On the other side, Mono pierced through several walls before finally stopping in a room. His entire body ached, but Mono still tried to stand up. He began to rise, though his body still trembled slightly. Not long after, Mono sensed something approaching at high speed. He immediately dropped his body backward, and suddenly, something shot right above him, crashing into the wall behind him and breaking through it.
Mono's breathing became rapid. His heart pounded violently, and cold sweat dripped down his entire body.
After a moment, Mono attempted to stand again. But for some reason, his legs and arms felt weak.
Mono looked back at the destroyed wall, and from within, he saw the figure of a gorilla-like Junoi. Its teeth were sharp. Drool poured out, drenching its mouth. One of its eyes was nearly torn from its socket, while the other glowed bright red.
The Junoi beat its chest and then charged at Mono, aiming a punch at him. Mono tried to block by crossing his arms, but the moment the Junoi's punch landed, Mono was sent flying hard, crashing through the wall behind him.
Without delay, the Junoi rushed at Mono again. Seeing this, Mono tried to get up as fast as possible. When the Junoi was dangerously close, Mono leaped sideways, barely dodging it. The Junoi missed and crashed into the wall in front of it. Its head went through the wall, but its body remained on the other side.
Meanwhile, Mono, still mid-air from his jump, saw a long piece of broken wood flying toward him. He quickly caught it, and instantly, the wood transformed into a spear. Mono immediately infused the spear with LYNK energy and tried to steady himself for landing. As he landed, he stomped his left foot hard, piercing through the floor and forcing himself to stay upright. Mono then took a stance. His left hand pointing at the Junoi while his right hand prepared to throw the spear.
Then whoosh Mono hurled the spear, and it shot forward at incredible speed. The moment it struck the Junoi BOOM!! the spear exploded with a massive blast, destroying nearby objects and sending them flying.
Mono, nearly blown away, stomped his right foot into the floor, reinforcing his left leg to keep himself from being thrown back. He crossing both of his arms shielded his face.
After a while, the explosion's effects began to fade. Nothing was left flying around, only thick smoke filling the room. Soon, the smoke slowly dissipated, but a strange shadow remained in the middle. And when the smoke cleared completely, the gorilla Junoi stood firmly, unharmed, facing Mono.
"Hah?!" Mono's eyes widened.
The Junoi charged at Mono again, swinging its fist. Mono wanted to dodge, but his legs were still stuck in the floor. The Junoi closed in. Just as its punch was about to hit Mono's face. Mono reflexively dropped his body backward while forcefully pulling himself down, making his entire body phase through the floor until it was level with the ground. The Junoi missed once more.
Mono quickly forced himself free from the wooden floor, sending broken pieces flying. Swiftly, he caught one of the wooden fragments and transformed it into an axe, then lunged at the Junoi.
Seeing Mono charge, the Junoi rapidly beat its chest before counter-charging. When they were close enough, the Junoi clenched both fists, raised them high, and prepared to slam them down on Mono. But just as it swung, Mono jumped high, dodging the attack. And the Junoi's fists struck the floor, shattering it and the surrounding area.
Mono now airborne above the Junoi, gripped his axe tightly with both hands, ready to strike down on the Junoi's head. With the axe infused with LYNK energy, Mono slammed it down with full force. Yet the axe didn't pierce or even scratch the Junoi.
"Tch, its skin is too hard."
The Junoi immediately grabbed Mono's arm, spun him around, and then hurled him into a wall with such force that the wall cracked.
Mono slumped down, panting heavily. Blood dripped from his head. As he caught his breath, he glared back at the Junoi.
"Tch, this Junoi is really troublesome. What can I even do now?" he muttered.
***
One year ago, during training with Mr. Kuroto.
At that time, in the field behind the headquarters, Mono was touching a large boulder. He seemed deeply focused. For about two hours, he kept his hand on the rock with his eyes closed. At the edge of the field, Mr. Kuroto was napping under a tree. Suddenly, the boulder transformed into hundreds of smaller rocks that scattered everywhere. One of them hit Kuroto's head, jolting him awake.
"Ouch ouch ouch. Oh, you did it?" Kuroto asked, standing up immediately.
"Yeah," Mono answered shortly.
"Good, you've improved," Mr. Kuroto said.
"I think I've mastered my LYNK technique now. I can transform any object, big or small," Mono declared.
"Hmm..." Kuroto stroked his chin. "But in my opinion, this is just the beginning."
"Hah?"
"I'll give you a task. Try transforming a living being," Kuroto said.
"Hah? Are you crazy? Living beings have LYNK energy flowing through them. That's impossible! I can transform objects because they don't contain LYNK energy. I can't even transform magical objects!" Mono protested.
"If you can't transform them because of their LYNK energy, why not just transform their LYNK energy?" Kuroto asked.
"Is that even possible?" Mono questioned.
"We won't know until you try. It's up to you when you want to complete this task," Kuroto said in a low voice. "Trust me. If you attempt it, you'll be able to defeat strong enemies with just your bare hands."
***
"That task, huh..." Mono murmured as he stood back up. But this time, he didn't take any stance.
The gorilla Junoi charged again, aiming another punch at Mono.
"Calm down. Don't focus on transforming its body. Focus on transform its LYNK energy," Mono muttered, his right hand emitting a LYNK energy aura.
The Junoi was now extremely close, swinging its arm. Just as its fist was about to hit Mono's face, but Mono caught its punch with his right hand.
The Junoi was stunned. Mono had stopped its punch without budging an inch.
Mono then crushed the Junoi's hand, and instantly, its arm shattered effortlessly. Despite its body supposedly being incredibly tough.
The Junoi quickly regenerated its right arm and began throwing a barrage of punches at Mono. But Mono just stood there, taking every hit without flinching or showing any sign of pain. When the Junoi tried to slam both fists down on him, its own arms shattered instead.
Without hesitation, Mono delivered a punch to the Junoi's stomach. Instantly obliterating its abdomen and leaving a massive hole. Not stopping there, Mono leaped and kicked the Junoi's head, smashing it to pieces.
The Junoi collapsed immediately, slowly dissolving into red smoke. Mono stood still, watching it fade away. But just as most of its body disappeared, a card emerged from its remains before vanishing into the red smoke.
"A card?"
Suddenly, an explosion sounded behind Mono. He turned around warily and saw another Junoi standing before him.
"Still not done chasing me, huh? Do you really want the Arabes Seal I'm carrying that badly?" Mono asked, taking a fighting stance.