"Come at me, both of you!" Kang roared. Harold and Mina crossed paths as they ran in. Kang reeling back his arm caused his gauntlet to make a clicking noise. His gauntlet shifting form, Harold felt uneasy about what's to come next. Seeing the gauntlet targeted at Mina, he instinctively pushed Mina aside. And with Harold's instincts, it came right when Kang's gauntlet fired a multitude of bullets in their direction. Barely getting grazed in the foot, Harold managed to maintain his balance.
Mina tossed Ruin to Kang, only for him to deflect it with his warhammer. It was meant as a distraction, but it wasn't a long one. Yet, that was enough for Mina to slip in a quick right cross to Kang's jaw. Kang being pushed back hits against the counter of the diner. As his body is planted, Harold leapt in to pierce Kang from above, stabbing him in the chest. Thinking it was over, Harold loosened his grip, but the only reaction that Kang held was one of satisfaction. "This is the first time I've been excited about a battle!"
Kang tried to grab Harold with his bare hand in a rough motion, but Harold leapt off of him at the last second, allowing Mina to capitalize on the opening again. She went to slice his neck, but Kang lowered his upper body and stuck out his warhammer to frame a distance between him and her. Harold intercepted this, though, by attacking him during this action, swinging in with his blade. In one heavy swing, Kang redirected all his focus on a single swing to counteract Harold's attack. On their Artifacts colliding, a large light came out of their clash. But unexpectedly, Harold spun around and smashed his trusty frying pan into Kang's face. Disoriented by the blow, Harold looked over to Mina and shouted at the opening. "Mina, now!" As she was about to attack, they heard another click in Kang's gauntlet. Then, aiming his arm at them, his gauntlet fired a large burst of flames, setting the entire Pancake House into a blazing fury. Harold, who picked up Mina, took the majority of the fire before leaping through the Pancake House's window, leaving window shards everywhere.
On the city streets, the remainder of the rain dissipated the fire left on him, yet the building still slowly deteriorated by the fire that consumed it. With walls crumbling apart and the roof falling to the floor, Kang walked out unscathed by the fire. Harold sighed, seeing the situation they were in. "Damn it, this time he had a fire inscription in his gauntlet? That's not fair at all!"
In his arms, Mina let out a weak whimper as she winced in pain. Seeing an open wound on Mina's side, he tried his best to press on it, but it seemed almost hopeless as Kang approached closer. "You two were the first ones to ever push me this far. I commend your efforts. But now, I'll be taking the girl." Kang raised his warhammer into the air, preparing to drop it on Harold. No matter how hard Harold tried, he couldn't push his body any further. It felt like he was chained underwater, only managing to hold on to Mina to comfort her in his last moments.
With Kang swinging down his warhammer, Harold closed his eyes but heard the sound of a loud clang as he did. Reopening his eyes, he was astonished. It was Ryan who had blocked the final blow, only to have lost his longsword in the process. Holding up what only remained as the hilt of the blade, he stood in front of Harold and Mina. "Harold and Mina, you both were amazing! You fought so hard so that this bastard doesn't get his way... and all I did was sit in the back due to my pathetic injuries!"
The rain started to clear, and the sun started to set. "I felt your determination in battle, and I just simply couldn't let that go!" Ryan ran to Kang with his hilt, only to have it slapped away in an instant by Kang's metal gauntlet. Ryan then ensued in punching with his bare fists, not affecting Kang at all. Kang grabbed Ryan by the throat and was tossed aside into rubble, causing him to fall unconscious by that simple toss. "There, now shall we continue?" Kang asked, only to be rendered speechless.
Harold was standing upright. He held his body up with only sheer mental fortitude, but he could fall any second if he lost focus. "Astonishing, you are truly one of the greatest I've battled." Kang brought out his Artifact once more. Smashing onto the ground as he did. He wanted to give Harold true respect, and that's by killing him with all his might. "Now come at me, boy."
Harold summoned Grand Radiance—this time it shined brightly. The yellow light flickered in the night sky, stretching into the clouds above. Then, an unknown creature, not even known to Harold, emerged by the streams of light that came from Grand Radiance. It took on the form of a red panda, yet it held a red flame that arose from its body.
Kang, not trying to see any further of this mysterious change in the fight, swung his hammer down upon the surprise visitor. But before his warhammer could connect to the red panda, a red glowing barrier formed, blocking the attack. It felt like an impenetrable wall, something that not even a hundred swings could bust. Kang's confusion arose. What was this sudden turn of events? Where did this creature come from? Where was all this before? It was almost as if Kang was witnessing a miracle—a miracle built off of the hope of man.
"Thank you, Ryan. Without your words, I probably would've given up."
Harold pushed his body beyond its limits. He can feel fibers of his muscles tearing and his body tensing, yet he still pushes. "If I die here, I'll die knowing I protected the ones I care about!" He activated King's Will, his body glowing a bright yellow. Raising his blade, he surged a hefty amount of Rysen into his Artifact, creating a large stream of divine light to build. "Even if I can't access much of King's Will without Konge's help, this will do!"
Slashing down onto Kang, he wanted to absorb the divine light with his Artifact, but as he did, it was too much Rysen for it to handle. Cracking under the immense pressure, his Artifact shattered into bits before taking the remainder of the divine light head-on. Pouring most of his energy into that final blow, Harold collapsed before he could see the aftermath.
Still standing, Kang heaved heavy breaths. "If my Artifact hadn't absorbed the majority of that attack, I would've died..." Kang placed his foot over Harold's head, adding pressure to it. "You were a commendable warrior, boy. It's a shame I never got your name."
In the tense moments, Mina tried to move her body. Tearing up as pain coursed through her body. "H-Harold... no!" She scraped her fingers on the floor, her fingertips bleeding as she pulled her entire weight forward in an attempt to reach him. "Stop it! STOP IT!" she screamed, desperately trying to get closer.
As Mina began to sob uncontrollably, realizing that in her position, she won't be able to do anything to save Harold. The foot presses harder as Kang applies even more strength. He tries to press even more, but it's taking more effort to do so. Then, his body began to move slowly, as if he were underwater, before coming to a complete stop. "W-What... I can't move?!"
"Surprised, right?" The familiar voice asked.
"T-This can't be... its-"
"It's me, Harlibue!" he cheerfully said, waving.
Harlibue clasped his watch in his hand before pushing Kang. The moment he pushed Kang, Kang was sent flying back at an incredible, inhuman speed. The force of the push felt almost unnatural. At first it was a usual push, but within an instant, his speed was accelerated to near thousands of times faster. Crashing into a wall, Kang's blood splattered as he could feel almost all of his bones shatter on impact. Harlibue smiled, walking up to him. "Don't worry, I'll keep you alive as I have questions for you!"
Mina crawled to Harold, finally reaching him. Still breaking down in tears, she sobbed incoherent noises as she clung onto his unconscious body. "H-HAWOLD!!!!" she cried, clutching onto him tightly, shuddering in the cold night.
Harlibue chuckled, looking back at her. "Look at you adorable lovebirds. I'll have to put you to sleep for now though." Pointing his finger at Mina, she instantly went into a deep slumber.
"Welp, it's time for cleanup now." Harlibue said, looking around the area with a sigh.