Lightning curled around Ryker's body like a living dragon, snapping and hissing in the air. The entire room vibrated with his energy, the temperature rising unnaturally fast.
He took a single step forward—
And vanished.
In the blink of an eye, he appeared behind Taro.
CRACK!
A devastating lightning-infused punch collided with Taro's back, launching him forward with such force that the concrete floor shattered beneath him. Sparks exploded in all directions.
Taro grunted, rolling with the momentum, his feet skidding as he dug into the ground.
"He's… too fast," he muttered, wincing slightly. "So this is the real Ryker Tensai."
A grin curled on his lips.
He took a deep breath and released it. The air grew heavy. Blue veins of energy spread through his arms.
Manager Taro began to release his own power.
"It ends now," he said coldly.
Meanwhile...
The group ran through the dark, winding corridors—Jasmine leading with fierce determination. The rescued girls, still shaken, were guided by the others.
Suddenly—
Arisu stopped in his tracks.
His eyes widened.
His legs trembled.
A drop of sweat slid down his cheek.
"Arisu?" Sol called out, noticing the sudden stillness.
Arisu didn't respond at first.
Then, in a hushed, shaky voice, he said:
"I… I sense something... enormous. A powerful aura... coming from the room where Ryker is."
Everyone paused.
Sol clenched his fists.
"That's Ryker?"
"No," Arisu whispered. "It's not just Ryker. There's something else. Something... Unhuman."
Jasmine turned to look back toward the corridor, her eyes narrowing.
"Are we too late...?"
The underground chamber trembled.
Crackling lightning surged from Ryker's body, his eyes glowing with a blinding white-blue hue. Electricity danced between his fingertips like living snakes. The walls around them were scorched from the last strike.
Opposite him, Manager Taro stood calm, his stance rooted like a grandmaster—composed, focused, and deadly. Blue energy pulsed beneath his skin as he activated his hidden magic core.
"So you were hiding it all along..." Ryker said, voice low and dangerous.
"And so were you," Taro replied, sliding one foot back. "Let's finish this."
The air cracked as they launched toward each other.
Ryker vanished, teleporting mid-stride. Taro predicted it—twisting sideways, he ducked a lightning-coated kick and countered with a sharp palm strike laced with water energy.
BOOM!
Ryker was knocked back midair, flipping once before landing gracefully.
Taro clapped his hands together—chains of water surged from the floor, trying to bind Ryker.
"Not again," Ryker growled.
He summoned a ring of fire, evaporating the chains before they reached him. The room hissed, steam rising everywhere.
Taro appeared through the mist, his fist glowing—a water-enhanced Aikido technique. Ryker met it with a lightning punch, and for the first time—
Their fists collided directly.
The impact exploded, sending shockwaves through the entire corridor. Cracks splintered the floor and walls, light and water spiraled into the air like a storm.
They were evenly matched.
Outside the Room
Everyone stopped running.
The ground shook beneath them.
From far behind, flashes of blue and red light pulsed from the corridor they'd just left.
Arisu fell to one knee.
"Ryker… is pushing past his limits," he said, overwhelmed by the sheer energy output. "But Taro… he's adapting."
Jasmine's face tensed. "Damn it, Ryker."
"We have to go back," Aisa said, turning.
"No," Shin said, eyes cold. "If we go back now, we die. He said this is his fight."
"But…" Aisa clenched her fists.
"…If he dies," Shin continued, "then we make sure the world knows he died saving them."
Back in the Chamber
Taro adjusted his stance.
"You fight well, Ryker Tensai. But you rely too much on instinct. You've never trained to control your full potential, have you?"
Ryker spat blood to the side.
"No," he said, raising his hand. "I was born to destroy monsters like you."
Suddenly, the lightning around him condensed—forming a spear.
Taro narrowed his eyes. He raised his hand, a giant wave of pressurized water spiraling from his palm.
Then—
They charged.
The room was in ruins—walls cracked, floor scorched, and the very air heavy with burnt ozone and pressure. Ryker stood barely upright, blood trailing from his lip, lightning flickering erratically around his bruised body.
Across from him, Manager Taro's uniform was torn, blood dripping from a wound on his arm. His breathing was ragged, but his stance remained unbroken.
Then—everything froze.
Dust midair. Water hanging in suspended droplets. Even Taro, for a second, completely still.
Only one person moved.
Ryker.
His eyes shone with a celestial glow as he whispered:
"Chrono Pulse: Zero Time Step."
He vanished.
In the frozen moment, Ryker dashed behind Taro, charging lightning in his fist until it cracked like thunder. The glow grew unstable—then—
"Thunder God Strike!"
CRACK—!!
Time resumed just as Ryker's lightning-infused punch smashed into Taro's back. The explosion lit the room in white and blue, the shockwave tearing through the underground.
Taro flew forward, smashing into the wall, coughing up blood.
But—he didn't fall.
He pushed himself up, slowly, his back scorched, his entire left arm limp.
Ryker's body twitched, blood dripping from both nostrils. His time magic had burned through his stamina, and his own lightning backlash had fried parts of his arms.
Both men stood—barely.
Silence.
Smoke rising.
Blood. From both.
Ryker smirked through the pain. "You're still standing? I guess you're more monster than man."
Taro wiped his mouth. "You too… Ryker Tensai. But I'm not dead… yet."
Both men stared at each other, beyond exhaustion, but unwilling to fall.
Their final breaths ragged.
Their eyes blazing.
And neither was ready to die.
Smoke still curled from the ground behind the ruins of Renji's mansion. The cold night air was sharp with the scent of fire and blood. One by one, the survivors of the underground chaos stumbled into the garage—silent, breathless, broken.
They had made it out.
But not all of them.
"Run," Jasmine Katsuragi ordered, her voice cold and sharp as steel. "Girls—get moving now."
Aisa froze, her body trembling. Her eyes darted toward the underground door they had just escaped from.
"B-But Ryker…" she stammered, her voice barely audible.
Jasmine stepped closer, eyes locked on hers. "He stayed behind to save us. Don't throw that away."
Aisa's lips quivered. Celica, Yumi, and Akira stood still as statues, the weight of fear and love anchoring them in place.
"You want him to live?" Jasmine's voice cracked like a whip. "Then go. Get to safety. Now."
Aisa turned her head, tears streaming down her cheeks. Her fists clenched as she nodded once and backed away.
"If you want to rest with him—stay," Jasmine muttered under her breath. "Otherwise, run."
"Girls," she barked again, more urgent now. "Amelia. Saki. Mio—take them and go. Protect them until this is over."
"Understood," Amelia replied, her voice stiff but steady.
Saki nodded. "We'll hold the garage. Bring him back."
Now only the boys remained—Sol, Shin, King, Izumi, Tasuya, Hiroshi, Arisu. Jasmine turned to them.
"All of you, stay here. I am going back for him."
But Sol stepped forward, fire in his eyes.
"No."
Jasmine blinked. "What?"
"I said no," he repeated. "You're not going alone."
Jasmine's jaw tightened. "Sol—don't be a fool."
"I'm not," Sol growled. "He's my brother too."
King cracked his knuckles, stepping beside him. "We came into this as one. We leave as one."
Izumi looked down. "We owe him that much."
Shin nodded, eyes fixed on the ground. "He's still fighting down there. If we don't go back now—we'll lose him forever."
Jasmine exhaled slowly. Her shoulders dropped, the burden of command still heavy.
Then she nodded.
"…Alright."
The group turned, eyes blazing, hearts pounding.
The underground was in ruins.
Ryker was on the edge of death.
But this time—he wasn't alone.
They were coming back for him.