The clearing shook as the B-rank abyssal beasts prowled forward, their guttural growls sending vibrations through the broken earth. Their leader, a towering B+ rank abyssal beast, stood at the front. Its body was plated in obsidian scales that shimmered with veins of crimson corruption, its presence suffocating. Each step it took made the ground tremble as though the world itself feared it.
Bolt clenched his fists, eyes burning with lightning. This… is the test we've been forged for.
"Celestial Tempest," he barked, voice carrying authority that silenced the dread crawling in their veins, "hold the line. Together, we rise—or together, we fall."
Akane's fire roared to life, flames wreathing her arms. Though her voice trembled, her resolve was sharp. "No abyss is burning brighter than me tonight."
Aether closed his eyes, calling upon the wind. The breeze swirled around the squad, carrying their fear away and leaving clarity in its place. "Steady," he whispered. "The storm listens to us."
Sylva pressed her palm to the torn soil, veins of green light flowing outward. Roots erupted, wrapping around the beasts' path to slow their charge. Her eyes glistened with grief. "Even the land cries in pain… I'll make sure it doesn't cry alone."
Darian, gripping his trident, let water coil around his arms. His expression hardened as he thought of Kairos. "If he's out there struggling… then I can't falter."
Valea lifted her hands, summoning orbs of radiant light. But her glow flickered faintly, dimmed by the abyssal aura pressing against her spirit. "I will not let the darkness consume us," she whispered, though doubt lingered in her tone.
Ren unsheathed his blade. His hands trembled, but he stepped into formation anyway. "If I break… then at least I'll break fighting beside you."
Damian's shadows writhed unnaturally, resonating with the abyssal forces ahead. Sweat dripped down his brow as he wrestled control. "They want me," he growled, voice rough. "But I belong to this squad. Not them."
Kaori, her aura glowing like a second heart, stood behind Bolt. Her spirit energy expanded, weaving threads of connection between each member. "You're not alone," she murmured, her voice steady despite the fear. "We stand as one."
The beasts roared, and the battle began.
The abyssal leader lunged, claws glowing with crimson energy. Bolt surged forward, channeling lightning through his entire body. The impact of his punch cracked the air like thunder, sending sparks across the battlefield.
"Akane, with me!" Bolt shouted.
Her flames erupted into a blazing inferno, colliding with Bolt's lightning. Firestorm and thunderbolt spiraled together, striking the beast's chest in an explosion of light. Yet the monster only staggered, its roar shaking the sky.
Sylva's vines wrapped its limbs, while Aether's winds drove the lesser beasts back. Darian's water spears cut through the abyssal ranks, buying time. Ren darted in and out, his sword flashing, slashing through tendons with desperate precision.
Valea planted herself in the center, light pulsing like a beacon to drive away despair. Damian's shadows formed walls and spears, fighting the abyss's own darkness with defiance. And through it all, Kaori's aura sustained them—binding their strengths into a single, unstoppable current.
The ground cracked. The abyssal leader broke free, fury igniting in its crimson eyes. It unleashed a devastating roar that rattled Celestial Tempest's bones.
But Bolt didn't flinch. Raising his hand to the storm-filled heavens, lightning gathered, brighter and louder than before. "We are Celestial Tempest!" he thundered. "And no abyss will outlast us!"
The squad answered with their elements in unison—flame, wind, earth, water, light, shadow, and spirit—all converging around Bolt's lightning. Their power intertwined, crashing against the abyssal horde like a living storm.
The battle for survival—and for hope—had begun.