"So what is this word you say can exorcise me?" Dia asked, his grip tightening around Skyline's body.
Skyline struggled against the crushing force, his armor creaking under the pressure. Sparks flickered from his chest plate as he tried to pry Dia's claw away.
"It is one word. Now it is a name. It is Skyline!"
With a sudden burst of strength, Skyline drove his fist straight into Dia's face. The impact echoed like thunder, sending Dia hurtling across the skyline of the shattered city. Buildings crumbled in his wake as he crashed through steel and glass.
Dia slowly rose from the rubble, wiping blood from his mouth with the back of his hand. His eyes glowed with fury.
"This world is not enough for us," Dia said, his voice low but filled with power.
Skyline hovered in the air, staring at him through the narrow gap of his helmet visor. His breathing was heavy, but his voice remained steady.
"It was never meant to fight you until the end. It was meant to save time for people to escape this world."
Dia lunged forward again, his claws extending and sharpening into deadly blades. The air itself seemed to tear as he accelerated. Skyline reacted instantly, raising his gauntlet to block the strike. The collision sent shockwaves rippling through the atmosphere.
With a swift motion, Skyline summoned his twin batons into his hands.
"Apex... Zenith!"
Electricity surged along the length of the weapons, crackling with immense energy. Skyline swung them with precision, slashing through Dia's claw. The strike did not just sever flesh. It unleashed a massive arc of lightning that carved through a distant skyscraper, splitting it in half.
Far away, in a dimly lit room, two figures watched the battle unfold on a flickering screen.
"No way. That is how strong Skyline is. Bro, he is literally outside a game," one of them said.
Ardent leaned forward, his eyes fixed on the screen. He then glanced at Nixxin before looking back.
"I think Skyline is not that weak," Ardent said quietly.
Elsewhere, a call echoed through a static filled communication line.
"Boss... where is Nixxin?" a man asked nervously.
An old man stood inside a rescue vessel, watching the destruction from above. The city below burned as evacuation ships moved in and out of the chaos.
"I do not know," the old man replied calmly. "But I think he is fine."
"What about you, boss? Are you okay? Do you want to find Nixxin?"
The old man raised the phone slightly, his expression unreadable.
"I am not going to risk my life finding someone who is hiding in a war. Also, the men above will definitely find us if we keep interfering. Maybe they have already been watching me this whole time."
There was a pause before the voice on the other end spoke again.
"What about Zion Williamson? Is he alive?"
The old man let out a short laugh.
"Oh come on. That old man is not going to die easily."
He turned his gaze toward a collapsing skyscraper as the rescue ship continued its mission.
Meanwhile, deep within the land of Datora, Nixxin sat comfortably, watching the battle on a large screen. He tossed popcorn into his mouth, though his expression slowly shifted from amusement to concern.
"Ardent, I just noticed something," Nixxin said.
Ardent looked at him. "What is it?"
Nixxin lowered the popcorn bowl.
"Most demons usually attack lands and territories under the protection of the Hero Foundation."
Ardent frowned. "How would that even happen? That does not make sense."
"You see, everyone needs protection. But in this universe, only the rich used to have it. Now that the Hero Foundation exists, everyone is protected. But here is the strange part. The more heroes there are, the more enemies appear."
Ardent crossed his arms, listening carefully.
"What if enemies appear specifically when heroes are busy?" Nixxin continued.
He leaned forward, his tone becoming more serious.
"Skyline is a family oriented person. Yet he has to leave his family behind to protect others. If you look closely, he is a hero with advanced weapons and devices. But he is not a forger, not a crafter, not an engineer, and not even from the Ironvein Clan."
Ardent's eyes widened slightly.
"So where did his equipment come from?" Ardent asked.
"Exactly," Nixxin said. "Someone else is supplying him. And those kinds of high quality weapons are not free. They require something valuable in exchange."
Nixxin paused before continuing.
"Take Efsia for example. She is one of the top four heroes. She leads the Reflo Clan, just like Aeolous and Lurain. She handles trade, protection, teaching, and acts as the face of the clan. Someone like her is always busy. That is the kind of system Skyline must be connected to."
Suddenly, Nixxin's eyes snapped back to the screen.
The battle had taken a turn.
Skyline's attacks were no longer effective. Dia retaliated with overwhelming force, kicking Skyline out into space. The sheer impact created shockwaves that seemed capable of shattering the world itself.
But Skyline recovered.
Behind him, countless space jets materialized, forming a massive formation. Panels opened, revealing glowing energy cores. Pieces of armor flew toward Skyline, repairing damaged sections of his suit.
Streams of electricity connected from every jet into his chest plate, charging a devastating attack.
As Dia charged toward him, Skyline made his move.
He threw one baton toward Dia's right arm.
"Zenith."
The baton activated, slowing Dia's movement drastically, as if time itself resisted him.
Skyline then hurled the second baton.
"Apex."
Even though Dia could absorb energy, Skyline had anticipated this. The batons were not just weapons. They redirected his power.
Electric currents surged through Dia's arms, burning him from within.
Dia roared in pain as he looked upward.
A strange light appeared above him.
Moments later, it struck.
A massive beam of energy slammed Dia back down to the surface of Proxima Centauri D, leaving him immobilized.
Watching from afar, a lone figure in robes observed the aftermath.
"This is a huge problem if this continues," the man muttered.
He launched himself from the remains of a Dyson sphere, diving into the battlefield with incredible speed. With a blade attached to his forearm, he sliced through space itself, creating fractures in reality.
He caught Dia before the demon could react fully.
But Dia had already created a clone.
Fortunately, the robed man had grabbed the real one.
In an instant, both of them vanished, reappearing on a remote planet outside the known universe.
"Reveal yourself," Dia demanded.
The man removed his robe and let it fall.
"I am Welp. I am surprised you still have the strength to face me after fighting Skyline and Peter. You are strong. You qualify as my opponent."
Dia's expression twisted in anger.
"Do you even know who you are talking to? I am Dia, the King of Envy!"
Welp raised his arm, the blade gleaming.
In a single motion, he sliced the space around them into fragments.
Dia immediately fled through the fractured dimensions, panic flashing in his eyes.
"What kind of weapon is that?" Dia thought. "This is not something a normal person could possess."
Welp calmly pointed the blade upward.
"This is the Space Shattering Blade. Now you know."
He kicked a small stone into the air and sliced it repeatedly until it vanished completely.
Then, Welp cut the space again and poured his own blood into the fractures.
A dark pearl began to form.
It absorbed everything around it.
Dia tried to escape, but the gravitational pull was too strong.
As the sphere grew larger, consuming land and stars alike, Dia heard Welp's final words.
"Kugelblitz."
A burst of blue energy erupted.
The entire planetary system was destroyed in an instant.
Dia was gone.
Welp stood alone, staring at his injured hand.
"Wow. I did not know my attack could be this strong," he said quietly. "But how did it damage me as well?"
Back in Datora, Nixxin stared at the screen in silence.
Despite the destruction, despite the body left behind, something felt wrong.
He narrowed his eyes.
"I am not convinced Skyline defeated Dia," he said.
Ardent looked at him. "Why not?"
Nixxin leaned back, his expression uneasy.
"Because this does not feel like a victory."
On the screen, the remains of Proxima Centauri drifted in ruin.
"And when an entire system is destroyed just to stop one enemy," Nixxin continued, "it usually means the real fight is not over."