The moment Lucy darted across the battlefield, two more of the tiny spectral owls screeched down from above and slammed into her feet. The creatures dissolved instantly, seeping into her skin like black frost.
Her legs jolted with agony. Crack—! A sharp layer of ice spread upward, locking her left leg in a frozen grip.
"Tch… what the hell?!" Lucy hissed as pain shot through her nerves. "It froze my leg with just one touch… I need to be more careful!"
Without wasting another breath, she abandoned her wings and switched fully into Switch Mode, blinking from point to point in blinding bursts of speed. Her movements turned erratic, vanishing and reappearing like a streak of light.
Eren, shielding himself with a storm of fire, noticed her struggling. With flames roaring at his feet, he rocketed into the sky. His eyes narrowed, storm breaker gleaming in his hands. He didn't hesitate—he flared his Renshi, hurled himself into her path, and began striking with brutal precision.
BOOM! BOOM!
Each time Lucy switched, Eren switched right behind her, matching her step-for-step. His swings tore the air apart, sparks colliding with her every desperate dodge.
"Dammit! How am I supposed to fight both of them at once?!" Lucy's voice cracked with frustration.
Her body couldn't keep up. Three more owls struck—two crashing into her hands, another exploding against her chest. Cold needles spread like venom, freezing her arms stiff and locking her lungs in unbearable pressure.
CRACK—CRACK—!
Her body screamed. She staggered mid-air.
"Now… DIE!" Eren roared. His flame-giant raised its colossal head, jaws glowing molten red. The construct unleashed a beam of searing fire that blazed straight for Lucy's body.
Lucy screamed in agony, helpless to defend herself—
—until the ground beneath shook.
A suffocating aura erupted from below. Dark Renshi, black as night and heavy as the abyss, surged from Peaches. It spiraled upward like a storm, blotting out the sky itself.
The giant's fire-breath slammed into the barrier of darkness. KAAA-THOOM! The collision split the clouds with a catastrophic explosion. Heat, light, and shadow rippled through the air.
Lucy's body went limp, her frozen limbs dragging her downward.
She plummeted—
—only for Peaches to catch her before she hit the ground. His arms wrapped around her gently, his presence both terrifying and comforting.
"It's okay now," he said, voice calm yet heavy with regret. "There's nothing to worry about. I'm sorry… for letting them hurt you."
Lucy, barely able to breathe, weakly touched his face. Her chest rose and fell against the suffocating ice, but her eyes held no fear—only trust.
Peaches' body pulsed. Dark Renshi coursed over his skin, etching itself like writhing black tattoos across his arms, chest, and face.
He lowered his eyes. His voice cracked.
"I never wanted you to see me like this, Lucy… You're the only one I've ever feared losing. I pretended I could use the light in me, just to make you feel safe around me. But this… this darkness has always been my truth. I just hope…" his grip trembled, "you won't change how you think about me."
He set her gently on the ground. One palm pressed against her head, channeling his abyssal Renshi into her.
FWOOOSH!
The frozen Renshi binding her melted away, her body thawing from within. Lucy gasped sharply, air flooding back into her lungs as color returned to her face.
"What… what was that?" Eren muttered from afar, lowering his weapon. His eyes widened. "He undid your first phase…"
"Ice broken apart by dark Renshi…? Impossible." Raven's lips twisted in disbelief.
Peaches straightened, his tattoos burning brighter. He turned toward them with the calm poise of a predator.
"You tried to kill Lucy first," he said coldly, his aura shaking the ground. "So I'll start with you."
In a blur, he vanished.
Eren barely had time to blink before Peaches appeared in front of his flame giant, a hammer of condensed dark Renshi materializing in his grip.
BWOOM! The weapon dwarfed his body, ten times his size, dragging against the dirt like a mountain being pulled by chains.
"So fast…!" Raven's eyes shook. "That's no ordinary Switch Mode—it's something beyond Phase Zero…"
"Don't underestimate us, you bastard!" Eren bellowed, summoning all his flames. His giant swung its molten arm to block.
Peaches' hammer grew larger, swelling endlessly as he raised it above his head.
"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!" Eren shouted.
The giant roared and spat another fire-beam.
Peaches' eyes ignited. KRRRSHH! Two dark Renshi lasers exploded from his pupils, tearing through the flames and locking the giant's attack in place.
"Now, Raven!" Eren barked. "Distract him—I'll strike from the blind spot!"
Raven nodded, biting her lip. But as she prepared to switch, a circle of Renshi symbols flared above her.
Her breath caught. "What—what is this?!"
No matter where she switched, the glowing circle followed.
A voice rang out from the battlefield—calm, cold, cutting.
"Did you think I'd sit back and watch?"
Lucy stepped forward, her body still aching but her spirit blazing. Her blade gleamed as she drew it in one smooth strike.
"Laidō technique—Nukitsuke: Unlimited Blades."
SHIIING!
The circle above Raven ruptured. Thousands of spectral blades rained down like a storm. Raven screamed, her body slashed mercilessly from every angle.
Peaches smiled faintly, hammer raised higher.
"That's my girl."
BOOOOOOM!
His hammer crashed down at the flame giant. The ground split apart as the colossus struggled, blocking with its only arm.
But it was already too late—its body buckled under the force.
The battlefield trembled.