Here is the English translation for Chapter 88, formatted with clear syntax, accurate grammar, and an engaging narrative flow tailored for Western readers, maintaining proper character consistency throughout:

88. The Scar on Gultron's Face

Just seconds before the catastrophic blast launched by Gultron detonated, howling gales whipped through the air. The massive surge of dark magic descended toward the battlefield where the righteous martial artists were locked in combat against the dark forces and the Golden Crane Academy.

Below, Alicia looked up in shock, but a voice suddenly called out beside her, snapping her back to reality.

"Alicia! Now! Deploy the portal behind me!"

It was Aji.

Alicia understood instantly. She recalled that aside from the ultimate martial arts left behind by her late grandfather, Yonan, the sealed scroll also contained a spatial manipulation technique—a secret spell preserved by the legendary saint himself.

Alicia was capable of performing it. Aji transmitted the exact spatial coordinates directly to her mind through his consciousness. Processing the location, Alicia manifested a circular spatial portal right behind Aji's back, stabilizing the rift as he moved.

Aji launched himself upward, intercepting Gultron's second dark blast mid-flight. Shooting through the explosion, Aji held his trajectory while Alicia maintained the portal's anchor from the ground. In a flash, the spatial portal collapsed, swallowing both Aji and Gultron into the void.

Their destination was a remote, isolated location on the Frost Line continent. Why had Aji chosen those specific coordinates?

Though brief confusion crossed Alicia's mind, she quickly pushed it aside, turning her focus back to locating Sengturi to bring their battle to a decisive end.

Far across the world, on the Frost Line continent, a spatial portal tore open in the quiet expanse between three towering mountain peaks.

WUUUNGGGGGGGG!

The rift hummed with violent spatial resonance, startling flocks of birds into the sky.

Arcs of elemental energy crackled along the edges of the portal. A second later, two figures burst forth into the open air. Aji held a firm grip on Gultron's dark robes as they emerged mid-air above the forest canopy nestled between the mountains.

Gultron's face twisted in shock. The sheer velocity with which the youth had dragged him through the portal had left him completely unable to counter during transit. However, the moment they cleared the spatial rift, Gultron unleashed a burst of dark magic to sever Aji's grip. The two disengaged instantly, leaping backward to land on opposing tree branches.

Gultron stared at his opponent in disbelief. The figure who had negated his ultimate blast and dragged him across continents via spatial magic was a young man wearing the official uniform of the Sky Squad. How could a mere youth command such terrifying capability?

"Who are you, boy? I'll grant you this—you possess remarkable audacity."

A silence settled over the canopy as a gentle mountain breeze blew past them.

"It has been a long time, Gultron."

Gultron's eyes widened. This youth knows me? What's more, the boy spoke without a single trace of fear—addressing one of the feared Five Gates as if speaking to an old acquaintance. Was the youth completely insane, or did his combat prowess truly match his supreme confidence?

Words meant nothing without a test of strength. Gultron reached for the weapon strapped to his left waist—a dark blade that had claimed the lives of countless martial artists. It had been years since he last drew his steel, forced into hiding by the Demon Lord to oversee long-term preparations.

His latest directive had been safeguarding the logistical pipeline for mass-producing weapons, but it seemed he would get a bit of entertainment today after all.

Gultron raised his sword into the air, causing the mountain winds to turn violent, swirling heavily around his frame in a dense, dark aura.

"I don't know what nonsense you're spouting, boy, but it seems you'll provide a decent warm-up."

Swirling dark magic condensed at the tip of his blade as Gultron whipped his sword toward Aji. A barrage of pitch-black energy arcs erupted from his weapon, fanning out into curved crescent waves that rained down on Aji from every direction.

BOOOOMMM! CRASH!

Explosion after explosion detonated across the canopy. Aji dodged the onslaught with practiced, fluid precision, vanishing from one spot only for another wave of energy to obliterate the space he had occupied a fraction of a second prior. He moved with blinding speed, flickering back and forth through the air. Gultron observed the youth's evasive movements and intensified his bombardment, hurling full-power strikes without pause. Yet, despite the torrential assault, the youth slipped past every wave, maintaining complete composure.

Gathering his core energy, Gultron altered his strategy. Instead of alternating strikes, he redirected hundreds of dark energy arcs to converge simultaneously on a single point—locking onto the youth in an inescapable, unified strike.

WOOOOSHH!

In response, Aji drew a weapon from behind his back—a long staff.

A few moments before Aji stepped through Alicia's portal...

Upon entering the courtyard battle, Chief Blacksmith Rakuta had spotted Aji amidst the chaos, unaware of where the youth had arrived from. Aji had just neutralized Gultron's initial dark blast, erasing its force entirely through a specialized containment artifact.

It was the Loka Artifact—a triangular magic item housing an isolated spatial pocket. Aji had kept it stored for a long time. The artifact was built to absorb massive destructive blasts and neutralize their explosive yield entirely. Aji had never needed to use it before, but he had kept it for an absolute emergency.

The Loka Artifact was a unique magic item crafted personally by Yonan; it was a single-use tool that would self-destruct along with the energy it absorbed.

When Aji regrouped with the Sky Squad, the surrounding fighters were too stunned by Gultron's descending blast to notice his presence. Rakuta, however, had seen Aji and immediately tossed him the final weapon completed by his forge team—the custom long staff.

Catching the staff mid-air, Aji had immediately darted toward Alicia, instructing her to open a targeted spatial portal linked to the exact coordinates preserved in his consciousness—a remote mountain range on the Frost Line continent.

Back in the present, Aji raised his new staff, spinning it with fluid precision while channeling a dense stream of internal energy along its length to block Gultron's synchronized assault. Explosion after explosion erupted against the rotating staff, but Aji held his ground effortlessly, containing the blasts entirely at the tip of his weapon.

BLAAAAAAAARRRRR! BOOOOOOOOMMM! BOOOOOOMMMMM!

Gultron halted his assault, forced to acknowledge that the youth before him was exceptionally formidable.

"Name yourself, warrior! I grant respect to capable opponents!"

Aji offered a calm, subtle smile. "I am Aji Bagaskara. And today, you depart from Shura's side permanently."

Gultron flinched, once again unsettled by the youth named Aji. The boy had explicitly uttered the name Shura—the true, ancient name of the Demon Lord. Just how deeply was this youth connected to the Demon Lord's inner circle?

"How do you know our affairs, Aji?" Gultron demanded, his tone laced with genuine curiosity.

"Twenty years ago, when you received that scar over your eye," Aji replied calmly. "I knew you well back then, Gultron—one of the Five Gates hailing from the Frost Line."

Gultron gasped. Reaching up, he pulled back his dark hood, revealing his face. Across his left eye ran a deep, jagged scar.

Had it been an ordinary wound, it would have healed completely long ago. But that scar had been sustained twenty years prior while shielding the Demon Lord during their fateful clash against the Three Legends—a lethal strike delivered by Ganada, amplified by Yonan's magic.

Staring at the young warrior standing quietly on the tree canopy, Gultron felt a cold dread creep into his heart. Who in the world is this youth named Aji?