Saliz clutched his head, his vision blurring as a splitting headache overtook him. All his memories had been recalled. He staggered, his grip loosening just enough for Bastin to break free. Gasping, Bastin rushed to Yusuf, pulling him from the debris.
Saliz groaned, his voice trembling with anger and confusion. "How?" he muttered, his breath ragged. "How can you trust each other like this?" His voice rose into a furious roar. "HOW?"
Bastin and Yusuf, standing side by side, met his gaze—strong, unwavering.
Bastin & Yusuf (together): "Because trust isn't measured in time. It's earned… and given."
Saliz's mind spiraled. His thoughts swarmed with memories—sixteen years with Urui, yet in the end, his own brother had turned against him. But these two… they barely knew each other, and yet, they fought as one.
Rage swallowed reason. His eyes darkened, glowing an even deeper red. "Enough!" he bellowed. "Xerophytus Viparious!"
A thick, thorny vine burst from his hand, lashing toward Bastin.
"Not this time!" Yusuf cried, slamming a branch against it. But the vine barely shuddered. It coiled tighter around Bastin.
"Ani!" Bastin struggled, calling for help.
Saliz smirked. "No more delays!" His vine-wrapped arm morphed back into flesh as he lunged toward Bastin's Syroche.
Bastin gritted his teeth, gripping the Syroche. "No!" he yelled, straining against Saliz's strength. But Saliz was too powerful. His grip pried Bastin's fingers away.
A flicker of memory flashed in Bastin's mind—his father's battle, his words… What did he say? Bastin clenched his fists, forcing himself to remember. Then, his eyes widened.
He raised his palm toward Saliz's face and screamed, "Sheemi Teressis!"
Saliz's smirk faltered. His body tensed—What will this child do. For a heartbeat, nothing happened, Saliz laughed out, "Nothing". Then—
SPLAT!
A ball of thick mud shot into Saliz's face, blinding him. "Argh!" he stumbled, wiping at the dirt. The Mud ball wasn't as gigantic as his father could make.
Bastin struggled against the loosened grip. "Ani! Help!" he cried out.
Yusuf froze. His body shook as fear gripped him. "What should I do? What should I do?" He dropped to his knees, hands clutching his head.
Then—everything went silent.
A golden light descended from the sky, freezing time around him. Saliz and Bastin stood still, unmoving. A voice, gentle yet commanding, echoed in Yusuf's ears.
"It's too soon to surrender, Yusuf. Do you not wish to protect your brother?"
Yusuf's breath hitched. His hands trembled as tears spilled down his cheeks. "I do… I would have… if only I were strong enough—"
"Shhh." The voice hushed him softly. "You are not weak, Yusuf. You simply need to see yourself."
Yusuf blinked. "See… myself?"
"Yes."
Before he could ask anything else, a searing heat burned against his chest. He looked down—his eyes widened. A crimson brooch, pulsing like molten lava, was now embedded in his chest.
"I grant you the power to protect mankind," the voice declared. "If it weakens, call upon me. Say: 'Luméon, grant me power.'"
Yusuf gasped, overwhelmed. "Wait! Tell me how to use it!"
But the golden light faded. The voice was gone.
In its place, a scroll materialized before him, hovering in midair. Yusuf grabbed it, unrolling it with shaking hands. Strange words filled the parchment—ancient, unreadable… perhaps Sanskrit?
But one section caught his eye:
Magmos Lavarius. Magmos Geysarius. Magmos…
His heart pounded. The golden light vanished completely.
Time resumed.
Saliz wiped the mud from his face. His eyes blazed with fury. "No more mercy!" He lunged at Bastin.
Bastin screamed. "Ani!"
And then—Yusuf moved.
Heat surged through his veins, burning yet invigorating. His body felt lighter, stronger. The scroll's words echoed in his mind, their meaning unraveling as if something deep within him had always known them.
"Magmos Lavarius!" Yusuf checked.
The moment the words left his lips, the ground trembled. A fissure cracked beneath Saliz's feet, and from its depths, molten lava erupted. Saliz barely leaped back in time, his eyes widening in shock.
Yusuf's hands burned with power, glowing like embers. His fear—gone. His hesitation—erased. He took a step forward, his breath steady, his gaze locked onto Saliz. Bastin Hopefully smiled to this change and miracle!
"Let. Him. Go." Yusuf's voice was no longer weak. It carried weight.
Saliz snarled. "You think a few tricks will stop me?!" He lunged again, vines whipping toward Yusuf.
"Magmos Geysarius!" Yusuf shouted.
A pillar of steam burst from beneath Yusuf's feet, launching him high into the air. The vines missed their mark, snapping uselessly against the scorching mist. From above, Yusuf stretched out his arm, heat swirling in his palm.
"Magmos—" He paused, feeling the power surge, then aimed directly at Saliz.
"Infernia!"
A blazing projectile shot downward, striking Saliz on his legs. The impact sent him crashing to the ground. Smoke rose from his burned cloak, but he still moved, still growled in defiance.
Bastin scrambled back to his feet. "Ani! That was amazing!" got closer to Yusuf.
Yusuf landed beside him, his new power pulsing through his body. He turned to his brother and nodded. "Stay behind me. I'll end this."
Saliz let out a deep, guttural laugh, pushing himself up. His red eyes gleamed with something darker—something far from human. "You think you've won?"
The ground beneath them shuddered.
Saliz spread his arms, and shadows erupted from his body like tendrils, swallowing the light around them. His voice echoed with an unnatural resonance.
"You have no idea… what you've awakened."
The battle was far from over.
The air grew thick, almost suffocating. The shadows swirling around Ifrit didn't just move—they whispered, voices from the abyss, hissing and writhing like trapped souls. Yusuf clenched his jaw, feeling the weight of their presence pressing against him.
Saliz's body convulsed. His spine arched unnaturally as his skin darkened and stretched, muscle twisting beneath it. Jagged spikes jutted out along his vertebrae, each glistening like obsidian blades. His arms thickened, his veins glowing a sickly violet. His fingers sharpened into talon-like claws, and his nails—no, claws—clinked as they curled into fists.
His tail—long, muscular, covered in ridges—slithered behind him, twitching like a serpent eager to strike. His face lengthened slightly, his jaw widening as his teeth sharpened into fangs. His once-human red eyes deepened into something monstrous, burning with infernal fire. The transformation was grotesque, each shift of his body cracking bones and sinew, forging him into something beyond human.
He grinned, his voice carrying a guttural growl beneath it. "Ifrit… the true form of mine."
Then, with a snap of his fingers, the shadows lunged forward like hunting beasts.
"Xerophytus Ifritus!"
Darkness engulfed Yusuf and Bastin, a living, breathing abyss swallowing them whole. The shadows flickered, disorienting them, making Ifrit impossible to track. The whispers became deafening—taunting, cursing, screaming. Bastin grabbed Yusuf's arm, panic in his eyes.
"Yusuf, we can't see him!"
Yusuf gritted his teeth. He had to counter.
"Magmos Geysarius!"
The earth trembled, then—whoosh!—scalding steam erupted around them, searing through the darkness. The shrieks of the shadows filled the air as they evaporated into nothingness. The fog cleared, and there stood Ifrit, his expression twisted in shock.
"Impossible…!"
His fury exploded.
"One free, another one! I'll take both of those brooches!" he roared.
"Xerophytus Cactone!"
His arm morphed mid-strike—his flesh hardening into bark, his knuckles growing massive, covered in wickedly sharp thorns. He lunged, aiming a devastating blow at both Yusuf and Bastin.
Bastin froze, wide-eyed. Yusuf felt his pulse hammering in his ears. The attack was too fast—there was no time.
No. No time to think.
Yusuf raised his hand on instinct.
"Magmos Infernia!"
A roar of flame erupted from his palm, not just a fireball but a raging inferno, tearing through the space between them. The flames consumed Ifrit's entire lower body.
He screamed. A horrible, guttural howl of agony. His cloak disintegrated, his charred flesh sizzling. The thorns on his arm cracked and crumbled. His tail writhed violently before blackening, withering away.
And then—clink.
A single sound cut through the chaos.
Ifrit's Syroche.
It fell, glowing dimly, rolling onto the scorched ground.
Yusuf and Bastin stood frozen, breathless.
Ifrit was now powerless!