The statue and Crine continued their large-scale battle, with large amounts of Qi flowing out from their attacks. Both were bashing their limbs and weapons against each other one after another, and several ripples followed each strike.
Neither of them had slowed down yet, and it didn't appear as if they would. However, Crine was noticing something.
"You are just a statue in the end; it looks like you're crumbling away!" Crine commented. With his next punch, the force of his visual water Qi created a ripple extending out in front rather than behind him.
The attack caused Crine's hands to fling back slightly as the power from the statue was slightly stronger, but he could see that as the visual Qi hit the statue, more of it was crumbling away.
"Now I know what to do." Crine switched his attack patterns, swinging his leg out and bashing against the statue's arm. The ripples of Qi energy were being sent to the statue.
Because the statue's Qi was far stronger, the impact made it look as if the statue was winning out. Crine was even being pushed back slightly from his position.
"It's now or never; it seems your father is brighter in the head than you," Ricktor stated.
"Shut up, and let's just do this," Mada replied.
Both Mada and Ricktor were charging forward from behind the statue, using it as a way to block themselves from Crine's view.
"I don't know if you can hear me, but take the chance when you see one," Ricktor said, his words directed at the back of the statue, gently brushing its back with his hand.
Stoney struck from above, slamming his foot down with all its weight and Qi behind the strike. Since Crine had switched the way he used Qi and this was a bigger attack than usual, he needed to lift both of his hands and slam his foot on the ground to block the strike.
The stone sword bashed right into both of his forearms, and the struggle could be seen on his face.
'I have to remember to be careful; this statue is a warrior at the same level as myself. Even though I have figured out a way to win, I can't get too ahead of myself.'
While blocking the attack, Crine saw from the corner of his eyes two individuals charging toward him.
Mada was the first to act. He was going through steps that were swirling him around, and his visual Qi was activating around each of his steps, building up. In many ways, it looked similar to the Descending Steps where Qi would build up after each other.
Then, when he was close, Mada jumped up in the air and spun his leg. Crine knew that if he tried to stop the attack or block it, the statue would act. Yet, the statue was still pushing down with its strength.
Just as Crine looked like he was about to move, Ricktor came in quicker than Mada, not using fancy footwork but exploding his way across, and then kicked just the back of Crine's leg slightly, causing his head to turn.
"Damn son of Murkel!" Crine shouted.
"You should pay attention; I'm just a distraction," Ricktor replied.
Right then, a heavy foot bashed right into Crine's chest, delivered by Mada. A strike of water from behind seemed to be going into his foot and passing into Crine.
A gush of blood came out of Crine's mouth, but it also pushed him away from the statue.
"That kick… was stronger than I thought it would be," Crine said, looking up.
As he saw Mada going through the air, following up the kick with another strike to the head, Crine grabbed the foot before it reached him, stopping and absorbing the attack.
"You're still just a lesser version of me," Crine said before he felt another great attack on the back of his leg, delivered by Ricktor once again with the sword.
Right after being hit, Crine lifted his foot, and the armor surrounding his leg turned back into water. It gave it a greater distance than Ricktor thought, and even though he was deploying a short attack and retreat tactic, it didn't work this time.
The elbowing water hit him on the chin harder than the previous strike, sending him into the air. A wave of water continued, engulfing him until he eventually fell to the floor, looking lifeless.
"One has been dealt with; now to deal with you, son," Crine said.
"When I came forward, I never expected to be the one to finish you. I just wanted to see your face when you were done for," Mada finally spoke to his father right in front of him, and with full confidence.
It was something Crine had never heard spoken from his son. It no longer felt like he was talking to a student but to a fellow rival. Right after that, a strong stinging pain was felt right in the center of his stomach.
When Crine looked down, he could see the stone spear had impaled him. It wasn't a strike from behind but instead a strike from the front. How was Crine so blind not to see the statue attack?
While he held onto Mada's foot, it wasn't as if the attack had blocked his view or anything like that, but it was almost as if he had just forgotten about the statue and everything around them for a moment, just looking at his son.
"You have grown up quickly," Crine said, blood still flowing out of his mouth. "This is a lesson for you: before I go, you should always move forward."
Crine, holding onto Mada's foot, swung it to the side and moved forward through the spear. He then grabbed Mada's head before he fell and continued to move forward until he reached the statue.
With his one covered leg with the visual Qi armor, he swung it up, hitting the statue straight through its groin. Just like with the attack on Ricktor, the armored visual Qi turned to water, striking straight through the statue, turning it completely to rubble that just fell onto the floor.
At the same time, the stone spear that was in Crine's stomach crumbled away.
"Sometimes the best solutions can be found by going forward. Although you have beaten me, without this will to keep going forward, you might never be able to defeat him… I wasn't able to defeat him."
The grip around Mada's face weakened, and Crine was seen falling on his back, splashing in the water. Immediately, Mada also fell onto his knees and looked at his father lying on the floor, his eyes open just looking at the sky, but oddly, there was a smile on his face.
Mada looked at the smile with all sorts of thoughts going through his head, but that's when he could feel someone walking by his side.
"Ricktor, where are you going? You're too hurt!" Mada called out.
"Didn't you hear your father's last words?" Ricktor replied. "We need to keep going forward. So now that we've dealt with one, we still need to take out my father as well."