Rumbler shook and twitched violently as he struggled to throw off the Archangel pinning him to the ground. He roared, his body convulsing under the strain, but no matter how desperately he fought, he couldn't move the figure standing over him. From above, still standing atop Kayo's cloud, Levi and Kayo watched in silence. The same giant that had devastated an entire city, overwhelmed them both, and threatened to destroy a planet was being subdued with such ease that neither of them could fully comprehend what they were witnessing.
Ragnor looked surprisingly ordinary.
He possessed the same features shared by every Nitchtronian: sharp pointed ears, dark orange skin, and a third eye resting upon his forehead. Long blond dreadlocks, slicked back behind his head, draped down his back and swayed gently in the evening wind. He was small for his race, standing only five feet eight inches tall, and his body, though compact and muscular, lacked the imposing build one would expect from a warrior capable of restraining a monster like Rumbler. His dark combat suit was sleek and unadorned, absent of any symbols or decorations that might distinguish him from an ordinary soldier.
Yet the more Levi and Kayo looked at him, the less ordinary he became.
[STARDUST: 77%]
They could feel it.
The difference between Ragnor and Rumbler wasn't significant on paper. In fact, Rumbler's Stardust had briefly surpassed his. But whatever stood before them now could not be explained through numbers alone. Ragnor's presence felt heavier, more oppressive, as though the very concept of Stardust had manifested itself into a living being. It pressed against their skin, settled into their bones, and wrapped around their minds with an invisible pressure that neither of them could resist.
Kayo felt fear.
Not the fear of death, nor the fear of losing a battle, but the fear that comes from standing before something that exists on an entirely different level of existence.
Levi, however, had experienced this sensation once before.
His eyes narrowed as a distant memory resurfaced.
"He's just like Hope" he murmured, the words escaping him so quietly they were almost carried away by the wind.
This wasn't artificial power.
This was true power.
The power that stood above all others.
The overwhelming and undeniable authority of a true Archangel.
"We should go."
Kayo spoke quietly, but there was urgency behind his voice. The moment he prepared to steer the cloud away, a crushing pressure suddenly dragged both him and Levi downward.
"NOOO!!"
Rumbler's roar shook the battlefield.
For a brief moment, his will resurfaced.
The giant fought desperately, pouring everything he had left into his gravitational power. He wasn't trying to kill them anymore. He was trying to stop them from escaping.
But the man pinning him down didn't move.
Not an inch.
Then, just as suddenly as it had begun, Rumbler's gravitational pull vanished.
"Relax."
Ragnor's voice was calm.
Firm.
"I'm not letting them go either."
The cloud beneath Levi and Kayo disappeared instantly. Both of them crashed onto the ruined street several meters away, rolling through debris before forcing themselves back onto
their feet.
They stared at each other in confusion. Their abilities hadn't been interrupted, they had been taken. Levi felt it immediately as the energy left not only his body, but everything around him.
"It's his doing," Levi muttered.
A brilliant emerald aura surged around Ragnor's body, illuminating the battlefield in green light. The aura didn't expand outward like Levi's Destruction or Rumbler's gravity. Instead, it pulled inward, feeding off the energy surrounding it.
Rumbler began shaking violently.
"We can't use our abilities," Levi said through gritted teeth. "He'll just feed off them."
Levi knew they had to get away quickly, but the odds were against them. Rumbler was exhausted. They were exhausted. And standing over them was a monster that seemed impossible to overcome.
But Rumbler wasn't finished.
His instincts took over.
The instincts of a wrestler.
Instead of trying to overpower Ragnor, Rumbler suddenly bridged his hips and shifted his center of gravity. Using leverage rather than strength, he rolled over Ragnor's shoulder and reversed their positions, slamming the Archangel onto the ground beneath him.
Ragnor's expression changed.
Not surprise.
Recognition.
Levi and Kayo didn't hesitate.
They ran.
"You're not getting away."
Ragnor's voice remained cold despite the giant pinning him to the ground.
Then his body dissolved.
Not metaphorically.
Literally.
His entire form transformed into a torrent of emerald energy and crackling lightning. The energy slipped through Rumbler's grasp like water escaping between fingers.
Levi sensed him too late.
A flash.
A burst of green light.
Then Ragnor stood in front of them.
One hand on Levi.
One hand on Kayo.
Both pinned to the ground.
He looked down at them with the same expression one might reserve for pests.
"Where do you think you're going, Demons?"
Then—
Rumbler arrived.
The giant's front kick came with enough force to shatter a mountain.
THUMP!!
Ragnor reacted at the last possible moment, raising his arm to block.
The impact exploded through the city.
But Ragnor didn't fly back.
He launched forward.
At lightning speed.
Rumbler was already waiting.
One fist carried gravity.
The other carried raw emerald energy.
When the two attacks collided, the world around them burst apart.
BOOMM!!
Kayo and Levi were sent flying across the ruins, their bodies crashing against broken streets and piles of debris. They hit the ground hard and staggered forward, unable to stand properly.
They began crawling.
Survival instinct was the only thing keeping either of them moving. Behind them, the battle between Ragnor and Rumbler continued to shake the city, each impact sounding louder than exploding missiles.
"Damn it…"
Levi dragged himself across the rubble.
"This is pathetic."
He didn't know where he was going anymore. Neither of them did. They simply kept moving because stopping meant dying.
Eventually, Levi's body gave out.
He turned his head and saw Kayo lying several meters behind him, motionless.
"G-get... up..."
The words barely escaped his mouth.
"Get up now... Kayo..."
There was no response.
Levi rolled onto his back and stared at the sky. The sounds of battle slowly faded around him, not because they had stopped, but because his mind was beginning to drift away from them.
"Not like this."
"Not yet."
"This can't be how it ends."
Then he saw it descending through the clouds,a green light cutting across the sky.
Slowly.
Inevitably.
Levi couldn't move.
He couldn't fight.
He couldn't even bring himself to be angry anymore.
So this is it, he thought.
"I damned you all."
He closed his eyes.
Suddenly, blue bubbles formed around him and Kayo. They expanded silently before bursting apart, and the cold ground beneath him vanished.
Levi opened his eyes.
He was inside a ship.
"Good job, Togo."
Lieutenant Lee stood near the cockpit, his expression serious.
"It's time to go."
He looked toward the front window.
"Let's go get her."
Outside, the clouds rushed past at tremendous speed. Behind them, Darant City continued to burn.
The Red Moon Clan had successfully retrieved two of its missing members.
Now, they were heading for the third.