"Uncle Marco! That's Uncle Marco on the gallows!" Zhao shouted in panic upon seeing Marco crucified in the middle of the battlefield.
Yamile looked at Marco's wounded condition with a gaze filled with rage. Both she and Zhao were currently in the hilly area leading to the coastline, allowing them to see Marco, Tora, Sora, and his troops from a distance.
The forested hills gave Yamile and Zhao a perfect hiding spot. Especially since they were over 500 meters away from Sora, the demon Weigow couldn't detect their presence.
"What should we do?" Yamile asked Zhao.
They had been sitting side by side, watching Tora fight Sora's army. But when Yamile spoke, Zhao didn't respond. Even his breathing could no longer be heard.
"Zhao! Where are you?!" Yamile gasped when she turned to her side and found her younger brother missing.
Her eyes scanned the hills in every direction. Eventually, she saw Zhao running down a slope. He must've been furious seeing Uncle Marco tortured like that, unable to wait any longer to help him.
"This kid is always so impatient!" Yamile grumbled.
Yamile decided not to join Zhao and Tora. She needed to search for the captured children. Of course, she wanted to save Uncle Marco, but Zhao and Tora were enough for that. They had to divide the task.
That's why Yamile leapt into the sea, braving the fierce waves to spy on Sora's base. She kept swimming closer to the shore, peeking from between rocks. There she saw a room heavily guarded—certainly where the children were kept.
But this time Yamile made a mistake. She moved closer to the shoreline, ignoring Sora's detection ability. She had entered an area within Sora's sensing range. Her presence was now exposed.
---
"They're here!" Sora laughed.
"Who?" asked Magenta, standing beside him.
"Someone's targeting the children. You and Goly take care of the monkey man. I'll deal with the one hiding in the sea," Sora said, immediately leaving with a few of his men.
Not long after, Zhao arrived and launched a strong slash toward the crowd of Sora's henchmen. "Uncle Marco!" he shouted.
But the attack was dodged. The transformed Poccog and Kalanak demons swarmed Zhao like a swarm of bees attacking prey.
"Zhao!" Tora yelled, startled by Zhao's sudden assault.
Tora quickly rushed to attack Goly. The fire-powered Banas demon charged at him with a flaming punch that released a massive wave of fire.
Tora summoned all his strength to leap and dodge the flames. Though he avoided the brunt of it, the heat scorched his left leg. A burn appeared instantly, but Tora ignored it. Covered in the white fur of a monkey demon, he dove at Goly.
"RAAAHH!!" Tora roared, swinging his club and smashing the air with immense force. His strike hit Goly in the chest, sending the demon flying back and crashing into a pile of rocks.
Meanwhile, Zhao was still dodging relentless attacks from the Poccog and Kalanak demons. They were fast and ferocious, but Zhao had grown stronger. With sharp maneuvers and swift sword strikes, he took down one enemy after another.
"Zhao! They're coming from above too!" Tora warned, spotting Kalanak demons flying low and preparing to attack from the air.
Zhao quickly rolled to the side, dodging their strike, and retaliated by throwing a small dagger. It pierced one demon's eye, making it scream and fall.
On the other side...
Yamile continued spying. Five guards stood watch over the location. Taking them down would be easy for her, but a commotion might draw other demons nearby.
Yamile slowly crept closer, hiding behind rocks and fishing boats. Suddenly, she heard loud laughter from the battlefield. It grew louder—heading toward her.
Sure enough, Kalanak demons flew swiftly toward her. "Damn it! They found me," she cursed.
Yamile instantly drew her trident, ready to fight. But before she could act, a blow struck her from the side. Sora appeared beside her in an instant and hit her hard.
Her body was flung several meters into the sea.
"How dare you approach my children!" Sora shouted in fury.
The attack didn't stop there. The Kalanak demons sprang into action. Thousands of sharp spears, fired from their hair, rained down on Yamile.
But the attack had no effect. Yamile shielded herself with a barrier of water, the spears unable to pierce it.
"You filthy woman! How dare you kidnap innocent children," Yamile spat as she dropped her shield once the barrage stopped.
The area around Yamile trembled, water rising around her and swirling into a powerful vortex. A green aura radiated from her body and trident. It was the awakening of Niroki's power.
"I don't have time to waste on garbage like you. Let's fight to the death," Yamile snapped.
The Kalanak and Poccog demons attacked again, launching more long-range attacks. But before they could reach her, Yamile created clones of herself from water. A hundred clones burst forth, attacking Sora's forces—especially the Kalanak and Poccog demons.
The clones also assisted Zhao, who had been overwhelmed.
"Sis!" Zhao cried out in relief.
"Why are there so many of you now?" he exclaimed in surprise, seeing all the Yamile clones.
Zhao couldn't help but smile slightly. He felt calmer knowing Yamile had unleashed her full power as Niroki, the queen of the sea. The once-dominant Kalanak and Poccog demons lost their formation as the clones attacked from every direction.
Tora, who had been fighting Goly, finally breathed easier. "Now we're even!" he grinned.
Meanwhile, Sora was starting to panic. His numerical advantage had disappeared. Now, their powers were balanced, and he had to fight seriously to win.
Sora let out a thunderous growl. A black aura surged from his body, shaking the earth. Rocks and pebbles floated around him, responding to his dark power.
His body began to transform—growing taller, now over 2 meters, and becoming fatter. His chest enlarged, covering his stomach. His hair turned pitch black, longer, and disheveled. His face now resembled that of an old crone, with glowing red eyes and fangs.
"Why did you turn so ugly?" Yamile mocked.
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