"…You can summon lightning?"
Lil's voice cracked. The gleaming spear of thunder in Ryuuto's hand hummed with the power of a storm. Even someone as arrogant as her—whose body was harder than diamond—felt the raw, primal danger crawling up her spine.
Ryuuto tilted his head, grinning. "You tell me."
The next instant, the Raikiri exploded forward—
CRACK!
Lil's scream tore through the clearing. Her diamond skin split like glass under the electric force, thin fractures spiderwebbing across her torso. She staggered, eyes wide in disbelief.
Before Ryuuto could press the attack, a roar of gunfire erupted behind him.
"Did you forget about me, brat?!"
Dr. Scourge emptied a rifle's magazine at Ryuuto's back while barking orders to his mutant soldiers. His scanners locked onto Ryuuto's real body, ignoring every Shadow Clone.
Ryuuto sighed, unimpressed. "Still trying the bullet approach? Pathetic."
A spark of mischief flickered in his eyes.
The moment the rounds neared him, his body flickered—gone. The entire barrage curved uselessly and shredded through Lil instead.
"AGH! Damn you, Scourge! Are you trying to kill me?!"
"Shut it! Focus on the target!" Dr. Scourge snapped, humiliated. His eyes twitched as Ryuuto reappeared behind him, smirking.
"Man, you two really need couples therapy."
Dr. Scourge threw a flashbang in desperation.
Bang! White light flooded the jungle. Mutants lunged wildly in every direction, screaming.
Ryuuto groaned. "Hopeless. Fine, let's play it your way."
He clapped his hands together.
Earth Style: Stone Wall!
Earth Style: Great Flowing River!
The ground rumbled as towering walls of hardened soil rose around him, blocking every projectile. Then, the earth liquefied into a mudslide that swallowed dozens of mutants whole. The survivors barely had time to scream before Ryuuto was among them—blade flashing.
Each swing of his decapitating sword drew a line of silver in the air. Each step he took left another body collapsing in silence. The field turned crimson, and even Lil's confidence cracked.
"H-he's not human…" she stammered. "He's stronger than Loki!"
Dr. Scourge trembled. "That damned trickster set us up! He just wanted us to soften this freak up!"
"What do we do now?!" Lil's voice shook.
"What do you think? Run, or die!" Scourge snapped—but before he could move, a fist met his jaw.
CRACK!
Natasha Romanoff—Black Widow—had slipped behind him during the chaos and landed a clean strike that sent him flying into a tree. His body hit the ground with a thud, twitching.
"You're not the only one who knows how to sneak up on people," she said coolly.
"Y-you damn woman!" Lil shrieked, enraged. She charged forward—only for Ryuuto to step between them like a wall of living storm.
He lifted his hand, a lazy grin spreading. "You sure you're ready for round two?"
Lightning coiled into a sphere in his palm, spinning faster, brighter, larger—
Big Ball Rasengan!
The roar shook the jungle. Lil's eyes went wide.
"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!"
She hardened her body again, skin gleaming like crystal, but the impact hit her like a divine hammer. The explosion blew her back through the trees, leaving deep craters in the soil.
"Scourge! Do something!" she screamed.
But Dr. Scourge was too busy trying not to pass out under Natasha's chokehold. The remaining mutants froze, staring at Ryuuto's glowing eyes—terrified to even breathe.
"Fine!" Lil spat blood, her body blazing with light. Her last-ditch power activated, turning her entire form into a living prism.
"If I'm going down, I'm taking you with me!"
Ryuuto narrowed his eyes, lightning building again around him. "You can try."
The ground cracked between them as two forces prepared to collide—diamond radiance against living thunder.