Chapter 79 — Deep Wounds
The rainbow bridge stretched endlessly beneath the fractured skies — its colors no longer radiant but trembling between life and ruin. Every beam of light bent, warped by the tremendous auras colliding across the heavens.
The wind howled, not like air, but like memory being torn apart.
The bridge quaked.
The gods had arrived.
At one end stood Revo, glowing in silver light that bent reality itself, his body stitched with shimmering fractures of time.
At the other — Kuzak, red dreadlocks swaying wildly, his three stripes burning like molten iron across his shoulders. The spiked club in his hand hummed with chaotic aura, tearing cracks in space with each swing.
And between them — stood Moro.
His cloak shredded, his breathing heavy, blood dripping from cuts across his face and arms.
Yet his eyes burned brighter than ever.
Behind him, his squad was down —
Kaya, kneeling beside the unconscious Herbet, her water aura flickering faintly.
Wolf Hunter, slumped against the bridge's railing, breathing shallow.
Yaya, pale and bruised, trying to rise but failing.
And Kiro— lying still, his lion aura nothing but a golden whisper around his fading form.
Moro was the only one left standing.
---
THE WORLD HOLDS ITS BREATH
Revo's calm voice sliced through the thunder.
"You should have stayed down, Moro. This isn't your fight anymore."
Moro raised his head slowly. "It became mine the moment you took my father's peace… the moment you twisted San Juan into your playground of time."
Revo's eyes narrowed. "You don't even understand the forces at work. You're clinging to sentiment — to weakness. That's why men like you always lose."
Before Moro could answer, Kuzak's laughter rolled through the air like an avalanche.
"Enough talk!" he roared, slamming his club down and shattering the bridge beneath his feet. "Let's see what the son of Jara can really do!"
The impact sent a blast wave racing through the bridge, but Moro planted his feet, aura flaring — blue and white flames igniting around him as he clenched his fists.
"I'll stop both of you," he said coldly. "Even if it kills me."
Revo lifted his hand. "Then let's correct your timeline, boy."
---
THE BATTLE BEGINS
The world exploded in light.
Kuzak charged first — faster than a lightning strike — his club spinning in a wide arc. Moro ducked under the first blow, leaping upward and striking Kuzak's chin with an uppercut infused with blue energy. The shockwave cracked the air.
Revo appeared instantly behind him — his movement not speed, but temporal displacement. He kicked Moro in the ribs midair, freezing time for a fraction of a second to strike again before reality caught up.
Moro crashed against the bridge, coughing blood. The impact echoed for miles.
But before Revo could move again, Moro vanished — then reappeared beside him with a fist already driving forward.
> FLASH IMPACT!
The blow caught Revo square in the jaw, bending time around the force.
Revo staggered backward, silver energy leaking from the crack across his face.
"You're adapting faster than I expected," he said coldly.
Moro wiped blood from his lip. "Guess time doesn't wait for cowards."
Before Revo could respond, Kuzak came crashing in again, swinging his spiked club horizontally. Moro crossed his forearms to block — the impact sending him skidding backward across the bridge.
The bridge's surface cracked under his boots, rainbow light splintering like glass.
Kuzak laughed. "That's it! Show me the fire of your bloodline!"
Moro's aura burst around him again — Ultra Fusion flickering across his body, his energy pulsating like waves of living flame. His wounds burned, but his resolve was sharper than pain.
---
THE TRINITY COLLISION
Revo raised both hands, forming a temporal sigil in the air — circles spinning like gears as threads of time wrapped around his fingers.
"Chrono Shift — Phase Collapse!"
Suddenly, the world stuttered — every sound distorted.
Moro looked around — reality froze, except for Revo and Kuzak.
Revo stepped forward slowly, time bending around him. "In this domain, you're already dead."
But Moro smiled faintly, blue sparks gathering around his fists. "Then I'll just break time itself."
He vanished — bursting out of the temporal freeze with a blue explosion that shattered Revo's domain. Time snapped back like elastic, cracking the air and disorienting Revo long enough for Moro to deliver a roundhouse kick to his chest.
Revo flew back, crashing through several suspended arches of the bridge.
Kuzak grinned. "Heh. Not bad."
He stomped forward, his aura exploding outward — Indestructible Diversion activating as two duplicates split from his body, each as strong as the original.
Moro's eyes widened. "Three of you?"
Kuzak roared. "Three times the death!"
The clones charged, one leaping high, the second low, the third head-on. Moro dodged one strike, blocked the second, but the third hit his ribs, sending him flying sideways.
Blood spattered the bridge. His breathing grew heavier.
Still, he landed on his feet, staggering but unbroken.
"I'm not done," he growled.
---
FURY OF THE GODS
Kuzak's laughter rolled again. "Then come die properly!"
Moro charged — blue aura blazing, fists trailing afterimages.
The air between them shattered with every collision. Each blow sent shockwaves so massive that they fractured the distant sea below.
Revo reappeared from behind, unleashing time bolts that sliced through the air, but Moro spun — redirecting them with a burst of energy.
One of Kuzak's clones was destroyed instantly, evaporating into crimson dust.
The bridge tilted violently.
Kaya screamed in the distance as she shielded Kiro's body from falling debris.
"Moro!" she shouted, but her voice was drowned by the roaring wind.
Moro clenched his jaw, pushing through his pain. "I'll find him… I'll find my dad… no matter what!"
His aura flared brighter, cracking the ground beneath him.
> "I promised I'd save him — and I don't break promises!"
Revo blinked forward, striking with a blade made of condensed time.
Kuzak swung from the other side with his club.
Moro caught both weapons bare-handed — the sheer force splintering the bridge under his feet — and screamed as blood dripped from his palms.
With a primal roar, he forced both of them back, releasing a massive energy burst that threw Revo and Kuzak apart.
---
THE DESCENT INTO MADNESS
Revo recovered first, landing gracefully in midair, his time aura rippling. "You're bleeding out, Moro. You can't sustain that fusion for long."
Moro dropped to one knee, gasping. His body was trembling violently.
Kuzak smirked, stepping forward, dragging his spiked club against the ground — sparks flying.
"Impressive fight, boy. But now… let me show you despair."
His aura flared, the evil awing aura erupting around him — black-red energy that consumed even the rainbow light. The sky itself darkened, splitting into jagged veins of crimson lightning.
Moro's eyes widened. The sheer pressure was suffocating.
Kuzak blurred out of sight — then reappeared in front of him, driving his knee into Moro's gut with earth-shattering force. Moro's mouth opened in silent pain as blood erupted from his lips.
Before he could recover, Kuzak followed with a spinning backhand that sent Moro flying across the bridge, crashing through multiple pillars before landing hard against the railing.
He coughed violently, his vision blurring. His limbs felt heavy — his body screaming for him to stop.
Kaya cried out, tears streaking down her face. "Moro! Stop, you'll die!"
But Moro forced himself up, gripping the railing to stand. His aura flickered weakly. "I can't… not yet."
---
THE LION RISES AGAIN
Kuzak walked toward him, club resting on his shoulder, eyes glowing red. "You fought well. I'll give you that. But this ends now."
He raised his weapon — but before the strike could fall, a golden flash split the air.
Clang!
Kuzak froze, eyes widening in surprise. His arm — the one holding the club — was gone.
Blood sprayed in an arc, evaporating into the charged atmosphere.
Behind him, standing tall despite his wounds, was Kiro, his lion aura blazing in full golden glory, eyes burning with fury.
"You forgot one thing," Kiro said coldly. "Lions don't die lying down."
Kuzak's grin faded into rage. "You…"
Kiro's aura roared — an ethereal lion head forming behind him, its mane made of living fire. He gripped his nin sword tightly, veins glowing as golden lightning surged through his arm.
"This time," Kiro growled, "I'm not holding back."
He vanished — flash-stepping faster than sight — and appeared in front of Kuzak, slashing multiple times in a single second. Each strike created a crescent wave of energy that tore through the clouds.
Kuzak howled as the slashes connected, forcing him backward. His body, though resilient, couldn't keep up with Kiro's resurrected fury.
Moro, seizing the moment, charged from behind — his blue aura igniting once more. Together, he and Kiro moved like a storm reborn — lion and flame, brother and bond.
Their combined energy shattered the bridge's center, engulfing Kuzak in a massive explosion of light.
---
THE LAST BREATH
When the light faded, Kuzak's massive frame was hurled across the sky, crashing into the far end of the Rainbow Bridge with a thunderous impact.
The shockwave rippled for miles.
Kiro dropped to one knee, panting, his sword trembling in his hand. "Did… did we get him?"
Moro turned toward him — but before he could answer, Revo appeared in a blur of silver, slamming his hand into Kiro's chest.
Time froze — literally.
Kiro's body locked mid-motion, his eyes widening as he was flung backward by an unseen temporal burst.
Moro's eyes widened in horror. "Kiro!"
He lunged forward — catching Revo's wrist mid-strike. Their eyes met — Revo's cold, analytical; Moro's wild, desperate.
"You're not taking him," Moro growled.
Revo tilted his head. "He's already taken."
He twisted his arm — sending temporal energy crawling into Moro's veins. Pain like molten steel seared through him. Moro screamed, forcing his energy outward, shattering Revo's hold — but the damage was done.
Blood poured from his nose and mouth. His vision dimmed.
Kaya screamed again, running toward him.
"Moro!"
He could barely hear her. His knees buckled. The world around him blurred into streaks of color.
Still — even as he fell, he smiled faintly.
"Not yet… I'm still… standing…"
He forced his trembling legs to hold him upright, body swaying like a dying flame.
His aura flickered weakly around him — a whisper of blue amidst the destruction.
Revo stared at him in silent disbelief.
Kuzak, rising from the crater in the distance, grinned wickedly.
The bridge trembled beneath the combined weight of gods, monsters, and dying men.
And there, standing between light and ruin —
Moro, bleeding, shaking, but unbroken — lifted his head one last time and whispered,
> "This… isn't over."
The skies rumbled.
The Rainbow Bridge cracked.
And San Juan held its breath for the next storm.
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