cosmic outbreak

Chapter 14 – The Final Battle

Kuroshin's breath was steady, his aura pulsating with overwhelming darkness. Across from him, Xander smirked, summoning illusionary clones to distort reality. But Kuroshin had fought too many battles to be fooled. Closing his eyes, he honed his senses—finding the real Xander amidst the chaos.

With a powerful Dark Punch, Kuroshin shattered the ground beneath them, destabilizing Xander's footing. Taking advantage of the moment, he surged forward, dark spear in hand, piercing through Xander's chest before slicing cleanly through his head. The fight was over. Kuroshin collapsed, unconscious, the battle draining every ounce of strength from him.

—

Meanwhile, Daiki was still under enemy control, his thunderous attacks raining down on his former friends. Kiyoshi managed to land a devastating punch, breaking Daiki's arm, but Emi shouted, "Don't hurt him too much! We need to remove the chip!"

Takeshi, Kaito, and Hiroshi worked together, but Daiki was relentless—his attacks growing more violent as he lashed out with thunder whips. Just as all hope seemed lost, Akito, invisible, managed to sneak behind Daiki and, with a swift motion, sliced the chip out of his body. Daiki collapsed, unconscious but finally free.

Kaito exhaled in relief. "It's over…"

But it wasn't.

A massive fire wave erupted from Zorlak, the flames consuming everything in their path. The once-defeated enemy had transformed into a fire titan, his body now a walking inferno.

Muscle stood before him, cracking his knuckles. "You're gonna die."

For the first time, Zorlak felt fear.

Their battle was brutal. Muscle launched a barrage of powerful Zero Knuckle punches, but Zorlak retaliated with flames so intense that the ground itself melted. Each blow was a struggle for survival.

And then—Hikaru awakened.

His body glowed with ethereal blue energy, his breathing synchronized with the rhythm of the battle. The moment Zorlak prepared to deliver the final blow to Muscle, Hikaru unleashed an Ether Blast, slicing through Zorlak's shoulder.

Zorlak roared, attempting to burn Hikaru alive, but the flames couldn't even touch him. With a final strike, Hikaru pierced Zorlak's heart with Nova, while Muscle delivered Zero Knuckle at full power.

The fire titan collapsed. Zorlak was dead.

—

When Hikaru awoke, he was in their base, surrounded by his comrades. Everyone had survived. They had won.

But at what cost?

Kiyoshi sat in silence, grieving Akari's loss. Renji was gone. The weight of their sacrifices hung in the air. Asahi, tears in his eyes, engraved Renji's name onto his colossal hammer—a tribute to their fallen friend.

Despite their sorrow, they had triumphed. They had defeated their enemies.

Or so they thought.

Far away, in a distant dimension, a dark figure received Zorlak's final message.

A chilling voice echoed through the void.

"I'm coming, you filthy humans.