"Here I gooo!"
In the Verdant Sea Cavern, two towering trees pierce the sky. Above this field—in a coliseum-like circular arena—emerald, gold, and azure lights flash, intertwine, and streak through the air.
After training to master Radiant Solreia, Pepper's battle with Tyranid Giraffe and Kaiserion Caucasus had raged for nearly 30 minutes.
"Hero! Have you already adapted to aerial combat!?"
"Such growth… from our fight to now!"
"I hold grudges for defeats! I've honed everything for this rematch!" Pepper retorted.
Haunted by motion sickness from flight sims and racing games, Pepper adjusted output with desperate precision, battling nausea and trauma.
"Now! Charge up! Got your wind and thunder! Take this—Reverse Tris Flip service attack!"
Absorbing Tyranid Giraffe's wind blade with speed and positioning, Pepper landed a triple Back Flip kick on Kaiserion Caucasus's horn, striking its massive body.
Damage polygons spilled from the hit, proving Radiant Solreia was the gimmick weapon for these two.
"Seven-Leap! Climb Kick! Plus Strength Smasher, Jet Attack boost, and a Bandage Drill bonus—take it all!"
Using Caucasus's horn as a platform to conserve energy, Pepper tracked Tyranid Giraffe's position mentally. Seven-Leap and Climb Kick launched Caucasus downward, Strength Smasher amplified by Jet Attack's motion delivered massive knockback, and a Bandage Drill knee strike sent Giraffe soaring higher.
Tag-team boss fights hinge on isolating one enemy. Keeping them separated drastically lowers the challenge.
"Three stars gleam in the sky… two chase one, one pursues two, burning life to blaze and burst…"
From the sidelines, Aitoir, the Vorpal Bunny Traveler, scribed the battle, her pen racing. The clash around the Imperial Trees, sparking with brilliance, was a perfect heroic saga, fueling her writing.
"Amazing… Pepper-san's flying!"
Mesmerized, Laser Marlin, clad in blue mage robes, approached the wind-and-thunder fence, unaware of its presence.
"Laser Marlin-han, watch out!"
Aitoir tackled him, saving him from the fence.
"Thanks…"
"Why're you here, Laser Marlin-han? Weren't you in Faival?"
"Well… I climbed Eiko Saisui's Dead Volcano Lake again, played with Brook Slumber… and got tossed into the lake…"
Apparently, he'd recklessly challenged the vile Pelican Dacho, dying from a fall. Then, unbelievably, he continued.
"My head was full of Brook Slumber, so I forgot to update my respawn at Faival's inn… Had to restart from Thirdrema. Explored the Verdant Sea Cavern, followed pretty fireflies, and found Pepper-san here."
Aitoir, taught by her father Weiss Ash, knew pioneers like them revived on beds despite death or dismemberment.
Was it coincidence, or was Laser Marlin drawn by Pepper's strange gravity? Either way, he always appeared where Pepper was.
"I see… You're caught in Pepper-han's weird fate."
"Huh?"
"Just talking to myself, don't mind."
"Uh, okay…"
Aitoir and Laser Marlin gazed skyward. Emerald, gold, and azure clashed, their brilliance flashing through the forest.
The battle raged, damage polygons pouring from the two Emperors' bodies.
They knew their lives were nearly spent. Bound by the Imperial Amber at the trees' roots, their existence was a flickering flame.
They resolved to burn out, teaching the true heir of the sky-soaring answer how to wield it until their final moment. As Pepper landed a Fulls Shoot soccer kick on Kaiserion Caucasus's head—
"The time… has come! Now… is the moment!"
"Hero! We shall teach… the activation of the ultimate technique!"
To fulfill their role and pass the torch, the Emperors gathered all their life's energy into a storm of wind and thunder, their shockwaves sparking lightning and gusts.
"Whoa!? Berserk mode!?"
Dodging wild winds and erratic lightning, Pepper charged energy with the key phrase. The Emperors spoke.
"Radiant Solreia… fully charge its energy… to activate Exceed Charge!"
"Shout 'Exceed Charge' against our attack… and kick straight through!"
Tyranid Giraffe moved forward, Kaiserion Caucasus behind, merging their life energy into a massive storm. If unleashed, or if they perished, it would explode, obliterating the area.
The only way to stop it was to use Radiant Solreia's Exceed Charge to deliver the finishing blow.
"Alright, Radiant Solreia! Burn your soul! Hit the Emperors with your full power!"
Pepper steeled themselves. To honor their life-staked strike, they'd respond with everything.
Energy, charged from the storm, was full. Facing the Emperors' destructive tempest, only one move remained.
"Exceed Charge!"
Legacy Weapons' ultimate techniques vary but carry great power and cost. Radiant Solreia's, a Charging Lance-like move, used falling physics for devastating speed-based damage.
It required a 168-hour cooldown and limited flight to 10 seconds even at full charge. Yet, dealing no recoil damage to Pepper's low durability, it was a matchless trump card.
"Overdrive!"
Radiant Solreia's golden claws aligned forward like combat talons, thigh boosters fully unleashed.
Pepper's body shot forward at blinding speed, crashing head-on into the Emperors' fused wind-thunder attack.
"PIERCE!!!"
Like a golden meteor through a tornado's eye, the attack ignored tough exoskeletons, dealing internal piercing damage.
It shattered Tyranid Giraffe's pincers and Kaiserion Caucasus's horn, piercing their heads and torsos.
With emerald pincers and black horns embedded in the ground, the hero in radiant gear glided to a sliding landing on the battlefield.
Nothing Beats a Finishing Move
Exceed Charge: Overdrive
Radiant Solreia's ultimate technique. Converts full-charged propulsion into destructive force, crushing enemies with a kick.
A special field forms at the toes and soles, repelling enemy attacks and air resistance, temporarily negating gear durability at impact.
Amplified by fall height and speed-based physics, it deals raw damage beneath armor, a piercing technique. However, it requires a 168-hour cooldown and limits flight to 10 seconds at full charge—a significant drawback.
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