In the western sector of the hangar, the atmosphere felt dry and suffocating with heat.
Rigel, the three-meter giant, had discarded his cracked outer armor, revealing a pitch-black cyborg frame with a glowing red nuclear core embedded in the center of his chest.
The hum of nuclear energy from his body made the surrounding air vibrate violently.
In front of him, Rare stood calmly with Excalibur resting on his shoulder.
He showed no battle stance at all, simply gazing at Rigel with his gentle, polite smile.
"You… street brat…" Rigel growled, his heavy voice echoing as hot steam escaped from the gaps in his mechanical body. "…I'll crush you until not even your atoms remain!"
Rigel roared.
All missile launchers on his shoulders opened, and the barrels of his nuclear laser cannons began to glow intensely.
Without mercy, he unleashed a storm of missiles and high-output nuclear lasers straight at Rare all at once.
WUSSHHH! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Massive explosions consumed Rare's position, forming miniature nuclear fire clouds and shockwaves that blasted everything nearby away.
Rigel laughed victoriously, convinced his opponent had been reduced to ash.
But as the smoke began to clear…
Rigel froze in horror.
Rare was still standing exactly where he had been, completely untouched by the flames or explosions.
Before him stood a massive defensive wall five meters thick formed entirely of pure titanium, as if it had instantly bloomed from the station's metal floor itself.
Rare slowly lowered his right hand, which he had raised moments before.
"My apologies, Sir Giant," Rare said softly, his gentle voice cutting through the lingering heat. "But the metal here… seems to prefer listening to me rather than allowing you to harm me."
The massive wall crumbled, sinking back into the floor as if it had never existed.
Enraged, Rigel no longer cared.
He discarded his remaining weapons and pulled out a massive nuclear-powered chainsword from his back.
With rocket thrusters igniting beneath his feet, Rigel charged forward, swinging the weapon down with overwhelming force.
Rare met the attack with Excalibur.
TRANKKK!
The clash of steel echoed across the entire sector.
Rare blocked the enormous strike with just one hand on his blade, while Rigel used both arms and full rocket propulsion.
Yet Rare did not move even an inch.
"Impossible! There's no way a child like you can withstand–"
"Although Excalibur appears to be a sword," Rare interrupted calmly, his smile faint, "it is actually the embodiment of balance. The more violent your intent… the heavier the burden you must bear."
With a smooth motion, Rare rotated Excalibur, breaking Rigel's grip.
A sword duel erupted.
Rare moved with elegance, deflecting every brutal and wild strike from Rigel with perfect precision.
Each movement was minimal, efficient like a dance.
Then suddenly, Rare stopped moving and stood upright, holding Excalibur with both hands.
"It seems you are growing tired. Let us conclude this dance," he said softly, closing his eyes.
At once, a pure golden aura mixed with white light began to radiate from Excalibur's blade.
The energy was sacred, overwhelming, and absolute so powerful that the nuclear heat in the entire area was instantly neutralized, turning the air cold.
The blade became wrapped in concentrated destructive energy, a strike that made no distinction between nuclear steel or the fabric of space itself.
Rigel's optical eyes widened to their limit.
His internal systems screamed warnings: GODLY ENERGY DETECTED.
"W-What is that?! Don't… DON'T COME CLOSER!" Rigel panicked, firing one last desperate nuclear beam.
But Rare was no longer there.
WUSSHHH!
In a blinding flash of golden light, Rare surged forward at a speed beyond even Rigel's advanced sensors.
He appeared directly in front of the giant
and without hesitation, thrust Excalibur straight into the nuclear core in Rigel's chest.
JRESSS!
The blade pierced through nuclear-grade armor as if it were wet paper, penetrating the core, tearing through his mechanical spine, and emerging out from his back.
Rigel froze.
His optical eyes dimmed instantly.
The nuclear hum within his body died completely as the core shattered into pieces.
Rare looked into Rigel's fading gaze, still wearing his gentle smile.
"Thank you for the beautiful dance, Sir Rigel. Now…"
He pulled Excalibur out smoothly, spun once, and with a single, elegant vertical motion
delivered a strike carrying absolute destruction.
SRAAAASH!
There was no nuclear explosion.
No sparks.
Only a radiant golden light as Excalibur cleaved through Rigel's structure.
The giant body stood still for a moment
then slowly split cleanly into two perfect halves, from head to toe.
Both halves collapsed onto the metal floor with a dull, heavy sound, as the remnants of nuclear energy dissipated into the air.
Rare landed gracefully, flicking Excalibur to remove traces of oil without staining it, then sheathed the blade.
"Rest well, Sir Giant," Rare said with a polite bow bringing the battle in the western sector to an end with the elegance of a noble.