Without a second thought, Ayush's entire shadow legion charged straight at Len in a unified, ruthless strike!
Len didn't even sweat it. He simply raised his hand, channeling a massive wave of dense, searing heat into a colossal Fireball. The sheer thermal energy rippled the air around it before he launched it straight at the trio.
"GET BACK!" Vikas roared.
Clad in his light armor, Vikas sprinted to the front lines, raising his sword to form a defensive wall for Ayush and Aryan. But the moment Len's Fireball collided with the blade—CRACK! The heat and force were so overwhelming that Vikas's sword shattered into a hundred fragments like cheap glass.
"Dark Magic: Void!" Aryan yelled, stepping in just in time.
A swirling vortex of pitch-black light materialized right between Vikas and the oncoming blast, furiously attempting to devour the Fireball. For a split second, it held—but Len's spell was on a whole different level. The fireball completely overpowered the void magic, shattering the black light into specks of useless energy!
Seeing the catastrophic danger heading straight for their master, the shadow soldiers attacking Len instantly broke formation. Firing backward at breakneck speeds, they threw their bodies in front of Ayush, acting as a living flesh-and-shadow shield right as the Fireball detonated!
BOOOOOOOM!
Outside the continent, the world moved on as if nothing had happened.
The morning sun crested the horizon, painting the sky in breathtaking shades of gold and pink. Mystical, beautiful creatures glided effortlessly through the crisp air, and crystalline waterfalls roared down lush cliff sides. Everything in nature was peaceful, vibrant, and utterly gorgeous.
Meanwhile, inside the blinding haze of smoke and ash...
The dust settled, revealing the aftermath. Ayush and Aryan were bruised and gasping for air, but Vikas had taken the absolute brunt of the force. Ripped away from his stance, Vikas tumbled backward onto the scorched earth, clutching his damaged armor.
He spat out a mouthful of dirt, his eyes wide with a terrifying realization. "Guys... he's the strongest opponent we've ever seen," Vikas rasped, his voice trembling. "We can't win this. There's no backup coming. If we die here... it's game over for real."
Aryan, trying to process the sheer hopelessness, blinked. "Wait... game over? Does that mean... we just get reincarnated into another world again or what?!" "Bro, let's RUN!" Vikas shouted.
Ayush didn't hesitate. With the last ember of his energy, he commanded his shadow soldiers: "GET US OUT OF HERE!"
Instantly, several giant shadow soldiers grabbed Ayush, Aryan, and Vikas, throwing three boys into the air at breakneck speed, flinging them far away from the battleground!
They soared through the air, watching the battlefield shrink beneath them. But just as they thought they were getting away...
FWUMP.
Mid-air, the momentum completely vanished. Their bodies suddenly froze in place, suspended high above the ground as an invisible, crushing pressure locked them in space.
mid-air, Len casually raised his right hand.
SWOOSH—!
A colossal hand made of compressed, distorted air materialized in the sky above them. With a ruthless flick of Len's wrist, the massive gust slammed down, grabbing the trio and smashing them straight into the ground below!
BOOOOOOOM!
The impact ripped through the terrain, leaving a massive crater in the earth. Dust and shattered rock filled the air.
Vikas was in terrible shape, laying motionless in the debris, his body completely battered. Aryan managed to survive the crushing momentum by rolling before impact to cancel out the force. Ayush was barely saved by his shadow soldiers,
several shadow soldiers lunged at Len from the smoke!
Len didn't even look at them. He grabbed a shadow soldier mid-air by the throat with one hand, squeezing until the dark creature exploded into specks of void energy.
Seven or eight more shadow soldiers charged in from all sides. Len shifted his stance, parrying and obliterating them one by one with sharp, fluid strikes. But right as he turned—
THWACK!
A massive, towering Shadow Ogre landed a direct, heavy strike clean on Len's side!
The winged monster standing nearby gasped, its eyes wide with absolute shock. Aryan and Ayush froze in disbelief. Someone had actually landed a hit on him!
Len slowly turned his head toward the Shadow Ogre. His expression didn't show pain—it showed dark, terrifying fury.
You weak piece of shit!.
you dare touch me-
FWOSH!
Len's speed suddenly exploded tenfold. Moving faster than the eye could track, he became a blur of absolute destruction, ripping through the shadow soldier like paper. The remaining soldiers vanished in rapid-fire bursts of dark mist.
"Dammit... what do I do?!" Ayush panicked, holding his head as cold sweat poured down his face. "My mana is completely running out! I'm practically at zero!"
DING!
Suddenly, a system notification flashed in front of Ayush's vision:
[Player 'Aryan' has transferred all remaining Coins to you!]
Before Ayush could even process it, another prompt popped up right next to it:
[Player 'Vikas' has transferred all remaining Coins to you!]
Ayush and Aryan whipped their heads toward Vikas. He was lying half-buried in the rubble, barely conscious and unable to move a muscle, but his glowing system interface was still flickering in front of his fingers. He couldn't speak, but he had managed to dump his entire coin reserve into Ayush before slipping away.
Ayush gritted his teeth, his eyes blazing with absolute determination.
"Alright then... Let's do or die!" Ayush roared.
Without hesitating, he converted every single coin he had just received straight into Mana Potions and Energy Replenishment through the System Shop.
ZAP—!
A surge of raw power flooded through his veins. His Mana bar didn't just refill—it OVERFLOWED, multiplying his total capacity 4x for a limited time! Dark aura erupted around Ayush like a volcano, tearing up the ground beneath his feet.
"Arise" Ayush screamed.
The shadows beneath the crater expanded exponentially, and an army bigger and darker than before began bursting from the void!
"Len" exciting this is... This is what I wanted-