"It's been a while since I've used this form," Peaches said, tightening his grip on his weapons. "You'd better watch out."
Two blades gleamed in his hands. One radiated brilliant light, while the other pulsed with dark Renshi. Their opposing energies surged around him, creating a pressure that made the ground beneath his feet tremble.
Eren narrowed his eyes and dug his foot into the broken earth.
"Enough talking. Let's finish this."
He launched himself forward, his enormous body surging across the battlefield with terrifying speed. Flames erupted beneath his feet, propelling him toward Peaches before he had a chance to react.
He's not using Switch Mode? What's he planning?
Peaches raised his swords, preparing to intercept the incoming attack.
But before their weapons could meet, molten Renshi erupted from Eren's arms. Two enormous blades extended from his elbows, stretching beyond his fists until they resembled twin swords fused directly to his body.
Then he began to spin.
His entire body became a blazing cyclone, the twin blades sweeping around him as he tore across the battlefield. The heat was so intense that the surrounding air warped, while the ground beneath his feet melted into glowing patches of molten rock.
Peaches' eyes widened.
He immediately raised his swords, but one of his Shadow Knights moved before he could attack.
The armored warrior charged forward, gripping its enormous black greatsword with both hands. It planted its feet and swung directly into the approaching cyclone.
KRAAANG!
Sparks exploded as the greatsword collided with Eren's spinning blades. For a brief moment, the knight managed to slow his advance.
That opening was enough for the other two Shadow Knights to attack from opposite sides, their swords descending toward Eren's exposed flanks.
But Eren only grinned.
"Too slow!"
He increased his rotation.
The blazing cyclone expanded, its violent currents of heat and Renshi forcing the three knights away. One after another, they were hurled across the battlefield, their armored bodies crashing into distant rocks.
Before Peaches could summon them back, Eren vanished in a burst of Switch Mode.
He reappeared directly in front of Peaches, one molten blade already descending toward his shoulder.
CLANG!
Peaches caught the strike with his light-infused sword. The impact forced him several steps backward, his boots carving deep grooves into the ground.
Eren pressed forward, pouring more strength into his attack.
Peaches gritted his teeth as their weapons ground against each other.
"You're stronger than you look," Peaches admitted.
"Save your compliments for your funeral!"
Eren twisted his arm, forcing Peaches to shift his stance. His second blade swept toward Peaches' ribs, but Peaches caught it with his dark sword just before it could connect.
The two fighters separated briefly before launching at each other again.
Their weapons collided in a relentless exchange of strikes. Peaches attacked from alternating angles, his light blade delivering swift, precise cuts while his dark blade guarded his openings and punished Eren whenever he overextended.
Eren answered with overwhelming aggression. His molten blades crashed against Peaches' swords, forcing him to defend against the sheer weight of each blow.
Every collision sent sparks and bursts of Renshi across the battlefield.
Neither fighter could afford to make a mistake.
Peaches suddenly pushed away from Eren and glanced toward the three Shadow Knights struggling to recover near the rocks.
"That's enough."
He released a pulse of Renshi, dismissing the remaining knights before they could return to the fight.
Eren frowned.
"What are you doing?"
Peaches spun his twin swords before pointing them toward his opponent.
"I want this fight to be fair. No distractions. Just you and me."
His lips curled into a confident smirk.
"Let's see who's stronger."
Eren's expression darkened.
"Don't mock me, you bastard!"
His Renshi surged violently, and the flames surrounding his body grew brighter. The molten blades extending from his arms heated until the air around them shimmered.
He charged again.
Peaches met him head-on.
Their swords collided, and the resulting shockwave shattered the ground beneath their feet. Cracks spread across the battlefield as both fighters pushed against each other, refusing to yield an inch.
Meanwhile, high above them, Lucy and Raven continued their aerial battle.
Lucy descended with both swords raised, her radiant wings folded behind her to increase her speed. Her blades crossed as she aimed a powerful strike at Raven's upper body.
Raven reacted immediately, forming a thick shield of ice before her.
CRACK!
Lucy's swords smashed into the barrier.
The shield shattered almost instantly, sending frozen fragments spinning through the air. Raven's eyes widened as Lucy's blades continued toward her.
She activated Switch Mode, disappearing just before the strike reached her.
Lucy's swords cut through empty air, their momentum carrying her slightly downward. She adjusted her wings and turned toward Raven's new position.
But Raven had already raised her talons.
The two clashed again.
Lucy's twin swords met Raven's frozen claws, sending sparks and ice fragments scattering across the sky. Raven twisted her body, attempting to catch Lucy's wing with a follow-up strike, but Lucy pulled away just in time.
Both fighters activated Switch Mode in rapid succession, appearing and disappearing across the sky as they searched for an opening.
To anyone watching from the ground, they were little more than flashes of light and ice.
Neither could land a decisive blow.
Yet Lucy's breathing was becoming heavier.
Raven noticed.
She's fast, and her attacks are powerful. But she can't maintain this pace forever.
Raven narrowed her eyes, preparing to change the direction of the battle.
Below them, Eren suddenly stopped attacking.
Peaches immediately noticed the change.
What's wrong with him?
Eren lowered his head as an immense surge of Renshi erupted from his body.
The ground beneath him began to glow red.
"Phase..."
His voice thundered across the battlefield.
"Five of the Chronicles!"
The flames surrounding him exploded outward.
Molten rock burst from his skin, rising into the air before gathering into the shape of an enormous humanoid giant. Its body was formed from living fire and molten stone, with blazing horns curling upward from its head.
The giant towered over Peaches, its cracked body glowing from within like a furnace ready to burst.
Eren's consciousness remained connected to the towering form, allowing him to control its movements while maintaining his own presence within its fiery core.
Peaches stared upward.
"You've got to be kidding me."
The giant opened its mouth.
A deafening roar shook the island.
Its jaws snapped shut, and a storm of blazing rocks erupted from within, raining down across the battlefield.
Peaches immediately sprinted sideways.
The first projectile struck where he had been standing, exploding on impact and blasting a crater into the earth. He jumped over a second explosion, rolled beneath a third, and used a pulse of dark Renshi to deflect a fragment hurtling toward his head.
But the barrage continued.
Each impact sent fire and molten debris flying across the broken island, steadily reducing the space available for him to move.
He's trying to restrict my movements before attacking directly.
Peaches gritted his teeth.
Smart move.
He crossed his blades and released a concentrated burst of Renshi, clearing a narrow path through the falling debris.
Then the giant attacked again.
Two molten blades detached from Eren's arms, each connected to his body by a thick rope of lava. He swung them in wide arcs, sending the weapons sweeping across the battlefield like enormous flaming whips.
One blade smashed through a stone formation.
The other tore across the ground, leaving a glowing trail of molten rock in its wake.
Peaches ducked beneath the first strike and jumped over the second, but the weapons changed direction almost immediately.
He blocked one with his light sword.
The impact drove him to one knee.
Before he could recover, the other blade whipped around from behind.
Peaches twisted aside, but not quickly enough.
The molten edge tore across his shoulder, burning through his clothing and leaving a deep wound.
He stumbled backward, barely avoiding a follow-up strike aimed at his head.
"Damn it!"
For the next two minutes, Peaches was forced into a desperate battle for survival.
He dodged the swinging lava ropes, blocked the giant's attacks, and countered whenever Eren's weapons left an opening. Several times, he came close to reaching the giant's body, only for another barrage of blazing rocks to force him away.
His breathing grew ragged.
Burns spread across his arms, and several cuts marked his body.
Still, he refused to surrender.
I just need one clean opening.
He shifted his weight, preparing to rush forward as the next lava blade swept past.
But Eren had anticipated his movement.
The first rope changed direction, cutting off Peaches' escape. The second came from the opposite side.
Peaches tried to cross his swords.
He was a fraction too slow.
SLASH!
One blade tore across his back.
SLASH!
The second carved diagonally across his chest.
Blood sprayed onto the shattered ground.
Peaches staggered, his knees buckling as both swords trembled in his hands. He tried to straighten himself, but pain tore through his body, forcing him down onto one knee.
"PEACHES!"
Lucy's scream echoed across the battlefield.
Her attention shifted toward him for a fraction of a second.
That was all Raven needed.
The blonde girl raised both arms, and her Renshi erupted in a violent surge of freezing energy.
"Phase Five of the Chronicles!"
The temperature plunged.
Behind Raven, an enormous owl made entirely of jagged ice materialized, its wings stretching across the sky. Its crystalline feathers gleamed like blades, and its glowing eyes fixed on Lucy.
Raven pointed forward.
"Frozen Owl!"
The giant creature spread its wings and shot toward Lucy.
Lucy turned too late.
The owl struck her with a devastating wingbeat, unleashing a blast of freezing Renshi that shattered the air around her.
BOOOOM!
Lucy's wings flickered as the impact sent her spiraling downward.
She crashed into the ground, tearing through the broken earth before coming to a stop amid a cloud of dust and shattered stone.
For a moment, she didn't move.
Raven descended slowly, her icy wings beating behind her.
"Finish him!" she ordered, pointing toward Peaches. "He's too dangerous to leave alive!"
Eren's giant turned toward the wounded Peaches.
Its enormous molten fist rose into the air, glowing brighter as heat gathered around its knuckles.
Peaches struggled to lift his head.
His swords had nearly disappeared, their blades flickering in and out of existence.
The giant's fist came crashing down.
But before it could reach him, a flash of light cut through the dust.
Lucy appeared between Peaches and the descending fist, her twin swords crossed above her head.
Her wings were damaged, and blood trickled from the corner of her mouth.
The giant's fist struck her crossed blades.
For an instant, the force drove her toward the ground. Her legs bent beneath the pressure, and cracks spread through the earth around her feet.
Then Lucy roared and pushed upward with everything she had.
Her Renshi surged through both swords.
SHRAAAK!
The molten fist split apart.
Two enormous chunks of burning rock broke away from the giant's arm, crashing into the ground on either side of Lucy. Molten fragments sprayed across the battlefield as she forced the rest of the attack aside.
Raven stared in disbelief.
"What? How are you still standing after taking that hit?"
Lucy didn't answer.
She vanished.
Switch Mode.
Before Eren could withdraw his damaged giant arm, Lucy appeared directly in front of him and unleashed a furious series of strikes.
Her twin blades flashed from every direction, targeting the gaps in his defenses.
Eren raised his remaining molten weapon to block, but Lucy's speed forced him backward. Each time he tried to counterattack, she changed position before his strike could connect.
"Get away from me!"
Eren dismissed the lava ropes, drawing his energy back into his body as he leapt down from the giant and reformed his dual arm-blades.
He swung both weapons in a wide arc.
Lucy ducked beneath the first and deflected the second, then drove a kick into his torso that sent him stumbling backward.
Eren barely managed to regain his balance.
She's faster than before.
His expression tightened.
No. She's simply stopped holding back.
Raven joined the fight.
She activated Switch Mode and appeared behind Lucy, her icy talons sweeping toward her back.
Lucy sensed the movement and crossed one blade behind her without turning.
CLANG!
The talons struck her sword.
At the same instant, Eren attacked from the front.
Lucy turned her second blade to meet his strike, catching the molten weapon just before it reached her shoulder.
Raven pressed forward with a series of sharp, precise attacks, while Eren relied on the overwhelming force of his flaming blades. Lucy moved between them, parrying one strike before twisting to block the next.
Every successful defense left her with less room to breathe.
A blow from Eren grazed her side.
Raven's talons nearly caught her wing.
Lucy countered with a flash of light, forcing both opponents to retreat, but she could feel the strain spreading through her body.
Eren wiped the sweat from his brow.
"She's keeping up with both of us?"
His expression shifted into a fierce grin.
"Fine. Let's see how long you can keep this up!"
His Renshi surged again, and the flames surrounding his body grew more intense. Heat rolled across the battlefield in waves, scorching the ground beneath him.
He lunged forward with renewed speed.
Lucy blocked his first strike, but the force drove her backward. Raven immediately followed, forcing Lucy to defend against another attack before she could recover.
Lucy found herself struggling to maintain control of the fight.
She spread her wings and shot upward, using the open sky to create some distance between herself and her two opponents.
But Raven was already following.
"Phase One of the Chronicles!"
Renshi gathered around Raven's icy wings.
Thousands of tiny shapes began forming in the air around her, each one taking the shape of a small owl made from frozen Renshi.
"Mini Owls!"
The creatures spread across the sky, their crystalline wings beating in unison.
Lucy looked around.
The owls had surrounded her from every direction.
Raven lowered her hand.
The swarm descended.
Thousands of icy birds rushed toward Lucy, their sharp beaks and frozen talons aimed at her wings, arms, and legs. They moved in coordinated waves, forcing her to change direction constantly as the first wave closed in.
Lucy slashed through several of them with her twin blades, scattering frozen fragments across the sky. She folded her wings and dropped beneath another wave, then activated Switch Mode to escape the next attack.
But the swarm adjusted quickly.
The owls split into smaller groups, cutting off her escape routes and attacking from above and below.
Lucy gritted her teeth.
There are too many!
She spread her wings and released a burst of light, destroying the creatures closest to her. For a brief moment, a path opened through the swarm.
Then the remaining owls rushed into the gap.
One struck her shoulder.
Another tore through the edge of her wing.
A third grazed her leg, leaving a thin layer of ice across the wound.
Lucy's flight faltered.
The cold began creeping through her wings, slowing their movements and making every adjustment more difficult.
Below, Peaches struggled to rise, one hand pressed against his bleeding chest.
"Lucy..."
He tried to summon his Shadow Knights, but his Renshi flickered weakly before he could complete the technique.
Above him, Lucy fought desperately against the advancing swarm.
Fire raged across the broken island while freezing winds swept through the sky.
And as Raven's icy owls closed in from every direction, Lucy's radiant wings began to lose their light.