Joshua saw Kelly’s back turned towards him, so he quickly rushed forward using his fire thrusts. When Joshua closed the distance, Kelly sensed a presence behind him and turned around. But before he could react, Joshua launched a powerful fireball, blasting Kelly backward until he fell flat on the ground.

  Kelly immediately used his air blast against the ground to propel himself upright and get back on his feet. That fireball was much more powerful than his previous one, Kelly thought, wincing. It actually hurt a lot. How did he suddenly get so strong?

  Joshua charged at him again. To prevent him from getting any closer, Kelly launched an air blast at Joshua, but Joshua pointed his fire thrusts at the ground, propelling himself upward to dodge the attack. Mid-air, Joshua quickly conjured a fireball—bigger than any he had ever created. Kelly used his own air blast as a thrust to dodge the projectile, but he couldn't escape the blast radius when the fireball struck the rock. The impact sent Kelly flying.

  Without giving his opponent a second to recover, Joshua flew towards him and landed a devastating fire punch, smashing Kelly into the cave wall. Joshua waited for a split second before launching another point-blank fireball, destroying a large section of the rock face. Kelly slumped forward, falling face-first to the ground, completely unconscious and motionless.

  Seeing Kelly down for good, Joshua deactivated the flames around his hands and slowly walked towards Sharank, who was still trapped in the Extraction Ring.

  Oh man, using my power at this level is draining my strength exponentially, Joshua thought, panting. It’s a good thing the battle finished quickly, because I couldn't keep this up much longer.

  Reaching the ring, Joshua managed a tired smile. "Sorry for the wait. Complicated business," he said.

  Sharank scowled. "I can’t believe I am getting saved by someone like you."

  Joshua just remained silent and tried to help get Sharank out. After some time, while still struggling with the Extraction Ring's locks, Joshua asked, "How do you feel now? Do you still have some energy left?"

  Sharank, his face tight with strain, replied, "I do have some energy left, but that's gonna get drained if you don't hurry up."

  Wait, what? Joshua thought. How is his power still getting drained while that villain is unconscious? >

  Realizing the machine was running autonomously on the Ijohr crystal, Joshua spun around. As he did, he saw Kelly groaning, struggling through the pain to get back up. Joshua immediately reignited his strongest firepower, his hands blazing to life once more.

  Seeing the flames, Kelly forced himself to his feet. "You have become strong," he panted, wiping his mouth. "I don’t know how, but I can’t afford to go easy on you anymore. That would be the final mistake I make."

  With a sudden burst of speed, Kelly flew towards Joshua and delivered a brutal right hook, powered by a concentrated air blast. The sheer force sent Joshua flying to his right, smashing hard into the cave wall.

  Kelly didn't hesitate, immediately rushing in for a follow-up. Seeing him approach, Joshua pushed off the wall and charged forward using his fire thrusts. As the distance closed, Joshua threw a flaming right cross, but Kelly parried it. Kelly then attempted a point-blank air blast, but Joshua instantly aimed his fire thrusts downward, launching himself high into the air to evade the attack.

  Kelly pursued him upward, propelled by his own rushing winds. Mid-air, Joshua suddenly changed direction, blasting himself directly at Kelly. He threw a devastating, fiery right hook. Kelly retaliated with an air-powered right hook of his own.

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  Their fists clashed in mid-air.

  The shockwave of fire and pressurized air blasted them apart. The downward impact slammed Kelly into the cave floor, while the upward recoil sent Joshua flying even higher toward the cavern ceiling. Regaining his balance, Joshua used controlled fire bursts to land safely at a distance.

  Now, Kelly stood directly between Joshua and the trapped Sharank.

  Kelly scrambled back to his feet and fired off a massive air blast. Joshua dodged it and darted toward him. But just as Joshua closed in for a punch, Kelly used an updraft to launch himself into the air. Joshua's momentum carried him forward, punching empty space, which placed Kelly right behind him.

  Hovering above, Kelly unleashed a heavy downward air blast. It struck Joshua squarely in the back, sending him skidding across the dirt until he collapsed face-first onto the ground, landing just a few feet away from Sharank.

  Kelly slowly descended, his eyes cold. "I don’t want to kill you, kid. But if you keep preventing me from reaching my goal, I might have to. And I won’t even feel guilty for it... because I am doing the right thing."

  Joshua forced himself to stand. "You might think you’re doing the right thing, but you are wrong. Murdering people is a sin, as mentioned in the Bible, and I will make sure you don’t murder me or my friend. I will do the right thing."

  Hearing this, Kelly's expression went completely blank. "Okay. You've chosen your death," he said coldly, and rushed at Joshua for a lethal strike.

  I’m running out of stamina, Joshua thought. I have to end this with one final attack. My most powerful fire blast.

  Joshua concentrated every last drop of his power into his palms. Thrusting his hands forward, he unleashed his ultimate move: the Flamethrower Blast. A massive, roaring beam of concentrated fire surged toward Kelly.

  Seeing the sheer scale and intensity of the flames, Kelly froze, his eyes widening in sudden fear.

  A deafening explosion shook the cavern as the blast made contact. Thick, dark smoke instantly filled the cave, completely obscuring Kelly from view. Joshua’s flames sputtered and died out. His firepower was completely deactivated, and he stood there, gasping for air, running dangerously thin on energy.

  The smoke quickly cleared, and Joshua saw Kelly’s body lying face-first on the ground, his shirt half-burned away. Seeing Kelly down made Joshua breathe a heavy sigh of relief.

  I did it, Joshua thought with a tired smile.

  But suddenly, Kelly lifted his head and glared toward him. Upon seeing Kelly still conscious, Joshua tried to power up again, but he was completely drained. His knees gave out, and he collapsed to the rocky floor. A short distance away, Kelly was also struggling to stand, suffering from the agonizing pain of the blast and unable to get up easily.

  I think this is the end for me, Joshua realized, his vision beginning to fade. I used up all my energy. I don’t think I can hold on much longer.

  He turned his head weakly toward Sharank. "I’m sorry, Sharank. I couldn’t save you. I failed to help you. I hope backup comes soon to get you out."

  Joshua paused, struggling for breath, and then let out a weak chuckle. "One more thing... I think, for sure, this fireball was bigger than yesterday's."

  Sharank was stunned. "What are you talking about? Why are you talking like you're going to die?"

  Joshua just gave Sharank a peaceful smile and looked upward toward the cave ceiling.

  Even though I couldn’t win a single battle, or save a single person, or make my parents proud, he thought, I’m actually happy. Because right up until my death, I was able to do the right thing. Even if the world doesn’t consider that a success, I definitely do. Because the most important thing is doing the right thing.

  Joshua paused, his final thoughts finding absolute peace.

  I can finally meet my Creator and Savior, Lord Jesus. Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.

  And with that, Joshua passed away.

  Kelly finally got to his feet after a long struggle, dusting off his half-burned shirt. "What a waste of time and effort," he scoffed. "He did all this for nothing. If he hadn't fought me, he would have saved his life. Now he's lost his life, and I've lost my time and energy."

  Sharank lay strapped to the machine, stunned. He could not process what had just happened. He couldn't believe that Joshua—the boy he had relentlessly bullied for being weak—had just died, and that he had died for him.

  A blinding rage overtook Sharank. "YOOOOOUUU KILLLLLEEEED HIIIIIMMMM!!!" he screamed, aggressively powering up his nuclear form.

  His surging energy caused his power to transfer even faster into Kelly.

  "You fool," Kelly sneered, feeling the rush of energy. "By powering up, you are only making the extraction faster. But anyway, that’s good for me."

  But despite his powers being aggressively drained, Sharank kept pushing, powering up harder and harder. Warning lights flared on the machinery. Suddenly, Kelly’s helmet began to overheat, hissing with scorching steam.

  Oh no, he’s overloading the system, Kelly realized in a sudden panic.

  "You fool, stop it!" Kelly shouted, his calm demeanor completely shattering. "You're overloading the system! You're going to cause an explosion that will kill us both!"

  "I DON’T CARRRREE!!!" Sharank roared.

  Kelly desperately ran toward the Extraction Ring to shut it down, but it was too late. The overloaded system reached its absolute limit and detonated. A colossal explosion ripped through the air, completely destroying the entire cave and burying everything inside under tons of crushing rubble.