The humanoid Kaiju tightened its grip on Lothar's collar and began dragging him across the ruined street.
Its destination...
...the lake beyond the city.
Lothar barely remained conscious.
Blood stained the ground behind him.
The Kaiju never looked back.
Then—
"OI!"
A voice echoed across the battlefield.
"I'm..."
"...not done yet!"
"You aren't taking him anywhere..."
"...as long as I'm still standing!"
The Kaiju stopped.
Slowly...
It turned around.
Hikari stood several meters away.
Her clothes were torn.
Blood ran down her side.
Yet she remained on her feet.
The Kaiju stared at her.
"...Impossible."
"I struck you with enough force to crush your organs."
"How are you still standing?"
Hikari wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth.
A small grin appeared.
"I guess..."
"...you don't know much about Dreakors."
She slowly raised one of her twin swords.
"We heal."
Voltra gathered around the blade.
The air trembled.
A brilliant sphere of energy formed at its tip.
The Kaiju immediately raised its blade-like arm.
"So you're choosing death."
Hikari smiled.
"...No."
"I'm choosing him."
She fired.
BOOM!!
A beam of brilliant Voltra raced toward the Kaiju.
Just before it reached him—
Hikari disappeared.
Using the blast as a distraction...
She dashed behind the Kaiju.
Grabbed Lothar.
And pulled him away.
The beam exploded.
Smoke covered the battlefield.
For a brief moment...
Everything became silent.
"...Did it work?"
Hikari whispered.
The smoke slowly cleared.
The Kaiju stood exactly where it had been.
Not a single scratch covered its body.
It looked down at Hikari.
"...Still relying on distractions."
"You haven't learned anything."
Hikari instinctively stepped backward.
"...Impossible..."
Nearby...
Lothar slowly opened his eyes.
His vision remained blurry.
The first thing he saw...
...was Hikari standing protectively in front of him.
Farther away...
Light still lay unconscious beneath the rubble.
The Kaiju's arm shifted once again.
Bones cracked.
Muscles expanded.
Its blade became even larger.
Without warning—
It charged.
Hikari immediately met the attack.
CLANG!
Her twin swords collided against the massive blade.
Sparks erupted into the air.
The Kaiju swung again.
And again.
Each strike forced Hikari farther backward.
She blocked desperately.
But his strength was overwhelming.
One final swing—
CLANG!!
Both swords flew from her hands.
They landed several meters away.
Before Hikari could recover...
The Kaiju thrust its blade forward.
SHINK!
The blade pierced through her side.
Blood splashed onto the ground.
Hikari gasped.
"...Gh..."
Her knees weakened.
The Kaiju looked directly into her eyes.
"...Now."
"...Stay down."
Behind them...
Lothar watched everything.
His breathing became heavier.
His hands trembled.
"Hikari..."
She smiled weakly despite the pain.
"Lothar..."
"...run..."
The word never reached him.
Instead—
Something inside him shattered.
"No..."
A powerful surge of Voltra erupted from his body.
The ground cracked beneath his feet.
Wind exploded across the battlefield.
Lightning surrounded him.
The sky itself seemed to tremble.
Light's eyes suddenly opened.
"...What..."
He slowly looked toward Lothar.
The aura surrounding him dwarfed anything Light had ever witnessed.
Even the Kaiju took an unconscious step backward.
Its confident expression disappeared.
"...What..."
"...are you?"
The laboratory fell silent.
Veylor and Kael stared at the monitor, watching the battle unfold through the Kaiju's eyes.
Kael's confident expression slowly faded.
"...What is that?"
"...What happened to him?"
Lothar's body was engulfed in a storm of Voltra. Lightning danced across his skin while the ground beneath his feet continued to crack under the pressure of his aura.
Kael looked toward Veylor.
"You knew something like this could happen... didn't you?"
Veylor remained silent.
His eyes never left the screen.
For the first time since the experiment had begun...
Even he looked uneasy.
---
Back on the battlefield...
The Kaiju instinctively stepped backward.
Its survival instincts screamed at it.
"...Retreat."
It whispered the word to itself.
Lothar slowly raised one hand toward the sky.
A sphere of brilliant Voltra gathered above his palm.
It grew larger...
Brighter...
More violent with every passing second.
The surrounding air distorted beneath its immense power.
The Kaiju's eyes widened.
"...No."
Without hesitation, it grabbed the wounded Hikari and hurled her aside before trying to escape.
BOOM!!
The blast fired.
It crossed the battlefield in an instant.
The explosion swallowed the Kaiju completely.
A deafening shockwave erupted across the city.
Smoke covered everything.
When the dust finally settled...
Half of the Kaiju's body was gone.
It stumbled backward, barely able to stand.
"...Impossible..."
Its remaining flesh began to regenerate.
Muscles grew.
Bones reformed.
Within seconds, its missing half had nearly recovered.
The Kaiju stared at Lothar with genuine fear.
"...This is bad."
"I can't survive many attacks like that."
"I have to leave."
Lothar slowly raised his hand once more.
Another sphere of Voltra appeared.
This one was even larger than the first.
The Kaiju immediately fled.
The second blast erupted.
It narrowly missed.
Instead, it struck the empty streets beyond.
BOOOOOOM!!
The earth split apart.
Buildings collapsed.
A massive crater swallowed everything in its path.
The Kaiju looked back at the destruction.
"...One direct hit..."
"...and I'm finished."
Nearby, Hikari struggled to her feet.
She pressed a hand against the wound in her side, forcing Voltra through her body to accelerate her healing.
Light finally stood as well, gripping Dark Shield tightly.
The two exchanged a glance.
Neither needed to speak.
They had the same idea.
Light noticed a thick iron chain buried beneath the rubble.
He grabbed one end.
Hikari seized the other.
Together, they poured Voltra into the chain.
Its metal links began glowing bright blue.
"Now!"
They hurled it toward the fleeing Kaiju.
The chain wrapped tightly around its body before locking into place.
The Kaiju roared in surprise.
"What—?!"
Light planted his feet.
"Pull!"
Hikari pulled from the opposite side with all her strength.
The glowing chain tightened around the Kaiju, restricting its movements.
It struggled violently.
Its muscles expanded.
It pulled against the chain with everything it had.
But the Voltra flowing through the links made them impossible to break.
Lothar looked toward the restrained Kaiju.
Slowly...
He lifted his hand one final time.
The largest sphere of Voltra yet formed above his palm.
Its light illuminated the entire battlefield.
The Kaiju's eyes filled with panic.
"No..."
"Let me go!"
It fought desperately against the chain.
Light gritted his teeth.
"We're not letting you escape!"
Hikari tightened her grip.
"This ends here!"
Lothar lowered his hand.
The beam erupted.
The brilliant pillar of Voltra engulfed the Kaiju completely.
For several seconds...
Nothing could be seen except blinding light.
Then...
Silence.
The beam faded.
The chains fell harmlessly onto the shattered ground.
The Kaiju...
...was gone.
Not a single fragment remained.
Light released the chain and dropped to one knee, breathing heavily.
Hikari did the same.
Both stared at the empty battlefield.
"It..."
"...is over."
Lothar remained standing in the center of the ruins.