Onamuchi's body blurred in the air, his steel fists doubling in size as he launched blow after blow. Each strike cracked the air like thunder, shockwaves rippling across the battlefield. His speed was monstrous—every punch tearing the sky apart, forcing Lucy to twist and weave at blinding pace with Sasaki still on her arms.
"Damn… he's faster than before," Lucy muttered, her brows furrowed as her hands parried and blocked. Her back sprouted six arms, each clashing against the storm of steel, sparks flying with every collision.
But still, the pressure mounted. Each fist was heavier than the last, faster than the one before.
Lucy's lips curled into a snarl. "This is making me really mad!"
Her voice roared like thunder as she stopped flying. Her wings vanished into black mist, her body glowing with raw fury. In an instant, a violent Renshi aura exploded outward from her, shredding the air. The very sandstones Pascal had summoned earlier shattered into dust just by approaching her aura.
Onamuchi froze midair. His fists lowered, his body trembling with strain. Then, with a defiant roar, he pulled both arms above his head. His body glowed, and Renshi gathered into a single colossal form above him.
A giant fist materialized in the heavens. Larger than a mountain. Wide enough to smother half the forest in shadow. Its sheer mass blocked the sunlight, casting darkness over the battlefield. The fist descended slowly at first, dragging the air with it like a collapsing world.
From below, Pascal's eyes widened. He cursed under his breath. "This fool… He lost his cool without signaling me first. Idiot!"
He immediately grabbed Voldigo and the half-conscious Fushira, his body flickering in constant switch mode. He moved faster and faster, escaping the range of the fist before the strike could bury them all.
Above, Onamuchi's roar shook the skies. "Fall, Lucy!" His veins bulged as he pushed with everything he had, trying to accelerate the massive fist's descent.
The earth groaned as shadows consumed it.
Even kingdoms far away felt the tremor. In the fifteen border kingdoms, citizens looked up at the sky in horror.
From the Kingdom of Eminence, the Pro Darkside Knights abandoned their stations, retreating instinctively as the oppressive Renshi pressed against their hearts. On the watchtower, Metro stood stiff, sweat sliding down his cheek. Beside him, the Special Darkside Knight clenched his fist, eyes fixed on the descending fist.
"Metro," he said in a grave tone, "what do you think? Should we intervene?"
Metro shook his head slowly. "No… We can't. That attack is as big as a town. Even if we went, what would we use to defend against it? Nothing we have compares."
Farther away, Fladigo and Zanagi were already putting distance between themselves and the battlefield.
"Hey, Fladigo," Zanagi muttered, glancing nervously at the descending giant. "Do you think that woman can actually defend against such an attack?"
Fladigo scoffed. "Not my business. She isn't from my kingdom. I couldn't care less."
"You're always such a pain in the ass," Zanagi spat, but even he couldn't peel his eyes away from the massive shadow stretching across the land.
Back in the forest, Lucy stood unmoving. Her wings had vanished. She gently laid Sasaki's body on the ground, whispering something under her breath. Then, her body transformed.
Her form warped into half-human, half-witch. Her ears elongated slightly, sharp like an elf's. Her eyes drowned in black, Renshical tattoos crawling across her skin like ink veins. She raised her hand, and from swirling Renshi, she created a black wand etched with runic veins.
The giant fist loomed closer, a titan's strike meant to erase everything.
Lucy raised the wand, pointing it straight at the heavens. Her aura surged, expanding outward like a storm.
Pascal, watching from the distance, stopped in his tracks. His breath caught in his throat. "Something's not right… She could have avoided that fist easily. Why… why is she taking it head on?"
The fist tore through the clouds, descending upon her with divine weight.
Lucy's expression didn't falter.
At the last moment, her wand touched the fist.
The battlefield went silent.
Renshi rippled outward as one of Lucy's second bloodline techniques unfolded—her power to alter the natural laws. The massive fist suddenly froze. She stripped it of gravity, the enormous weight reduced to nothing.
"Zero Gravity Field," she whispered.
Then she focused her energy to the wand's tip, a single point of infinite compression.
The fist shattered.
Not cracked. Not dispersed. It disintegrated into tiny fragments, billions of grains scattering into the sky. The explosion cleared the heavens, tearing away the clouds in one breath. For a fleeting moment, the cosmos itself was visible, stars twinkling over the broken sky before the clouds reformed.
Onamuchi staggered, his jaw trembling. "I-impossible…! That was my most powerful attack… destroyed… destroyed so easily…"
Lucy's black eyes narrowed, her voice cold. "Calm yourself, Onamuchi. You fought well. But your limit ends here."
She swung her wand gently through the air. Onamuchi's body stiffened, then crumpled, unconscious before he even hit the ground.
Lucy walked in midair, each step followed by a switch-mode blur as she closed the distance to Pascal. He was almost gone, a teleportation circle sparking to life beneath him.
She raised her wand. The circle shattered instantly. Sparks of Renshi scattered into the wind.
Hovering above them all, Lucy looked down, wand leveled. Her voice was clear, commanding, undeniable.
"Hand over Alfie. One last chance. Walk away… or fall asleep forever."
Pascal's teeth clenched, sweat dripping down his neck. He cursed under his breath. "Damn you, Lucy. Onamuchi is out… Voldigo's half-dead… Fushira's I don't know if he's gone… Romero's barely conscious… This is—this is a nightmare!" His fists trembled, his eyes hollow. "I never expected… that even after all these years of training… the five of us still can't defeat our master together."
Lucy appeared beside him instantly, switch mode carrying her like lightning. Her wand brushed his shoulder. His eyes rolled back, and he collapsed into unconsciousness without a sound.
Now only Romero remained.
"Do you still think you stand a chance against me?" Lucy asked, descending until she hovered eye-level with him.
Romero coughed blood, glaring with feral defiance. "Go to hell! Kill us if you want! It won't change a damn thing. You couldn't make us strong enough to protect ourselves!"
Lucy's expression remained calm, though her eyes darkened. "Blame me all you want. But listen to this. My sister made you believe in her words, and you were children too blind to see the truth. Manipulated pawns. I don't fault you for it."
"Save your speech," Romero spat. "It's too late for that now."
Lucy sighed. "Then hear one last truth. If you disobey Amanda… if you betray her… she won't hesitate to kill every one of you. She's done it before. She'll do it again. Don't think you're safe."
Romero smirked through bloody teeth. "Oh, you mean… like what she did to him? The man you loved? What was his name again? …Ah, yes. Peaches. She killed him, didn't she? I don't think I'll end up like him."
Lucy's fist snapped forward, striking his jaw with crushing force. Romero slumped to the ground, unconscious, a small trail of blood staining the soil.
Silence fell over the battlefield.
Lucy exhaled, turning away from their broken forms.
But far away—deep in a different plane—Alfie walked alone in a dream of endless darkness, his steps echoing into nothingness as shadows whispered from beyond.