Fushira moved before Lucy could pursue Pascal.
He dropped to one knee and slammed both palms against the ground. Renshi surged through his arms and spread beneath the earth.
"Phase One of the Chronicles... Plant and Man."
The forest trembled.
Thick roots burst through the soil, each one as wide as a tree trunk. Their sharpened tips twisted toward Lucy before shooting upward from every direction, surrounding her in a rapidly expanding web of wood and roots.
Lucy sprang into the air.
SWITCH MODE!
She vanished just as one root swept through her previous position, reappearing atop another. The wooden pillar beneath her shifted violently, threatening to throw her off balance. Before it could, she switched again, narrowly avoiding a sharpened root that stabbed through the space where her head had been.
"Not bad, Fushira," she called with a grin. "But you'll have to do better than that."
Her twin sabers flashed.
SHING! SHING! SHING!
Twelve roots were sliced apart, their broken sections crashing through the surrounding trees.
At the same time, one of her dark Renshi arms reached toward the ground and seized a boulder nearly the size of a small house.
Without hesitation, she hurled it straight at Fushira.
His eyes widened.
"Tch!"
He immediately released his control over the roots and activated Switch Mode. The boulder smashed into the ground where he had been standing, sending rocks and debris flying in every direction.
With Fushira no longer controlling them, the remaining roots stopped growing and slumped toward the ground.
Lucy landed on one of the fallen roots and slid down its rough surface before touching the earth.
But she barely had time to straighten up.
"Got you!"
Onamuchi's voice came from behind her.
His steel arms stretched unnaturally, extending several meters in length.
"Phase Two of the Chronicles... Metal Extension."
His elongated limbs whipped toward Lucy from opposite directions, attempting to trap her between them.
She ducked beneath the first strike and deflected the second with her saber. Sparks flew as Onamuchi twisted his metallic arms around, launching another attack before she could counter.
Lucy blocked the incoming blow, but its force drove her backward.
Then she noticed something.
Voldigo stood behind the others, his chest expanding as he drew in an enormous breath. Renshi gathered around his throat and lungs, making the air tremble with every inhalation.
Lucy's smile disappeared.
"This is bad..."
She immediately turned toward Sasaki.
"Get back, Sasaki. Run as far away as you can."
Sasaki didn't argue.
The moment he noticed Voldigo's swollen chest and the Renshi gathering around him, his instincts warned him of the danger. He activated Switch Mode and retreated as quickly as possible.
Voldigo slowly raised his head.
"You're too late."
His lungs contracted.
"Phase One of the Chronicles... Sonic Destruction."
He roared.
BOOOOOOOOM!
A devastating sonic wave exploded from his mouth.
The air itself seemed to shatter. Trees splintered, branches disintegrated, and the ground cracked beneath the overwhelming pressure as the destructive wave tore through the forest.
Lucy immediately attempted to activate Switch Mode.
Nothing happened.
Her eyes widened.
"What?"
Fushira stood at a distance, his hands forming the final sign of his technique.
"You're not going anywhere, Master."
A restriction barrier surrounded Lucy, disrupting her ability to use Switch Mode.
"Five seconds," Fushira said coldly. "That's all I need."
The sonic wave struck.
KRAAAAAAASH!
Lucy crossed her twin sabers and raised her dark Renshi arms to shield herself. The impact drove her backward, and the relentless pressure quickly overwhelmed her defenses.
The ground beneath her feet collapsed.
Her body was hurled through the forest as trees snapped around her. A massive cloud of dust swallowed the battlefield while the shock wave continued tearing through the surrounding terrain.
Voldigo finally stopped roaring.
An eerie silence settled over the forest, broken only by the distant sounds of collapsing trees.
Fushira lowered his hands.
"Now's our chance," he muttered. "We need to get out of here before she recovers."
He began forming a teleportation circle.
Several meters away, Sasaki stood with his fists clenched.
She told me to watch her back...
His breathing was unsteady as he stared toward the devastated forest where Lucy had disappeared.
Slowly, his expression hardened.
"I'm not letting them have their way."
SWITCH MODE!
Sasaki vanished.
Fushira sensed him a fraction of a second too late.
"What...?"
Sasaki appeared directly behind him and drove his fist into his back.
BOOM!
The impact sent Fushira crashing face-first into the dirt, interrupting his technique.
Pascal's eyes widened.
"How the hell did he hit Fushira?"
Romero immediately understood what had happened.
"Don't get carried away. Fushira's body isn't untouchable. He can avoid attacks only when he senses them coming."
His gaze sharpened as he looked at Sasaki.
"That idiot caught him off guard."
Romero activated Switch Mode.
In an instant, he appeared directly in front of Sasaki and drove his fist into his stomach.
THUD!
Sasaki's body folded around the blow before he was launched into the air.
He barely had time to recover when Pascal appeared above him.
Pascal brought his heel down against Sasaki's chest.
BOOOOM!
Sasaki plummeted toward the ground, smashing through a broken tree before crashing into the dirt.
He tried to rise.
A shadow fell over him.
Fushira had recovered.
His face twisted with anger as he slammed his palm against Sasaki's stomach.
"How dare you!"
Roots erupted from the ground and wrapped around Sasaki's torso. Their sharpened ends pierced his abdomen, pinning him to the earth as more roots tightened around his body.
Blood spilled from Sasaki's mouth.
Yet, instead of screaming, he began to smile.
Then he burst into laughter.
"Sorry, guys..."
Fushira frowned.
"What are you laughing about?"
Sasaki slowly raised his head, blood dripping from his chin.
"I don't think I feel this thing you call pain."
SHNK!
Blood-red spikes burst from Sasaki's abdomen.
Fushira's eyes widened.
"What...?"
The spikes pierced straight through his torso before he could retreat. His body jerked violently as blood spread across his clothes.
Sasaki twisted his body, tearing himself free from the roots. The blood spikes withdrew, and Fushira collapsed beside him, unconscious and bleeding heavily.
The other four Shinras stood frozen.
Then Romero's face contorted with rage.
"You bastard!"
He charged.
Sasaki barely managed to raise his arms before Romero's fist struck his face.
CRACK!
His head snapped sideways.
Pascal joined the assault, activating his Ultimate Wolf Form. One of his arms transformed into a massive wolf's claw, while one leg took on a powerful, beast-like shape. Sand Renshi gathered around his transformed limbs.
"Let's see how long you can keep smiling!"
Romero attacked from the front while Pascal struck from the side.
Their blows landed one after another.
Sasaki was thrown across the battlefield, crashing through trees and bouncing against the broken ground. Every time he tried to stand, another attack sent him flying.
His bones cracked beneath their strikes. His flesh tore, and blood covered his body.
But his wounds continued to close.
The problem was that his regeneration couldn't keep pace with the damage.
Pascal caught him with a brutal kick to the ribs, launching him upward.
"Onamuchi!"
"Got it!"
Onamuchi's metallic arms expanded.
"Phase Three of the Chronicles... Metal Expansion."
His right fist swelled to an enormous size, transforming into a colossal metal hammer.
He swung.
CRAAAAASH!
The hammer struck Sasaki in midair, sending him plummeting toward the ground like a meteor.
Before he could hit the earth, Pascal activated Switch Mode and appeared behind him.
A powerful kick sent Sasaki hurtling in the opposite direction.
Romero was waiting.
He brought both fists together and smashed Sasaki into the ground.
BOOOOOOM!
The earth exploded beneath the impact, leaving a deep crater surrounded by shattered rocks.
Dust filled the air.
The three Shinras landed around the crater.
Romero stared into the cloud of dust.
"Don't lower your guard."
A faint sound came from inside the crater.
"Heh..."
Their expressions changed.
Sasaki slowly pushed himself upright.
His face was badly bruised, his clothes torn and soaked with blood. He swayed unsteadily, looking as though he might collapse at any moment.
Then two tiny tornadoes of blood Renshi formed beneath his feet, lifting him above the crater.
The wounds across his body began closing rapidly. Broken bones returned to place, and torn flesh knitted itself together until only his ruined clothing remained as evidence of the punishment he had endured.
Sasaki wiped the blood from his mouth.
Then he laughed.
"Hahahaha!"
His laughter echoed through the ruined forest.
"No matter what you do, my friends... you can't kill me!"
He spread his arms, his grin growing wider.
"You think pain frightens me? You think death can touch me?"
His eyes gleamed with frightening intensity.
"Come on, then. Give me everything you've got!"
He paused, glancing down at his trembling hands.
"Honestly... I was terrified just a few minutes ago."
His smile widened.
"But now?"
He looked directly at Romero.
"I've never felt more alive!"
Romero ground his teeth together.
"Keep running your mouth, you freak."
Purple flames erupted around his body.
"Phase Three of the Chronicles... Twin Wolf Speed and Strength."
His body grew larger, his muscles tightening beneath his skin. The two wolf heads on his shoulders opened their jaws and released vicious growls as his Renshi surged.
The ground cracked beneath his feet.
Then he vanished.
SWITCH MODE!
Romero appeared directly in front of Sasaki in midair.
Before Sasaki could react, Romero's clawed hand clamped around his throat.
"Since you seem so confident in your regeneration..." Romero snarled, tightening his grip, "let's see what happens when I tear your head off."
Sasaki grabbed Romero's wrist, desperately trying to loosen his grip.
His neck began to crack beneath the pressure.
Romero's grin turned vicious.
"Go on, immortal bastard."
His claws dug deeper into Sasaki's neck.
"Show me how you're going to survive this."