[The Flagship: The Beast Unbound]
The moonlight was choked out by the black smoke rising from the EDEN fleet. On the main deck of the flagship, the air was thick with the scent of ozone and the heavy weight of Raiden's presence.
Ato stood in the center of the debris, his mind finally clearing from the shock of Raiden's absurd marriage proposal. "Well I'm shocked," Ato muttered, wiping a trail of dark blood from his lip, "but i will have to defeat you guys. I know your power, Raiden. You can absorb my power, turn it into energy, and use it against me."
Raiden let out a booming laugh, his massive EDEN coat flapping like the wings of a vulture. "Ok, but still you can't defeat me. Knowing a wall exists doesn't mean you can climb it, brat!"
Ato didn't waste another breath. He charged. His boots cracked the deck planks with every stride. When he reached Raiden, the Vice-Commander braced himself, expecting a head-on punch to absorb. But Ato shifted his weight at the last microsecond. Instead of striking, Ato caught Raiden's massive hands, used the Commander's own weight against him, and slammed him into the ground with the force of a falling meteor.
"Now!" Ato grunted.
But he wasn't alone. Rina, seeing her leader grounded, raised her long pipe. With a sharp exhale, she started shooting poison needles towards Ato in a silver blur. Ato's reflexes kicked in; he dodged the projectiles, his body twisting like a leaf in a gale. He locked eyes with Rina, but before he could close the distance, Jiro moved.
"Flash!" Jiro shouted, throwing a specialized bomb.
A blinding white light erupted, searing Ato's retinas. For a few agonizing seconds, he couldn't see anything. He relied on pure instinct. He heard the whistle of a needle and tilted his head, feeling the wind of the poison dart graze his ear. As his vision flickered back, he sprinted towards Rina.
Ato: "I don't care if you are the opposite gender. If you come in my way, you will have to face me!"
Ato channeled the "Black Bullet" energy into a devastating straight. He punched Rina in the face so bad the deck cracked beneath her, and she was sent spiraling into the bulkhead.
But the victory was short-lived. Behind him, the ground shook.
Raiden: "Palm's Wrath!"
The kinetic shockwave hit Ato's back, launching him across the length of the ship. He tumbled through the air, crashing into a stack of iron crates. Dust again covered the ship, settling slowly in the damp night air.
From the dust, Ato silently walked out. He wasn't running anymore. He was patting his shoulder, looking almost bored, though his eyes were glowing. Jiro, panicked by Ato's resilience, throwed another flash bomb. Again, Ato was not able to see.
Raiden: "Fury Wrath!"
Raiden didn't hold back. He rained down continuous blows on Ato—punches that could shatter buildings. But in the middle of the storm, Ato's hands moved. He caught both of Raiden's hands mid-swing.
Ato: "I was waiting for this moment."
Ato gripped Raiden's wrists and began slamming the giant man into the deck over and over, left and right, like a ragdoll. The ship groaned under the impacts. Just as he was about to deliver a finishing blow, Jiro disrupted him by throwing an explosive bomb. The blast forced Ato to let go and jump back into the safety of the shadows.
Raiden stood up slowly, his EDEN coat torn and his face bruised. "Thanks, Jiro."
Raiden didn't wait to recover. He jumped towards Ato. This time, his speed had doubled. Ato tried to move, but his feet felt heavy. Raiden's attack connected, sending Ato reeling back.
Ato: "That attack was something stronger, i would say."
Raiden: "Now you have to face this types of attack from now on!"
Raiden jumped again. Both of their fists collided in the center of the ship. The shockwave was so immense the whole ship shook, and waves erupted around the hull.
Jiro watched from the sidelines, sweating. "Those two are too much for me to handle. I should back up."
Raiden's power was peaking. He absorbed the kinetic energy of Ato's strike and converted it into a more powerful force. "Take it!"
The counter-strike was two times more powerful than Ato's original attack. Ato took the attack head-on, his body creating a crater in the deck. Silence followed.
Raiden: "Not gonna give up easily, are you?"
He jumped again, descending like a god of war. "Fury Wrath!"
A barrage of strikes hit the crater, and the attack stopped only when the wood had turned to splinters.
Jiro: "It's finally over."
Dust covered the ship once more. But Raiden didn't relax. He knew what was coming, so he stood guarded, his knees bent, his energy focused.
The dust cleared, revealing a terrifying sight. A pure, blinding white aura was surrounding Ato. His hair was flickering, and the air around him was screaming.
Ato: "Limit Breaker."
The entire ship started shaking again, the wood moaning as if the vessel itself were afraid.
Jiro: "What is that powe—"
Before he could finish talking, Ato appeared behind him. It wasn't a run; it was a teleport. Ato caught Jiro's head tightly. His grip was so tight that Jiro's vision began to fade, his skull feeling like it was about to explode.
Jiro: "Leave me..." he gasped, struggling fruitlessly.
Ato: "Ok."
Ato throwed Jiro so hard that the Vice-Commander became a human cannonball. He smashed through the side of the flagship, leaving a massive hole. The ship began to groan—it was about to sink.
Raiden, seeing his ship failing, quickly jumped to another vessel nearby. "Shit! This is my ship... it means she is inside!"
Ato didn't let him escape. He jumped to the ship Raiden had landed on.
Raiden: "Why did I jump to my ship? I should have jumped to Jiro's ship!"
Ato: "You said that she is inside. Right?"
Raiden stood at the deck, his back to a heavy iron door that likely led to the brig. Ato didn't hesitate. He channeled the Limit Breaker energy into the ground.
Ato: "Earth Shaker!"
Raiden braced himself. "Ok, come at me. I will reflect it—"
The attack hit Raiden, but this time, the energy was different. It wasn't just a physical hit; it was a vibration that bypassed his skin. Raiden could feel the energy of the attack inside him, shredding his internal defenses. The deck beneath him broke, and he fell through to the lower level, blood spraying from his mouth.
Raiden: "How...? But for now, i need to show him what I'm capable of."
He jumped back to the deck, his face twisted in a mixture of pain and pride. "Now come at me, Ato!"
[The Second Ship: The Sky-Dancer's Trap]
Meanwhile, Lemon was struggling. He was trying to punch Sora, but the woman moved like the wind she controlled. He was missing every time.
Sora: "Sky Dance."
She began to spin on one hand, her legs becoming a lethal propeller. She was continuously hitting Lemon, her boots clipping his jaw and ribs. From the back, Faramis saw an opening. He pulled out his modified rocket launcher and fired.
Sora sensed the heat and air jumped, soaring into the night sky. Lemon, seeing the rocket coming at him, had to dive face-first into the deck.
Lemon: "Idiot! Don't just use rockets on me!"
Faramis: "What should I do? You can't even attack her!"
Sora laughed from above. She was shooting air slashes like invisible guillotines. Lemon was dodging them, but when one slash headed for Faramis, the inventor barely rolled out of the way.
Lemon: "Hakkai—"
Sora: "Thousand Slashes!"
The attack was sudden and overwhelming. Lemon was able to dodge some, but the sheer volume of the wind-blades was too much. They hit him all at once. Dust again covered the whole ship.
Faramis: "LEMON!"
Sora landed softly, her eyes cold. "I know that if i take him down, you are nothing."
Faramis looked at Sora in a rare, burning anger.
[The Third Ship: The Demon's Gaze]
On the third ship, the battle was reaching its conclusion. Kojo's purple aura was now completely out-classing Zen's future sight.
Zen: "What is this aura? It feels like it's eating the very air!"
Kojo: "Oni Gashi."
The strike was neat, powerful, and so quick it bypassed the two-second window. Zen couldn't protect himself; the purple energy slashed across his chest, and he fell back, bleeding heavily.
Kojo: "Give up."
Zen coughed, a dark smirk appearing on his face despite the wound. "That's my line, idiot. Now... I knew this day would come, so for that, i already planned something."