Ramonian snapped into high alert the moment Liuke's transformation was complete.
Sensing the overwhelming pressure, he desperately reached for his throat.
He dug into the thick, pink mucus where the stolen Solar Cores were embedded.
He grabbed one and channeled his energy instantly.
A blinding light erupted from inside Ramonian's mouth, illuminating the entire forest.
The brilliance was so intense it forced the surrounding trees to cast deep, jagged shadows.
To Liuke's surprise, a second Ramonian solidified and stepped out from those shadows.
It was a perfect clone.
Liuke didn't hesitate.
In a flash, he vanished, reappearing instantly to vaporize the clone.
But the duplicate reacted quickly, releasing another burst of Solar light from its mouth.
The flash momentarily blinded Liuke.
In that split second, another clone emerged from the darkness.
Liuke was now facing three Ramonians—the original and two deadly duplicates.
Retreating for a moment, Liuke leapt onto a massive tree branch.
He used the height to gain momentum before dashing back down for a crushing punch.
His fist passed straight through the target.
It was a trick; that Ramonian was nothing but an illusion made of solid light.
When Liuke spun around, he saw six Ramonians standing before him.
All of them looked and felt hauntingly real.
Without uttering a single word, Liuke unleashed the darkness and rage simmering within him.
He moved like a blur, slaughtering the clones one by one.
When he finally targeted the original Ramonian with a lethal kick, the Elder barely managed to scramble back.
His face was pale with fear.
Ramonian raised his hands, his index fingers pointing like gun barrels.
Small holes opened at the tips of his fingers.
A low, whistling sound of rushing air began to echo.
"Your comrades' abilities are truly a treasure," Ramonian hissed.
"Soon, this metallic form of yours will be hanging from my neck as well!"
The sound of gunfire filled the air.
Ramonian wasn't firing lead; he was using Solar energy to compress air pressure into high-velocity bullets.
The projectiles struck Liuke's metallic skin, leaving only faint scratches.
Liuke responded by releasing a wave of intense heat.
It was so powerful that the pressurized air bullets vaporized into steam before they could touch him.
Liuke did all of this in total, terrifying silence.
The radiating heat became so extreme that the mucus on Ramonian's neck began to dry and crack.
The stolen Solar Cores started slipping out, falling to the forest floor.
Liuke vanished again, reappearing instantly to grip Ramonian's throat in a crushing hold.
As Liuke squeezed, Ramonian used a desperate technique.
He dissolved his physical form to slip inside Liuke's body.
Ramonian expected to seize control, but instead, he found himself in a nightmare.
He didn't see Liuke's mind; he saw a vast, dark sky that shimmered like polished steel.
Below him was a river of flowing molten metal.
In the distance, magnetic storms raged, filled with jagged metal spikes.
Ramonian was swept away by the molten current.
Eventually, he got caught in the eye of a massive magnetic storm.
There, in the center of the chaos, he saw Liuke.
He was standing perfectly still, naked and unbothered by the metal shards tearing through the air.
Ramonian tried to reach for his Solar Cores, but they were gone.
He realized he was also naked.
Unlike Liuke, he could feel the full agony of this environment.
Metal shards pierced Ramonian's skin.
He screamed in pure torment as the storm spat him out into a sea of molten metal.
Massive tsunamis of liquid steel rose up, swallowing him whole.
Ramonian's eyes snapped open in the real world.
He was lying on the ground, drenched in blood, his body broken.
The Solar Cores were gone.
As he looked up, he saw the metallic Liuke standing over him.
One fist was charged with kinetic energy.
The other hand held all of Elvis's squad's cores.
Without a word, Liuke delivered a final, devastating punch.
It shattered Ramonian into pieces.
The fight was over.
Liuke turned to the tree where Rayna, Luka, and Rika were held.
With one powerful strike to the trunk, he shattered the roots and the magical constraints.
The three girls were free.
They stared at him in shock.
They didn't see the friend they knew.
They saw a metal-skinned deity burning his own life force to maintain his power.
"Liuke... are you okay?" Rayna whispered.
She feared he had lost his humanity.
"Catch these... Rayna."
Liuke's voice came—deadly, calm, and hauntingly deep.
He handed her the recovered Solar Cores.
"Can we save our people with these?"
Luka, Rika, and Rayna looked at each other and sadly shook their heads.
They knew no way to bring back those whose cores had been ripped away.
"Follow me," Liuke commanded.
"I know a place."
He led them through the twisted woods back to the ancient trees of the talking monkeys.
When they arrived, Lupa and the other monkeys cringed in fear at Liuke's new appearance.
"Don't be afraid, Lupa. It's me, Liuke," he said.
Lupa remained hesitant until he saw the Solar Cores in Rayna's hands.
"Liuke, are you in danger? Do you need our help again?"
"Lupa," Liuke said, his metallic voice serious and hollow.
"Is there a fruit or a way to bring my comrades and my commander back to life?"
"Any way at all?"
The monkeys were unsettled by his intensity.
Lupa looked at the ground, then back at Liuke's black, shining eyes.
"To bring back the dead? It is difficult... nearly impossible," Lupa admitted.
"But... I do know of one way."
"Tell us, Lupa," Liuke pressed.
His tone was urgent and cold.
"We have very little time."
Lupa took a breath and leaned in.
"Then listen closely..."