[DANRYU'S POV]
The Golem User and the Blade Dancer were down on their knees, breathing ragged.
That's when Phantom Cloak stepped forward, silent as mist.
He leaned in close to them—
whispered something too quiet to catch—
then blew a thin gust of air across their faces.
The change was instant.
The Golem User roared as his body expanded, stone plates ripping out of his flesh, molding into a hulking monster form. His eyes burned a deep red, cracks spreading like veins across his rocky skin.
The Blade Dancer's body twisted unnaturally—his fingers stretched into sleek blades, his feet sharpened into silver points. His long hair spun like thin razors, cutting the air itself.
Katxu cursed under his breath beside me. "Tch. Great. They upgraded."
The Golem slammed his massive fists into the ground, cracking the field under him.
Chunks of his body broke off and floated, orbiting him like angry meteors.
The Blade Dancer just smiled wider—
then flicked his head.
Dozens of blades shot out from his hair like arrows, peppering the ground around us.
I barely rolled aside as one buried itself an inch from my face.
"Heh," Blade Dancer chuckled darkly. "Let's dance harder, boys."
Without warning, he spun—
Tornado Assault.
Katxu tried to dodge, but the new storm was too fast.
The spinning blades locked around him, a cage of cutting wind.
Slash—slash—slash—
"Argh—!" Katxu grunted, cuts opening all over his arms and legs as he shielded his head.
"Damn it—!" I reached into my belt, yanked out a Lifebite Seed, and hurled it at him.
"Catch!"
Katxu barely caught it midair, his hands slick with blood.
He grimaced. "Next time don't add saliva in it!"
"Just eat it!" I barked.
He shoved it in his mouth with a pained snarl, and I saw the green glow start to patch up his wounds fast.
Meanwhile, the ground under me shook.
The Golem had disappeared underground—
and then—
CRASH!
The ground exploded beneath my feet.
A giant stone arm shot out, grabbed my leg, and dragged me under.
"Shit—!" I slammed my palm against the dirt.
Underground, it was dark, suffocating. The Golem was moving like a shark through loose soil, dragging me fast.
But he made a mistake.
He gave me ground to work with.
I bit down on a Lifeburst Root and slammed my hand into the mud.
"Verdant Army—Burst Root Form!"
Vines exploded out from my arms—
stabbing through the soil—
piercing through the Golem's rocky body.
"Ugh—!" the Golem groaned, jerking violently.
The vines wrapped around his legs, arms, torso—puncturing deep.
I felt him stiffen through the connection.
He was caught.
Above ground, Katxu used his boosted energy to recover fast.
Still bleeding from the earlier slashes, he grinned through gritted teeth.
His muscles tensed, his stance dropped low.
"Let's end this," he muttered.
He rushed the Blade Dancer, who tried to summon another whirlwind.
But Katxu moved faster now.
He slammed a quick Pulse Palm into the Blade Dancer's spinning chest—
staggering him mid-spin.
Then—
Iron Clasp—
Katxu grabbed the Blade Dancer's bladed arm, crushing it with pure force, ignoring the shallow cuts slicing his palm.
"Not so fast anymore, huh?!" Katxu growled.
The Blade Dancer slashed wildly in panic—
Katxu ducked under—
planted his foot solidly.
"Dragon Nail Driver!"
Katxu lifted him high and slammed him head-first into the dirt hard enough to make the ground ripple.
"GAH—!" the Blade Dancer gasped, the wind knocked out of him.
The ground cracked under the impact.
His blades stopped spinning.
He didn't get up.
Underground, I tightened the last vine wrap and sent a pulse through the network.
Verdant Thorn Bloom.
The vines erupted from inside the Golem's armor, bursting out like sharp green spears.
"GUH—!" the Golem howled, his massive form collapsing into a heap of broken stone and dust.
I dragged myself out of the hole, coughing dirt, and stumbled next to Katxu.
We both stood there—bloodied, panting, bruised.
But still standing.
Across from us, the Golem User and the Blade Dancer lay unmoving, their monstrous forms slowly crumbling apart.
Katxu wiped his mouth, spitting blood to the side.
I cracked my knuckles, letting the vines slide back into the ground.
"...Took long enough," I muttered.
Katxu grinned weakly. "Yeah... but at least now they're quiet."
***
"Tch. Weaklings," Phantom Cloak muttered, his voice cold and disgusted.
I kept my stance low, breathing shallow.
The ritual he used earlier—that strange whisper and breath—it wasn't simple healing or buffing. It felt deeper. Dangerous.
This guy...
He wasn't some ordinary examinee.
We needed to be careful.
Phantom Cloak moved without urgency. He placed one hand firmly against the ground.
A red glow flared out from beneath him—spreading fast.
A large, intricate ritual circle etched itself into the dirt, lines burning crimson against the dead soil.
Katxu stiffened. "Oi... you feel that?"
I nodded grimly.
The Golem User and Blade Dancer, both collapsed earlier, suddenly jerked violently.
Their bodies convulsed—screaming, twisting, like every nerve was being torn apart.
"What the hell are you doing to your allies?!" Katxu shouted, anger flaring in his voice.
Phantom Cloak lifted his head slightly, the emotionless mask never leaving his face.
"Huh. Allies?" he said, almost amused.
"They're not allies. They're just tools."
He stood slowly, the red circle still pulsing under him.
"I told them I'd help catch you both," Phantom Cloak continued, his voice sharp, like he was lecturing children.
"I said I'd make their targets easier."
He chuckled darkly.
"But unbeknownst to them... you—"
he pointed at me and Katxu without even looking—
"—are both my target and my decoy."
Katxu's eyes narrowed dangerously.
"But unfortunately," Phantom Cloak said, brushing imaginary dust from his sleeve, "they were too weak.
I have to finish you myself."
I tightened my grip, feeling my vines pulse under the skin of my arms.
Phantom Cloak's body began to change.
Dark veins bulged along his arms and neck.
His cloak twisted, fusing with his body as he absorbed the two twitching figures on the ground.
Their screams faded quickly—
their bodies shriveling into dry, hollow husks—like every drop of life had been drained out.
Katxu cursed under his breath beside me. "Tch... what kind of awakening is that?"
Phantom Cloak answered, almost bored.
"My Awakening," he said, "is to enhance the power of others temporarily... then consume them.
Their strength... becomes mine."
His body finished shifting.
One side of him was jagged, rocky—like the Golem's heavy armor.
The other half was sleek and bladed, sharp edges where muscles should be, his hair flowing into thin cutting strands.
A perfect fusion of brute force and deadly speed.
I could feel it.
He wasn't just stronger.
He was faster. Smarter. Deadlier.
And he had seen us fight from the start.
Katxu wiped blood from his chin, gritting his teeth.
I dropped lower, feeling the ground under my fingertips.
This was going to be bad.
Really bad
The second Phantom Cloak finished absorbing his "tools," he moved.
No warning.
No stance.
Just pure, deadly instinct.
A blur—
and a heavy bladed arm came slashing toward Katxu.
Katxu barely rolled aside, but a piece of his sleeve shredded instantly.
"Tch—fast!" Katxu hissed, skidding backward.
I threw my palm down.
"Verdant Spikes!"
Thorns erupted from the ground, trying to block Phantom Cloak's charge.
He didn't even slow down.
His rocky leg crushed through them like weeds, the ground cracking with every step.
Katxu dashed in from the side, fists ready.
He feinted left—
then twisted low, aiming for a Pulse Palm into Phantom Cloak's exposed rib.
WHAM!
The hit connected—
but Phantom Cloak barely flinched.
Instead, his rocky arm lashed out and—
BAM!
Katxu flew like a ragdoll, slamming into a tree trunk with a sickening crack.
"Argh—!" he grunted, sliding down into the dirt.
"Katxu!" I barked, launching vines to try and cover his retreat.
But Phantom Cloak didn't stop.
He stomped forward, each footfall sending tremors that split the ground open.
Stone Shards launched from his mouth—
jagged rocks tearing through the air toward me.
I dove aside, feeling one graze my ribs—hot, burning pain lancing through.
I bit down on a Lifebite Seed and slammed my hands down again.
"Vines Army!"
Two vine constructs erupted, rushing Phantom Cloak from opposite sides.
He barely looked at them.
A single spin of his bladed arm—
and the vines were shredded into green pulp.
Katxu coughed, dragging himself upright by the tree.
His hands were shaking—but that grin never left his face.
"Heh... still ugly, even fused," he muttered hoarsely.
He pushed off the tree and sprinted back in.
We moved together this time.
Katxu baited high—faking a Skull Comet Kick—
I lashed vines low—trying to trip Phantom Cloak's legs.
For a second, it almost worked.
Almost.
Phantom Cloak spun on his bladed side, turning into a living cyclone.
His hair-blades stretched outward, slicing through the air in wide arcs.
One blade caught Katxu across the chest—
another slashed the side of my leg.
I gritted my teeth, summoned healing vines around my calf to stop the bleeding, and hurled a spike trap forward.
Katxu pressed in again, stubborn as always, exchanging brutal close-range strikes.
He ducked under a swing—
jammed a Coiled Fang Elbow into Phantom's gut—
but Phantom retaliated immediately, slamming a rocky fist into Katxu's side.
"Ugh—!" Katxu staggered.
"Verdant Catch!" I shouted, yanking Katxu back with a vine before another blow landed.
"Thanks, Princess," Katxu wheezed, winking at me.
"Shut up and move!" I barked.
We regrouped, circling Phantom Cloak cautiously.
He was breathing heavier now.
Small cracks ran across his rocky side.
But his bladed half gleamed even sharper.
And then—
Phantom Cloak slammed both fists into the ground.
A massive ripple of cracked earth surged outward, splitting the battlefield like a wave.
"Move!" I yelled.
Katxu dove left, I jumped right, vines springing under my feet to boost me.
The earth erupted where we stood seconds ago.
He wasn't just fighting—
he was reshaping the entire damn field.
Katxu wiped blood from his mouth, grimacing. "Tch... this guy's a monster."
I nodded, chest heaving.
We couldn't beat him like this.
Not head-on.
I lashed out a few covering vines—Katxu grabbed one mid-sprint, letting it sling him backward.
I pulled myself away too, just as Phantom Cloak charged again, leaving shattered dirt in his path.
We needed space.
We needed a new plan.