The street had become a battlefield of light and chrome.
Sigma charged again, his mechanical legs pounding craters into the cobblestone. The regenerated arm had split into three plasma cannons, each one tracking Ban with cold precision.
Three beams screamed through the air in a triangle pattern, curving mid-flight to box Ban in.
Ban's spada flickered which folded space.
The beams wrapped around him like ribbons, missing by inches before exploding into a building behind him. Stone vaporized. The structure collapsed in a shower of debris.
Sigma was already moving, closing the gap before Ban could counter. The plasma cannons reconfigured into vibrating blades, humming with sonic energy that tore the air itself.
Ban met him head-on.
CLANG.
Their weapons clashed in a blur—golden light against screaming chrome. Each impact sent shockwaves rippling outward, shattering windows and blowing up houses.
Sigma's mechanical eye whirred. His strikes came faster and more precise. He was learning Ban's rhythm, predicting the spatial folds.
Ban sidestepped a thrust that would've taken his head off. He countered with a swift slash—
Sigma blocked it with his other arm, which had transformed into an energy shield.
"You're slowing down," Sigma rasped, his voice layered with synthetic distortion.
Ban exhaled smoke.
"Am I?"
He vanished. Space collapsed around him, and he reappeared behind Sigma, spada already mid-swing.
Sigma spun, impossibly fast, catching the strike with his shield. Sparks exploded between them.
They broke apart, circling.
"Impressive," Sigma said. "But I've mapped 94% of your movement patterns. In another thirty seconds, I'll have predicted your every—"
Ban disappeared again.This time, Sigma didn't react fast enough.
The spada sliced clean through his left leg. The limb toppled, sparking and hissing as it hit the ground.
Sigma stumbled but didn't fall. Stabilizers shot out from his torso, keeping him upright.
Ban landed a few meters away, his spada resting on his shoulder.
"Thirty seconds?" He smiled. "You talk too much, tin man."
Sigma's eye blazed brighter. Blue liquid—synthetic blood—began pouring from the stump, already knitting together. Pistons extended and metal reshaped.
Within moments, the leg was whole again.
"Regeneration protocols at maximum efficiency," Sigma said, his tone colder now. "You cannot win a war of attrition."
Ban took another drag from his cigarette.
"Good thing I don't plan to."
ALEXIA VS AURORA
The plaza was drenched in red.
Blood pooled across the cracked stone, flowing from Aurora's outstretched hands like living serpents. Her crimson eyes gleamed with predatory focus as she stood at the center, her long black hair whipping in the wind.
"You're fast," Aurora said, her voice smooth as silk. "But speed means nothing when you're drowning."
She raised both arms then her blood surged.
Twenty figures rose from the pools—exact copies of Aurora, each one identical down to the red military dress and cruel smile. They moved in perfect sync, surrounding Alexia in a circle.
Alexia stood in the center, twin daggers held reverse-grip, her dark eyes cold and unreadable.
She didn't speak.
Aurora laughed. "Silent type? That's fine. I prefer screams anyway."
The blood clones lunged.
Alexia moved.
She ducked under the first clone's swing, her blade flashing silver as it carved through the figure's torso. The clone exploded into liquid, splattering across the ground.
Another clone attacked from behind—Alexia spun, her second dagger catching the blood-formed sword mid-strike. She twisted, redirecting the attack and slicing clean through the clone's neck.
Two more came from opposite sides.
Alexia dropped low, sliding between them as their attacks passed overhead. She spun on her knee, both daggers cutting outward in a perfect arc—both clones collapsed into puddles.
Four down.Sixteen to go.
Aurora's smile widened. "Impressive. But you'll tire eventually."
The remaining clones closed in, a writhing mass of blood and rage. They attacked in waves—coordinated, relentless, overwhelming.
Alexia danced through them.
A clone thrust a blood spear—she sidestepped, her dagger deflecting the weapon and slicing upward through the clone's arm. Before it could reform, she spun and drove her second blade through its chest.
Another clone swung a blood-scythe—Alexia ducked under the arc, her movement so fluid it looked like water flowing around stone. She came up inside the clone's guard and buried both daggers in its torso.
More clones swarmed her.
She backflipped over a sweeping blood-whip, her daggers flashing as she cut through two clones mid-air. She landed in a crouch, immediately rolling forward as three blood-swords stabbed the ground where she'd been.
Her daggers spun in her hands—silver blurs that carved through blood-flesh with surgical precision.
A clone grabbed her wrist.
Alexia didn't hesitate—she twisted, using the grip as leverage to vault over the clone's shoulder. Her dagger slashed down as she flipped, severing the clone's head.
Another tried to tackle her.
She sidestepped, her blade finding the clone's spine. It collapsed into liquid at her feet.
Ten clones left.
Aurora's eyes narrowed. "Stubborn little insect."
She clenched her fist.
The blood on the ground erupted—massive crimson whips burst from the pools, thick as tree trunks, each one tipped with jagged barbs.
They lashed out like serpents.
Alexia barely dodged the first strike—it cracked the stone where she'd been standing, carving a deep trench. The second whip came faster, wrapping around her ankle.
She cut through it instantly, her blade severing the blood-tendril before it could tighten but more came.
Three whips struck simultaneously from different angles. Alexia twisted through them, her body moving in impossible angles—ducking, spinning, sliding. Her daggers deflected one whip, cut another, and she rolled under the third.
The remaining blood clones pressed in, using the distraction to close the distance.
Alexia was surrounded.
Blood whips overhead. Clones in every direction.
She took a breath, then her hand moved.
"Release"
A faint mist began to seep from the blades. Thin, almost invisible, spreading outward like smoke curling from a dying fire.
The fog was too subtle, too slow. It drifted through the plaza like morning mist—harmless, barely visible.
Alexia surged forward.
A clone lunged—Alexia sidestepped and drove her blade up through its chin.
Another attacked from behind—she spun, her dagger carving a perfect arc that severed its arms before piercing its heart.
Two more rushed her together—she dropped low, sweeping her leg to unbalance one, then vaulted off its falling body to flip over the second. Both daggers plunged downward as she descended, impaling the second clone from above.
She landed, rolled, and came up slashing.
Three more clones dissolved into puddles.
Five left.
Aurora's smile had faded. "You insect."
A blood whip lashed toward her face—she tilted her head, letting it pass millimeters from her cheek, and threw one dagger in the same motion. The blade spun through the air and buried itself in a clone's throat.
She caught the dagger as the clone collapsed, seamlessly transitioning into a spinning slash that cut through two more.
The final two clones attacked together, blood-swords raised.
Alexia met them head-on.She parried the first strike with her right dagger, redirecting the blade past her shoulder. Her left hand shot forward, driving her second dagger through the clone's eye socket.
The second clone swung—Alexia ducked under the strike, stepped into its guard, and drove both daggers upward in a brutal cross-slash.
The clone exploded into liquid.
Alexia stood alone in the center of the blood-soaked plaza, twin daggers dripping blood.
LIN VS GREM
The street was an inferno.Flames roared on both sides, twisting through the air in spirals of white and red. Buildings burned. Stone melted. The heat was so intense that the very air shimmered and warped.
Lin stood in the center of the chaos, his massive spada wreathed in crimson fire. His grin was wide, almost manic.
Across from him, Grem raised both hands. White hair whipped around his face, purple eyes burning with cold focus.
"You think fire makes you special?" Grem's voice was calm. "Let me show you what real fire looks like."
He thrust his hands forward.
A pillar of flame erupted from the ground—pure white, so hot it was almost blue at the edges. It roared toward Lin like a tidal wave, consuming everything in its path.
Lin laughed and swung his spada.
The crimson flames around his blade exploded outward, meeting Grem's white fire head-on.
The collision was deafening.Fire clashed against fire, neither giving ground. The shockwave flattened nearby buildings, sending debris flying in all directions. The street beneath them cracked and buckled from the heat.
Grem's eyes narrowed. "Impressive. Your flames are... hotter than expected."
Lin's grin widened. "Hotter? Human, you have no idea."
He pushed forward, his spada carving through the white flames like a knife through silk. His crimson fire surged, overwhelming Grem's attack and forcing the white-haired General back.
Grem didn't retreat far.He spun, his hands tracing symbols in the air. The white flames responded instantly, coiling around him like serpents. They condensed, compressed, becoming smaller but infinitely more intense.
He thrust one hand forward.
A spear of pure white fire shot toward Lin. It moved so fast it screamed.
Lin sidestepped, but the spear grazed his shoulder. His coat burned away instantly, and a thin line of charred flesh appeared on his skin.
Lin glanced at the wound then laughed harder.
"Oh, you're good!"
He charged.
Grem met him with a wall of white flames—but Lin didn't slow. His spada cleaved through the fire, his own crimson flames burning even hotter and brighter.
They clashed in close quarters.
Grem's flames formed into a staff, solid and burning. He spun it with practiced precision, deflecting Lin's massive swings with calculated efficiency.
Lin's strength was overwhelming, each strike shaking the ground. But Grem was faster, more technical—he redirected the blows, using Lin's momentum against him.
A slash came from the right—Grem twisted, letting it pass, then countered with a thrust of white fire that scored a hit across Lin's ribs.
Lin grunted but didn't stop.
He brought his spada down in an overhead smash—Grem rolled aside, and the blade shattered the ground where he'd been standing. Molten stone sprayed upward.
Grem retaliated instantly. His flames coalesced into twin whips that lashed out, wrapping around Lin's arms.
Lin roared and flexed.
The crimson fire around his body flared—so hot that Grem's white flames evaporated on contact.
"You can't bind me with fire," Lin growled, still grinning. "I AM FIRE."
Grem's expression didn't change. "Then let's see how you handle this."
He slammed both hands into the ground.
The entire street erupted.White flames burst from every crack, every crevice, transforming the battlefield into a sea of fire. Pillars shot up from below. Walls of flame closed in from all sides.
Lin was surrounded but he didn't look worried.
He raised his spada high, and the crimson flames around him exploded outward in a dome of pure heat. The white flames pushed back, struggling against the overwhelming power.
"Not bad!" Lin shouted over the roar. "You've got skill for someone who is about to die".The street had become a battlefield of light and chrome.