24. Crimson Rage

The dark voice inside Bahaa's mind spoke:

"I didn't expect the Light Element User to be defeated... I thought he was stronger than that."

Bahaa smiled coldly.

"It doesn't matter."

"I'll put an end to this myself."

The moment he finished speaking, Wail lunged at him.

His sky-blue aura exploded, and he vanished in a flash of electricity.

He appeared directly in front of Bahaa and drove a powerful punch into his stomach.

Then he grabbed Bahaa by the head and slammed him into the ground.

He lifted Bahaa by the arm and kicked him into the sky.

Before Bahaa could get away, Wail grabbed his foot and pulled him back down, sending him crashing into the ground again.

Then a barrage of punches rained down on him without pause.

Wail was attacking with everything he had.

Bahaa, however, simply took the blows with a smile.

His eyes began glowing purple.

Wail sensed the danger and immediately leaped backward.

But...

Bahaa had already appeared behind him.

A side kick sent Wail flying hundreds of meters.

Before he could crash into the mountain, Bahaa appeared beneath him and struck him upward.

Then he appeared above him again and knocked him back down.

He repeated the same attack over and over.

Every time Wail tried to regain his balance, Bahaa struck him before he could.

At the last moment, Power Pulse ignited over Wail's aura.

He vanished in a flash and appeared behind Bahaa, throwing a side kick.

But Bahaa vanished as well.

He appeared behind Wail and fired a dark beam that sent him toward the ground.

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Just before impact, Wail quickly canceled Power Pulse to keep his body from collapsing from exhaustion.

Bahaa descended slowly, the smile never leaving his face.

"The fight is starting to get boring."

"What do you say... I show you my power?"

Wail didn't answer.

Bahaa smiled.

"I'll take that as a yes."

He raised his hand.

Purple dark energy began flowing from his body.

It grew denser and denser until it exploded.

Bahaa emerged from within it.

His hair had turned light purple, and his eyes radiated the same color.

"This transformation..."

"It resembles yours."

Wail didn't understand what he meant.

Bahaa laughed.

"Looks like you don't know anything."

"When a warrior fully understands their element and masters it, they reach a new stage of evolution."

"That evolution manifests itself as a transformation."

"It is called... an Elemental Transformation."

Wail looked at himself.

Then he calmly said:

"Good... let's continue."

Bahaa smiled provocatively.

"You're not even going to thank me for the information?"

Wail vanished and appeared directly in front of him.

His arm filled with electricity, preparing for a finishing blow.

But...

Bahaa grabbed his wrist.

At that very moment, the electricity completely dissipated.

Wail's eyes widened.

A blow struck him over the head.

He crashed into the ground.

Before he could get back up, Bahaa kicked him into the sky and formed a massive sphere of darkness, hurling it toward him.

The sphere swallowed Wail completely.

Inside, successive explosions struck him from every direction, leaving him unable to move.

Then...

The sphere exploded.

Bahaa lowered his hand.

But...

Wail emerged from the smoke.

Power Pulse returned, covering his Elemental Transformation, and he charged forward, throwing two punches.

Bahaa easily dodged them.

But the third...

It struck him in the face.

Yet...

He didn't move.

Bahaa slowly turned his head toward Wail and smiled.

Then a black aura erupted over his purple transformation.

He grabbed Wail's arm.

"You're not the only one who has mastered this technique."

Black Power Pulse condensed around his fist.

Then he delivered a direct punch that exploded against Wail's chest, sending him crashing into the ground.

Power Pulse faded from his body, leaving only his Elemental Transformation.

Wail rose with difficulty, gasping for breath.

"Power Pulse... impossible."

Bahaa approached him.

"You've only recently entered the world of combat."

"Did you really think you were the only one who trained?"

"Or the only one who gets stronger?"

Wail regained his balance and released his sky-blue aura again.

But it was much weaker than before.

Bahaa didn't give him even a second.

He vanished and appeared in front of him.

He drove his knee into Wail's ribs, followed by another punch to his jaw.

Bahaa gave him no chance to catch his breath, nor even to think.

The fight was over within moments.

Wail could do nothing but take the blows.

Before he fell, Bahaa grabbed him by the neck and slowly began choking him.

Black aura poured from his body and wrapped itself around Wail.

Wail's eyes gradually began turning black, and his aura took on a dark hue.

"Don't resist. Everything will end here."

"Your training, your friends, your memories..."

"Your old life."

Bahaa moved closer.

"I'll make you see the truth."

"And from today on... you'll live for my goal alone."

Wail tried to break free, but he couldn't.

On the other side, Adam and Noah tried to intervene.

But their opponents stopped them.

Bahaa continued:

"The story of that warrior will end before it even begins..."

"The one who thought he could challenge those stronger than him."

"How weak you are... how pathetic."

"If it were up to me... I'd kill you right now."

"But... you're lucky. You possess the power I've been searching for."

The black aura completely covered Wail's body, and his features began losing all emotion.

Then Bahaa said with a cold smile:

"You know, once I get everything I want... I'll kill you and all of your friends."

He paused for a moment, then whispered:

"As for Amira... I'll make you kill her with your own hands."

At that moment...

All sound stopped.

Memories flashed before Wail's eyes.

The laughter of his friends.

Yassin's words:

"I rely on you."

Amira's smile and the promise he had made to her:

"Everything will be alright."

His sky-blue aura exploded, tearing through the darkness around him.

The black aura vanished completely.

Bahaa took a step back, staring in shock.

Energy began gathering around Wail with terrifying intensity.

The ground cracked, and rocks rose around him.

He clutched his neck, gasping for breath.

But...

The red aura began to overwhelm the sky-blue aura.

Wail slowly raised his head.

"I'll stop you..."

Bahaa frowned.

"What?"

Wail raised his head completely, determination filling his eyes.

"I'll stop you, and I'll bring everyone back."

"And I'll destroy this power... the power that consumed your mind."

Bahaa smiled provocatively.

"I can't wait to see you try."

In the next moment, the red aura swallowed the entirety of the sky-blue energy.

Wail's hair and eyes turned crimson red.

Power Pulse had completely merged with his Elemental Transformation after having been separate before.

He screamed at the top of his voice:

"I'LL STOP YOU HERE!!"