"We're going to launch an attack!"
Gerald froze. The weight of Kevin's spirit traveled among the radiating scent of Pyron's power as patches of dirt rose from the forest, hardening into a layer around each Cataclysmic Fireball. Gerald could hear the villagers' distant screams, their cries mixed with fear, suppressing their waning hope with every moment. It was like a ticking time bomb - once the fireballs erupted in Rufala's streets, their hope would fade entirely. But, despite the odds, the sound of Kevin's voice alone was enough to drain the sea of despair dwelling within Gerald's mind. Clenching his fists, his heart grew lighter as he took a whiff of the metallic air.
Then, the moment Rufala's villagers had feared, had come true. Pyron's energy-compacted stars raced along the trembling skyline, soaring down upon the village like a fleet of blazing meteors. The sky cracked open with a deafening boom as the first meteor approached. Its descent was cut short by a stream of glowing magenta, breaking through its surface with a faint crack amid the swallowing roar. Without a moment to spare, the sequence continued into the clouds - first a crack, followed by a bittersweet explosion. Following the magenta stream, a current of darkness ripped forward, spiraling around Kevin's trail like a living shadow as the sound of ripping explosions filled the air. "Don't let a single comet hit Rufala!" Gerald warned, altering his path with a sharp veer. "We promised to protect, and that's what we'll do!" A bright smile broke out across Kevin's face as his stream drew forward, piercing the approaching meteors in a zig-zag formation. Gerald branched further from Kevin's path, triggering a thread of gut-wrenching blasts, growing quieter in the fear-plagued streets below as their altitude skyrocketed.
Kevin popped into a new layer of shifting clouds, the meteors' crimson red flames leaking through the vapor like food coloring in water. "GRAVTIATIONAL PUSHING PUNCH!"
The comets detonated in a chain reaction, pitch-black smoke filling the skies as fragments of crackling dirt plummeted from its heart. The highest meteor is up there! Just one more attack, and we'll save Rufala! The same thought flashed through both of them at once, strengthening the glow in their eyes with blooming hope. Separate but united, their streams accelerated, altitude growing closer as their pulsing glows cast a muffled glow through the countless layers of scattered clouds. Kevin's fist and Gerald's leg pushed against their comets at the same millisecond, pouring an overwhelming amount of force into the dense, rock shell blocking the pulsing core within. And, not even a second later, the two comets detonated with a sky-splitting blast.
Rufala's villagers perched their gazes into the vast skies, recognizing the two boys' in a heartbeat.
And, alongside Kevin and Gerald, thrived a meteor-free skyline. A roaring flare of hope emerged from Rufala's despair as the villagers' cheers erupted throughout the city. "You guys… really wiped them out!"
Pyron's single crimson eye locked onto the two figures still hanging in the smoke filled sky. A low roar developed in his throat as a dense orb of pure, scorching energy erupted from his palm, shooting into the clear skies above with a delayed blast. The orb climbed the skies in a few seconds and, in a sudden motion, passed through Gerald's body like a soul-eating ghost.
Kevin's eyes bulged at the unsettling sight. "GERALD!"
His exhales split into short, jagged breaths as his body trembled, resisting the blooming warmth developing within his blood. As the pain tightened, his vision blurred, accompanied by a growing ring in his ears. Unable to maintain his position in the sky, his shoulder began to drop, preparing for a long, gut-wrenching fall.
The same moment Gerald's shoulders went limp, a voice erupted within his ringing ears. "GRAVITATIONAL PUNCH!"
His body curved at the overwhelming force, shattering through his fatigue as Kevin's force rushed through his rattling bones. A series of gasps erupted from the spectating villagers as his fist recoiled. "That boy… why the hell did he punch his partner!?" "The art of betrayal, I tell ya!" "Is that boy… working with Pyron?"
Before anyone else could contribute to the whirling storm of comments, a bubbling, orange fluid erupted from Gerald's mouth as he curled his fingers across Kevin's shoulders. "Thanks… that could've been bad."
Kevin's solemn frown reshaped into a faint smile. "We're almost done, Gerald. This is the final stretch!"
The air wrapped around them as their bodies plummeted, the growing blanket of silence breaking at Gerald's low mumble, fading in an instant. "Kevin, this is our final attack! You remember what Victor taught us, right?"
"Huh?"
"Cytron Blast."
Volume 13, Chapter 86 - Hope's Persistence
Kevin's eyes trembled. "Gerald, you can't use Cytron Blast in your condition! If you do, you'll-"
"Don't worry about me losing my fire, Kevin. It's the only way we'll take down Pyron and save our friends, alongside the entirety of Rufala. We've finally arrived at this moment, and we can't just let it go to waste."
A month ago, Crystal City
Victor's eyes dilated. "You guys want to learn Cytron Blast!?"
"Yep!" Kevin nodded with a cheerful expression. "Since you helped create it, can't you help us learn it?" Victor stared at the two boys for a few moments, tightening the knot of the bandana tied across his left wrist. "Cytron Blast was the attack I used years ago with Ellis. To form it, we combined everything - our resolve, our powers, our thoughts, our unbreakable bond. The attack that saved Anata - no, saved the world at one point, in the hands of you guys… What if you guys go fire it on Le and Fasal while I'm not watching, or go try to use it on Arias!?"
"We won't," Gerald responded, his gaze sharp. "Only when we need it most. When we need to help each other out."
—
The clouds peeled away from Kevin and Gerald as their plummeting bodies faced Pyron, the overwhelming fatigue of their bodies pouring in by the second. A small rupture of discomfort grew within Kevin, accompanied by a feeling of guilt - after this fight, Gerald was at risk of losing what made him Gerald Romanti. Rufala's villagers watched in awe as the power within their trembling bodies began to merge. "All that stamina exerted… and they can still form a final attack together!?"
From the office window on Rufala's outskirts, Noah felt the faint, nostalgic presence that followed their bodies. His fists slammed against the desk, but, in a fit of confusion, he reacted with a bright smile. "I know that pose," he mumbled, bending his cigarette. "They're going to use that to beat Pyron, huh?"
Two sputtering, glowing orbs of purple and blue emerged between Kevin and Gerald's palms - Kevin's orb swirling a deep violet, Gerald's shimmering with a fierce, thriving blue. In a sudden motion, their orbs pushed into one another, unleashing a frenzy of flashing lightning above the forest. Within the expanding cloud of steam whirred their very beings, joining together into one, fierce attack. Determination and protection weaving into one, merging with their unbreakable bond. Pyron's faint mutters of encouragement seemed to pass through the shell with a low muffle, directing them forward like a swarm of moths to a light. The sky warped under the Cytron Blast's overwhelming aroma, as if the very meaning of protection and hope were opposing it - Kevin and Gerald Romanti, two of Team ENTITY's strongest, bending the environment with their bond. Another round of gasps erupted from Rufala's spectators, following the half-blue, half-purple light as it plummeted downward. "Those two… they're summoning Cytron Blast!"
"THIS IS WHAT IT ALL COMES DOWN TO, GERALD!" Kevin shouted, his voice shaky under the building pressure. Their interlaced fingers trembled as they pushed their palms outward, grunting before the marvelous phenomenon of pulsing light, shining like a star in the depths of the night.
And, without another second of hesitation, their palms pushed forward, and their determined screams filled the air. "CYTRON BLAST!"
A breathtaking display of blueish-magenta burst from the orb, racing above the cataclysmic forest. The glowing compression of protection and determination engulfed the shell of despair, vaporizing it within a fierce, multicolored explosion that covered the entire forest. A lash of wind emerged from the distant blast, the ripping current racing through Rufala as the villagers' screams inhabited the explosion's outskirts.
The pulse of Kevin and Gerald's hands grew limp as unconsciousness slowly crept into their minds. Their bodies thumped against the hardened dirt, an unusual feeling of relaxation following as they listened to the steam's persisting hissing. Kevin's fingernails pierced the crackling dirt as he let out a weak grunt, paralyzed by the Cytron Blast's lasting impact. Something's happening, but I can't move… a muscle…
A faint, human-shaped shadow emerged from between the distant trees, carrying a sense of urgency as it scurried away from the empty clearance where the duo laid. "That familiar scent… Pyron, is that you?"
—
The muffled sunlight touched Pyron's skin as he frantically raced through the forest. "That scent is giving me goosebumps… If I stay around it any longer, I'll end up dead for s-"
"Pyron, the Fire Sovereign," a formal voice interrupted from a distance.
His stance trembling under the building stress, a gut-wrenching wheeze erupted from Pyron's throat. "Who the hell are you, and what do you want from me…"
"I am Itsura of LUO," the unidentified voice replied. From the distant shadows emerged a tall, tan-skinned man with short, blonde hair, accompanied by a shorter woman with long, red hair tied in a bow. Itsura dug his claws into a nearby tree, a malicious smile blooming across his face at Pyron's recognition. "You know what's coming, right? From this day on, you are property of LUO. Disobey us, and I'll rip you limb by limb."
Before Pyron could respond to Itsura's threat, a lingering, growing pitch dominated his mind. Tofura raised her arm, securing her bow with the other. "You will not talk back, Pyron. Your capture today is inevitable."
Pyron weakened at the intensifying pitch. "I-I… I'm going to resist you two, no matter wha-"
Itsura's poison-splattered claws impaled Pyron's chest in a ruthless thrust. "Silly Pyron. This is a new era - one where LUO rises from the depths of the underworld. You were never free; you're just a worthless vessel."
Itsura slung Pyron's body across his back, turning towards Tofura with a sadistic grin. "We've obtained Pyron's pristine vessel. One step closer to discovery, closer to malice. A step closer to Nana's goal."