With battles happening all over the country, the amount of damage that cities took was beyond anyone’s imagination. Mari was at MYTH’s branch office watching the battles unfold with a frown on her face.

“Madam, the Gaia System is having trouble keeping up with the rate of the damages.”

One of her android assistants reported to her.

“Deactivate the system.”

“….Pardon?”

The android reacted with a human-like expression.

“The system can’t rebuild fast enough so it’ll be a waste of time to keep it active.”

“But that will mean that the country will be reduced to rubble.”

“That’s what they want right? They want to fight until everything is destroyed. So let’s grant their wish.”

She smiled.

“Besides, when there’s nowhere to run and hide everyone will have no choice but to look death in the face and fight it.”

She stood up.

“I guess I should get going. After all, the winner of this war will get this country too.”

Near the capital, an intense battle broke out between the royal forces and a single warrior.

“My brother wants this capital! Hand it over!”

Ice burst out of the ground and hit the soldiers skewering dozens of them. The survivors looked up and saw a girl with purple hair leaping over them. They turned around and saw her make a sprint towards the capital.

“I can’t believe that she came here alone!”

“What’s there to believe?! The brother is a lunatic so isn’t it natural that the sister would be one too?!”

Soldiers on the walls started firing beams at the intruder. The girl would avoid them with incredible agility. She snapped her fingers and a slope of ice appeared in front of her. She ran up the slope and launched off it.

“She’s coming!”

The soldiers started panicking.

“Tessa Dragna is attacking the capital!”

Tessa clenched her fist and a giant ice fist appeared beside her. She thrust her fist forward and the giant fist slammed against the city walls and shook it vigorously causing the soldiers to tumble over. They tried to get up but their hands and feet were frozen stuck to the ground. Tessa landed on the walls and then leaped into the city with a hearty laugh. She landed on the ground and was immediately surrounded by soldiers.

“What’s this? Is this how you people welcome a guest?”

A big grin crept onto her face.

“Despite how I act, I’m a princess you know.”

“What?! Miko’s sister invaded the city?!”

Bloom who was recovering from her battle with Natasa got out of her bed in a hurry.

“She might not be as strong as Miko but she shares his blood. I must go see her out.”

She pushed the soldiers blocking her and door and was about to step out.

“Don’t worry, Bloom.”

She paused when she heard a familiar voice.

“Hm?”

Tessa looked up at the sky when she thought she saw something in the clouds.

*BAM!*

A bright flash spread through the area and was accompanied by an explosive sound. This sound reached all the way to Bloom.

“What just happened?!”

Meanwhile, at the gate, the soldiers were staring at the smoke cloud in front of them. More specifically, at the man that had caused it.

“Sit back and relax, Bloom.”

“It’s General Nico!”

The soldiered cheered while Nico spoke into his communicator.

“I’ll remove the uninvited guest myself.”

He lifted his hand and blocked a knee strike from Tessa.

“And I wonder how you’re gonna do that?”

Tessa leaped back and then pounce at him with a kick. Nico blocked it with his arm. He ignored the frost covering his arm and grabbed Tessa by the collar.

“Just like this!”

He pulled her towards him and threw her with a spin. Tessa, seeing that she was gonna be thrown out, formed a wall of ice behind her to stop herself.

“I said, out!”

Nico appeared out of a flash and punched her through the ice. She blocked the punch with her arms but the force sent her flying out of the city. Nico ignored gravity and flew after her.

“….He can do it.”

The soldiers looked at each other and started cheering.

“General Nico can repel that demon!”

“Woah.”

Tessa landed on a destroyed tank outside the city.

“He packs more punch than I expected.”

She leaped off the tank and it exploded. She distanced herself with a grin. She looked at Nico who was surrounded by static.

“Well, you look confident.”

Tessa placed her hand on her hip.

“Could it be that you think that I’m an easy target?”

“You share his blood, so there’s no way that I would even begin to think that.”

The static around Nico became more violent as if he was in the center of a thunderstorm.

“I just can’t see myself losing.”

Tessa frowned.

(What’s this sinister sensation that I’m getting from him? Could it be the source of his confidence?)

Her frown soon changed to a grin.

“Interesting. Show me what is it that gives you so much confidence.”

She charged at Nico without any hesitation. Nico threw a punch and Tessa’s eyes were overwhelmed by lightning. She leaped into the air and formed a foothold out of ice. She leaped across the sky to avoid several lightning strikes. Nico stood in place fired lightning bolts at her. She maneuvered through the air by creating ice footholds and leaping about.

“Incredible. I can’t find any blind spots to attack.”

She grinned and poured power into her legs.

“Then I’ll just create one!”

She shot towards him and several bolts of lightning went straight at her. She clenched her fist and darkness gathered around it. She timed the lightning bolts and then punched out. Her punch dispersed the lightning and she went straight for Nico.

“…….”

He silently faced her. And then, She blinked.

“?!”

Her target had disappeared.

*BAM!*

A sharp pain was followed by a thunderous sound. Nico popped up behind Tessa and punched her towards the ground. The punch fired lightning and wind directly at her causing her to crash into the earth.

“Like I said, I don’t think I’ll los-”

A black light shot past Nico’s head interrupting him. His eyes widened when he felt a slight pain on his cheek. He put his hand there and saw that he was bleeding.

“Hey, hey. You just got one shot in and you’re acting like you've won.”

Tessa stepped out of the dust cloud with her clothes a bit torn.

“Is that all it really takes to satisfy you?”

She sneered at Nico.

“What a small man you are.”

Nico gritted his teeth and popped up in front of Tessa. He threw a punch but he was the one who got hit. Tessa had punched him faster than he could extend his arm.

“Too slow! Sora is way faster!”

She threw another punch and hit him square in the face. He stumbled back and lifted his leg to throw a kick. Tessa forced his leg back down with a palm strike and then hit under the chin with an uppercut.

“Ace would’ve thrown that kick faster.”

Nico quickly created distance by flying up into the air. With an enraged face, he gathered lightning around his arm and threw a punch. A gigantic arm made of electricity punched down towards Tessa.

“This is nothing compared to Luka’s punches!”

Tessa leaped into the air and threw a punch. A giant ice fist appeared and clashed with Nico’s lightning fist and created a deafening explosion. The ice evaporated and caused the area to be covered with fog.

*Clang!*

Nico heard a sound and saw a chain wrapped around his waist. He was pulled and Tessa slammed her fist in his face before he could react.

“Hina would’ve never fallen for that!”

Nico’s head was blown back with a bloody face. He clenched his teeth and hit the side of Tessa’s face with a hook. Tessa dragged him towards her again and hit him with a headbutt.

“Kristen’s fist is a lot heavier!”

She released the chain and Nico started falling towards the earth. Tessa got rid of her ice foothold and fell towards him.

“I’ve trained with monsters far stronger than me for the last couple of years!

Dark mist started gathering around her arms. The dark mist gave off a feeling of death. This was Death Magic.

“You’re nothing compared to them!”

Tessa clenched her fists with death magic enveloping her. Nico looked up and saw a literally grim reaper staring into his soul. Tessa pulled her arm back.

“So why would I lose to you?!”

She thrust her arm forward and slammed her fist into Nico’s body. She then started raining down punches on him. Nico’s body danced like it was getting hit by a hail of bullets. She only stopped when he crashed into the earth. She stepped back and looked at him laid out on the ground. She frowned.

“Ultra Regeneration, huh.”

Nico sprang to his feet without a single scratch on his body despite his clothes being reduced to rags. Tessa saw a black orb in the center of his chest.

(So that’s the source of the sinister vibe I was getting. After seeing it, I doubt that regeneration is all it grants him.)

“You…You little shit!”

Nico roared with a ferocious expression.

(Here it comes.)

The black substance suddenly ignited and spread across Nico’s entire body. The flames solidified and formed a black bodysuit with green highlights. There was a symbol of a pair of twins on his chest with the Roman Numeral “II” on his back. He had twin boys on his green and black helmet.

“Zodiac Parasite Suit- Gemini.”

After his transformation, Tessa felt an overwhelming presence coming from him.

“Hahaha…This seems like it’ll be fun.”

She laughed but the power that she was feeling was far from funny.

“You said that you won’t lose to me right?”

Nico took a step forward and Tessa witnessed something that made her mind numb. The moment his foot touched the ground, another Nico appeared beside him wearing a similar suit with an inverted color scheme.

“Then how about two of me?”

Cold sweat washed over her body when she realized that the two in front of her were equal in strength.

“One was hard enough but two is….”

“Oh, yeah.”

The Nicos pointed at themselves with a grin on their faces as they spoke in unison.

“In order to win, you’ll need to beat the two of us at the exact same time. Otherwise, we’ll just get right back up like zombies.”

“………”

They laughed when they saw Tessa’s blank expression.

“Hahaha! That’s what I wanted to see! Your stupid face!”

(…So he purposely told me just to make me feel helpless? Sadistic fuck.)

Tessa grinned.

“Well, whatever.”

She slammed her fists together.

“This is just another Monday for me.”

At the same time, a section of Elon was on fire. The soldiers stationed there were shaking in fear in front of the person who was attacking the city. The metallic buildings started to bend and fall on the soldiers. Their weapons would be yanked out of their hands by an invisible force and they would be beaten with them. Tanks and other armored vehicles would float in the air before being thrown at them. The ground they stood on would suddenly come alive and crushed them to death.

“What’s wrong, Traitors?”

The menace, Axel spoke with a grin on his face.

“Don’t know how to handle me?”

Small pieces of metal floating in front of him. He flicked his finger and they flew through the soldiers’ bodies like bullets. It was a massacre.

“Finally!”

He turned his head and saw a soldier with a relieved expression.

“We got a retreat order!”

The other soldiers too became relieved; they didn’t hesitate to run away.

“Retreat? Who gave you that option?”

The ground came alive again and looked like it was going to swallow the soldiers.

“Huh?”

However, it suddenly halted to Axel’s surprise.

“They retreated. Isn’t it cowardly to continue attacking?”

Someone descended from the sky and landed on the ground. Electric sparks were seen running through the ground, returning it to normal. Axel was in a brief moment of disbelief before he started to smile when he saw who it was.

“Gear!”

He summoned his staff in his hand.

“I’ve come to kill you!”

“Damn, Fanatic. Very well.”

Gear, who was wearing a golden armored suit, gestured for Axel to come.

“I’ll kill you and then go on to kill everyone else.”

“Let’s see about that.”

The two faced each other ready to pounce at each other. That’s when something flashed before their eyes.

“?!”

It first appeared in front of Axel, who was slow to react. He received a powerful blow under his chin and was forced off the ground and into the air like a rocket. It then disappeared and reappeared in front of Gear.

“Fuck off!”

He threw a punch but it maneuvered around his attack and appeared behind him. Gear was grabbed by the back of his neck and slammed onto the ground before being kicked away. He crashed into a building while Axel fell onto top of an armored vehicle so hard he crushed it.

“….What just happened?”

Axel sat up with his body aching.

“Dammit!”

Gear pulled himself out of the building and glared at what had attacked him. It was a man with orange hair and eyes, and a playful expression on his handsome face. He recognized him as Miko’s Apostle and his rumored righthand.

“Ace!”

Ace stood between them with a grin on his face and spoke as if laughing.

“Sup, Bitches!”