"Grrr." Kuma kept growling, a sign that he was extremely angry.
Meanwhile, Orbizo remained relaxed, slowly walking closer to Kuma. Even though his body was already full of wounds, he still looked perfectly healthy, as if he felt no pain at all. Truly an impressive physical strength!
Orbizo continued to play with his sword, swinging it forward and to the side. He looked as if he were toying with Kuma.
"Don't you want to attack me? Come on, come here. If I manage to kill you, I'll surely get a big reward from my master."
It was clear that Kuma was becoming even angrier. His once cute face now looked increasingly terrifying, his claws ready to slash and tear his enemy apart. His sharp gaze locked onto Orbizo, preparing to attack.
Now Orbizo was getting closer. His footsteps became faster as he prepared to kill Kuma. Of course, Kuma did not stay still. With countless tricks, he avoided Orbizo's attacks. His small body made him extremely agile, very difficult to catch or wound.
Kuma's speed kept increasing, and several times his claws managed to scratch Orbizo's skin.
This situation made Orbizo even angrier. Now the swings of his sword were directed everywhere. The ground around them was destroyed whenever the blade struck it. Kuma found it difficult to approach Orbizo, and now he could only rely on the power of his illusions.
These illusions deceived Orbizo several times. But a few seconds later, he managed to break free from them and launched another deadly attack.
Kuma stopped in his tracks when he saw Jyu. Unexpectedly, Jyu was still able to stand, though he struggled greatly to do so.
"I'm not dead yet!" Jyu said with a mocking smile toward Orbizo.
Orbizo looked quite surprised at Jyu's condition. "I didn't expect your body's endurance to be that good."
Jyu had indeed survived the previous deadly attack. Before Orbizo's slash struck him, Jyu had managed to coat his chest with the power of the soul core. That power manifested as a shield protecting him from within. Because of that, Orbizo's slash did not tear too deeply into Jyu's body. Even so, it was still extremely painful.
Seeing that his master could still stand, Kuma immediately approached Jyu.
"Kuma! We have to work together to defeat him. Don't worry about me, focus on the fight."
Orbizo seemed unwilling to wait any longer. He instantly dashed forward to attack Jyu. But Jyu was already prepared. He immediately slashed the ground, causing the sand of the Darkent realm to cover him, exactly like what Orbizo had done before.
Orbizo no longer cared about his opponent's position. He swung his sword randomly. But none of those attacks hit anything.
"There!" shouted Orbizo as he swung his sword backward. His instincts told him that Jyu had slipped behind his body.
But nothing was there. Jyu was not behind him. It was only an illusion!
And…
Suddenly, Kuma emerged from within the sand near Orbizo. One powerful punch—Kuma launched the attack. It worked! With all his strength, Kuma struck Orbizo's stomach.
At the same time, Jyu appeared from the sand right behind Orbizo. He was also delivering a deadly strike by thrusting his sword into Orbizo's heart.
These fatal attacks came from both front and back. Orbizo could no longer move. The two attacks struck his body. But Kuma's punch was so powerful that it sent his body flying far away.
Orbizo's body shot through the air like light. The sand he passed scattered everywhere, like waves split apart by a ship. Blood from his body splattered across the ground he passed.
Finally, Orbizo's body slammed into a massive cone-shaped rock formation. The rock shattered, and Orbizo's body was buried within the rubble.
"We won!" said Jyu as he immediately collapsed onto the ground, breathing heavily. But he was very satisfied—not just because they had won, but also because he had obtained Orbizo's spirit core.
The sword he had thrust into Orbizo's heart had indirectly forced the monster's spirit core out. And Jyu did not want to wait any longer. He immediately absorbed the spirit core.
Instantly, his body felt as if it had gained new strength, including Kuma.
Suddenly, a rune appeared in Jyu's mind.
[Congratulations, Kuma's power has evolved]
[Kuma's powerful punch can now be used once every three minutes]
This news made Jyu's eyes sparkle, and a wide smile spread across his face. He quickly summoned his rune.
Name: Jyu
Age: 19
Rank: Awakened
Soul Power: Awakened
Soul Fragments: 100/1000
Memory: Black Sword
---
[Demon]
Rank: Supreme
Demon Fragments: 285/1000
Aspect: Teddy Bear
"We're getting stronger," he said very softly. Slowly, his consciousness began to fade. Even though he didn't die, Jyu was still severely wounded by Orbizo's earlier slash.
"Grrr." Kuma looked worried, confused about how to help his master.
And in an instant, Jyu fell asleep—darkness and silence.
---
Dark.
It was indeed dark. Jyu was still in darkness, but faintly he heard Taffie and Sizhi's voices. Jyu was startled, and his eyes opened wide. Jyu regained consciousness!
"You're awake," said Sizhi.
The three of them were now inside a narrow gap between tightly closed rocks, making it quite safe for them to hide for the time being. Jyu's wounds had been treated, and even the slash wound from Orbizo's sword had been neatly stitched using Svider's thread.
Sizhi's sewing skills were truly useful at this moment. If he hadn't been there, Jyu might have lost far more blood. That would mean Jyu's chances of survival would be much smaller.
"How did you find me?" Jyu asked weakly.
Taffie immediately answered, "Easy, from your battle."
"Luckily, you didn't die. From now on, we must stay together, don't get separated again," Taffie explained again.
Jyu suddenly remembered something—about Taffie's supply bag.
"What happened to you? Why is there blood on your supply bag?" Jyu asked worriedly.
Taffie immediately lifted his black pouch. "You mean this?"
"There's no problem! I only got scratched when I landed on the rocks after being hit by the storm."
Jyu let out a long breath. "We're in big trouble now."
Those words immediately shocked Taffie and Sizhi. Their expressions instantly turned serious.
"What's wrong?" asked Taffie.
Finally, Jyu told them all the facts he had learned from Orbizo. The truth about Kuma being targeted for a long time by the mystical creatures, and the mystery of the dimensional portal.
"The dimensional portal can only be closed by Kuma, of course by freeing him from the curse. But if Kuma dies, the dimensional portal will never be closed forever."
"Yes, I know that," Taffie replied.
"The problem is that the mystical creatures have now discovered our existence. The demon I fought earlier had been waiting for me. That means they will hunt me down and kill me."
"Remember! Kuma's curse is in the demon palace. Perhaps that's where the strongest mystical creatures are. Maybe their leader is there as well."
"And there are only three of us here. Fighting all of them feels like suicide."
"What if we call for reinforcements? This is a war, it can't be handled by just the three of us."