Pratik landed his punch on the ground, tearing it apart.
Dust covered everything.
Lilith was still smiling.
Pratik appeared behind her, but the moment he did, he was crushed by an overwhelming force.
A huge area collapsed along with him.
[Lilith]: If Lilith believes you are weaker than her, then Lilith's reality wrapping will affect you no matter what.
She said while kicking him away.
She was by no means physically weak.
Pratik sighed in boredom already.
Pratik(thinking): What a pain.
He stood up.
Crashing his foot onto the ground, he suddenly started running away.
[Lilith]: Are you really fleeing after those brave words you spoke? That isn't gentle at all. Lilith hates such people.
She started chasing him.
She pointed her right hand forward and it felt as though she had grabbed space itself like a blanket and pulled it.
Pratik was thrown away violently.
Pratik(thinking): Surprisingly, I don't fear her. Her powers are ridiculous, but still not enough to make me feel fear. Compared to her, Master Krishna—whom I attacked by surprise in Dragon Empire using my mastered Triggers—defeated me without even glancing at me properly. One slap. That's all it took.
Pratik crashed his foot into the ground where he landed.
Lilith(thinking): Trying to flee again? Lilith is disappointed.
Lilith pointed her finger at Pratik and in a split second, a hole burst through his right shoulder.
Pratik fell to the ground.
Near the exact place where he had stomped earlier.
The moment Lilith approached him, she froze.
Completely frozen.
Inside a massive slab of ice.
Pratik had planted the spell with the stomp of his feet.
Originally, he wanted to drag her near him during the first stomp itself, however he realised that despite her words, Lilith was extremely cautious.
She would always maintain distance no matter what.
So Pratik stomped a second point, intentionally took her hit, and fell near it to lure Lilith closer when she lowered her guard.
This spell was developed with Lila's help.
He had learned it beforehand for situations exactly like this.
A stalemate.
Lilith's thought process had been completely shut down.
That meant she could no longer alter the reality where she lost.
At the same time, Pratik couldn't break the ice either. If he did, Lilith would instantly regain her thought process before he could eliminate her.
A perfect stalemate.
He couldn't defeat her like this.
He would need to think of another method later.
The ice would melt after exactly twelve hours.
External heat wouldn't affect it at all.
It would completely melt only after twelve precise hours.
Concluding his thoughts, Pratik dug a deep hole.
He buried the slab of ice inside it and covered it perfectly with soil.
Then he reinforced the area with Dark Energy Reserves coating, sealing it completely for the time being.
Pratik(thinking): This isn't the end. Of course she will return. But next time, I will have my team with me against her.
Pratik immediately started running toward the others in case they needed help.
Planet Gamble,
West Direction.
The kicks of Surya and Personnel Hider clashed.
The impact blew away all the guards near them.
Surya was barely exhausted even after fighting for the last five minutes.
The personnel was an insectoid creature.
[Hider]: You are too careless about your openings, kid.
[Surya]: None of your business, insect.
Surya closed the distance and tried punching Hider, however Hider effortlessly dodged and smashed Surya directly in the face.
Surya was sent flying, destroying several buildings along the way.
The Central Section was on fire.
No alarms were ringing though, since Grimori had already burned down the control room beforehand.
The spacecrafts were ready.
Nini was guiding the slaves toward the ships.
Kel and Lila meanwhile were setting the destination points.
Surya stood back up with scratches on his forehead.
Surya(thinking): This is bad. That insectoid is probably the tank among all the personnels. Terrifyingly, he isn't even the strongest one. I wonder who among us is facing the strongest.
Hider flew near Surya while Surya launched himself toward Hider with immense force, generating massive shockwaves.
Their clash vaporised almost everything within a hundred metre radius.
Hider disappeared and reappeared high in the sky.
[Surya]: Multiple Shoots.
It looked as though Surya had created a hundred fists striking toward Hider simultaneously.
However, Hider dodged every single attack and instantly appeared near Surya.
Reflexively, Surya lifted his leg and kicked Hider directly on the chin.
In a split second, twenty buildings were destroyed in a zigzag pattern.
The cause?
The trajectory of their battle.
They kept dragging one another across the city at insane speed.
[Hider]: You cannot win against me.
[Surya]: Who cares?
Hider created a massive sword with his magic.
Surya was still bare-handed.
Surya(thinking): Oops. Seems like I really can't win.
Suddenly, two magic blades fell beside Surya.
Surya turned around to see Pratik.
[Pratik]: Done with my fight. Finish yours.
[Surya]: Aren't you a clingy one?
Surya said with a smirk.
Pratik(thinking): As much as I want to end this quickly, I can't interfere. I may end up hurting Surya too, especially when the enemy is almost as fast as him. The enemy looks like a tank type, but even tanks break under enough pressure. He still seems weaker than Crocus. Surya can handle it.
Their swords clashed.
In the next instant, they disappeared.
Massive shockwaves erupted out of nowhere.
Many guards and higher authorities who were trying to flee were sliced apart within seconds.
Dozens of buildings were cut in half as well.
Surya(thinking): He is ridiculously tough. His natural armour isn't allowing me to pierce through. Hilariously, I haven't even landed a proper slash yet and I am already talking about his toughness.
Hmm?
A realisation struck Surya.
Surya(thinking): I see. So that's how it works.
Pratik observed the battle from afar.
Pratik(thinking): The enemy is extremely cautious. Tank types usually don't fight like this. Is the armour really that durable? I am starting to doubt it.
Surya deliberately gave Hider an opening.
Hider instantly pierced his sword through Surya's chest.
Near the heart.
Hider pulled his sword back.
However, the moment he did, black flames covered Surya's wound and healed it completely.
Before Hider could even process what happened, Surya sliced him cleanly into two halves.
Pratik smirked.
He had hidden Range Shiftling, Shadow Lord's Garden inside the sword.
The range was only ten centimetres.
To maintain the connection between himself and the sword, Pratik had been using Range Shiftling, Space Manipulation the entire time, bending space between himself and the weapon.
[Surya]: What a nasty trick.
Surya said with a smile.
To be continued...
---
EXTRAS:-
KAE IS LEARNING COMPUTERS
In the depths of the Monster Realm, Kae had built a high-tech computer with the assistance of several scientists.
He was trying to learn how to use it.
K-3 and Kae were the only ones inside the computer room.
K-3 was reading a Herto Company newspaper while Kae struggled to operate the computer.
[K-3]: Why are you trying to learn this?
[Kae]: To kill time.
K-3 sighed and resumed reading the newspaper.
Kae meanwhile was busy playing a game on the computer.