The subway junction was no longer a place of transit; it was a cathedral of violence. Magals held Zainab Virel by the throat, his massive slate-colored fingers digging into her skin, pinning her molecular structure so she couldn't dissolve into the safety of her liquid form.
"You fought well for a snack," Magals rumbled, the dark energy vortex in his free hand spinning with the sound of a thousand screaming engines. "But vengeance is a heavy burden. Let me lighten the load."
He didn't fire the energy beam. He chose to be cruel. Magals slammed his fist into Zainab's stomach, The force exploded out of her back, shattering the concrete wall behind her.
"Gah!" Zainab's eyes bulged. She tried to manifest a water blade, but Magals caught her wrist and twisted.
CRACK.
"Don't die yet, snack," Magals whispered. He struck her again, a lightning-fast jab to her ribs that sent a shockwave through her lungs. "Aren't you gonna kill me."
Zainab was a master of water, but against Magals, she felt like a puddle being stepped on by a giant. She coughed, a mixture of blood and clear fluid dripping from her lips. "I... I'm not... done..."
"Oh, but you are." Magals raised the energy vortex, the purple-black light illuminating the desperation in her abyssal blue eyes. "Die."
BOOM.
The energy vortex didn't hit Zainab. Instead, it collided with a massive, jagged wall of Absolute Ice that erupted from the ground between them. The ice didn't just block the blast; it shattered under the pressure, sending freezing shrapnel in every direction.
"GET AWAY FROM HER!" Mira Ice screamed. She slid into the junction on a trail of frost, her hair white and wild, her hands glowing with a white light.
Magals blinked, dropping the limp Zainab as he stepped back. Before he could retaliate, the ground beneath him turned into a churning whirlpool.
" Tidal Grave!" Temi Nova roared. She stood at the tunnel entrance, her hands locked in a high-pressure stance. The water-logged floor became a hungry maw, trying to drag Magals into the crushing depths of the earth.
Magals laughed, his voice shaking the pipes. "More snacks? It must be my lucky day."
He tried to punch the air to clear the water, but his arm passed right through a shimmering, translucent figure. Kiki had materialized out of her phased state directly in his blind spot, has she held a plasma gun.
"Die bitch!" Kiki yelled, blasting the base of Magals' neck. A massive discharge of energy hit the Zethrian causing his massive frame to twitch for a fraction of a second.
"Now! Maris! Aris!" Temi commanded.
The twins, Maris and Aris, stepped forward. They didn't use water; they used the very essence of life. As elite members of the 5th, they had mastered Blood Manipulation.
"Crimson Iron: Twin Execution!" they shouted in unison.
The blood that Zainab had spilled on the floor—and the blood leaking from Magals' own microscopic scratches—began to vibrate. It formed into two massive, serrated spears of hardened, metallic hemoglobin. The spears whistled through the air, aimed directly at Magals' core.
"Reverse."
AS the blood spears hit him. They were redirected and shot back at the twins with double the velocity.
"Aris, look out!" Maris shoved her sister aside, both of them rolling across the wet concrete as their own weapons shattered against the far wall.
"You think your little parlor tricks can touch a Commander?" Magals roared. He slammed his foot down, and a shockwave of the pressure sent Temi and Mira flying backward.
"We don't need to touch you," Kiki hissed, phasing through a falling support beam. "We just need to keep you busy!"
"Where are the rest " Mira asked wiping sweat from her head.
"Focus, Mira!" Temi Nova shouted, her hands weaving a massive sphere of water above her head. "If we lose focus, the Captain is dead!"
Magals moved. He was a blur of Light Speed. He appeared in front of Mira Ice, his hand raised for a crushing blow. "Let's start with the loudest one."
"Phase Shift: Mirror Guard!" Kiki threw herself in front of Mira, turning her body into a non-tangible state. Magals' fist passed through her, but the spatial pressure of his attack was so high that it forced Kiki back into a solid state mid-punch.
Kiki screamed as she was launched into a rusted subway car, the metal denting around her.
"KIKI!" Temi screamed. She launched the water sphere, but Magals didn't even look at it. He threw an Energy Beam from his eyes, vaporizing the water into a cloud of scalding steam that filled the junction.
In the mist, the twins saw their opening.
"Maris, the Law of Resonance!" Aris shouted.
They sliced their own palms, letting their blood flow freely. They didn't form weapons this time. Instead, they turned the blood into a fine mist that mingled with Zainab's steam.
"Hemodynamic Cage!"
The blood-mist began to harden in the air, creating a web of razor-sharp metallic wires that wrapped around Magals' limbs. Every time he moved, the wires tightened, slicing into his skin. Because the blood was "living" and constantly changing frequency, his Reverse ability struggled to lock onto a single target.
"Arrgh!" Magals growled, his Instant Regeneration working overtime as his skin was shredded and healed simultaneously. "... annoying!"
"Keep him pinned!" Maris yelled, her face pale from blood loss.
Mira Ice saw her chance. She channeled every ounce of her power. "Absolute ice :1000%
The moisture in the air—the steam, the blood, and the water—instantly froze. A massive block of diamond-hard ice encased Magals, reinforced by the twins' metallic blood wires. It was a prison of ice , weighing hundreds of tons.
The subway junction went silent for a heartbeat. The girls stood panting, their energy drained.
"Did... did we get him?" Aris whispered, leaning on her sister.
"Don't celebrate yet," Temi said, her eyes fixed on the ice.
Crrrack.
A tiny fissure appeared on the surface of the ice. Then another.
"Snacks..." a muffled, terrifying voice echoed from within the tomb. "....Foolish snacks."
BOOM.
The ice exploded. Magals emerged, his body glowing with a dark, violet aura. He then dusted he's body my turn .
A massive wave of force erupted from him. The blood wires, the ice shards, and the water pressure all surged back toward the girls.
"Shield!" Temi and Mira combined their powers, creating a wall of reinforced slush, but the force was too much. They were blown back, hitting the walls of the subway with enough force to crack the stone.
Magals walked toward the fallen Zainab, stepping over the unconscious Mira . He raised his foot, ready to crush her skull.
"Where is your hero now, snack?" Magals asked. "Where is the boy with the silver eyes?"
Zainab looked up, her vision blurring. She could hear the sound of boots running through the tunnels.