Reaching the intersection once more, I took the left corridor this time. My footsteps pounded against the stone—
Then I heard shouts behind me.
A high-pitched, metallic howl ripped through the entire intersection, vibrating in my bones.
Several aliens sprinted toward me, their faces twisted with panic. Behind them came the heavy, guttural growls of something far worse.
My stomach dropped. Finding other survivors was already impossible on its own—yet these idiots had brought company with them. And from the sound of it, there were definitely more than one Vulpimancer chasing them.
My body reacted before my brain could catch up. I bolted down the left passageway on all fours, claws scraping against the stone floor. My breath came out sharp and fast, the world around me blurring as I sprinted.
Then the air behind me shifted—an instinctive warning.
Before I could even turn, something slammed into me from the left. A massive force scooped me up mid-run and hurled me into the wall.
Pain exploded through my body. Stone shattered. I slid down the crushed indentation, falling face-first onto the floor. The transformation failed, and I reverted to my human form mid-impact. Fire shot through every inch of me in a way I had never felt before.
My blurry vision caught the alien that had blindsided me—it didn't even look back. It simply kept running. The only reason it didn't finish me was that I had gotten in its way.
I gasped for air, coughing as my lungs spasmed. I had to move. If I stayed down, I'd die here. With shaking hands, I pushed myself up against the wall.
A sudden whipping sound cut through the air. A shadow lunged at me.
I shoved off the wall, letting myself fall forward. The claws missed my skull by inches, carving a nasty trench in the stone behind me.
I rolled across the floor, creating distance. The Vulpimancer twisted its body with unnatural speed, its glowing eyes locked onto me. More of them thundered into the corridor behind it.
My mind scrambled for options. The watch—my only lifeline at this very moment.
As the Vulpimancer lunged, my finger slapped against the watch. Time seemed to slow, my vision tunneling into a blood-red glow.
The darkness of the maze burst open with violent streaks of yellow lightning. A blinding discharge exploded outward, lighting the entire passage in an electrical storm. The Vulpimancers convulsed mid-leap, their bodies twitching violently as the arcs consumed the corridor.
When the light faded, the maze fell silent again—only the smell of burning ozone remained.
I stood in the center of it all, yellow fur bristling, electricity running across my limbs in sharp arcs. Thin trails of smoke curled from my body.
Zeraora.
My chest rose and fell heavily. My muscles still screamed from being slammed earlier. With a quick touch to the watch, I forced myself back to human form.
The adrenaline left instantly. My legs trembled so hard I almost dropped. I braced myself against the wall, breathing through clenched teeth.
I had to move—before the maze shifted again, or worse, before something stronger than the Vulpimancers came looking for me. Both were equally likely.
I forced myself into a weak jog—not much better than walking, but it was all I had left.
My body was sweating, burning up at the same time, and I felt myself pushed against the cold air rising from the maze felt like torture. I felt pain rising from my chest; it was getting hard to even breathe properly, and every single step felt like dying, but even so, I had to keep moving forward; there was no other way but forward
The faint metallic howls behind me still echoed, pushing my pulse higher, making me want to walk a bit faster even in the state I was in.
After some time, I sensed movement ahead. The maze hadn't shifted yet. Whatever was in front of me wasn't a Vulpimancer—it was too quiet. I only heard a faint crawling noise.
My hand hovered over the watch—
Something crawled out of the shadows.
Its upper body was vaguely frog-like, with three black claws on each hand and four bacteriophage-like legs. A red-and-black badge marked one of its limbs.
Another player.
Which meant only one of us was walking away.
I hit the watch. A grey-black light swallowed my body, and I transformed into Urshifu.
But something felt different. Sharper. My senses were honed to a razor's edge, as if this form was awakened specifically for this moment. My control over my body felt absolute—yet unfamiliar.
We locked eyes. Both of us took our stance—
Then charged.
Our fists collided. With a twist of my torso, I redirected the force and created distance, but the creature rebounded instantly, refusing to give me space. It slammed a punch into my ribs, then launched another strike aimed at my skull. I ducked and rolled, the wall behind me exploding into rubble.
I tensed my muscles. Red, mist-like energy rose off my body as I activated Bulk Up, power surging through my veins.
I charged again, striking with enhanced strength. We clashed repeatedly—blows shaking the corridor.
Suddenly it leapt into the air, dropping its full weight onto me. The impact cratered the floor, a beastly roar tearing out of its throat.
I tried to stand, but it came again, aiming straight for my head.
This time, I redirected its weight, flipping it and smashing it into the ground. It was back on its feet instantly.
It lunged. I raised both hands, forming a light-blue barrier in front of me. Its fist cracked the shield but didn't break it—
Until the second punch shattered it completely.
The blow sent me sprawling. It inhaled sharply and fired a jet of flame. I rolled desperately, the fire melting the floor behind me. I summoned another barrier—this time covering my entire body—and bought myself a few seconds.
Standing again, I gathered energy into my right fist. Frost formed around it in shimmering crystals. I lunged with an Ice Punch—
It caught my fist effortlessly.
Both clawed hands tightened around it.
Then it lifted me, spun me, and smashed me into the floor like a ragdoll.
My vision flickered. My limbs wouldn't move. A roar echoed above me—the creature already celebrating its victory.
My consciousness dimmed. Darkness crept in from the edges.
I had one card left.
If I was going to die, I'd die hitting back.
I forced myself to stand, inch by inch. My body screamed with pain. My vision doubled. But I stood.
The creature didn't wait. It launched its fist straight at my skull.
Time slowed.
My spider-sense—no, my fighter's instinct—flared.
I ducked. The punch sliced the air above my head by mere centimeters.
This was it.
A violent aura surged around my body as I drove my fist upward with every last shred of strength—
A final strike.
My fist crashed into its face with a thunderous crack. Air pressure blasted outward in a shockwave as the creature was launched straight through the wall behind it, debris exploding outward in a cloud of dust and shattered stone.