"So," Ren said calmly, looking at the broken duo, "which one of you wants to die first?"
Adrian lay on the ground, barely conscious. His body screamed in pain, but he forced himself to breathe steadily. He had done it once before—on the Planet of Discoveries. He had created a portal without fully understanding how.
He closed his eyes.
He imagined space tearing open beneath Ren.
He slowed his breathing.
And then—
A portal formed under Ren.
Ren instantly dropped through it—but before he could fully disappear, he teleported out and reappeared behind Adrian.
"Interesting power you got there," Ren said coldly.
Before Adrian could react, Ren used gravity to launch him straight into the sky at extreme speed.
Adrian felt the air rip past his body. His vision blurred. He forced himself to focus again, forming a portal above him mid-flight. He shot into it—and reappeared directly in front of Ren.
"This is getting quite annoying," Ren muttered.
He launched Adrian away again.
"What can you even do?" Ren continued. "I can infinitely and instantly regenerate whenever I want. Even a cockroach would understand it's impossible to beat me."
"You may be right," Adrian said, wiping blood from his mouth. "But I can't let you go. Not after what you did to Cosmic."
He rushed forward.
Anthony appeared behind Ren at the same time.
"Agreed."
They attacked together.
Anthony's fist smashed into Ren's ribs from the right while Adrian's punch crushed into his jaw from the left. Bones shattered inward. Ren's body folded unnaturally before snapping back into place as his regeneration repaired everything instantly. Anthony didn't stop—he drove his elbow into Ren's spine, followed by a brutal knee to the stomach. Adrian intercepted every counterattack, blocking Ren's strikes with desperate precision. The ground cracked beneath them as shockwaves rippled outward. Ren retaliated with a gravity burst that hurled both of them into separate buildings, concrete exploding into dust around their bodies.
They stood again.
Anthony charged relentlessly, raining down punches that cratered the earth. Adrian darted in and out, deflecting Ren's attempts to break Anthony's rhythm. When Anthony slowed, Adrian switched roles and became the aggressor, striking fast and sharp while Anthony recovered. It became a pattern—attack, defend, rotate. Their movements synchronized through pure instinct and shared grief.
"Can you both just give up?" Ren asked, regenerating yet again. "This is pointless."
"Never."
Anthony headbutted Ren once.
Twice.
Three times.
Blood splattered. Bones cracked. Regeneration restored everything.
Then Anthony grabbed Ren by the collar and unleashed his HULK PUNCH, slamming him into the ground with immense force.
Ren lay in the crater for a brief second.
That was all Adrian needed.
A massive portal formed under Ren.
This time—
Ren didn't teleport fast enough.
He fell.
Darkness.
It felt like sinking into a deep ocean. Silent. Endless.
"What the hell is happening to me?" Ren thought. "Did that kid really manage to use that portal ability on me?"
For the first time in his life…
He didn't feel like the top of the food chain.
The anger faded.
The arrogance thinned.
"I wonder what's going to happen to me?"
Light returned.
He stood on a rocky planet. Red dust. No plants. No life. No sky—just a faded, empty atmosphere.
It looked like Mars.
"Interesting…" Ren muttered, slightly shaken.
Meanwhile…
Riley stood near the destroyed military base, unsure of what to do. The battle had carried Anthony and Adrian hundreds of miles away. She wasn't fast enough to follow.
A white-haired man approached her.
He had changed his clothes. His hairstyle. His glasses. Even his face was subtly altered.
"You seem lost," he said gently. "There was a large explosion here. You should leave."
Riley frowned. "Who are you?"
"Just a civilian. I saw the blast and came to check it out."
He smiled kindly.
"You should come with me. It's dangerous here."
"I'm fine. I'm waiting for someone."
"In a place like this?" he asked softly. "Come on. My house is just outside the base."
Riley stepped back. "No."
The man's expression changed.
He stepped forward and slapped her.
"You are a bad girl."
Riley froze in shock.
"W-What are you doing?"
Lucius teleported in front of her instantly and struck the back of her neck with a precise chop.
She collapsed unconscious.
He caught her before she hit the ground.
Meanwhile…
Anthony and Adrian stood in silence.
They had done it.
They had defeated Ren.
But the victory felt hollow.
Cosmic was gone.
After a long moment, Anthony turned away. "Let's go back."
Adrian nodded.
They would give Cosmic a proper grave.
And they would check on Riley.