Chapter 268 - Reaching The Ground "DID YOU THINK I WOULD BE LEFT DEFENSELESS JUST BECAUSE I CANNOT ACCESS MY PUPPETS?" The rock voiced out as it suddenly stopped spinning and stared at the approaching Gustav. Gustav’s outstretched leg was only a few feet away from making contact with the rock when its purplish glowing eyes shot out a ripple of milky-colored waves. "I MAY NOT BE ABLE TO CONTROL YOUR MIND, BUT I CAN STILL DO THIS!" "MIND RIP!" The rock voiced out like the ripples spread from his position to the surroundings. "Huh?" The instant Gustav was hit with these waves, a loud screech reverberated inside his mind. Ssskkkyyyrrhhhhhcchhh! "Ugh!" Gustav held his head as his brain was hit with intense sound waves. It felt so painful that his skull felt like it was about to crack open. ’My mental state is supposed to be protected, so why?’ Gustav wondered as he held his head from the pain. Bam! The rock slammed its body into Gustav, sending him flying backward. Bang! Gustav slammed back into the wall he jumped out from, creating a man-sized hole with his body. Gustav slowly climbed out of the hole with a rough look and reddened eyes. He stared at the rock, which was about a hundred feet below with a slightly wary look. Just like the rock said earlier, he had truly told E.E and Falco’s alter ego to make sure they stopped the participants that were being mind-controlled from coming here. Gustav couldn’t handle battling with the rock and also dealing with the numerous amounts of participants under its control at the same time. Falco’s alter ego also wanted to be a part of the battle with the rock. However, Gustav turned the idea down, saying how only he would be able to handle the mental attacks of the rock. Another problem will be added to the table if Falco’s alter ego ended up being under the control of the rock and joined it to battle Gustav. This was why he decided to battle the rock alone. Now that even he was being affected by the mental attacks of the rock, he couldn’t imagine how much worse it would have been if one of them were to have joined him. "YOU MUST BE WONDERING HOW THIS IS POSSIBLE!" "EVEN IF YOU KNEW, THERE IS NOTHING YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT!" "ACCEPT YOUR FATE AND BECOME THE SACRIFICE FOR MY FREE..." Before the rock could complete its statement, Gustav suddenly dashed out again. [Combination has been activated] [Sprint + Dash] Swwoooooosshh! The rock only saw a blur before Gustav appeared in front of it with two massive hands covered in red skin and black scales. Knuckles covered in icicle-like rock fragments and an entire arm coated in silver-like energy. ’Too fast... Did he increase in strength again?’ The rock wondered as Gustav appeared in front of him like a phantom. Gustav had made use of size Manipulation to increase his arm size. "You talk too much," Gustav said with a cold look as his massive muscular arm descended with speed and slammed into the head of the rock. Booom! 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂 It was like an explosion went off as the rock was sent tumbling further downwards once again. Swweeii! It repeatedly spun while spiraling downwards. Gustav conjured massive icicle-like spears from his body and started flinging them out as he descended. Thooom! Thooom! Thooom! Thooom! They slammed into the walls on the right and left, drilling into them. Gustav landed on the one on the left side and used it to leap towards the one on the right side below. Twhoosshh! Twhoosshh! Twhoosshh! Gustav leaped in a zig-zag format downwards, making use of the icicle-like spears he drilled into the walls of the hole. In no time, Gustav was closing in on the spiraling rock again. Twhoosshh! He leaped out once again before the rock could balance itself and landed another massive punch on it. Bang! Gustav placed his hand by his side, causing his body to descend faster again, and started closing in on the rock that was still spiralling downwards. Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Gustav kept landing hits on it, causing it to descend further into the hole. At this point, Gustav had no idea how low they had descended, but he wasn’t bothered about that. He never stopped raining down punches on the rock as they descended. It was as if he could fly with the way they kept falling. However he knew very well that hitting the ground at this moment would cause immense damage for him. The rock kept spinning due to the force behind the hit, which affected its senses, preventing it from attack Gustav. However, even with the heavy punches, Gustav had been throwing it, there was hardly any effect on its rocky body. Nevertheless, Gustav kept pummelling it with punches and explosive attacks while thinking of how to properly deal with the situation. Gustav hadn’t expected the rock to be nearly indestructible, so this was something he didn’t plan for. Right now, his body was in autopilot mode as he kept attacking while his mind was bringing up tons of schemes, plots, and methods to get rid of the rock. ’There it is... the mark,’ Gustav said internally as he noticed a ’#’ mark on the stem of a small branch thousands of feet on the left wall of the hole. The mark was barely noticeable, but with Gustav’s perception, he was able to notice it the instant it entered into his range. Gustav gave the rock one last punch, making use of the force to catapult himself towards the right side of the hole, which he and the falling rock were formerly closer to when falling. Krrhhkkkk! He created another icicle-like spear and stabbed it into the right wall of the hole. Ggrruuuhhhrruhhhh! Rock fragments flew in all directions as the icicle-like spear pierced into the wall and kept sliding down for a few more feet before coming to a stop. Boom! The rock slammed into the ground below, creating a cloud of dust and debris. Gustav hanged from the icicle-like spear he stabbed into the wall and stared at the ground below that was only six feet away from his legs.