Ilyas met Khai, Agus, Raden and Raka who were holding Luna, in front of the shelter hall door.
"Ilyas, we're ready!" said Khai, waving his hand.
Before setting off, they were approached by the villager who wanted to thank them and apologise.
"Thank you, young man."
"If it weren't for all of you, we surely would have died that night."
"Forgive us for our terrible attitude that day."
Ilyas let out a soft sigh upon hearing their words.
It's fine. Let bygones be bygones."
The village children crowded around Khai, Agus, Raden and Raka.
"Bye, big brothers!"
"Don't forget us, okay?"
The children antics made Agus, Raden and Raka remember their own siblings out there.
Small smiles formed on their lips.
"Don't worry. We won't forget you guys." said Agus, stroking one of the children's head
"Don't be naughty while we're not around."
"Okay!"
A group of teenage girls approached Khai.
"Big brother Khai."
"Yes?"
They simultaneously handed him pieces of paper, each with a heart drawn in the middle and their names written on them.
"What's this?"
"You'll se for yourself later." They answered in unison before turning and scurrying away with flushed cheeks.
Khai frowned, puzzled by the behaviour of the girl who ran off with beet-red faces.
"What's wrong with them? Are they sick?"
Ilyas, witnessing the scene, felt a sense of déjà vu."
Some of the village aunties also gave them useful items like diapers and milk for Luna.
"Alright then. We'll get going now—"
"Wait a moment." A voice interrupted.
Badang and Samar arrived with Tok Hussein behind them.
"Why?" asked Khai.
"Before you all leave, I have one request." said Badang
"Hmm?"
A fiery, passionate gleam shone in Badang's eyes as he looked at Ilyas.
"Ilyas… fight me!"
A small commotion swept through the villagers. They wanted to see a battle between Badang, hailed as the village's strongest, and Ilyas.
"Why all of a sudden?" asked Ilyas
"After all the things I've been through, I realized that I'm still weak.
"Because of that, I've decided that I want to start from scratch,"
"So that I can avoid the same thing happening again."
"Are you sure about what you're saying?" asked Ilyas, released and intense, intimidating aura toward Badang.
"I won't take back my words"
"If Badang can challege you, I want to join him," Samar cut into their conversation.
"You sure about that?" asked Badang
"I'm done being weak"
"Oi, oi, oi! I wanna join in too!"
Khai, caught up in the mood, joined Badang and Samar.
"Hm,"
Ilyas handed Luna to Agus.
"Fine, follow me."
Ilyas led them to a vast field beside the protection hall. Green grass stretched out, accompanied by a refreshing breeze.
"Khai, you sure you wanna spare wearing those?" Asked Agus, pointing at the weights on Khai's wrist and ankle.
"Heh… consider this part of the training," Khai replied while warming up.
"Agus, close Luna's eyes," Ilyas commanded in a flat tone.
Ilyas didn't warm up. He simply stood upright, hands by his side, like a tree, his breathing calm and deep.
"You asked for it. So don't blame me if I get a little to rough."
Badang initiated the attack with straight punch. His fist shot forward like a cannonball towards Ilyas's face.
Ilyas merely tilted his head a few centimeters. The rough fist whistled past, just beside his ear, displacing the air.
Before Badang could retracted his hand, Ilyas countered, a sharp hook landed squarely in Badang's solar plexus.
"Ugh!" Badang coughed and dropped to his knee from just a single punch.
Samar, from 5 meter away, fired his pistol at Ilyas.
Ilyas didn't retreat, only moving his shoulders and torso like a snake dodging strikes. The bullets whizzed past, hitting a tree behind him.
"Attacking while your enemy is distracted. Good decision." said ilyas, looking at Samar from a distance.
"But, don't make it so obvious where you're aiming at."
Khai, from behind, leapt high, swinging his right leg down like an axe for an overhead kick.
Ilyas seemed to have eyes on the back of his head. Without looking back, he caught Khai's ankle in a perfect grip.
"To predictable."
Without any effort, Ilyas flung Khai towards Badang, who had just gotten up and was about to attack.
"Damn… even in a 3-on-1 situation, Ilyas isn't showing any opening at all," Agus murmured from the sidelines.
Badang, knocked off balanced by Khai, left a huge opening behind him.
Ilyas seized the change to strike Badang from behind, his finger formed a shape like a hammer. But Samar wouldn't let it happen.
Three bullets were fired in quick succession.
Ilyas halted his attack. In the blink of an eye, the three bullet vanished.
It turned out, in a split second, Ilyas had caught all three bullets with a single hand. He opened his palm, and three hot bullets rolled onto the ground.
"You crazy monster!" Samar muttered.
"Good positioning and vision. Defending your comrade while maintaining distance from your opponent"
"Thanks for that useful feedback!"
Samar attacked Ilyas with his pistol, but all his shots were easily dodged.
"Don't just shoot. Watch your opponent's next move closely."
Badang attack Ilyas again. The attack was blocked, and Ilyas countered.
Badang dodged and launched a straight punch to the chest. Ilyas blocked it.
Badang threw a close-range elbow to the ribs, followed by a leg sweep.
Ilyas still evaded every attack.
"Good combo attack, aimed at breaking the opponent's balance."
Ilyas knew Badang was a pencak silat practitioner. That's why he could easily read his movement.
"I'm not done yet!"
Badang continuous his assault with a scything kick to Ilyas's side, followed by a spinning backfist, then an outwarf elbow, finally a knee strike to the stomach.
"Attack with fast, hard movement. This combo also applies continues pressure on the opponent. If he were fighting anyone else, they'd probably go down in a second."
"But…"
Ilyas easily dodged every single one of Badang's attacks.
"A combo isn't useful if it doesn't hit its single target."
Ilyas blocked Badang's attack and swung his fist into the solar plexus—the same area still tender from Ilyas's earlier strike.
Badang could barely stand from the precise blow.
"Shit, even after giving it my all, my attack aren't dealing any damage to him."
Samar shot at Ilyas from behind, but Ilyas was aware of it.
"Let me give you a useful tip for a marksman."
Ilyas disappeared from Samar's sight, startling him.
"Strike when needed, vanish when done."
Ilyas, from behind, applied slight pressure to Samar's neck. His vision blurred before he crumpled onto the grass, unconscious."
"One down."
Badang stood up, his breath still ragged. He saw Samar already knocked out.
As he tried to find an opening to attack Ilyas, he suddenly realized…
"Wait, where's Khai?"
Khai appeared from behind Ilyas and once again executed an overhead kick. Ilyas sighed inwardly and caught the attack.
However, what he grabbed wasn't leg, but Khai's shoe, which had come off.
"A shoe?"
Khai landed and launched a side kick. Ilyas, with incredible reflexes, caught that attack too.
Once again, he only held the second shoe.
"Hahahahaha~ How's that? you got tricked twice," said Khai, standing barefoot.
"He's trying to bait my emotions with taunts like that."
"Not bad," Ilyas muttered
"Badang, step back. This time, I'll fight him alone."
Khai adopted a perfect taekwondo stance, feet apart, fist at waist level.
Ilyas just stood there, waiting for the surprise attack Khai would bring.
Khai began his attack with an Ap Chagi (front kick), followed by a Dollyo Chagi (roundhouse kick), and then a Yop Chagi (side kick).
His rhythm was fast, like a dancer moving to a beat. It was even more impressive considering Khai was wearing weights.
Ilyas moved like a shadow. He sidestepped, deflected, and blocked using only one arm. Not a single attack landed.
Ilyas ducked and threw a punch at Khai's stomach.
Khai dodged it and stepped back to reset his position, sweat beginning to bead on his forehead.
"What a move. After launching a fast opening assault, he quickly resets his position to prepare for the next attack," Ilyas thought.
"Huft… I figured he'd probably know all my moves. So, I need to make him keep thinking that way!"
Khai performed a Mireo Chagi (back kick), followed by a Bandae Dollyo Chagi (spinning roundhouse kick). Ilyas blocked both attacks and launched a simple yet fast straight punch.
Khai managed to anticipate it. He bent his knees, letting the punch pass over his shoulder. In a smooth, swift counter-movement, he executed a Naeryo Chagi (downward axe kick).
Ilyas blocked the attack by raising his guard.
As Ilyas's chest was exposed, Khai swiftly launched an Ap Chagi straight into his sternum. The impact produced a strong, solid sound, deafening to the ears for a moment.
Everyone watching was stunned. Badang gaped. Agus, Raden and Raka, could hardly believe the power of that strike. The crowd cheered because Khai had managed to breach Ilyas's seemingly impenetrable defense.
However, unlike everyone else, even though Khai wore a smile, his foot felt numb, as if he had kicked a steel pole wrapped in rubber.
"You've improved a lot." Ilyas praised, his voice still steady, unlike someone injured from such a deadly strike.
Khai retreated and reset his stance.
"Heh… you say that, but it doesn't mean my attack did any damage on you."
"For me, perhaps not." Ilyas admitted.
"But for anyone else, that strike would have been enough to break ribs and incapacitate their breathing."
Khai took a deep breath.
"Alright, now's the time!"
Khai performed an Ap Chagi again.
"Hm, another Ap Chagi."
Just as Ilyas was about to block it, Khai planted front foot firmly on the ground, completely halting the kick's momentum.
It was just a feint.
"Osu!"
From the semi-crouched position, he launched the most basic yet deadly and powerful strike from another martial art— a reverse punch with all might.
"Gyaku Zuki!"
Ilyas's head tilted back slightly, a flicker of surprise in his eyes. He managed to evade the attack. Not stopping there, Khai followed up with a Mawashi Geri (roundhouse kick) to the ribs. Ilyas blocked it, but Khai immediately retracted his leg and launched an Oi Zuki (lunge punch).
The punch landed squarely on target. Its force was so great that a cloud of the dirt and grass was kicked into the air, enveloping Ilyas as he blocked the strike.
"Heh… got it," Khai wiped his sweat, breathing heavily.
"Amazing. At first, he only attacked Ilyas with Taekwondo moves. But it wasn't without reason."
"He did all that to make Ilyas think he only knew Taekwondo."
When Ilyas was slightly off-guard, he then switched his fighting style to Karate and delivered the final blow with all his strength."
Badang was in awe of Khai's ability to strategize in such a short time.
The dust slowly settled. All eyes were fixed.
Badang was shocked because Ilyas was still standing, despite taking Khai's devastating blow.
"Wow, I thought you were just a Taekwondo practitioner, turns out you're a cross-trained fighter."
"You successfully deceived me. Good job."
Khai smirked, gathering the last remnants of his energy.
"Heh… thanks for the compliment. But you know how I am."
"I won't give up until I win!"
Khai braced himself to attack Ilyas.
Ilyas gave a slow nod.
"Alright."
Ilyas vanished from in front of Khai, like lightning.
"Where did he go?" Above? Behind?" Badang wondered.
Khai calmed himself and heightened his awareness to anticipate Ilyas's ambush. His mind raced.
"It's hard to think like Ilyas, but if try to think like a hunter toying with his prey, or a master instructing his student, then…!"
Khai spun around to attack Ilyas. But, Ilyas appeared right in front of him.
"Bingo!"
Khai completed his spin and executed a Bandae Dollyo Chagi.
However, the prediction was a futile, as he struck empty air.
"Almost correct."
The voice came from below.
Ilyas had closed in at Khai's waist level, his arm wrapping tightly around him.
"Do you know your weakness."
"You're only improved offensively, but you're still weak defensively."
Before Khai could react, he felt himself airborne, the world turning upside down. Ilyas bent backward, then flung Khai's body over his shoulder with a minimal force— a perfect German Suplex.
Khai crashed onto the ground with a terrifying impact. The deafening thud resonated.
Badang, Agus, Raden, Raka, and the villager… frozed in place. It wasn't because of Khai defeat, but the sheer scale of absolute power they had just witnessed. Ilyas wasn't just strong; he was the embodiment of strength himself.
"Argh, am I in heaven?" Khai asked, waking up in a room with light streaming in.
"You're awake."
Badang was beside him, slicing some apples.
"Huh… where's Samar?"
"He woke up before you."
"Heh… looks like I lost again."
"Don't blame yourself. You didn't lose because you were weak, but because Ilyas was jut too strong."
Ilyas entered the room with Luna in his arms.
"You're awake. Can you stand?"
"A little." Khai replied
"Come on, we're moving out now."
Badang helped support Khai, who still couldn't balance properly.
The two of them saw Ilyas, already packed with his bag and other belongings, along with Agus, Raden and Raka.
"You're late." Said Agus.
"Sorry, how long did I pass out?"
"One hour." Said Ilyas.
"Wow, that's quite a while."
"Enough, double-check all your things," Ilyas instructed.
After ensuring all their belongings were in order, they resumed their journey to Teluk Intan.
"Bye-bye!"
"See you again!"
Thank you!"
The shouts of gratitude and farewell marked the end of Ilyas and his companion's story in Rock Village