The armored suit raised its blaster and fired.
BOOM!
Olorun launched into a super jump, leaping straight toward Joel. As he soared through the air, both pinkies crackled with violent electricity.
"FINGER KNIFE!!"
He spun mid-air, unleashing a flurry of precise, deadly stabs aimed for Joel's chest and throat. The strikes were fast—like lightning incarnate—but Joel's ghostly hands caught both of Olorun's pinkies mid-attack.
"No you don't, Mr. Assassin," Joel growled, tightening his grip.
From the side, the armored man lined up his next shot—his blaster glowing red, aimed right at Olorun's exposed back.
THWACK!
Kenji came flying in with a brutal kick to the armored suit's head, knocking it off aim.
But as he landed, Kenji's hands grabbed his own leg, face tight with pain.
"God damn that thing's heavy…"
Olorun laughed through gritted teeth, still suspended by Joel's magic. "HAH! You kicked a damn tank."
Kenji snarled. "HEY—I JUST SAVED YOUR LIFE!"
"Same here," Olorun shot back with a grin.
Then Olorun's expression sharpened. He looked dead at Joel and yelled—
"SPIN TORNADO!!"
His body began to twist at inhuman speeds, arms blurring into motion, becoming a whirlwind of destructive force. The spin forced Joel's magic hands to loosen, freeing his pinkies.
He spun forward and CRACK—landed a direct hit across Joel's jaw.
Joel staggered. "AGH—YOU HIT MY FACE, YOU BASTARD!!"
But before Olorun could press the attack, more spectral hands slammed into his torso—WHAM! WHAM! WHAM!—and hurled him across the deck. He crashed into the ship wall, the impact shaking the rails.
Kenji turned, blades raised.
The armored suit lunged with its energy blade. Shing!
Kenji crossed both swords in time, locking blades with the monster. Sparks flew as the edge of the energy weapon clashed with steel.
"Not letting you through…"
"WEAPONS SYSTEM: FULL COMBAT MODE," the suit intoned.
Olorun, groaning but alive, called out, "LIGHTNING SPEAR!!"
A bolt of searing energy shot toward the armor. It sparked across its plating—but barely slowed it down.
Kenji's eyes narrowed. He swung both blades in a clean arc—SHINK SHINK!—slashing at the armor's torso with all his might.
Nothing.
Not a dent.
"Shit…" Kenji muttered. "My swords… they can't pierce the damn armor…"
The suit's weapons folded back into cannon mode and it returned to firing stance.
PEW-PEW-PEW!!
It opened fire again. Kenji ran full speed across the deck, dodging shots with tight, graceful movements. His cloak billowed behind him, each step barely avoiding blasts as the ship shook beneath him.
From the other side of the deck, Olorun lifted his head, blood on his lip, a lopsided grin forming.
"Kenji… You better not die before I get to make fun of you again."
Kenji didn't look back.
"I'll die when I say I'm done."
Kenji then shouted: "KEN-SLASH!!"
He unleashed a storm of air slashes, each one slicing through the wind with deadly force. The armored suit raised its blaster to fire—but it was too slow. The blades of compressed air ripped through its chestplate, staggering it backward with sparks and screeching metal.
SLASH-SLASH-SLASH-SLASH!
Pieces of armor peeled off like banana skin. It groaned, faltering.
From behind, Olorun raised both hands to the sky, lightning crackling between his palms like two suns screaming to be released.
"DOUBLE LIGHTNING SPEAR!!"
Two massive bolts roared forward toward Joel.
Joel smirked. "Dumbass—I can dod—"
CRACK-ZZTT!
The lightning jerked hard left mid-air, swerving like snakes and slamming right into Joel's back, blasting him into the ship's railing.
"GAAAH!"
Olorun grinned, flipping Joel off. "Take that, you coward!"
Joel stood back up, smoke rolling off his robes. His face contorted with rage.
"Coward…? That's it."
Eight spectral hands manifested behind him like a crown of death.
He roared, "HAND CANNON!!"
All eight hands pointed at the ship and fired simultaneously, unleashing a colossal barrage of energy blasts.
Olorun's eyes widened. "OH SH—"
He jumped just in time as the beams tore through the hull.
BOOOOMMMM!!
The ship exploded in a fireball, shrapnel raining from the sky.
Now engulfed in flames, the massive BOOM-GO ship began spiraling down from the heavens like a dying star.
Kenji braced himself against the wind. "Shit, Olorun—we're going down fast."
From behind, the armored suit stumbled toward them, half-destroyed. "WAIT—I CAN'T JUMP—I CAN'T FLY EITHER!!"
Joel floated above, arms crossed smugly. "Uhhhhh… You were a worthy sacrifice."
The armor suit's voice cracked. "YOU BITCH!!"
Olorun spotted a new ship in the distance. "KENJI—LOOK! Another one!"
Kenji turned, saw it—rising through the clouds, smaller but fast. "Shit… and there's more of them coming…"
Without hesitation, Olorun grabbed Kenji by the arm.
"Hold tight!"
"Wait, what—"
BOOM!
They rocketed through the air with a super jump, flying across the sky like missiles. Olorun landed hard on the deck of the next vessel, cracking the floor beneath their feet. Kenji rolled beside him and stood up, blades gleaming.
A dozen Ascendants turned, stunned. One of them dropped his rifle. "OH NO—IT'S OLORUN AND KENJI!!"
Kenji smirked, adjusting his grip on his swords.
"You know what?" he muttered. "I could get used to everyone knowing who we are."
Olorun cracked his knuckles. "Agreed."
Joel screamed from above. "WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?! FIRE!!"
ZAAAP-ZAAP-ZAAP!
Laser beams blasted toward them from all angles—a glowing net of death.
Kenji vanished, moving faster than their eyes could track. He reappeared in front of a squad and sliced through their weapons with a single cross-slash, sparks flying.
Olorun ducked, flipped, and slammed a lightning-charged palm into an Ascendant's chest—BOOM!—sending him flying into two more behind him.
Kenji called out, "Left side—two more!"
"Already on it!" Olorun yelled, jumping and dropkicking one midair, then slamming his fists into the deck to create a shockwave that sent five Ascendants flying.
Kenji leapt into the air, spinning with both blades out—SHINK SHINK SHINK—dropping enemies like falling dominoes.
An Ascendant screamed, "THEY'RE MONSTERS!!"
Olorun grinned, panting with a spark in his eye. "Nah… we're just getting started."
Kenji dashed through the deck like a blur, his blades slicing through Ascendants left and right.
SHINK—SLASH—SHING—!
Enemies dropped around him like flies.
At the same time, Olorun weaved between attacks, tossing soldiers off the ship with explosive palm strikes and bursts of lightning.
"Skarnak!" Olorun shouted, hurling a panicked Ascendant into the ocean.
Kenji cleaved through two more, his face calm but eyes locked in predator mode.
They both stood back-to-back, panting slightly, bodies marked with small cuts and smudges of battle.
"Done," Kenji said.
"Done," Olorun echoed.
But then—
Joel floated above, still hovering, his robes singed and hair a mess. "Idiots… there's more ships incoming."
Olorun narrowed his eyes. "Tch… annoying bastard."
He leaned in close and whispered, "Kenji… we need to take him out. He's really annoying… and kinda weak."
Kenji smirked faintly and whispered back, "I was just thinking the same."
Olorun gave a knowing nod.
Joel furrowed his brows. "Hey—what the hell are you two whispering about?"
Suddenly, Olorun slid behind Kenji and grabbed him tight, arms locked around his torso.
The two smirked in perfect sync, eyes locked on Joel like wolves cornering prey.
Olorun grinned. "Ready?"
Kenji nodded. "Let's finish this."
FWOOOSH!
With a surge of lightning, Olorun super-jumped into the air, carrying Kenji with him. The sky cracked with energy as they rocketed toward Joel.
As they reached midair, Kenji's blades glowed with blinding energy.
"KEN–MULTI–SLASH!!"
Kenji slashed everywhere at once—a cyclone of blades cutting across Joel from all angles. His magical hands flailed, trying to block the storm—but it was useless. Each strike pierced through, overwhelming him completely.
"GRAAAHHHHH!!"
With a final slash, Joel was blasted backward, spiraling through the sky until he crashed into the water below with a huge splash.
BOOOOOOOM—SPLASHHHH!
Olorun and Kenji began falling fast, the ship shrinking below them.
"KENJI!!" Olorun yelled.
Kenji focused. "I got it—!"
SHUNK!
Kenji stabbed his sword into the deck just as they landed, slowing their fall with a grinding screech of metal.
Olorun landed beside him, bouncing once before collapsing on his knees.
He looked over, grinning. "Good save, Kenji."
Kenji climbed up fully, sheathing his sword with a calm flick. "Yeah."
But then—
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
More ships emerged from the clouds, swarming toward them like a fleet of angry wasps. At least twenty strong.
Olorun groaned, staring up at the horizon. "Man… you gotta be kidding me."
Kenji exhaled hard, wiping blood from his cheek. "Does it ever end?"
"Nope," Olorun said, cracking his neck.
Kenji raised both swords again. "Alright then… let's go."
Five Hours Later…
The deck was a graveyard of busted tech, broken beams, and smoking hulls. Pieces of enemy ships still floated around in the sea below.
Kenji and Olorun lay flat on their backs, bodies scraped, clothes torn, breathing heavy.
"...We did it," Olorun said between breaths, his voice dazed.
Kenji closed his eyes, one hand resting on his chest. "Yeah. Finally."
A silence settled in. The sky was golden now, the sun starting to dip.
Kenji opened one eye. "We should probably head back to Eleo and the others."
Olorun groaned and flopped his arm over his eyes. "They can wait… just five more minutes."
They both lay there, side by side, quiet again—two warriors who'd just raised hell and walked through fire together.