The warehouse was no longer a warehouse.
It was a field of ruins.
The walls were almost completely gone.
The roof had been destroyed.
The ground was covered in cracks, blood, and chunks of concrete.
In the middle of the destruction, Ryan was still standing.
He was breathing heavily.
His suit was torn in several places.
The second skin of his mask had cracked across the left side of his face, although it remained attached.
Blood dripped from his left hand.
His fingers barely responded.
It was destroyed.
Ryan stared at it for a few seconds.
He moved his fingers slightly.
It hurt.
A lot.
A smile appeared beneath the mask.
—That's going to be a problem.
In front of him, Justin and Jack could barely remain standing.
The Entity's help had been enough to change the course of the battle for a few minutes.
But it had not been enough to defeat him.
And now that presence had withdrawn...
They were alone.
Justin had one eye partially closed from the blood.
One of his arms hung uselessly at his side.
Jack was breathing heavily.
His clothes were completely torn, and several wounds covered his body.
Even so, they were still smiling.
Justin spat blood.
—Still...
He took a deep breath.
—We can still kill you.
Ryan let out a quiet laugh.
—I like that.
Jack slowly raised his fists.
—Then come on.
Ryan disappeared.
Justin disappeared as well.
BOOM.
The two collided in the middle of the ruins.
Justin threw a punch.
Ryan blocked it with his right arm.
The impact forced him backward.
Jack appeared behind him.
Ryan turned too late.
CRACK.
A direct blow to his back sent him down onto one knee.
Jack tried to finish him.
Ryan opened a portal.
Jack's fist disappeared into the spatial opening.
Ryan reappeared behind him and struck.
Jack crashed to the ground.
Justin immediately returned.
Ryan raised his right hand.
A pistol appeared.
BANG.
Justin dodged.
The bullet passed beside his face.
Ryan fired again.
Justin raised a barrier.
The bullet exploded.
Ryan appeared directly in front of him.
Punch.
Justin blocked.
Knee.
Elbow.
Another strike.
Kick.
Justin was sent flying.
Ryan followed him through teleportation and appeared above him.
A black flame formed in his hand.
Justin barely managed to raise a barrier.
The dark fire struck it, and the protection began to warp.
Justin shouted:
—Jack!
Jack appeared.
A purple blast struck Ryan and sent him flying several meters.
Ryan rolled across the ground and stood back up.
Blood dripped from his mouth.
He wiped it away with the back of his hand.
—Good.
He looked at the two of them.
—Now you're finally fighting like you want to survive.
Justin breathed deeply.
—We don't want to survive.
Jack raised his head.
—We want to win.
Ryan smiled.
—Then we agree.
The next charge was brutal.
There were no more strategies.
No more rules.
Everything was allowed.
Justin attacked with his fists.
Jack used the magic he had left.
Ryan fired his weapons, opened portals, and unleashed dark fire.
Illusions appeared and disappeared.
Purple lightning tore through the air.
Explosions destroyed the last remaining columns.
Ryan took a direct hit to the face.
The second skin cracked even further.
Justin took a bullet to the shoulder.
Jack was sent through three walls.
Ryan lost his balance.
Jack took advantage of it and struck him in the abdomen, the face, and the chest.
Ryan fell.
Justin appeared above him.
—Now!
The two attacked at the same time.
Ryan raised a barrier.
BOOM.
It shattered.
Another.
BOOM.
That one shattered too.
Ryan staggered backward.
His left hand hung completely motionless.
Blood ran down his arm.
Justin smiled.
—You're running out of options.
Ryan slowly raised his head.
—No.
Jack appeared behind him.
—Then what's left?
Ryan smiled.
—You two.
He disappeared.
He reappeared between them.
His right hand grabbed Justin by the throat.
A portal opened behind Jack.
Ryan extended his leg.
BOOM.
Jack was sent flying.
Ryan threw Justin into the ground.
CRASH.
Justin tried to get up.
Ryan appeared in front of him.
Punch.
Another.
Another.
Justin blocked one.
Ryan struck him with his shoulder, then his knee, and finally with a magical blow directly to the chest.
BOOM.
Justin went still.
Jack roared.
All the purple energy he had left concentrated around his body.
Ryan turned.
Jack appeared directly in front of him.
—DIE!
His fist came crashing down.
Ryan didn't dodge.
He caught it.
With his only functional hand.
For several seconds, the two remained completely still.
Jack trembled.
Ryan breathed heavily.
Then Ryan smiled.
—It's over.
A rune appeared across Jack's hand.
Jack's eyes widened.
—What...?
BOOM.
The explosion sent him crashing into the ground.
Ryan teleported and appeared above him.
A second explosion.
Then a third.
Jack stopped moving.
Ryan remained standing.
Breathing.
Bleeding.
But standing.
Justin tried to rise one last time.
Ryan slowly walked toward him.
Justin raised his head.
—We...
He coughed up blood.
—...are followers of the Lord...
Ryan stopped.
—I know.
Justin smiled weakly.
—Then...
Ryan raised his right hand.
A sphere of dark fire formed in his palm.
—Tell him to explain it to you when he wakes up.
The sphere descended.
BOOM.
Silence.
The battle was over.
Ryan remained motionless among the ruins.
The two brothers had fallen.
The purple energy slowly began to disappear from the area.
Ryan looked around.
There was no one else.
No voices.
No more enemies.
Only the wind moving through the ruins.
Ryan began to laugh.
Quietly at first.
Then louder.
And finally, his laughter transformed into that impossible voice:
Thousands of voices laughing at the same time.
Children.
Men.
Women.
The elderly.
A supernatural laugh that seemed to spread for miles.
Across almost the entire county.
In some houses, people raised their heads.
Some looked out their windows.
Others locked their doors.
But nobody saw anything.
A man watched the branches of the trees move.
—It's just the wind.
A woman heard the same laughter in the distance.
—Must be some animal.
And little by little, everyone returned to their lives.
Without knowing what had happened.
Without knowing that a supernatural battle had just ended.
---
Elsewhere...
Vivian and Brittany were together.
The two of them remained silent.
Then they heard it.
The laughter.
That same voice.
They looked at each other.
Brittany was the first to speak.
—It's him.
Vivian didn't answer immediately.
She listened carefully.
The laughter began to fade.
—He won.
Brittany lowered her gaze.
—Then it's over.
Vivian slowly nodded.
They didn't know what had happened.
They didn't know exactly who had won.
They didn't know what had happened to Justin and Jack.
But they knew that voice.
And they knew enough to understand one thing:
The Clown had won.
Vivian remained thoughtful.
—I hope this is over.
Brittany looked toward the window.
—Me too.
Neither of them knew what would come next.
---
Meanwhile...
Ryan remained alone among the ruins.
He slowly raised his right hand and extended it in front of him.
—Sacrifice.
One word.
Nothing more.
The air changed.
Purple particles began to appear, floating around him.
Thousands of tiny glowing particles.
But this time, they were different.
Ryan watched them carefully.
There were shapes inside some of them.
Small.
Almost imperceptible.
Smiles.
Dozens.
Hundreds.
Thousands of tiny purple smiles floated among the particles.
Ryan remained silent.
His expression beneath the mask changed slightly.
—Interesting...
The particles continued floating.
Then Ryan reached toward his coat.
He opened a small dimensional space and pulled out his phone.
The screen lit up.
An incoming call.
Ryan looked at the name displayed on the screen.
He didn't need to read it twice.
He knew exactly who was calling.
The smile on the mask remained motionless.
The phone continued ringing.
Once.
Again.
Ryan slowly raised the device.
And just as he was about to answer...