Moon-Light exploded upward.
The shattered street beneath his boots collapsed inward from the force alone as cosmic energy erupted from both palms in violent streams. Heat distorted the air around him while smoke blasted apart behind his ascent.
"Aaaaaaaah!"
Tempestia thrust both hands forward at the same time. Her fingers curled sharply inward.
Water ripped violently out of the surrounding atmosphere and surged toward Megalodon's head from every direction. The liquid twisted into a rapidly spinning sphere that compressed tighter and tighter around him. Pressure built fast enough to distort the space around it.
"Drown, you ugly bastard!" she shouted. "Go now, Moon-Light!"
Megalodon gave a low snort inside the sphere.
"These fools think I require air?"
Moon-Light's eyes flashed silver.
Time stopped.
The battlefield froze instantly.
Smoke halted mid-sway. Chunks of falling rubble hung motionless in the air. Flames stopped moving. Even the shockwaves lingering from earlier attacks locked into stillness.
Moon-Light moved.
His body blurred through the frozen battlefield faster than human perception could process. He attacked from every direction at once.
A fist slammed into Megalodon's ribs.
An elbow crashed into the side of his skull.
A knee drove toward his spine.
Every impact detonated compressed force into the frozen atmosphere.
Then Megalodon moved.
One of his fists swung toward Moon-Light's face.
Moon-Light barely ducked under it. The attack passed inches over his head close enough for the pressure alone to split apart the frozen smoke behind him.
Moon-Light's expression changed instantly.
His body locked for half a second.
Horror crawled across his face.
"…What?"
Megalodon slowly turned his head inside the frozen world.
Directly toward him.
Moon-Light's breathing hitched.
"He… he moved…?"
Megalodon's hand snapped forward.
It caught Moon-Light's fist mid-strike.
The impact cracked the frozen air around them.
"You truly believed stopping time would bind me?" Megalodon asked calmly. "I exist beyond such primitive limitations."
Before Moon-Light could pull away, Megalodon's second hand closed around his throat.
Moon-Light's eyes widened. His fingers immediately clamped around the demon king's wrist as silver energy surged around his arm. The grip did not budge.
Megalodon tightened his grip and pulled him closer.
Moon-Light barely had time to suck in a breath before a fist buried itself deep into his side. His entire body folded around the impact. The air blasted from his lungs.
A wet gasp escaped his mouth as pain tore through his ribs. "Ghk…!"
Another fist drove into his back.
Moon-Light felt his spine jolt through his entire body. His shoulders lurched forward and silver energy flickered wildly around him as control slipped for a fraction of a second.
Before he could recover, the third strike crashed into the side of his jaw. His head snapped violently to the side. Blood and spit burst from his mouth and scattered through the frozen world around them, crimson droplets hanging motionless between chunks of suspended rubble and frozen smoke.
The ringing in his ears hit almost immediately. His vision doubled. Moon-Light's free hand twitched as he tried to gather another attack, but his fingers refused to close properly. The pain kept spreading.
His ribs screamed every time he tried to breathe. His neck burned beneath Megalodon's grip. Another cough forced its way out of him, spraying more blood across the motionless air. "Shit..." He grimaced and tried to straighten. The attempt lasted less than a second as the pain shot through his torso and forced him back down. His eyes locked onto Megalodon. "...he hits like a fucking truck." His thoughts blurred for a second.
The battlefield faded.
Warm sunlight.
Silence.
A strange peaceful feeling washed through him.
"…Where? …Why am I here?"
Then his eyes widened again.
"Oh, Wait."
Pain snapped him back into reality.
"I'm fighting the demon…"
Moon-Light snarled through blood and forced energy outward from his body. Multiple portals snapped open around Megalodon's head in rapid succession.
Beams of condensed energy fired through each portal simultaneously from impossible angles.
Megalodon ignored them.
His fist crashed directly into Moon-Light's stomach mid-attack.
Moon-Light screamed.
The beams scattered wildly across the frozen city while Megalodon seized both his arms and twisted them backward violently.
Pops echoed through the frozen space as joints dislocated and ligaments tore.
Moon-Light's body convulsed from the pain.
"Moon-Light… was it?" Megalodon asked.
He lifted him higher by the throat until Moon-Light's feet dangled uselessly above the frozen ground.
"For a human…" Megalodon continued, studying him carefully. "You are intriguing."
His six glowing eyes burned brighter as he leaned closer toward Moon-Light's face.
Then he whispered into his ear.
"You and your abilities may still prove useful to me."
Moon-Light's eyes twitched.
"The fuck does that even…"
Megalodon hurled him away.
Moon-Light tore through multiple ruined buildings like a projectile. Concrete and glass erupted outward behind him as his body punched through one structure after another. Twisted steel supports folded apart under the impacts and chunks of debris hung suspended throughout the frozen city.
Then time resumed. The destruction caught up all at once.
A chain of explosions rolled across the district as every building Moon-Light had torn through collapsed in succession. Clouds of dust blasted into the streets. Windows shattered across entire blocks. Sections of damaged structures finally gave way and crashed into the avenues below.
Moon-Light's body skipped across the pavement, carving a deep trench through asphalt and wreckage before finally slamming into the remains of a collapsed storefront.
Tempestia's eyes followed Moon-Light's body as it disappeared through the city. Her stomach dropped. For a brief moment she stood frozen, staring toward the distant trail of destruction cutting through the skyline.
Then her expression hardened. "I'll make you pay for that." Golden energy erupted from her body. The shattered pavement beneath her feet splintered further as violent winds swept across the ruined district. Loose rubble skidded across the street while glowing symbols ignited around her boots and spread outward in expanding circles.
Her arms opened wide. "Lux et umbra, una in uno." The golden symbols spiraled around her body. They multiplied rapidly, climbing higher and higher into the air until dozens of glowing formations surrounded Megalodon from every direction.
"Ferus daemonium, obdormiscas!" The runes brightened. Massive chains burst from every formation simultaneously. Each link carried divine markings that pulsed with golden light as they shot across the battlefield.
"In lapidem vinculum, obrutus!" The chains struck from all directions. Several wrapped around Megalodon's throat and pulled tight. Others coiled around his torso, shoulders, and arms. More wrapped around his waist and legs before locking together into a massive web of restraints.
The moment they tightened, the entire district trembled. Tempestia's fingers shook from the strain. A thin line of blood slipped from one nostril and ran across her upper lip.
Megalodon looked down at the restraints covering his body. Then his expression changed. The smug amusement vanished. "DIVINE SEALING?!" His roar rolled across the battlefield.
Black and crimson energy erupted from his body in a violent wave powerful enough to tear apart sections of the ruined street around him.
The restraints strained. Several links snapped apart. Golden fragments scattered through the air. "Impossible!" Megalodon twisted violently against the bindings.
His four arms pulled in different directions at once. Muscles bulged beneath his crimson skin as he forced himself forward against the crushing pressure. The ground beneath him fractured. Chunks of pavement rose from the sheer force of his struggle before shattering apart.
Yet the seal refused to release him. The broken restraints were immediately replaced by fresh chains surging from the surrounding runes. The glowing links tightened harder.
His movements slowed. For the first time since arriving in Ember City, resistance met him at every step. "HOW DOES A NOBODY LIKE YOU KNOW THAT SPELL?!" Another eruption of dark energy exploded from his body.
The shockwave tore through nearby buildings and blasted debris across the district. Several restraints shattered. Others held. Tempestia dropped to one knee. Her breathing grew heavier. Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth now.
Even so, her hands remained raised. Golden light continued pouring from her body into the seal. "You deserve worse, asshole," she spat. Her voice trembled from exhaustion, but her eyes never left him. "Now you're going to be sealed forever." She forced herself back upright. "No one else is going to suffer because of you ever again."
Megalodon snarled and threw his full weight against the restraints. The chains dug deeper into his flesh. The divine markings burned brighter.
The ground beneath him collapsed further as he continued fighting the seal with everything he had. The restraints dragged him downward. The black and crimson aura surrounding him surged wildly in every direction.
Megalodon's body shook as he fought against the restraints. Black and crimson energy poured from him in relentless waves, crashing against the divine bindings again and again. Every surge made the chains groan under the strain. Several links fractured. Others stretched taut enough to vibrate.
Then his expression shifted. One of his lower hands slowed. His fingers curled inward. A thin layer of stone crept across the back of his hand and spread toward his wrist.
Megalodon stared at it for a second. Disbelief flashed across his face. Then came rage. "I WILL BE BACK!" His voice rolled across the battlefield as he threw his full weight against the restraints. The chains snapped tight around his limbs. The stone continued crawling slowly upward. "And when I do, I will hunt every single person you love!"
A violent burst of dark energy erupted from his body. Several restraints shattered. The remaining chains dug deeper into his arms, shoulders, and legs as they struggled to keep him pinned. Megalodon's breathing grew heavier. His muscles bulged against the bindings while cracks spread through the stone coating his hand as he tried to force movement back into it. "And I will kill them in front of you one by one after I rip you apart myself!" Dark energy leaked from between his clenched fingers.
His glare remained locked on Tempestia. Pure hatred radiated from him as he continued thrashing against the seal. "And before this ends..." His voice dropped into a low growl. "I WILL CURSE YOU WITH EVERYTHING I HAVE LEFT!"