merging with his demonic spirit, and running as if his life depended on it.
Hong Yue Zhou had decided not to leave; he had sent two Black Gold-rank Spiritualists to the place where this had happened, so he couldn't return, or he would bring shame to his family.
But he could regain his honor if he stayed to give his life and stop this potential threat, even if it was for a single second.
"Men!!" He shouted again, this time even louder, drawing the attention of both his family's guards and those who had come with Huyan Xiong and Ye Shuo.
"Prepare defenses!! If you have any scrolls, barriers, or knowledge of defensive or offensive inscriptions, begin preparations immediately! The city lord, along with an attack team, will be here in a few days! So he'd better find us standing or dead!" He gave orders, but looking at the men's faces, he saw doubt and fear, he didn't blame them, but it still wasn't time for that.
"Whatever that caused THAT." He said, pointing at the explosion in the sky. "It can't get close to Glory City. What do you think will happen if that happens?! We can't allow it! Or at least we must delay it long enough for the alert to reach the citizens!"
The expressions of everyone in the camp turned deadly serious; they were ready to give their lives even if it gave Glory City just one more minute.
But luckily or unluckily for those brave spiritualists, what they would find several hours later didn't resemble any of their assumptions.
X-X-X-X-X
Well, this chapter marks the end of Leek and the others' stay in the Dark Ruins, I sincerely hope you enjoyed the final battle.
The next chapters will close a couple of points that are still open, then we will return to Glory City, please look forward to it!
Oh, in other news, I almost went isekai, and I'm not kidding, I almost got hit by a truck.
Luckily, it didn't happen, and it only slightly bruised my right shoulder, it's nothing too serious; I just have swollen arm muscles, and I have to take some pills. Still, I think with everything that's happened to me lately, we can definitely say this hasn't been my best month.
Let's hope there's no other "pleasant" surprise waiting for me in the days to come.
Besides that, I also wanted to ask you for something else: I'd like to commission a drawing for this story, either a new cover or a fan art of a scene.
That's why I wanted to ask you to please join my P-treon, those who join, in addition to being able to read the 5 extra chapters there, will also be able to vote to decide which of these two options will be the drawing.
If we get 19 people with Legend rank to join, and I add a little bit of what I have saved (because the good artists I've seen on X aren't cheap), I think I'll be able to find a good artist to draw something for this story.
So far there are 12 people, so we need only 7 more (we are close to the goal!), so, if possible, please support me, if not, I still appreciate the reviews, comments, and power stones.
Remove the spaces and dash: p-atreon/ Krakenian01