"I understand, let's finish this once and for all," said the dog. The wolf began to move again towards Urion; this time, the speed of the wolf-dog increased, and the guardian's retractable arms couldn't even land a hit. Left, right, it moved like a shooting star, dodging every attack that Urion launched with his whip-like arms, while firing disks from its paws shaped like galaxies aimed at the wicked being.
Urion tried to land a blow, but it was in vain, and being exposed, he received each impact of the galaxy disk that Podbe the Wolf launched. The guardian began to accumulate wounds on his body from the constant attacks. Seeing that he could no longer use the same strategy and that it left him defenseless, he retracted his arms and launched a great ray from his eyes, stronger than the previous one. This ray seemed to contain all the guardian's hatred for not being able to finish off that animal. The ray grew with each moment until it reached the size of an elephant.
"Die already!" Urion screamed desperately.
"Seventy percent and counting to complete the healing," indicated the monitor inside the dog's mind. "Come on, Podbe, you must finish him before you revert to your canine form," Reia said.
"I have a question," Aiden said. "To the other users you had, Reia. Was it like this? Was there a backup system or something similar?"
"I had never seen a security system like this. Previously, the other hosts I was on did not have these kinds of things, or well, I don't remember, because every time I completed the cycle with them and had to be placed on another user, my commands automatically erased the memory of the experience with them. I think it's some kind of safety measure," Reia replied to Aiden's question.
"I understand," said the boy, frustrated by the response given by the artificial intelligence. "Come on, Podbe, there isn't much time left. Defend yourself and finish him off once and for all!" the boy firmly instructed his dog friend.
"Understood," said the dog. Immediately, Podbe the wolf, upon receiving Urion's ray, inhaled it through his nose as if he were taking in air. Urion stopped firing his ray upon seeing that the dog was absorbing it without issue. Once the ray completely passed through the wolf's nose, he expelled it through his mouth with greater intensity towards the guardian, who tried to stop it with both hands. But the force was too much, causing him to retreat little by little until he crashed into the mountain, creating a tunnel through it.
The professor, upon seeing this, commented, "Well, now they can drive through this area instead of going around it in some flying apparatus." And, despite all the sorrow, pain, and suffering, the others managed to laugh a little at the comment.
"Is it over?" everyone present wondered, both Zeus's team, the reporter and company, as well as Podbe's companions.
"I think you did it," Reia and Aiden indicated, but Podbe still seemed uneasy. "I don't think so, I can feel something," he said.
"What is it, Podbe?" Aiden asked. "Look at the screen," the dog said. The three of them, Reia, Aiden, and Chad, looked at the screen and saw something coming at full speed, running as if it were a cheetah.
"It's him," Chad indicated. "He's still alive," he added.
"How can this happen? Cursed animal, I am a supreme being, I cannot lose to an inferior creature. I have no choice, I will have to use all my energy to finish you off. You have stained my honor and broken my spirit. If others find out, I will be the laughingstock. That's why I will destroy this entire planet," Urion said to himself, very angry and wounded.
He reached the wolf again, but this time he began to emanate a red aura full of malice. Aragon could feel it from where he was and indicated, "This is not good. He will destroy the planet if he keeps increasing his power uncontrollably. It's like a big bomb about to explode. What are we going to do? If that wolf doesn't stop him, the entire planet will be destroyed," Aragon said to himself while still searching for what his lord Zeus had requested among the rubble. "It pains me to say this, but I'll leave it in your hands, little dog," he continued his search.
Urion began to change color to a deep blood-red, emanating large waves of fire around him. He looked at Podbe the wolf and said, "Look what you made me do, now everyone will die, everyone, absolutely everyone on this planet. You can't touch me or hit me because I will explode anyway," the guardian laughed maniacally. "Now you can't do anything to defeat me."
"What did that individual just say?" Reia asked. "That he's going to explode? That's nonsense."
"I think it's true, Reia, look at the monitor," Chad indicated.
"Alert, alert," the monitor indicated. "A very dangerous energy is forming in front of you. If it continues, it will destroy everything around it. Imminent danger." The screen also showed the progress of the healing: "Ninety-five percent to complete the healing."
"Stop, Podbe, don't attack him," Reia instructed, and the dog said, "Why?"
"If you do, we will all die," she responded anxiously.
"Alright," he said, and made his wolf form stop attacking and took a couple of steps back to distance himself from Urion.
"What are we going to do, Reia?" Aiden asked, and she responded, "I don't know, I think this really is the end, because if we touch him, he will explode, but if we don't touch him, he will still explode. He had everything well planned in case he failed, that bastard," Reia indicated.
Aiden remained thoughtful for a few moments and then said to Reia, "What if there might be an alternative?"
"What?" she and Podbe asked.
"Maybe I can open a portal to make him explode there. The problem is, I don't know how I did it the last time, it was only because of those things they injected me with in Dr. Laos's lab."
"Can you open portals? That's crazy, I think I also met someone who could do that," Chad said. "Try it, Aiden, we believe in you," and gave Chad a nudge, who said nothing. He just looked at him and said, slightly out of breath, understanding the situation, "Yes, I also believe in you."
"But, do you think it will work from here?" Aiden asked Reia.
"I don't know, but you can try because there's no way to get out of here unless Podbe vomits you, I think," she said somewhat skeptically.
"And do you remember how that person you knew did it, Chad?" Aiden asked Chad. "The thing is, I don't know how it works, but that person would sit in a meditative position, relax, breathe, and, well, then their energy would flow and create a connection with another place or something like that."
"We'll have to try it," said the boy, who sat on the ground as Chad indicated and began to breathe. "It's not working," he said.
"What if you close your eyes and think about what happened last time, on that neon blue path that made you open it that time? Think," she said.
"Well, I think I felt the pain and all the thoughts of sadness that intertwined made the red light trap me, but thanks to that woman-shaped cloud that saved me and showed me the path of opportunity and hope, I was able to connect with the blue and finally open the portal," the boy explained.
"Alright, try that," Chad said. "Take your time, although we don't have much time; Urion is turning redder than usual."
"Do it, Aiden, I believe in you," barked Podbe. "It's shocking to hear my own voice coming out of someone else," said Chad, puzzled.
Aiden began to think about the good things that had happened to him with his friends at the orphanage and the good times he had with Podbe and Reia. In his mind, he saw a very bright point that began to grow as if it were a shooting star. The star got closer and turned into a very strong blue color that engulfed him.
Suddenly, a portal opened in the place where they were, but it was small.
"Hey, Aiden! You're doing well, but don't you think it's a very small portal? Besides, it's inside; I don't think you could fit Urion in here," Reia indicated.
Aiden opened his eyes and saw the portal. "Well, I think that was all I could do, don't blame him," Chad indicated. "It must be because we are inside," Reia indicated.
"Wait, no," Aiden said. "The light explained to me that I must enter, return to my body, and from outside open a bigger one."
"Understood," the three who accompanied him indicated.
"Go, Aiden, there isn't much time," Reia instructed. "I'll be fine," Podbe said. "See you on the other side."
"Alright, don't forget to free me from your interior, Podbe, well, from your other interior, ha, ha," Aiden pointed out, "so we can accomplish our quest."
"Count on it," and on the screen appeared a mini-screen showing Aiden in some kind of cocoon. The boy said goodbye to Chad, thanking him for his support and hoping to see him another day. Chad just gave him a hug that made the boy feel something familiar, leaving him thoughtful. To Reia, he said, "I hope you can come with me, but if not, see you on the other side," giving her a hug with more strength than with Chad. She smiled at him, and the boy entered the portal with a blue aura accompanying him. Suddenly, he found himself back in his body.
Aiden opened his eyes inside the cocoon in which he was wrapped and signaled to those in the central core. From the central room, Chad indicated, "Reia, tell Podbe to release Aiden." Chad turned to see why she didn't respond, but she wasn't present in the place.
"How strange, where could that young lady have gone? I wanted to ask her something," the adult said, and then instructed the dog: "Podbe, expel Aiden from your body so he can work his magic." "Understood," said the dog in the form of a child.
Chad said, "I'm still not used to hearing my own voice outside my body."
Podbe, in his mind, sent signals to his physical self, who began to gag as if he wanted to vomit. Billy noticed something was wrong with the wolf and said to the others, "Look, something's strange about the grown Podbe."
"Yes, it's true," Gat indicated. "That big dog seems to want to vomit."
At that moment, the galactic wolf vomited a kind of cocoon that opened, and from it emerged a person. It was Aiden, all covered in slime.
"I think he coughed up a hairball," said Gat.
Billy responded, "I can't tell from here, but he's a wolf, not a cat. They're the only ones who cough up hairballs."
"I can't see what it is from this distance either," said Maria.
"Here, girl, take these binoculars from my backpack," Mr. Eduard instructed.
The girl quickly took the binoculars out of the backpack and saw clearly. "Yes, it's him. It's Aiden, he's alive."
Elena felt life return to her body upon learning the boy was still alive. She got up, wiped her eyes, and moved from Marie's arms to Maria's to ask for the binoculars. Maria handed them over, and she saw that, indeed, it was him, but there were other arms coming out of the same place.
"It seems to be a young lady," she said.
"A young lady!" they all said in unison.
"But when did that woman enter?" Elena wondered.
Aiden heard some noises behind him, like someone waking up. At that moment, he turned and couldn't believe it: it was her, it was Reia who was beside him.