Inside a heavily wrecked building, two women were locked in a contest of raw strength.
The interior was spacious.
Several shelves still stood upright despite the damage, while books and torn materials were scattered across the floor.
It was obvious that the place had once been a bookstore of some sort.
However, neither of the two women paid any attention to their surroundings.
One of them was clad in a metallic battle suit that covered her entire body.
The other had her body completely engulfed in flames.
Yet despite being covered in fire, not a single part of her body was being consumed.
They were Maelis and the Pyre-Fang member.
After being caught off guard by the Synapse Circle's surprise attack, the Pyre-Fang member had quickly recovered.
The moment she regained her bearings, she struck back.
That retaliation had eventually brought both women to their current location.
Earlier, the Pyre-Fang member had slammed directly into Maelis while the latter was preparing to attack the Wyndhams.
The collision had sent both of them crashing into a building.
However, the fight hadn't stopped there.
The two continued battling as they smashed through the structure.
They burst out onto another street that ran parallel to the one they had been fighting on before.
Even then, neither side backed down.
Their clash continued across the street until they crashed into yet another building on the opposite side.
Only then did the battle move indoors once again.
Maelis crashed onto the floor.
The Pyre-Fang member immediately took advantage of it.
She climbed on top of Maelis and prepared to attack.
Her fist burned with intense heat.
The flames wrapped around it as the skin turned bright red, like heated iron fresh from a forge.
Without hesitation, she swung down.
Bang!
The punch came straight toward Maelis's face.
However, Maelis reacted quickly.
She brought her elbows together and covered her face.
The flaming fist slammed into the metallic armor.
Bang!
Another punch followed.
Bang!
Then another.
The Pyre-Fang member continued raining blows down on her.
Yet every strike landed against the armored elbows instead of Maelis's face.
The metal didn't budge.
The attacks failed to break through.
Seeing that brute force wasn't working, the Pyre-Fang member changed tactics.
She grabbed both of Maelis's elbows.
Then she started pulling them apart.
"Arhh!"
She shouted as she poured strength into the struggle.
Slowly, Maelis's guard began to separate.
Only slightly.
But slightly was enough.
The moment she noticed the opening, the Pyre-Fang member acted.
"I am going to burn your face!" she shouted.
She opened her mouth.
A continuous stream of fire erupted from within.
The flames poured directly toward Maelis.
They slipped through the gap between her elbows and rushed toward her face.
The heat surged into the narrow opening.
The fire continued pushing deeper, aiming to reach its target.
But before it could go any further or cause any serious damage, the suit's helmet reacted.
The helmet spread out from her neck in the form of nano particles.
The process was almost instantaneous.
In less than a second, Maelis's entire face was covered and protected from the flames.
Still, the fire continued pouring onto her.
The Pyre-Fang member kept breathing flames downward, focusing completely on burning through her defenses.
Because of that, she failed to notice another change taking place on Maelis's suit.
A mechanical gun barrel emerged from one of Maelis's shoulders.
It rose into position and locked onto its target.
The barrel adjusted slightly.
Then it fired.
Boom!
A powerful beam of blue light shot out.
The attack struck the Pyre-Fang member directly.
The impact launched her upward.
She slammed into the ceiling above her.
However, it didn't end there.
For a brief moment, layers of ice rapidly formed around her.
The ice pinned her against the ceiling despite the flames covering her body.
The two forces immediately began fighting each other.
Soon, the ice started melting.
It was obvious the Pyre-Fang member would not remain pinned for long.
She would soon break free and fall back down.
However, something else was preparing to fall with her.
Crack.
Crack.
Crack.
Fractures spread across the ceiling.
The cracks stretched outward like a spiderweb from the point where the Pyre-Fang member had been pinned.
The structure was no longer stable.
Maelis noticed it immediately.
Without hesitation, she moved out of the way.
The cracks widened.
Then the ceiling finally gave in.
Boom!
The ceiling finally gave way.
The entire upper floor collapsed inward.
Chunks of concrete, metal, and broken shelves crashed down one after another.
Boom!
Boom!
Dust spread through the building.
Maelis stepped away and watched the pile of rubble that had formed behind her.
Her gaze remained fixed on it.
'There's no way that would be enough to end her,' Maelis thought.
Almost as if the thought itself had triggered it, the rubble suddenly began to glow.
An orange-red light spread from within the pile.
The next moment, the debris exploded outward.
Boom!
A figure burst through the wreckage.
It was the Pyre-Fang member.
Flames still covered her entire body.
She hovered in the air while looking down at Maelis.
"You're totally fine?" the Pyre-Fang member said.
There was a hint of shock in her voice.
She had blasted Maelis with intense heat.
She had poured streams of fire directly onto her.
Yet the suit didn't even have a visible dent.
Not a scratch.
Not a melted section.
Nothing.
'What's that suit made of? Why can't it melt under my power?' she wondered.
"I know what you're thinking," Maelis said.
The Pyre-Fang member narrowed her eyes.
"You're probably wondering why my suit hasn't melted already."
A faint trace of pride entered Maelis's voice.
"Well... this suit was specially designed to counter the abilities of every participant in the tournament."
She pointed toward the Pyre-Fang member.
"Especially members of the high-stage clans like you."
The Pyre-Fang member's expression darkened slightly.
Maelis continued.
"It creates the most effective countermeasure against your abilities."
She lightly tapped her armor.
"And it constantly adapts to changes in your power and the surrounding environment."
"The more you attack me with that power of yours, the more data I gather to create the perfect ice attacks to counter it," Maelis said.
The Pyre-Fang member didn't know whether Maelis was bluffing or not.
However, the possibility that she was telling the truth was enough to make her frown.
"Arhhggg!"
She grunted angrily and shot forward.
In an instant, she slammed into Maelis.
The impact lifted Maelis off her feet.
Without slowing down, the Pyre-Fang member continued forward, carrying Maelis with her.
The two burst out of the damaged building.
Then they shot upward into the sky.
The ground rapidly grew distant beneath them.
Wind rushed past them as they climbed higher and higher.
"Let's see if you can survive a fall," the Pyre-Fang member said as she continued ascending.
Hidden beneath the helmet, a smile appeared on Maelis's face.
'Let's see how that turns out for you,' Maelis thought.
She made no effort to stop what was happening.
---
Meanwhile, after a period of hesitation, Zephyr had finally made his decision.
He was going to fight.
More specifically, he had decided to help the others attack Caelan.
In his mutated werewolf form, Zephyr possessed two additional thin-looking arms.
They looked unusual.
Flexible.
Almost erratic in the way they moved.
Using those extra limbs, he had managed to stop Caelan from finishing Jimmy.
Not only that, he had grabbed hold of Caelan and slammed him directly into the ground.
Bang!
A large indentation had been carved into the ground.
Ice particles partially covered the impact site, spreading around the crater-like depression.
Caelan was still being restrained.
Zephyr's two extra arms had wrapped around his hands, preventing him from freely using his bladed weapons.
Not wanting to give him any room to recover, Zephyr pressed the attack.
His two extra arms pulled Caelan closer.
The moment he was within reach, Zephyr lashed out.
His claws swept across Caelan's chest several times in quick succession.
Slash!
Slash!
Slash!
However, the advantage didn't last long.
Caelan reacted immediately.
He swung one leg out and kicked one of Zephyr's clawed arms away.
Then he spun the other leg and knocked the second one aside as well.
Before Zephyr could adjust, Caelan brought both legs together and thrust them forward.
Bang!
Both feet slammed directly into Zephyr's snout.
The strike landed hard.
Zephyr's head snapped backward from the force.
However, Caelan wasn't finished.
One of the hands that was still being restrained suddenly began to change shape.
The hand transformed into a flat spinning disk blade lined with jagged edges.
The blade spun rapidly.
Then it swung.
The spinning edges sliced into one of the extra werewolf arms holding him.
Pain shot through Zephyr's body.
The cut wasn't deep enough to sever the limb, but it was enough to force his grip to weaken.
Still, Caelan continued.
Now that one of his arms had more freedom to move, he attacked again.
This time, he swung directly at the other extra arm that was restraining him.
The spinning blade flashed.
Slash!
Unlike the previous strike, this one was clean.
The jagged blade sliced straight through the arm.
Bone offered little resistance.
In a single motion, the weapon cut through completely, detaching part of the limb from the rest of the arm.
"Howl!!"
A painful howl echoed through the area as Zephyr retreated backward.
The severed limb and the deep injuries had forced him to create some distance.
However, Caelan had no intention of letting him escape.
Not this time.
He immediately moved to finish the job.
The rest of the Wyndhams had already reacted.
Lennox and Isla finally snapped out of their daze when they saw the condition Zephyr was in.
Without hesitation, they rushed forward to help him.
But before either of them could get close, the mini gun mounted on Caelan's shoulder moved.
The barrel rotated toward them.
Then it fired.
Rat-tat-tat-tat!
Multiple rounds shot out.
Lennox and Isla were the closest targets.
They were struck almost immediately.
Bang!
Bang!
Both were blasted backward and sent flying across the ground.
Meanwhile, powerful air thrusters erupted from beneath Caelan's feet.
The burst launched him forward.
In a single movement, he caught up to Zephyr.
Before Zephyr could react, Caelan crashed into him from behind.
Bang!
The impact was so strong that Zephyr was sent tumbling across the ground.
Dirt and debris scattered everywhere.
Caelan followed immediately.
He landed on top of Zephyr and pinned him firmly to the ground.
Zephyr struggled.
But the strength holding him down was overwhelming.
'No... no... no... I can't die here. I can't die here!' Zephyr panicked.
His heart pounded wildly.
Above him, Caelan raised his spinning bladed arm.
The jagged disk spun rapidly.
"Die!" Caelan said.
Then he swung it toward Zephyr's neck.
"Arhhggg!"
Bang!
A loud metallic crash rang out.
The sound was powerful enough to echo across the battlefield.
The next moment, Caelan was no longer above Zephyr.
Instead, his body was sent rolling across the ground like a rag doll.
He bounced several times before finally slowing down.
Zephyr froze for a moment.
The expected pain never came.
When he realized he was still alive, he quickly turned toward the person who had stopped the attack.
His eyes widened.
"Alex?" he called out.