Crocus sensed two people entering the 100 m zone.
One of them… was far too powerful to fight against.
The dust settled. The black range shiftling got deactivated.
A woman and a boy approached Mala.
Crocus jumped back to a safer distance.
"So he dared touch my little sister?"
"..."
The black clothes with golden strips shining screamed Elite Squad membership.
It was Sunita.
[Sunita]: How dare you touch my little sister, you damn lizard.
She said it with a smile—though it was filled with rage.
Beside her was Pratik.
Few moments ago~
After fighting Wedgermio, Pratik fell unconscious.
Soon, his heart stopped beating.
The strain from using three range shiftlings killed him.
But the spell placed on him resurrected him within 0.05 seconds—before his soul could ascend to the heavens.
A spell placed by Krishna long before assigning them this mission. An advanced, death-triggered resurrection spell.
A spell extremely hard to master.
The moment his soul was forced back into his body—he hit his second maximiser.
The one gifted by DEATH.
This same maximiser helped him activate the third stage of his range shiftling—Shadow Lord's Garden.
*
Furthermost Planet,
"What is that?"
Sunita asked, pointing toward a completely blacked-out planet in deep space.
[Krishna]: Seems like we need to hurry with our plans.
[Arun]: Sunita, you go and investigate the black planet. There's a high chance your little sister might be there. I just received a telepathic message from Kel about Hunter Marshals approaching the galaxy. I will pay them a visit. Grimori reported four unfriendly auras emerging from space—TEGO will handle that. And… Lila has tracked the movements of the Four Calamities along with some unknown monster. Krishna will deal with them. Treta and the others will provide backup if needed.
That was the plan.
Sunita soon landed on the black planet—which was actually Pratik's range shiftling, a supportive one.
Back to present ~
Sunita picked Mala up in her arms.
[Sunita]: You're going to fight him?
[Pratik]: Yes.
Pratik said with determined eyes.
[Sunita]: You better avenge my sister.
[Pratik]: I will… however, someone named Ardhrasar might have been unsealed somewhere too.
[Sunita]: Don't worry about that. We'll handle it. You just make sure you win, kid.
Saying that, she teleported away.
Crocus observed the entire exchange with strategic eyes.
He needed to finish this kid quickly and draw Sunita's attention—so Ardhrasar could buy some time.
Pratik, meanwhile, stood unfazed.
That's right.
His sole goal right now… was to beat the guy in front of him to oblivion.
[Crocus]: Sorry, kid, but it seems GATTSKALTT has arrived. I need to finish you quickly.
Crocus joined his hands in Shoonya Mudra.
[Crocus]: Range Shiftling, Space Manipulation.
[Pratik]: Range Shiftling, Shadow Lord.
As soon as their range shiftlings collided, a blinding flash of light burst out.
Unlike his previous fights, Pratik's range shiftling didn't dominate this time.
But Crocus didn't win either.
Instead, the clash divided their techniques into zones.
The innermost layer—a 30 m radius—was dominated by Crocus' Space Manipulation.
The outer 20 m layer belonged to Shadow Lord.
Since both were in the innermost zone, Space Manipulation took effect immediately.
All of Crocus' attacks—even missed ones—started hitting Pratik.
Space converged around Pratik, redirecting every attack toward him.
Meanwhile, space diverged around Crocus—redirecting all of Pratik's attacks away.
Winner of Clash 1: Crocus
Unable to attack, Pratik shifted to a defensive stance, coating his body with Dark Energy Reserves.
It reduced the impact—but the damage still accumulated.
With a barrage of attacks, even that coating shattered.
Soon, both range shiftlings deactivated as their time expired.
Crocus stood unscathed.
Pratik… had visible wounds and deep cuts.
Crocus: You're still alive? Looks like it takes more than one clash to finish you.
Pratik laughed loudly.
[Crocus]: What's so funny?
Pratik: You should remember those words… because I'm going to feed them back to you.
[Crocus]: I see. In that case—Range Shiftling, Space Manipulation.
[Pratik]: Range Shiftling, Shadow Lord.
Crocus' range shiftling expanded, covering everything within 30 m.
But Pratik's… didn't seem to activate.
There was no clash.
Instead, a dark coating formed around Pratik—similar to Dark Energy Reserves.
He was trapped inside Crocus' range shiftling again.
Winner of Clash 2: Crocus
Crocus dashed forward, fists charged.
Pratik met him, coating his hands with highly concentrated Dark Energy Reserves.
Their fists collided.
The impact… sent nuclear war-level signals across Dragoling bases.
Punch after punch clashed.
The signals flooded every monitoring system.
Nothing within a 50-mile radius was safe.
Pratik couldn't land lethal blows.
And his coating—was weaker than proper Dark Energy Reserves.
It wasn't protecting him enough.
*
Herto Company Base,
Freeman Herto, chairman of Herto Company, was sipping black tea while reading a newspaper.
He looked like a humanoid reindeer.
Suddenly, his door slammed open.
"Boss!! Big news! There's a sorcerer fight in Dragon Empire! Team GATTSKALTT is back in action—and a newbie team is wreaking havoc too!"
It was Fen, his polar bear secretary.
[Freeman]: Aha! Now that's the kind of news we needed. Publish it immediately! I'm sure GATTSKALTT will get their bounties increased again!
His smile faded into seriousness.
[Freeman]: A newbie team, you say…
[Fen]: Yes. They're actively participating in the war. One of them is even fighting the Hunting Dragon.
[Freeman]: Hoho… now that's interesting. This is where our focus should be—the rise of newcomers. I wonder if the Asura Community will increase their bounties too. Fighting a Hunting Dragon? Send our elite team and record everything. This will skyrocket our newspaper sales.
*
Dragon Empire,
The range shiftling deactivated.
Back to reality.
Crocus stood unscathed once again.
Pratik… barely stood on his feet, heavily injured, breathing hard.
[Crocus]: This is unbelievable. For someone as lowly as you to survive my range shiftling twice… it's infuriating.
He said, clearly irritated.
Pratik panted—but had a proud smirk.
[Crocus]: Tell me, human. What makes you think you can win?
Crocus was genuinely surprised.
[Pratik]: It was never about winning or losing. No matter how I ended up here… it doesn't matter if I lose.
His eyes sharpened.
[Pratik]: What matters is… I take you down right here and right now.
[Pratik]: Let's clash again.
Crocus laughed heartily.
[Crocus]: You think you can survive a third clash? I doubt you even have enough Dark Energy Reserves left.
[Pratik]: We'll see.
[Crocus]: Range Shiftling, Space Manipulation.
[Pratik]: Range Shiftling, Shadow Lord.
Their techniques collided again.
Space Manipulation began covering the inner sphere.
Crocus was certain of victory.
And then—
The layer of Space Manipulation shattered.
Shadow Lord broke through aggressively and engulfed everything.
The ground turned pitch black and swallowed them both.
They were dragged into a void.
[Crocus]: What is this? How did I lose the clash?!
[Pratik]: This is where you fight me head-on. No cheap tricks.
Pratik stepped forward.
[Pratik]: And about losing the clash… you already lost in the second one.
He was right.
In the previous clash, when it seemed like Pratik's range shiftling failed…
It hadn't.
It was active—compressed around his own body.
That black coating?
It was Shadow Lord.
Every attack Crocus landed fed Pratik data.
Enough to analyze Space Manipulation… and break it.
He couldn't copy it—too complex.
But he didn't need to.
Now, Crocus was trapped inside Shadow Lord.
And now—
The real fight begins.
Winner of Clash 3: Pratik.
---
EXTRAS:
TEACHERS
Masters or teachers of each character (even for short durations):
Student : Master (Time period)
1) Pratik : Krishna (1 year)
2)Mala : Sunita (10 years)
3)Lila, Grimori, and Kel : Sir Sen (15 years)
4)Krishna, Arun, and Team GATTSKALTT : Takaza (3 months), Gomo Taka (5 years)
5)6th, 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th Immortalus Society Leaders : Gomo Taka (15 years each)
6)Kae : Gomo Taka (15 years, from childhood to teenage)
7) Gomo Taka : Himself