"Come here, Filio! Come if you dare!" Aresus taunted with a mocking smile.
"How dare you do that to Master Paltio?" Mok responded with contained fury, his voice thundering through the cave. "I swore to be his protector. I swore to his family that I would always keep him safe. Now you'll see... It's time we settle this."
Mok paused, his gaze hardening as he adjusted his tie with determination. "Brother... No, not anymore. You are no longer my brother or my family. My family is the royal family of Avocadalia, who took me in when no one else did. I will call you by your true name: Aresus!"
With renewed resolve and an aura of power emanating from him, Mok charged toward his enemy. His speed was astonishing, leaving Aresus stunned at the butler's transformation.
Aresus expected a frontal attack, but Mok now moved with unprecedented swiftness. In the blink of an eye, he appeared behind his opponent and delivered a devastating blow to his back. The impact was so powerful that Aresus was sent flying into one of the cave walls, shattering it upon collision.
"What the hell just happened? I didn't see it coming! What was that?" Aresus thought, dazed, as a black, tar-like liquid began to ooze from one of his arms.
"I'll show you how I truly fight," Mok declared firmly, his voice resonating with authority. "Just as my master taught me and those who trained me over years of practice. I had forgotten how to fight without restraint while adapting to a more domestic life, but all of this has reminded me. Now I have unleashed my true strength."
Aresus looked at him in disbelief. "How dare you?" he shouted, launching several DARK BLOODY BLADE attacks toward Mok. However, Mok conjured multiple shields thanks to Geki's teachings, blocking the attacks and reflecting them back toward the sky.
"But how did this happen?" Aresus continued to think, frustration and anger boiling inside him. "It's impossible for him to have become so strong in such a short time! This isn't fair! Is this some kind of dream?"
In his desperation, Aresus recklessly charged toward Mok, determined to finish him off. But Mok, now faster and more precise, dodged him effortlessly. With a clean motion, he delivered a kick to Aresus's face, sending him flying several meters and crashing into a mound of dirt with a deafening roar.
Mok took advantage of the distance between them and ran to where Paltio lay, pulling him out of the rubble. Upon seeing Mok, the young prince visibly brightened.
"Are you hurt, Master? Do you need help?" Mok asked urgently, quickly inspecting the boy for serious injuries.
"No, I'm fine," Paltio replied with a small smile. "Just a few minor bruises, but nothing serious. You'll see, with the orb, I'll be as good as new."
"I'm glad you're okay, Master," Mok said, tears welling up in his eyes that he could barely contain. "I can't afford to let anything happen to you, young prince."
Without another word, Mok embraced him with all his strength, conveying all the affection and concern he felt for him. Paltio felt the warmth of that embrace, comforting and protective, as if it were an older brother caring for his younger sibling or a father showing unconditional love to his son.
Meanwhile, Aresus watched from a distance, seething with rage and frustration.
"That damn bastard can't be stronger than me!" he muttered to himself, clenching his fists so tightly that his knuckles turned white. "This can't be happening to me... I was so close to finishing him off. My hatred for him is growing bigger and bigger."
His already-rotten heart began to darken even further. A malevolent energy emerged from the depths of his being, enveloping him in a dense, palpable darkness.
"YOU CAN'T DEFEAT ME SO EASILY, MOKKKK!!!!" Aresus screamed, emerging from the rubble with a sinister aura surrounding him and a macabre smile etched on his face. He advanced toward Mok with determined steps, resolved to finish what he had started.
Mok reacted quickly, unsheathing his sword to block his evil brother's attack.
"Take this, Mok! Sinister Blade!" Aresus exclaimed, launching a dark ray from his sword that shot directly toward the butler and Paltio.
"It's best you return to the others, Master," Mok said without taking his eyes off his enemy. "I'll handle this guy."
Paltio understood when he saw Mok's serious and confident gaze. He nodded firmly and replied, "Alright, I'll leave it in your hands. Don't you dare die."
"I won't, my young lord. You'll see—I'll emerge victorious," Mok promised before fully focusing on the battle.
With precision, Mok blocked the dark attack with his sword, deflecting it to the side. Aresus, furious, decided to change tactics. Raising his fists into the air, he shouted: "Sinister Fire Fists!" His hands glowed with a purple light, and large purple flames erupted from them. With impressive speed, he began launching attacks at Mok, who blocked each one with his sword, giving him no chance to land a hit.
Seeing an opening, Mok used one of his rings: the fire ring. Channeling its power into the blade of his sword, he unleashed a devastating attack that forced Aresus to retreat, burning part of his armor.
"Damn you!" Aresus shouted, gritting his teeth in fury. "How could you have become so strong so quickly in such a short time?"
"I have already told you," Mok replied calmly, his voice steady but filled with determination. "I've unlocked my potential, one I hadn't used in a long time and had kept hidden because it wasn't necessary... until now."
Consumed by anger, Aresus began to transform. His armor slowly cracked apart, shattering into pieces to reveal a metallic body fused with a dark material that covered his limbs like a sinister exoskeleton. The transformation was accompanied by a malevolent glow emanating from his being, as if something dark within him had awakened.
With renewed fury, Aresus unleashed a flurry of punches and kicks at Mok, each strike charged with dark energy. However, Mok blocked every attack with pinpoint precision. With a swift and decisive motion, he countered with a powerful blow to the chest that sent Aresus flying, bouncing several meters before coming to a stop.
Aresus panted, struggling to catch his breath as he slowly got back on his feet. Desperation began to take hold of him. How could this be possible? He, who had always considered himself superior, was being overshadowed by someone he once thought weak.
"No, no, it can't be!" Aresus screamed, his voice trembling with rage. "He's weak! He should be weak! I've always been the strong one! Why aren't my attacks hurting him now? How did all this happen? And on top of that, he's deflecting them back at me like it's nothing!"
His words echoed through the cave, a mix of frustration and despair. Aresus clutched his head, pressing hard as if trying to contain his own madness.
"It can't be! This enrages me!" he roared, his eyes filled with hatred. "I think I need more fury... more fury, more hate... Yes, yes, that must be it!"
Aresus's body began emanating a dark aura so dense that it seemed to absorb all the surrounding light. It was as if a demon were taking complete control of his being. He had completely lost his mind, and now pure rage dominated him, fueling his hatred and thirst for vengeance.
"Everyone, fall back!" Mok commanded without taking his eyes off Aresus. "I'll handle this."
His voice was authoritative yet calm, reflecting the gravity of the situation. He watched as Aresus fully transformed into a being possessed by darkness, his figure enveloped in a malevolent energy that distorted the surrounding air.