A plume of dust swallowed Allen whole, and from within it he burst forth clad in the Will Knight suit, the hammer gripped tight in both hands as he sprinted toward Gigax Aries. With a single bound he closed the distance and brought the hammer down with every ounce of strength left in his arms.
The ground beneath the monster's hooves shattered, sending shards of asphalt skyward. Yet at the center of its body the hammer struck wool—only to rebound violently, flinging Allen backward as though he had struck a steel spring.
The beast seized the moment. One of its forelegs darkened to a metallic black, and it kicked Allen squarely in the chest, launching him across the devastated street. Blood streamed from his nose and mouth.
He crashed into the pavement and rose slowly, bracing himself against the hammer to keep from collapsing.
"Too much…"
He spat blood and stared up at the monstrous goat. Its lips curled slightly, revealing cracked yellow teeth—an expression disturbingly close to a grin.
"If it did not repel every strike, you'd have turned that thing into paste with your last blow."
Allen smirked without looking back. He didn't need to. He already knew the voice.
"Exactly… it's like hitting a—spring… You here to help me, Crimson Shadow?"
Shadow rested a hand on Allen's left shoulder. He didn't answer the question—just sighed and shook his head.
"You know it's impossible. That's a Category 6. I'm not even close to S-Rank power. A 5 is my upper limit."
"Then… what did you come to say?"
Shadow hesitated, weighing his words, but Allen waited patiently. Even now, blood dripping off his chin, fatigue shaking his limbs—he still waited.
"At this point, the smartest move is to abandon City F. We create a villain guild and oppose the Federation directly. Titan and my brother already agreed. You're included."
Allen shook his head with a faint smile, then fixed his gaze back on Gigax Aries. The monster watched him in turn—two predators acknowledging the other.
"You're forgetting something. A knight always aids those in need. And abandoning them now… that would betray everything I stand for."
He steadied himself, looking Shadow dead in the eye. His suit, his posture, even his faint smile carried the weight of his resolve.
"Get everyone to safety. I may regret this later—but I doubt it can withstand the weight of a falling asteroid."
He winked and continued walking toward the beast—still kilometers apart, but closing fast.
Shadow froze for a heartbeat. Then the meaning behind Allen's words hit him like ice water. He pressed the comm-link on his wrist.
"Red Code! Repeat, Red Code! Allen is preparing an asteroid strike on the Category 6! Evacuate remaining civilians and reinforce every bunker immediately!"
He sprinted toward the far left sector—toward Shinobi and Titan's position—while Allen charged directly toward the monster.
---
Gigax Aries let out a guttural, distorted cry as it stared Allen down. The faint upward curl of its lips exposed jagged yellow fangs.
"I thought you at least kept your teeth clean, Marc… And from what I recall, Lizzy didn't like pigs."
The monster lunged, jaws wide enough to engulf a truck, but Allen sprang upward, landing atop one of the few buildings still standing.
Gigax Aries glared at him with bloodshot eyes. White-hot vapor hissed from its nostrils.
"Right—my mistake. You're a goat, not a pig. Still… why did he give you the title 'Zodiac Dreamer of Aries'? You look more like a sheep to me. What's the difference?"
He wasn't taunting blindly—he was stalling. Every second mattered. He needed Shadow and the others clear of the blast radius. And he needed time to steel himself for the technique he feared most.
The Will Knight's ultimate strike was as destructive as it was uncontrollable. One blow in the wrong place could pulverize the bunkers. And deep down, he still hadn't forgiven himself for using it on Seira when she became Gigax Leo.
Gigax Aries leapt again—several stories high—and plummeted straight toward Allen. He swung the hammer up, slamming it into the descending mass. For an instant the monster's entire body condensed into a black sphere as Allen was hurled skyward from the impact.
But his arms… beneath the yellow jacket of the suit, blood seeped through thousands of burst capillaries, staining his gloves a dark, rusty red.
"A one-ton weight… I can still handle that."
The sphere—formerly pale and wool-covered—dropped away its disguise as Aries accelerated toward him. Its entire body shimmered now with a full metallic black sheen.
"It's hardening its whole body…!"
Allen gritted his teeth, spun the hammer like a bat, and swung with all his might—
—only for the hammer to pass straight through the creature.
The monster dissolved like smoke.
Above him hovered Gigax Aries, wearing a bizarre, twisted grin.
"Damn it… illusions."
He had failed to anticipate the creature's final ability—illusion manipulation.
A shadow swallowed him. With nowhere to dodge, Allen—and the entire building beneath him—was crushed under the falling black sphere.
But the sphere never reached the ground.
Below it, Allen planted both hands against its surface. He had dropped the hammer entirely. Blood streamed from his eyes, nose, mouth—his entire yellow suit darkened to almost black with it. His legs trembled violently, bones fracturing with every second he resisted its weight.
"I… won't… let you… fall!"
Whether through adrenaline or sheer will, Allen held the impossible mass aloft. The debris under his feet cracked apart, and the strain carved red tears down his face.
He stepped forward.
Bone snapped through muscle.
Another step.
Blood vessels burst in his legs.
Grabbing a handful of the monster's wool, he let out a roar and—against every physical limit—hurled Gigax Aries several kilometers away.
"About… five tons…"
If he let the monster fall from that height and speed, it would punch straight through the earth—right into a bunker.
And Allen would not allow that catastrophe.