A groan echoed from the crater.
Then—
A black tendril of ink snapped out and wrapped around a rock.
Eleo pulled himself up slowly, his hair frazzled, one eye twitching.
"Still... not down," he muttered.
"Your bones should be jelly by now," Agharna said with a smirk.
"They are," Eleo groaned. "But I'm too stupid to stay down."
He swayed, took a step, then another. His grin returned. "Now I'm mad."
Agharna's grin only widened.
"Good."
Eleo wiped the blood from his lip and grinned through the pain. "Alright, time for some bunny-style creativity."
A large, bubbling glob of ink formed beside him, pulsing like a heart. It quivered, then compressed into a dark, glossy sphere.
"Ink Ball!" Eleo declared proudly, hopping onto it like it was a trampoline.
Agharna blinked. "...What the hell are you doing?"
"Ink Bounce!" Eleo shouted.
The ball squished under his weight, then launched him like a cannon shot. He flew at Agharna like a speeding bullet, headfirst.
"HEADBUTT COMBO SPECIAL!" Eleo screamed.
CRACK!
His skull slammed into Agharna's nose with a brutal thud. The larger beast stumbled backward with a snarl as Eleo somersaulted past, laughing like a lunatic.
Agharna slowly raised a shaking paw to his face, blood dripping from his nostrils. His eye twitched.
"You... BASTARD!"
His fury exploded. Both his massive paws surged with glowing energy, pulsing with dark crimson light.
"PAW-PAW ATTACK!"
BOOM BOOM BOOM!
A barrage of paw-shaped energy blasts shot toward Eleo like a rapid-fire cannon. Eleo zigzagged and flipped in the air, dodging each one with almost mocking ease.
"You're gonna have to aim better than that, Agharna!"
But Agharna appeared in front of him in a flash.
SLASH!
A deep gash tore through Eleo's chest, cutting clean through his hoodie. His eyes went wide.
"Gah—!"
Then—CHOMP!
Agharna bit down hard into Eleo's shoulder. Fangs pierced flesh.
"AAAAAGH!" Eleo howled, his legs flailing. "HEY! NO BITING! THAT'S ILLEGAL!"
He swung his fist into Agharna's face, but it barely fazed him. The monstrous bear's jaw tightened.
Eleo, in a last-ditch move, spat ink directly into Agharna's eyes.
"GRAH! You little bastard!" Agharna shouted, finally letting go.
Eleo stumbled back, clutching his shoulder. "Man... what the hell is wrong with you?!"
He charged forward again, fist cocked. "Round two—"
But Agharna's eyes shimmered with that same deadly crimson light.
Too fast!
Before Eleo could launch an attack, Agharna grabbed his arm mid-swing.
CRACK!
One punch to the face.
CRACK!
Another. Then a brutal uppercut to the chin, lifting Eleo off the ground.
"GHK—!"
Agharna drove his fist into Eleo's gut, knocking the wind out of him.
Before he could even fall, Agharna snatched both of his long ears.
"Oh come on—!"
SLAM! Eleo hit the ground.
SLAM! Again—opposite direction.
SLAM! SLAM! Left, right, up, down, until the earth cratered beneath them.
Spinning like a whirlwind, Agharna hurled Eleo into a tree, the trunk splintering on impact. Eleo gasped, barely conscious, his arms twitching.
Agharna approached calmly, towering over him. He grabbed Eleo by the throat and hoisted him up.
"You're not even worth killing properly," he hissed.
His other paw glowed, crackling with radiant energy.
"Bear Paw."
He placed his glowing palm against Eleo's chest—right over his heart.
Eleo barely managed a smirk. "Still... not done yet."
"Shut up."
BOOOOM!
The explosion was massive—sending Eleo hurtling across the island, his body tumbling through the air like a ragdoll. He crashed into the ground, smoke trailing behind him, motionless.
Agharna stood there, panting slightly, lowering his smoldering paw.
"Tch… Let's see if the brat gets up from that."
Smoke still curled from the crater where Eleo had crashed, but suddenly—
Shuffle.
A footstep echoed.
Agharna froze, eyes narrowing. "...No."
Through the dust, a silhouette appeared—wobbling, hunched… but standing.
Eleo's emerged from the smoke, one eye swollen shut, mouth bloodied—but grinning like a maniac.
"You... gotta hit harder than that... if you wanna stop a bunny."
Agharna's jaw clenched, disbelief creeping across his face. "Are you kidding me?! What is wrong with you?!"
He pointed a clawed finger, shaking with rage. "I've burned you, crushed you, mauled you—and you still get up?! It's like nothing works on you!"
Eleo wiped his mouth with his forearm. "Yeah… my body's screaming at me to lay down, but…"
He leaned forward, eyes burning with resolve. "I made a promise—to kick your smug, bear-faced ass."
Agharna's paw twitched. "He… he might even beat me," he muttered to himself. "No. No! He can't beat me! I'm Agharna—the strongest animal in World 1! I won't lose to a walking ink stain!"
With a sudden move, Eleo tossed out a thick strand of glossy black rope—INK ROPE!
It lashed around Agharna's leg like a whip, tightening with a SNAP.
"What the—?!"
Eleo yanked with all his might, swinging the massive beast around like a flail.
"This is PAYBACK!!"
He spun faster and faster, the wind howling—then heaved the rope upward, launching Agharna sky-high.
"AND NOW—!"
BOOM!
Eleo slammed him back into the earth like a meteor.
The ground cracked. Dust flew. The ink rope sizzled and vanished.
Agharna groaned, crawling out of the crater. "For the love of—!"
He roared and charged at full speed, claws flaring.
Eleo leaned back, narrowly dodging the haymaker.
"I'm starting to get used to you," Eleo said with a wink, side-stepping with ease.
Agharna's eyes gleamed again—crimson red.
Eleo tensed. "There it is again! Why do your eyes keep doing that?!"
Agharna ignored the question, surging forward again. Eleo ducked low and wound up his leg—
"INK BARR—"
THWACK!
Agharna's fist slammed into Eleo's cheek mid-technique.
He didn't stop—he grabbed Eleo by the face, squeezing tightly.
"WHAT ARE YOU?!" he snarled. "How are you still fighting after everything I've done?!"
Eleo's answer was simple:
CHOMP.
He bit into Agharna's palm, hard.
"AAAAAGH! YOU SON OF A—!"
Agharna screamed, flinging him away. Eleo flipped midair, landing on both feet, wobbling but upright.
He huffed. "Jeez, you really don't taste good. All fur and ego."
Agharna seethed, cradling his bleeding hand. "You little rat!"
Eleo pointed. "And seriously—what's with the color-changing eyes?! Are you hiding some super form or something?"
"Tch… You don't know?" Agharna scoffed, turning his head. "Then I ain't telling. Figure it out yourself, genius."
"Jerk!" Eleo shouted, sprinting forward.
His fist rocketed up—uppercut!
Agharna stumbled back, but retaliated instantly, slamming his paw down onto Eleo's head.
Eleo gut-punched him in response.
POW! Agharna landed a cross to the face.
Then—they moved in unison.
Left hook. Right jab. Elbow. Uppercut. Knee. Backhand.
THWAP! BAM! CRACK! WHUMP!
It became a brutal flurry—both fighters exchanging raw, furious blows. Ink flew. Blood flew. Neither backed down.
Agharna gritted his teeth.
Eleo grinned, despite everything.
Their fists collided once more—BOOM!
A shockwave burst out from the impact as they stared each other down, panting, bruised, and wild-eyed.