The air on the bridge was thick with the copper scent of blood and the acrid smell of burnt obsidian. Gale and Vlad stood paralyzed, their shadows stretching long and jagged under the moonlight. The name "Lemon" hung in the air like a thunderclap.
"HUHHHHHHHHHHHH?!" the two villains shouted in unison, their faces draining of color. To them, Prince Lemon was a ghost—a royal relic they thought had been buried in the ruins of the first invasion.
Prince Lemon didn't spare them a glance. His eyes, sharp and clear like polished citrine, were fixed on the battered figure of Kojo Ren. "The Beast is fighting for my father's kingdom," Lemon said, his voice soft yet carrying the weight of a decree. "The least I can do is help his First Mate."
Kojo coughed, leaning heavily on his swords. "Lemon! That obsidian freak... Vlad... he told me you were dead. He claimed he was the one who ended you."
"Really?" Lemon began walking forward, his footsteps rhythmic and calm against the cracked stone. "That attack was not strong enough to kill me. I simply fainted... and I had a dream." He paused, a sad smile touching his lips. "In my dreams, I saw my father, King Luka. He told me this country is already finished. He told me I could do anything I wanted... but then, for the first time, he said something childish. He said he wanted to see everything destroyed before the end."
Lemon stopped beside Kojo, his body shifting into a low, predatory stance. A new kind of energy began to pulse around him—darker, heavier, and more refined than before.
"Oi, Kojo," Lemon said, his aura flaring. "I've changed. I renamed my technique. It's no longer Naraku Ken. From this moment on, it is Hakai Kokuhai (Destruction Black-Ash)."
Kojo wiped a streak of blood from his chin, a smirk forming despite his pain. "Whoa... that sounds interesting. Let's show them what a Prince and a Pirate can do."
"DRAGON'S HOLLOW STRIKE!" Kojo roared, lunging at Gale.
"HAKAI KOKUHAI: MIDNIGHT ANCHOR!" Lemon shouted, striking toward Vlad.
The bridge groaned under the dual pressure. Gale tried to raise his scythe, but Kojo's blades moved like a silver slipstream, bypassing his guard and sending him crashing through a row of stone pillars into the dense forest beyond. On the other side, Vlad braced himself, his obsidian skin hardening to a diamond-like sheen. He caught Lemon's strike, the impact sparking like flint on steel.
"You can change the name, little Prince, but you cannot change your power!" Vlad barked, shoving Lemon back. "OBSIDIAN RUSH!"
Vlad charged, his body becoming a jagged battering ram of black glass. But Lemon didn't dodge. He planted his feet and caught the obsidian monster with his bare hands. The sound of flesh hitting stone echoed across the bridge.
"What?! He stopped me... with his hands?" Vlad's eyes widened in terror.
"HAKAI KOKUHAI: PHANTOM STRIKE!"
Lemon's hands blurred. He didn't just push; he sent a vibration of pure destructive energy through Vlad's chest. The obsidian shattered. Vlad fell back, his armor falling off in jagged shards, his chest heaving as blood began to pool beneath him. Kojo staggered over to Lemon's side, his breath coming in ragged gasps.
"Oi, Lemon," Kojo muttered, his vision beginning to tunnel. "This next attack has to be the end. I can't fight after this."
"I understand," Lemon nodded. "Give me everything you have left."
Kojo raised his three blades, his purple aura flickering like a dying candle. "OI! YOU TWO! I'm finishing this now! Three Sword Style... EXCALIBUR!"
In a flash of violet light, Kojo vanished. He reappeared behind the villains, his swords clicking back into their scabbards. A split second later, Gale and Vlad erupted in sprays of blood, their very essence cut by the legendary strike.
"And you call that half-power?" Lemon whispered in awe. "You really are a demon. My turn. HAKAI KOKUHAI: TORMENT GIANT BLOW!"
A massive fist of golden-black energy slammed into the unconscious villains, burying them into the bridge's foundation. Dust swallowed the world. When it cleared, the Void Trio members were gone—buried under tons of rubble.
"We did it, Kojo," Lemon sighed.
"No... it's not over," Kojo whispered, his body finally failing him. He collapsed to his knees, then to his face. "Please... go... save Ato..."
"But Kojo, you're dying—"
"GO!" Kojo's scream was the last of his life force. "Save the Captain!"
[The Throne Room: The Outskirts]
The palace was a skeleton of gold and bone. Zyrrex stood amidst the dust, his five remaining tentacles twitching. "Please... tell me you are done, Beast."
Ato stood there, a statue of crimson. He was barely a man anymore; he was a walking wound. When Zyrrex sent his Five Tentacle Rush, Ato didn't move until they were inches away. He caught the central spear, the barb tearing through his palm, and used it to pull Zyrrex into his orbit.
"HEAVY PUNCH!"
The collision sent Zyrrex skidding back, his heels carving ruts in the earth. "The next one," Zyrrex wheezed. "The last one."
"VOID: TENTACLE PIERCE!"
"WORLD SHAKER!"
The two collided. The world went white. The sound was so loud it became silence.
[The Hospital]
Three days of darkness finally broke. Ato's eyes opened to a ceiling that didn't move. He felt the weight of a thousand bandages. To his right, the steady, rhythmic snoring of Kojo Ren was the most beautiful sound he had ever heard.
"Oi... Lemon..." Ato's voice was a ghost of itself. "Where is Faramis? Are they okay?"
Lemon stood by the window, his back turned. The sunlight hit his golden hair, but he looked cold. He looked like a man who had seen the end of the world.
"Look beside you," Lemon said.
Ato saw Kojo, safe and sleeping. Then he looked back at the Prince. "Where is Faramis, Lemon? Did we save the kingdom?"
The silence stretched for a minute. Two minutes. Outside, the wind howled through a city that no longer had walls to stop it.
"As for Faramis..." Lemon's voice broke.
Ato's heart stopped. "Don't tell me... Faramis is..."