Dark energy surged violently around Megalodon's arms as he ripped against the glowing restraints. The chains groaned under the pressure. Cracks spread through the runes locking his limbs in place. Then both of his arms snapped free at once, fragments of shattered light scattering across the battlefield.
His upper hands pulled back while cursed energy spiraled into both palms. Two red-black spheres condensed rapidly, pulsing hard enough to distort the air around them.
Tempestia's breathing hitched.
"Oh shit… SHIT!" she screamed, forcing herself upright. "Move! Mooooon Liiiight!"
The two spheres launched forward.
One tore toward Moon-Light's position through the smoke while the other rushed directly at her.
Megalodon's grin widened as stone continued crawling higher across his body.
"You only get one choice," he shouted. "Save your friend… or save yourself. Show me what kind of person you really are."
Tempestia staggered half a step before forcing both trembling hands forward desperately.
Layer after layer of barriers exploded into existence around her and Moon-Light. Transparent shields stacked over each other in rapid succession, glowing brighter each time another formed.
The first sphere collided against the barriers hard enough to cave the outer layers inward.
Cracks spread instantly across the first shield before it shattered apart into fragments of light.
Then pierced through another.
Then five more.
The impact forced her boots backward across the broken street as sparks burst around her arms.
"Again with those fucking disintegration spheres?!" she yelled through gritted teeth.
Nearby, Moon-Light barely managed to shield himself behind the last surviving layers. Rubble lifted around him from the pressure alone.
Then his expression shifted.
The second sphere suddenly curved sideways.
Tempestia's eyes snapped toward the shifting sphere.
Her body twisted sharply, trying to reposition the remaining barriers.
"What?!"
Megalodon laughed loudly.
"Wrong choice."
Too late.
The attack bent sharply through the air and slammed directly into Tempestia before she could reposition.
The remaining barriers burst apart.
The beam punched through Tempestia's chest and abdomen before erupting out through her back.
Her body seized instantly.
A broken gasp escaped her throat as blood burst across the front of her white uniform.
Then the force launched her backward.
She slammed through twisted metal and shattered concrete before bouncing across the ruined street hard enough to leave streaks of blood behind her.
Her body finally crashed against a collapsed slab of concrete and crumpled sideways into the rubble.
Dust rolled slowly around her motionless form.
Her white outfit was stained red almost instantly.
Fragments of glowing curse marks spread across her skin like burning cracks. The sigils crawled over her arms, stomach, and collarbone, twitching with dark energy as if alive beneath the surface.
She rolled weakly onto one side, coughing hard. Blood splattered from her lips onto the rubble beneath her.
"W-what…" Her fingers dug into her stomach as another wave of pain hit. "What the hell did you do to me… demon?"
Megalodon stood motionless while the petrification continued climbing across his torso and neck. Stone spread over his skin inch by inch, yet the amusement on his face never disappeared.
"I, Megalodon, Demon King of Leviathan…" His voice echoed heavily through the ruined district. "Have cursed you with one of my original spells."
His six glowing eyes locked onto her trembling body.
"From this point onward, every attempt to use your powers will destroy you from the inside." He lifted two fingers slowly. "Your bones will fracture. Your body will collapse. In your current weakened state, this curse cannot be undone."
His grin deepened.
"Only I can remove it."
He flicked two fingers carelessly to the side while muttering something beneath his breath.
A crimson magic circle unfolded beneath Moon-Light's battered body. Dark symbols rotated slowly across its surface while sparks of distorted energy drifted upward into the air around him.
Moon-Light barely moved.
Blood covered most of his torn uniform while both arms hung unnaturally at his sides from the damage Megalodon inflicted earlier. His breathing looked shallow now. Uneven.
The space surrounding him warped inward suddenly.
Then his body dissolved into fragments of crimson light and vanished completely.
Tempestia's eyes widened in panic.
"Moon…"
"Her fingers slipped against blood-covered rubble as she dragged herself forward inch by inch across the shattered concrete, scraping through dirt and broken glass."
"MOON-LIGHT…"
Blood ran down the side of her face and dripped from her chin.
"What did you do to him…?" she coughed violently. "YOU BASTARD…"
Megalodon chuckled one final time.
Stone finally spread across his jaw and sealed his mouth shut. The petrification overtook the rest of his body within seconds.
The enormous stone body tilted slowly before finally collapsing sideways through the ruined avenue.
The impact split the road apart in every direction. Nearby wreckage jumped from the force. Broken buildings groaned loudly as fresh cracks spread through weakened foundations.
Then everything went still. There were no more explosions, no screams. Just thick smoke drifting quietly through the destroyed city.
Tempestia pulled herself forward one last time.
"MEGALODON…!"
Tempestia dragged herself forward another inch.
Then the curse activated.
Agonizing pain tore through her arm as fractures spread beneath the skin with a sickening series of cracks.
Her fingers lost their grip against the rubble instantly.
A scream ripped from her throat while her entire arm spasmed uncontrollably beside her.
The strength left her body all at once.
She collapsed face-first into the shattered concrete, one blood-covered hand still stretched weakly toward the empty battlefield where Moon-Light had vanished.
Then she stopped moving.
The battle was over.
Smoke drifted low across the shattered avenue. Entire buildings had folded inward on themselves. Fires continued burning inside overturned vehicles while engines ticked softly beneath crushed metal.
Most civilians were gone.
Tempestia's spell had pulled thousands away from the battlefield before the fighting escalated further. Large sections of the district stood abandoned now, littered with rubble, broken glass, and overturned emergency vehicles.
But not everyone made it out.
A handful of bodies still remained beneath the destruction.
One rescue worker lay trapped beneath a collapsed concrete slab, only his arm visible through the debris. Near a destroyed intersection, two burned figures rested motionless beside an overturned bus that never escaped the blast radius. Blood stained the cracked pavement beside scattered belongings left behind during the evacuation.
Dozens survived because of Tempestia.
Dozens still died because Megalodon existed.
This was Leviathan's work.
A figure descended slowly from the darkened sky.
Their boots touched the cracked asphalt near Tempestia's collapsed body.
Dust shifted around the impact.
The figure stood still for a moment, staring silently at the destruction surrounding them.
Then their fist slowly tightened.