Angeal and Genesis were momentarily forced back by the ferocity of the counterattack. Taking advantage of the lull, Zack and Johnny retreated a few steps to regroup and find a way to break the deadlock.
Zack tightened his grip on his sword. The slot reels in his mind's eye—the Digital Mind Wave (DMW)—began to spin wildly, triggered by the massive surge of adrenaline and emotion coursing through his veins.
The image of Cissnei flashed in his mind, offering an encouraging smile.
"Johnny!" Zack wiped the blood from his face. A golden aura began to envelop his body, illuminating the darkness of the reactor. He bounced on the balls of his feet, energy crackling around him. "It's my debut!"
Time seemed to slow down for Zack Fair.
Amidst the chaos, the digital whir of a slot machine echoed in his head—a sound familiar to every SOLDIER, the manifestation of memories triggering hidden power.
TING! TING! TING!
Three identical images lined up perfectly.
[LIMIT BREAK: LUCKY STARS]
Zack's body felt as light as a feather, yet every swing of his sword now promised fatal destruction. Critical Mode: Active.
"HAAAAAAHH!"
"Johnny, I have an idea! Run!" Zack shouted.
Johnny didn't ask questions. He dashed forward.
Zack sprinted right behind Johnny's massive frame.
Even though he was drowning in the rage of Berserk, Johnny saw Angeal flinch slightly, surprised by their sudden advance. His wild instincts took over.
Johnny shifted his stance in a split second. He pulled the Dragon Slayer back to his waist, ignoring the screaming pain from his torn muscles.
"BRUTAL THRUST!"
Johnny unleashed his remaining strength in one terrifying, straight lunge. The blunt tip of the massive sword launched forward like a runaway train, aiming directly for Angeal's chest.
Angeal had no choice but to block. He crossed the Buster Sword in front of him.
BLAAAM!
The impact generated a massive shockwave. Angeal's boots dragged backward, carving deep trenches into the iron floor. The sheer weight of Johnny's sword and his insane momentum completely locked Angeal's movement. The mentor was trapped in a contest of strength against the monster.
"Now, Zack!" Johnny roared.
Zack didn't waste a millisecond. He leaped, planting his feet on Johnny's broad back as Johnny hunched over to hold the lock. Using his friend as a human launchpad, Zack propelled himself high into the air.
His target wasn't Angeal. It was Genesis.
Genesis, who was in the middle of casting a massive sphere of purple energy (Dark Energy) to finish off Johnny, was too late to notice the threat from above.
Zack spun his body in mid-air, his sword glowing bright with Materia energy.
"METEOR SHOTS!"
Zack swung his blade repeatedly at lightning speed. Every slash released a condensed, explosive meteor of energy.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The rain of meteors hammered Genesis without mercy. Genesis's Dark Energy sphere shattered before he could even release it.
"Ughh... Kkhhh!"
Genesis was blasted backward. His body, already suffering from cellular degradation, couldn't withstand the barrage of critical damage. His red armor cracked, and he coughed up black blood.
"GENESIS!" Angeal shouted, panic audible in his voice.
Angeal's rage exploded. He knocked Johnny's Dragon Slayer aside with full force, sending Johnny stumbling off balance.
Angeal leaped high into the air, the Buster Sword raised straight above his head. A blue aura wrapped around the heavy blade.
"HIGH BRAVER!"
Johnny looked up. In his Berserk eyes, there was no such word as "dodge." If the enemy attacked from above, he would answer from below.
Johnny stomped his foot, shattering the floor beneath him to create a solid foothold. He swung his giant sword vertically upward, mimicking the technique he had seen Zack use, but with far deadlier weight.
"GROUND BRAVER!"
Two forces of destruction met at a single point.
KA-BOOOOOOOOOOM!
The sound was no longer the clang of metal, but a pure explosion.
The structural integrity of Reactor 1 failed. The iron floor where they stood disintegrated. The main Mako distribution pipes beneath them ruptured. A geyser of toxic green steam and pure liquid Mako erupted, blasting debris in every direction.
Johnny and Angeal were thrown in opposite directions by the kinetic blast.
In the midst of the dust cloud, Genesis Rhapsodos rose to his feet. He refused to accept this humiliation. The blood seeping from his red armor seemed to burn his ego. He looked at Zack and Johnny with a gaze of pure disgust, as if viewing insects that needed to be exterminated.
"The wandering soul knows no rest," Genesis hissed, his voice trembling with rage. "Sailing the infinite sky..."
Wings of black magic (Dark Energy) manifested on Genesis's back. His feet lifted from the floor. He floated upward, rising higher and higher until he reached the dim ceiling of the reactor—far beyond the range of Zack's jump or Johnny's sword.
"Crawl on the ground like worms," Genesis insulted them from the heights.
He pointed his rapier downward.
"BLACK FEATHER: RAIN!"
Thousands of sharp black feathers rained down on them like arrows.
"Damn it! That's cheating!" Zack shouted as he rolled to avoid the small explosions caused by the feathers. Zack tried to shoot Fire magic, but Genesis easily dodged in the air.
On the ground, Angeal moved forward. He gave them no chance to breathe. His Buster Sword swung horizontally, forcing Johnny and Zack to keep retreating while parrying the rain of attacks from above and below.
"We're cornered!" Zack cried out. "I can't reach him! He's too high!"
Johnny parried Angeal's attack with the Dragon Slayer, his feet sliding back. He glanced up. Genesis was preparing a massive fireball to finish them off.
Johnny's brain worked fast. If the enemy wouldn't come down, they had to go up.
Johnny stomped his foot, cracking the floor.
"Zack! Do you trust me?!" Johnny shouted over the noise of the explosions.
Zack turned while parrying Angeal. "Always! What's the plan?!"
Johnny suddenly changed his stance. Instead of attacking Angeal, he spun his body with blinding speed.
"WHIRLWIND STRIKE!"
Johnny spun in place, creating a tornado of wind around them. The pressure blasted Angeal back several meters and swept away the black feathers in the immediate area. The zone was clear.
Johnny didn't waste the second. He dropped into an extremely low stance. He held the Dragon Slayer flat and horizontal, just ten centimeters off the ground.
"Zack! Get on!" Johnny shouted, slapping the broad side of his blade with his boot. "Use my sword as a runway! I'm throwing you to the sky!"
Zack's eyes lit up. A crazy idea. But he loved crazy ideas.
"Ready, Boss!"
Zack sheathed his sword on his back to be more aerodynamic. He sprinted from five meters away.
"HAAAAAAHH!"
Zack jumped, landing with both feet right in the center of the wide Dragon Slayer blade.
The weight of Zack's body combined with his running momentum should have broken a normal man's arms. But Johnny was no normal man. The muscles in his arms—trained to wield 100 kilograms daily—exploded with power.
"FLY, PUPPY!"
Johnny heaved his entire body upward. He swung the giant sword vertically toward the sky as if hitting a home run.
SWUUUSSSHHHH!
Zack was launched. The speed was illogical. He rocketed vertically, slicing through the air, piercing the smoke and dust, heading straight for Genesis's hovering position.
Genesis's face went pale. He never imagined a human could jump this high—or rather, be thrown this high.
"What—?!" Genesis tried to cancel his magic and dodge.
Too late.
Zack was right in front of his face. At the peak of his trajectory, Zack drew his sword. Gravity seemed to pause for a second.
"Surprise!" Zack shouted.
"CHAIN SLASH!"
Zack slashed. He swung his sword from point-blank range.
SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!
Five super-fast slashes struck Genesis in rapid succession.
"GUAAGGHHH!"
Genesis vomited blood. His magic wings shattered. His body was knocked out of the sky, plummeting downward at high speed.
BRAAAKKK!
Genesis slammed into the iron reactor floor hard, creating a small crater. Dust billowed up.
Zack landed near Johnny with a smooth superhero landing.
"Wooohooo! That was awesome!" Zack cheered, adrenaline flooding his system. "Again! We have to do that again sometime!"
Johnny grinned, his breathing heavy. "Only if you go on a diet. You're heavy, you know."
In front of them, the dust slowly cleared.
Angeal immediately ran, where Genesis had fallen. "Genesis!"
He looked down at Genesis, who was coughing up blood, white smoke rising from his body—a sign of severe degradation.
A choice had to be made. Victory, or saving a friend.
For Angeal Hewley, it was not a difficult choice.
A blinding white light exploded from Angeal's back. As the light faded, a single, massive white wing—majestic yet sorrowful—extended from the right side of his back.