Danky screamed and collapsed. Johan then grabbed Raizen's arm, twisted it, and threw him against a wall. The impact was so violent that Raizen spat blood, his shoulder dislocated.
Johan (mockingly):
Pathetic. You're not even on the level of insects.
Ashley, seeing the boys on the ground, screamed in rage.
Celestial Kara: Hundred Lances of Light!
A multitude of energy javelins shot toward Johan. He moved with supernatural speed, a mere blurry silhouette passing between the projectiles without a single one touching him.
Celestial Kara: Falcon's Grasp!
One of her chains wrapped around Johan's arm, surprising him. Before he could break it, Ashley pulled on it to get closer and launched another chain, its end hardened like a spearhead. The tip deeply grazed Johan's side, making him grunt in pain as he violently pushed her away. Blood began to flow from the wound, staining his dark attire.
Johan (in an icy voice):
You're starting to annoy me.
Ashley gave him no respite. She threw a chain to the ground to pivot and delivered a punch to his face. Johan turned his head at the last moment, the blow merely glancing off his mask without causing any damage. He grabbed her wrist and threw her backward, but she used her chains to stabilize herself in mid-air.
Celestial Kara: Orb of Containment! she shouted as she landed.
A sphere of brilliant energy formed and flew toward Johan to imprison him. He simply took a step to the side, and the orb crashed against the back wall in a silent explosion.
Celestial Kara: Rain of Judgment!
Her chains came down like a storm. Johan, instead of letting the power turn back on her, made a gesture.
Johan:
Black Kara: Folding.
Ashley's chains twisted in the air and crashed onto the ground beside him, creating craters. He controlled the direction of the retribution. He grabbed one of the chains before it could disappear and pulled. Ashley was thrown toward him. His fist sank into her stomach, doubling her over. He grabbed her by the hair and slammed her against a pillar. Again and again. He lifted her with one hand like a doll, his fingers tightening around her neck. Then he threw her against a stone pillar, which shattered on impact.
BAM! BAM!
Her blood splattered on the ground. She staggered, her vision blurring. Johan, ignoring the wound still bleeding on his side, now turned to Diana.
Raizen (screaming, trying to get up):
NO!
The world seemed to slow down. Johan leaped. His blade shone in the dim light, aiming for Diana's heart.
Ashley screamed, her throat on fire. She gathered all the energy she had left, all her Kara, her entire being.
Ashley (staggering, her body covered in blood, her chains trembling around her, inner thought):
I am a Zenith Star… I can't falter… not now… if I die uselessly, then… what was I good for?
Her knees trembled, her breath was short, but her eyes remained fixed on Johan.
A burning pain pierced her chest, but even stronger was the voice in her head.
Ashley (whispering, her lips covered in blood):
Sorry… Chief Adams… I couldn't live up to your expectations…
Ashley:
Celestial Kara: Ultimate Rampart
Her chains rose one last time, animated by a broken but proud will. The silver barrier erupted in front of Diana, her Ultimate Rampart.
But the sentence was passed.
The chains began to vibrate. Johan, a cruel smile on his lips, made a slow, deliberate gesture.
Johan:
Black Kara: Retribution of the Broken Mirror.
The barrier's energy was torn away and turned against its creator. The chains transformed into dozens of lances of light.
Johan (cruelly):
This is how you will disappear... Astroforge.
The lances shot forward and pierced Ashley. Her skin tore, her bones cracked. Her blood gushed out in a thick spray, splattering the ground and Raizen's horrified face.
She was pinned against a pillar, her body pierced from all sides, her arms spread, her head falling to the side. Her lips moved one last time, forming a silent word: Raizen.
Then her body slid down the pillar, collapsing heavily in a pool of blood.
Everything stopped. Even the breath of the wind seemed to be suspended.
The silence fell, heavy as death. Danky was crying with rage and helplessness. Raizen remained frozen, his fists clenched, his eyes filled with tears.
Johan approached slowly, his blade still covered in blood.
Johan (mockingly):
To die for weaklings who can't even fight… what a waste.
He raised his weapon, ready to kill the survivors.
And suddenly…
The world froze.
An absolute cold invaded the warehouse. The fresh blood began to freeze on the ground. But the cold did not come from the air. It came from...
Diana...
She was trembling, not from fear, but from a dull rage. Her eyes, usually so gentle, had become two empty, glacial abysses. Ashley's blood, which had splattered on her face, seemed to evaporate into a fine black mist.
A low voice, different from her usual one, echoed in the silence.
Diana:
You…
Johan turned, surprised by the overwhelming aura emanating from the young girl.
Then, Diana raised her head.
Her icy eyes stared at Johan.
Her hair began to float gently, as if pulled by an invisible wind.
Diana (in an icy voice):
…should never have done that.
The silence in the warehouse was so heavy it was deafening. Ashley's body lay in a pool of blood that was beginning to freeze at the edges. Johan, savoring his triumph, raised his blade to finish off the survivors.
And suddenly... the world froze.
A low voice, which was not Diana's, echoed.
Diana was still there, trembling, but her face was transfigured. Her eyes, usually so gentle, had become two orbs of a polar blue, empty of all emotion. The blood of Ashley on her cheek seemed to freeze and crack. An icy mist, visible to the naked eye, escaped from her body.
Without a cry, without another word, she stretched her hand toward Johan.
The air itself tore apart.
Massive spikes of almost blinding white ice erupted from the ground beneath Johan's feet. They were raw, wild, like fangs emerging from the earth.
Johan, surprised by the speed and violence of the attack, was forced to leap backward.
Johan (a smirk forming on his lips):
Oh? The little mouse has claws?
But he didn't have time to finish his sentence. Diana made another gesture. The warehouse floor was instantly covered with a thick layer of ice, making it as slippery as an ice rink.
Johan, for the first time, lost his balance for a fraction of a second.
That was all Diana needed.
Waves of intense cold pulsed from her body, so powerful that the warehouse walls began to be covered in frost. Johan felt the cold penetrate his bones, a cold that didn't just freeze, but seemed to want to stop the flow of his own Kara.
Johan (thinking, for the first time annoyed):
This isn't ordinary ice... This is pure Celestial Kara of the ice type. Raw. Unrefined. Dangerous.
He tried to approach her, but with each step, walls of ice shot up in front of him, forcing him to change direction. The warehouse had become her playground, a deadly ice labyrinth she was creating instinctively.
Then, she raised both hands.
The moisture in the air condensed and froze, forming dozens of ice daggers that floated around her, each vibrating with unstable energy.
She did not shout a technique name. She just made a gesture.
The daggers shot toward Johan like a volley of arrows.
Johan, understanding that he could not block them physically, was forced to do the only thing possible: he let the Celestial Kara daggers hit him.
His power of retribution activated.
The daggers turned back against Diana.
But she did not move. Just as her own daggers were about to pierce her, a warm, blue glow emanated from her chest. Her internal healing Kara activated instinctively, not to heal a wound, but to create a shield of pure life energy.
The ice daggers crashed against the bluish shield in an explosion of light and steam.
Johan stood frozen. His smile had vanished.
Johan (muttering, fascinated and furious):
Elemental Kara and Internal Kara... awakened at the same time? And they oppose each other? What is this monster?
Diana, her face still devoid of expression, took a step forward. The ground froze beneath her feet. The temperature of the entire warehouse dropped again, and Johan's breath turned into a thick cloud of vapor.
The fight was not over. It had just truly begun.
End of Chapter 13