Zen glanced around, sparks still flickering from the battle.
"Ah! I should get out of here first," he muttered, about to leave, when Rayn interrupted.
"Zen, I have a job for you. I need you to take the three of them out too," Rayn said without looking.
"Roger that," Zen replied, and with a quick nod, teleported away.
Rayn stood in the ruined hall, gripping his katana.
"There is no hate in this, Ren! But you stand in my way, so I have to kill you."
Slowly, the white katana in Rayn's hands turned red. The heat started to sizzle—the air thick with burning. Rayn's skin began to blister, and his clothes caught fire.
"Ugh… I still can't get used to it," Rayn grunted, holding the glowing katana with both hands. He charged toward Ren, who lay battered by Zen's attack. Ren was on the ground, the pain across his chest almost unbearable where Zen's blow had landed.
"Ugh… how long will it take to heal? I don't think my Zone will last any longer. I shouldn't have played with them—I should've killed them before. I wanted to break Rayn's spirit and make him useless, but then that kid caught me off guard. I will kill him for sure this time…" Ren brooded, but a wave of unbearable heat made his thoughts fracture.
"Why is the heat increasing?" He struggled to move. Suddenly, he saw a red glowing light speeding toward him.
"Rayn!?" Ren blurted out, surprised. "You come at the right time."
"Red sun of summer," Rayn let out.
It was as if the sun itself crashed down on ground—its blazing light filled everything. Ren tried to get up, but his body froze; even breathing felt impossible. The strain of using Zone for the first time pushed his body past its limits.
"Shit," Ren muttered in his head.
The next second, Ren was struck by Rayn's glowing red katana. Everything turned blindingly bright. It was impossible to see—staring at a sun this close would make anyone go blind.
—
Niro, searching for his friends, paused as the light faded.
"Now what? But I should be focused on finding Kirya. I already sent two of them to a safe place."
Zen smirked, watching from the ruins, "Whoa, captain! Looking good. But why can't I find that girl? I already teleported those kids to safety but I can't find that one girl… Ugh, so much work."
Digging through rubble, Zen discovered Luo, knocked out.
"Ah, there you are," he exclaimed. But then, there were two voices.
"Huh?" Zen said, confused.
"Vice captain!" Niro called out, spotting Zen.
"Looks like you're saving your friends too. Let's just do our job—I don't think we should fight for now," Niro said, serious.
"Yeah, I have a task," Zen agreed.
Zen glanced at Luo's hand and teleported her away. Niro also left, taking Kirya to safety.
—
Scene shift—Ren and Rayn
A massive hole scarred the battlefield. Rayn lay on the ground, burned badly. Ren was also down—the wound on his chest from Rayn was deep. There was no way Ren could have survived that.
Suddenly, Rayn was teleported away.
Niro returned, searching for Ren, and was shocked at the scene:
"No way, Ren! Hey, are you okay? Ren, wake up—hey, is someone here? Please wait, Ren, I'll get you out of here and treat your wound!"
—
Scene shift—a room where everyone has been teleported by Zen
They are all being treated, but remain unconscious. Rayn is wrapped head-to-toe in bandages due to his burns.
—
Scene shift—back to the castle
Half the building has been destroyed—nothing remains but dust and ruin