*Chapter 38: Breaking Chains, Sealing Hearts*
The Phantom snarled as Nightwatch burst into the chamber. Blood stained every suit, but eyes blazed with stubborn hope. The minions surged. The fight began.
**Jin Ming**—even with his wounded arm—charged the two biggest henchmen, slamming one with a spinning kick and locking the other in a chokehold. He took a punch to the ribs, grunted, and drove forward, clearing the way.
**Mei Fen**, limping but grin fierce, used her last smoke bomb to blind three attackers. She weaved between them, sweeping legs, landing sharp elbows. A dagger grazed her thigh, but she pressed on, protecting Yan at her side.
**Yan**, shoulder burning, flipped over a collapsing pillar, swung her staff in a hurricane—all elegant, defiant fire. With a cracked mask and bleeding brow, she tangled two foes together with her weapon, buying Xiulan time.
**Xiulan**, coughing from the smoke and fire, wove her hands into a dreamlike spell—conjuring dazzling light that shattered the Phantom's runes. Every ounce of pain she felt became strength as she shielded Li Wei from another draining surge.
**Bao Yu** and **Rui** handled the Phantom's machine. Bao Yu, despite a cut across his forehead, hacked the spellwork, while Rui flung distraction spells, dodging thrown blades, until the machine sparked and froze with a pop.
Just as the Phantom lunged for Xiulan, Li Wei—drawing deep on the last flicker of his power—snapped his chains. He tackled the enemy in a final burst, and with a cry, every teammate struck as one. Jin Ming's fist, Mei Fen's kick, Yan's staff, Xiulan's light, Bao Yu's flare—all together, crashing down. The Phantom fell, defeated at last.
For a heartbeat, air hummed with victory and relief. Li Wei stumbled to his feet—Xiulan ran to him—and, blood and tears forgotten, they crashed into their first kiss, raw and desperate, right before their friends. The team erupted in cheers and laughter, battered but finally whole.