Rayn's voice was calm but firm.
"I don't want to fight a child. I've always wondered why the vice-captain was just a kid."
"Huh?? Huh?? Bastard!" Zen's face twisted in anger. "I'm an adult—it's just my height!"
Zen placed a hand over his chest, breathing sharply.
"Calm down, Zen… if you don't want another heart attack."
Ren's eyes narrowed.
"Then I shouldn't hesitate to kill you."
Zen's grip tightened on the handle of his katana. He drew it in one smooth motion, the blade gleaming.
"Path."
A thin thread of thunder danced across the steel. In the blink of an eye, it shot toward Ren's hand. Before Ren could react, his body vanished—teleported directly in front of Zen.
"What—?" Ren's eyes widened.
"My unique ability," Zen smirked. "Now… let me give you a gift. **KAMINARI!**"
There was no time to dodge. No time to even think.
Dark clouds smothered the castle, swallowing every scrap of light.
From the ground, Niro looked up in shock.
"This… why are there so many clouds all of a sudden?"
Rayn, slowly regaining his footing now that he was out of the gravity field, stared upward.
A monstrous bolt of lightning tore through the clouds, shattering the castle's roof, and slammed into Ren with an ear-splitting roar. For ten endless seconds, lightning raged down like an angry god's punishment.
To Rayn, it was short.
To Ren, it was an eternity.
When the light faded, the air was filled with dust and the smell of burnt stone. Ren's clothes were in tatters, his skin bleeding in several places.
Zen smirked.
"Heh… just from the basics."
Ren wiped blood from his lip and smiled back.
"What a weak move."
Rayn's eyes sharpened.
"If he can take Zen's thunder and survive… then I need to finish my job."
He raised his sword.
"Feather."
White feathers spilled into the air, filling the battlefield. In an instant, they shot toward Ren at blinding speed.
"Gravity… push!"
The feathers stopped mid-air. Then an invisible force exploded outward, blasting Zen and Rayn away from Ren. Everything near Ren was ripped apart—the once-beautiful castle reduced to rubble in a single breath.
Ren stood alone in the middle of the destruction.
From beneath the debris, Zen groaned.
"Ugh… that bastard. I should've finished him when he was off guard."
On the opposite side, Rayn pushed himself out of the rubble, eyes cold.
"Should I use… that?"
Niro stood frozen, taking in the chaos.
"What is even going on? First a monster was beating everyone, then lightning, and now this? I'm tired already…"
His eyes landed on the lone figure in the center.
"Ren? What happened to you?"
Ren turned.
"Niro. You alright?"
"Yeah, but you don't look fine at all," Niro replied, hurrying over. "Let me come to you."
Niro glanced around at the carnage.
"This is all a mess… did you do this?"
Ren smirked faintly.
"Yeah. Guess it's the power I got after hitting the ground."
"So cool!" Niro said with a playful grin.
Ren chuckled.
"What about the others?"
"They're out cold."
"I see. Help them. I'll deal with the rest."
"Roger." Niro sprinted off.
Two figures approached Ren from opposite sides—Rayn from the left, Zen from the right.
Rayn spoke first.
"I'm old enough to take care of myself."
Zen added,
"Yeah, and I don't need your help, Mr. Gravity."
Ren thrust his hand toward Rayn.
"Gravity push—"
"Not on my watch!" Zen interrupted, teleporting Rayn to the other side in a flash.
Drawing his katana again, Zen roared,
"RING!"
Thunder began to coil around his blade, spinning into a circular vortex of lightning.
"Now… what will you do?" Zen smirked.
Before Ren could move, Zen unleashed the strike. The spiraling thunder shot forward, slamming into Ren's chest. The impact threw him back violently—he coughed blood into the air.
Rayn smirked.
"You're truly a monster, Zen."
Zen grinned back.
"Like you're not, Captain. Shouldn't you finish him now? I think this is the time."
Rayn's expression darkened.
"Yeah…"