"Watch out!"
Ryker's voice snapped across the battlefield. The Thunder God's Judgment Blade surged to maximum output, blazing with overwhelming lightning.
He struck first.
"Thunder God's Judgment!"
A blade of lightning tore through the air and crashed against Kaelthas's black greatsword.
The impact detonated. A deafening explosion shattered the surrounding space.
But — Kaelthas did not move. Not even a step. His black blade pulsed with a strange, abyssal glow. Ryker's attack was erased. Effortlessly.
The weight of that realization hit instantly.
"You are nothing but insects."
Kaelthas raised his sword. It pointed directly at Ryker.
"This battle will not grant you a second chance."
Darkness thickened. The space around them twisted further, closing in from all sides. They were being sealed in.
"Gon. Killua. Biscuit. Stay coordinated."
Ryker's voice dropped, sharp and controlled.
"We break his defense first. Otherwise we don't survive this."
"Got it!"
Gon stepped forward, resolve burning in his eyes.
"We go all in."
Killua exhaled slowly. Lightning gathered across his body.
"I'll draw his focus."
Biscuit tightened her stance.
"I'll support. Don't overextend."
"Move!"
The battlefield ignited again.
Killua vanished. A streak of lightning cut across the field as he launched his attack.
"Wrath of the Thunder God!"
A high-speed strike slammed toward Kaelthas's chest.
Kaelthas didn't even shift his stance. His blade moved once. A single motion. The lightning shattered instantly.
"Too slow."
His voice was flat.
"You cannot resist the abyss."
But that was the opening.
Ryker moved.
"Spatial Distortion."
Space folded. He appeared at Kaelthas's flank. The Thunder God's Judgment Blade descended, wrapped in violent lightning.
"Thunder God's Judgment. Dark Ruin!"
The strike tore through space and aimed directly at Kaelthas's shoulder.
Kaelthas smiled. His black sword swept outward. A wave of condensed dark Nen collided with Ryker's blade.
Impact.
Energy exploded outward in all directions. The battlefield fractured again.
Ryker felt it immediately. That wasn't a block. It was suppression. His attack had been completely neutralized.
"You lack speed."
Kaelthas's voice remained calm. His blade rose again. This time — the pressure spiked. The air froze.
"Now!" Ryker shouted.
"Gon. Killua. Biscuit!"
The formation shifted instantly. Killua reappeared above Kaelthas, lightning bursting outward in chaotic arcs, disrupting his timing. Biscuit surged forward. Her Nen erupted in a concentrated wave, colliding head-on with the dark energy and forcing it to recoil for a split second.
A crack. Small. But real. An opening.
Ryker's eyes locked onto it.
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