The penthouse shook like it was in the middle of a quake. Ronnie's lightning tore through every wall, scorching steel beams and melting fixtures, while Joren's explosions boomed in a relentless counter-beat.
Ronnie blurred forward, his body becoming a streak of silver-blue light, striking Joren in the chest with a crack of thunder. Joren gritted his teeth, twisting mid-air to plant both hands on Ronnie's torso—detonating a focused blast that hurled them apart like cannon fire.
Shards of glass rained down into the streets far below. Lenny, Emilia, and Ichiro scrambled for cover as debris and stray bolts of energy ripped past them.
Ronnie (roaring): "You're not walking out of here!"
Joren (grinning, blood at his lip): "Who said I'd walk?"
Joren's body erupted in a violent ring of explosions, forcing Ronnie to throw up a shield of crackling lightning, the energy pushing against the concussive force in a screaming wall of light and heat.
The building's supports groaned, threatening to give way entirely.
On the street, Rai's staff met Elion's fire again and again, each clash shaking the air with shockwaves.
Rai spun his staff behind his back, using his golden cloud to propel him forward like a spear—but Elion stepped into the strike, catching the staff under his arm and unleashing a point-blank burst of flame.
The blast scorched Rai's coat and burned through part of his armor, but the Wukong Beast's strength held. Rai smirked, twisting his body, his leg that of a giant monkey, to kick Elion in the chest, sending him sliding backward across the cracked asphalt.
Rai: "You're in my way, fire boy."
Elion (coldly): "So be it."
The two became a blur—flame arcs and golden trails weaving across the empty street, colliding in bursts of blinding heat and light.
Henry, still recovering from Elion's earlier assault, steadied himself against a wrecked car. His blue heavenly aura flickered weakly—but it was there. Elara was beside him, hand hovering over his side as green energy patched his worst burns.
She kept her voice low.
Elara: "They're distracted. You need to move now."
Henry's eyes tracked the chaos—Ronnie locked in a deadly power fight above with Joren. Rai and Elion are trading world-shaking blows below. For the first time in minutes, no one was directly on him.
Henry: "…Then we hit them where it hurts."
His aura flared brighter, the streetlight overhead shattering from the sudden burst of energy.
The building groaned again—Ronnie's latest lightning surge and Joren's answering blast sending a violent shudder down through the tower. Glass and concrete rained into the street, forcing both Rai and Elion to leap back mid-strike.
Both Soul Reapers' eyes flicked toward Henry at once—his Heavenly aura now blazing at full power.
Henry's aura roared to life, a pillar of blue light spearing into the sky. The ground cracked beneath his feet as he stepped forward, eyes locked on the Soul Reapers.
Henry: "You wanted me? Come and get me."
With a sharp breath, he vanished in a Shooting Star dash—a blinding streak of blue ripping straight past Rai and Elion. The shockwave staggered them both, forcing a brief halt to their duel.
Before Rai could turn, Henry slammed into him with a Heaven-boosted punch, the impact cratering the street and hurling the Wukong warrior into a parked bus.
Elion moved instantly, fire exploding from his palms as he tried to cut Henry off—but his attack clipped Rai instead as the Soul Reaper tried to leap back into the fight.
Rai (snarling): "Watch where you throw that, fire boy!"
Elion: "Stay out of my way!"
Rai's cloud zipped forward, staff lashing out at Elion, who countered with a sweeping wall of flame. The heat warped the air, pushing Henry back—but it also locked Rai and Elion into their own heated clash.
Up in the penthouse, Joren grinned through the storm—until Ronnie's lightning condensed into a singular blinding spear. The strike pierced through Joren's guard, exploding against his chest and sending him through two interior walls.
Ronnie stepped into the wreckage, panting, electricity still crawling over his skin.
Ronnie: "Henry's not yours. None of them are."
Joren wiped the blood from his mouth and laughed, but the edge in his voice was gone. The momentum had shifted.
From the side of the ruined tower, Jack launched himself back into the fight, his body covered in dissolving smoke. Scales repaired enough for another round. He slammed into Rai mid-clash with Elion, forcing the Wukong Soul Reaper into a defensive spin while Elion snarled at the interference.
Henry used the moment—blue energy flaring—to slam a double-fisted blow into the cracked asphalt, a shockwave of Heavenly force throwing both Soul Reapers back several meters.
Ronnie stood next to the rest of the group.
Ronnie: "Get outside. Now!"
All three of them quickly got out of the building, meeting Elara and Henry.
Joren pushed himself towards Ronnie, who detonated a large explosion at Ronnie.
Ronnie turns himself into lightning, flying through the explosion and into Joren, flying out of the building.
His hand then tightly grabbed Joren's face—Joren grinned. He detonates his body. Separating both of them midair.
Joren crashes next to Elion and Rai; Ronnie lands silently next to the group.
For the first time since the battle began, the group was together—battered, burned, bleeding, but standing in a line with Ronnie at the front, Elara just behind him, her green energy faintly glowing.
Across the ruined street, Rai, Joren, and Elion stood spread apart, the tension between them now as thick as their shared hatred for Henry.
None of them moved. Not yet.
The street was silent except for the crackle of fire and the distant hum of broken neon signs.
Joren spat blood onto the ground, still catching his breath. His eyes flicked between Henry's glowing aura and Ronnie's still-crackling lightning.
Joren: "Elion… What's the call?"
Elion's gaze didn't waver. His breathing was calm despite the burns across his arms, the fire around his hands dimming slightly.
Elion: "We retreat."
Rai's head snapped toward him.
Rai: "Retreat? Are you insane? We have him right here!"
Elion (flat): "We're not winning this. Not like this."
Rai's eyes burned with fury, but the reality of their injuries and the arrival of reinforcements around the block—distant sirens growing louder—made his decision for him.
Elion's fire surged again, wrapping around his arms and legs until he was lifted in a fiery aura. He stepped close to Joren, gripping his arm before taking off in a blazing streak skyward.
Just before he left the ground, his eyes found Ronnie—and then Elara. His expression softened for the briefest heartbeat, an emotion neither could name flickering in the glow of his flames.
Then he was gone.
Rai growled low, vaulting onto his golden cloud and streaking in the opposite direction, disappearing into the night sky.
The group's guard dropped slightly, but their expressions didn't ease. Henry stepped forward, his aura fading but his voice hard.
Henry: "You're going to tell us everything. Now."
Ronnie looked between them—Emilia's narrowed eyes, Lenny's clenched fists, Ichiro's tense stance, and Jack's barely contained glare.
Ronnie: "…This isn't the time—"
Jack (cutting him off): "No. No more dodging. You lied to us about your son. You lied about the Soul Reapers. And because of you, they almost took Henry tonight."
Ronnie's jaw worked, but no words came. The truth pressed at the edges of his mind like a storm about to break.
Elara stood behind him, silent, her gaze shifting between her father figure and Henry.
Henry: "You made us fight a war for you, Ronnie. You owe us, big time. So you'd better start talking."
The sirens were closer now, red and blue lights beginning to flicker against the cracked walls of the street.
Ronnie finally exhaled.
Ronnie: "…Alright. You want the truth? You're going to get it."