Karl’s boots pressed into the dirt, cracks spidering out from his feet.
BOOM—she was already there. Her fist streaked through the air, black fire spiraling from her knuckles. Karl raised an arm to block, but the moment her flame touched him, it hissed—like it was peeling something off him that wasn’t physical.
Karl’s smile twitched. "This flame..."
Lucy didn’t answer. She spun, heel cutting through the air, and a crescent of dark fire ripped toward him. Karl stepped aside, the heat grazing his coat, turning the fabric to ash.
He countered, palm thrusting forward. Golden-white energy roared out, slamming into her chest and throwing her back—until she dug her heels into the ground, sparks spraying from the force, and stopped dead.
It wasn’t just thicker—it was heavier. Black flames rose in tall waves, licking the air like the breath of something ancient. The ground beneath her feet darkened, stone turning to cracked obsidian.
Karl’s eyes narrowed. "That’s not SSS rank aura."
Lucy moved again—faster.
Her punch drove into his ribs, the flames wrapping it like a drill. The impact made the air itself shatter in a sharp crack. Karl staggered, breath leaving him in a hiss.
Golden light burst around him, forming jagged rings that spun faster and faster. He stepped into her range, striking with both fists—each hit carrying the force to break mountains.
Lucy blocked with her forearms, black fire spilling in arcs from every clash. Sparks of gold and black rained like a storm. Each step they took caved the ground deeper.
Karl ducked low, sweeping a kick. Lucy jumped, twisting mid-air, and a burst of flame from her heel dropped straight toward him.
BOOM—the explosion threw smoke everywhere. Karl burst through it, arm cocked, and drove a punch toward her face.
She caught it with one hand.
Karl blinked. "What—"
Her other hand slammed into his chest, and for a heartbeat, his golden aura flickered. The cursed fire wasn’t just burning his body—it was gnawing at his energy.
Karl stumbled back, eyes narrowing. "You’re... erasing my output?"
Lucy’s gaze was locked. "I told you. You don’t matter. But I’ll enjoy breaking you."
To Karl, she was gone—until her elbow smashed into the back of his neck. Then she was in front of him, knee to his jaw. Then behind again, heel smashing into his spine.
He crashed forward, dirt exploding under him.
When he pushed himself up, blood trailed from his mouth. He wiped it with the back of his hand and smirked. "You’re starting to piss me off."
Golden lines shot from his feet into the earth, and in the next instant, dozens of golden pillars erupted upward, caging Lucy in a blinding storm of light.
The cage collapsed inward.
But the black fire flared—and the cage melted away like wax in a furnace.
Karl froze for half a second. That was one of his Rank X signature skills. She shouldn’t have—
Lucy was already on him.
Her fist hit his jaw, flames surging so violently that his vision warped for a moment. Karl’s head snapped to the side, and before he could recover, her follow-up hit dug into his gut so deep his ribs creaked.
Karl skidded back, coughing blood—and laughing harder. "You’re breaking the ceiling."
Lucy’s aura cracked the air now. Black fire threaded with something else—something silver, like molten metal running through her veins. Each breath she took shook the ground.
Karl’s grin was sharp. "No one in this world has ever gone past SSS. Not without a boost. But you... you’re punching into Rank X raw."
Lucy’s voice was steady. "Then you’ll be the first to lose to it."
Karl’s laughter roared across the battlefield. "Try me!"
The shockwave blew Garos, Athena, and Eron off their feet even from hundreds of meters away. Trees bent until they snapped. The air screamed.
Karl struck with a storm of golden-white fists, each carrying the force of meteors. Lucy met every blow, her black-silver flames clashing against his aura. The collisions didn’t just make noise—they left holes in the air, vacuum pockets that snapped shut with thunderclaps.
Karl’s hand lashed out, grabbing her by the throat. He lifted her—but she grinned, hand gripping his wrist, and in a flash her flames surged up his arm. His golden skin sizzled.
With a growl, he hurled her skyward.
Lucy spun mid-air, fire swirling tighter around her body until she was a streak of black light, then dove back down.
CRAAASH—she hit him like a falling star, both of them smashing into the ground hard enough to split the earth open in a jagged canyon. Lava glimmered deep below as dust and rock flew.
Karl pushed her off, swinging an elbow that she barely ducked. His knee caught her ribs, sending her sliding.
She wiped blood from her lip and smiled faintly. "Better than I thought."
Her aura climbed again.
This time, Karl stopped moving. He could feel it. She wasn’t just brushing Rank X—she was clawing into it.
And she was still climbing.
He broke into a sharp grin. "You’re insane."
Lucy stepped forward, her shadow stretching unnaturally long behind her. The flames around her no longer looked like fire—they looked like the outline of some vast, horned thing curling around her frame.
Lucy met him halfway.
Her fist slammed into his forearm, the impact ringing like steel on steel. He punched back, she caught it, their auras exploding in opposite colors.
The shockwave hit like a quake, splitting the battlefield in two.
They vanished again—appearing and reappearing in blurs, each hit lighting up the horizon.
Karl’s elbow cracked against her jaw—she spun with it, turning it into momentum for a backfist that burst his lip open. He hammered a palm into her stomach—she planted her feet and answered with an uppercut that nearly lifted him off the ground.
Golden energy and black-silver flame spiraled together, eating the light from the sky.
Karl laughed mid-fight, blood dripping from his chin. "Yes! Yes! This is it!"
Lucy didn’t answer—her focus was absolute.
Her next punch hit his chest dead center—and this time, the cursed fire didn’t fade. It burrowed inward. Karl’s aura dimmed, his breath hitched.
For the first time, his stance broke.
Lucy stepped in close, her eyes glowing brighter than the flames. "Fall."
Her knee drove into his gut, her elbow cracked against his skull, and her last hit—an overhead smash—drove him straight into the dirt, leaving a crater big enough to swallow a building.
Karl lay there for a moment, chest heaving.
Then—slowly—he started laughing again.
Flat on his back, blood on his teeth, eyes wild.
"You... might actually kill me," he breathed. "And I’ve never been more excited."
Lucy stood over him, her flames still raging, her aura still climbing.
For the first time since the fight started—Karl wasn’t sure if he could win.