The wind had stopped blowing, but it wasn’t a good sign.
Something was forming behind Sukmo Lawu.
It was the very thing they had feared: the life core of a newly forming demon.
They could have destroyed it, but they knew the risk. If the core was destroyed, a magical disaster would erupt once more.
"Arjuna, don’t attack that core!" Randiman warned.
"Yes, I know. If it breaks, another magical catastrophe will happen, right?" Arjuna replied.
Randiman nodded in response.
There was no other choice. That was their only option. If they didn’t act, the demon’s birth would proceed uninterrupted. They tried with all their might to stop Sukmo Lawu from giving a name and magic to the core.
"I’ll entertain you until you’re exhausted," Sukmo Lawu's eyes glinted with malice.
He could have easily defeated his two opponents, but doing so would quickly bore him. That wouldn’t be fun.
He began to form a magic circle.
A pattern appeared in the air: a circle with hands and eyes colored obsidian black.
His body transformed into something terrifying: long claws emerged, his eyes cracked, his mouth became like a crocodile's, and black mist poured from his head.
He was eager to enjoy the battle. It was true the environment was rainy. If he had been a low-level demon, the weather would have been a disadvantage against the Antasen race. But the outcome was clear—he was a high-level demon.
"Should I use magic?" Sukmo Lawu said arrogantly.
An ice arrow formed from the falling rain.
It barely touched the black mist emerging from Sukmo Lawu’s head.
And vanished.
Randiman knew he couldn’t attack recklessly. If he got too close, he might disappear—his body absorbed by that dark mist.
Still, he had one chance to strike.
With the rain, he could attack from a distance.
Randiman raised his hand.
The raindrops slowed, moving toward one another—
Until they merged into a whip.
The whip floated toward Randiman and placed itself in his hand.
With that whip, he thought he could strike without being touched by the black mist.
And that was true—but only as long as Sukmo Lawu didn’t spread the same mist. If he did, the outcome would be very different.
If Sukmo Lawu spread that mist, there would be no victory for them.
Randiman jumped back, distancing himself from Sukmo Lawu. He knew he had been standing too close.
To test the whip’s effect, Randiman lashed it at Sukmo Lawu.
But Sukmo Lawu wasn’t foolish. He covered his right hand in black corrosive mist.
The mist on his hand
Touched Randiman’s water whip.
The result was clear—
The whip's tip vanished.
"Arjuna!" Randiman signaled.
Arjuna understood, nodding.
He flapped his wings several times.
The result was the same.
Every arrow shot at Sukmo Lawu—
Vanished.
Three dragons rose from the ground, their bodies crystal clear like water. They were Randiman’s guardians. They were deeply worried, having searched far and wide without finding their prince. Only terrifying monsters had appeared. It was only after they transformed into water forms and dove into the earth that they found him.
Sukmo Lawu grinned maliciously at the arrival of the three dragons. He knew they were also Antasen, like Randiman. Judging by their posture, he became even more eager to fight. He wasn’t afraid of stronger opponents. The stronger they were, the more fun he had.
To test them—
He spread the black mist.
Toward the three dragons.
"Get back!" Randiman shouted.
The three dragons looked around.
The black mist was approaching them.
They knew it wasn’t ordinary mist. It was corrosive erasure mist.
Mist that would erase anything it touched.
If they were shadow existers, they might have known how to handle it. The mist erased things at the micro-physical—quantum—level. And only shadow existers possessed that knowledge. Among the indigenous, only the people of Aryapanggulu had such understanding, passed down from their king—Sudirja Aryapanggulu.
The dragons quickly retreated from the mist.
Arjuna had some knowledge of the black mist’s mechanism. He still remembered Sudirja’s words. The mist didn’t truly erase—it absorbed. It absorbed anything it touched to produce energy excitation—in the form of particles: δ particles (Dorvion), a type of magical particle. The mist couldn’t absorb these particles or anything already interacted with them. According to Sudirja, the mist also produced one more particle: ρ particles (Rhineon), though Arjuna didn’t remember the technical details—it had been too complex for him.
Arjuna approached Randiman, leaning toward his ear.
"Prince Randiman..." Arjuna whispered.
"What is it?" Randiman replied.
"The mist doesn’t erase, it only absorbs. But not everything..." Arjuna whispered.
"What do you mean?" Randiman asked softly.
"Look at his body, and his head. It’s clear there are certain conditions that make the mist unable to absorb those. If he understands how that feature of his body works, we’ll never beat him..." Arjuna whispered.
"Then... do you have a plan?" Randiman whispered.
"It’s hard to defeat him, but we can stall until the others arrive..." Arjuna whispered.
"The others? Impossible. They’ve been isolated using fragtesis teleportation magic..." Randiman whispered.
Hearing Randiman’s explanation, Arjuna understood why they were separated. Even after the rain, he hadn’t seen the others. Still, he wasn’t fully convinced. If they were separated by fragtesis, they were still in the same location and timeline—only in different realities.
"Can you show me proof that we’ve really been separated by fragtesis from the others?" Arjuna whispered.
Randiman knew Arjuna didn’t believe him. Still, he wanted Arjuna to understand. He manipulated water to flow into Arjuna’s eyes.
Once the water entered his eyes, Arjuna’s vision became crystal clear, like an Antasen’s vision underwater. Even so, he still wasn’t convinced. He remembered he hadn’t removed his telepathy artifact after the battle with Sidran Gasra. So, he decided to test the truth.
"Your Majesty, where are you?" Arjuna sent the message via telepathy.
"I’m still in the same place," Sudirja’s voice echoed in his mind.
"I don’t see you here," Arjuna replied telepathically.
"I suspected it. We’ve been separated by fragtesis," Sudirja responded through telepathy.
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