The sky cracked open above the Essence Academy. Lightning twisted through the clouds like serpents as smoke and flames engulfed the campus walls. Students and instructors scrambled for cover, protective barriers flickering from the sudden overload.
In a split second—Riku arrived.
He stood on the edge of the ruined courtyard, eyes glowing faint blue, aura steady. Before him stood the third attacker: a tall, masked figure with silver armor and black gauntlets that pulsed with crimson Essence. He was calmly walking through the academy gates, heading toward the central tower where the younger students had been evacuated.
"You're late," the man said, not turning around. His voice was calm, eerily familiar. "I've already broken their outer defenses."
Riku stepped forward. "You're not getting another step."
The man turned, revealing eyes that glowed red behind his cracked mask. "Another Essence warrior willing to throw himself at the Rebellion. You people never learn."
Without hesitation, the masked enemy lunged—Essence charged in both fists. Riku sidestepped the first blow, their shockwaves blasting nearby pillars into rubble.
The academy trembled.
They traded blows midair, fists clashing with bursts of light. Riku was faster, more refined—but this man was brutal, using explosive bursts to gain power and break through defense.
He caught Riku with a downward punch, slamming him through a statue of the academy founder.
Riku gritted his teeth, Essence surging. "You're not stronger. Just louder."
He rebounded with Essence Step, vanished, then appeared behind the attacker and landed a precise elbow to the spine. The man stumbled, but recovered fast, grinning under his mask.
"You're the one they keep talking about… the D-rank turned A-rank freak."
Riku's eyes narrowed. "You talk too much."
In three quick moves—dash, strike, pin—Riku launched a combo that ended with his palm slamming into the man's chest, releasing a concentrated beam of Essence that launched him across the field. He landed, groaning, unable to rise.
Riku stood over him. "Three down."
The masked man looked up, blood trailing from his lip. "You think… you're saving people? You're just delaying what's coming."
Riku didn't reply. He sealed him with a binding Essence lock, then turned toward the rising smoke from the north.
Another explosion echoed across the city.
Two more left.