CHAPTER 30: REVENGE!
At that moment, Bumb lay motionless on the ground.
Meanwhile, Ren's and Raimen's beams had collided. The nearby city of Zimps was practically completely illuminated. The sky was washed in blue and red light. Soldiers waited in panic. A curfew had been imposed on the citizens. Everyone waited with great anxiety and attention for the outcome of this battle. Panc was still lying motionless on the ground—breathing, but unconscious.
When the two beam attacks ended, Raimen's Flame Beam had come out far superior. But it hadn't reached Ren. Because standing in front of Ren was Kaito. Kaito's arms were still glowing with spirit energy, his feet planted firmly on the ground, his eyes filled with determination.
"Ren, fall back a bit. Recover your Ren."
Ren immediately objected. His blue hair was plastered to his forehead with sweat, but his blue eyes were still sharp.
"No! I came here to fight, not to rest, Kaito."
"I know. But if I hadn't stepped in, you would have been badly injured."
The moment Kaito said this, he deactivated the Spirit Zan he had created earlier and immediately attacked. And he used a new technique. But he didn't do it intentionally.
As Kaito moved toward Raimen, the Djinn inside him—Soul—spoke to him. His voice echoed in Kaito's mind, deep and cold.
"Hey, brat."
Kaito paused for a moment.
"Huh? S-Soul, is that you?"
"Yes. Now stop stuttering and listen to me. You can't approach that man just like that. You need to use your spirit power."
"What do you mean?"
"I will share my power with you again. But sharing my power without you wanting it is dangerous for you. That's why we can't do this constantly, understand?"
Kaito thought to himself: "So this is why I struggle more each time."
"I understand. But why are you helping me?"
"We'll talk about that later. When I say three, jump forward, got it?"
"Got it."
"One… two… three… now!"
Kaito lunged forward at that exact moment, and the instant he moved, he suddenly found himself right in front of Raimen. The distance had closed in an instant. Raimen's eyes widened in shock—he hadn't expected this speed.
Kaito reflexively used a technique.
"SPIRIT FIST!"
Kaito's fist instantly turned white. Spirit energy spread from his fingertips to his shoulder. And Kaito threw his fist with tremendous force right into Raimen's chin.
Raimen couldn't react. The moment the punch landed on his chin, Raimen was sent flying several meters back. He spun through the air, crashed hard to the ground, and rolled several times. Blood dripped from his mouth.
Meanwhile, Bumb was still lying unconscious on the ground. The wound on his chest—the wound from Woli's Dark Severance—was still bleeding. But the blood was black.
Woli slowly lowered his sword.
"You finally got what you deserved."
The moment Woli said this, Bumb's body began to change.
His hair remained yellow, but his body instantly turned pitch black. A massive yellow eye appeared in the center of his body. The eyes on his face disappeared. His mouth had completely widened, made of demonic teeth. Two long black horns had grown from his forehead. The gash on his chest had completely healed. His hands were now made of giant claws.
In short: Bumb had entered his true Djinn form.
The moment Woli saw this, he stepped back. What he saw didn't surprise him—as if he had seen this many times before. There was no fear or panic on his face. Only cold acceptance.
Bumb suddenly appeared standing. His body, which had been lying on the ground, seemed to have risen into the air in an instant.
The team panicked upon seeing Bumb. The soldiers watching from the city couldn't believe their eyes. A wave of panic spread instantly.
"What is that thing?" Kaito whispered. His voice was trembling.
Ren's blue eyes were wide open.
"It's terrifying…"
Aiko's green eyes filled with fear.
"Could that be a D—"
She couldn't finish her sentence. Because Master Rambeel struggled to his feet and spoke. His voice was tired but clear.
"That's a Djinn. A Djinn's true form."
Woli looked at Bumb. His voice was calm.
"So you finally decided to show your true face, huh?"
Bumb's voice was no longer human. It was deep, hoarse, as if every word came from beneath the earth.
"Things won't go well for you from here on, human."
A faint, merciless smile appeared on Woli's lips.
"Do you have any idea how many Djinn like you I've killed?"
He raised his sword.
"This one won't be any different. I will avenge Andre."
Woli attacked at that moment. He coated his sword with Ren, spun it horizontally, and swung. A transparent Ren attack shot from his blade toward Bumb.
Bumb used a new technique.
"DECAY!"
He raised his claw, and the attack hit his claw at that exact moment. Bumb stepped back a few paces, but the attack vanished instantly.
Woli didn't show it, but he was surprised. The Ren attack had disappeared.
Bumb's voice was mocking.
"You don't even need Po, human. Everything I touch decays."
Meanwhile, Raimen had gotten back on his feet. Blood was streaming down his face, but he was still standing.
"L-let's just finish this already. What do you say?"
Bumb attacked. He coated his claws with Black Po and launched consecutive claw attacks at Woli. Woli immediately formed a Zan with his sword, but the Zan vanished instantly wherever the claw struck.
Woli's eyes narrowed.
"His Po is destroying my Zan? I've never seen this before. But it doesn't matter."
Bumb made another downward claw attack at that moment. Just as the claw was about to hit Woli, Woli instantly shifted to the right. The claw missed.
Woli wanted to cut Bumb again, just as he had before. He sent his sword forward. But just as the sword was about to tear through Bumb's chest again, it stopped.
Woli's sword had hit Bumb's Black Earth.
Woli immediately stepped back two paces.
Bumb's voice was mocking.
"I'm not stupid enough to take that attack a second time. Besides, why are you spending so much Ren? Your black sword couldn't touch me earlier? Why are you dodging my claws now? Or can you only use it twice? And you're waiting for the right moment, aren't you?"
His voice deepened.
"You freak. You'll pay for underestimating me."
"BLACK VORTEX!"
Bumb suddenly lunged forward, spinning at incredible speed toward Woli. Woli couldn't react.
BAM!
A massive explosion erupted.
Meanwhile, Raimen launched another attack. He placed his hands on the ground and began to speak.
"I'm sorry, but this ends here. Your master is in a tough spot too. I'll finish you off quickly, then go handle him just as fast."
Raimen shouted.
"FLAME GEYSER!"
Ten geysers instantly formed in the ground. But there was a problem. These geysers weren't spewing water—they were spewing flames. And the holes kept shifting positions.
Master Rambeel immediately shouted.
"Be careful! Those geysers will erupt with flames!"
At that moment, a hole appeared beneath Rambeel. Thanks to his speed, he immediately slid aside. At that instant, a destructive-level flame erupted from the hole. When it reached the sky, it began to scatter in all directions.
Raimen grinned.
"You're done for now!"
Meanwhile, the explosion had ended. Bumb sensed something was wrong and immediately stepped back. When the dust cloud cleared, Woli was unharmed. His clothes were dusty, but he had no wounds.
Bumb's voice filled with shock.
"Finally! You won't be able to use that damned technique again."
His eyes gleamed.
"This fight ends here."
Bumb attacked with his final technique.
"ULTIMATE TECHNIQUE! BLACK DEATH!"
Five Bumbs appeared to his right and five to his left—ten in total. They were all clones. But they all had the same power as Bumb. And black earth flowed endlessly from all their claws. The black earth that touched the ground corroded the earth beneath it.
"Now it's time for you to die, human."
And the real Bumb, along with the other ten Bumbs, attacked at once.
At that moment, Woli's eyes turned red. As if he had seen something. And he attacked without waiting.
"SHADOW TORNADO!"
Woli's sword gleamed pitch black, and he held it horizontally and swung. A black energy shot from his blade, transforming into a black tornado in the air. The five Bumbs coming from the right were caught in this tornado and sucked inside. They were now out of commission.
Bumb's voice cracked with shock.
"H-how? How did he take them out so easily?"
Woli used another attack at that exact moment.
"DIMENSIONAL SEVERANCE! FIVE-FOLD DIMENSIONAL SEVERANCE!"
Woli again held his sword horizontally and swung. Five energy attacks shot from his blade. And all five Bumbs were cut down at once, simultaneously. They all collapsed and began to disappear.
They couldn't heal!
Bumb was left in shock.
"They can't heal? H-how? HOW?"
While Bumb was thinking about this, he didn't wait—he immediately launched his attack. He channeled his remaining Ren into his speed. While already in the air, he suddenly broke the sound barrier and appeared in front of Woli.
Woli knew that if those claws touched him, he would die. But he did nothing.
Bumb, thinking Woli couldn't understand, drove his claw straight into Woli!
BAM!
Another energy explosion erupted. But Bumb's claw had stopped just one centimeter short of Woli.
Bumb asked only one thing.
"Twice, right?"
At that moment, Woli tilted his head to the side, because the claw was moving. It had begun to corrode the invisible wall too.
And Woli stepped forward, speaking as he used another technique.
"Not twice."
He raised his sword. An energy flame began forming around the blade. Crimson, gold, and white colors intertwined.
"I can use this technique three times."
Bumb's eyes widened in horror.
"If you hadn't rushed… maybe you could have beaten me."
At that moment, Woli whispered quietly. His voice was almost like a breath.
"Cosmic Flame."