Raven's merciless rampage continued.
Safari and Angeleva struggled to breathe, their bodies battered beyond recognition.
But Raven wasn't done.
He grabbed Angeleva by her hair, lifting her weak form effortlessly.
"Still alive?" he mocked, his grin widening.
Angeleva's vision blurred, but she weakly whispered, "...S-Stop..."
But that only made Raven more entertained.
"Stop?" he chuckled, twisting his grip.
Her face contorted in pain.
"You think I'll stop after all this? After what you've put me through?"
His expression darkened, and then he spoke the cruelest words of all.
"Oh, I almost forgot... Your uncle, your aunt, your older cousin..."
Angeleva's heart froze.
"I think I killed them... but honestly, I don't even remember their names."
Her eyes widened in horror.
Her body trembled.
Tears slipped from her eyes.
"No... you... you !" she sobbed, but deep down, she feared the truth.
Raven only laughed.
CRACK!
He slammed his knee into her gut, her body jolting in agony.
Angeleva's sobs echoed.
It was hell.
It was torture.
And Safari watched it all.
He couldn't move.
His hands clenched into fists.
His teeth gritted so hard they might shatter.
His rage was overwhelming.
Thenâ
He snapped.
"RAVEN!!!"
Safari charged with everything he hadâ
"DEVIL HAMMER SMACK!!!"
BOOM!
His hammer slammed into Raven's face, sending him stumbling back.
Angeleva was freed from his grasp.
Safari rushed to her side, kneeling beside her battered form.
His eyes softened with concern.
She was barely conscious.
Raven regained his balance, wiping a trickle of blood from his lips.
He smirked, amused.
"So, you still have fight left in you?"
Safari ignored him.
He turned to Angeleva, gently holding her shaking hands.
"Angeleva... you need to leave."
Angeleva's eyes widened weakly.
"N-No... I won't..."
Her voice was barely a whisper.
Safari's grip tightened.
"You have to. There's no way I'm letting you die here."
Angeleva shook her head, refusing to leave.
"I-I won't abandon you..."
Safari looked at her one last time.
Then, he smiled.
A soft, genuine smile.
"You've done enough for me, Angeleva."
"But this time..."
"Let me do something memorable."
Before she could reactâ
BAM!
Safari punched her in the stomach.
Angeleva gasped, her eyes widening.
Pain surged through her, but it wasn't just physical.
Her vision blurred.
Her mind spun.
She looked at him one last timeâ
For the first time, she saw how handsome he looked.
His smile was warm.
And thenâ
She collapsed in his arms.
Safari took a deep breath.
He gently laid her down, brushing a strand of hair from her face.
Thenâ
He closed his eyes.
(Legend... Send her back to Hellsgate.)
Legend hesitated.
(Safari... are you sureâ)
(DO IT.)
Legend felt his resolve.
He sighed.
"Understood."
In a flash of divine light, Angeleva vanished.
Safari exhaled in relief.
He whispered to himselfâ
"There was no way I would let you die here, Angeleva..."
Then, almost chucklingâ
"And maybe it's for the best..."
"Because after spending all this time with you..."
He clenched his fist.
"I ended up falling in love with you."
With that, he turned back.
Raven stood waiting.
The monster that had pushed them to their limits.
The evil incarnate that refused to die.
Now, it was just the two of them.
No distractions.
No holding back.
A dark storm of aura erupted.
Safari stood alone, engulfed in a swirling inferno of demonic energy.
The very air shook as his power surged beyond its limits.
His veins burned. His muscles screamed. His mind teetered on the edge of oblivion.
Yet, he embraced it.
This was a forbidden techniqueâa power from Sappy's darkest secrets.
A power that could destroy an entire large planet... at the cost of his own life.
"There's no turning back now," Safari whispered to himself.
His body cracked with energy as he transformed into his Sap-Green Warrior form except his aura was overwhelming.
His eyes glowed blood-red.
A part of him knewâ
This power would consume him.
It would turn him into a mindless beast.
A monster.
But if it meant killing Raven... it was worth it.
"You're going down with me, Raven."
BOOM!
The ground shattered beneath him.
His aura tore through the battlefield, shaking the entire realm.
From hiding, the shadowy figures watched in amusement.
One of them chuckled.
"Oh? Looks like he's finally snapped."
Another figure smirked.
"Heh. If he goes all the way, this could get interesting."
"Pretty soon... we may have to get involved."
Their glowing eyes flickered.
"Let's see how this plays out first."
Meanwhile on Hellsgate...
Angeleva lay unconscious.
Her body was cold.
Her wings were barely glowing.
Zack poured his energy into her, desperately trying to heal her wounds.
"Come on, big sis... You have to wake up!"
His hands trembled.
His energy was draining fast.
Jen, Olive, Ian, and the freed prisoners watched anxiously.
Their faces were pale.
Their hearts pounded.
But even as they worried for herâ
They couldn't stop thinking about Safari.
"He's still fighting... all alone," Olive whispered.
Legend was silent.
He had been watching through the God Sphere.
But nowâ
He had put it away.
Even he was too worried to look.
"...Will Safari big bro even survive this?" Ian muttered.
No one had an answer.
_ _ _
The battlefield shook violently.
Safari's body twisted, his muscles expanding unnaturally.
Dark veins pulsed along his arms as his horns grew longer. His form darkened.
His auraâno longer just an overwhelming presenceâbecame a vortex of destruction.
The transformation was complete.
Safari had become... the Forbidden Devil with his form transforming into a darker green.
The air was thick with raw, suffocating power.
His breathing was heavy and monstrous.
His red eyes locked onto Ravenâempty of reason, filled with only one goal.
To destroy.
Raven clicked his tongue, eyes narrowing.
"So this is what you've been hiding?" he muttered.
Before he could reactâ
BOOM!
Safari vanishedâand reappeared in front of him instantly.
"Whaâ?!"
CRASH!
Devil Hammer Ruination!
A monstrous hammer strike crushed into Raven's side, sending him flying through countless debris.
Safari didn't stop.
His movements were wild. Unpredictable.
Like a beast that knew only destruction.
He darted through the wreckage, closing the gap in an instantâ
Devil Frenzy Smash!
A rapid barrage of hammer swings pummeled Raven from every direction.
Raven tried to blockâbut his arms cracked under the force.
"Tchâ!"
Safari slammed his fists into the ground, sending a massive shockwave of dark energy that swallowed Raven.
Raven gritted his teeth, coughing up blood.
For the first timeâ
He was being overpowered.
"Damn youâ!"
Something snapped.
The atmosphere shifted.
Raven's eyes glowed violently.
His body pulsed.
Darkness and light merged within him.
His flesh morphed. His wings extended, black and divine. His horns split into four.
His aura explodedâpushing back even Safari's monstrous power.
He had reached... his 100% form.
Safari growled, unfazed.
Thenâ
BOOM!
Raven vanished.
Before Safari could reactâ
BAM!
Demon Light Implosion!
A blinding explosion of light and darkness erupted point-blank, engulfing Safari completely.
Safari grunted in pain, his body shaking violentlyâ
But he didn't fall.
Raven grinned.
"You're still standing? Impressive. But now... you will see the difference between us."
The battle had reached its deadliest stage.
Both warriorsâat their absolute peak.
Both warriorsârefusing to fall.
The battlefield could barely withstand them anymore.
Each clashâ
Tore through reality itself.
The battlefield trembled.
The sky cracked like glass.
Lightning storms of energy surged around Safari and Raven, their powers colliding in an unrelenting struggle.
Raven's 100% form was a terrifying sightâhis body a fusion of divine light and abyssal darkness, an unstable paradox of creation and destruction.
But even heâ
Couldn't control it.
"Tchâ! Damn this bodyâ!"
Raven's expression twisted as his own power lashed out, his energy flickering wildly. His arms trembled, his form fluctuating like a being on the verge of implosion.
He had never pushed himself this far.
He had never needed to.
Safari, in his Forbidden Devil Form, saw it.
A weakness.
An opportunity.
Without hesitationâ
BOOM!
Safari vanished.
In the blink of an eye, he was behind Raven.
Devil Annihilation Strike!
His hammer swung with unstoppable forceâ
CRASH!
Raven's body caved inward from the impact. His mouth spat blood.
But before he could even process the painâ
Safari struck again.
Devil Maelstrom Blow!
A rapid series of devastating hammer strikes rained down on Raven like a relentless storm, each impact shaking the battlefield.
Raven snarled, desperately retaliating.
Demon's Wrath Surge!
An eruption of pure chaotic energy blasted outwardâ
Engulfing Safari.
BOOM!
For a moment, Safari's form disappeared within the inferno.
Raven panted heavily.
His body twitched. His unstable power continued to lash out uncontrollably.
His vision blurred for just a second.
And that secondâ
Was all Safari needed.
From the smokeâ
A monstrous shadow emerged.
Raven's eyes widenedâ
"Youâ!"
Safari's devil aura flared with newfound intensity.
His form was cracking, his body burning away from the price of the Forbidden Devil Formâ
But he didn't care.
Not yet.
With a savage roarâ
He charged once more.