[Jiro's Ship: The Crater of the Beast]
The silence inside Jiro's private quarters was suffocating. Smoke curled from the edges of the hole Ato had punched through the hull. Beneath a pile of shattered filing cabinets, a hand suddenly twitched.
Ato gripped a broken piece of the wall and pulled himself up. His body was screaming, every nerve-ending on fire, but his eyes were fixed on the flagship where Raiden stood. He wasn't done.
Ato: "I'm... just getting... started."
Ato thinking in his mind: "He only used Fifty Percent and..."
He spat blood, the crimson liquid staining the wreckage beneath him. His breathing was ragged, and his vision was swimming, but the image of Manjo trapped in that brig kept him tethered to the world of the living.
Ato: "And I was down in one punch... but i must rise. If i fall now, Manjo is not going to be..."
He spat blood again, his knees buckling for a second before he forced them to lock. The "Limit Breaker" aura was completely gone, leaving him physically vulnerable, but his spirit was denser than iron.
Ato: "Last thing... I'm not going to give up!"
Slowly, painfully, Ato shifted his weight. He didn't have his magical aura anymore, but he began coming into an attacking pose, his muscles coiled like a spring that had been compressed to its breaking point.
[The Flagship: The Stolen Peace]
On the main deck of the flagship, Raiden stood tall. He could feel the massive reservoir of energy inside him—the stolen strength of a hundred pirates. He turned around and started to go back toward the brig, a smug grin on his face. He assumed the battle was over.
Suddenly, the whole ship shook. A massive vibration rumbled through the timber and steel. Raiden stopped in his tracks, his eyes narrowing. When he looked back, he saw a silhouette standing on the edge of Jiro's ship, silhouetted by the moonlight.
Raiden: "You... you're still standing?"
[Inside the Brig: The Dreamer Awakes]
While the titans prepared for their final clash, Manjo slowly opened her eyes. She had been unconscious on a plush couch inside a high-security cabin, her mind drifting through a fog of exhaustion. She woke up because the ship shook—a violent, rhythmic thumping that felt like a heartbeat.
Manjo: "What is that voice? And where are they? I don't know where they are..."
She looked at the elegant, cold walls of her prison. Her heart felt heavy, the weight of her loneliness returning. "I just want to go back to the old man."
As she stared at the ceiling, she remembered the loud, reckless, and smiling face of the boy who had burst into her kitchen.
Manjo: "Would it have been different if i joined them?"
She sighed, her eyes fluttering shut again. The world felt too heavy to face. She started to drift back to sleep, unaware that the "Beast" was currently tearing the world apart to reach her.
[The Final Overload]
Back on the deck, the air began to hum. Ato had crossed the gap between the ships in a blur of pure desperation. He appeared behind Raiden, his shadow stretching across the deck.
Ato: "Black Bullet: Barrage!"
He didn't use one big punch. He began to punch Raiden now and then—hundreds of strikes, a rhythmic storm of fists hitting Raiden's back, shoulders, and ribs.
Raiden didn't even try to dodge. He stood there, letting the hits land, his body glowing with a golden light as he absorbed the kinetic force. "Yes, Yes! Pump more energy into me, boy! You're just making me a god!"
Raiden was smiling, feeling the rush of power flowing into his muscles. But suddenly, the smile didn't last long. The golden glow changed from a steady hum to a frantic, jagged flickering. His skin began to turn a bruised purple, and steam hissed from his pores. He was not able to store that much energy.
Raiden: "Enough! I don't need it! I don't need more power! Stop!"
Ato didn't stop. He was a machine. His fists were moving so fast they were invisible, forcing every ounce of his remaining life force into Raiden's "battery."
Raiden: "STOP! AAGHHHHH!"
Raiden's capacity hit one hundred percent. The "storage" in his cells shattered. He spat a fountain of blood from his mouth, the liquid spraying across the deck like a crimson geyser. In that moment of total vulnerability, Ato pulled back his fist for one final, concentrated strike.
Ato punched him so bad that Raiden was launched through three thick walls, flying across the flagship and crashing directly into the room where Manjo was sleeping.
[The Reunion]
Manjo suddenly woke up, her heart racing as the wall of her cabin exploded. She sat up on the couch, mopping her eyes and trying to clear the dust.
Manjo: "Huh! What happened? Why's there so much noise?"
When she looked clearly, she gasped. Lying in a heap of broken wood and stone was Raiden. The "God" was beaten to a pulp, his chest caved in and blood still leaking from his mouth. He was completely unconscious.
Manjo: "Huh? What happened? Wh—"
"MANJOOOOOOO!"
Manjo looked up. Standing in the jagged hole in the wall was Ato. He looked like he had walked through hell. His clothes were gone, his skin was covered in cuts, and he was swaying as if the wind could knock him over.
Manjo: "Ato-kun..."
Ato's eyes softened, the "Beast" finally calming down. "Manjo... we did... it."
His strength finally evaporated. His eyes rolled back, and he fell forward. Manjo reacted instantly, sliding off the couch and catching Ato before he hit the floor. She made him rest on her laps, her fingers tracing the bruises on his face.
Manjo: "I don't know what happened... but you tried very hard. So rest for now."
[The Second Ship: The Gentleman's Struggle]
On the neighboring ship, the battle was finally concluding. Lemon was down on one knee, gasping for air, and Faramis was in danger, his gadgets sparking and broken. Sora was walking slowly towards Faramis, a cruel smile on her face.
Sora: "Now say bye-bye."
She jumped into the air, her leg cocked back for a finishing move. "Sky Slice—"
Suddenly, someone in an instant grabbed her leg and throwed her down into the deck with a bone-shattering thud.
Lemon stood there, his face red with a mix of exhaustion and embarrassment. "I didn't want to touch a woman without her authority..."
But the survival of his friends mattered more than his awkwardness. Lemon roared, using his gravity power one last time.
Lemon: "Hakka No Kokuhai: Grand Slam!"
He started punching her—one, two—and then he suddenly stopped. He backed away, his hands shaking.
Lemon: "I really can't defeat... a woman!"
He fell to his knees and actually started to cry in shame, feeling like a failure as a gentleman. But when he looked down, he saw Sora laying down, completely defeated and unconscious from the two massive gravity-punches.
Lemon: "Whoa! I defeated her!"
Faramis stood up, wiping soot from his face. "Okay then. You go to Ato and I'm going to help Kojo. I don't think they can defeat monsters like those alone."
[The Third Ship: The Aftermath]
Faramis used his remaining engine-boots to blast over to the third ship. When he reached it, he saw Zen defeated, his sword-body cracked and broken. When he looked at Kojo, the swordsman was conscious, but he was trembling, trying to stand using his sword as a cane.
Faramis: "Oi, Kojo!"
Kojo: "Faramis... please go help Ato."
Faramis landed and sighed, putting a hand on Kojo's shoulder. "No, don't worry. I sent Lemon to help Ato against Raiden. But what happened to you?"
Kojo looked at his hands, which were still stained with the purple aura of the Demon Flow. "I can't move."
Faramis looked at Kojo's legs, which were shaking like leaves. "I can see that. Idiot!!"
[The Flagship: The Jealousy]
Lemon finally entered the room where the final explosion had happened. He stepped over the debris, his eyes scanning the wreckage. On the right side, he saw Raiden defeated, the "Living Battery" finally drained and broken.
But when he looked to the left side, his face turned from relief to pure, comedic rage. He saw Ato, the captain who had just saved the day, peacefully resting on Manjo's precious lap while she stroked his hair.
Lemon: "WHY IS HE RESTING ON YOUR PRECIOUS LAP?!"
The war against the Seven was over, but for Lemon, a new battle for Manjo's attention had just begun.