As Mori and Junichi clashed, their battle tore across the buildings and the city around them with unbelievable speed and devastating levels if power and skills. Junichi slashed out waves of lightning with his crackling lightning claws, each swipe tearing apart buildings into pieces and causing huge waves of lightning. Mori's hands, coated in dense red energy shaped like blades, intercepted every strike with precision. Their movements were so fast and violent that every time they exchanged blows, buildings and skyscrapers were sliced clean apart, collapsing piece by piece behind them.
Junichi smiled widely as he accelerated, electricity bursting from his legs.
"Looks to me like you're a professional martial artist," he said, his tone playful but impressed. "Honestly, being able to keep up with my speed and destructive power—that's something people in my ranks find very hard to do."
Mori's expression lit up with excitement, his grin matching Junichi's energy.
"Yeah, I feel you. I haven't had a fight this enjoyable in a long time. You actually remind me of a fight I had a few years back."
For a moment, Mori's mind flashed back to the assassination exams three years ago—the insane battle he had against Alex.
"That was a crazy fight, now wasn't it.", he thought with nostalgia.
Before he could dwell on it further, Junichi blurred forward. His lightning claw tore across Mori's guard, striking him into the air. Junichi leapt up after him, swinging repeatedly, smashing Mori through countless buildings. Each building he hit was instantly sliced apart by the force of the lightning claws, collapsing into dust behind him.
Mori spiraled downward but twisted mid-air, smirking as he landed cleanly on his feet. Without hesitation, he charged straight back toward Junichi with a fearless smile.
Meanwhile, in the abandoned city, Raquel and Mitsuri continued their destructive clash. Mitsuri fired powerful lightning arrows at Raquel—each one exploding with devastating force on impact—while Raquel formed massive crystal walls to shield herself. The lightning attacks tore entire sections of the city apart, but Raquel stood her ground.
Raquel created enormous crystal spears and hurled them at Mitsuri. Mitsuri's lips curled into a grin as she charged a massive amount of lightning and blasted it at rapid-fire speed, intercepting every incoming crystal spear and filling the battlefield with thunderous eruptions.
As smoke clouded the air, Raquel jumped out of the blast zone, her fist crystallizing instantly as she rushed Mitsuri with a crushing punch. Mitsuri managed to block it but retaliated with a massive lightning blast. The resulting explosion was even greater, wiping out more buildings than before and causing a devastating explosion of lightning that would have eviscerated the city they were in
Mitsuri sighed as she dusted off her hands.
"Well, looks like that was a mid-diff fight. I guess the girl wasn't all that strong."
She began walking away—until she heard Raquel's voice echo from behind a crystalized formation.
"I hope you don't plan on leaving just yet. I haven't even started."
Mitsuri turned and froze for a moment. Raquel had formed a thick crystal wall that saved her from the previous attack.
Mitsuri laughed loudly.
"Wow, you're still alive. Guess I underestimated you. Looks like I'll have to do more damage than that."
Raquel activated the crystal eye on her forehead, its glow sharpening her vision.
"Alright, I'm ready. Let's do this already."
She crystallized her arm and launched forward, the force of her movement breaking nearby buildings into rubble. Mitsuri drew in tremendous amounts of lightning, shaping it into a gigantic arrow before firing it at blistering speed.
Raquel slapped the lightning arrow back, sending it flying past Mitsuri. The redirected blast tore through the ground behind her, triggering an even larger explosion. Mitsuri stumbled back in genuine shock.
"You… backfired my attack? With raw strength?"
Raquel smiled calmly.
"I could tell you were underestimating me. But I'm stronger than you think."
Raquel's body gleamed as she crystallized her hands and legs completely. Her speed skyrocketed—so much so that Mitsuri had difficulty tracking her.
Mitsuri's expression shifted into seriousness.
"Alright, now you've done it!"
She summoned several giant lightning arrows at once, electricity violently crackling around her. She thought to herself:
She blocked my lightning arrows and didn't get hurt? Each one of my attacks can turn mountains to ash. And she still shrugged them off… and that crystal eye—what is it?
Still, Mitsuri grinned.
"I guess I can't underestimate you. You're really incredibly strong."
She unleashed lightning arrows at even greater speeds with explosions of lightning destructing the city as they fought. Raquel dashed between them, dodging with sharp movements and punching others away, sending them flying back. A few missed entirely, shooting out of the city and blowing apart distant mountains.
While dodging, Raquel spoke loudly over the thunderous blasts:
"With my crystal eye, I can see attacks that move at hypersonic speeds. It helps me track the energy flow of those around me. So no matter how fast your attacks are, if they're coming from the same energy source—I can dodge them."
Mitsuri's patience snapped.
Her face twisted with anger as she gathered a monstrous surge of lightning—enough power to obliterate the entire abandoned city. Her voice broke into a furious scream:
"Since you're so good at dodging—LET'S SEE YOU DODGE THIS, YOU BITCH!"
She fired the catastrophic blast straight at Raquel. The lightning attack ripped the ground apart as it surged forward, destroying everything in its path.
Raquel inhaled deeply, remembering Veronica's words: Don't hold back.
She slammed her hands into the ground, creating a colossal mountain of crystals that expanded across the entire city. She launched the entire formation forward, clashing it against Mitsuri's lightning blast. The collision caused an unbelievably massive explosion—obliterating skyscrapers, structures, and everything else remaining in the city.
When the smoke finally cleared, the entire city had been completely crystallized.
Mitsuri lay on the ground, her leg broken, her arm bleeding heavily. Her expression twisted with disgust and self-loathing as she asked herself:
How did I lose? Am I weak?
Raquel walked toward her with a warm smile and knelt slightly, extending her hand.
"You're not a failure. And you're not weak. Your leg is broken pretty badly—you shouldn't move alone. Let me help you up. I really had fun fighting you. You were tough… honestly, I didn't think I could beat you."
Mitsuri looked up at her and, despite the pain, smiled faintly.
"Thanks… you really are a nice person. Sorry I acted like that during the fight."
Raquel gently helped her stand, and the two began walking together out of the devastated battlefield.
Far away, Kojin and Najenda watched from the monitoring screens. Najenda nodded approvingly.
"You have strong fighters," she told Kojin.
Kojin chuckled.
"Thank you. And your fighters don't seem bad at all. I might even be a little jealous."
He leaned back.
"Although… this is just the beginning."
Najenda smirked slightly, her eyes sharp.
"You're certainly right."
END OF CHAPTER.