Side charged at Ryan without hesitation, and at the same moment, Rhyn charged back. Asterazine clashed with Asterazine, and the heavens themselves seemed to tremble from the sheer force of the exchange. Every blow Side landed was blocked, and every strike Ryan made was met with a counter-strike. Swords flew, and pressure waves rose until the world seemed on the verge of collapse.
The battle intensified, and in a crucial moment, Sid twisted halfway around his body and unleashed a sideways attack with both Asterazine swords simultaneously.
The attack hit the side of Asterazine Ryan, causing part of it to crack.
Side gave his opponent no chance to catch his breath, but continued to apply relentless pressure, with successive blows. Rhyne gritted his teeth and continued to parry the attacks, then suddenly undid his entire Asterazine formation. Side paused for a moment, then said sarcastically, "Are you going to give up now?"
But Rhyne simply smiled. The massive Asterazine sword remained suspended in mid-air, pulsating with immense power, while Rhyne's body was freed from its armor. "Asterazine consumes a tremendous amount of energy," Ryan said confidently. "But I didn't cancel it to escape. I canceled the formation to unleash all my energy into the sword alone."
Side's eyes widened for a split second. "Clever."
He immediately understood what Ryan had done. "So you admit that your Asterazine is stronger than yours," Side said.
"I didn't say that," Ryan replied, mentally guiding the sword. "I'm simply using my energy intelligently."
The sword hurtled toward Side at incredible speed. Side raised his swords and blocked the attack, but the surprise wasn't over. Ryan let the sword engage alone, his body disappearing from view, circling Side at breakneck speed, searching for an opening. In a moment, he appeared behind Asterazin Side and delivered a surprise blow to him.
Side flung Ryan's Asterazine sword away with a powerful flick and turned to finish him off with a final blow, but there was no one there. He looked up. Ryan was directly above him.
Ryan gathered energy, pumping it all at once into his Asterazine sword, then hurled it with full force at Side. Side noticed the attack at the last second and tried to block it with his own swords, but the power was overwhelming.
His swords shattered. Ryan's Asterazine sword pierced Side's Asterazine. At the last moment, Side broke free from the formation, moving away from the point of impact. Ryan laughed, his voice weary but triumphant.
"What do you think now? Doesn't this prove that my Asterazine is stronger than yours?"
Side smiled coldly. "Fool," he said calmly, releasing his energy again.
The Asterazine began to form around him once more. "What you did wasn't superiority," he said. "You simply concentrated your energy into one sword to avoid depleting it. This doesn't prove your strength; it proves your reserve is weak compared to mine."
Ryan grew angry. "If your energy wasn't weak," he shouted, "Saruto wouldn't have needed to fuse with Void!" "He made up for his lack with you!"
The Asterazine paused for a moment, then continued to form with even greater power. "Saruto didn't fuse because his energy was weak… it was because he decided to keep pace with your evolution," Sid said in a steady voice.
Then, in a tone that made Ryan's heart sink, he added, "And let me tell you something, I'm now using only Saruto's stockpile."
Ryan eyes widened. "What?!"
"And now… I'll show you why my Asterazine is stronger than yours," Side continued.
The ground began to tremble. The sky crackled open. A terrifying energy surged forward, causing Kyle and Lucien to back away involuntarily. The complete Asterazine appeared. A gigantic, towering, majestic being, Sid was within the forehead of this formation. Two enormous swords formed, and within them, unspeakable power was concentrated.
"What is this…?" Lucien whispered in astonishment.
"I don't know… but Ryan in trouble," Kyle replied in a low voice.
Ryan thought this immense size would slow Side down, but he was wrong. In a flash, the giant moved with lightning speed, slashing his swords at Ryan. Ryan mustered what little energy he had left in his Asterazine sword, trying to block, but the difference was clear.
The blow nearly crushed Side completely.
At the last moment, Kyle and Lucien rushed in together, intervening with all their might to save Ryan from certain death. Ryan collapsed, completely drained of energy.
Side canceled the completed Asterazine formation and appeared before them in a flash. He looked at them all and said calmly, "Now… it has been determined who possesses the strongest Asterazine." "Let's go back to the Academy."
He snapped his fingers. Saruto's world vanished. They all reappeared in one of the Academy's gardens. Side paused for a moment, then said, "My mission ends here… I enjoyed this fight."
His energy began to fade, and his features reverted to those of Saruto. Before the fusion completely disappeared, he said, "When the Dragon Heir awakens… tell him I'm looking forward to our next fight. And he should train hard until then."
He vanished. Saruto regained consciousness, tried to speak, and then collapsed, unconscious as well. Lucien quickly caught him. Kyle sighed wearily, "Why do we always have to put up with these two's nonsense?"
"Let's take them to the hospital," Lucien replied, looking at them. "They need to rest and recover."
They drove them to the Academy's hospital.