"Foolish mortals, do you think these little tricks can challenge divine authority?" Igniz's expression finally darkened.
"Talk is cheap." True Zero had already launched his attack.
His trench coat, enhanced by cosmic energy, transformed into countless black blades capable of slicing through space, sweeping toward the trio like a tidal wave!
"White Killing Lance!"
"Maxima!" K' roared.
"Understood!"
Maxima instantly positioned himself in front of K' and Kula. His upgraded armor deployed a hexagonal energy shield constructed of pure data before him!
"System Barrier V-MAX!"
Countless black blades slashed frantically against the data shield, spraying sparks but never breaking through!
"Impossible! My White Killing Lance can cut through space itself!" True Zero's face went pale.
"Your space is nothing but a meaningless two-dimensional plane before my causality!" Maxima's electronic eyes scrolled with cascading data. "Prediction complete! In 0.3 seconds, you will move three steps to the left, attempting a flanking attack! K'!"
"You don't need to tell me!"
K's figure had already transformed into a black lightning bolt, appearing in advance at the position True Zero was about to move to!
His enhanced glove no longer burned with mere flames but with plasma fire crackling with golden arcs—unstable, explosive energy!
"Chain Drive—Enhanced Version!"
K' flipped his sunglasses up and unleashed a fluid combo like a storm, hammering True Zero! Every punch carried the terrifying power of plasma explosions!
True Zero was beaten into a steady retreat. His reality-warping battle suit emitted an overloaded "sizzling" sound under the plasma fire's assault!
"Damn it!"
On the other side, Igniz made his move. He could no longer maintain his divine facade.
"In the name of god, I grant you destruction!"
He rose high into the air, arms spread wide. Countless holy light blades infused with cosmic energy rained down like a storm, blanketing the entire battlefield!
"Kula!" K' shouted.
"Leave it to me!"
Kula stepped forward. She didn't use "Stellar Core" but instead entered "Absolute Zero" mode.
But this time, she didn't create ice—she spread the power of absolute zero outward in an inconceivable manner.
"Ice Crystal Divine Domain!"
In an instant, centered on Kula, the entire space seemed to freeze!
Those descending "holy light blades" slowed as they entered this domain—slower and slower—until they were frozen mid-air like insects trapped in amber!
The entire battlefield presented an impossibly spectacular yet eerie frozen tableau.
"Spatial... freeze?" Igniz, floating in the air, saw his attacks suspended in place, his expression like he'd seen a ghost. "This... this is no longer simple ice control! This is direct interference with physical laws!"
"That's right, Cloud taught me," Kula tilted her head with an innocent, adorable smile. "He said if the temperature is low enough, even time can be frozen."
"Now, it's our turn to counterattack!"
Maxima's shoulder armor opened, revealing two massive cannon ports.
"Maxima Beam—Final Version!"
Two thick energy beams capable of vaporizing anything roared from the cannons, straight at Igniz in the air!
Igniz hurriedly used his battle suit to warp the space before him, forming a spatial barrier.
But at that moment, K's figure appeared behind him like a phantom!
"Your divine domain seems full of holes!"
K's voice was cold as a Siberian wind.
He compressed all his plasma flames into his right fist. His red glove now blazed as bright as a supernova!
"Hyper Chain Drive—Ultimate Version!"
This punch contained all of K's fury, hatred, and farewell to his past!
BOOM!!!
Igniz's back took the full force of this blow.
His so-called "divine creation" battle suit—all its cosmic energy, all its reality-warping capabilities—collapsed instantly under this punch!
Countless golden circuit patterns burst across his body, and finally, the entire suit, along with his unrealistic "dream of godhood," shattered into fragments scattered across the sky.
"I... am god..."
Igniz muttered his final, unwilling delusion as he fell toward the endless cosmic abyss below, his body like a puppet with its strings cut.
Meanwhile, True Zero was pinned down by Maxima's beam cannons and Kula's freezing abilities until K' delivered a hand-blade from behind, piercing his energy core.
"The era of NESTS... is over..." True Zero looked down at the hole in his chest. The black cat in his arms let out a mournful cry as they dissolved together into points of data-light.
The second battle ended.
The once-invincible "NESTS Gods" were utterly crushed before the "NESTS Resistance PLUS," armed to the teeth by "Cloud Tech."
Upon the throne, Otoma=Raga's silence stretched even longer.
She seemed to be thinking.
"Interesting... truly interesting..."
"Divine power and technological power both couldn't defeat you?"
"It seems this main course is even more resilient than I imagined."
The instant defeat of the "NESTS Gods" made everyone deeply realize how important it was to cling to a powerful thigh—especially Cloud's "golden thigh."
"Hey, Ryu!" Ken Masters sidled up to his training partner, whispering, "You think if we go ask Mr. Cloud to buff our Hadouken, is it too late? I feel like my Shoryuken can't keep up with the current meta."
Ryu said nothing, silently looking at his hands calloused from years of training, then at K's "high-tech" glove still crackling with plasma arcs. For the first time, his eyes showed a flicker of something called "doubt."
"Sigh... what a boring fight." Otoma=Raga's voice carried lazy complaint. "A bunch of tin cans banging into each other, utterly lacking in aesthetics."
"Since you're not satisfied with dishes of power and technology, the next one... consider it a dessert."
"A dessert seasoned with time itself."
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