The golden cloud split into five shimmering copies, all swirling around Jack like hunting wolves. Each clone swung a staff, their strikes weaving a cage of wood and gold around him.
Jack blasted forward, lightning flaring from his wings as he slashed through the first two—only for the real Rai to vanish into a streak of golden light, reappearing at Jack's back.
Rai (mocking): "You're too slow, dragon."
A crushing strike smashed into Jack's spine, sending him plummeting. He caught himself mid-fall, flipping with a roar, launching a storm-breath—a torrent of purple lightning—at Rai.
Rai spun his staff so fast it became a disc of gold, deflecting the lightning into the night sky. He rode the cloud downward, staff elongating until it was the size of a street pole, swinging it in a massive arc that slammed Jack against the tower wall, shattering more glass.
Joren's hands blurred in a rhythm, each movement igniting precise, concentrated blasts. The detonations blew apart Emilia's mist before it could form barriers, leaving her open.
Lenny fired a continuous plasma beam—Joren sidestepped, grabbed Lenny's arm, and detonated an explosion at point-blank. Lenny screamed, stumbling back with scorched scale armor plating just barely keeping him alive.
Ichiro darted in, his sword whistling through the air, wind cutting around the edge. Joren ducked low, sweeping his leg and placing a glowing palm to the floor—the explosion erupted under Ichiro's feet, blasting him through a section of wall into the open air.
Emilia tried to catch Ichiro with her mist tendrils, but Joren seized the moment, grabbing her by the collar and unleashing a chain of small, rapid explosions across her body before tossing her into the debris.
Joren (grinning wide): "Come on! Is this all you've got?"
Henry's heavenly aura blazed, blue light flickering like a living storm. Elion's flames shimmered with heat and energy, each swing cutting the air with impossible heat.
They clashed on the balcony—fire spraying like fireworks—until Elion spun low, sweeping Henry's legs. Henry flipped back, firing a burst of short-range heavenly light from his palm to keep Elion at bay, but the Soul Reaper closed the gap instantly.
Henry: "You're holding back."
Elion: "And you're not ready."
Their next collision blasted the balcony railing apart, sending both fighters hurtling down the side of the tower. Henry used short bursts of Heavenly energy to slow his fall; Elion ran down the wall itself, fire sparks falling off the glass. Flames burst from his palms, shooting him into Henry.
They hit the street in a shockwave of shattered asphalt, car alarms blaring. Henry lunged, fists glowing with concentrated Heavenly power, but Elion caught one punch with his hand and twisted, slamming Henry into a streetlight.
Henry blurred into Shooting Star, reappearing above Elion and bringing a full-force punch down—but Elion blocked with a small barrier of flames, the impact carving a crater under them.
The crowd of civilians had long since scattered, the street empty save for the flicker of neon signs reflecting off their clashing energy.
From the penthouse's broken frame, Ronnie watched Henry and Elion's fight drift into the streets. His body shook with the urge to leap in—but his eyes stayed locked on his son.
Lenny was down, chest heaving, plasma flickering weakly. Emilia was slumped against a broken beam, coughing blood through the mist. Ichiro crawled out of a pile of shattered concrete, blade trembling in his grip.
Joren's grin was feral. His hands glowed white-hot, smoke curling off his arms.
Joren: "Looks like we're done here."
He raised both hands, ready to level the entire floor in one final blast—
CRACK–BOOM!
Lightning ripped through the ceiling. Ronnie's voice bellowed like a war drum.
Ronnie: "Not… one… more… step."
The entire penthouse lit in a blinding surge as Ronnie snapped back to himself, every muscle tensed with raw voltage. Bolts lanced out from his arms, spiderwebbing through the walls, arcing into Joren's detonations mid-charge—the clash of energies exploding in a blinding flash.
Joren staggered back, the grin faltering for the first time.
Ronnie: "You want a fight? You've got one."
Joren was about to clap his hands together—but Ronnie's lightning was faster.
Turning into lightning itself, he appears before Joren and crashes his feet into him.
Joren crashes into a wall. He quickly throws a punch, detonating the air itself, but Ronnie's fists meet him in a barrage of heavy hits.
The last punch from Ronnie was a lightning-infused one, punching him through the wall.
Above the city, Jack's lightning was dimming. Rai had him cornered in the air, the golden cloud pressing in from all sides.
Rai's staff struck like a piston, smashing Jack down again and again until the Dragon Beast's scales were cracking under the blows.
Rai: "Stay down, dragon. You're not the prize I came for."
Jack's wings flickered—then collapsed—sending him crashing into the lower floors of the tower in a spray of glass and rubble.
Elion's hands burned with fire, flames coiling up his arms like serpents. He pressed forward relentlessly, each strike a controlled inferno that forced Henry onto the defensive.
Henry's blue aura clashed against the flames, but he was slowing—every block burned through more of his strength. Elion feinted left, then swept a flame-wreathed kick into Henry's ribs, sending him to one knee.
Elion: "You're coming with me."
He reached down, fire curling into shackles—when—
Elara: "BROTHER!"
The single word cut through the street like a bell.
Elion froze mid-motion, eyes snapping toward the voice. Elara stood at the edge of the street, green energy faintly glowing in her eyes, her chest rising and falling fast.
His fire flickered, the heat lowering—confusion and something deeper flashing in his gaze.
Elion: "…Elara?"
Before either could move, a golden streak ripped from above—Rai landed between them, staff swinging low and hard at Elion's side.
Elion barely caught the strike, the impact flaring sparks as the force shoved him back into a lamp.
Rai (grinning): "You've had your chance, fire boy. The Heavenly One's mine."
Elion's eyes narrowed. The hesitation was gone—replaced by a cold, dangerous focus.
Elion: "Touch him… and you'll regret it."