Essence tore through the heavens.
Riku's fist collided with the King's forearm, the impact sending out a thunderclap that cracked the air like glass. Wind spiraled in violent circles, shaking the mountains below.
"You're persistent," the King snarled, eyes glowing with primal wrath."But you're still just a child."
"Then why are you bleeding?" Riku replied calmly.
A faint trail of silver shimmered along the King's arm—a clean strike from earlier, now dripping with golden blood.
Enraged, the King hurled a barrage of strikes, each carrying the weight of a collapsing mountain. Riku twisted through them like a thread through a needle, his Divine Avatar Ascended form pulsing brighter now—silver markings dancing across his arms and collar.
Below, Selene, Rei, and Kaien looked on in stunned silence.
"He's barely breaking a sweat," Rei said, shielding her eyes from the flash of aura clashes.
"His movement…" Selene's voice softened. "It's graceful. Too graceful for this kind of brutality."
In the air, Riku spun mid-flight, avoiding a two-handed slam from the King and retaliated with a high-speed punch to the gut, causing the monarch to lurch backward, coughing Essence.
"You're not invincible," Riku said, floating backwards with one hand in his pocket.
"No one is."
The King wiped the blood from his mouth, his teeth gritted.
"You'll regret touching her."
He launched forward again—but this time, Riku didn't move.
He raised his arm, and as the King's massive strike came down—
CLANG!
Riku blocked it.
With one hand.
Everyone watching, even Toru, widened their eyes.
The air behind Riku warped with pressure. His aura pulsed harder, cracks of light forming in the sky as if the heavens themselves couldn't contain the power building in this battle.
"You're not fighting me because I'm weak," Riku muttered, eyes locking with the King's.
"You're fighting me because deep down… you know I can kill you."
That silence—the second of hesitation—was all Riku needed.
He surged forward again, fist rearing back.
BOOM!
He landed a full-force punch across the King's jaw, sending him hurling downward, crashing into the earth with a shockwave that split the ground.
The impact echoed for miles.
Everyone stared at the crater forming below, dust and debris rising like a storm.
"Is it over?" Rei whispered.
But Riku didn't relax.
His silver aura still flared, eyes locked on the crater.
"He's not done," Riku said. "Not yet."