One week had passed. All the training given to Khai, Agus, Raden, and Raka had been completed.
During that week, Khai had improved his hearing ability to a range of 2 kilometers, while Agus, Raden, and Raka could hear up to 50 meters.
The next day, they packed all their belongings and prepared to head to their next destination. Just before they stepped out of the hall…
"Ilyas."
"What?"
"Please... Spar with me," said Khai.
Agus, Raden, and Raka, who overheard the exchange, were puzzled by Khai's sudden behavior—challenging Ilyas to a sparring match out of the blue.
"What kind of dream did you have last night, suddenly asking me to spar?" Ilyas asked.
"I just feel like… ever since we've been together, you're always the one saving me. Every time you tell Luna and me to fall back while you handle all those Demigons, I feel like I'm just a burden."
"Oh wow, you just realized that? I figured from the first time we met that you'd be a bit of a hassle," Ilyas replied bluntly.
"Ugh, seriously? Can't I be a little dramatic for once?" Khai shot back.
"So that's the only reason you want to spar with me?"
"Well, not just that. I also want to see how strong I am now compared to who I used to be. And… I want to see how strong you really are too."
Upon hearing that, Ilyas told Agus, Raden, and Raka to hold onto Luna and step back for a moment. He made sure to cover Luna's ears with earplugs while she was still asleep.
"Alright, I accept your challenge. I'll try to hold myself back," said Ilyas.
"Heh, be careful what you say. Arrogant people are always the first to fall," Khai replied.
"Where did you even get that quote from?"
Khai took a fighting stance, ready to attack, while Ilyas stood there casually.
"Taekwondo, huh? Just like his sister."
Khai launched a front kick toward Ilyas. Ilyas dodged it effortlessly.
But Khai didn't stop there. He unleashed a flurry of relentless attacks aimed at Ilyas.
Ilyas effortlessly dodged every attack thrown at him without breaking a sweat.
Watching the scene unfold, Agus, Raden, and Raka were in awe of the skill displayed by the two fighters.
Even though they didn't know much about martial arts, they could tell that each of Khai's strikes was incredibly fast—so fast that it was hard to follow with the naked eye—and powerful enough to take down an opponent with ease.
But all of that meant nothing if the opponent could dodge every single move.
"Oi, Il! Don't tell me all you can do is dodge?" Khai tried to provoke Ilyas into attacking.
"Didn't I say I'm trying to hold myself back," Ilyas replied calmly.
Khai launched a spinning kick toward Ilyas's face. Ilyas moved to dodge the attack—but it was a feint.
In a flash, Khai followed up with a side kick aimed at Ilyas's torso. Khai was confident the kick would land—it was his fastest move.
But even that wasn't enough to take down someone like Ilyas. Ilyas blocked the attack effortlessly.
Khai couldn't believe it. His strongest strike, stopped by Ilyas—with just one hand.
"Not bad. But still…"
Ilyas slowly raised his leg, lifting it until it was level with Khai's head.
"… Not enough to kill someone."
Ilyas effortlessly took Khai down with a single, precise kick to his head. The sound of the impact was so loud that it echoed throughout the entire hall.
Agus, Raden, and Raka were shocked by the noise that came from Ilyas's strike. Khai lay unconscious, having taken the full force of Ilyas's attack.
Agus, Raden, and Raka looked at Khai, who was lying motionless.
"Ilyas, how's Khai?" asked Agus, his voice filled with concern.
"Relax, he's just unconscious from a concussion. Lay him down on the mattress," Ilyas replied calmly.
Raden quickly pulled out a mattress and laid it flat. Raka gently lifted Khai and placed him on the mattress.
A few minutes later, Khai began to stir and woke up.
"How are you feeling? Better?" Ilyas asked.
"Ilyas…"
Khai still felt a sharp pain in his head from Ilyas's kick.
"For now, don't move too much. We'll continue our journey once you're able to move again," Ilyas said.
"Heh, didn't expect you to be that strong. I thought you were only tough with weapons."
"Are you stupid or what? Did you forgot that I killed a Giant without using any weapons?"
"Hahaha… I tend to forget things quickly," Khai replied with a laugh.
12:30 PM
Khai had fully recovered. They finally continued on their journey.
Ilyas instructed them to wear weighted bracelets for the duration of the journey. This made their travel a little slower.
After a few minutes, they finally made it out of Slim River without any issues.
A few hours had passed since they left Slim River. Along the way, they tried to find a functioning vehicle to travel in.
However, every vehicle they came across was either damaged or completely burned. Eventually, they arrived in the town of Trolak. Ilyas looked at the map and directed them to search for a place to rest.
As they were walking, Khai noticed a 300 cm-high barricade blocking the road. Khai had been to Trolak several times with his sister, but he had never seen this barricade before.
Ilyas called out to Khai, who had fallen behind. Khai ignored the barricade and continued their search.
While searching for a place to rest, they came across a police station. They looked inside. The station was empty, with only signs of gunfire scattered everywhere.
Khai found it odd that there were no bodies or monster carcasses in sight.
They decided to check the weapons room. Inside, they found a pistol and some ammunition that was still usable.
Agus suggested they rest inside the police station. Khai opposed the idea, feeling uneasy about staying there.
Ilyas agreed with Khai. They left the station, taking the pistol they had found. As they continued walking, Khai noticed the same barricade from earlier, blocking the entrance to a certain area.
"Ilyas. Look at this."
"Hm?"
Ilyas, Agus, Raden, and Raka turned to look at the barricade Khai pointed out.
"What's up with this barricade? I don't see anything strange about it." Agus replied.
"I used to come here with my sister when I was younger. But I never saw any barricades being built here," Khai explained.
"Yeah, I get it. When we were kids, a lot of things must have changed over time. It's not like everything stays the same, right?" Agus added.
Ilyas examined the barricade closely. He had also felt something was off about this place ever since they arrived.
Ilyas noticed that some of the weapons they had seen in the police station earlier were now gone, including several bombs—like someone had taken them.
Ilyas also noticed that there wasn't a single corpse or monster carcass in sight as they walked around, almost as if someone had been managing all the bodies.
Ilyas also knows that Demigon, Crawler, and Giant do not completely consume all parts of humans and will surely leave some human pieces or organs abandoned on the ground.
While Khai and Agus were still arguing about how strange the place felt, Luna suddenly woke up and began to cry. Hearing this, Ilyas tried to soothe her back to sleep.
The five of them sensed something approaching—many of them, and fast.
Several Demigons and Crawlers began to appear, surrounding them from both the left and right. Ilyas told Khai to hold Luna, who was crying.
Ilyas readied himself for battle.
Agus, Raden, and Raka also pulled out the pistols they had taken from the police station for self-defense.
The Demigons and Crawlers launched their attack toward them. But just before the fight began, a flash bomb was thrown into the middle of the horde.
Ilyas, realizing what was about to happen, quickly told everyone to cover their eyes and ears.
The bomb exploded, stunning the Demigons and Crawlers momentarily.
A few people came rushing toward Ilyas and the others.
"Hey! Hurry up and follow us if you don't want to die!"
Ilyas and the others followed the group into the barricade. Once they were inside and it seemed safe, the strangers told Ilyas, Khai, Agus, Raden, and Raka to uncover their eyes and ears.
As soon as they opened their eyes, they were met with the barrels of several guns pointed directly at their faces.
"You'd better tell me whether you're Badrul's people or not. Or i will blow you'd fucking Brain's out."