The battle reached its climax, like a hurricane devouring everything around it. In other corners of the ruined city, war raged like an uncontrollable storm.
Kaze danced with the winds like a maddened god. His body floated, spun, dissolved into cutting gusts, reappearing seconds later in a different spot, always with a cruel smile on his lips.
Dan's clones, once useful, were now mere paper dolls before Kaze's fury. He sliced through them with a single cut, spinning his wind katana with absolute precision. A white, invisible whirlwind where every movement was a death sentence.
— Weak… — he murmured as he destroyed three more copies in one strike. — You're still far from understanding the essence of combat.
They had no time. There was no room for training or gradual evolution. Everything they lacked had to be understood now. Applied in the heat of battle.
That's when a streak of light crossed the sky, zigzagging like a comet. Stella had fired. Her aura shone in golden and orange hues, wounded but determined.
Kaze rolled his eyes.
— That brat again... — he murmured.
With a snap of his fingers, a spiral of air enveloped his body like a shield. The light streaks curved, deflected by currents controlled to the millimeter.
— That attack… takes longer to regenerate from. She's the most dangerous among the weak. — he thought, analyzing coldly. — I should prioritize dodging her. But…
He turned slowly, his green eyes glinting as he saw Fenra. Motionless. Observing.
— She's the problem. — he swallowed dryly. — That damned space technique… I've been trapped in it before.
He felt the distortion in the air around his body. Felt reality bending, his senses failing.
— If it were just her and me, I'd manage. But these damned kids keep interfering. However… there is a way. I just need a little more time…
Meanwhile, Fenra advanced toward the total control of her technique.
Her gray aura expanded, and the third phase of her technique completed. A translucent dome, nearly invisible to the naked eye, enveloped only her and Kaze, as if placing them inside a giant glass jar.
But the deadly trick was another: Fenra could manipulate gravity and direction within that space. She shook the "jar" slightly from side to side, and Kaze's coordination failed for an instant.
He staggered, even without moving his legs. His spatial perception spun.
And then Fenra summoned her weapons.
From her right arm emerged a blade of white light. From the left, a second one. Twin and ethereal. Divine swords made of pure distortion.
In the third stage of her technique, she could use weapons and finish the opponent.
She shot forward like a gray arrow, cutting through the wind. Kaze, still dizzy, smelled metal before he even saw the glow of the blades. Her energy surrounded him like a closed field, and he knew: only he was affected inside it.
But he… smiled.
— …You fell into the trap. — he thought, barely containing his laughter. His gaze shone with madness.
Fenra hesitated for a millisecond. Something was wrong.
But it was against the rules of her own technique to stop mid-way. She had to strike. She had to hit.
— In this technique, only Aisha forced me to this… you will be the second. — Kaze said with an almost respectful tone. — "Be proud."
He planted his feet, the winds swirling around him.
— This time, I'll prioritize destructive power. Less range… but full force.
The ground cracked under his feet. Kaze invoked his Awakening. From his waist, he drew an invisible sword—a blade made only of concentrated wind, but one that seemed to tear reality itself as it was wielded.
The atmosphere screamed.
Everything around fell silent. As if the world held its breath.
— What is that…? — Fenra thought, frightened.
Aisha's words echoed in her mind:
"If he draws that sword... run. Run with everything you have."
Kaze assumed the drawing stance. His energy grew, compact and dangerous. It was like watching lightning being charged inside a minefield.
Fenra turned to the others.
— "RUN!!! NOW!!!" — she screamed, her lungs tearing with desperation.
Then she made the decision.
Fenra impaled Kaze with one of the blades, driving it into his shoulder, and dragged him as far away as she could.
But it was too late.
The explosion happened.
From the center of the impact, a wave of brutal destruction spread like a tsunami of wind and cuts.
500 meters in every direction.
Buildings, poles, cars, concrete—everything was shredded into microscopic fragments.
Dan and Stella saw the glow.
Fenra vanished into the light.
— FENRA!!! — Stella screamed, desperate.
But before the wave could swallow them, Dan grabbed the collar of her shirt and ran with all his might. Treading on his own bones. Using every last drop of energy.
It wasn't enough.
The wave hit them.
Tekio, in the distance, felt the impact like a punch to the heart. His eyes turned toward the explosion. The energy dome, the light, the noise—all blended into the chaos.
He hesitated.
Only for a second.
Karmore took advantage.
A cross punch to the chin, dry and brutal. Tekio flew backward, blood flying with him.
His head spinning, the ground trembling under his feet.
— I need to go to them… — he whispered, staggering.
— Your friends are going to die. — Karmore replied coldly. — And you too. Didn't Yara teach you that hesitating… is the same as dying?
She advanced. Tekio screamed. And kept fighting.
Days before… between worlds.
In the silent training of another plane, Yara watched.
— How do I use your lightning? — Tekio asked, in thought.
She replied, without beating around the bush:
— Your body isn't resistant enough. This power isn't yours, it's mine. But… there is a way. Something passive. It might work.
It was a bold idea: to fuse their auras.
Not using Yara's powers directly, but activating her aura alongside his. Uniting them.
Two presences in one.
Back to the fight: Tekio's first punch collided with Karmore.
She recoiled. Instinctively.
— …You never cease to surprise me, huh, Tekio… — she murmured, narrowing her eyes. — A weakling trying to be strong. It disgusts me… and fascinates me at the same time.
Tekio's aura boiled with electricity, dancing around his body. White lightning ran across his skin. His eyes shone with Yara's presence.
— But it still won't be enough to kill me. — she said, coldly.
Tekio stared at her.
— It doesn't matter. Killing you… isn't my goal.
She arched an eyebrow.
— What a pity. — she replied with an icy voice. — You will die.
And then they collided again, like thunderclashing in the sky.
To be continued…