You really thought I hadn't seen you?"
With a fierce battle cry, Anne swung her iron stick with devastating precision, striking the upper branches of a towering pine. A heavy THUD echoed as a figure was forced out of hiding, tumbling through the mist.
"You've been tracking me this whole time?" the shadowy entity hissed, its voice grating like sandpaper.
But there was no time for dialogue. Sensing the ambush, the Azure Monster abandoned its fight with Marito and charged back into the woods. With a roar of primal fury, it delivered a thunderous punch to Anne, sending her flying across the clearing until she slammed hard against a tree trunk.
However, the Monster didn't get to follow up. Directly behind it, shrouded in intense, shimmering heat steam, stood Marito. His eyes were void of color—stark, glowing white—and the air around him warped with raw pressure.
"Your opponent is still me."
Marito didn't hesitate. He drove a massive uppercut directly into the Monster's jaw, the force of the blow lifting the giant off the ground. Before the Monster could recover, Marito unleashed a rapid-fire barrage of punches, each hit landing with the sound of a cannon blast.
From where she lay, Anne coughed and shouted to Rio and the boys. "Watch him... Marito is unique. The more damage he takes, the weaker he seems, the stronger he actually becomes!"
Energy surged as the two titans took the battle to the sky. White beams of light from Marito clashed with the Blue energy of the Monster, creating a kaleidoscope of destruction in the atmosphere.
"I've finally met someone who isn't just an ordinary ant!" the Monster spat, blood trickling from its lip.
"So?" Marito countered coldly.
As they traded blows mid-air, the Monster's body began to emanate a sinister Purple Aura. The power increase was immediate; the gravity in the clearing seemed to double.
Anne pulled herself up, gripping her iron stick. She locked eyes with the hidden enemy who was now exposed. "Your guardian is busy. Now, it's just you and me."
She lunged forward, charging at the mysterious figure. "Rio! Gyau! Keep finding those candles! We're almost there!"
The battlefield was split:
Marito (White-Eyed State) vs Monster (Purple Aura) — A collision of gods in the sky.
Anne vs The Hidden Enemy — A desperate duel on the forest floor.
Amidst the chaos, Gyau's voice rang out with hope. "I found another one! That's sixteen!"