Looking around at the burning houses and buildings within the city, Heinrich laughed. It wasn't a maniacal laugh, but one of eerie amusement, almost comfort.
"From the looks of it," he said, eyes lazily shifting to Adam, "I'm guessing the plasma cannon didn't kill everyone, huh?"
A pause.
"You probably saved some of them... transported them away. With those weird darkness powers of yours."
"Do I lie?"
Adam stayed quiet. The fact that Heinrich had figured it out so easily sent a chill through him.
"You sure do know a lot about me," Adam said at last.
"Of course I do," Heinrich replied, his smile widening. "His Majesty told me all about your abilities. Every trick. Every little shadowy stunt you've ever pulled. Couldn't have you catching me off guard."
He crossed his arms.
"Who comes to a mission without studying their target first? That's suicide. We soldiers of His Majesty are always prepared."
Adam clenched his fists, jaw tight.
Damn it, he thought. We knew Percival had eyes on us. We knew he hated us for having information capable of exposing his hidden atrocities, the lies behind that smiling public mask.
But to strike openly like this... to send his secret forces into the city without fear of consequences...
Has he really stopped caring about his image?
The thought sent sweat trickling down Adam's cheek.
That image, those secrets... that was the only leverage anyone had over him.
Heinrich cut through Adam's spiraling thoughts.
"All your hard work will be in vain, Adam," he said flatly.
Then, to Adam's unease, Heinrich began speaking to himself—or so it seemed.
"Mobilize a few troops from the ship, Yuto. And find every single member of the Lantern Society who escaped. Kill them all. Old, pregnant, children... no survivors. Got it?"
A voice crackled from the glowing Omega crest on his collar: "Roger that, Commander!"
It was a communication device. Not magic, not telepathy. Technology.
Adam's stomach twisted.
"What the hell is this empire hiding...?"
Then the sky cracked open again with thunder, as the colossal black-and-gold ship stirred into the rift, its sleek body splitting through the storm clouds. The vessel shimmered with energy before vanishing entirely from sight, swallowed by the night sky.
Heinrich turned back toward the group.
"I'll personally handle the rest of you once I'm done with your comrade, Adam. So sit tight and wait."
Adam gritted his teeth and extended his arms, reinforcing the dark barrier that protected Victoria, Jack, and the others. With a wave of command, the shadows pulled them further away from the coming battle, to safety.
Heinrich didn't flinch. In fact, he smirked, a dark amusement dancing in his eyes.
Then, without warning, his power surged.
The air trembled. The night itself seemed to recoil as Heinrich's presence grew heavier, more unnatural. Standing atop thin air like it obeyed him, his aura ignited into flames that raged upward and engulfed the sky in a spectral white fire. The dread that followed was primal, ancient—like a divine force had awakened.
His coat flapped in the storm of pressure.
"No need to hold back, Adam," he said calmly. "I'm exactly as strong as you fear I am. Maybe more."
"Black Ethereal Core."
The words dropped like lead.
"I'm not just some disposable enforcer. And I don't plan to end this quickly either. It's been years since I've had a real fight. Might be my last."
Adam narrowed his gaze, calculating.
Without a word, he summoned his daggers—two long, sleek blades forged from dense, living shadow, swirling around his arms before solidifying in his grip.
"Then make it count," Adam said, voice cold. "Because it will be your last."
In a sudden burst, Adam dashed forward and slashed his blades in a cross motion, launching twin waves of darkness at Heinrich.
Heinrich smiled lazily and raised his hand.
Space rippled. Layers folded into each other like fragile paper, and the dark slashes froze mid-air, inches from his face, locked in a maze of warped reality.
"Too bad," he said.
But when he looked again, Adam was gone.
From above.
Adam struck from the side with a savage kick, catching Heinrich square in the ribs. The impact cracked the air as the commander flew downward, crashing into the ruined ground below.
Dust shot up.
But Heinrich rose without pause, brushing dirt from his coat.
"Wasn't expecting that," he muttered, still smiling.
Adam emerged from the shadows again, this time faster. Blurred. A storm of motion. He attacked from impossible angles, weaving between shadows like a ghost, each strike aimed to maim, to kill, to end it now.
Heinrich blocked one. Dodged two. The third grazed his cheek. A fourth sliced through the air as he barely ducked.
But Adam didn't stop.
There was no room for mercy.
Not tonight.
Not against someone who dared to call genocide an order.
Heinrich's eyes narrowed, the humor drained from them. His hands raised slowly, calculating, scanning the battlefield. Adam had gone quiet again—vanished into his element.
Then, with a snap of Heinrich's fingers, space screamed.
Reality folded inward like breaking glass under pressure. A blinding explosion of flaming light burst from the tear, imploding within itself just as it expanded outward. It struck before Adam could fully escape.
The blast hurled him backward, his arms crossed to shield his face as the air warped and collapsed in on itself. He hit the scorched ground hard, dragged through rubble like a leaf in a storm.
"What the hell was that?!" Adam growled through gritted teeth, dazed but not broken.
Above, Heinrich laughed again. Not amused—not this time. It was a cold, controlled chuckle, trailing from his lips as he soared in pursuit.
He matched Adam's flight path with terrifying precision.
"Deviating Expansion: Fracture Bloom."
The same folding of space occurred, another pinpoint implosion threatening to erase everything in its radius.
Adam clicked his tongue and swung both daggers outward, unleashing a curved wave of shadow that rippled with raw force. It collided with the imploding energy, neutralizing it in a storm of dark and light. The sky lit up with a flash that shook even the burning city's remains.
Landing hard but cleanly, Adam raised his daggers and braced himself. He wouldn't fall for another ambush.
Heinrich's voice echoed from the shifting ruins, smooth and unfazed.
"You're much faster than I expected," he called. "This fight will be… salivating."
Adam didn't answer. He didn't need to. His body moved first.
Darkness coiled around his blades as he vanished from sight.
In a blink, a barrage of slashes ripped through the battlefield, cutting across the earth with merciless precision. Each one cracked stone, tore apart remnants of buildings, slicing forward with deadly intent.
Heinrich stood still only a moment, then clapped his hands together.
Reality buckled.
The incoming waves bent unnaturally, redirected midair. Some shattered against the walls of warped space, others diverted harmlessly aside. And through it all, Heinrich moved—weaving past the untouched ones with grace that seemed inhuman, eyes locked on Adam.
Then he lunged.
The two clashed at the center of it all.
A wall of pressure detonated around them.
Adam and Heinrich collided with the force of storms, their blows ringing through the city like beasts trading blows. Shadow met distortion. Blade met bare hand. Each strike carved shockwaves into the earth, flattening what remained of buildings, ripping the street beneath their feet apart.
This wasn't just two powerful men fighting.
This was something else.
Two beings with black-stage Ethereal Cores.
Two Grand Patriarchs.
One of Shadows.
The other, of Space.