Megan's aura continued to rise, filling the battlefield with an overwhelming pressure as the remnants of the divided sun cast the world beneath them into darkness. Her six-star halo burned behind her head while Tessandra stood several meters away, her silver hair flowing through the turbulent air.
Megan's expression hardened. "You will regret saying that to my face."
She raised her fist.
"Supreme Impact."
Megan pinched the air between her fingers, and an enormous wave of energy erupted from her fist, tearing through the darkness as it raced toward Tessandra.
Tessandra planted her feet in the air and drew her fist backward. "Desolation."
She punched directly into the incoming energy.
The two attacks collided. For a moment, neither moved. Then the entire battlefield erupted.
A tremendous explosion swallowed the space between them, sending debris and dust in every direction. Megan burst from the smoke. Her fist was already moving toward Tessandra.
Tessandra raised her arm and blocked the punch, but the force still traveled through her body and pushed her backward. She refused to retreat.
Instead, she immediately stepped forward and punched Megan directly in the face.
Megan staggered for only a moment before stepping forward and returning the attack with a punch of her own. Tessandra absorbed the strike. Megan followed with a right hook.
Tessandra raised her arm and blocked it, then immediately lifted her left leg and drove her foot into Megan's left rib.
Megan slid several meters to the left before regaining her balance. They both moved again. The distance between them vanished.
Tessandra threw a left punch followed by a hook. Megan dodged the first attack and blocked the second, then countered with a straight punch.
Tessandra leaned her head to the left, allowing the fist to pass beside her. Megan immediately followed with a right hook and then a left jab.
Tessandra ducked underneath the hook and blocked the jab before countering with a rapid sequence of kicks.
Her first kick struck Megan's right leg. The second struck her right side. The third forced Megan to raise her guard as Tessandra's foot reached her face.
Tessandra gave her no time to recover.
"Heart Gate."
She drove her fist forward. The force struck Megan and launched her across the battlefield.
Megan flew for miles before crashing into the open ground. She bounced twice before rolling across the earth and finally coming to a stop.
Tessandra remained suspended in the air, breathing heavily.
Her body trembled from exhaustion.
"I have to finish this now, or I'll give out soon."
Across the battlefield, Megan slowly pushed herself upright. She was breathing heavily as well.
Three of the stars on her halo disappeared. Only three remained. Tessandra inhaled deeply. Her eyes sharpened.
"Trot."
She pinched the air.
Megan immediately went on the defensive.
Tessandra appeared before her. Then again and again. She attacked repeatedly, each movement flowing into the next with the precision of a master martial artist.
Megan dodged one attack, then another, then another.
Tessandra continued. She advanced through the sequence of techniques with relentless precision. Megan kept avoiding each attack, but Tessandra's movements became increasingly difficult to predict.
Then Tessandra reached the fifth skill.
"Heaven's Reach."
Megan's eyes widened. She barely managed to avoid the attack. But there was a problem.
There was nowhere for her to land.
The open ground beneath her had already been destroyed during their battle.
Megan realized her mistake.
"How did I make such a simple miscalculation during a war?"
She began falling. Tessandra appeared above her. Megan looked upward.
Tessandra's fist was already descending.
"Desolation."
The attack struck.
Megan's entire existence seemed to crack beneath the force. Her purple halo shattered. The remaining stars disappeared. Her body followed.
Everything surrounding Megan was consumed by the overwhelming force of the attack until nothing remained.
Tessandra hovered in the air for several seconds.
She had exhausted almost everything she had.
Using the last of her strength, she slowly floated away from the enormous hole created beneath them and descended toward the ground. Her Circuit Embodiment finally disappeared.
The silver hair returned to its normal color. The white clothing transformed back into her blue dress.
Tessandra's body finally gave out. She fell onto her back. Muscle spasms ran through her exhausted body as she stared upward into the darkened sky, unable to move. The battle was over.
Far from the battlefield, inside a secluded cave, Faith slowly stood.
She looked toward the entrance.
"I'm going to look around and see if the others need my help."
She turned toward the others before walking away.
Kaelven remained lying against the cave wall.
"I can't move anyway."
He settled back down and stared at the ceiling. His eyes moved toward Kaelen, who remained unconscious on a bed nearby.
Jess sat beside him, watching over him.
Denma's eyes were already open.
He remained silent as he looked toward the cave entrance. A moment later, Kimotsu slowly opened his eyes. He stared at the ceiling for several seconds before finally speaking.
"So we survived, huh?"
Kaelven chuckled softly.
"Yeah, bro. We did."
Kimotsu slowly moved his arms and grimaced.
"I feel like shit."
Kaelven stared at the ceiling for a moment.
"I know what you mean."
His expression became more serious.
"I can tell we're still weak based on the fights we all had. This wasn't a joke. We could've died many times, perhaps even from the very first encounter. And even though we won, we're still injured and were practically at our limits when we woke up here."
Kaelven slowly sat upright.
"But we're not fighting alone, Kimotsu. We're fighting as a group. Besides…" He glanced toward him. "In the moment of death, didn't you awaken something incredible? What was it called again… God's Will?"
Kimotsu nodded.
"Yeah. I know that."
He stared toward the ceiling again.
"I'm just saying, if humanity was still here and it was just us, things could've been very bad. The last thing I want as a hero is to have the blood of humanity on my hands."
Kaelven glanced toward him.
"It's true. Maybe things would've been different."
He paused before giving a faint smile.
"But they weren't. Instead, it turned out perfectly."
Kimotsu looked toward him.
Kaelven leaned back against the wall.
"Consider this an experience you'll hold onto forever, until you completely surpass it by growing stronger. Then you'll never lose that badly again."
Kimotsu smiled.
"Thanks, bro."
Kaelven returned the smile. Across the cave, Denma remained silent. He slowly turned his head toward the entrance and looked beyond it, toward the distant sky.
Whatever had happened across the battlefield was far from finished.
The war was still raging.