There were numerous wounded people in the hallway, some of whom were still fighting. On the outside, something else had happened. Garuda's position was even affected by the powerful pulse that permeated Castlemania's skies, and he knew that by experiencing it, he may have discovered what he had been looking for.
Garuda's demeanor changed from grave to exuberant as he realized he had finally located Yumiko's footprints.
Bow stood motionless in the middle of the three opponents he would have to repel, keeping his bow steady in case he needed to use it to repel an attacker. Codey turned to face him at that precise time and moved forward to stand in front of Ayuka and Ralphie.
"What will you do as a result? Our friends had already been pressured into doing something that we didn't want. Our buddy over here has a wound and needs medical attention as quickly as possible because of your sidekick. Will you let us through or are you going to fight all three of us at once?"
Bow put down his bow and remained motionless for a moment before turning to face Kou and observing the severity of the wounds on his body. He appeared to be more at ease and would only attacked when absolutely necessary.
"I've initially told you. I didn't mean to hurt any of you, but because you entered Muro's territory, the majority of you now require medical attention." he explained while pulling the string of the bow,
"I won't impede you. You can return with your companion and take care of him, but if you want to find Muro, one of you must remain here and engage in battle with me. One of you had injured one of my comrades, just as one of us had done it to you. If we battle it out, we can settle this with fairness."
Ralphie and Ayuka made eye contact before noticing Codey's open palms and the two boomerangs that had emerged in each of his hands as a result of the wind swirling around his hands.
"Is that right? You want to have a fight to decide who is really the winner?" he wondered, "Then I'll join you in that endeavor, but if you want me to continue fighting, you must immediately inform us of Muro's location within this castle so that one of us can go help our captain."
Bow adjusted his posture and saw no reason to turn down Codey's request. He turned to face the wall on the left side that divided the western and eastern corridors after grabbing the bow with one hand.
"That wouldn't be required, since Master Muro already had interaction with your captain, and they are currently engaged in a battle for Yumiko. If you still want to know where he is, it's on the eastern side of the corridor on the final floor of the castle.
"But the way I see things going, none of you would need to step in and intervene. Your captain is more than capable of carrying out her duties by herself. That is all the information you requested from me, and I could give you some good news, but those are unimportant.
"Is that satisfactory to you? So, if you're here to finally resolve this and deal with any loss-related repercussions, I urge you to move quickly and take your friend to the ship. Now that our leader is running amok and losing control, that is the only area that is secure. Your crew undoubtedly has a doctor of some sort on board."
Without any more issues, Codey allowed Ralphie and Ayuka to take Kou back to the ship and finally cure his injuries because he believed him and was very perceptible for reading when people lie and tell the truth.
He would undoubtedly require the medical care that Ayuka could offer and the cuisine that Ralphie could cook. When it came to Codey, they were at a loss for options, so the two of them couldn't make him change his mind.
"Wait..."
Ayuka said just one word at that exact time. Her body was the focus of everyone's interest as she neared Trap's damaged body.
"What are you doing?" Ralphie questioned, holding Kou on his back.
Bow raised his bow and pointed it directly at the body of Ayuka. Because of his mistrust, he didn't want his friend to sustain any further injuries. He listened intently to her and kept a close eye on her to see what she was going to do.
She had a far more memorable plan, which ended up not being something dreadful. Knowing that Bow's weapon was fixed on her and would not miss its target if she did something horrific, she looked at Trap's body.
But after looking, she moved her hands over his wounds, and everyone saw a bright light gently encircling the wounds at that same time. The sight was startling to the eye, but when the white light completely encircled and dipped into the wounds, a miracle occurred.
She stood up and backed away.
"That ought to finish it. Even though I'm not a doctor, some of my aura was there in his wounds. It is a type of medical care that can mend small wounds. It's not enough to fully heal him, but it's enough to keep him alive.
"After the two of you have concluded this duel, I recommend you to bring your friend to a medical professional who can treat his more serious wounds. The least I can do is thank you for providing us this opportunity."
Ralphie didn't voice many grievances. He realized that her actions were not in vain and were for the best. Ralphie and his companions would not have been able to escape Garuda's control if it weren't for them.
In order to prevent inadvertent damage to Trap, Ayuka leant his body against the walls of the corridor. Once this was done, she quickly fled the area with Ralphie and returned to the ship, leaving Codey to fight Bow by himself.
Ayuka's actions for his friend increased Bow's trust, but he still didn't want to let Muro down and wanted to finish with his duty. It was a confrontation between two opponents who had been using distance to their advantage.
For Bow's final combat at the castle, there were no spoken words used to start the conflict—all actions were taken immediately. Win or lose, he vowed not to engage in combat again unless Muro managed to vanquish the intruder.
Before hurling the boomerang through the air at breakneck speed, Codey took action by swinging his arm forward from one side. The boomerang intentionally curved itself to fly close to the wall, past Bow, and then change directions in order to target his back.
He had more than enough time to plan his movement before the boomerang struck thanks to Bow's Forbidden Technique. Knowing that the boomerang would follow him, he hastily bent forward and skidded to the side, near to the corridor's wall.
He ran up the wall while hopping. The wall was struck by the boomerang. He then performed a flip after rebounding from the wall in the air and tightened the string. When he was upside down and near to the ceiling, he pointed his bow forward.
He released a volley of golden light-encircled arrows that soared through the air. If Codey didn't take action, they would hit him given that they had him in their crosshairs.
He adjusted his posture and pointed his hand in the direction of the arrow. He started to whirl the wind in front of his hands, scattering the pebbles in the process. The wind surged forward as he shot it out right away, severely derailing the arrows and disrupting their trajectory.
These arrows were shot straight through the hallway. Bow was pulsated by the gust of wind before being sucked in by it. Bow covered himself and crossed his arms, but he could still feel the wind's force propel him back into the hallway.
Bow couldn't help but end up being flung down onto the floor as there was no solid ground beneath his feet. Due to the wind, his body rolled on the ground but eventually crawled up.
He wasn't quite on his feet, but he did see that Codey had taken another step. Bow noticed that the boomerang was already spinning through the air in front of him before he could even straighten up straight.
The strain of the actions taken was too much for him to manage, so he had no time to react and was unable to concentrate on his Forbidden Technique.
His body felt as though it had been rammed by a car when the boomerang hit him. The powerful blow lifted his body off the ground and caused him to fall to the ground on his back. The two boomerangs returned to Codey, who had been engaged in a protracted, frantic dash before catching them.
Knowing that he wouldn't have time to flee, Bow aimed the arrow towards him. Codey sliced his boomerang forward and used its strength to knock the arrow to the side as it was flying rapidly. Then he launched himself into the air and did a flip over Bow's limp body.
He launched the boomerang toward Bow from above the surface of the floor.
Bow carefully rolled on his side and against the wall, feeling as though a boomerang had smashed to the ground below him. Its hit sparked a whirlwind, which erupted at the ceiling and then unleashed a ferocious gust all around.
Bow crossed his arms to protect his body from the wind while running the risk of hitting the wall with his back.
Codey rolled over and slid toward the ground. He set his soles in them, squatted, and then scooted to the side. He picked up the boomerang he had thrown to the ground at the same time.
He let Bow get up from the wall while he took deep breaths. He was fatigued from all the pressure he had to unload from his body.
Although Bow appeared to have more stamina than Codey himself, he too was worn out by the blows he endured.
Their duel remained undecided.
To be continued...