Chaos and the acrid smell of fire reigned over Paris. In a heroic surge, the five heroes leapt into the void from the ship's door, plunging straight toward the battlefield, carried downward by the air in their fall. From the heights, they saw the full extent of the damage — and not one of them could suppress a pang in their chest. Paris was completely destroyed: the houses, the roads, the monuments — everything was damaged. Not a single sign of the population, only Reimu's army waiting for them below.
Kael dove in a steep plunge, gathered speed, and reached the ground before the others. Touching down, his muscles drawn to their extreme, he struck the earth with a blow of colossal power. The shockwave swept through the surroundings, creating a fully cleared zone — free of debris and enemies alike.
Harris then created currents of wind that cushioned the group's landing on the area Kael had prepared. The moment they touched down, in perfect coordination, Harris and Nozomi launched a combined attack. Both took a deep breath, eyes closed for a fraction of a second, before simultaneously projecting a devastating gust of wind in the direction of the Eiffel Tower.
The combined force of the two was so powerful that everything in its path was swept away. The way to the Eiffel Tower was clear. Once the path was open, Aria formed two circles with her hands, the concentration plain on her face. The moment her spell was cast, two gigantic barriers appeared on either side of the corridor, preventing the entire enemy army from interfering.
With determined drive, his gaze steady and his fists clenched, Nozomi declared: "Let's go!"
Kael and Nozomi charged straight ahead, taking the corridor that their teamwork had created. Not an ounce of hesitation in their movement, jaws set, they advanced without concern for the enemies on either side — their eyes fixed on Reimu, who waited for them at the end of the path, at the foot of the Eiffel Tower. Meanwhile, the other three held back.
Reimu, observing the scene from his position, saw the two heroes bearing down on him. A small smile stretched across his lips. He ordered out loud: "Let them through. The rest of you — deal with the others!" Then he murmured, for himself alone: "Those two are mine."
While running, Kael noticed that the enemies were not attacking them and were letting them pass. He shot a sideways glance at Nozomi. "It seems your intuition was right, Nozomi!"
Nozomi had analyzed the entire situation pragmatically. He had more or less identified Reimu's character. Reimu had attacked far too soon — proof of an excessive confidence in himself and his abilities. It also showed that he considered himself above their heroes, to the point of coming to face them directly without detour.
Given the way Nozomi and Kael were charging at him, it presented itself as a challenge issued in duel. Nozomi had banked on Reimu's overconfidence and inflated self-regard — he would accept this duel without hesitation, convinced he would have no difficulty beating them. Meanwhile, Nozomi trusted Harris, Aria, and Shinrei to hold the entirety of Reimu's army between the three of them and free the prisoners while he and Kael dealt with their leader.
Reimu Hikarizuki was a formidable adversary, feared by all — his reputation and powers capable of terrifying entire planets. Moreover, their father, Nova Yuutaka, had faced him and defeated him only after a long and grueling battle.
Nozomi knew full well that alone, in his current state, he could not beat him. That is why, in his plan, Kael accompanied him so that together they would be stronger. Together, they had decided to place their two greatest striking forces on the front line. A meticulously prepared plan.
Nozomi tightened his fists and flames erupted from them, heat radiating along his forearms. On Kael, the scars rose along his arms under the pressure of overflowing aetherium. At full speed, they covered the distance separating them from Reimu and threw themselves at him. Kael arrived first, but Reimu ducked and evaded him. Nozomi arrived right behind — Reimu had no choice but to parry the attack with his elbow. The moment their feet touched the ground, Kael and Nozomi pushed off and propelled themselves at Reimu, fists forward, ready to strike. Reimu, however, had time to react and blocked both fists with his two hands — each one stopping an attack dead in its tracks.
In the distance, Shinrei, thanks to his speed and sharpened perception, could follow the scene from a great distance. The moment he saw Nozomi and Kael engaged against Reimu, he called out: "Aria, we're good — they've arrived."
At Shinrei's words, Aria shattered her barriers, her features taut but her gesture assured. The path opened and the three heroes immediately found themselves surrounded by Reimu's entire army. They positioned themselves back to back, scanning the enemies all around, feeling the pressure mount.
Harris spoke, his voice calm despite the situation: "The first part of his plan worked. It's up to us to make sure the second part works too."
While Kael and Nozomi faced Reimu, Harris, Aria, and Shinrei had the mission — unable to overcome seven hundred enemies between the three of them — to hold out and buy as much time as possible. More precisely: enough time for Elyra to locate where the citizens were being held prisoner. After that, they could move to the third stage.
On the main front, Nozomi and Kael faced Reimu at the foot of the Eiffel Tower. No one to interrupt them — a fight between them alone. The tension was palpable, the air heavy and the pressure immense.
Before beginning, Reimu spoke: "So you are Nova's children? Frankly, you look nothing like him — neither in appearance nor in guts." However, for a brief moment, something in their gazes gave him pause. He thought he glimpsed the same gleam that Nova had carried, years ago. That fleeting doubt vanished as quickly as it had come.
Nozomi and Kael did not respond to these provocations. Without wasting time, they launched the assault first. Time was against them — all hope rested on their ability to overcome Reimu.
Nozomi hurled a fireball at him while Kael continued his charge. Without the slightest difficulty, Reimu sidestepped it. Faced with Kael's charge as he prepared to land a direct punch to his face, Reimu caught his hand and threw him behind him.
At once, he propelled himself at Nozomi — but with the help of a gust of wind, Nozomi prevented him from closing in and created some distance between them. Kael seized the opening and attacked from behind with a punch.
Reimu ducked again to evade — but Kael had learned his lesson. Landing at Reimu's feet, he planted his hand on the ground and swung through a hundred and eighty degree rotation before striking Reimu with a circular kick to the ribs. The attack landed true and sent Reimu tumbling through debris.
The next second, Nozomi overwhelmed Reimu with a barrage of lightning bolts erupting from his fingertips, teeth gritted, giving him not a second's respite. He called out: "Kael, your turn!"
Kael tightened his fists firmly, feeling the aetherium pulse through his arms. The scars rose and on his fist, the aetherium condensed to form a dense sphere. He struck into the empty air and a devastating shockwave razed everything in its path — striking Reimu full force and leaving behind it nothing but a cloud of smoke.
Suddenly, a black silhouette emerged from the smoke. Before Kael even understood what was happening, he was ejected at full speed and crashed into a building, the breath knocked from him. In the chaos, Nozomi launched a thundering bolt of lightning. But with a single hand, Reimu absorbed the attack — and with the other, fired back a massive bolt of lightning in return.
Nozomi barely dodged it to the side, then, with a sharp movement, his feet firmly planted on the ground, he made spikes of earth erupt beneath Reimu's feet. A second later, Reimu was imprisoned in a cage of stone that immobilized him.
But suddenly a colossal explosion of fire destroyed the prison. Nozomi's attacks seemed to deal him no damage whatsoever, and Reimu managed to counter them and retaliate without the slightest difficulty. A shiver of unease ran through Nozomi, which he immediately swallowed back down.
Among the debris, Kael regained consciousness and forced himself upright, his arms heavy, his breathing ragged. "Lucky I had reinforced my body with aetherium. Otherwise, that would have been the end of me."
He stepped forward and caught sight of Nozomi in the midst of fighting Reimu. At that moment, a realization struck him: "My attacks are doing nothing to him. I need to hit harder. I need more power."
Reimu was trying to close in on Nozomi — but with mastery and elegance, Nozomi managed to maintain the distance through his control of air and earth. Reimu seemed to be holding back, toying with them — not a single dangerous or powerful attack had yet been launched from his side. For now, he was content to evade, absorb hits, and land a few blows of his own from time to time.
Nozomi had understood it clearly: Reimu was not fighting them seriously. And it was precisely that nonchalance he wanted to exploit — to put him in difficulty before Reimu decided to fight in earnest. However, something was wrong. Even when very powerful, every attack from Kael and Nozomi seemed to have no effect on him. At each exchange, Nozomi was searching to uncover the secret behind this inexplicable resistance.
After an evasion, Nozomi attempted a lightning counter-attack. He locked Reimu's feet and hands in ice formed through his mastery of water. Knowing it would not hold him for long, he immediately propelled himself upward using gusts conjured beneath his feet and bore down on Reimu. In record time, he reached him and, pressing his hand to his face, triggered a gigantic explosion.
In the smoke and confusion, Nozomi immediately chained further attacks. At close range to Reimu, he pressed both hands to the ground — and a second later, thunder descended from the sky and struck Reimu, cleaving the air with a deafening crash.
Paralyzed by the electricity for a few seconds, Reimu could not react. Nozomi leapt, pivoting on himself before striking Reimu full force with a circular kick reinforced by his mastery of wind.
Reimu soared across the battlefield after Nozomi's blow, hovering a few centimeters above the ground. From the air, Kael appeared and struck him full force with a direct punch to the stomach — a blow carefully prepared, concentrating a large quantity of elemental aetherium. Kael had understood that he needed to re-center on himself, to feel every flow of energy before striking, rather than acting on instinct under the heat of combat.
The impact created an enormous crater twenty meters in radius and five meters deep. Fissures spread beneath the weight of the Eiffel Tower, weakening its foundations with a low rumble.
Kael rejoined Nozomi. Both of them gasping for breath, their knees slightly bent under the fatigue, they had no time to catch their breath before they heard footsteps rising from the crater. It was Reimu — who, after absorbing all these attacks, emerged with barely a scratch on him, his expression as detached as ever.
He clapped his hands together to congratulate them. "I commend you. Your attacks were impressive."
He tapped the ground lightly with his foot and a cylinder of earth shot up from it. He sat down on it and looked at them. "To reward your determination, I'm going to give you a gift."
Nozomi and Kael exchanged a glance, perplexed, their fists still clenched. They had no choice — it was clearly Reimu who was leading the dance. Suddenly, he activated his power: the Shugan. Faced with this display, both heroes were engulfed by a visceral fear that froze their veins — their bodies and senses completely paralyzed despite themselves. For Nozomi, this sensation was ten times more intense than his first encounter with Draka. He stood speechless, unable to imagine that such power could exist.
Following that, Reimu took the time to explain his power to them. "The Shugan is the mythical and unique power of the Hikarizuki family. In addition to an enhancement of physical capabilities, it offers five powers of innate strength unparalleled in the world. However, for the most powerful users of the Shugan, a sixth power has awakened — a power unique to each Shugan, offering an ability or technique beyond imagination, capable of defying all laws of nature."
He smiled and rose, straightening himself effortlessly. "I am among that rare few. My sixth power is the Imperial Armour, which grants me an impenetrable defense. Very few have ever been capable of dealing me damage while it is active."
He paused, and an almost nostalgic gleam crossed his gaze before fading. "Your father was one of them. Now that you are aware of my power, I hope you will push yourselves even further to entertain me."
And at once the battle resumed — though whether hope of victory still remained after Reimu's revelation was a question that hung in the air, unanswered.