The sun disappeared behind the jagged peaks, painting the sky a bloody red that slowly faded into the deep violet of the coming night. Both teams had spent hours in an exhausting dance of strategic retreats, brief gasping pauses, and brutal charges. Every joint creaked, every muscle screamed from the built-up strain—the fights had been unbelievably violent. But the time had come to end this chapter.
Kaiser summoned several huge swords of pure gold that shimmered for a moment in the last rays before raining down like a shower of incandescent meteors on Areyos. Areyos activated "Flash" in a blinding burst, propelling himself in an instant within range of Kaiser to throw a lightning-charged punch. Kaiser barely dodged, the wind of the fist grazing his cheek, then leaped back with fluid grace.
Areyos, breathing hard, narrowed his eyes. "Is it just me, or have you gotten a lot faster?"
"You think so?" Kaiser replied with a half-smile.
