Rani POV - Nasuverse, Moon, Far Side, Sakura Labyrinth - 2030 AD
Before long, the eliminated Elsa and Sailor Pluto appear beside us in flashes of light.
For a moment, after materialising in the spectator area, both women are silent, carefully digesting what just happened to them.
Elsa looks at Sailor Pluto, then her gaze moves to her allies, Reika and Aika, before she looks down at her hands as if confirming that she still existed.
Finally, she exhales and quietly says, "I'm sorry. I became too careless. Bancho Stingmon exploited the opening and took me out."
Sailor Pluto immediately shakes her head and replies calmly, "No. You did nothing wrong."
Hearing that, Elsa looks up in surprise as Sailor Pluto continues, "His timing was perfect. Against opponents of that level, even the smallest lapse becomes fatal."
After saying that, she leans slightly on her Garnet Rod. Even though she had been revived, the exhaustion from using Time Stop still lingers in her posture.
Then she adds, "And besides, I had already been forced to use 3rd and final taboo of Space-Time earlier than intended, and because of that, my death created the very opening Bancho Stingmon exploited."
Aika frowns slightly before she asks, "You mean that Time Stop?"
Sailor Pluto nods and explains, "If I had waited any longer, the other Sailor Guardians would have been eliminated by Goddramon's attack."
Reika crosses her arms thoughtfully, looks at the cute Patamon cheering on his allies, and admits, "That Digimon was far stronger than expected. And that other Champion… Jayr. He is keeping up with Ledram... even surpassing him."
Her gaze returns to the battlefield before she adds, "His forces are also extremely dangerous."
Elsa follows her gaze before she nods and mutters, "These Champions are all truly frightening beings."
Below us, the battle has already resumed.
The Sailor Guardians have immediately turned their attention toward Bancho Stingmon and Exceed V-mon.
The moment Elsa had been eliminated, their focus snapped back with renewed intensity.
Flames once erupt across the battlefield.
Sailor Mars once again summons fire and surrounds herself with it. She then absorbs it in her hand and throws the fire while exclaiming, "Mars Snake Fire!"
The thrown fire then changes form in the shape of a snake and attacks her target, making the blazing serpent shoot across the arena.
Sailor Mercury summons a globe of water, which then splits into several streams that shoot toward her target while she calls out, "Mercury Aqua Mirage!"
The razor-sharp streams also advanced and converged toward their target.
Sailor Jupiter brings her hands together, gathering lightning from her tiara to form a disc-type of electricity and throws it towards the Digimon while yelling, "Sparkling Wide Pressure!"
Making lightning crash downward upon the battle-ready Digimon.
Lastly, Sailor Venus puts out her hand and shouts, "Venus!" Causing the symbol of Venus to appear and unleash a flurry of yellow sparkles.
The sparkles appear to gloss onto her lips and give her orange lipstick. She then kisses the palm of her hand, forming a yellow heart.
Shouting, "Love and Beauty Shock!" She throws it, and it circles her, multiplying into several hearts, then back into one glowing heart that moves to hit the enemy in an explosion of yellow light.
The golden energy hearts streak forward in a flurry, joining the onslaught.
Yet Bancho Stingmon and Exceed V-mon move with frightening coordination.
Bancho Stingmon vanishes and reappears repeatedly, slipping between attacks with sharp bursts of speed.
Exceed V-mon weaves through the bombardment, claws flashing as he deflects or scatters incoming attacks.
They fight like partners who have trained together for years, and likely they have.
Then Bancho Stingmon thrusts both arms forward and calls out, "Bakuraiten!"
Hundreds of bug-shaped mines erupt outward, scattering across the battlefield in erratic trajectories.
Some strike the ground and detonate instantly, others curve unpredictably through the air, forcing the Sailor Guardians and Sara to scatter.
Their formation breaks apart, and knowing that on their own they can't match their opponents, the Sailor Guardians hastily try to regroup.
At the same moment, Exceed V-mon takes advantage of this opening and draws in a deep breath.
I notice some form of dark energy gathering in his mouth that makes the very air tremble.
Once the gathered energy reaches the breaking point, Exceed V-mon calls out, "Exceed Extinction!"
Unleashing a massive beam of annihilating energy from his mouth that unrelentingly advances toward its target.
Every attack that tries to stop it simply ceases to exist, and seeing such a scene makes Hermes loudly warn inside my mind, [Dangerous!]
But before the beam can engulf the scattered Sailor Guardians, a single arrow streaks forward.
Sara Connor had already drawn her bow and released her own attack, and the arrow she released is no ordinary shot.
It is a condensed spear of pure light.
Instead of colliding head-on with the annihilation beam, the arrow sliced through its centre, forcing the beam to split cleanly in two.
The two halves curve past the Sailor Guardians, tearing deep scars into the reinforced battlefield behind them as the Sailor Guardians stare in shock.
Sailor Venus is first to snap out before she firmly declares, "All right. Girls, it's time to finish this."
She then turns toward Sara and yells, "Buy us some time."
Sara nods without hesitation and quickly starts to fight off Bancho Stingmon and Exceed V-mon.
At the same time, the other Sailor Guardians instantly move toward Sailor Venus.
They do not ask questions, nor do they hesitate, as they have already understood their companion's intentions.
They quickly form a circle, link their hands, and close their eyes as they concentrate and call out.
""""""Sailor Planet Power...!""""""
Soon, an insane amount of energy begins gathering between them.
Sailor Mercury's body starts to glow in a clear blue light as she shouts, "Mercury...!"
In response, the clear blue glow expands outward.
This is followed by Sailor Mars, whose body emits a warm red light while she shouts, "Mars...!"
Instantly, scarlet flames rise into the air.
After her, Sailor Jupiter, whose body is enveloped in a green aura, yells, "Jupiter...!"
Lightning crackles around them, almost enveloping them in a protective embrace.
Next, Sailor Venus, whose body emits a soft golden light, shouts, "Venus...!"
Making the golden light spread across the circle as Sailor Uranus, who emits a solemn orange glow, yells, "Uranus...!"
Then, as the wind surges violently, Sailor Neptune, whose sea green aura calmly rises from her body, joins them, yelling, "Neptune...!"
Suddenly, the oceanic energy flows outward like a tide and joins the others.
The energy continues growing, becoming stronger, brighter and denser with each passing moment.
Meanwhile, Sara stands alone between them and the Digimon with her arm and her bow moving continuously.
Arrow after arrow after arrow streak across the battlefield like a meteor shower.
Each arrow pierces through mines, energy blasts, or incoming attacks with perfect precision.
It looks as though she is holding back the entire battlefield by herself, all to buy precious time for her allies.
Finally, the Sailor Guardians raise their joined hands as their voices ring out together in perfect sync.
""""""... Meditation!!""""""
For a moment, everything stills, then the gathered energy fully merges together, becoming a crystalline white pure positive energy and erupts skyward.
The energy column bends sharply and crashes downward toward the Digimon.
Seeing that, Bancho Stingmon reacts instantly; he leaps onto Exceed V-mon's head, gathering all his energy into his spikes while calling out, "Bloody Finish!"
As his drills begin spinning at terrifying speed, at the same time, dark matter erupts around Exceed V-mon as he yells, "Death Impulse!"
A massive dragon-shaped aura forms around him, and Bancho Stingmon becomes a fearsome, dark, horned dragon. Then, the two Digimon launch themselves directly toward the descending planetary energy.
For a fraction of a second, their silhouettes cut through the blinding light like dark spears.
Bancho Stingmon's spinning drills tear through the air with a shriek sharp enough to vibrate in my ears even from the spectator area, while the dragon-shaped aura surrounding Exceed V-mon expands, twisting around them both like a living storm of black energy.
Above them, the combined power of the Sailor Guardians descends like a falling star.
The column of white light is so dense that it no longer resembles energy. It looks almost solid, like a pillar carved from pure radiance, its surface rippling with the colours of the planets that created it. Lightning crawls across it. Flames spiral along its sides. Currents of wind and water coil through the radiance like veins.
For a moment, both forces exist in perfect opposition, then they collide, and the impact is instantaneous.
Light and darkness meet in a detonation so violent that the entire arena shudders beneath us.
The shockwave spreads outward in a perfect sphere, flattening the battlefield below and blasting apart the surrounding air in a thunderclap that seems to strike every direction at once. The ground fractures like glass beneath the pressure. Jagged lines rip across the reinforced surface of the arena, racing outward faster than the eye can track.
Even the sky above distorts.
The very air twists and buckles as the two forces grind against each other, neither willing to yield. White radiance and black destruction churn together at the point of contact, forming a seething storm of opposing energies.
The Authority of the Concepts immediately reacts.
Invisible layers of containment tighten around the battlefield, stabilising the arena before the explosion can spread beyond its bounds. Even so, the strain becomes visible. Fine cracks appear along the edges of the arena's surface, glowing faintly as if reality itself is being stretched too far.
For a brief instant, the world seems to groan.
The sound is not truly audible. It is more like a pressure felt behind the eyes, a sensation that something fundamental is resisting the forces unleashed below.
The explosion grows brighter.
Blinding light floods the battlefield until even the silhouettes of the combatants vanish inside it. The energy column shatters into countless branching streams, each one lashing across the arena like a living whip of planetary power.
Darkness answers in kind.
The dragon-shaped aura around Exceed V-mon expands violently, its enormous jaws opening wide as if attempting to swallow the descending light itself. The spinning drills of Bancho Stingmon tear into the radiance again and again, shredding it into fragments that erupt outward in violent bursts.
Each clash produces another shockwave.
Another tremor rolls through the arena floor beneath our feet.
I watch the spectacle without blinking.
My eyes track the flow of energy automatically, analysing trajectories, estimating output, and calculating the approximate destructive yield of the collision. The numbers escalate rapidly beyond my initial projections.
If such forces were released without containment, the resulting shockwave would likely erase several light-years of terrain, possibly more. Maybe even the whole universe and other nearby ones.
With that realization a strange sensation rises in my chest.
At first, I assume it to be a simple physiological response to the increasing brightness of the explosion or the vibrations running through the spectator platform.
However, after a brief moment of analysis, I determined that explanation to be incorrect.
My heart rate has increased. My breathing has become slightly irregular. I pause my calculations.
The conclusion arrives quickly. Fear.
It is a curious observation.
My emotional range is limited by design. Extreme responses are rare. Yet as the storm of light and darkness continues to devour the battlefield below, my body registers the scale of the phenomenon regardless of those limitations.
The power being unleashed surpasses most combat scenarios I have previously observed.
Even knowing that the spectator area is completely protected, a faint tension remains in the back of my mind.
Beside me, the other spectators stare silently at the battlefield.
The explosion continues to expand for several more seconds before the containment systems finally stabilise the conflict. The raging storm of energy begins to compress inward, forced back toward the centre as the Authority of the Concepts asserts control.
Gradually, the blinding radiance fades.
The violent tremors cease.
The battlefield, heavily damaged, begins repairing itself as the surrounding systems reconstruct the shattered terrain.
Only then does the lingering pressure in the air disappear.
And only then do I notice that my hands have unconsciously tightened into fists.
Yet within the spectator area, we remain perfectly safe.
When the dust clears, the Sailor Guardians are still standing, but they are breathing heavily, clearly exhausted.
Their energy reserves seem to be nearly depleted after unleashing such a formidable combination attack.
Then I notice two small figures lying on the ground across the battlefield.
They are Wormmon and V-mon.
It is obvious that Bancho Stingmon and Exceed V-mon have reverted to their previous forms.
At this point, Sara immediately moves forward and raises her bow with the evident intent of finishing them off.
Yet another light arrow begins forming, but at that exact moment, Jayr's voice rings out across the battlefield.
"Tidal Wave Punch!"
I focus my gaze just in time to see his fist strike the air before shooting forward what looks like a plain sphere of water that slams into Ledram's body, making his feet skid on the ground as he is lightly pushed back.
For a split second, nothing happens after that as the sphere of water seemingly loses all its power and momentum to the point that even Ledram looks at it with confusion, as he too expected something more.
But then, I notice that Jayr has a playful smirk on his face as he mutters just loud enough for others to hear, "... Boom."
The next instant, a series of delayed impacts is released by the sphere of water still attached to Ledram's body.
One, two, three, four, five, ten, fifty, hundred, and the number keeps increasing with each passing moment.
Each delayed impact grows exponentially stronger than the previous one, and as a result, Ledram is blasted across the battlefield in a cascade of detonations.
Jayr seize this moment and pulls out the same device he used to make his Digimon evolve before.
It is a relatively bulky, hand-sized device; its shell is fully white, while the decoration and the buttons are of a metallic grey that slightly reminds me of silver. Moreover, engraved on the rim around the screen, there are some unknown symbols which I can't recognise.
He focuses his energy into it, which then surges toward the fallen Digimon, making Wormmon and V-mon stir as he yells, "V-mon, Wormmon! It's not over yet! Let's show them your true power! Jogress Evolution!!"
In response, light surrounds their bodies as they get up, grow bigger, and yell.
"V-mon, evolve...! XV-mon!"
"Wormmon, evolve...! Stingmon!"
At this point, the still glowing bodies of Stingmon and XV-mon start to shine even brighter and get attracted to each other as they call out.
"XV-mon...!"
"Stingmon...!"
""... Jogress Evolve!""
Soon after that, XV-mon and Stingmon merge into one, single, more powerful body whose power and presence are much more than the simple addition of the two parts, and the new Digimon calls out his name, "... Paildramon!"
However, it doesn't end here, as the body of the newly merged Digimon unleashes a massive amount of colored light that completely masks his still evolving body as he calls out, "Paildramon, evolve...!"
Soon after that, the pillar of light fades away as Paildramon fully evolve to his final state and calls out the name of his current form, "Imperialdramon!"
Another colossal dragon emerges from the light pillar.
Imperialdramon has the appearance of a western dragon just like Exceed V-mon, even the size is mostly the same, he has blue skin and tail, but different from Exceed V-mon his torso and huge legs are covered with black and gold metal armor, he has red wings, a white mane and a head covered with white, red and black metal shielding, he has an overall fierce appearance and imposing presence.
But even this isn't the end as the colossal dragon stands on his hind legs as his body goes through another series of changes and he calls out, "Imperialdramon... Mode Change to... Fighter Mode!"
The colossal dragon transformed into some kind of colossal armoured knight.
He has blue skin and tail, and red wings, and his whole body is covered in black armour with white and red parts and golden decorations. The previous head became a chest plate, revealing a more humanoid head, while the cannon on its back is now equipped to its right arm.
Shortly after Imperialdramon's emergence, Jayr studies the battlefield briefly, then he nods slightly and comments, "This may still not be enough to face them all."
He opens a smaller portal and puts his hand into it before quickly pulling some kind of card from it.
He looks at the card, smiles and calmly says, "This is the right one... It contains the power of a friend I've recently made."
Jayr holds on to his device with his hand and the card with the other and yells, "Card Slash!"
Then he swipes the card in the slot on the right-hand side of the device, and once he completed this action, he called out the name of the card he just swiped, "Omnimon! Omega Blade!"
The next moment, the device in Jayr's hands releases a blinding beam of light that flies up in the sky before changing direction and diving toward Imperialdramon.
However, the beam doesn't hit the Digimon but stops and hovers in front of it, taking the shape of a huge, pure white sword with gold ornaments.
Without any hesitation, Imperialdramon grabs the sword with both hands and with a flash of light, his body goes through yet another change.
His appearance is mostly the same; however, the black armour, the red wings, and the blue helmet all became pure white with gold accents.
At the same time, I hear Jayr say, "This is Imperialdramon Paladin Mode. A form of the Ancient Dragon Warrior Digimon Imperialdramon: Fighter Mode that acquired the power of the Royal Knight Omegamon, powering up and changing form into a legendary holy knight. It is the final and strongest form of Imperialdramon that was told of since ancient times. It descended in a time of great disruption in the ancient Digital World, and rescued the world from complete collapse."
(Image Here - Imperialdramon Paladin Mode)
After saying that, Jayr turns back toward Ledram as the latter returned to the battlefield and after watching that scene, he lightly comments, "Yup... That was very cool! But we are still in the middle of the battle, and I have to hit you back as that Tidal Wave Punch hurts like hell!"
Like that, their clash resumes immediately with Ledram launching a flurry of attacks with his Keyblade.
Meanwhile, Imperialdramon Paladin Mode steps forward.
The exhausted Sailor Guardians try to resist, but they have almost nothing left in their tanks, at least nothing that can be used against something at the level of Imperialdramon Paladin Mode.
Even so, none of them retreats.
Sailor Mars is the first to act. Despite the exhaustion written across her face, she forces her arms forward and summons the last embers of her power, "Burning Mandala!"
A ring of fire spirals outward toward the approaching knight, the flames weaker than before but still fierce enough to scorch the air.
Imperialdramon Paladin Mode does not slow, and the Omega Blade moves once.
The massive white sword cuts through the ring of flames as if slicing through mist. The fire splits apart instantly, the attack completely erased before it can reach him. The same swing continues forward in a smooth arc.
Sailor Mars barely has time to widen her eyes before the light overtakes her.
Her body dissolves into shimmering particles and vanishes from the battlefield.
Sailor Jupiter steps forward immediately after.
Electricity crackles around her tiara as she gathers what remains of her strength, "Sparkling Wide Pressure!"
A disc of lightning flashes across the battlefield, roaring toward Imperialdramon with a deafening crack of thunder.
The Omega Blade moves again. This time, the sword simply descends.
The lightning disc shatters the moment the blade touches it, exploding into harmless sparks that scatter across the arena floor. The strike does not stop there.
Jupiter disappears in a burst of green light, reappearing moments later beside us in the spectator area.
The remaining Guardians tighten their formation.
Sailor Mercury quickly conjures a defensive barrier of swirling water around herself and the others, the liquid shield rotating rapidly in an attempt to deflect the incoming strike.
But Imperialdramon advances without hesitation. The Omega Blade sweeps sideways.
The water barrier splits cleanly in two, and Mercury vanishes first, the scattered droplets of her shield evaporating as she dissolves into light.
Sailor Venus tries to counterattack even as the barrier collapses. A golden heart of energy forms in her hands, and she throws it forward with determination, "Love and Beauty Shock!"
The glowing projectile streaks toward the towering knight, but it never reaches him.
The Omega Blade pierces through it effortlessly, the heart-shaped attack collapsing into fragments of fading light.
Venus disappears next.
For a moment, only Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune remain standing.
Both of them are breathing heavily, their earlier planetary attack having drained nearly everything they had.
Yet neither looks away from the approaching warrior.
Wind begins gathering faintly around Uranus as she raises her hand.
Beside her, Neptune summons a thin wave of oceanic energy that ripples across the ground.
The two attacks launch together.
A final, desperate strike.
Imperialdramon Paladin Mode raises the Omega Blade once more.
The blade flashes once, and the wind scatters, the water collapses.
Two more flashes of light bloom across the battlefield.
Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune vanish.
One by one, the Sailor Guardians reappear beside us in the spectator area, their expressions a mixture of frustration and disbelief.
The entire exchange lasts only a few seconds.
Against the overwhelming power of the Omega Blade, their resistance simply ceases to exist.
Only one figure remains on the battlefield, the archer Sara Connor. She stands alone, and yet, she does not retreat.
Elsewhere on the battlefield, Nero's situation has grown worse as Tsubaki has recovered her composure.
Her spells and curses shimmer with renewed stability and precision, and the coordinated assault resumes.
Nero is once again being pushed onto the defensive, but she is still able to fight back and avoid being completely overwhelmed.
But suddenly, Nobunaga aims her matchlock at Tsubaki and fires.
Before I can even comprehend what is happening, Tsubaki quickly traces a rectangle with her hands while calling out, "Mirror Alice!"
The next moment, a large full-body mirror forms in front of her before the bullet fired by Nobunaga hits and shatters the mirror.
Then the bullet is reflected with double the energy, speed, and power and redirected toward Nero, who is unable to react in time.
The impact blasts Nero across the battlefield, making her crash violently into the ground.
At this point, Tsubaki raises her hands and again calls out, "Mirror Alice Labyrinth!"
Making dozens of mirrors appear all around the downed Nero before she yells, "Now!"
With that command, Oda Nobunaga, Chun-Li, Sara Pezzini, and Mirko unleashed a storm of attacks all directed at the mirrors around Nero.
Each strike shatters a mirror, and each shattered mirror reflects the attack with double the force.
The resulting barrage engulfs Nero completely, and when the light fades, she is gone.
But only for a moment as motes of light gather again and Nero reforms.
Her enemies this time do not relax their guard, as they already expected this.
But Nero only smiles and says, "Very well. Time to let you all experience my full glory!"
Then Nero stabs her Aestus Estus into the ground while chanting, "Behold my talent! Listen to the thunderous applause! Here is the honour of the Imperium! Like a blooming flower... Opening! The Golden Theatre!! I shall offer this gift to a full moon... Dancing scatters the flowers, and cleaves open a star! Behold the supreme beauty... and praise it! Aestus Domus Aurea!"
Her voice echoes through the arena, imperial and absolute, while golden light erupts around them.
The battlefield warps into her palace, the magnificent theatre she designed and constructed during her lifetime, sunlit marble, towering pillars, gilded balconies, all that manifests all around them, overwriting the surroundings.
I've personally experienced the power of her Noble Phantasm that is trapping the enemies inside, where they can't escape, constantly weakening them while empowering Nero and making sure that her attacks bypass all defences.
The next moment, Nero pulls out her Aestus Estus, which is then shrouded in flames like that of Mount Vesuvius, causing an inferno while rose petals would dance in the air.
Her eyes shine with fierce joy and passion before she attacks, and thanks to the effects of the Aestus Domus Aurea, the battle ends in moments.
Tsubaki falls first.
The moment the Golden Theatre fully manifests, the balance of the battle shifts.
The air itself seems to favour Nero. The burning light of the artificial sun above reflects across the marble stage, and the golden walls echo every step she takes as if applauding her performance.
Tsubaki notices it immediately, and her hands move rapidly, tracing symbols in the air as she attempts to weave another spell. Several mirrors appear around her, their surfaces flickering as they try to stabilise within the foreign space of Nero's Noble Phantasm, but the mirrors distort.
Fine cracks spread across their surfaces even before Nero moves.
I recognise the cause instantly. Within the Aestus Domus Aurea, the parameters of Nero's opponents are continuously suppressed while her own abilities are elevated. The magical constructs Tsubaki relies on cannot properly stabilise under those conditions.
Nero steps forward with graceful confidence, her flaming blade trailing sparks across the polished floor.
For her, this battlefield is home, but for her enemies, it is a cage.
Tsubaki finishes a hurried incantation and raises her hand, "Mirror...!"
She never completes the spell as Nero crosses the distance between them in a single burst of motion. The flames surrounding Aestus Estus flare violently as the blade arcs upward.
A flash of crimson light.
Tsubaki's body dissolves into particles before the mirrors around her can even react.
Then Chun-Li moves.
Despite the oppressive pressure of the theatre, she launches forward with remarkable speed, refusing to give Nero time to capitalise on her first elimination.
Her foot strikes the marble floor, and she spins into a powerful kick, the motion sharp and precise despite the weakening effect of the Noble Phantasm.
Under normal conditions, the attack would carry tremendous force.
Inside the Golden Theatre, it falters.
The flames surrounding Nero's sword surge outward like the eruption of a volcano. The heat rolling from Aestus Estus intensifies with every movement of the blade, turning the air itself into a burning current.
Chun-Li pushes forward anyway. Her kick connects with the flaming arc of Nero's sword.
For a brief instant, the two forces collide, but then the flames swallow her.
The temperature surges beyond what her body can endure. The impact throws her backwards in a burst of light, her form dissolving before she even reaches the ground.
Sara Pezzini reacts next.
The Witchblade covering her arm pulses violently, sensing the danger. Metallic tendrils spread across her body, forming jagged armour as the living weapon attempts to compensate for the hostile environment, yet even the Witchblade struggles here.
Its energy flickers, weakened by the suppressive nature of the Golden Theatre.
Sara grits her teeth and lunges forward regardless, the armoured blade extending from her arm as she swings it toward Nero's neck.
The strike is fast, but Nero is faster.
With a flourish that almost resembles part of a stage performance, Nero pivots gracefully and brings Aestus Estus down in a blazing arc.
The flaming blade meets the Witchblade. For a brief moment, sparks erupt as the two weapons clash, then the Witchblade yields.
The empowered strike tears through Sara's guard and continues its path without slowing and with a flash of fire.
Sara Pezzini's head separates cleanly from her body before both dissolve into motes of light.
Only Mirko remains.
The rabbit-eared warrior plants her feet on the golden stage, muscles coiled like springs as she prepares to strike. Even under the weakening effect of the Noble Phantasm, her fighting spirit shows no hesitation.
She launches herself forward with explosive force.
Her leg swings in a devastating kick aimed directly at Nero's torso.
The marble beneath her feet cracks from the power of the jump, and Nero meets the attack head-on.
Their movements blur for a split second as Mirko unleashes a rapid combination of kicks, each strike capable of pulverising steel.
But within the Golden Theatre, Nero's movements carry unnatural speed and precision.
The flaming sword flashes once, twice.
A final burst of fire erupts between them.
Mirko's attack stops mid-motion as the flames engulf her completely. A moment later, her body dissolves into light, leaving only drifting sparks above the golden stage.
When the flames settle down a little, only one opponent remains, Oda Nobunaga.
The two women face each other across the golden stage, and the battle is still far from over.