The originally dim tunnel was suddenly illuminated by countless sparkling diamond dust scattered in the air after a deafening explosion.
The orange-red Aura around Lucario surged violently, effortlessly blocking the flying debris.
Its massive frame descended like a wrathful deity, shattering the diamond wall with a single charge.
Jan's pupils contracted sharply, his mind momentarily blank as he instinctively raised his arms in a feeble attempt to mitigate the impact.
"BAM!!"
The next moment, Lucario's body collided head-on with Jan, shattering his arms upon first contact.
Jan was sent flying backward as if struck by a speeding truck, completely losing control of his body amidst the overwhelming pain.
His once-proud diamond body now bore deep, rapidly spreading cracks, as though they had come alive.
In mere moments, his torso was covered in a dense web of fractures, resembling shattered glass.
As expected, Jan crashed into the rocky wall, embedding himself into it and forming a human-shaped crater.
"Cough! Cough!"
Gasping from the excruciating pain, Jan coughed violently, spitting out two dark brown mixtures of solid and liquid—his equivalent of blood and shattered internal organs.
Has the attack really reached this level of power?
This is bad… I can't hold out any longer. One more hit like that and…
He tried to wipe the blood from his mouth, only to realize his arms had already been obliterated in the collision.
Only the remnants of his forearms remained, while his torso suffered catastrophic damage—a massive dent caved into his abdomen.
Countless diamond fragments had been pulverized into dust, scattering across the ground, exposing glimpses of his core beneath.
Jan's expression twisted in agony, his mind flooded not just with pain but also with dread for what was to come.
This power… it's almost on par with our leader's!
Though his body slowly regenerated, the cracks and wounds gradually mending, he felt no relief—only an overwhelming fear of the inevitable.
I've lost…
As much as he hated to admit it, he couldn't deny the truth—he stood no chance against this foe.
Not even as a distraction.
Using the stumps of his arms to push against the rocks, Jan forced himself back to his feet.
But this time, all thoughts of fighting were gone—only the desperate urge to flee remained, no matter how futile.
Dammit! Why hasn't the leader finished off the enemy on his end yet?!
His mind roared with frustration, his Covet for survival burning fiercer than ever.
Suddenly, a towering figure loomed before him.
The orange-red Aura around Lucario had dimmed slightly after the exertion but still clung firmly to its body, generating a powerful wind pressure in its wake.Lucario's massive arms crossed in front of it, forming an "X" shape, with surging Aura coiling around its limbs.
A cold glint flashed in Lucario's eyes as it suddenly swung its arms toward Jin, unleashing a brilliant burst of light!
Jan, still trembling, couldn't react in time—it stood motionless as if resigned to its fate.
This was the last sight Jan would ever see.
The Fighting-type move: Cross Chop!
"BOOM!"
As the light gradually dissipated, so too did Jan's consciousness, leaving behind only a shattered body.
A massive "X"-shaped scar now marked Jan's form, the wound completely piercing through its front and back.
To maximize gains, Lucario had deliberately avoided the core in its chest, destroying only the surrounding areas.
Without so much as a backward glance, Lucario turned and left, its movements crisp and decisive.
Soon after, a dense orange-red glow slowly faded from Jan's remains before the residual energy erupted outward.
Everything except the vital central section had been torn apart, scattering into fragments across the ground.
Without exception, all remnants were eventually drawn into the spatial rift, awaiting consumption by Steelix.
Akira cast a deep gaze into the rift's depths before shifting his attention back to Tyranitar.
The battle within was far more intense than the one outside.
While Akira remained unfazed by Lucario's combat prowess, the others were deeply affected.
Beyond stared at the bisected "X"-shaped remains of Jan, a chill crawling up his spine.
Instinctively, he touched his own face—where a similar "X"-shaped scar also lay.
Thankfully, it was just a scar, not as gruesome as Jan's fate of being "scattered everywhere."
"Whew…"
Beyond exhaled, his tense expression softening slightly, as if relieved his face remained intact.
Meanwhile, though the three Golden Colossi had been dealt with, Lucario and its companions showed no signs of leaving.
More Giants were approaching!
While their experience yield paled in comparison to the Golden Colossi, they still needed to be eliminated—they were a nuisance nonetheless.
Thus, when wave after wave of Silver Titans and Rock Titans arrived, they were met with the towering figures of three colossal beasts standing proudly.
The three beasts lined up side by side, their gazes indifferent, as if regarding mere desserts after a meal.
Their auras grew increasingly terrifying, like emissaries from hell emerging in the dim surroundings.
Tasked with dragging their foes into the abyss!
Yet, the strongest among their ranks were nowhere to be seen—as if they'd never existed.
Only the battle-scarred terrain silently bore witness to what had transpired.
What awaited them now was an outcome long since predetermined!
...
Elsewhere, while Lucario and its allies were still locked in fierce combat—
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"
Razor-sharp stone blades sliced through the air with deafening sonic booms, dispersing flames mid-flight as they hurtled toward c.
Jin's heart skipped a beat, his expression darkening slightly.
Did it just extinguish the sea of flames outright?
With this thought, he swung his right arm, twisting his wrist to arc his blade through the air.
The fiery arc was far from simple, transforming in an instant into an even more ferocious flaming slash that shot forward.
The crescent-shaped blade of flame accurately struck the incoming barrage of stone projectiles, instantly engulfing them in a sea of fire.
This time, the flames weren't as ineffective as before—perhaps because they had already extinguished one wave of fire earlier.
In the end, with a resounding boom, the flames and stone barrage canceled each other out.
Glancing at the scattered sparks on the ground, Jin's lips twitched involuntarily, a stifling frustration welling up in his chest.
He had just been thinking that not only could he destroy these stone projectiles, but he could also continue the attack to strike the enemy behind them.
Who would have thought it would end in mutual annihilation?
Tyranitar snorted coldly, his stern expression exuding an intimidating aura, his metallic armor thick with Aura.
The next moment, several massive boulders abruptly materialized midair and plummeted toward the ground.
Their target was none other than Jin!
The Rock-type move, Rock Tomb!
Sensing the sudden surge of energy above him, Jin jerked his head up, his refined features displaying an almost human-like look of astonishment.
How could it be so fast?
At such close range, dodging would normally be impossible!
Jin's brow furrowed tightly, yet he showed none of the panic that someone like Shizuan might display in the face of sudden danger.
That was because Jin had confidence.
This confidence stemmed from his strength, from the trump cards he had yet to reveal!
Four enormous boulders descended in succession, perfectly positioned to block his movements from four different directions.
Even if he wasn't crushed, he would be squeezed into immobility by the rocks.
Rock Tomb: An attack using boulders that can trap the target, lowering their speed.
The howling sound above grew louder, yet Jin remained unfazed, his stance steady and unmoving.
"Boom!!"
The four massive boulders struck the ground simultaneously, not only creating deep indentations but also sending clouds of dust billowing into the air.
In a place Jin couldn't see, faint traces of earthy-yellow Aura clung to his body.
Suddenly, a glint flashed in Jin's eyes, and his entire figure vanished from the spot—though not before his hand made a subtle motion toward his abdomen.
Dust filled the air, but the intended target, Jin was nowhere to be seen.
Akira narrowed his eyes, his interest in Jin growing even stronger.
To achieve that kind of movement, there were normally only two possibilities: either his speed was so fast it became impossible to track, or it was teleportation!
Just like Gardevoir's Teleport—it simply disappears from one spot and reappears in another, with no intermediate movement.
While extreme speed could also create this visual effect, Akira doubted that was the case here.
After all, his current strength had already reached the threshold between S+ and SS-!
This was largely thanks to foods from the Dark Continent like Purple Poison Honey and Sunfire Sunflower Seeds, as well as his now S--ranked Snorlax.
Previously, Snorlax had only been A+ rank, but after arriving in the Dark Continent, Akira had let it participate in battles.
Facing enemies whose strength often fell within the S-rank range, Snorlax had easily gained enough experience to reach S- rank.
With this increase in power, Snorlax's ability to amplify the effects of food had also improved.
The combination of these factors had allowed Akira to reach the threshold between S and SS rank during this time.
Even at the same level, there can be disparities in strength, but tracking an opponent's movements should still be possible.
Which was why Akira felt this wasn't ordinary movement.
It was teleportation!
The thought had just crossed his mind when a golden figure abruptly appeared behind Tyranitar!
Jin wore a faint smile of triumph, as if some scheme had succeeded, gripping an unusual blade in hand.
He immediately aimed to cleave straight down through Tyranitar's skull!
This wasn't the Flameburst Blade from earlier—its appearance and aura were entirely different.
If the Flameburst Blade made one feel as though standing at the mouth of a volcano, unbearably scorching,
Then this blade radiated an extreme sharpness—just glancing at it gave the illusion of one's body being split in two.
Even the eyes ached unbearably from its presence.
Hundred Slash Blade: Forged from countless rare ores and the core bones of skeletal beings, the only one of its kind in existence.
When first crafted, it was merely an exceptionally sharp blade with no other distinguishing traits.
But through serendipity, it became a weapon with unique properties—wielders could sever anything by channeling sufficient energy.
Attempting to cut beyond one's energy reserves would result in being completely drained by the blade.
Ores and bones, was it?
Visually, the Hundred Slash Blade did resemble bone material, its entire form a pale gray.
Akira was deeply intrigued by the blade, but equally fascinated by Jin's teleportation ability.
He was now certain—Jin had teleported behind Tyranitar.
Combined with his earlier act of drawing the Flameburst Blade from his body...
Perhaps... Jin possessed spatial abilities?
On the battlefield, sensing the disturbance behind it, Tyranitar whirled around while leaning sideways.
The moment its enemy vanished, it had maintained vigilance around itself precisely for such teleportation tactics!
Yet it still seemed slightly too slow.
Jin gripped the blade with both hands, bringing it down in a mountain-splitting arc directly toward Tyranitar's head.
Teleportation ultimately gave him the edge over Tyranitar's reflexes.
Tyranitar's eyes narrowed as a pale green Aura flickered across its body, instantly forming a protective barrier around itself.
At the critical moment, the defensive barrier solidly intercepted the blade's strike!
"Clang!"
A metallic crash resonated, like two supremely hard objects colliding.
What was this?
Jin's pupils contracted, his expression shifting dramatically.
The inexplicable barrier appeared thin, yet it had stopped his supposedly unstoppable blade.
How was this possible?
"ROAR!!"
Tyranitar bellowed in fury, its right fist wreathed in thick orange-red Aura like an enraged beast!
Those icy eyes now burned with wrathful flames, focused solely on crushing this foe.
That strike had nearly landed!
Jin's eyes widened, but he couldn't evade in time, taking Tyranitar's wrath-fueled punch head-on.
The Fighting-type move: Superpower!
"BOOM!!"
The colossal fist struck like a cannonball from the side, bending Jin's body into a shrimp-like arc before sending him flying!
He smashed directly into a nearby cliff face, his entire frame embedding into the rock before the wall collapsed under the impact.At this moment, enduring intense pain, Jin suddenly realized why he had been a step too slow.
It was that inexplicably appearing rock just now!
His speed had slowed!
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