"PRIDE!"
The red dust struck Pow-Pow, who was right in the middle of his power-form transformation.
The joyful look in his eyes intensified instantly. A thirst for battle seized him, accompanied by a surge of overconfidence that felt unusually strong even for Pow-Pow.
So pride feeds directly into the overconfidence he already has, Darek thought. It almost feels like pride amplifies his mood. The bear seems to mistake pride for pure arrogance.
In the next second, Pow-Pow's fur slowly began to change from red to a brighter shade of red. The deep blood-red started to burn, turning into flaming orange and finally into radiant gold.
He grew from eighty centimeters to almost twice his size. Yet he gained almost no mass. His body remained slim, almost wiry, as if his strength had not turned into broad muscles but into tension and speed.
Only his forearms did not quite match that image. They looked noticeably larger, stronger, as if all the raw power of his new form had gathered there. The muscles tightened beneath the fur like taut ropes, and every movement made it clear that those arms held a force that did not seem to belong to the rest of his light frame.
Because of that, Pow-Pow appeared both larger and more dangerous. His slender body gave him something quick, almost playful, while his oversized forearms gave the impression that his strikes could land with the force of a hammer.
He was still moving toward the Vanquisher.
He had only just slid beneath the snapping vine.
Even during that motion, the typical arrogant grin remained on his face.
As if he wasn't just fighting the battle.
But enjoying it.
Darek had no time to admire it. The vine was still lodged in his body, its living grip holding him in place while the tip continued to pierce through him.
He had to free himself somehow.
Pow-Pow noticeably increased his speed.
Even as he shot forward across the red granite floor of the arena, five more vines burst from the cracks between the stone slabs. They shot toward him, long and tapering to sharp points, like living spears aimed precisely at their target.
The deputy commander of the Order of Vanquishers still stood motionless, watching.
The vines tore through the air like launched torpedoes. Their tips twitched slightly as they aligned themselves with Pow-Pow, as if reading every movement of his body.
Yet Pow-Pow made no attempt to fully dodge them.
Each of the vines aimed for a vital point of his body—neck, chest, stomach, and joints.
At the last moment, Pow-Pow shifted his body only a few centimeters. His movements were barely visible, more like a subtle glide than an actual dodge.
The vines struck.
Two of them grazed him.
Their tips tore through his fur and left narrow cuts while the others whistled past him and slammed into the stone behind him.
"Pow-Pow! What are you doing? Don't get overconfident!"
He's not even listening to me, Darek thought. Damn it. I need a plan.
Still impaled by the vine, he forced his mind to calm down and gathered his power into the compass. His thoughts searched for a possibility, for any crack in the overwhelming presence of the Vanquisher.
His weakness.
Before his inner eye, a red line appeared.
It flared up like a crack in space itself and instantly shot forward, purposeful and unstoppable, as if it had already found the point where this overwhelming opponent could be broken.
For a breath, everything seemed to work.
Then the line reached the Vanquisher.
And shattered.
The red trail struck him as if it had collided with an invisible wall of sheer superiority. In the same moment it exploded into countless glowing fragments. The shards scattered like sparks from shattering glass and burned out in the air before they could even reach the ground.
When the last trace of energy faded, nothing remained of the line.
Darek stared in disbelief.
"What…? Broken?"
His voice sounded hoarse.
"That has never happened before."
A cold thought crept into his mind.
The gap between us is simply too big.
His gaze drifted back to the Vanquisher, who still stood completely motionless in the arena.
And how does he do that with the vines? He's just standing there.
Was he controlling them with his mind?
Earlier it had almost looked as if he were questioning the vines themselves, as though the Vanquisher had asked the cave who was responsible for the mischief.
Still impaled, Darek carefully observed the arena.
A small fly landed casually on the ground.
In the next moment, a vine shot out of a crack in the stone and struck it with such speed that it simply vanished.
Darek's eyes sharpened.
His mind began to work.
His thoughts rearranged themselves as a picture slowly formed.
Wait a second…
Origin of the vines.
That was the next command Darek gave to his compass.
Before his inner eye, the red line appeared again. But this time it did not shoot through the air toward the Vanquisher. Instead, it ran like a glowing fracture across the floor of the arena. It slid beneath them, following invisible paths through the stone and leading straight into the depths beneath their feet.
Darek's eyes widened.
"Got you," he murmured.
Slowly, a grin spread across his face.
Change of plan.
"Pow-Pow! The Vanquisher doesn't seem to control the vines at all! It looks more like they attack anyone in the arena they perceive as prey or as unworthy!"
Despite the vine still piercing his body, Darek forced himself to continue speaking loudly.
"The Vanquisher and the vines are two different things. I'll deal with the vines. You take the Vanquisher!"
"What? Two opponents?" Pow-Pow's eyes sparkled. "Fine. More fun for me!"
The moment the words left his mouth, the arena floor stirred.
Dozens of vines burst from the cracks in the red granite at the same time and shot toward Darek. They twitched through the air as if they had heard his words, as if they wanted to silence him before his realization could spread further.
A deep laugh echoed through the arena.
"Wha, wha, wha. Not bad," the Vanquisher said.
His voice sounded amused, almost approving.
"Quite clever."
He tilted his head slightly and looked at the two of them.
"But what good does that knowledge do you? The point of this trial was to survive."
His voice grew slightly colder.
"Not to get smart with me."
Darek did not even attempt to free himself from the vine that still held his body impaled.
Instead, he simply faced the vines rushing toward him.
ZPFUSH.
One of them drove through his body with brutal force. The tip burst through his back, pushed through flesh and bone, and emerged from the front again.
ZWUSCH.
Another vine struck him.
ZWUSCH.
And another.
The thick, spear-like vines had a diameter of several centimeters. They pierced him in different places across his body and practically nailed him in place in midair while dark blood dripped down onto the red stone of the arena.
Darek's body jerked under the force of the impacts, but he remained standing.
"FAAAK! I hate this so much!" he shouted angrily. "Couldn't my ability at least remove the pain completely?!"
His voice echoed through the arena, rough with pain and frustration.
"So that's what he's planning," Iris said calmly, her voice steady and analytical. "I was wondering why he wasn't even trying to dodge."
While Darek continued to be pierced by the vines, Pow-Pow jumped upward at that exact moment.
His body shot through the air until he reached eye level with the Vanquisher. As he moved, his fur began to glow even brighter. The gold flared as if a new fire had ignited inside him, as though he could barely wait for the coming strike.
For a brief moment he hovered there in the air, directly in front of the towering figure of the Vanquisher.
That familiar arrogant grin was still on his face.
"Well?" Pow-Pow said mockingly. "Aren't you going to do something already?"
His eyes sparkled with battle lust.
"Or are you pissing yourself?"