Martin and Raydillon exchanged serious stares. Martin still gripped Raydillon's fists tightly, waiting for any movement he expected to receive.
Raydillon acted first.
He tried to strike Martin in the chest, but Martin caught the punch again and slammed a powerful headbutt into Raydillon's face, leaving him slightly dazed.
Martin noticed him dizzy and said:
— Look at that! The god of Heaven is dizzy? How does it feel to end up like this because of a human?
Raydillon did not respond.
Raydillon tried using one of his abilities against Martin.
— Kami no Chitsujo, Third Element, Divine Arrow.
But…
The attack simply did not come out.
Strangely… nothing happened.
Raydillon became extremely confused, staring at his own hands.
— What? Why? My abilities aren't responding!?
Then Raydillon realized…
He had become drastically weaker, to the point where his own powers no longer answered him.
He immediately concluded that he needed to kill that boy as fast as possible… or this would become his end.
So he moved quickly.
Raydillon charged at Martin aggressively, already intending to kill him, but he was slower now, and Martin retaliated with an elbow strike straight into his torso.
Raydillon coughed blood, though he still stood firm.
The two entered a hand-to-hand fight, exchanging punches and kicks at absurd speed. Then Martin noticed something and thought to himself.
— Ever since I evolved, I've been noticing more openings for counterattacks and more defensive gaps… I think my mental maturity evolved too…
The two kept trading blows. Some landed directly on their faces, others missed completely.
Then Martin had an idea.
Raydillon kept throwing punches, but Martin wanted to turn those punches into his own counterattack.
— Now!
The moment Raydillon threw a punch, Martin redirected it to the right using his hand.
Raydillon did not notice the intention behind it.
Then he tried throwing another punch at Martin.
Martin did the same thing again.
With his defense completely exposed, Raydillon realized it had all been a strategy to guarantee a counterattack.
— He lined up both of my arms so I wouldn't be able to defend in time? Bastard…!
Martin took advantage of the opening and delivered a powerful punch directly into Raydillon's ribs, shattering the bones there.
Raydillon was launched several meters away until he crashed into a building in a more urban area, coughing blood while already feeling some pain.
Raphaella, now more recovered, appeared beside Martin. She noticed how much he had changed, then asked:
— Martin…? Is that really you? — slightly blushing.
— Yeah, it's me. — Martin replied with a smile on his face. — Let's hold him off as long as we can.
Raphaella nodded.
Saravia ran over to Nylon while carrying Daytona on her back. She gently placed Daytona on the ground and said:
— Try to take care of her! I need to go help the others immediately.
Nylon nodded.
Raydillon rose from the rubble, already somewhat exhausted.
— My energy actually feels finite now… what a pain…
He summoned six pairs of angelic wings and flew rapidly toward the duo.
He slammed his foot into the ground while still moving at absurd speed, causing massive clouds of dust to erupt, making it hard for Raphaella and Martin to see.
Raydillon focused on Raphaella.
He grabbed her by the face and flew upward into the sky, holding her violently.
Martin became confused instantly, not understanding what had happened or what to do.
When they reached high above the battlefield, Raydillon gripped her head tightly and shoved a finger into her right eye.
She screamed, not from pain… but from agony and fear.
Then Raydillon said in a serious tone:
— You sealed our fate. Out of all the angels, I cannot describe how disappointing you've been to me, Raphaella.
He continued crushing her head with force. Cracks formed across her skull, blood pouring from her eye and all over her face.
But…
Raydillon's arms were suddenly cut off.
A clean cut.
Fast.
Precise.
Far below him stood Saravia, accompanied by Martin.
Martin caught Raphaella from the enormous fall.
As Saravia also fell downward, she shouted:
— You're not alone with her! You still have us! Try getting through us first before touching her again, you worm!
Raydillon became irritated and charged toward her. He grabbed Saravia and hurled himself into the ground at absurd speed.
The impact shook the earth and formed a crater.
Still airborne while holding Raphaella, Martin shouted:
— SARAVIA! Damn it!
He landed carefully and placed Raphaella on the ground, kneeling in front of her.
The two faced each other.
— Rapha, are you okay?
— I… don't know… my head hurts a lot and I thought I was going to die… But I can still fight.
Martin became deeply worried. He hugged her tightly and said:
— Everything's gonna be okay. You're not gonna die. We'll kill him first.
Raphaella smiled.
Raydillon calmly walked toward Saravia, confident.
Saravia, meanwhile, was tense, though trying to stay composed.
— You're quite brave. — Raydillon said.
Saravia did not answer. She simply gripped the chains of her anchors tighter.
Raydillon tried charging at her first, but Saravia was incredibly fast and precise. She used one anchor offensively at long range while using the other defensively.
— Shinkai Jakusari, Ninth Element, Mariana Current!
Saravia hurled both anchors toward Raydillon. He managed to dodge them all… or at least, that was what he thought.
Saravia pulled the anchors back toward herself, making them return and strike Raydillon from behind, trapping him.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, she grabbed one of the anchors and tried to decapitate him somehow.
But…
He vanished.
He instantly reappeared behind her and struck her in the face, knocking three teeth out of her mouth.
— He's really annoying to kill! — she thought to herself.
The two began exchanging blows. Saravia manipulated her anchors while Raydillon used his fists, but he noticed something.
— Her precision with those anchors is absolute… She can operate at absurd speeds even with a "loose" weapon dependent on chains and handling.
Then Raydillon decided to test something.
During the fight, Raydillon grabbed the chains of Saravia's anchors, leaving them nearly unusable and making her extremely vulnerable.
— Damn it! I can't get free! — she thought desperately.
Raydillon was about to throw a fatal punch straight through her chest…
But Martin arrived in time and slammed a powerful punch into Raydillon's face, sending him flying hundreds of meters away until he crashed into another building.
Raydillon stood up.
— Don't think. Act! — Raydillon told himself.
He rapidly charged toward them again.
Martin quickly shouted:
— Saravia! Try to restrain him so we can buy time!
Saravia nodded.
She grabbed her anchors and rushed toward him.
— Shinkai Jakusari, Thirteenth Element, Prison!
Saravia managed to restrain him unexpectedly.
He had no idea what to do, already pushing himself to his absolute limit… or at least what remained of him.
Then…
Daytona regained consciousness.
But she was suffering from extreme shortness of breath, unable to regenerate. Too much blood had entered her lungs.
— Daytona! Can you hear me? — Nylon asked while lifting her and helping her sit upright.
Her eyes widened.
Something was wrong.
Her body was collapsing. More than sixty percent of her cells had already died and self-destructed. Her blood could no longer function properly.
She was doomed.
Raydillon remained trapped within Saravia's anchors, but then…
He remembered something.
Something small.
But enough.
Martin was about to strike Raydillon's head, a blow that could clearly knock him unconscious.
— I… won't give up… — Raydillon muttered to himself.
— I…
— WON'T…
— GIVE UP!!!!
Raydillon unleashed a monstrous roar.
That roar echoed throughout the entire dimension as an explosion of light burst from his body.
Saravia's anchors shattered completely.
Martin reverted back to his original form and lost his left leg.
Both of them lost consciousness.
That light began tearing through their skin, opening deep cuts across their bodies.
Saravia lost consciousness as well.
Raydillon now emitted a yellow aura.
Divine.
Omnipotent.
He calmly walked toward Martin, intending to finish him off, but before that he said:
— You already caused me far too much trouble, boy.
Martin, already extremely weak, answered:
— I'm not the one who's gonna kill you… but there are still five of us left.
Then…
One of Raydillon's arms fell off.
Then the other.
At first, he looked confused.
Then he turned around and saw her.
Daytona.
Standing there with wide eyes… still without her jaw.
Raydillon became deeply shocked.
He asked himself:
— How is this girl still alive?
There was no answer.
She could barely breathe.
Then… in the blink of an eye.
She vanished.
— Kōken Akakagami, Sixteenth Element, Crimson Quasar.
Daytona charged at Raydillon at light-speed, approaching him while creating a spiral of fire directed at him.
The spiral inflicted severe damage and cuts across Raydillon's face. He failed to predict it due to how weakened he had become.
He used the beams of light from his back to attack her. Some of them struck her body and face.
The two continued exchanging blows with each other.
Daytona seemed…
Irrational.
She showed no reaction to anything, nor any facial expression.
Raydillon saw an opening in Daytona and managed to completely sever one of her arms while also carving a deep diagonal slash across her chest.
Raphaella then appeared on the battlefield, intending to help her.
— DAYTONA! — she shouted.
— Raphaella… — Raydillon said calmly.
— You still forgot that I am still your god…
— What…? — Raphaella became confused.
Raydillon snapped his fingers.
Raphaella was teleported back to Heaven, with no possibility of returning.
Raydillon and Daytona continued fighting while that happened.
Only the two of them.
A true one-versus-one battle.
Some time passed.
Martin woke up.
He saw everything destroyed.
His friends lying on the ground.
Blood everywhere.
— What… happened…?
Raphaella, Nina, and Nylon were gone.
Saravia was beside him, still unconscious.
Martin slowly stood up, overwhelmed by pain and weakness.
In the distance, he spotted Raydillon walking toward him.
Then Martin looked to the side.
Far away.
He saw Daytona's Kōken Akakagami lying on the ground…
Alongside her.
Martin thought to himself:
— No… This can't be…
His heart seemed to stop beating when he realized…
That…
Daytona.
Was.
DEAD.