Hamara too could not place his mind exactly where the resemblance had come from, and he had no time to think.
For today, Kilos was there to have some fun, and for now, he felt an admiration for Hamara. With the skills he displayed, he surely would do well as a fighter. Johnny couldn't tell how he had been brought down in the first place, but there was no turning back for him now.
Though the contender was a level three, Kilos couldn't understand how he had ended up competing against someone younger. By standard, there should have been a rule in place so the junior boys would know how to respect their seniors.
"I have Skill 9, so don't joke with me," Hamara boasted, laughing sarcastically to ridicule the contender.
No one mentioned the name of the senior, but the cheers all went to Hamara.
"You can use your watch—you might get lucky," Culex teased the dumbfounded senior, tempting him to give up his precious possession after all other valuables had been taken.
The senior boy turned the back of his watch to reveal a name boldly inscribed: Johnny.
"Oh, his name is Johnny!" Culex screamed with excitement as he quickly calculated the worth of the golden watch. "Can you see that?"
Johnny didn't seem like the kind of person who would easily part with such a precious gift—one handed down by his mother on his seventeenth birthday.
"Don't give up yet! It's your turn to win!" someone shouted from within the crowd.
Culex ran across the center, positioning himself between the two contenders. Leaning in close, he lowered his mouth to Johnny's ear and whispered something. Whatever he said wasn't audible to anyone else, but it was clearly an enticement. Their eyes interlocked.
Without further hesitation, Johnny laid down his cherished watch along with all the money on the table. His action ignited fresh excitement in the audience. Even Kilos was engrossed now, eager to see how it would end.
Culex and Hamara exchanged glances, silently scheming as they attempted to play a fast one on Johnny, who stood firm with the determination to recover everything he had lost. Their signals and gestures confirmed Kilos' suspicions—they were clearly up to something.
The two clashed. As a result, Johnny clutched his chest, feeling as if he had slammed into a rock.
"Come on, Johnny!" Hamara urged, daring him to come back for more.
How foolish of Johnny not to realize that he was fighting three boys at once. He bounced back into the center, curving his blow downward—but again, he never touched Hamara.
As before, Hamara leaped toward him. The three-in-one tactic returned—Johnny managed to block one, but two more blows were coming: one to his stomach, and the other straight at his forehead.
Covering his face, Johnny's vision went blank as he staggered backward. He couldn't see Hamara, yet he didn't call off the fight.
"What will you do now?" Hamara asked, seeking permission to walk away with the watch.
"No!" The refusal was firm and final from Johnny.
"In that case, whatever you see..." Hamara said, his words laced with something terrible.
Hamara roared. His body transformed—his upper part became dog-like, while his lower half took on the form of a half-crocodile. His tail curved and swayed, ready to unleash its fury on the blind boy.
Truly, Hamara had cheated in the fight and didn't deserve the advantage he had over a younger student. Kilos Barber found himself in a dilemma—should he let this continue to fulfill his plan for a fun day, or intervene again and risk Hamara's wrath?
The audience worsened matters by lauding Hamara, to Johnny's disadvantage. Their cheers provoked Kilos into action.
The winner seemed obvious now, but Johnny's real concern was the watch.
"Enough!" Kilos shouted, gripping Hamara by the tail. "You don't have to kill to be champion."
That statement echoed powerfully in Hamara's mind—and in Culex's as well.
"You again," Hamara reacted, now fully recalling Kilos' identity.
He had long planned to beat up Kilos, and this seemed like a perfect opportunity to settle their score.
"Vraff!" Hamara pulled his tail away with a sound like scales scraping against stone.
He lashed out his tail at Kilos. Too late to dodge, Kilos braced himself and allowed the tail to swing him around. But soon he realized what Hamara was trying to do. Skillfully, the tail brought him straight toward the creature's mouth.
But then—
'Kraaaasssshhhh!!!'
A deafening sound erupted from the clash between the tail and the creature's gaping mouth. In an astonishing move, Kilos allowed his body to be flung beyond Hamara's reach, evading the attack with breathtaking skill.
Hamara was shocked. He realized too late that he had underestimated Kilos. Perhaps he should have picked another time for this encounter.
Despite his surprise, Hamara still sought a way to defeat Kilos. He didn't want to be humbled—especially not after doing that to a senior.
Why was karma arriving so soon? Or was it?
He returned to his leaping tactic, producing three identical fighters, each with a killing instinct. All of them charged at Kilos at once, ready to bring him down. But what Hamara didn't know was that Kilos' attainment of Awakening far surpassed whatever he was bringing.
Like separating the chaff from the wheat, Kilos aimed at the center with his fist. With that single blow, he split the illusion—causing each entity to stand alone: Hamara, Awakening, and Summoned Force. The three soulical personalities stood helpless before him.
This was not the kind of story people were used to hearing. No one had ever recorded an event where the elements of manyo fore—soul-mastery—had been drawn out like this. Normally, only one entity would appear. But now, all three stood revealed.
"Will you return all to him?" Kilos Barber's voice was calm, but his words carried the weight of an order. He was speaking to Culex, who had just peed in his trousers from fear.
Culex obeyed without hesitation. Johnny reclaimed what was his and left—not in celebration, but in awe.
Kilos Barber hadn't spoken with the doctor since the previous night. How could he have almost forgotten her?
Le-an had the right to know everything about his new status—nothing should be hidden. As much as he wanted to tell her, what happened along the way made him reconsider.
"Maybe I should go to the hospital later," Kilos thought aloud.
"Hospital? I looked for you there before, but your friend denied any cordial relationship with you," Lantern Monroo's harsh words stabbed into Kilos like a sword to the heart.
Monroo claimed to have visited Dr. Le-an.
"What?" Kilos demanded, needing him to repeat what he had just said.
But Monroo didn't respond. Instead, he changed the subject.
"Why are you avoiding me? This is between leaders. You can bring some of your students along if you like." Monroo always carried a tone of mockery whenever he addressed Kilos.
"Why do you detest me? We once lived together," Kilos reminded him. "If I broke my wrist, you were supposed to cover for me. But you—Garet, Yaksa, and Skule—were happy, weren't you?"
The tension between them grew. Neither man was willing to lower his voice for the other.
"You didn't qualify to be in our group, but you got a chance—and you blew it. That's on you," Monroo pressed. "You're weak, and you always will be."
"You think so? Your thoughts deceive you," Kilos warned. "Don't be fooled."
Monroo hadn't come alone. He had boys with him. Kilos wasn't perturbed. He felt sorry for them—they had placed their trust in someone like Monroo. Still, Kilos believed that everyone had the right to choose their own mentor.
"When is the challenge? Choose your date, time, and place," Monroo asked boastfully, like a man proposing to a woman.
"You really want to fight me? …Alright then. Make the necessary arrangements and send one of your dogs to me. I'll definitely honor it," Kilos replied with scorching words—not just aimed at Monroo, but also at his followers, whom he had just called dogs.
Kilos had directly confronted the devil—once and for all.