"Core Release: Elven Dawn." Laon whispered.
Gold light crawled over his skin and left glowing rune-like marks. easy to see, like a tattoo that burned with power. The light did not scream. It steadied. Calm and terrible at once.
Ren felt it press on him like a heavy hand. The power was not wild now. It was kept in check, controlled. That made it worse. A calm storm is harder to fight than a storm that rages itself out.
Laon’s voice was quiet but sure. "Do you know what they call my Core Release in Shikkoku?"
Ren answered with a chill laugh. "Wouldn’t you like me to be in the dark about that?"
Laon’s smile did not reach his eyes. "They call it the No Escape Zone. You’ll see why soon enough."
He did not wait. Laon raised his hand and loosed a golden arrow into the night, bright, sharp, and full of warning.
Ren stood still, but his body was tense, ready to react at any moment. He knew Laon wouldn’t release an arrow without a reason.
The golden arrow whistled through the air, and in the next instant, it burst apart like a firework. Countless smaller arrows rained down from the sky, shooting toward the battlefield.
This time, the attack was different. The rain of golden arrows wasn’t just greater in number, it carried far more power.
Each small arrow now had the same strength as the normal ones Laon fired before his core release. It was a storm meant to crush everything in its path. Ren understood that well. The pressure of the barrage alone was enough to shake the battlefield.
Ren didn’t hesitate. He didn’t falter before it. He shifted into stance, slowly sliding his katana back into its sheath. His eyes stayed sharp, waiting for the right moment.
As the golden storm of arrows rushed down on him, Ren drew his blade in a single quick motion. Black lightning erupted in the shape of a crescent slash, tearing through the rain of arrows. Everything caught within its reach was shredded apart, turning to dust in the air.
"Lightning Cresecent." Ren whispered.
Laon kept firing the same golden barrage, and Ren kept answering with his black lightning crescent. Each clash shook the field. The ground cracked, windows shattered, walls crumbled, and rubble was ground into dust.
The fight seemed like a stalemate, but in truth, the advantage was clear. Laon’s arrows began to graze Ren’s skin, each one exploding on the ground after missing by inches.
Ren was forced to move, leaping from place to place while swinging his crescent slashes. Lightning platforms appeared under his feet as he ran, while chains of lightning snaked across the battlefield, reaching toward Laon. But Laon slipped away with his blink ability, dodging them with ease.
Even with the upper hand, Laon found himself staring at Ren in awe. The boy wasn’t just defending, he was weaving attacks and defense together seamlessly. Platforms, chains, and slashes of black lightning flowed one after another, all controlled without waste.
This kid, his control is incredible, Laon thought, his golden eyes narrowing. He only chooses the best routes, cuts off my angles, and keeps shrinking my options. And what’s worse, he’s growing right before my eyes. Every second, his movements sharpen. Every strike, he gets faster, stronger, and more dangerous. Google seaʀᴄh NoveI[F]ire.net
Even with all his skill, Ren was being pushed back. He dashed through narrow alleys and broken houses, barely avoiding the rain of golden arrows. Walls shattered behind him as explosions chased his every step.
"You can’t run forever," Laon called out with a calm smile. "My eyes can see through everything. No matter where you hide, I’ll find you. And with the energy I hold, I can keep this up all day."
With his core release, Laon didn’t just gain a massive surge of drive energy. His vision had evolved as well. It was like having x-ray eyes, every wall, every building, every corner of the battlefield was mapped clearly in his sight. No matter where Ren ran, Laon could track him with ease, even when he slipped indoors.
Ren clicked his tongue. There was no safe place to escape to. Laon’s arrows weren’t only fast and explosive, some carried strange effects. A few stuck to surfaces, shifting into golden chains meant to bind their targets.
"Tch! Does his energy never run out?!" Ren muttered under his breath as he darted through another broken house. "That’s the advantage of creating arrows from drive aura instead of real ones huh? Pretty annoying!"
Suddenly, three arrows embedded themselves into the walls around him. They didn’t explode, instead, golden chains shot out, lashing toward him. In the blink of an eye, they wrapped around his body, locking him in place.
"What? They can bind too?!" Ren gritted his teeth, struggling against the chains. But no matter how hard he pulled, they wouldn’t budge.
"This is the end," Laon whispered, his voice cold and certain.
Ren was binded as Laon prepared another arrow, but this time, this arrow doesn’t intend to scatter like the earlier ones. This one is a pure and devastating one, enough to destroy a building.
Laon steadied his aim, golden aura swirling and gathering into the shape of an arrow as he drew it back. The air around him trembled with pressure.
Ren’s expression hardened. He could feel it, the danger in that shot was on a completely different level.
Laon released.
The golden arrow shot forward, slicing through the air faster than a bullet.
Just as it neared, the ground erupted, walls of petals and branches rose up in front of Ren. Kaela and Minato had appeared from the sidelines, summoning their strongest barriers to shield him.
But it wasn’t enough.
The arrow tore through the defenses with brutal force, its power only slightly reduced before slamming straight into Ren’s chest. A deafening explosion followed, shaking the battlefield.
"Ren!" Kaela cried out in panic.
"Our strongest barriers and it still broke through?!" Minato muttered, his eyes wide in disbelief.
None of them knew what had truly happened, only Laon, whose x-ray vision stayed locked on the battlefield from start to finish.
Thick smoke swallowed the point of impact, hiding Ren’s figure completely. Kaela and Minato stood frozen, worry etched on their faces. If even their strongest barriers had been torn apart like paper, what chance did Ren have when he was still bound by Laon’s golden chains and took the hit straight on?
Laon’s lips curved into a smile.
The smoke began to thin, and a wave of pressure burst from within. An overwhelming aura spread outward, forcing the air itself to tremble.
When the dust finally cleared, Ren was still there, still caught in Laon’s glowing leash. His upper clothes had been blown apart, and his body was marked with wounds and bruises. Yet something had changed.
The aura around him wasn’t ordinary. It pressed down with such force that Kaela and Minato instinctively dropped to one knee.
"W-what is this? Is this really coming from Ren?" Kaela muttered, struggling to rise.
"It looks like it!" Minato answered, his voice tight.
Ren’s body was cloaked in a thin, condensed layer of lightning, almost hugging his skin. His hair had turned white, strands crackling with sparks as bolts of electricity flashed here and there around him. Even chained, he stood like a storm about to break free.
"Finally showing your true colors, huh?" Laon muttered, his tone half mocking, half intrigued. "I knew it. Even if that attack had landed without interference, you would’ve survived. I can feel it, something deep inside your core. A monstrous strength unrivaled, yet locked away. But now, now you’re starting to draw it out. I wonder just how much further you can grow."
Ren lowered his head slightly, his eyes hidden beneath his white hair and black lightning mask. Then, with a single pull, his limbs surged with power. The golden chains binding him shattered into fragments of light, scattering like dust in the air.
There was no struggle, no resistance. He simply overpowered them.
Even Laon’s eyes widened in surprise. The Ren standing before him now was far stronger than the one he had fought earlier, even stronger than when Ren had activated his core release earlier. It was as if Ren’s strength had suddenly tripled in that brief awakening. The pressure pouring out of him was undeniable.
Landing firmly on the ground, Ren turned his gaze toward Minato and Kaela. His glare was sharp, his voice cold and heavy with authority.
"I’m grateful. But hear me clearly, if you ever interfere in this battle again, I will never forgive you."
The seriousness in his words made Kaela and Minato stiffen. They could only nod, feeling the weight behind his warning.
Then Ren lifted his head and set his eyes on Laon.
"And you," he said firmly, sparks of lightning crackling off his body, "you talk too much. Let’s end this right here, right now."
He raised his katana, aura surging violently as shadows and lightning spiraled around him.
"Core Release: Phase Three: Shadow Storm, Bloom!"