The clash between Rajin Mori, Yuki Fujimoto, and Rin Sakuma had reached a fever pitch.
Blood magic swirled violently through the air, painting the battlefield in crimson arcs.
Rin, empowered by the Zone, moved like a phantom, her Shadow Katana slicing through space with terrifying precision.
Rajin's blood scythe clashed against her strikes, while Yuki's claws danced in a blur of tengu fury.
But even together, they were being pushed back.
Suddenly, the sky above the Cosmic Base ignited in a blaze of orange and gold.
A sonic boom shattered the tension as a fiery figure descended like a meteor.
The ground cracked beneath his landing, flames erupting outward in a ring of molten fury.
Oliver Sly had arrived.
His flame gauntlets glowed with volcanic intensity, and his eyes burned with nonillion-level power.
"Step back," he said calmly, his voice cutting through the chaos, "I'll manage her."
Rajin hesitated, blood dripping from a gash on his shoulder, "You sure?"
Oliver did not answer.
He simply turned toward Rin, who hovered midair, her expression unreadable.
"You're late," Rin said, her voice laced with venom.
"I'm just in time," Oliver replied, and then, he activated the Zone.
The air around him warped instantly.
Time seemed to slow.
His aura exploded outward, engulfing the battlefield in a dome of fire and pressure.
The sheer force of his power sent shockwaves through the base, forcing Yuki and Rajin to retreat to the perimeter.
Rin lunged forward, her katana aimed at Oliver's throat.
But he was already gone.
He reappeared behind her, delivering a flaming uppercut that sent her flying into the sky.
Before she could recover, he launched a barrage of flame strikes, each one infused with Zone-enhanced precision.
Rin tried to summon blood shields, but they evaporated on contact.
Oliver's voice echoed through the battlefield, "You are strong, Rin. But you are not ready for this."
Rin snarled, blood magic swirling around her like a storm. She unleashed a wave of blood spears, but Oliver spun midair, deflecting them with a fiery cyclone.
He landed with a thunderous stomp, sending a fissure of flame racing toward her.
The blast caught her off guard, detonating beneath her feet and sending her crashing into the crater wall.
Yuki watched from the sidelines, eyes wide, "He's… overwhelming her."
Rajin nodded slowly, "That is the Zone at full control. He is not just using it; he is mastering it."
Rin struggled to rise, her armour scorched, her katana flickering.
Oliver walked toward her, flames trailing behind him like a comet's tail.
"You came for revenge," he said, "But you didn't come prepared."
Rin's eyes narrowed, "This isn't over."
Oliver raised his gauntlets. "It will be soon."
The battle was far from finished, but for the first time, the Mistress of Blood was losing.
***
Rin Sakuma staggered to her feet, blood dripping from her lips, her armour scorched and cracked.
Her Shadow Katana trembled in her grip, its edge flickering with unstable energy.
She glared at Oliver Sly, who stood calmly amidst a swirling inferno, his flame gauntlets pulsing with nonillion-level power.
"I didn't want to do this," Rin muttered, her voice low and strained, "But you've left me no choice."
She raised her katana high, and the air around her imploded.
A vortex of blood and shadow erupted from her core as she fully activated the Zone.
Her aura expanded violently, distorting the battlefield with gravitational pressure.
Her power surged to septillion levels, and the sky itself darkened in response.
Yuki Fujimoto and Rajin Mori, watching from the edge of the crater, instinctively stepped back.
The sheer force of Rin's Zone activation was enough to make the ground quake.
"She's going all in," Yuki whispered.
Rajin nodded grimly, "But it won't be enough."
Oliver did not flinch.
Rin vanished in a blur, reappearing behind Oliver with her katana aimed at his spine.
But before the blade could connect, Oliver twisted effortlessly, catching her wrist mid-strike.
His grip burned through her armour, and with a flick of his gauntlet, he hurled her across the battlefield like a ragdoll.
She crashed into the crater wall, coughing violently.
Oliver advanced, his steps slow and deliberate.
"Zone or not," he said, "you're still outmatched."
Rin roared, summoning a tidal wave of blood magic.
Spears, tendrils, and blades of crimson energy surged toward Oliver in a chaotic storm.
He raised his gauntlets, and with a single clap, unleashed a wall of flame that incinerated the attack mid-air.
He dashed forward, faster than Rin could react, and delivered a flaming roundhouse kick that shattered her blood shield and sent her flying again.
Rin tried to recover, channelling blood into her limbs for strength, but Oliver was already above her.
He came down like a meteor, slamming both gauntlets into the ground beside her, triggering a volcanic eruption that engulfed her in a pillar of fire.
The explosion lit up the sky.
Inside the base, Tetsuya Saito watched from a high balcony, eyes wide.
"That's not a fight," he muttered, "That's a massacre."
Rin crawled from the flames, her Zone flickering, her body scorched and trembling.
She looked up at Oliver, who stood untouched, his aura still burning strong.
"You're… a monster," she gasped.
Oliver's eyes narrowed, "I'm the reckoning."
He raised his gauntlets again, preparing the final strike.
Yuki stepped forward, "Enough. She is finished."
Oliver paused, then lowered his arms, "She came for vengeance. She found reality."
Rin collapsed, her Zone deactivating, her katana falling from her hand.
Rajin approached cautiously, "We will secure her. She will not be a threat again."
Oliver turned away, his flames dimming, "Good. I did not come to kill. I came to protect."
The battlefield fell silent.
Above them, the clouds began to clear, and the Cosmic Base stood strong, untouched, unbroken.
But the war was far from over.