Saruho Takes Action  

Upon witnessing Kahless's Eden Ryuu Titan Avatar's boisterous regeneration, Saruho's eyes still remained closed, but her brow furrowed slightly as she observed the dragon's ruthlessness. He was erecting tall forests and spitting out Kana Bombs, disregarding his subordinates scattered across the mountain.

"His Aether Steam reserves are monstrous. He truly has a connection with the earth."

She glanced down at Soru Gurahs whose body was now trembling violently. The Sage Curse was evidently eating away at her host.

"Argh!" Soru Gurahs screamed in agony as his left arm began to crumble from the finger tips, turning to dust and ashes.

"Master Sorah!" Daichi cried out from afar. He could see Soru Gurahs's arm disintegrating, and he knew that time was running out. Such a Vayrukumer must require tremendous mental fortitude and physical aptitude to operate.

"Hmm…" Saruho recognized her host's peril and said to her brothers, "Saruto, Sarubo. It is time to end this."

"Yes, Big Sis!"

"Leave it to us."

Saruto and Sarubo charged towards the dragon. They attacked with a ferocity that they hadn't displayed before, their strikes were empowered by their sister's command.

The dragon roared and lashed out with its claws and tail, but Saruto and Sarubo were too quick. They dodged and barraged the dragon's body with devastating force.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The dragon's rocky hide cracked and shattered, and its wooden scales were ripped away, revealing the raw flesh beneath. Blood and ichor spurted from its wounds, staining the ground crimson.

Feeling the pain of the dragon's injuries, Kahless shouted, "Damn you, monkeys! You will not defeat me!"

He channelled his remaining TerraFlow Kana into a final, desperate attack. He gathered the remnants of his Earth Dragon Plants and fused them with the dragon's body, creating a monstrous, multi-headed hydra that towered over the battlefield.

"Behold the true power of the earth – Terra Hydra!!!!" Kahless bellowed as the hydra lunged towards Saruto and Sarubo.

Boom! Boom!

"Kyah! This damn worm is beginning to wiggle in my ass!" Saruto hollered in annoyance.

"Bear with it brother." Sarubo said lethargically.

With each passing moment, Kahless's Eden Ryuu Titan Avatar grew larger and more grotesque. The hydra heads, each one a fusion of earth and wood, growled with a ravenous hunger. Their eyes, blazing with emerald fire, were fixed on the two Baboon Dragons, promising a swift and brutal demise.

Yet, the two Baboon Dragons stood their ground and met the hydra's charge head-on.

"Hah!" Saruto swung its massive hammer with the force of a god. The hammer's head, empowered by the Avoirdupois technique, slammed into one of the hydra heads, shattering its skull into a thousand pieces.

"Take that, you eight-headed worm!"

Not to be outdone, Sarubo gracefully spun its staff like a dancer and then, with a quick flip of its wrist, released a golden crescent of energy that slashed through the head of another hydra and severed it from its body.

"And that," Sarubo added with a bored expression.

Feeling the pain of the hydra's injuries, Kahless withdrew briefly. "You stinking apes!"

The Terra Hydra's surviving heads began to regenerate at an alarming rate as he poured more TerraFlow Kana into it. With its teeth cracking and its tentacles twisting, the hydra grew increasingly massive and terrifying.

"I will crush you all!" The hydra lunged towards Saruto and Sarubo once more. But as the hydra closed in, Kahless noticed something strange. The chains that protruded from the Baboon Dragons' bodies, the chains that connected them to each other and to their host, Soru Gurahs, had a limit. They could only extend so far.

'If I can just get out of their reach... If I can just create enough distance... then maybe…' A glimmer of hope flickered in his eyes.

Whoosh!

He commanded the Eden Ryuu Titan Avatar to retreat, flying backwards until it was out of reach of the Baboon Dragons' attacks. They instantly became frustrated when they could no longer reach their prey.

"Kuhahaha! You fools! You can't reach me! Your chains are too short!" Kahless taunted.

With their strikes now ineffective, Saruto and Sarubo collapsed upon the earth, staring bitterly at Terra Hydra.

"Damn it! He's right. We can't reach him." Saruto pounded his chest in annoyance.

"Now what?" Sarubo asked, its bored expression replaced by a look of concern.

After avoiding the onslaught of the Baboon Dragons, Kahless flew over the demolished Rendil Temple, glancing over the battlefield. He saw Soru Gurahs kneeling on the ground, his face twisted in agony and his body shivering as the Sage Curse's caustic impact continued to wreak havoc on him.

"Kuhahaha!" Kahless laughed triumphantly. "That power must come at a heavy price. It seems the old man is reaching his limit. Soon his head shall be mine."

He glanced at Poahf, who was calmly watching the scene. "Warden Poahf, it appears we have won. All we have to do is wait."

"Wait?" Poahf frowned, confused.

"Yes, wait," Kahless repeated from his safe distance in the air. "As long as the old man remains there, as long as he continues to suffer the effects of wielding such ungodly power, his connection to those Baboon Dragons will weaken. And once that connection is broken... they will vanish."

He chuckled, relishing the thought of his enemies' demise. "It's a simple plan, but an effective one. We just have to wait. Kuhahaha!"

Poahf nodded slowly, understanding Kahless's strategy. She turned her gaze towards Soru Gurahs then a cruel smile spread across her lips. "Yes, let us wait. Let us watch as he withers away, as his power fades, and as his dreams of freedom turn to dust."

The soldiers and guards, who had been watching the battle from a safe distance, also began to understand Kahless's plan. They had witnessed the old man's struggles, his pain and exhaustion, and they knew that he couldn't hold out much longer.

"He's done for," one soldier whispered.

"His power is consuming him," another added.

"It's only a matter of time," a third chimed in.

A sense of inevitability settled over the battlefield.

And as Soru Gurahs knelt on the ground, his body wracked with pain and his spirit teetering on the brink of oblivion, he couldn't help but wonder...

'Is this the end?'

No!

This defiant "No!" resonated in the minds of both the Rice Guru and Sorah.

Saruho, the central Baboon Dragon, remained motionless up until now. She had been observing the battle silently, keenly taking in every small detail, every shift in energy, every flicker of emotion.

She had witnessed Saruto and Sarubo's valiant efforts to defeat the Eden Ryuu Titan Avatar. She had also witnessed Soru Gurahs's struggles, his pain and exhaustion as the Sage Curse's corrosive influence continued to ravage his being.

'It is time,' she thought, twitching her eyelids slowly. Her sharp and calculating gaze fell upon Kahless's Titan Avatar, which hovered in the air above them. Its monstrous form was radiating an aura of arrogance and power.

"Saruto, Sarubo," she called out telepathically. "Return to my side."

With expectant looks on their faces, Saruto and Sarubo turned to face their sister.

Saruto protested, "But... Big Sis... We haven't defeated the dragon yet."

Saruho replied calmly, "Our task is complete, brother. It is time for me to act."

With a final glance at the dragon, Saruto and Sarubo nodded in understanding. They leaped into the air and soared towards their sister. As if they sensed that the combat was about to take a dramatic turn, they landed softly at her side with their weapons down and bodies relaxed.

"You're about to do it, aren't you, Big Sis?" Saruto asked, feeling excited.

Saruho nodded silently. She then proceeded to raise the flask in her hand. The contents within had a kaleidoscope of colours.

"Stir - Hoshin no Ishi," she whispered.

The flask's contents began to glow, and a sweet, intoxicating aroma permeated the air. Saruho uncorked the flask and inhaled deeply, drawing the fragrant vapours into her nostrils.

"What is that one doing?" Kahless's tongue was laced with suspicion as he watched Saruho's actions. "It's that damn flask of hers… what is she about to do with it?"

He narrowed his eyes, trying to discern the nature of the flask's contents. Something weird was coming from it, a force he couldn't quite put his finger on.

'What is she up to?' he wondered as a drop of unease crept into his heart.