The battlefield was in chaos.
**Thane, Karael, and Elyas** had thrown everything they had at Vinay, but **he was still standing.** Unshaken. Untouched. **A force of nature.**
And now—**he was moving.**
Each step he took sent cracks spider-webbing across the ground. **The air itself trembled.** His golden-red aura twisted unnaturally, as if reality itself bent under his sheer presence.
Karael gritted his teeth. **"He's toying with us."**
Thane wiped the blood from his lips, grinning. **"Damn right he is."**
Elyas stayed silent. His mind raced for strategies, but **nothing was working.** They had landed a perfect attack—and it had done **nothing.**
**And now, Vinay was about to retaliate.**
Before anyone could react—
**Vinay disappeared.**
**BOOM!**
In less than a fraction of a second, he was in front of **Thane.**
**A single punch landed.**
The shockwave **erased everything in a mile-wide radius.**
Thane's body **was sent flying.** He crashed through ruins, through solid rock, through the battlefield itself—**until he was no longer visible.**
The sky turned **red** from the impact.
Karael barely had time to move before Vinay **appeared behind him.**
**"Too slow."**
A **devastating kick** sent Karael hurling into the sky, his body spinning like a comet.
Elyas launched an energy blast in desperation—**but Vinay caught it.**
With his **bare hands.**
And then—**he crushed it.**
The explosion sent Elyas tumbling backward, his body skidding across the battlefield.
Within seconds—**all three warriors were down.**
Vinay stood alone, his aura flickering like a sun about to explode.
His **golden eyes** scanned the battlefield.
And then—he looked toward **Manav.**
High above, **Manav sat on the ruined palace steps.**
He had been watching everything. **Every attack. Every movement. Every outcome.**
**And he did not move.**
His cold, calculating eyes followed Vinay's movements like a chess player watching a game unfold exactly as he had predicted.
A whisper left his lips.
**"If my calculations are right… we'll win this."**
His voice had **no emotion.**
No excitement.
No concern.
Just a simple, **absolute certainty.**
Vinay may have been **strong.**
But Manav had already **seen the future.**
And in the end—**it would not be Vinay's victory.**
Deep inside the ruined palace, **Ryan Jim, Dain, and Liora** lay inside an underground chamber.
The air was filled with **healing aura.** Light orbs floated around, working to **restore their bodies.**
Ryan Jim groaned, rubbing his forehead. **"Damn… That guy Idris hit harder than I thought."**
Liora exhaled, her body still aching from her battle with Rudra. **"We need to get back out there."**
Dain, however, stayed silent.
His mind was elsewhere.
**The image of Kiran's last moments still haunted him.**
The way Rudra had **ended him without hesitation.**
**"Let the strongest survive. The lost ones have no value."**
Those words echoed inside his head, refusing to leave.
Dain clenched his fists.
Would he have done the same?
Was that the true nature of battle?
He didn't know.
But one thing was certain—**when he recovered, he would have to face Rudra again.**
And this time—**he needed an answer.**
Thane **rose from the rubble.**
His body was broken, but his **will was not.**
Karael **descended from the sky, coughing blood.**
Elyas **forced himself up, his vision blurring.**
Yet none of them backed down.
Because in front of them—**Vinay stood waiting.**
And if they didn't stop him—**no one would.**
The battle was **far from over.**