[KATXU'S POV]
I glanced at Danryu, eyebrows twitching. He is whispering something to me.
"You will never defeat me," Phantom Cloak's voice boomed, low and heavy. "Even if you combined your pathetic skills. Just surrender, hand over your wristbands... and let me kill you."
I turned my head a bit toward Danryu.
"You going crazy right now?" I whispered-shouted at him, barely hiding my confusion.
Danryu's face stayed stone cold.
"Yes," he said without flinching. "Just do it. This is our last chance."
I clicked my tongue, heart thumping in my ears.
"Fine... don't die too early, idiot."
He didn't answer. He didn't need to.
We moved.
I dashed forward first, baiting Phantom Cloak's bladed arm to slash wide. I barely slipped under it, the edge nicking a line across my shoulder.
Pain flared hot.
I grit my teeth.
Danryu followed a breath behind me, low to the ground, vines coiling around his arms ready to strike.
I jumped up mid-run—
boosted by one of Danryu's vines wrapping around my waist and hurling me like a sling shot.
I twisted mid-air—
"Skull Comet Kick!"
and crashed both heels down at Phantom Cloak's shoulder.
He blocked it with his rocky arm, but his foot shifted back slightly.
Not invincible after all.
Before he could counter, Danryu slammed both palms onto the cracked ground.
"Verdant Thorn Cage!"
Thick vines erupted, spiraling upward and wrapping around Phantom Cloak's legs and waist, slowing his movement.
I hit the ground running again, fist pulled back.
"Pulse Palm!"
I slammed it into the vines themselves—
the shockwave spread through the tangled roots, tightening the bind around Phantom Cloak's body even harder.
He snarled—first real emotion we got out of him.
He broke the vines easily after a few seconds—
but those seconds were enough.
Danryu circled behind him, fast, slipping through the cracks like smoke.
He threw several thorn needles—
one—two—three—striking weak points along Phantom's rocky armor.
The hits landed—but Phantom Cloak spun fast, using his blade-arm like a tornado again.
I ducked low, feeling the air slash my hair.
Danryu wasn't so lucky.
A chunk of the spinning blade caught his side—
not deep, but enough to stagger him for a second.
I rushed in to cover him, using my body as a shield.
"Move, you damn plant!" I barked at him.
Danryu coughed, blood at the corner of his mouth, but nodded.
We moved again.
I faked a wide left swing.
Danryu jumped off my back, vines launching him high above Phantom Cloak.
Mid-air, he hurled a Verdant Net Trap straight down.
The trap exploded into dozens of thorny vines, trying to lock Phantom Cloak again.
I followed up fast—
"Coiled Fang Elbow!"
slamming into Phantom's exposed side while he was half-distracted by the vines.
Crack!
A small crack ran along Phantom's rocky ribs.
I saw it.
I grinned.
"Heh. Not so untouchable now, are ya?"
But then—
something shifted.
Phantom Cloak's shadow pulsed weirdly.
Suddenly—
shk!
A small, hidden blade shot out from his shadow—
straight into Danryu's back.
Danryu gasped sharply.
"Danryu—!" I roared.
He staggered midair—his eyes wide—
then crashed down onto my shoulder.
Heavy.
Too heavy.
Blood was already staining my shirt.
His body slid off my shoulder, dropping to the dirt with a dull, sickening thud.
I stumbled a step, heart thudding hard against my ribs.
"Oi—Danryu!" I shouted, grabbing his arm.
No answer.
He wasn't moving.
Phantom Cloak straightened calmly, his half-golem, half-blade body gleaming in the broken light.
"You should've surrendered," he said, voice like a cold blade against my skin.
I clenched my fists so hard they shook.
This wasn't over.
Not even close.
My hands shook.
Not from fear.
From rage.
I dropped Danryu's body carefully onto the ground, my fingers curling into fists so tight my nails dug into my skin.
Phantom Cloak stood there, calm, like killing him meant nothing.
My blood boiled.
I charged—
no hesitation.
No plan.
Just pure, white-hot fury.
I swung a heavy Pulse Palm at his chest.
He blocked it easy, but I didn't care.
I slammed a Rib-Crush Hook into his ribs, throwing my full weight into it.
Phantom grunted, actually stepping back half a foot.
First time he reacted.
I didn't stop.
I pressed harder—
throwing a Coiled Fang Elbow into his jaw—
ducking low to sweep his legs—
following with a Temple Hook Fade aimed at the side of his head.
I was faster.
Rougher.
Every move sharper than before.
But Phantom Cloak adapted.
He moved with the attacks—
catching my wrist mid-strike—
twisting my arm brutally to the side.
Pain lanced through my shoulder.
"Nrgh—!" I grunted, twisting free and slamming a wild haymaker at his face.
He ducked.
His blade-arm slashed upward.
I barely jumped back—
the blade nicked across my thigh, burning hot.
"Keep moving—!" I snarled at myself, staggering sideways.
I threw a Phantom Step, blinking behind him for a second.
I caught him clean—
Jaw Hook Snare!
My fist snapped into his chin, making his head jerk upward.
I dove into a Spinebreaker Toss—
lifting him half off the ground.
He twisted midair and slammed his rocky knee into my gut.
"GUH—!" I coughed blood instantly, stumbling back.
The ground shook again.
Phantom Cloak punched the earth—
sending shards of rock and debris up like a shotgun blast.
I crossed my arms in front of my face—
the rocks pelted me, tearing into my skin, ripping my already ruined shirt.
Still standing.
Barely.
I dashed in again, reckless—
ignoring the burning in my arms and legs—
throwing punch after punch, elbow after elbow.
Most missed.
The few that hit barely slowed him down.
He absorbed the attacks, waiting.
Then he struck.
His blade-arm slashed low.
I tried to jump—
Too slow.
It raked across my side, blood spraying.
"Argh—!"
I staggered—
one knee hitting the dirt.
Before I could even breathe, he closed the distance.
His rocky fist slammed into my chest like a wrecking ball.
Everything in me shook.
I flew backward, skidding across the dirt, gasping for air I couldn't catch.
I tried to stand—
my legs buckled.
I spat blood onto the ground, chest heaving, vision tilting sideways.
Phantom Cloak walked toward me, blade dragging behind him, sparking against the dirt.
I forced my body up, wobbling.
This wasn't a fight anymore.
It was survival.
And I was losing.
"Madi - Verdant Missile," Danryu whispered weakly from where he lay, almost like a ghost.
Both Phantom Cloak and I heard it — and instinctively looked up.
A storm of glowing green needles rained down from above—like hundreds of shining spears slicing the air.
"What the—?!" Phantom Cloak shouted, arms raised as the needles slammed down.
The first wave shattered his mud armor, cracking stone like ice.
The second drove him backward—he stumbled, cloak shredded, shoulder bleeding.
Then the needles hit the ground.
And spread.
Like serpents.
Dozens of glowing thorns burrowed into the soil—slithering, sensing.
They moved like they had eyes.
Phantom Cloak turned to run—
But the vines knew.
They followed his heart. His footsteps.
And then—crack!
A single thick thorn erupted from the ground beneath him.
It impaled him through the chest—just off-center—and lifted him off the ground before slamming him down again.
Vines wrapped around his arms, legs, throat—
And held.
Paralyzed.
Struggling.
His breathing hitched.
From the mist—
Danryu stepped forward.
Bleeding.
Barely standing.
But alive.
Phantom Cloak's eyes widened. "You... you were dead."
Danryu stared at him coldly.
"That's what we wanted you to think."
He limped forward, hand glowing faintly green.
"I used Verdant Rewind. A rare seed," he said calmly. "Slows the pulse. Fakes death. Restarts the heart after two minutes. Costs a lot of mana."
Phantom Cloak growled, trying to twitch.
The vines tightened.
Danryu nodded toward him. "Those vines? You move too much... you die. They act like a seal."
Phantom tried again—his arms jerked.
The thorn pulsed brighter.
"Don't you dare," Danryu warned. "You want to live? Stay still."
"You... you bastards!" Phantom hissed. "GRRRRR—!"
He screamed.
Thrashing.
But the vines didn't let go.
And we didn't flinch.
***
We sat under a crooked tree, backs against its rough bark, bodies aching like we'd just been rolled over by a dozen stone carts.
Danryu handed me one of his flasks. I didn't even ask what was in it. I just drank.
Bitter. Thick. Slightly spicy.
"Ugh... What's in this?"
He wiped blood from his cheek with his sleeve. "Painkiller. Numbroot. Something green. I forgot."
"Comforting."
"Still alive, aren't you?"
"Barely."
He pulled out another bottle and rubbed a paste onto his ribs. The smell hit like rotten herbs and burnt pepper.
I wrinkled my nose. "Smells like the monks' feet."
Danryu smirked. "Probably made by them."
I chuckled, then leaned back with a tired groan. "We really did that, huh?"
He didn't answer at first.
Then: "Yeah. We did."
The battlefield was quiet now. Burned ground. Broken branches. Faint trails of vine marks still glowing in the dirt. The wind didn't even move.
Just the sound of us breathing.
And the occasional faint grunt as we looted the bands and pockets of our now-defeated enemies.
"Useful stuff," Danryu muttered, tucking a few things into his pouch.
"Think we'll need it?" I asked.
He looked at me like I asked if trees needed water.
"...Yes."
Fair enough.
We sat again, potions half-gone, wounds patched up.
"You know," I muttered, stretching my shoulder with a wince, "you're pretty damn strong."
Danryu looked at me sideways. "You're just saying that because I didn't die."
"No. That's a bonus. I mean it."
I tapped my knuckles together. "You held up. Your moves. Timing. Without you, I'd be vine mulch by now."
He looked away, quiet for a second.
Then: "You're not so bad yourself. Didn't know you could do half that stuff."
I grinned. "Yeah... the monks at the temple trained me. In case I had to leave someday. Said I'd be too annoying to stay forever."
"That tracks."
I threw a stick at him.
He batted it aside. "Still, those moves... they bought us time."
"They were meant to." I exhaled. "I just didn't think I'd be using them this early."
Danryu glanced at me again.
Then reached into his pouch with that annoyingly calm expression.
"Want a seed?"
My face twisted immediately. "Ugh! No! I'm still grossed out from that one you fed me with your teeth, thank you very much."
He raised an eyebrow. "Didn't hear you complaining mid-battle."
"I was busy not dying."
"So... yes?"
"No!"
Danryu let out a full laugh—louder, longer than usual. It echoed through the quiet trees.
I rolled my eyes, grinning as I leaned my head back.
"...You're weird, Danryu."
"You're the one who bit it out of my mouth."
"Shut up."