Chương 46: Episode 43: Neon Shutters

The Celestianites raised their spears high, armor flashing under the divine light slicing through the swirling clouds. Thunder cracked. Lightning tore jagged scars across the sky, reflecting off golden towers that groaned under cracks like veins. Below, the streets were soaked in blood. Fallen Lunaranites lay twisted and lifeless, wings shredded, bodies steaming from the searing energy of their own demise. Their souls had already fled.

Blue light split the clouds above—Celestial Pillars awakening, divine energy slicing downward like warning spears. Then the storm hit again. Fake Lunaranites and nightmare beasts dove from the sky, shrieking like falling meteors. Jaylen's fists clenched, knuckles whitening, wings battered and dripping. He glanced at Duke, whose silhouette towered over the battered crew, green-black energy coiling around him like living lightning.

"I'm sorry," Jaylen whispered. Duke gave a firm nod.

"Go. Survive." With a war cry, Jaylen shot forward, leaving violet streaks in his wake. The crew followed—flipping, dodging, punching through waves of mechanical alien birds whose cannons spat molten bolts. Dirt, debris, and broken stone exploded like confetti under each impact. Duke pivoted, eyes narrowing at Overbrawl and Krane. Krane cracked his knuckles; violet spiritual energy raced across his arms in arcs like lightning frozen in flesh.

Overbrawl casually dropped Olsen and his axe to the ground, his crimson flames licking the edges of the streets. Olsen bolted after the crew, axe in hand, voice ringing: "DON'T SELL!"

"You realize you're weaker without that fancy watch, right?" Overbrawl said casually. Krane grinned.

"Even without it, I'm still nearly king-tier." Duke stretched, cracking his fists, "So… we really throwing hands?" His grin sharpened. Dark. Confident. Dangerous.

"Worst idea you've ever had."

"Maybe," Duke replied, eyes igniting neon-green, "but it's about to be your worst day." He pointed. The air cracked. Like reality itself flinched. Overbrawl's fists lit up first—crimson flames roaring up his arms like a furnace waking up. Krane followed instantly—fire and spiritual energy spiraling around him, violet lightning crawling up his veins like the world had plugged him into something violent. Overbrawl exhaled.

"I don't wanna hurt you, kid… but if you're asking for a beatdown, Grandpa's gonna deliver old-school." Duke's aura surged. Green-black neon detonated outward.

"I'M MESSING WITH THE WRONG ONE!" The sky trembled. BOOM. Duke vanished forward. A neon missile tearing through space. His fist connected with Krane's chest mid-motion—impact detonating into a shockwave that ripped through streets, launched clouds apart, and cracked the skyline behind them like glass under pressure. Krane shot backward—skipping through air, smashing through towers, carving a glowing trail through the city. Before Duke could reset— WHAM. Overbrawl hit him mid-air. A full-body slam.

They both crashed through golden skyscrapers—steel and glass folding like paper as the structures split open in clean vertical screams. Debris rained like burning confetti. Duke flipped through the destruction, jets flaring, rockets screaming as he corrected mid-air. He re-entered like a predator. Tackle. Impact. BOOM. Both hit the streets. Fists collided instantly—no pause, no breath—just impact stacked on impact, neon sparks exploding with every contact like the air was short-circuiting.

Duke twisted— dragged Overbrawl in a spiral— and slammed him through a skyscraper that split perfectly in half, the building collapsing outward like a dying giant. Duke landed clean. Skidding. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Leaving neon scorch lines across the street. Krane reappeared in his path—flames roaring. Fire punch. Duke blocked. Rotated. CRACK— A backhand sent Krane flying through burning rubble like a broken projectile. Duke didn't slow down.

He chased. Rocketing through mountains, spires, broken towers—turning the entire battlefield into a scrolling ruin of destruction. The city groaned under them. A low rumble built. BOOM. An orange explosion launched upward from the rubble like a sun trying to escape. Duke didn't even flinch. He stood in the blast. Unscathed. Neon glowing through fire like it didn't care about heat. Then he moved again. Tornado spin. A spiral of neon force erupted around him.

He shot forward and tackled Overbrawl out of the sky— SLAM. Ground impact detonated like a meteor strike, dust and debris spiraling outward in violent rings. The battlefield blurred. Roundhouse kick met counterstrike— BOOM. Neon green and dark orange shockwaves tore streets apart in opposite directions, splitting terrain into fractured geometry. Duke surged into a barrage. Fast. Faster. Afterimages stacking into a wall of motion. Finish— UPPERCUT. Krane launched skyward.

But Overbrawl intercepted mid-air—driving into him with a chest collision that fractured the atmosphere itself. Krane vanished— reappeared behind Duke— strike to the skull. Duke spun through it. Neon cyclones formed around his body like orbiting storms. SLAM. A neon orb condensed in his palm. It pulsed once. Twice. Then detonated.

"NEON ABSENCE!" Lightning tendrils erupted outward, binding Krane mid-air, yanking him across space like gravity lost its contract. Krane smashed into Overbrawl— Duke followed instantly.

"BLITZING SMASH!!" FLASH— The void cracked. Clouds collapsed inward. The air itself folded. KRAKOOM!! Both opponents were launched downward like broken meteors, slamming into the earth and erasing everything beneath them in a collapsing crater of dust and neon light. Silence hit instantly. Even the storm hesitated. Smoke drifted. Dust hung mid-air like the world forgot how to move. Duke stood at the center. Battered. Breathing heavy. Still upright.

Neon flickering across his armor like a dying circuit refusing to shut off. His gaze shifted. Across the battlefield. The Pre-Heroes were running. Olsen. Prince. Demaurion. Archie. Ella. Eli. All of them streaking toward the Room of Zeniths, light trails cutting through the ruined city like hope refusing to die quietly. Duke watched them go. A small smirk cut through the blood on his face.

"…Go get 'em…" His voice dropped lower. Almost nothing.

"… kids." On the Moon The silence of space wrapped around us like a noose. Me and Dark Don faced off, energy roaring between us, our auras flaring so bright the stars looked scared to blink. Lunar dust swirled at our feet. Earth hung in the distance like a blue witness who did not want smoke with either of us. Dark Don's eyes locked onto mine, glowing, hollow, sharp enough to slice through a meteor. His aura didn't flare; it thrummed, steady, controlled, like a wildfire that knew exactly where it wanted to burn.

The dude looked like a walking eclipse. A cosmic disaster with abs. I raised my stance. He lowered his. Then he… turned away from me. Like I wasn't even worth the warmup. My tail twitched.

"Uh, hello? We're literally mid-boss fight—" BOOM. He stomped the moon like it insulted his mother. The ground spider-webbed under him, dust exploding upward in silver waves. He didn't even flinch. He just stared at his own hand, fingers curling like he was crushing a memory that wouldn't die.

"Dark Don," I warned, "are you—""I wasn't from Earth." His voice dropped low. Steady. Controlled. The kind of voice dangerous people use when they're two seconds away from breaking the world in half. Instantly, my guard froze. He didn't turn fully toward me, only enough that I could see one eye, glowing against the void like a dying star.

"I lived on Planet Night," he said.

"Storms and shadows, no sun—dragons. Like me. Except…" His jaw clenched.

"I have silver scales." His aura flickered.

"I was eight. A scientist. Smarter than every adult on that planet." He said it like a fact, not a brag.

"I built things that could save worlds. They called them biohazards. Called me a criminal. Hunted me." He breathed in, sharp, annoyed, like remembering was a chore he wanted to punch.

"Silicia was my assistant." A pause.

"A genius. Stronger than me in all the ways that matter. We planned to leave Planet Night. Together." Air around him tightened, like even space was listening.

"We escaped. Got shot down. Crash-landed in Avangard. Iris Town." His lip curled, not sad, but bitter, like the memory tasted like blood.

"Scientists found us. Angel was one of them." BOOOOM. Another stomp. Another crater forming under him.

"I enrolled in Foreshade Academy. Wanted to command under Dreadixz. Wanted to be someone people respected instead of hunted." His voice dropped colder.

"But they laughed. Called us aliens. Mocked Silicia." His fists tightened, lunar sparks crawling up his arms like silver lightning veins.

"I didn't talk. I fought. Hard. Anyone who crossed us paid." His head lifted slightly.

"Silicia was the only one who could calm me. Told me violence wasn't everything." A scoff.

"She was wrong. But I still tried… for her." I felt something twist in my stomach. He still hadn't fully faced me. Like turning around was too vulnerable.

"When we turned eleven, the Celestianite Scouts found us. Thought we were Lunaranites." His teeth gritted.

"We ran. She carried me. I transformed small to trick them." He inhaled, sharp. Controlled. Like a blade being sheathed with shaking hands.

"She hid me under leaves… and I watched them stab her through the throat." Finally, finally, he turned to face me fully. His aura surged, towering, cold, godlike.

"The first word I ever spoke," he said, voice low as the void,"was her name." His Ultra Form ignited, silver power ripping out of him like a storm unleashed.

"You want to know why I hate Celestianites, Don?" he growled, stepping closer.

"It's because of YOUR tribe. YOUR people. YOUR legacy." He was accusing me with the precision of a man who'd been sharpening that hatred for years.

"I've slaughtered planets because of what they did. Because of what YOU represent." His body trembled.

"The Lunaranites weren't the villains," he said, eyes burning white.

"They were the only ones who took me in." His breath hitched, barely. Almost unnoticeable, but enough.

"She loved me," he said.

"And I loved her too." My heartbeat went insane and my stance faltered. My hands also shook because this was an alternate version of me too.

"Dark Don… we can fix this," I whispered. His laugh was low and dangerous, like a blade slicing across ice.

"Never." A massive Lunar sword manifested in his hand, silver lightning crawling across the blade like living rage.

"You'll never understand," he growled, stepping forward, aura surging like a tidal wave.

"Your people killed the only thing I cared about." He raised his chin, eyes cold and furious and heartbreakingly real.

"So now I'm gonna destroy the thing THEY care about most."