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Molvok threw his head back and roared. Lava burst from the seams of his armor, glowing through cracked plates as he slammed both fists into the street.
KRAAAM.
The asphalt collapsed inward and liquefied. The entire block buckled, then flooded as molten rock spread outward in a violent surge.
"DRAWN IN HELL, BITCH!"
The wave rushed forward, swallowing parked cars whole. Metal warped and sagged. Tires ignited. Pavement hissed and split as the heat rolled toward Tempestia.
She was gone.
Molvok straightened slowly, shoulders rising and falling. His eyes scanned the street, jaw tightening.
"What?! Where did—"
"You are too slow, asshole."
Her voice came from above.
Molvok's head snapped upward.
Tempestia hung in the air over him, coat snapping once in the heat draft. Her silver-blue eyes burned steady, unblinking. She lifted her hand, fingers loose, wrist relaxed.
She flicked.
Space around Molvok shuddered. The air compressed and folded in on itself, vibrations circling outward like a cage snapping shut.
Everything stopped.
The molten wave froze mid-roll. Lava hung suspended, dripping but never falling. Molvok's arms locked halfway through another swing, muscles straining uselessly. His armor creaked as pressure built with nowhere to go.
Tempestia dropped lower until she was level with his face. Her boots hovered inches above the ground.
She leaned in slightly.
"It's pointless for you to fight back," she said quietly. "Time has stopped and frozen in this area. More like it's removed."
She pulled her arm back and drove her fist forward.
BOOOOOOOOM.
The impact cracked the air itself. The shockwave punched outward, shattering windows across multiple blocks. The ground split open beneath them. Deep underground, rock plates screamed as stress rippled through the planet.
Her fist hit Molvok's face in slow motion. His jaw caved inward. Teeth snapped loose. Dark blood and saliva burst outward, suspended for a fraction of a second—
Then time snapped back.
The sound hit all at once.
Molvok vanished from the street. Compressed air detonated where he had been standing.
He punched through the sky like artillery fire, tearing past clouds, breaking the sound barrier in a single violent burst.
High above, his body finally stopped. He floated crookedly in the upper atmosphere, limbs slack. His face was crushed, armor split open around his skull. Thick, dark blood leaked from his mouth and eye socket, drifting in slow droplets.
Below, Tempestia did not hesitate.
She extended her hand, fingers spread.
"Hmph. It's over."
Her eyes narrowed. Invisible pressure snapped around Molvok's body.
He jerked hard as her telepathy seized him.
She yanked her hand downward.
His body slammed back toward the ground at hypersonic speed, armor screaming under the force. The air around him ignited from friction.
KRAAAAAAASSSH.
He tore straight through a fully evacuated tower. Concrete disintegrated. Steel beams folded and snapped. The building collapsed inward, exploding into gray dust and twisted metal.
Across the battlefield, Megalodon floated in place, arms crossed. He tilted his head slightly, slow and unimpressed.
Moon Light let out a low whistle.
"Hot damn. You took one down." He shifted his weight, boots scraping rubble. "Hope the other two go down like pie."
Tempestia didn't look away from the ruins.
"Sure," she said. "Wanna show me what you've got?"
Megalodon's eyes flicked toward her. He remained hovering, posture relaxed.
"How disappointing," he said evenly. "I thought your kind was much stronger. Better. Even faster."
A shrill scream tore through the air.
Nyzzor twisted toward the wreckage, tendrils thrashing, claws digging into the broken street. His chest heaved as he spotted the crater where Molvok had vanished.
"No! Molvok—" His voice cracked. "You whore. I'll kill you for that!"
He lunged forward, tentacles snapping out like whips. Claws tore through the air, ripping pressure lines into the space around Tempestia.
She moved.
A half-step. A pivot. A slide across broken asphalt. Each motion was minimal, precise. Claws missed her by inches, shredding debris instead. A tendril scraped her barrier and crumbled away on contact with her distorted space.
"These attacks aren't bad," she muttered, feet planting as she leaned back from another strike. "But I'm more worried about their leader."
Her eyes flicked toward Megalodon for half a second.
"He's not even impressed by our attacks."
Nyzzor snarled, frustration twisting his face. His claws slammed down again, cracking the ground where she had just been.
"Why can't I hit you, damn it?!"
Before he could strike again, the air in front of him darkened.
Moon Light appeared directly in his path.
Energy rolled off him, light and dark aura bleeding together out of his body. Nyzzor's eyes widened as Moon Light twisted his torso and lifted one leg.
The world stopped.
Moon Light moved.
His kicks landed in rapid succession, each one clean and brutal.
SMACK.
CRACK.
TAP.
CRUNCH.
Ribs shattered inward. Limbs bent the wrong way. Tendons snapped with wet pops. Black blood sprayed out in thick arcs, frozen mid-air like spilled ink.
His final kick crushed Nyzzor's shoulder socket, folding the arm into his chest.
Time resumed.
Nyzzor screamed once before his body launched backward.
CRUUUUNCH.
He smashed into the monorail station. Concrete exploded outward. Steel rails twisted. His skull dented against a support pillar, bone cracking loud and sharp. One shoulder burst apart in a black splash against the wall.
Moon Light landed lightly on his feet. Dust settled around his boots.
He slid his hands into his pockets and exhaled slowly.
"Tempestia," he said, glancing back at the ruined street, "I think sending both of us was overkill after all."
He scratched the back of his head, eyes drifting over the wrecked buildings and collapsed towers.
"Also… taxpayers are gonna destroy us." He sighed. "We will never hear the end of this shit. I know my salary is cooked because we were two seconds late."
But the demons did not stay down.
Rubble shifted.
A deep, ragged grunt pushed out from beneath the collapsed tower. Concrete slabs cracked and slid aside as Molvok forced himself upright. His armor split apart in chunks, plates snapping loose and crashing to the ground. Molten light burned through the gaps, brighter than before. The exposed core in his chest pulsed violently, heat surging outward in waves.
He threw his head back and roared.
The sound rattled windows blocks away. Steel screamed. The street trembled.
Two horns tore through his skull with wet cracks, bone splitting as they forced their way out. Blood boiled off his face before it could drip. The air around him bent and shimmered under the heat. Nearby buildings began to sag, glass liquefying, concrete edges sloughing downward.
He staggered forward one step, chest heaving.
(Panting) "I… AM… GOING… ALL OUT!" His jaw clenched hard, saliva dripping from broken teeth. "YOU BITCH—THAT HURTS—IT REALLY REALLY HURTS A LOT!"
Tempestia and Moon Light turned toward him at the same time.
Her eyes narrowed.
"He evolved?" She thought.
Moon Light tilted his head slightly, watching Molvok's frame swell and burn brighter.
"Huh," he said. "He is still going after that?"
Tempestia moved.
With just one step.
She vanished.
Heat rippled uselessly through the space she had occupied.
She reappeared directly behind Molvok, boots inches from his heels, posture low and tight.
Her elbow drove forward.
KAAA-THOOOOOM.
The strike buried itself into his spine. Vertebrae shattered inward. Lava blasted straight up from his back, spraying across the street and splashing against nearby walls. The glow inside his body flared violently.
Her arm burned white, energy flaring around her forearm and elbow.
"Divine nullification."
Molvok's body locked.
His knees slammed into the street, cracking asphalt. The back of his head smoked as white energy crawled across his skull and down his neck. His arms twitched once, then went slack. He stayed upright, frozen in place, breath trapped in his chest.
Tempestia stepped back and raised her hand.
Water tore itself out of the air around him, compressing instantly into a rotating sphere. The surface churned violently, pressure tightening inward. Molvok's armor groaned as the sphere squeezed, steam blasting off his skin as demonic energy bled out in visible waves.
"It's over," she said calmly. "You are not breaking this. It will strip your demonic energy slowly and surely."
Across the battlefield, rubble shifted again.
Nyzzor pushed himself upright, movements uneven and jerking. His form flickered violently, glitching between dimensions before settling into a twisted humanoid outline. Two horns now jutted from his skull, still slick with blood. His chest rose and fell fast as he locked onto Tempestia.
Then he vanished.
Moon Light was still watching her when Nyzzor appeared behind him, claws already swinging upward toward his back.
Moon Light smiled.
He did not turn.
His body shifted just enough for the claws to slice empty air. In the same motion, he stepped through Nyzzor's space and reappeared behind him, hands still buried in his pockets.
"My eyes can see it all."
Time slowed inside Moon Light's mind.
Nyzzor's muscles tensed. Tendons pulled. The exact angle of his next movement unfolded clearly. Moon Light dipped his shoulder, boots scraping broken asphalt, then twisted sharply at the waist.
His fist vanished.
It reappeared inside Nyzzor's face.
WET CRUNCH.
Bone collapsed inward. Teeth exploded out of the demon's mouth as Moon Light's fist phased out again. Nyzzor skidded backward, heels carving deep lines into the street as he barely caught his balance.
He straightened.
Moon Light's fist materialized again.
This time inside Nyzzor's chest.
The impact crushed ribs inward and punched straight through flesh and organ.
A pulse detonated.
The shockwave ripped outward violently. Air pressure spiked and collapsed. The atmosphere fractured under the force, pressure tearing in all directions. Concrete blasted apart. Vehicles flipped and shredded.
Nyzzor's scream never finished.
Reality folded.
The battlefield buckled inward as space distorted violently. Colors inverted instantly. Gravity twisted and dragged sideways. The air screamed with electrical noise, vibrating through bone and steel.
The street vanished.
The sky collapsed.
They were no longer on Earth.
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