"He controls gravity," Finn said quietly.

  "What?" Code’s head snapped toward Terror. "Gravity? So all this time—"

  Terror’s pupils glowed. The Rubik’s cube hovered above him, clicking steadily. He stood ready, one foot back, one palm aimed at them.

  "Duality Effect..." he spoke. The cube spun until its colors shifted completely from black-and-white to pure white. The air before his palm warped and stretched, bulging outward.

  "What’s happening?" Code muttered, stepping back.

  "I don’t understand," Finn whispered. A pale blue light filled his eyes. 'Four-dimensional Perception.'

  In Finn’s vision, the world dissolved into threads of tenzen. Air, clouds, sand, buildings—everything was threads. Terror, however, was only a shadow.

  'That’s the limit of 4D-perception,' Rowen thought. 'I can’t see demons. Only things that contain tenzen.'

  "Still," he said aloud, eyes narrowing until veins bulged. "The threads," he breathed. Every tenzen thread in front of Terror’s palm stretched forward, being repelled.

  'They’re being pushed away,' Finn realized. He snapped back to normal sight.

  "Arrgh," he gasped as tears slid down his cheeks.

  "What did you see?" Code asked, never taking his eyes off Terror.

  "He’s repelling all tenzen around his palm," Finn murmured, touching his chin. 'He’s generating something opposite to tenzen. And that thing—'

  "Oi, quit muttering to yourself," Code interrupted.

  Finn’s gaze sharpened. "Code," he said, voice low. "We cannot let that attack hit us."

  "What attack?" Code’s heart pounded.

  "The thing Terror is creating."

  The air before Terror’s palm surged forward. His eyes narrowed to slits.

  "I’ve also got a bad feeling about it," Code whispered, voice trembling.

  "He’s making a tenzen wind," Finn finished.

  "What the hell does that even mean?" Code asked, tone desperate.

  Terror’s lips moved, and he commanded: "Push: Oblivion Blast!"

  The air ripped apart. A devastating wave instantly formed and raced toward them at blinding speed. The ground shattered. Shockwaves erupted as the air split into ripples.

  'Oh...' Code’s mouth fell open. '...my gosh.'

  His clothes and hair whipped backward as the force closed in, already inches away. 'No way we survive this—'

  A green light flashed before his face just before the blast detonated.

  Buildings collapsed as the earth tremored, and screams echoed through the streets while people scurried in panic.

  The blast devastated the soil; wind swept across the ruined terrain as dust settled.

  Terror stood at the center of a massive crater. "Hmm." He straightened and scanned the decimated land.

  There was no trace of Code or Finn. Not even their bodies.

  "Pathetic," he hissed. "That was all it took?" He turned to leave. But as he was about to take the next step, a voice cut through the silence.

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  "Muscle Enhancement..."

  "Huh?" Terror spun, eyes immediately fixing on him. Code stood inches away, crouched low, right fist drawn back. Blood soaked his face, his teeth clenched.

  "When did he get here?" Terror whispered.

  Code drove a punch forward.

  The blow slammed into Terror’s torso. His body folded inward as air exploded from his lungs.

  "Nngh," Code gritted.

  "Tch." Terror skidded back, then righted himself.

  Code pressed the attack. 'Next,' he growled internally. Veins bulged across his arms, muscles hardening. 'Pulverize!'

  The second punch struck Terror’s chest and launched him backward in a ripple of air.

  "You bastard!" Terror snarled and swung his arm wildly at Code’s face. Code's breath stuttered. He stared hopelessly at the attack, unable to dodge. But before it could reach...

  "Navigation Sorcery: Disorientation." Finn's tenzen wave crashed into Terror, and his eyes went blank. His heel dug into the dirt.

  "Nice," Code ducked under the blind swing. 'Again,' He rose and threw an uppercut. 'Jaw Breaker Slam.'

  Bone crunched as air blasted skyward.

  "Nnggh." Terror gritted his teeth and held his ground.

  "Die already!" Code screamed. Muscles strained. Veins tore through his skin.

  "You can do it," Finn shouted from a few meters away. "Everything rides on this," he whispered.

  The memory flashed.

  Seconds before the Oblivion Blast hit... 'We’re so dead,' Code thought grimly.

  "Tenzen Shield," Finn yelled and jumped in front of him. He slammed both palms into the ground as a pale green light surged from his arms and formed a massive dome around them. The blast struck the barrier and halted.

  "A shield?" Code stared at the shimmering sphere.

  "I can’t hold it for long," Finn panted as cracks spiderwebbed across the dome. "This is the plan," he said between breaths. "The way he controls gravity is different. He uses anti-tenzen to counter normal tenzen. Because they’re opposites, it repels everything away."

  "You know I didn’t go to college, right?" Code interrupted, scratching his neck.

  Finn ignored him. "That attack will exhaust him. For a short window, he’ll be weaker. During that time—"

  "I'll kill him," Code finished, cracking his knuckles.

  "Yeah."

  The barrier shattered. "I can’t hold it," Finn winced and released his hands.

  "Got it," Code said. He dashed forward, grabbed Finn, and they burst away just before the blast crushed the barrier.

  ...

  Back in the present, a thud boomed as wind lashed against Finn's face. He raised his arms to protect himself.

  'Yeah, there's no way this plan can fail,' he thought. 'This is our only chance.'

  "Ahhh!" Code's bloodcurdling scream filled the air as he grunted, driving his fist against Terror's chin.

  The cube flickered irregularly.

  'I've teamed up with a lot of sorcerers,' Finn thought. 'But I've never enjoyed teaming up with anyone like I do with Code.'

  "You can do it, Code!" he bellowed.

  His voice reached Code. "Yeah," Code grunted. 'Force every drop of blood into my muscles,' he whispered in his head, his knuckles cracking skin.

  "Bastard," Terror muttered. The Rubik's cube spun rapidly as its white color restored to black-and-white.

  "Finally," Terror whispered. He raised his left palm and pressed it against Code's stomach.

  "Ugh?" Code's eyes rolled down to his torso.

  "Push." The force crackled like thunder as it erupted from Terror's palm.

  "Shit." Code managed to release his arms before the blast slammed into him. The impact sent him flying backward, crashing through the ground as he slammed into a boulder and shattered it.

  "No, Code!" Finn cried. "How? Where did my calculation go wrong? It was supposed to be a tenzen wind." Questions flooded his mind.

  "Ugh, fuck!" Code groaned from the rubble. 'What the hell? Our plan was supposed to work.'

  "Too weak," Terror's voice boomed as he lazily dusted himself off. "Your attacks felt like tickles."

  "Arrgh." Finn exhaled, swallowing hard as sweat slid down his cheeks.

  'What's happening? He wasn't supposed to be able to attack yet,' he thought, glancing at the cube which spun with crackles.

  "Wait," Finn turned and stared at it. 'That cube—' His head tilted, eyes widening as realization struck.

  "That cube. Terror wasn't creating a tenzen wind. I was completely wrong. That cube is the source." Finn's breath hitched. "It's generating the 'push' effect."

  Finn was right. Terror wasn't repelling tenzen directly; if he were, he wouldn't need the cube. The cube was generating the push effect through Terror's anti-tenzen.

  "Pull," Terror ordered, stretching a palm outward.

  Code balanced himself. He looked up, and his mouth fell open.

  "What?" Finn's clothes whipped forward. "What's happening?" He felt his body haul through the air, flying toward Terror. 'Wait...' A shiver raced down his spine. 'If there's a push, then there's it opposite.'

  "You're a pain," Terror said as Finn reached him. He crouched low and thrust his left palm toward Finn.

  Code's eyes gradually widened. He could only sit and watch.

  "Push!" Terror's palm connected.

  Finn's body jerked inward. There was a loud crack, and then he stopped moving.

  "..."

  Silence descended.

  Code's heart stopped. All he could see was a rain of red beneath the twilight.

  Terror watched in hush, expression indifferent and devoid of any emotion.

  Code's blood ran cold. "Finn? No. Wait, that's not allowed! You're not allowed to do that," his voice ached. He shook his head. He didn't want to believe it.

  Finn's body hit the ground with a wet thud.

  "Ha... ha..." The right words weren't forming. "Finn," Code whispered shakily. He grabbed Finn's hand.

  "The fight isn't over yet," he said to Finn and smiled in dread. "We don't even have to fight him, we can simply run away."

  Code crawled closer. "Finn," he begged.

  Terror's head tilted as he stared at Code. "How sad..."