Eleo dashed forward with a wide grin, arm cocked back as he launched the first strike at Agharna's face.
CLANG.
Agharna's massive hand snapped up, catching the blow mid-air with a loud metallic thud. His clawed fingers closed around Eleo's fist with terrifying ease.
"Hmph," Agharna scoffed. He flung Eleo backward with one arm, raising his own fist and swinging it like a hammer. Eleo barely ducked, stumbling as Agharna's swipe carved through the air like a guillotine.
"Hey, hey—wait!" Eleo blurted, hopping back with both arms raised. "Let's fight on another island!"
Agharna froze mid-step, his brow furrowing. "Huh? You just tried to punch me, and now you wanna change locations?"
Eleo stood up straight, suddenly serious. His usual goofy grin gone.
"Yes," he said flatly.
Agharna blinked. Then slowly shrugged. "Alright, kid," he said mockingly, with an exaggerated bow. "Lead the way, your majesty."
They turned and began walking out of the cave side-by-side, like two coworkers leaving a meeting.
Behind them, DuDu shouted, "HEY ELEO! KICK HIS ASS!"
Eleo looked over his shoulder, blinking. "Yeah… still don't remember who you are."
DuDu collapsed to the floor. "HOW COULD YOU!"
"Shh! You idiot!" Doom hissed, crouched low beside the cameraman. "He'll kill us if we make a sound!"
Agharna didn't even look back. "It seems Doom knows his place."
Doom popped up for a second and blurted, "Wh-What? I'm not scared of you!"
He immediately ducked behind the cameraman again. The cameraman just stared forward, deeply confused.
As Agharna and Eleo approached the shoreline, Kenji and Olorun jogged up behind them, still limping slightly from their last battles. Olorun leaned close and whispered, "Uh, Eleo, don't you wanna, y'know… all three of us jump him?"
Kenji rubbed his face. "Olorun, wrong way. You're whispering in my ear."
Olorun blinked. "Oh. Whoops."
Kenji sighed and looked at Eleo. "Are you super duper mega sure about this?"
Agharna grinned, wide and wicked. "The boy's already chosen his fate, blue-hair."
"I won't lose," Eleo said firmly.
"You better not," Olorun muttered.
"Yeah," Kenji added, arms crossed, "or I'll slice you up myself."
Agharna chuckled darkly. "Hurry up, bunny boy."
"Okay, okay," Eleo said, skipping forward. Then, without warning, he leapt onto Agharna's back like a kid climbing a playground slide.
Agharna jolted in surprise. "What the hell are you doing?!"
"I can't swim, dumbass," Eleo said, wrapping his arms around his neck. "You'll have to take me."
Agharna clenched his jaw, clearly seething, but he didn't shake him off. "Tch. Fine."
He dove into the water with Eleo clinging to him like a backpack, slicing through the waves with powerful strokes. They reached the neighboring island quickly, and Agharna threw Eleo off like a sack of rice.
Eleo landed on his feet, shook out his arms, and grinned.
Agharna rolled his neck, his knuckles cracking. "Alright, Eleo. Let's fight. I've crushed stronger than you before breakfast."
Eleo smirked. "Then I hope you skipped breakfast."
Eleo dashed forward, his feet kicking up dirt as he cocked his fist back. "Take this!" he roared, launching a punch at Agharna's smirking face.
But Agharna tilted his head slightly—just enough. The punch missed, grazing air.
"Too slow," Agharna sneered, his leg whipping around in a wide arc.
CRACK!
The kick landed squarely in Eleo's chest, the force sending him rocketing backward like a ragdoll. He crashed through a pair of thick trees, splinters exploding around him, before skidding across the dirt in a heap.
Before Eleo could rise, a shadow loomed above him.
Agharna was already there.
"Disappointing," he muttered, then grabbed Eleo by the face and slammed him into the ground.
The earth quaked under the impact, a crater forming.
But instead of a scream, there was only a strange sloshing noise.
Agharna's grip slipped—his fingers clutched a mass of goo.
Eleo's body melted into black ink, slipping through Agharna's grip and reforming behind him.
WHAM!
A clean punch landed square on Agharna's cheek, whipping his head to the side with a satisfying thud. Eleo flipped back with athletic ease, landing low in a crouch.
Agharna's tongue poked against his lip, testing it for blood. None. But the impact had been real.
"I actually felt that," he said, cracking his neck.
Eleo grinned, standing up. "Yeah? I'm not weak. And I've got a question."
"Oh?" Agharna's eyes narrowed.
"Why the hell do you look like Kuma?"
The air tensed.
Agharna let out a dark chuckle. "Oh, that. Because I am his brother, idiot."
Eleo's face twisted in disbelief. "WHAT!?! Master Kuma is your brother!?"
"'Master,' huh?" Agharna said mockingly. "So he trained you. Cute. Then I'll need to test you. Let's see if you're even worth fighting."
"Tch... fine by me." Eleo clenched his fists, ink swirling around his arms.
He dashed forward again, shouting:
"INK BARRAGE!"
His arms blurred into motion. Dozens of ink-powered punches flew at Agharna with increasing speed and weight. Each one snapped through the air like cannon fire—unstoppable, relentless.
But Agharna's eyes glowed crimson.
Every punch missed.
He weaved like a specter—twisting, tilting, pivoting. One hand behind his back, the other casually guiding his upper body out of the way of every strike. His footwork was surgical, each step minimizing motion, maximizing evasion.
Then—with a flick of his wrist—he caught Eleo's arm.
"What the—!?" Eleo gasped.
"Is this all your training amounts to?" Agharna hissed.
Eleo tried to pull free, but Agharna's grip tightened.
So Eleo reacted fast.
With a roar, he swung his free fist upward. "INK FIST!"
The punch landed.
But this time, the impact was different.
Agharna's head snapped back—and then a blast of inky force exploded from Eleo's fist like a cannon detonating at point-blank.
Agharna flew backward, body twisting midair from the force. But even as he was launched, his feet found the ground. He slid, digging his heels in, claws carving trenches into the earth.
He came to a stop, panting slightly.Wiping ink off his jaw, he growled. "This kid and his damned ink powers... they're starting to annoy me."
In Eleo's mind, the confusion boiled over. This bastard can't be Master Kuma's brother. Master Kuma is nice! He gave me hugs! He made me porridge! How could such a nice bear be related to this jerk?!
Eleo's expression twisted with frustration. "YOU'RE NOT KUMA'S BROTHER!"
Agharna raised an eyebrow, muttering under his breath. "This kid's completely lost it."
With a slap of both hands together, ink surged through Eleo's arms. His palms morphed into the barrel of a cannon. "INK CANNON!" he roared.
A dense burst of pressurized ink shot out like a missile, roaring toward Agharna. But with a scoff, Agharna sidestepped—the blast missed by inches and detonated behind him with a deafening BOOM, sending black sludge into the air like a geyser.
Before the smoke cleared, Agharna charged. His left arm crackled with ominous, dark purple lightning. His hand glowed with intense energy, and veins bulged up his arm.
"BWAR STRIKE!" he shouted.
His fist collided directly with Eleo's arms as the bunny boy crossed them to block. The raw impact sent a thunderous shockwave through the air and launched Eleo like a ragdoll across the field, crashing him through a stack of broken crates near the dock.
Dust flew. Water lapped.
Eleo stumbled up, groaning, his arms shaking. "W-what was that? My arms… ow ow ow ow—my bones feel like noodles."
Agharna stalked toward him, cracks of purple still dancing along his fist. "Still standing?" he said, amused.
Eleo staggered to his feet. "Y-yeah. I said I'd kick your ass, didn't I?"
"Uh-huh," Agharna replied flatly. "Yeah. Keep telling yourself that."
Eleo grit his teeth, steam puffing from his mouth. "Fine... THEN TAKE THIS!"
Ink pulsed through his arms. They warped—stretching, thickening—until both hands ballooned into massive, matte-black mallets. He lunged forward, dragging the hammers along the ground.
"INK HAMMER!"
He brought one down like a meteor, the ground shaking on impact—but Agharna was faster. His fist met the hammer mid-swing, the resulting collision erupting in a deep shockwave.
Eleo swung with the second hammer, but Agharna intercepted again—both of their fists slamming together in a brutal clash of raw strength. Ink splattered. Wind howled. Eleo pushed, snarling through his teeth.
"RRRGHHH—"
Agharna didn't even flinch. "You don't get it. You're fighting a predator... not a punching bag."
Suddenly, Eleo leapt backward and twisted mid-air. His fists reverted to normal as his arms spiraled, then shot forward in a flurry.
"INK BARRAGE!"
Agharna rolled his eyes. "Again? You're just repeating yourself now."
His eyes shimmered a deep crimson.
In a blur, Agharna vanished.
Eleo's punches hit nothing.
"Behind me—?" he thought.
TOO LATE.
"BEAR SLAM!"
Agharna crashed down from above like a meteor, palms wide. He grabbed Eleo mid-air and drove him straight into the dirt.
KRA-KOOM!
The ground fractured. Ink blasted in every direction. The crater they formed was deep enough to bury a wagon. Eleo's body bounced once from the shock before collapsing limp into the pit.
Agharna stood atop the rim, grinning like a demon. "Let's see if the little apprentice still wants to play."