Eleo leapt into the air with chaotic energy, ink swirling around his arms like smoke.
"INK BARRAGE!!" he shouted, his fists morphing into rapid-fire ink gloves, launching a flurry of punches toward Budey and the hulking plant beast.
POW! POW! POW!
Budey didn't flinch.
He sighed as his plant monster's vines twisted and curled, blocking every strike with ease.
"Are you stupid?" Budey said flatly. "You need fire. Ink isn't getting through my vines."
Eleo stopped mid-attack. "...Huh?"
He dropped hard onto the ground with a dusty THUD, lying flat on his back.
His ears twitched as he stared blankly at the sky, eyes wide.
Come on, Eleo… think. THINK! What would smart Eleo do?
His nose scrunched. Silence. Then his face lit up.
"OH! I got it!!" he shouted. Without hesitation, he dropped to the ground and began furiously digging.
Budey narrowed his eyes. "...Is this kid that stupid?"
The plant monster stayed still but tensed slightly.
Seconds passed.
Budey glanced down at his creature. "Just wait. He's gonna pop back up in front of us like an idiot."
Suddenly—
BOOM!!
A burst of dirt exploded inside the shield. Budey spun, caught off guard.
"WHAT?!"
"INK BARRAGE!!" Eleo roared, launching himself out of the ground from behind, already mid-punch, fists coated in swirling black ink.
Budey barely had time to react before a punch cracked into his shoulder.
POW!
The plant monster groaned as vines twisted under the flurry of incoming strikes.
Eleo's eyes burned with wild energy.
"I'M IN THE SHIELD NOW, BABYYYY!!" he shouted. "YOU CAN'T LEAF ME OUT ANYMORE!!"
Budey tried to counter, but his vines tangled, slowed by the sudden rush.
Eleo grinned, fists flying, ink splashing everywhere.
"NEVER UNDERESTIMATE A DUMB BUNNY!!"
The vine shield crumbled, collapsing into withered strands and vanishing like smoke. Eleo landed on his feet, breathing heavy, ink dripping from his arms.
"YES! I did it!" he cheered, throwing both arms up in victory. His ears bounced with every breath.
But the moment was short-lived.
From beneath the battlefield, something stirred—thick, thorn-covered vines lashed upward like tentacles, slamming down toward him with monstrous speed.
"WHOA!!" Eleo yelped, diving out of the way as the ground behind him exploded in a spray of dirt and bark.
BOOM!
Before he could recover, Budey raised his hand and fired a volley of explosive seeds.
"Try dodging this."
The seeds streaked through the air like bullets. Eleo somersaulted to the side as the ground erupted behind him.
KRAKOOM!!
"Oh COME ON already!" Eleo shouted, barely keeping his footing.
The smoke hadn't even cleared when Budey raised both hands, and the earth rumbled.
"Knights—arise."
From the ground, six towering tree warriors emerged. They stepped forward in perfect unison, each thudding step shaking the earth.
Eleo's ears shot straight up. "…Ah crap."
Budey pointed, voice calm and commanding. "Get him."
The Tree Knights charged.
The first one lunged, blade whistling through the air. Eleo ducked low and twisted, ink trailing behind him like smoke. He slammed his palm into the knight's side—INK BURST!—the force launching the knight into a tree with a crunch of bark.
Another knight raised its arm and sliced the air, a razor-sharp current surging at Eleo. He skated back on a trail of ink, avoiding the slash by inches, but two more closed in from both sides.
"Tch—!" Eleo gritted his teeth, forming twin ink blades around his hands. Sparks flew as he blocked their attacks, the clash echoing through the clearing.
CLANG! CLANG!
One knight stepped in and tried to impale him with a thrust. Eleo twisted mid-air, grabbing its arm, using the momentum to flip over and land behind it. He drove an ink punch into its back, splintering part of its armor.
BOOM!
Still, the other knights didn't stop. Two more charged in, weapons raised.
"They just keep coming…" Eleo muttered, panting, eyes darting between them all.
His fists clenched, and dark liquid began swirling around his palms.
"INK CANNON!" he yelled, slamming his hands together. They morphed into a thick, ink-black barrel, his arms vibrating from the pressure.
The cannon unleashed a roaring blast of ink, surging like a black tsunami toward the advancing Tree Knights. The force of the blast cracked through the battlefield, ink smashing into their raised wooden shields. The knights staggered, feet skidding through the dirt, thick black splatter raining down around them.
Eleo dropped his arms and panted, sweat dripping down his cheek. "That got you, right?"
But the knights didn't fall. They marched forward, ink dripping off their bark-like armor. Their wooden eyes pulsed with eerie green light, and their formation tightened.
Behind them, Budey barely looked impressed. "They're built for more than just standing around."
Suddenly, the knights burst into motion—two flanked left, two flanked right, and two rushed Eleo head-on.
Eleo's ears twitched, his instincts going wild. "Not good!"
He flipped backwards just in time to avoid a shield slam, landing low and pivoting on one foot. A knight came in swinging, and Eleo met the blow with a tight guard, bracing with both arms. The impact rattled his bones, but he redirected the energy, rolling under the next slash and driving his shoulder into the knight's midsection.
Ink burst out from the contact like an inkbag popping underwater.
He didn't shout anything. No flashy names—just a swift, brutal reaction.
The knight was knocked off-balance, staggering sideways.
Another knight was on him immediately, blade raised. Eleo ducked, then spun with a hook kick that cracked against the knight's bark helmet. He followed with a double palm strike to the chest—raw, uncoated force, but it was enough to send the knight crashing back.
A third knight came at his blind spot.
Eleo twisted, barely dodging a vertical slam, the blade nicking his shoulder and drawing blood. He hissed in pain, then grabbed a nearby chunk of bark from the ground and flung it at the knight's head. It hit with a thunk and gave him an opening to jump back.
He landed hard, panting, watching as the knights reformed their formation like clockwork.
"Alright," he muttered. "Time to bring the hammer down."
Ink crawled up his arm, thickening around his fist. It hardened into a massive black warhammer, jagged and dripping.
Eleo leapt forward with a roar. "INK HAMMER!"
The swing came from above—heavy, wild, and vicious. The lead knight raised its shield but couldn't hold. The hammer shattered the shield in a single crack and sent the knight flying, tumbling like a broken branch.
But that was just one.
The remaining five charged him together.
Eleo spun, bringing the hammer around in a wide arc. Two knights ducked it, one blocked, but the sheer force knocked them away. Another knight slammed into him, and they both went rolling. Eleo took a fist to the ribs, coughing hard, but he swung back, smashing the knight with the base of his hammer.
He rolled out, dripping sweat and bleeding from his lip now.
"I'm not quitting…" he growled. "Not now."
But suddenly, vines erupted from below, snatching his legs and yanking him down.
"No—!" he shouted, just before being dragged underground into a tangle of roots.
The darkness was crushing. Soil pressed against his fur. Vines squeezed around his arms, his legs, his waist.
Above, Budey smirked. "Stay down, ink boy. This forest feeds on the weak."
But underground, Eleo's eye twitched.
He forced his breath slow. Let ink coat his arms. Let it surge in tight.
Then—he exploded upward in a violent burst of ink, shattering roots and earth like a landmine. The blast sent mud and bark flying for meters.
He landed with a hard roll, groaning. His shirt was torn, his fur matted with dirt and blood. He held his side—possibly cracked ribs—but his hand still glowed faintly with ink.
The knights rushed him again.
He didn't have the energy to shout. He just moved.
The hammer vanished—he went barehanded.
He weaved between the strikes like water, parrying, redirecting, dodging by inches. One knight lunged—Eleo twisted low and drove his fist into its knee joint. A burst of ink exploded on contact. The leg cracked and the knight fell.
Another came down with a two-handed chop.
Eleo pivoted, caught the arms, then dropped his weight and flipped the knight clean over his shoulder.
The fight turned brutal—no flashy powers. Just raw grit and timing. Eleo's movements were efficient, instinctive. He baited, ducked, countered. Each strike he landed was precise—just enough to knock a knight off-balance, just enough to survive the next one.
Eventually, only two knights remained.
He charged the nearest, took a punch to the gut but responded with a spinning backfist that shattered the knight's head clean off.
The last knight lunged—
Eleo stepped inside its guard and drove his elbow straight into the center of its chest.
Crack.
It fell.
Eleo stumbled, hands on knees, chest heaving. He looked up at Budey.
"Still wanna try me?" he asked, voice shaking.
Budey clenched his fists. "You're still standing…? Fine."
He raised both arms—and from behind him, a massive golem of twisted wood and root rose from the ground, towering with glowing green eyes and a pulsing core in its chest.
"You beat the knights," Budey growled. "Let's see you beat this."
Eleo looked up, wide-eyed. "You have got to be kidding me…"
The golem charged.
Eleo didn't run. He steadied his breath, then sprinted forward too.
The forest rumbled with each step.
The golem swung a massive arm.
Eleo dove under it, rolled, then jumped and latched onto the arm's barky surface. He ran up it with wild steps, dodging root spikes that jutted from the flesh.
At the shoulder, he leapt.
"Ink Cannon… one last shot," he muttered.
He aimed both arms at the core and let everything go.
The ink shot out in a single massive beam—tight, hot, screaming through the air.
The blast hit dead center in the glowing chest.
BOOM.
The explosion rocked the clearing, a wave of black ink splashing out in every direction.
The golem groaned. Cracks split through its chest. Its body trembled—then collapsed in a heap.
Budey's mouth dropped. "No way…"
Eleo dropped to the ground, his legs barely catching him. He hit one knee, blood running down his arm.
He looked up, eyes locked on Budey.