Barn stood at the bottom of the crater, his sword still held in the same position as when Gladius had gripped it. Yet this time, his clothes had not changed at all. They were already in tatters, but that damage had come from the earlier explosion. As for Gladius's final trump card...
Not a scratch! That was right-Barn did not have a single injury. It was not because he had used his ability to recover. Gladius's so-called final trump card had simply failed to hurt him at all!
"What happened?"
Barn was wondering the same thing. A moment ago, he had mobilized almost all the latent life force within his body to deal with the damage that terrifying bomb would inflict when it exploded. Yet... he was completely unharmed?
Had that explosion done nothing except create a powerful blast of air?
Barn immediately realized something was wrong. His Mind's Eye began scanning his surroundings at once, searching for Gladius. But he was nowhere to be found!
In that instant, Gladius seemed to have vanished from the world without a trace. Even Barn's Mind's Eye could not detect him. Had he really been blown to ashes by the explosion?
Of course not!
Gladius, now bald, appeared in Fish-Man Cove, looking utterly bedraggled...
Faced with Barn, whom he had no hope of defeating, Gladius had chosen to flee. Or perhaps it was more accurate to say that he had been carrying out that plan from the moment it occurred to him, including that seemingly terrifying final killing move.
Gladius was a complete wreck. His hair, which had originally looked like he was cosplaying a member of a certain warrior race, had been replaced by a gleaming bald head thanks to the earlier explosion. His sheathlike outfit was in tatters as well.
Still,