The skies above the city rumbled with chaos. Sorata and Sughi were mid-air, exchanging high-speed attacks like lightning bolts tearing through the clouds. Sughi unleashed a relentless barrage of bullets and missiles, each laced with precision and power. Sorata, unfazed, weaved through them with deadly grace—his body moving as fast as a lightning blot, and his hands slicing through projectiles with destructive purple energy.
"You've got a solid fighting style," Sorata said coolly, his voice echoing through the blasts. "And your weapon skills are top-tier... but that won't be enough to bring me down."
Sughi grinned, flattered but unfazed. "I appreciate the compliment, really. But trying to butter me up won't work."
Without warning, Sughi surged forward, bullets and energy beams firing from his arms as he closed the distance. Sorata narrowed his eyes, trying to maintain his range. He summoned orbs of destructive energy—purple spheres pulsing with power—and launched them to intercept Sughi's onslaught.
As the two clashed in a thunderous mid-air battle, the city below trembled from the shockwaves. Sughi's eyes scanned Sorata's movement. "He's fast... too fast." Calculations ran through his mind.
"Twenty to hundreds of times the speed of sound atleast.. and his attacks are just as fast—maybe faster," Sughi muttered in surprise. "Wasn't expecting this kind of speed feat from.a guy who's own power kills him."
In response, Sughi summoned a sword into his hand. It crackled with unstable energy, and Sorata raised a brow.
"What the hell are you planning now?" he asked suspiciously.
"This—" Sughi announced proudly, "—is the Hyper Slash Saber!"
Sorata scoffed. "Hyper.... what? That name is even dumber than it looks."
"Call it what you want, but this thing can move at extreme speeds. It also releases slashes at near light speed at max. At full power, it can cut half a city clean in two."
"I didn't ask for a damn infomercial," Sorata snapped with annoyance —but before he could finish, a blinding beam of light shot past him, slicing through distant hills and forests and a few mountains in a single blast. The sheer force left Sorata's eyes wide and his mouth open in shock.
"I can move at any speed I want... even keep up with lightning. But that beam—"
He couldn't even finish the thought.
"Got your attention, didn't it?" Sughi mocked. "Still think my dumb saber isn't impressive?"
Without a word, Sorata vanished from sight. In a split second, he blitzed forward, grabbed Sughi by the face, and smashed him through several buildings like a wrecking ball. With destructive energy surrounding his fists, Sorata launched him into the sky, then flew above and unleashed a devastating energy blast.
"I'm not about to watch something that destructive and just stand there hoping to get my ass kicked," he growled with anger.
The explosion in the sky lit up the entire city very violently. As the smoke cleared, Sughi stood—his body untouched.
"What...?" Sorata blinked in disbelief.
Sughi smiled. "No matter how much power you use... you won't defeat me in this state."
His arm shifted, morphing into a massive cannon. "I've had more than enough time to build up energy."
With a blinding flash, Sughi fired a colossal blast into the sky. Sorata couldn't react in time "No way!",he exclaimed in disbelief and shock.The explosion echoed across the city, Sending Sorata crashing down through dozens of buildings with smoke.
"Just give up already," Sughi called out.
But as the smoke cleared, Sughi's eyes widened. Sorata stood up—energy coursing around his arm as it was stretched out with a smirk on Sorata's face.
"You absorbed my attack?" Sughi asked, stunned.
Sorata exhaled slowly, his voice calm. "You're really strong, I'll give you that. Calculating my speed, my strikes, my waves of energy, your basically a counter to anything i can pull off. Even my body goes against me. But you see, it doesn't matter. All that goes through the window if you're persistent enough to keep fighting. As you just saw, I can absorb all types of energy using my destructive force."
Sorata's eyes glowed with violent intent. "Two can play that game."
He raised both hands and unleashed a massive wave of purple destructive energy. It tore through the sky like a second sun, expanding until it consumed the clouds themselves.
"As long as I have this power," Sorata shouted, "I can move however fast I want. I can also unleash as many beams and strikes i want to, so long my body allows it! Don't waste your time with dumb calculations! ITS POINTLESS!!". Sughi got overwhelmed by Sorata's devastating blasts of energy "Fuck! I can..... do anything at all!!"
The attack exploded across the sky in a spectacle that shook the entire city. Even in the distant forest, Kinto looked up in shock "Huh? An explosion?"
When the dust settled, Sughi lay on the ground—his robotic armor burned and shattered. He was unconscious, his body defeated by the overwhelming force.
Sorata descended slowly, panting. His arms were badly burned, the skin scorched from his own power.
"Shouldn't have gone all out like that. Honestly, im way too wreckless for my own good." he muttered, sighing.
Just then, Zora appeared behind him.
"I took care of Tomoa," he said.
Sorata turned to see Tomoa bleeding heavily from the chest, collapsed on the ground with his palms scorched along with his bleeding chest. A smile crossed Sorata's face as he walked over and stomped on Tomoa's wounded chest.
"Trained by Kojin himself, raised as his own son. And yet, you're still this weak. How pathetic."
Tomoa groaned. "You... you won't get away with what you just pulled off."
Sorata laughed maniacally "Pulled? Tomoa, this little skirmish was just a warm-up. Everything went exactly as we planned. Can't you see? You've already lost the game!"
Tomoa's eyes narrowed. "Who... who the hell are you?"
Sorata leaned in, whispering his real name.
Tomoa's face turned pale. "No... it can't be... But he said..."
Sorata stood, smiling darkly. "Who i am doesn't matter to you tho. This is only the beginning."
Meanwhile, deep in the forest...
Mori and Tenko's battle raged like a storm. Their movements were nearly light-speed, carving through trees and shaking the ground with every clash. Tenko's energy blades danced through the air, unleashing massive energy slashes that shattered everything they touched.
Mori with blue energy crackling all over his hands and with blue vains all over his eyes, dodged and parried with raw physical power, countering each strike with explosive force.
Her twin swords morphed into a glowing bow, firing arrows made of pure energy.
Mori gritted his teeth. "Enough!"
He leapt into the air and charged his next move—Fierce Bizzark. His arm turned into a radiant beacon of energy. As Tenko's arrows rained down like meteors, Mori dodged through them and slammed his attack into her. Tenko was in shock for a moment "How...? So strong....!" Mori started to launch a violent burst if slashes at Tenko, his slashes weren't just cutting her up, but we're tearing down the trees around the forest.
Mori let outba large scream of rage "ME??! LOSE TO YOU?! WHO DO YOU THINK I AM FOR FUCK SAKE!" He slammed the final Slash on Tenko and caused a huge slash of energy to burst our his hand and cause a devastating explosion that took out trees in mere second.
The impact triggered a massive shockwave, uprooting trees and leaving the battlefield in ruins. But the cost was heavy—Mori's body was covered in cuts and burns. Steam was brewing out of his body, Mori was very hurt. "Fuck! I used too much energy."
As he struggled to stand properly, Kinto arrived just in time.
"You alright?" Kinto asked, catching him as he stumbled.
"My body's run out of energy... I'm about to collapse," Mori said weakly.
Kinto lifted him onto his shoulder. "My leg's busted, and that wind-user nearly took it clean off. Those attacks were moving faster than sound by a long shot. She was definitely C-rank."
Mori sighed. "Sounds like you had it rough too."
Kinto nodded grimly. "We're the only ones still conscious. And we haven't even completed the mission yet."
The two of them looked toward the horizon.
"We have to keep going," Kinto said. "We have to save Alex... before it's too late."
TO BE CONTINUED.