"Ryuuto… is someone else coming?" Gwen whispered.
"Yeah. Just another overconfident pretty boy," Ryuuto muttered, holding her close while eyeing the sky. "Nothing major."
They stood there, almost peaceful, until a streak of white light tore across the heavens like a divine spear.
Angel arrived in the blink of an eye, wings gleaming, hovering above them like royalty dropping in uninvited.
"So this is the guy who took down Captain X-Men? You even called in backup? How cute."
Angel ran a hand through his soft blond hair, gaze flicking over Ryuuto as if assessing a purchase he already knew he could beat. A cocky smile curled on his lips.
"Fine by me. Saves time. You two can come at me together. I'll beat the both of you."
Ryuuto sighed like someone who just stepped on gum.
"Bro, chill. She's my girl. We don't do two-on-one unless I'm bored."
He squeezed Gwen's shoulder gently, then pointed at Angel with an expression so serious it bordered on insulting.
"So hurry up and start before I fall asleep. Losing early will save you some embarrassment."
Angel froze for a heartbeat.
Then his eyes sharpened.
"…What a big mouth you've got."
His wings snapped open. For a moment he glowed like a golden meteor.
"Be careful," Gwen said, standing on her toes to plant a quick kiss on Ryuuto's cheek. "I'll be right here waiting for your victory."
"Count on it."
Angel dove like a falling star.
Ryuuto vanished before he hit the ground.
Angel sliced through empty air.
"Tch. Fast," he muttered. "But still beneath me."
Ninja Art: Shuriken Shadow Clone!
Ryuuto reappeared above him, hands flicking. Twin shuriken cut through the air toward Angel's wings.
They hit—
—or so it seemed.
Angel's body blurred into a pure afterimage.
"You're too slow, kid!"
A flash of gold.
Angel appeared behind Ryuuto, wings sharpening into steel and swinging like twin executioner's blades.
Earth Style: Earth Wall!
A stone barrier erupted upward, catching the gleaming wings with a hard clang.
At the same moment, Ryuuto's two shuriken multiplied into ten midair, raining down toward Angel's vital points.
"What—!? Even your weapons clone?!"
Angel twisted away desperately. He still took several cuts, bright blood falling like scattered rubies.
But in less than a second, the wounds sealed. His flesh knitted itself back together with an almost obscene grace.
"Heal quick, don't you?" Ryuuto said, chin resting on his hand. "Not that I mind. Makes you a great sparring dummy."
He paused, pretending to think deeply.
"Hey, wanna partner up? We could open a blood-donation stall. You'd be the whole supply."
Angel's jaw clenched.
"…I underestimated you."
His eyes chilled. "But you just made your own punishment worse."
He shot upward, wings flaring.
Golden light surged over them until they hardened into full metal. Divine, sharp, deadly.
"Talk time's over! I'll cut you down!"
"Finally," Ryuuto muttered. "Enough chatter."
He summoned the Decapitating Blade, the massive weapon resting easily in his grip. Chakra surged around him like a storm ready to break.
They clashed.
A thunderous boom ripped the air open. Angel's metal wings carved deep trenches in the earth. Ryuuto's blade swung with brutal precision, aiming straight for Angel's head.
Steel met chakra-forged iron.
Light burst between them in white arcs.
Their figures blurred into streaks trading blow after blow, each impact cracking tiles, shattering pillars, shaking the world.
Gwen bit her lip, fists tight as sparks rained around the battlefield.
Boom. Boom. Boom.
No one could tell how many exchanges passed. Dozens? Hundreds? Thousands? The earth looked like a battlefield ripped open by gods, scarred with craters and clawed trenches.
A final collision blasted the fighters apart. They skidded across the ground, dust curling around their forms, eyes locked like two rival predators.
Ryuuto exhaled.
"Alright. I've played enough."
He stomped once.
The earth cracked beneath him. Smoke burst outward from the pressure of his chakra spiking.
Angel, who'd been preparing another charge, froze mid-step.
He sensed it.
A killing intent sharp enough to clip wings.