Team 12 advanced cautiously through the dense forest, assuming the battle formation they had planned in advance.
Aria glanced at her teammates and asked, "Do you think we should ambush Jason and his team?"
Jack scoffed. "Like Princess Misaki said, that'd be a death sentence. That guy's a damn genius when it comes to strategy."
Elowen furrowed her brows. "Is he really that smart? Smart enough that an ambush is impossible?"
Princess Misaki nodded. "Not impossible, but close. Jason plays mind games. He'll have us second-guessing every move before we even make it."
Xavier smirked. "I always knew my cousin was sharp, but I never thought of him as some kind of mastermind."
"Wait, you two are cousins?" Aria and Elowen asked in unison, caught off guard.
Xavier shrugged. "Yeah. Our fathers were childhood friends."
Jack grinned. "Maybe we should take you hostage then. Might make things easier."
Misaki raised an eyebrow. "And why would I let that happen?"
Jack waved his hands defensively. "Relax, your Highness, just a joke!"
Xavier chuckled. "Actually, not a bad plan. Maybe we should try it."
But just then, his dark crimson eyes flickered—his senses warning him of incoming danger. His instincts kicked in. Without hesitation, he summoned his vector shield, expanding it to encompass the entire team.
"Nice reflexes, Xavier," Misaki praised, unsheathing her katana.
"What's happening?" Elowen asked, scanning the area.
Before anyone could answer, an immense beam of energy erupted through the forest, obliterating everything in its path. The ground trembled under its sheer force. But thanks to Xavier's vector shield, Team 12 remained unscathed.
Jack let out a shaky breath. "What the hell was that?!"
Misaki narrowed her eyes. "Jason."
"Which means they're already here," she added. "And they're not holding back."
Xavier kept his shield up but turned to Misaki. "I can only maintain this for a few more seconds."
"Why?" she asked.
Xavier tapped the glasses resting on his face. "These suppress my abilities. Normally, I could've redirected that attack right back at him. But with these on, I can only block, not counter."
Misaki considered this before asking, "Can you take one more hit?"
Xavier nodded. "Yeah, but that'll be it."
A smirk crept onto Misaki's lips. "That's all we need. Hold the barrier. When it breaks, we strike immediately. No hesitation."
"Yes, Captain!" everyone responded in unison.
In the distance, Jason emerged from the shadows, flanked by his teammates. He grinned mockingly. "Oops. My bad. I saw a centipede and had to squash it. Nasty little things."
Misaki smiled back, unfazed. "Funny. But if that was your best shot, you might as well surrender now. That attack was all flash—no substance."
Jason's grin twitched, but he remained composed. "Oh yeah? Let's see you handle another one."
He raised two fingers toward Team 12. "Ergokinesis Cannon."
A massive energy blast erupted from his fingertips, surging toward them at blinding speed. The ground quaked beneath its raw power. Xavier braced himself, pouring all his strength into his vector shield. The impact sent cracks rippling across it. Jason smirked and pushed more power into the attack, the energy intensifying.
Xavier's crimson eyes burned brighter as he strained to hold the shield. But the moment Jason's attack faded, the barrier shattered.
"Go, now!" Misaki shouted.
Elowen sprang into action, her innate abilities summoning thick tree veins from the ground, snaking toward Jason's team and locking them in place. Misaki dashed forward, leaping into the air with her katana aimed for Jason's head.
But Jason smirked. With a sudden burst of energy, he unleashed a shockwave that sent Misaki and the rest of Team 12 hurtling backward.
"Nice try," he taunted.
Another surge of energy pulsed from him, this time stronger. The tree veins trapping his team shattered instantly.
Jupiter seized the opening. He pulled a small paintbrush from his pocket and wrote a single word in the air: Train.
A massive ink-made locomotive materialized out of thin air, barreling toward Xavier at full speed. Before he could react, it crashed into him with incredible force, sending him flying through the air, separating him from his team.
Not wasting a second, Jupiter painted another word: Horse. A majestic ink steed appeared beside him. He swung onto its back, locking eyes on Xavier's distant form.
"Now," Jupiter muttered, spurring the horse forward, "let's finish this."
----
On the other side, Jason stretched his limbs, loosening up before charging straight at Princess Misaki.
Still reeling from the energy blast he had unleashed earlier, Princess Misaki barely had a moment to recover before Jason was upon her. He swung a powerful right hook at her face, forcing her back a step.
But she retaliated just as quickly, countering with a punch of her own.
Jason dodged and struck again, but Misaki effortlessly sidestepped his blow and delivered a sharp kick to his shin. Pain flared up his leg, but Jason gritted his teeth and swung his fist regardless.
This time, Misaki managed to react in time. She blocked his punch, yet the sheer force behind it sent shockwaves rippling through the air. The trees behind her cracked and splintered, their trunks reduced to rubble.
Misaki's eyes widened in disbelief. "You have monstrous strength... just like your father."
Jason smirked. "I wouldn't say that myself." He rolled his shoulders. "But I am physically stronger than everyone here."
He tilted his head, taunting. "Including you, Your Highness."
Misaki's smile was sharp and full of challenge. Without warning, she grabbed his arm and slammed him to the ground with staggering force.
She immediately raised her foot, aiming for his head, but Jason rolled away just in time. As he scrambled to his feet, Misaki's fingers crackled with electricity. With a flick of her wrist, she unleashed a wave of lightning straight at him.
Jason didn't flinch. The lightning bolts surged toward him, but instead of harming him, the energy coiled around his body and was instantly absorbed.
Misaki's eyebrows twitched.
"Electricity is just another form of energy," Jason said, his voice laced with arrogance. "So there's no point in even trying to use it against me."
He spread his arms wide, smug. "I'll just absorb it."
Misaki remained silent. Then, in a swift motion, she infused her katana with lightning and hurled it at him. Jason dodged effortlessly, but as he prepared to counter, she vanished.
A crackling noise erupted behind him.
Jason's eyes widened. What—?
Before he could react, Misaki materialized right where her katana had landed, her body flickering like pure electricity. She delivered a brutal spinning kick to his neck, sending him crashing into a tree.
Jason coughed, blood dripping from his mouth. He clutched his neck in pain. "You almost broke my damn neck."
Misaki laughed. "Come on. Is that all you've got?"
Jason's expression hardened. He dashed at her again, fists flying. They engaged in a fierce exchange of blows, his raw power clashing against her refined technique.
But Jason quickly realized his mistake—Misaki wasn't just fast. She was trained. In every martial art known in her kingdom, the Great Empire of Japan.
And compared to her, Jason was an amateur.
Every strike he threw was met with a counter. Every attempt to overpower her ended with him getting knocked back. She outclassed him in skill, experience, and precision. His frustration boiled over as he endured the one-sided beating.
Growling, he threw up a barrier around himself and tapped into the energy around him. With a snarl, he unleashed a barrage of destructive blasts in every direction.
Misaki took several direct hits, blood trickling from her wounds, but she refused to fall.
Summoning a crackling chain of electricity, she retrieved her katana from the ground and forged a second blade—this one composed entirely of lightning.
Misaki attacked with renewed ferocity, lightning arcing through the air. But Jason, still seething, absorbed every bolt without effort.
Misaki narrowed her eyes. There must be a limit to how much he can take.
A plan formed in her mind. Only one way to find out.
She raised her hands to the heavens.
The skies darkened. Thunder rumbled like a beast awakened. The air became heavy with static as countless lightning bolts rained down on Jason.
He absorbed them all, his body radiating with energy. But then—his skin began to glow. His muscles tensed unnaturally.
Misaki smirked. There it is.
Jason let out an exhilarated laugh. "Bring it on, Your Highness! Let's see if you really are the genius they say you are!"
Misaki's playful demeanor faded. Her gaze turned sharp and deadly. "You asked for it."
She ascended into the sky, lightning swirling around her like a storm incarnate. The storm intensified, bolts striking the earth with relentless fury.
Then, she raised her katana skyward. The clouds twisted violently above her, forming a vortex of power.
"Heavenly Retribution: Hand of Judgment."
The heavens answered her call.
A massive titan's hand, formed entirely of lightning, emerged from the storm and descended toward Jason with godlike fury.
Jason's heart pounded. A mix of terror and excitement coursed through his veins. But he steeled himself, absorbing every scrap of energy around him. He condensed it, shaped it, molded it—until a massive fist of pure energy formed in response to Misaki's attack.
With a roar, he launched it upward.
The two colossal forces collided.
Meanwhile, across the battlefield, Elowen, Jack, and Aria fought desperately against Jason's team—Sophie, Emily, Darius, and Albert.
Elowen's eyes flicked toward Jason's battle. Her gut twisted. That fight... it's reaching a breaking point.
Then she saw it.
The moment when Jason and Misaki's attacks fused—creating a singularity of raw, uncontrollable power.
Her instincts screamed danger. If the energy detonated, it could obliterate everything in its radius.
Without hesitation, she spread her arms, summoning an intricate web of reinforced tree vines. She enveloped her allies—Jack, Aria, and even Jason's crew—shielding them just as the explosion erupted.
The world was engulfed in light.
A massive detonation ripped through the battlefield, consuming one-tenth of the entire forest. A monstrous mushroom cloud surged into the sky, visible for miles.
And when the dust settled... nothing was left but destruction.