The three teenagers dashed through the forest at full speed, caught in a frantic escape. Noa ran ahead, the only one truly thinking of a solution, while the wind slammed against his face, making his coat and black hair whip violently.
— Noa.
He turned toward Kobra without slowing down. Kobra asked if he had something in mind.
— If Harman isn't watching how this fight unfolds… what are we going to do?
Noa wanted to answer, but looked away. Ranta spoke next, his tone more serious.
— We won't be able to run forever. He'll catch up to us if we don't act quickly.
Noa narrowed his eyes as branches cracked beneath his stride. Weaver immediately intervened, ordering Noa not to give in to temptation.
— You're about to use your powers to execute your assassination techniques—
Right behind him. Before he could react, a hand appeared out of nowhere and grabbed the side of his face, shocking Ranta and Kobra. Noa's body hadn't even stopped moving when Soni had already caught up.
— You're starting to annoy me.
With a swift motion, Noa knocked Soni's hand away. At the same instant, Ranta fired a laser at Soni from behind. The beam was blocked by a single kick, as if it had struck a metal shield. In one rebound, Soni launched himself forward, appearing right in front of Ranta's stunned face.
— What are you afraid of?
A hardened chain of blood wrapped around his left leg—created by Kobra from the ground—pulling him violently and slamming him into the earth.
Yet he barely even blinked before regaining his balance as if nothing had happened. Noa appeared behind him, fist raised, ready to strike. He rushed Soni, who straightened up instantly and stopped the blow with one hand, effortlessly.
— …?
Noa had anticipated this and had already thrown Weaver into the air, just above Soni. Reacting instantly, he performed an acrobatic move by stepping on Soni's shoulder, catching his saber mid-air. He immediately launched an attack: the blade sliced through the air, nearly cutting his enemy's neck—but Soni ducked just in time.
"Not possible!"
Weaver's voice shouted that he needed to dodge—but it was already too late. Soni straightened and drove a punch straight into Noa's stomach, sending him flying into the surroundings with such force he nearly lost consciousness.
Without hesitation, he blocked Ranta's kick, his face showing no surprise at all.
— Futile resistance.
Kobra had already slipped beneath him and struck his abdomen with an open palm before Soni even looked down at him.
A jet of blood burst from Kobra's palm with such pressure that it uprooted the surrounding trees and blasted Soni away.
"Blood…?"
Ranta had no intention of letting him breathe and charged an attack in the air. It manifested as a massive energy beam which, upon impact, caused an explosion so immense it made the trees look like grass.
Ranta landed and immediately fired another laser, triggering a second explosion—smaller, yet just as destructive.
— This time… there's no intent to harm… I really don't know what to do anymore.
Meanwhile, Noa writhed in pain on the ground, still gripping his saber. Surrounded by the smoke from Ranta's attack, he clutched his stomach.
"Kid… you must not pass out now… you could fall into a coma…"
He could barely distinguish the world around him. His vision was blurred and shaking, sweat pouring down his face, his breathing irregular.
Kobra approached and helped him up, supporting him by the waist and shoulder, his arm around his neck.
— Are you going to be okay?
Ranta asked, rushing toward them.
Noa straightened slightly, raising his head with difficulty.
— I'll have to… yeah…
CLAP!
The flames and smoke vanished instantly, as if they had never existed. Soni stepped out of the crater without a single scratch. His irritated expression made his frustration obvious as he stared at Noa.
— You're nothing but a fool. If you had obediently followed me, everything that's about to happen could have been avoided.
Noa removed Kobra's arm from his shoulders and regained his balance. He tightened his grip on his saber. Soni drew his weapon, stating that he had never said he needed to bring him back in one piece.
Noa suddenly raised his saber, forcing his chaotic energy into it against his will.
— DAMN IT, KID!!!
Weaver shouted.
Soni raised his sword, blazing with a burning energy above his head.
— I've tried to be nice so far, but my patience has limits!
The light from the blade intensified. Even from miles away, the effect of the attack appeared like a pillar piercing the clouds. The three teenagers were forced to look up at the sky, powerless.
— EXTINCTION OF THE NINE HEAVENS!
The attack crashed down upon them, giving them no chance to escape, in a titanic explosion that shook the earth and left behind pure devastation. A strike both beautiful and cruel.
At the center of that destruction, Soni noticed something was wrong. His attack had been blocked.
— I commend you, children. I'll take care of the rest.
Still standing, Noa said it had been a close call before things spiraled out of control. The flames and smoke dissipated as Soni looked on, surprised by the person who had appeared.
— Devis Harman.
Despite the critical situation, he wore a calm smile. Ranta collapsed onto his back, exhausted.
— Mr. Harman, he—
Harman cut Kobra off, saying he already knew Soni was a Celestian.
— Or at least I suspected it. I couldn't confirm it during the preliminaries… but now it's different.
Weaver yelled at Noa for nearly using his powers and instantly losing control. But Noa didn't even respond. To him, now that an S-class leader had intervened in the fight…
— It's over.