Rougen's footsteps echoed across the shattered streets of what remained of Tengen City. Smoke curled from broken skyscrapers, glass and concrete littered the streets, and the distant wails of civilians who had survived the initial attack echoed faintly. The city was unrecognizable.
He paused atop a crumbled overpass, scanning the horizon. The source of the destruction was clear: Tengen Orasu. The air around him shimmered with dimensional distortions, and each step he took left a crater in the ground. Rougen's jaw tightened.
"This… this is what he's capable of now," Rougen muttered to himself, voice low but tense. He gripped the hilt of his blade tightly. Overmatter surged faintly beneath his skin, feeling the familiar pull of his Void energy.
"Rougen Ray," a deep, echoing voice rang out. It carried across the broken city like a tolling bell. "It's been a while. Are you prepared to test your limits?"
Rougen's eyes narrowed. "Tengen… I've trained for this. I won't let you destroy anything else."
A distorted laugh carried through the rubble. "Bold words. But you will learn why I am the creator of this world."
Without warning, Tengen's body blurred, and in a blink, he was several dozen meters away, smashing through a building like it was paper. Rougen reacted instantly, releasing a burst of Overmatter to propel himself forward. The ground beneath him fractured from the force, sending shards of concrete flying.
The city trembled as the two masters collided. Rougen's fist met Tengen's in a shower of energy that ripped the air itself apart. Windows shattered miles away, and the vibration of the impact made distant buildings sway dangerously.
"You've grown stronger," Tengen said, his voice calm even as he absorbed the impact. "But strength alone will not be enough."
Rougen's eyes burned. "I don't care. I will stop you. For everyone who's suffered!"
He unleashed a flurry of void-enhanced attacks, each strike warping the very space around it. Tengen dodged with impossible precision, phasing through dimensions just enough to avoid fatal blows. Yet each attack left scars in the cityscape—skyscrapers toppled, streets split open, and the river nearby churned violently as the air pressure fluctuated.
Rougen summoned the remnants of his Cosmic Room energy, forming astral threads around his body. They shimmered faintly, stars in motion, giving him heightened speed and strength. He hurled a concentrated Overmatter-astral strike toward Tengen, creating a massive shockwave that tore through the downtown area.
Tengen grinned, seemingly enjoying the challenge. "Good… I haven't had this much fun in decades."
He countered with a dimensional slash, slicing through the air, tearing open reality itself. Rougen barely managed to dodge, rolling over the jagged remains of a collapsed shopping mall. Concrete pillars exploded like fireworks as the dimensional energy met the remnants of Rougen's astral barrier.
Rougen's teeth clenched. He had never seen Tengen fight like this before. Even the memories of Logan paled in comparison. Every attack Tengen made had precision, destructive power, and sheer unpredictability.
"You're… holding back," Rougen muttered, circling Tengen. "How strong were you before?"
"Stronger than anyone alive," Tengen replied calmly, eyes scanning Rougen's movements. "Stronger than you could ever imagine. And I won't hold back anymore."
In an instant, the sky above the city cracked open. Tengen raised his hand, releasing a dimensional collapse that sucked fragments of buildings into a swirling vortex. Rougen barely managed to anchor himself with Overmatter chains embedded in the rubble, fighting against the gravitational pull.
The two clashed again, this time their fists colliding in mid-air above the city. The force shattered the clouds, and rain of debris fell upon the streets below. Rougen's astral threads glimmered as he attempted to gain the upper hand, but Tengen's dimensional mastery overwhelmed him. Each counterattack warped space in unpredictable ways, forcing Rougen to react with pure instinct.
Rougen's mind raced. He could not defeat Tengen with brute strength alone. The city itself was crumbling, and the civilians were in danger. He needed a plan—but Tengen sensed hesitation.
"Trying to protect them?" Tengen asked, voice carrying above the storm of destruction. "How noble… but futile."
Rougen gritted his teeth, his hands glowing with void and Overmatter energy. "I can't… I can't let them die. Not again."
With a roar, Rougen unleashed a concentrated astral blast, a condensed black star-like sphere, targeting Tengen directly. The energy tore through streets and skyscrapers, leaving a trail of destruction behind it. Tengen braced, but instead of dodging, he absorbed some of the energy into a dimensional buffer, his grin widening.
"You've improved," Tengen said. "But it won't be enough."
He retaliated with a series of precise dimensional slashes, cutting through the remnants of the buildings and forcing Rougen to continuously evade. Each movement cost energy, and each evasion strained his body further.
Rougen's breaths grew ragged. He realized then that he couldn't match Tengen in a direct fight. The city would be destroyed, and he might not survive.
"Damn it!" Rougen yelled, slamming his fist into the asphalt. He felt the void energy surge through him, desperately trying to stabilize the rubble and protect himself. But it wasn't enough.
Tengen's eyes narrowed, his hands glowing with dimensional power. "You must run," he said suddenly. "You cannot win this fight. Not now."
Rougen hesitated. His pride screamed to fight, but the reality was clear. He was outmatched. The city was collapsing around them, and even his strongest abilities could not keep up with Tengen's speed and destructive potential.
With a heavy heart, Rougen activated a rapid Overmatter boost, propelling himself and the vessel out of the immediate area. Explosions tore through the city behind him, glass and concrete raining down. He glanced back once, his eyes locking on Tengen's figure standing amid the wreckage, a faint smirk on his face despite the destruction he had caused.
Rougen's heart burned with frustration and determination. Tengen had won this battle—but at a cost. Tengen's own body was battered from using so much dimensional power in one fight, wounds appearing across his arms and chest. The fight had almost killed him too.
Rougen barely caught his breath, leaning against a crumbling building as the vessel stumbled behind him. "We… we have to survive," Rougen muttered. "If we fall here… everything is lost."
The city was a wasteland. Fires burned unchecked, and the streets were impassable. Every step they took reminded Rougen of what was at stake. The threat of Tengen Orasu was unlike anything he had ever faced.
Rougen's mind raced. He knew he couldn't challenge Tengen directly again—not yet. He needed to regroup, heal, and devise a strategy. The Zodiac system, humanity, and the vessel depended on him.
"This isn't over," Rougen whispered to himself. "Not by a long shot. I will stop you, Tengen… I will."
The wind howled through the broken city, carrying dust, smoke, and the remnants of shattered lives. Rougen and the vessel disappeared into the night, leaving Tengen standing alone amidst the ruins, the city trembling beneath his feet.
Tengen's eyes followed them. "Run, Rougen," he said softly. "Live… and prepare. The next time we meet, there will be no mercy."
And with that, the night swallowed them, leaving only the echoes of destruction and the heavy weight of what had just occurred. The city lay in ruins, the fight had changed everything, and Rougen's journey to confront Tengen again had only just begun.