The smoke of the ruined city had not yet settled when they finally stopped moving.
They found a stretch of broken highway that still stood, hanging over a collapsed district like a bridge between two worlds. Beneath it, glowing rivers of mana flowed where underground lines had ruptured. Above it, the sky looked cracked, as if reality itself had been scratched.
Jaze sat on the edge of the highway, his coat torn and stained with dust, calmly adjusting the glove on his right hand.
Rougen leaned against a fractured pillar, breathing slowly, letting the void in his body settle.
Hiko, Goru, and Kaiser sat together a few meters away, exhausted. The Holy Landers and a few Masters stood guard, scanning the area for threats.
For the first time since Kenzuko's attack, there was silence.
Hiko broke it first. "I thought… I thought he killed us."
Goru nodded. "When he came back from nothing, it felt like the world was lying to us."
Kaiser rubbed his sore shoulder. "He was smiling while getting torn apart. That is not normal."
Jaze glanced at them. "Fear is not weakness. It is proof that you understand what you are facing."
Hiko looked at Jaze. "You are not afraid?"
Jaze paused. "I am. But fear becomes useless when it controls you."
Rougen pushed off the pillar and walked closer. "You did well. All of you. If Kenzuko had not been forced to retreat, this city would be nothing but a grave."
The Holy Landers looked around at the destruction.
"It already is," one of them murmured.
Hiko clenched his fists. "We have to get stronger. If that was not even his full power…"
"It was not," Jaze said. "Dominance grows. That is why we cannot let him keep fighting and evolving."
Kaiser looked up. "So what do we do?"
Rougen was about to answer when the air suddenly began to vibrate.
Not shake.
Vibrate.
Like the world was humming.
Jaze stood instantly. "Something is coming."
A deep, distorted roar echoed across the ruined city.
The mana rivers beneath the highway began to boil.
The sky darkened as a massive shadow descended over them.
Hiko slowly turned.
And his breath caught in his throat.
A gigantic figure was walking through the broken district.
It was shaped like a human, but wrong in every way. Its skin was blackened like burnt stone, veins of molten red glowing beneath it. Two enormous fiery horns curved upward from its skull, trailing flames into the air.
And in the center of its forehead was a third eye.
That eye glowed a violent, furious white.
Its gaze alone made the air scream.
"Calamity plus," Rougen said quietly.
The beast took one step forward.
The ground melted under its foot.
Its mouth opened, revealing rows of glowing, jagged teeth.
"Overheat," Jaze said. "That thing is a walking furnace."
The beast raised its head and roared.
The sound blasted outward, ripping buildings apart and setting everything it touched on fire.
Hiko felt the heat slam into him like a wall. His cursed flames flared automatically, trying to shield him.
Goru covered his face. "It's so hot…"
Kaiser struggled to breathe. "We can't fight that in open space."
Jaze lifted his hand.
"Then we do not."
The world shifted.
Space fractured like glass.
In an instant, the ruined city vanished.
They were standing on something invisible.
Below them was endless light.
Above them was endless color.
And all around them were mirrors.
Thousands of them.
Some floating. Some standing like walls. Some hanging in the air like broken pieces of reality.
Each one reflected a different version of the battlefield.
The beast roared again, confused as its reflection stared back at it from every direction.
Jaze's voice echoed through the realm. "Spatial Realm. Infinite Mirrors."
The floor was invisible, but solid. Every step the beast took caused ripples of light to move beneath its feet.
"Inside this space," Jaze said calmly, "every direction is mine."
The beast fired a blast of white hot energy from its third eye.
The beam struck a mirror and split.
Then split again.
Then again.
Dozens of beams shot out in every direction.
Some of them struck the beast itself, burning its own flesh.
It roared in pain.
Rougen moved. Void energy twisted around his body as he struck, tearing chunks of the beast's molten skin away.
Hiko rushed in, cursed flames blazing, punching into its burning flesh.
The heat was unbearable.
His arms were scorched, his clothes burned, but he did not stop.
Goru slashed through space, cutting into the beast's legs.
Kaiser darted through reflections, striking weak points whenever he could.
The beast swung its massive arms wildly, smashing mirrors and sending shards of light flying.
Blood spilled.
Red and black, sizzling as it hit the invisible floor.
The beast screamed, its third eye glowing brighter.
A wave of overheat energy exploded outward, burning everything.
Hiko was thrown back, skin blistered.
Goru crashed into a mirror, coughing blood.
Jaze stood firm, his realm absorbing part of the impact.
"Get up," Jaze said. "It is losing control."
Rougen wiped blood from his mouth. "Then we finish it."
They attacked together.
Void, density, cursed flame, and dimensional slashes collided into the beast at once.
The Calamity plus monster let out one final, agonized roar as its body shattered into burning fragments.
The mirrors reflected its destruction a thousand times.
When the light faded, the beast was gone.
Jaze lowered his hand.
The mirrors shattered into nothing.
The ruined city returned.
Everyone was bleeding.
But alive.
Hiko breathed heavily. "We… we did it."
Rougen nodded. "Yes. Together."
And in the distance, the war continued.