CHAPTER 18: HOLLOW ROAR

In the fog-covered ruins of western Tokyo, silence reigned.

A single whisper shattered it.

"Explode."

A shriek of cursed energy tore through the rubble as Uro, the ancient sky-manipulating sorcerer, darted above with shifting air currents, bending gravity with each movement.

Below her, Toge Inumaki stood silently, mouth hidden behind his collar, eyes locked.

Beside him, Panda beat his fists together, tail swaying with anticipation.

"Your voice," Uro hissed, "it distorts fate itself. How disgusting."

She sliced the air — invisible blades of atmosphere curved like serpent fangs.

Panda leapt, taking the brunt of the strike with his Gorilla Core, crashing through broken scaffolding with a snarl.

Toge flicked his fingers and whispered again, voice heavy with cursed weight —

"Fall."

The gravity around Uro warped unnaturally, slamming her downwards, but she twisted midair and bent the space beneath her, slowing her fall unnaturally.

"I can bend the sky itself, boy," she smirked, landing softly on a rooftop. "Your cursed speech is impressive, but it will not work forever."

She flicked her hand and sent a dome of pressured wind at them like a typhoon cannon.

Panda shielded Toge but was hurled back, limbs cracking.

Toge coughed blood, clutching his throat — he had overused his voice in the last battle. But still…

He stood again. Eyes sharp.

"Panda," he rasped, "Distract."

Panda grinned. "With pleasure."

The two launched their coordinated counterattack.

Panda switched cores mid-strike — to Triceratops Form — and burst forward, horns ablaze with cursed energy. Uro redirected the air again, but Panda pushed through it, crashing into her midair.

Toge inhaled deeply — blood trickling down his chin — and bellowed:

"Crush."

The word echoed like a curse across a thousand plains.

Uro, stunned by Panda's assault, was hit mid-flight by the full force of Toge's command.

The pressure wrapped around her, slamming her into the concrete like a meteor.

The explosion rippled across the landscape.

Smoke billowed.

Toge collapsed to one knee, coughing violently.

Panda limped over, helping him stand.

From the debris, Uro did not rise. Her body faded away — exorcised.

The cursed scoreboard appeared in the air —

+100 POINTS

Panda fist-bumped Toge lightly.

Toge just nodded, voice too hoarse to speak.

But his eyes said everything.

They had won.