The highway burned.
Missiles rained down like judgment.
Juvy stood in the middle of it all.
Alone.
Crystal walls rose again and again, only to shatter under the constant barrage.
Her breathing was heavy.
Her hands were shaking.
Too many attacks.
Too much power being forced out at once.
Behind her, the last Resistance truck sped away.
Eli looked back through the cracked window.
"JUVY!!"
Mara held him down.
"She told us to move! Don't look back!"
But even she clenched her jaw.
Because deep down…
They all knew.
Juvy might not survive this one.
"FINAL WARNING," the hunter commander's voice echoed.
"SURRENDER NOW."
Juvy wiped blood from her lip.
"…Nah."
Her eyes glowed brighter.
"If I fall…"
Lightning cracked across the sky.
"…I'm taking all of you with me."
High above the battlefield…
Inside a hidden chamber within the Glass Citadel…
Mother Cain stood alone.
No audience.
No generals.
Just her… and a sealed vault.
She placed her hand against it.
The door slowly opened.
Inside Old recordings.
Ancient data.
Fragments of the past.
She activated one.
A hologram flickered to life.
Two figures appeared.
A man… and a woman.
Both radiating power.
Both… familiar.
Back on the highway…
Juvy raised both hands.
The ground beneath the entire road began to crack.
Crystal spread outward like a living web.
Hunters fired everything they had.
But something had changed.
Her power wasn't just reacting anymore.
It was evolving.
In the Citadel…
The hologram played.
The man spoke:
"If anything happens to us… the children must never awaken fully."
The woman replied:
"They won't have a choice. The world will force them."
Cain watched silently.
Her eyes cold.
Juvy screamed.
Power exploded out of her body.
A massive surge of light shot into the sky.
Every hunter froze.
"Energy spike detected!"
Too late.
The ground beneath them shattered completely.
Vehicles flipped.
Soldiers were thrown into the air.
The entire highway collapsed into a storm of crystal and lightning.
Back in the Citadel…
The hologram zoomed in.
The man's face became clearer.
Then the woman's.
Cain whispered softly:
"Your children are surpassing you…"
She paused.
"…just as I expected."
Back on the battlefield…
Juvy dropped to one knee.
Her power fading slightly.
Too much output.
Too fast.
The hunters were down…
but not finished.
The commander stood up from the rubble.
Armor damaged.
But still active.
"…Impressive," he said.
He raised his weapon again.
"But not enough."
Suddenly—
The sky went dark.
Not from clouds.
From something else.
A shadow passed over the battlefield.
The commander looked up.
"…No way."
Miles away…
Maxruell stood on a cliff.
Looking toward the distant explosion.
His eyes burned red.
He could feel it.
Juvy's power.
Fading.
Without hesitation Shadows swallowed him whole.
Back on the highway…
The commander aimed at Juvy.
"This ends now."
He pulled the trigger But the shot never reached her.
A wall of darkness appeared instantly.
Swallowing the blast.
The air turned cold.
Heavy.
Dangerous.
Juvy slowly looked up.
"…You again."
A figure stepped out of the shadows.
Crimson eyes glowing.
Voice low.
"You really can't survive five minutes without me, huh?"
The hunters stepped back.
Fear spreading instantly.
"RED KING DETECTED—!"
Maxruell didn't even look at them.
His eyes were locked on Juvy.
"…You look terrible."
Juvy smirked weakly.
"Yeah? You look worse."
For a brief moment…
They stood together again.
Not as enemies.
Not yet.
High above…
Mother Cain watched both of them on the same screen.
Her smile widened.
"There it is."
Serah stepped beside her.
"The bloodline…"
Cain nodded slowly.
"Yes."
Her voice dropped.
"The children of the first Significants."
Back on the battlefield…
Maxruell stepped forward.
Darkness rising again.
"Alright…"
He looked at the remaining hunters.
"…round two."