"There are so many strange things here… fine, let's give you another try."
Blaine, who had been thrown aside by the powerful shockwave, stood up again, shaking out his shoulders. The TNT explosion earlier had gone off too close to him, and he hadn't expected it to be that strong. His head was still ringing from the blast. Fortunately, his meditation technique and the soul pendant automatically stabilized his mind, helping him regain focus.
Now that he knew how destructive that thing could be, Blaine decided he wanted to test it on Dormammu. After all, that last hit had done zero damage to the enemy and eighty to himself—it didn't sit right with him.
Before he even finished muttering to himself, a dark iron ball flew toward Dormammu.
"Hmph. Pathetic tricks. Is your planet's technology really that primitive? Let me show you—"
'Weng—Buzz—'
Before Dormammu could even finish his taunt, the TNT suddenly exploded right in front of him—without even touching anything.
It caught him completely off guard.
Blaine hadn't expected to actually hurt Dormammu with that, but seeing the ancient being look rattled was deeply satisfying.
"Ah, ah, I'm pissed off, I'm pissed off—"
"Yeah, yeah, you're pissed off. Don't worry, I've got plenty more where that came from."
Seeing Dormammu's fury only made Blaine grin wider. He was having too much fun provoking him to stop now.
'Weng—Buzz—'
…
"Little brat, do you have 'any' other tactics, or—"
'Weng—Buzz—Boom!'
'Weng—Buzz—'
"Want more? How about a few extra for good measure?"
Watching Dormammu's face darken, Blaine could tell the old monster was beyond frustrated. Unfortunately, he couldn't read his thoughts—if he could, he'd probably die laughing.
Turning and creating some distance, Blaine took out three more explosive spheres and hurled them forward.
Thanks to the Absolute Hit bonus, he didn't need to worry about aiming—they would land no matter what.
But this time, things didn't go as expected.
The TNT flew straight toward Dormammu, only for a massive cloud of dark matter to appear before him. The explosives weren't living beings; they couldn't dodge. They slammed directly into the dark mass—and instead of detonating, they were swallowed whole, corroded until nothing remained.
"Damn it! That's just great!" Blaine swore. "A hundred million credits a pop, and not even a puff of smoke to show for it! At least explode like fireworks or something!"
"Little devil, I don't have time to play with you," Dormammu growled. "Tell me how you got in here."
He was clearly irritated. The pest in front of him was barely more than a rookie, yet full of bizarre tricks that, while harmless, were infuriatingly persistent. The chance to finally break his seal and see the light again was right in front of him—so why was it suddenly so difficult to grasp?
"You want to know?" Blaine smirked beneath his hood. "I'll 'teach' you."
He muttered under his breath, keeping his guard up the entire time.
'Biu... biu... biu...'
Same move as before—but this time, Dormammu fired several beams in quick succession.
"Well done," Blaine muttered under his breath. This time, he didn't bother to complain about Dormammu's repetition.
At that moment, the pattern in Blaine's eyes shifted. The spinning pentagram rotated faster and faster until it blurred into a circular seal.
"If you want wealth and glory, you have to risk the tiger's den," he said softly.
Now, he finally understood how the Ancient One wielded such incredible power—and realized that maybe luck hadn't been mocking him after all. Danger always came hand in hand with opportunity.
Blaine's plan was simple: analyze the composition, structure, and properties of Dormammu's energy rays. If the Ancient One could master the mystic arts, then Blaine could learn the same way.
As the pentagram spun faster, the incoming rays seemed to slow in his perception.
The previously razor-thin beams began to unravel before his eyes, the condensed dark matter within them breaking apart into countless tiny fragments. It was both mesmerizing and terrifying—a deadly beauty.
He watched, completely absorbed, until the attack was nearly upon him.
"Almost there… just a little more… one last bit—"
"Damn it, so close!"
At the final moment, Blaine rolled aside, narrowly avoiding the blast.
But pain flared a heartbeat later—his arm had been grazed by one of the rays.
He looked down to see cracks spiderwebbing across his Hunter Suit. Thankfully, the damage was healing even as he watched—the nanofibers repairing themselves automatically.
"Worth every credit," Blaine muttered.
Still, the pain lingered. His skin beneath the armor was splitting open, and his natural healing couldn't quite keep up with the corrosive energy tearing through him.
"System, are you sure my physique stat's really 450? Feels fake right now…" he grumbled, frowning.
Golden light shimmered across his skin as the Diamond Body activated, hardening his form. Simultaneously, the soul pendant around his neck began to glow white, wrapping his injured arm in radiance. The pain immediately lessened.
He hadn't expected that—the pendant not only shielded his soul, but could also repair physical trauma.
With the three effects working together, the damage quickly stabilized.
"Good thing it was only a graze," Blaine muttered. "If that had been a direct hit, I'd be toast."
"Damn… life and death really do hang by a thread. Almost died just because I got distracted."
He finally understood the vast gulf between himself and Dormammu—not just in power, but in scale. This being stood on par with the cosmic forces of the universe. Even a casual strike from Dormammu forced Blaine to throw everything he had into survival. If Dormammu got serious, Blaine doubted he'd last three seconds.
At least, the fight confirmed how valuable his upgraded defensive abilities really were.
It all happened in just a few breaths.
When Blaine straightened and faced Dormammu again, completely intact, the ancient being stared at him in open disbelief.
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