Surviving These Unfair Scenarios [LITRPG - DIMENSION HOPPING]

Li and Kazue had just begun to recover from the disastrous clash inside the swirling vortex of wind. Their bodies ached, their limbs were unsteady, and the remnants of the failed cooperation still hung in the air like a bad joke. The wind dome had dispersed, and both of them lay on the ground in awkward positions, struggling to pull themselves up while coughing and groaning.

To their surprise, their enemies hadn't taken the opportunity to strike. Im Hae-rin and Reginald simply stood several meters away, arms crossed and expressions unreadable. It was almost as if they were giving them time to stand up—though whether out of pity or mockery was unclear.

Reginald let out a slow, exaggerated sigh. He tilted his head and brushed imaginary dust from the lapel of his coat with theatrical flair.

"That was… unfortunate."

He muttered.

"I suppose the illusion of surprise is long gone. It was amusing while it lasted, though."

Li growled softly under his breath while adjusting his stance. Kazue rubbed her temples with both hands, blinking rapidly as she shook off the dizziness. They both turned toward their opponents, confused by the inaction. Reginald spoke again, his tone filled with affected courtesy.

"Still, I must admit I'm shocked. Even without your disguises gone, your compatibility score is only two percent. That's truly remarkable in the worst possible sense."

Kazue raised her head sharply.

"Wait—how do you know that?"

She asked, her voice sharp with suspicion.

"Are you using [Synchrony]?"

Reginald placed a hand over his chest and smiled warmly, as if flattered by the accusation.

"Oh, my dear, forgive my lapse in manners. I almost forgot you also possess that skill. Quite rare in these parts."

His eyes narrowed slightly as he continued.

"Yes, [Synchrony] allows us to assess the compatibility levels between individuals, regardless of whether they're users or not. Fascinating ability, isn't it? Although some consider it a garbage class skill."

Kazue tilted her head, confusion evident on her face.

"But… what does that even mean? What even is compatibility? My version of the skill doesn't explain any of that."

Reginald seemed momentarily caught off guard by the question. He looked up thoughtfully, as if searching through a mental library for an explanation, then frowned.

"Well… It's difficult to articulate. Compatibility refers to many things. Emotional alignment, mental coherence, physical coordination, psychological synergy—there are layers to it, you see. It's not something a simple tooltip could ever summarize."

His voice remained smooth and pleasant, but there was a glint of genuine thoughtfulness behind it. However, his reflection was cut short when Im Hae-rin suddenly spoke.

"Enough! We're not here to have a chat with our targets."

She said curtly, her voice cold and clipped. Reginald gave a soft chuckle and raised both hands in a gesture of peace.

"Yes, yes. Of course. I only thought it polite to extend a moment of civility. Besides, it's not like they're in any shape to pose a threat. It's not as if we're ordered to kill them, either. And… well, it's rare to exchange words with a charming young woman like this one for a change."

The moment those words left his mouth, Im Hae-rin's jaw tightened. She didn't say a word. Instead, she stepped forward without expression, twisted at the waist, and drove her foot directly into Reginald's stomach.

The sound of impact was solid and immediate. The elegant man bent forward from the force of the blow, gasping for air. His refined posture crumpled as he stumbled back a few steps. He clutched his abdomen with both hands, eyes wide, lips parted in a soundless breath. And yet… even as he wheezed, he let out a breathy chuckle.

"Ah—gods above, you wound me, Hae-rin."

He coughed out, still hunched over.

"That was entirely uncalled for. Though I suppose I deserved it. Such fiery passion... reminds me of home."

He collapsed to one knee, still wheezing, but raised a single hand as if to signal he was alright.

"But my pride... my poor, innocent pride."

He muttered dramatically. Kazue blinked in disbelief, glancing between the two of them. The absurdity of the moment left her momentarily speechless. Li, having finally regained his balance, just stared blankly. Neither of them knew whether they were still in danger or watching a comedy performance unfold before them.

The silence after the awkward scuffle between teams didn't last long. A sharp, echoing shout cut through the air as Li's voice thundered out.

"[Gigano Laser]"

The sky darkened instantly. Overhead, the clouds swirled violently, parting just enough to reveal the tip of an enormous mechanical structure emerging from beyond the atmosphere—a zeppelin, massive in scale and almost regal in design, with engraved plating and sharp, rotating mechanisms channeling energy into a single point beneath its hull. The energy condensed into a glowing core, and then the beam fired.

The laser roared down in a pillar of searing light, blinding in intensity and wide enough to vaporize everything in a twenty-meter radius. The heat scorched the surrounding air, melting pieces of old factory structures and causing a deafening explosion upon impact. Kazue gasped and instinctively stumbled back, shielding her eyes as debris and light swept through the area.

But the attack missed. Im Hae-rin had reacted instantly, her hand grabbing Reginald by the collar as he was still recovering from the earlier kick. She jumped, pushing them both from the blast radius with clean, practiced agility, landing atop one of the old factory rooftops with a smooth roll. The shockwave still reached them, blowing Reginald's coat upward in dramatic waves.

Once upright again, the man casually brushed himself off and gave a low whistle.

"Quite the overkill, wouldn't you say?"

He muttered before looking back down toward Kazue.

"Tell me something, dear girl. Are you aware of why [Synchrony] is both coveted and hated by all users across the system?"

Kazue hesitated.

"No… What are you talking about?"

Reginald tapped his chin with mock thoughtfulness.

"It's the soulmate effect!"

He explained smoothly.

"That rare, once-in-a-lifetime connection with another being with whom you share a perfect 100% compatibility. It's exceedingly rare, tragically so. I doubt someone like you would ever encounter it—but the benefits, oh, they are glorious."

Kazue blinked, confused. That couldn't be right. She had five. Five people… Or, well, 3 people, an animal, and a goddess, had shown full Synchrony with her. But she said nothing, keeping her eyes fixed on him, waiting. Reginald gave a smug grin.

"It lets you do things like this."

He slammed his cane into the steel of the rooftop, and the elegant weapon twisted unnaturally. The ornate handle clicked and rotated on its own, sending out a wave of air pressure that swirled into a compact sphere of violently compressed wind.

Im Hae-rin stepped forward and grabbed the swirling orb with both hands. As her fingers curled around it, blue flames erupted from her body, flickering upward and melding into the sphere. The orb pulsed like a miniature sun, changing color into a vibrant burning blue, humming with unstable power.

Down below, Li didn't wait. He clutched his spellbook with one hand and began muttering incantations, teeth clenched. The magical energy flared across his arm.

"It's a combination skill, you, now! Do as we practiced!"

Kazue blinked, startled, but quickly obeyed. She inhaled deeply, her lungs expanding until her body trembled. A magical circle formed in front of her mouth, sparking with electric and wind runes.

"Storm Titan Howl!"

She screamed, her voice lost beneath the fury of the attack. A howling tornado burst forth, spinning upward from her lungs, a violent spiral of wind that kicked up dust and lightning as it surged forward.

Simultaneously, the spell casted above Li's head opened wide. The fiery circle above him expanded, and from it emerged a colossal dragon's head composed entirely of molten flame.

"[Raajia Ignis]"

Li bellowed, and the dragon's breath erupted in a torrent of fire. The tornado and the flame fused instantly. The resulting attack was enormous—a spinning inferno roaring toward the rooftop like a living wall of fire and wind, shrieking and devouring everything in its path.

But Hae-rin was ready. She roared and hurled their own blue flaming orb.

Both attacks collided in the sky with a thunderous impact that shattered nearby windows and split old walls apart. Fire and wind clashed violently, neither overpowering the other. For a few seconds, it was a perfect stalemate, a battle of raw force versus precision.

Then Reginald chuckled.

"No, no."

He called out over the roar.

"That is not a combination attack… This is!"

Reginald and Im Hae-rin launched into the air at the exact moment, their feet pushing off the rooftop in perfect unison. Neither needed to look at the other. Their arms reached out and connected mid-leap, gripping each other's forearms with mechanical precision. The motion was smooth, practiced, and not a hint of hesitation or imbalance. As soon as contact was made, they began to spin. Their bodies rotated with increasing speed, controlled and efficient, as though guided by an invisible rhythm.

The flaming sphere between them reacted immediately. It drew in the residual energy from Kazue's tornado and Li's fire dragon, consuming the combined force entirely. Its blue hue darkened, flashing into a deep crimson that pulsed with raw power. Sparks cracked across the surface. The sphere swelled, its form stabilized by the opposing forces held in perfect balance by their movement.

Their rotation tightened, the pull between their locked arms acting as a pivot as the energy orb hovered precisely at the center. Not a movement was wasted. At the apex of their final spin, their legs extended like a single motion. A double kick, one each, at perfect synchrony struck the orb with full force.

The release was immediate. The red projectile blasted forward with no drag or delay, as if it had simply been waiting to be unleashed. The ground shook violently. Metal creaked. Air split around the edges of the speeding mass, tearing dust and rubble from the surrounding rooftops. The sheer pressure left a deep groove across the street beneath it as it shot toward its targets.

Kazue's breath caught. Her eyes widened. Li's face tensed as the shockwave reached them before the impact itself. Neither had seen a movement executed like that before. The girl whispered, barely audible.

"No way…"

The moment demanded a decision, and Li knew he was out of time. His fingers tightened around his spellbook, desperately flipping pages with trained instinct, his lips already forming the first syllables of a defensive spell. But even he realized it wouldn't be enough. The combined skill unleashed by his enemies was already mid-flight, and the greatest weakness of his spells was the "long" casting time. There was not enough time to react.

However, it was Kazue who moved without hesitation, stepping forward. Her left arm raised, the gauntlet on that hand glowing red-hot from residual power. Li's eyes widened in disbelief.

"What—?"

Kazue didn't answer. She threw a punch.

Her fist collided with the incoming sphere with full force. The moment of contact triggered a deafening shock, a pulse of energy so violent it tore the air apart. Her mechanical gauntlet shattered instantly. The impact tore through it like paper, stripping the metal away and melting the exposed parts. The sphere continued on its path, but Kazue's punch had been enough—just enough—to nudge its trajectory a tiny bit. Instead of slamming directly into them, it passed just off-center, hurtling past in a near miss.

System messages flashed into the air in front of them.

The girl screamed. Her arm burned from the inside, skin seared by the recoil. But it wasn't over. The mere shockwave trailing the redirected sphere struck them both. The ground trembled. A wall of hot wind and pressure blasted the two backward like ragdolls. Kazue's body bounced across the dirt, rolling violently, while Li skidded until he crashed shoulder-first into a heap of debris.

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Back on the rooftop, Reginald whistled softly and adjusted his cuffs.

"Quite the reaction. That little trick actually worked."

He then turned to Hae-rin.

"Tell me, did I misremember her stats? Wasn't she only a potential D user?"

Hae-rin answered flatly, her gaze still fixed on the battlefield.

"You didn't. Her best skill is level six basic one. No class specialization, no personal skill, no worthwhile title, nothing. That was desperation."

Reginald shrugged, unfazed.

"Then I must say, desperation is far more entertaining than expected."

The redirected sphere struck the ground some meters away. The explosion ripped through the earth like a bomb, uprooting pavement and hurling debris skyward. The resulting tremor was powerful enough to shatter windows and topple weakened structures around them. The dust it kicked up enveloped everything.

Kazue would have been finished then and there. Her arm was ruined, and she couldn't lift it. Her ribs were throbbing, and she couldn't breathe right. But before the final blast of heat could reach her, something massive had intercepted it. She felt it in the air around her—fur, heat, pressure—and then a protective force around her body.

Kurayami had appeared. The enormous tiger stood with its claws dug into the ground and muscles braced for impact. He had invoked himself the instant Kazue's condition dropped to danger threshold, his soul-bond guiding him to her. With a snarl and a shake of his mane, he grabbed the girl gently by the back of her shirt with his fangs and leapt from the impact zone, dragging her to safety even as scorched debris rained around them.

They landed far from the blast zone. Kurayami shielded her again, curling his massive frame around her. She could barely register the pain now. She was still conscious, but barely. Her left arm was dead weight, the pain sharp and nauseating.

Li wasn't as fast, but he had managed to react in his own way. His voice cut through the chaos as he shouted a spell.

"[Doruku Pantser]"

A burst of light wrapped his form. Metal plates formed mid-air and slammed onto his body, piece by piece—legs, torso, arms, helmet. In seconds, he stood encased in a sleek, reinforced atomic armor. Its weight dug into the ground as the explosion reached him. The armor absorbed most of the force. He rolled with the impact, crashing through a pile of wreckage, but when he stood again, he had no visible injuries.

The dust had barely begun to settle when Li forced himself upright, breathing hard behind clenched teeth. His armor, battered but intact, hissed faintly with every movement. He scanned the surroundings with narrowed eyes, still on edge, expecting another wave, another attack—anything. Then he saw movement through the thinning veil of smoke.

Kurayami emerged first. The white tiger's massive frame cut through the haze without slowing, his gleaming fur streaked with ash and small burns. His eyes locked onto Li with calm urgency, and hanging gently from his jaws was Kazue. She wasn't unconscious, but her body was limp, her head rolling weakly to one side as the tiger padded toward him. Blood stained her torn clothes. Her left arm dangled uselessly, scorched from shoulder to wrist, and the gauntlet gone. Her face was pale and twisted in pain, but she was awake, barely.

Li stepped forward quickly. His mind raced. He had no time to question how bad the damage was, no time to think about what would happen if she couldn't fight anymore. He wasn't one to worry. He didn't care about others unless it directly affected his goals. But this was different. They were up against opponents neither of them could beat alone, and he wasn't foolish enough to pretend otherwise.

The tiger lowered his master with care, laying her down on a patch of fractured concrete. Kazue groaned in pain, biting her lip as she shifted slightly. Her eyes flicked to Li, her mouth opening, but no words came out. Only short gasps and a broken grunt.

The man dropped to a knee beside her. He reached into the armored pouch on his belt, pulling free one of the regenerative pills Drake had distributed way back in the lobby. Without waiting, he pressed it into the girl's mouth and spoke quickly.

"Don't move. Bite it. You'll be fine in a few minutes. Just stay still."

He said sharply. Kazue obeyed, gritting her teeth as she forced her mouth to swallow the little regenerative pill. She bit down. The glow spread instantly through her veins, but the pain didn't fade right away. Her breath came out shaky and uneven.

Li turned. He knew they didn't have minutes. They didn't even have seconds.

The haze around them parted again, as if swept aside by an unseen force, and the sound of deliberate footsteps echoed through the broken terrain. The figures of Im Hae-rin and Reginald walked forward from the dust.

Reginald dusted off his coat, adjusting the cuffs with casual care. Hae-rin didn't speak. She cracked her knuckles, her expression blank, but her eyes were locked on them.

Li rose to his feet. His armored boots crunched against debris as he stepped forward to face them. His spellbook hovered behind his back, circuits of blue and white energy trailing from the pages, the symbols shifting in constant motion. Kurayami snarled and padded up beside him, lowering his stance, his fangs bared and fur bristling.

Kazue let out a faint groan behind them, the pill already working to patch her broken bones and ruined muscles, but she was still out of the fight. Li's jaw tightened.

"As soon as you can move your arm, you get up and rejoin the fight."

He said without turning back, taking another step forward. The light around him intensified, feeding off the Ki in the air and the residual energy from his last defense.

"I'll hold them off until then. Don't waste the chance."

Kurayami growled low, stepping forward in sync with him. The tiger's claws scraped lines into the stone beneath them, muscles tense. Together, they stared down the duo ahead.

Reginald tilted his head slightly, studying the pair with a raised brow.

"Brave, but tragically under-equipped."

He said, smoothing the lapel of his jacket. Li didn't answer.

There was no more time for words. The next exchange would decide everything. He didn't know how long he could hold them—but he knew he would.

Li charged forward with a burst of momentum, his armored boots tearing across the ground, igniting sparks beneath his heels. His eyes locked onto Reginald with unwavering focus.

He didn't need to land multiple hits, one clean strike was all he required. Just one. If he could touch him, even once, the effects of the altered state [Radioactive] would begin eating away at the enemy's stats, resistance, and stamina. But he wasn't fighting a fool.

Reginald stood with both feet planted gracefully on the rooftop edge, one hand holding his cane at his side as if waiting to begin a dance, not a battle. He didn't flinch when Li closed the distance. He didn't even raise a guard. As Li threw his first strike—a heavy jab aimed straight for his ribs—the fancy man simply turned his body and leaned out of the way, letting the armored fist pass by with a rush of air between them. Li followed with a knee strike. Another dodge. Then a low punch. A sidestep.

Each evasion was exact and effortless.

"You really are trying, huh?"

Reginald said, smiling without mockery but with clear condescension.

"A shame."

Li gritted his teeth and pressed harder, pushing the assault. He began to alternate strikes—switching from high to low, punching at the legs, the side, the chest, feinting one way and committing the other. Still, none of it landed. Reginald never blocked. He didn't need to. Every movement was efficient, like he had already seen the attacks before they were thrown. His coat fluttered with the wind, his posture never breaking. His eyes never leaving Li's face.

It was infuriating. Behind Li, Kurayami had lunged at Im Hae-rin with explosive force, but Hae-rin was faster. Much faster. She slipped beneath the tiger's first swipe and moved around him without hesitation, dancing just outside his reach. Every time Kurayami turned to bite or claw, she was already gone, weaving between the crumbling terrain. Still, the tiger did not falter. His roars echoed, his steps crashed, his presence kept her occupied—at least for now.

Li's fury grew with every second. Reginald's evasion felt less like combat and more like humiliation. The noble's gloved hand flicked through the air lazily each time he stepped aside, as if swiping invisible dust off his sleeve.

With a snarl, Li charged again, throwing a full-force blow with his right arm, spinning mid-step, and following it up with a fierce backhand from the left. Reginald ducked under the first and leaned back from the second, letting Li's momentum carry him off balance. Then it came—the mistake.

Li growled and swung his arm wide, a desperate, reckless hook that aimed to finally catch his elusive opponent. But it was too slow. Too obvious. Reginald saw it and moved inside.

There was no time to react. Reginald stepped forward, cane held low, and drove the reinforced tip upward. A jet of wind burst from the shaft with a hiss, propelling the weapon into Li's chin with mechanical force. The blow landed clean. Pain shot through Li's skull like lightning. His head jerked back, and his body rose from the ground with the impact, armor groaning as he was flung backward.

The force of the strike was enough to lift him a full meter into the air before his body slammed into the debris-strewn concrete with a heavy thud. Dust burst out from the point of impact. His spellbook flickered and spun behind him, briefly losing cohesion.

Reginald adjusted his sleeve again and gave a soft sigh, as if disappointed the engagement had ended so quickly. Li's jaw throbbed and blood dripped from his mouth as he lay stunned. For a moment, the only thing he could hear was the rhythmic pulse of his own blood and the echo of Reginald's cane clicking faintly against the edge of uneven terrain.

Not far from there, the beast and the woman's fight was erupting. Kurayami's massive claws tore across the earth as he lunged at Im Hae-rin once more, his white fur bristling with electric energy. Bolts danced along his limbs, crackling around his fangs, feeding directly into the skill he had unleashed. The air around him had become heavy, charged, as the tiger's [Electric Ki Generation] surged through every muscle. He had combined it with [Burn the Witch!], unleashing a storm of voltage and violent flame that could have incinerated most opponents instantly. But not her.

Hae-rin didn't flinch. The moment the electric field closed in around her, her body ignited in blue fire. The flames rolled across her limbs, consuming her figure without burning her skin or her clothes. The heat and energy from Kurayami's technique vanished into the azure blaze as if it had never existed, with no signs of damage.

The tiger growled, paws pressing into the fractured concrete. He lunged again with a burst of movement, mouth open and fangs ready to tear through her. But she moved faster. One of her legs snapped upward in a tight arc, blocking the incoming swipe of his claw with the flat of her shin. Sparks flew, but she didn't stagger. Kurayami tried to shift and bite, spinning with his tail to follow up, but her knee struck him under the jaw, halting his motion before he could recover. She didn't allow him a moment to reset.

Her style wasn't flashy, but it was precise. Every movement was meant to intercept or crush. She blocked his swipes with powerful kicks, pushing his paws aside, and when he tried to pounce, she ducked and slammed her heel into his ribcage. Every time Kurayami thought he had her range, she changed angles, dodging low or vaulting to the side and countering mid-motion. The flames around her made every strike more dangerous, while his own attacks were doing nothing. Her fire didn't just protect her from the shock—it seemed to feed off it.

The tiger roared and lashed out again, both paws raised. Hae-rin slid under them and pivoted with a full spin. Her leg extended, her foot striking directly into his left side with pinpoint accuracy. The force of the kick landed clean, and Kurayami let out a guttural snarl, his body sliding several meters across the ground before coming to a halt.

He dug his claws in and remained upright, but his breathing had turned heavier. The muscles on his flank twitched in pain where the blow had landed. Even with his monstrous durability, he had felt that.

Kurayami dragged himself back toward Li, who had already forced himself up to one knee. His breathing was uneven, and blood still trickled down his jaw from Reginald's earlier strike, but his eyes burned with quiet determination. The tiger positioned himself beside his partner once more, letting out a soft growl as if to apologize for being thrown back. Li didn't move; he just stood, shakily, with clenched fists.

The battlefield had not yet settled. Cracked stone and scorched soil trembled with residual energy, and the air was thick with the metallic scent of heated dust. Li stood slightly hunched forward, his armor crackling with strain and exhaustion, while Kurayami remained crouched at his side. The massive white tiger's fur was stained with ash and burn marks, but his stance was low and ready, fangs bared and claws spread.

Behind them, still protected by the faint shimmer of Li's earlier efforts, Kazue remained kneeling. Her breathing was steadying, her body visibly recovering. Her left arm was still immobile, but the pill had begun taking effect. She hadn't yet stood up. They were vulnerable. And the enemy knew it.

At the opposite edge of the broken field, Reginald and Hae-rin stepped forward again. They halted at a safe distance, where they could observe the results of the last exchange without risk. Reginald exhaled softly, brushing his gloved fingers down his coat sleeves. His voice was calm and clear.

"Well then, that was mildly entertaining. Unexpectedly so, in fact. But I believe we've exhausted the value of this little exercise."

He said, eyes flicking between the trio before him. Li didn't respond. He only tightened his stance and raised one foot slightly, preparing to shift weight forward at any moment. Kurayami growled low, not taking his eyes off Hae-rin.

Reginald glanced at Kazue, who was still down behind the front line. A small smile touched his lips.

"It truly is a shame. I would have enjoyed a longer conversation with the young lady. But alas, time is limited, and this farce has gone on long enough."

Hae-rin let out a sigh of obvious irritation and didn't even look at him.

"Shut your mouth."

She muttered coldly.

"But you're right about one thing. Let's end this."

Without another word, they moved… Reginald's fingers spun his staff once with precise control, and then slammed it down against the fractured metal beneath them. At the tip of the staff, compressed air began to swirl, forming a sphere with growing intensity. The air pressure became immediately visible, and within seconds, a perfectly spherical orb of spinning wind formed, denser than the one he had conjured before.

Hae-rin, without needing a single instruction, stepped closer. From her arms and legs, blue flames erupted, flickering unnaturally with focused intent. The fire did not lash wildly. It flowed in clear, focused waves toward the orb, merging with its rotation. Reginald's staff pulsed once, and from the opposite side of the construct, red fire began to burn as well. The air pressure intensified. Heat surged.

They didn't speak. Their synchronization was complete.

Hae-rin stepped to the side of Reginald and crossed her arms, channeling her energy into the growing sphere. Reginald mirrored her motion on the opposite side. The orb responded by expanding slightly and glowing brighter. When both of them had reached the peak of their positioning, they pivoted with perfect timing.

In a single sharp movement, they extended both arms and thrust them outward. The sphere launched forward at blinding speed. The ground beneath them shattered instantly from the recoil. Flames, both red and blue, trailed behind the projectile like a tail of destruction.

The compressed fire sphere flew in a direct line toward Li and Kurayami, who had Kazue still recovering behind them. There was no time to reposition. No room to dodge. It wasn't just a matter of impact—it was a matter of protecting what remained.

Li's eyes widened the moment he recognized the trajectory. The attack was too fast. No defensive spell in his arsenal could be cast in time while his armor was still invoked. And if they moved, Kazue would be caught in the blast… His body moved on instinct. He stepped forward, one foot planting down hard against the cracked stone, raising both hands to prepare for the inevitable impact.

Kurayami roared beside him, fangs bared, ready to pounce. But even he knew the attack was too close. The projectile was already seconds away.

There was no other option. They would have to stop it—here and now… And then something small moved behind Li's shoulder. A golden blur, an orb-shaped object lifted from beneath one of the armored compartments on his back, expanding in the air with the soft sound of unfolding wings.

It was Falk. The mechanical bird finally emerged, its eyes flashing with artificial light. The flying automaton let out a loud chirp and opened its mouth.

"[Robo Bleek]"

It shouted, using Li's exact voice. The moment the words left Falk's metal throat, Li's spellbook reacted.

Blue light surged through the air. Runes etched in Li's atomic armor burst to life, connecting to his mechanical limbs, core, and back. The entire suit was enveloped in a radiant blue glow, each seam outlined in energy. His stance stabilized, his fists clenched, and the air burned… It was a dual casting, something they had proven possible in the second scenario thanks to Falk's skill [Mimic Voice], but they had not used it again until that moment.

Kurayami instinctively ducked behind Li as the projectile arrived.

The impact was immediate and violent. The entire area was consumed in a blast of compressed fire and pressure that erupted outward in a massive shockwave. The explosion tore open the ground beneath it, cracking through the stone and metal as if it were paper. Walls fractured. Debris was thrown into the air. The heat was suffocating, the force unrelenting. A ring of smoke, flame, and pulverized dust expanded in every direction, covering the field in chaos.

Kurayami roared and crouched low, trying to hold his position, but even his powerful frame was nearly thrown back. The massive tiger dug his claws into the ground and shielded his body as best he could from the blast. The blue fire still surged through the air like tendrils, lashing and searing everything they touched. A second shockwave followed as the heat collided with what remained of Li's defensive stance, vibrating through the metal of his armor with painful resonance.

Seconds passed before the storm of energy finally began to settle. The air was heavy with smoke. Shattered debris clattered across the field, and fragments of scorched earth rained down around them. The sound of crackling fire echoed through the ruins. Then, slowly, the haze began to clear.

Li remained standing.

His legs were spread, feet locked into the cracked stone. Both arms were raised forward, now visibly sparking and shaking. The armor plating on his forearms had melted and twisted from the intensity of the impact, smoke rising from the joints where the mechanisms had overheated. The blue glow that had once surrounded his suit was nearly gone, flickering weakly in the joints. His breath was ragged, every inhale forced through clenched teeth. His face was drenched in sweat, but his eyes remained fixed ahead. He had not moved from the moment of collision.

Falk hovered in place above his shoulder, wings folded tightly. The mechanical bird was silent now, its body scorched along the edges from the residual heat, but its core still glowed faintly. It had done its part.

Li took one slow step back, the weight of the suit dragging heavily on his limbs. His arms trembled. The metal hissed with strain. But he had held the line. The attack had been stopped, for now.