Jasmine POV:

3 minutes.

The location of the Royal Guards didn’t just contain the current ranks but also those in training to become one. They were known as Shadow Guards: a hidden force that Margaret had informed us about beforehand, and they were always on standby to fill in the ranks in case something happened. But quite frankly, I didn’t care.

“Keuk!”

My fist blurred as I pummelled the Royal Guard in my grip before dashing him into a nearby building. I turned my attention back towards Leo.

“Leo, go on ahead. I’ll catch up with you soon~”

He glanced back at me and nodded his head. I watched his cloak flutter behind him as his eyes narrowed. The blood rushed to my cheeks while I twirled the lollipop around in my mouth.

‘Gosh... I love you so much~’

“Arc Drive: Flash.”

I dashed forward and caught the flash of light heading towards my Leo. I crunched down on the lollipop, glaring at the little scrub who couldn’t read the atmosphere.

“Do you mind?”

“Yo—”

My foot sank into his stomach, launching him back into the pile of rubble he came from. Leo hadn’t even bothered to look in his direction and instead tapped my back gently. His body vanished, leaving behind a burst of wind while I failed to keep track of his speed.

‘What a badass~’

“...Your actions here will bring about the worst outcome. He is not ready yet.”

I clicked my tongue as Storm got back to his feet. He was the one who had pushed Leo to the brink a couple of months ago, and I had a bone to pick with him.

“Arc Drive: Overdrive.”

His short jacket glowed with a white Ki while his multicoloured eyes left a trail of white energy behind it. Storm's presence caused a flash of light to rip apart the darkness, revealing our positions to everyone present.

“Len!”

Len immediately jumped into the air and spun the dagger in a circular motion in front of her face. She caught it as her amber eyes flashed.

“Nightwalker: Assassination.”

All of the targets that had been marked three times collapsed immediately. Marina flared her hands, trapping each of them in cages of fire as I peered down at Storm.

“I think it’s time I taught you a nice long lesson for touching my Leo~”

His eyes glowed, and his lips curved upwards.

“Overdrive: Storm.”

My pupils dilated to the extreme as I watched Storm move in slow motion. His body appeared to phase in and out of existence while the gap between us closed. His fist gradually grew larger, turning inches into centimetres and centimetres into millimetres as a collision seemed inevitable.

‘Cerulean: Sky.’

My eyes flashed blue, leaving a zigzag path behind me; my movement ending with a sizeable distance between the two of us.

Blue Ki hovered around my arms, spreading out into several triangles that weaved together to form a net resembling an upside-down wing. Storm's eyes slowly swivelled towards me as I smirked.

My fist blurred. It reached his stomach, tapping him lightly. His face began to contort; the air shattered apart as the impact shot through him like a cannon. Storm dropped to his knees, the white of his eyes showing his loss of consciousness as the intervals of milliseconds came to an end.

I gripped his neck and lifted him up into the air. Ever since Leo became the District Leader, I had trained nonstop in order to stand by his side. I broke through to Shin and honed my ability further, yet this little scrub really thought I was so easy?

“...Overdr—”

The back of my hand slapped his mouth shut. His eyes visibly shook while he stared at me in disbelief. My hand blurred as a loud slapping sound echoed across the battlefield.

‘...How many times did he hit Leo?’

I popped another lollipop into my mouth, pondering over that question before my hand collided into his severely swollen cheek again.

“Keuk...”

I ignored his pained moan and manipulated the air. His head snapped back again and again...

And again, till I felt somewhat satisfied. My lips parted as I gazed in the direction Leo had headed off to.

“Don’t underestimate him. He’s gone far beyond your pathetic expectations~”

“...”

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I released my grip while simultaneously raising my right leg. My foot crashed into his jaw, sending him spinning through the air into a nearby building. Storm's head slumped forward, with a slight smile on his unconscious face.

‘...Hm.’

Distortion covered the area again, and the battle continued. It took more and more time to deal with the enemies as their ranks decreased further. I guess the Royal Guards lived up to some of the hype by being able to shake off a lot of the effects Distortion imposed on them.

8 minutes.

I sidestepped a stream of flames when Gia abruptly popped into view.

“How are the other locations doing?”

Once Marina broke through to Shin, I had some spare time on my hands. It was during that period I visited the Organization and met Gia a couple of times, so, at the very least, we weren’t complete strangers to one another.

“Better than I expected. I’ll be dealing with the single-digit Guards ahead.”

Her eyes burned with excitement as she vanished out of my sight before I could stop her. I clicked my tongue as I splayed my hand dispelling another wave of fire. I wanted to be with Leo, but these damn guys were so persistent.

“Leave her to me.”

A woman with two large, burgundy pigtails containing black highlights, stepped forward while releasing her Ki. Her vibrant hazel eyes swept over me as she smirked.

“Clearly, not everyone is blessed with good genetics like me.”

I felt something inside of me snap. I glared at her smug face as she placed her hand on her hip and chuckled lightly.

“Don’t feel bad. For beauty to exist, ugliness is a necessity, and you play your part well.”

The veins on the side of my head bulged while I watched her navigate through the Distortion with relative ease.

“I’m Lydia, Rank 11, and your little rampage ends here.”

I crunched down on the lollipop, unable to keep my cool any longer. I was about to rearrange this little punk's face.

“Cerulean: Night.”

I crouched down with my hand resting on the ground in front. My leg muscles contracted tightly as a black Ki formed a wing-shaped net that extended from my ankle to my knee. The process repeated itself from my wrist to elbow as a golden brown line ran along the middle of the several, rounded triangular shapes that intertwined tightly together.

“How unsight—”

I bolted forward as my fist crashed into her precious little face. The impact rippled across her cheek while the ground below shattered into tiny cubes. The curls at the end of her stupid pigtails rippled as my eyes flashed golden brown.

The weight of the blow drastically increased. 2x, 4x, 8x, 16x, 32x, 64x: my strength multiplied rapidly, slowly cracking away the very fabric of her reality; beauty.

Her body folded like a piece of paper as I brutally pounded it into the ground. She stretched out her hands desperately to try and stop me, but nah.

I was pissed.

“...E-Elegance: Refinement.”

A burst of Ki rippled out from around her, temporarily pushing me away. The flesh covering her shattered jaw and cheekbone looked like a disfigured meatball. Her eyes widened to such a degree, her pupils shrunk to the size of a pea.

Lydia glared at me with pure rage while flexing her fingers. The damage to her face gradually healed as a stream of fire shot out of her hand.

“Elegance: Artistry.”

Her Ki took on a pinkish colour, forming budding roses far above her head. They joined together in such a way it resembled Lydia's face.

‘...So vain.’

I clicked my tongue as the roses launched powerful beams of compressed Ki towards me. I kept Night active, weaving through her attack while closing the distance. Night didn’t boost my speed to the same degree as Sky, but it was enough to deal with Lydia.

‘!’

The beams suddenly converged into one as the giant rose Lydia opened her mouth. I instantly raised my guard, blocking the missile that tore through the air.

‘Dammit...’

I crashed through multiple buildings, unable to completely withstand the power of her attack. I could only use the strength boost of Night a few times a day, and I still needed to deal with the single-digit Guards ahead.

“It’s been a while, Jasmine.”

“!”

A jacket fluttered into my view. I got to my feet, ignoring the pain I was in while Skorr glanced at me; his lips curved upward.

“I'll be going on ahead to see what the kid can do with my own eyes.”

“Oh no, you don—”

He disappeared just as I was about to grab him. If I had known he could move that fast, I would have tried to grab him seriously.

My eyebrows twitched while I let out a deep sigh. It had been well over 5 minutes since I last saw Gia, and I hadn’t seen Lissandra once either; that meant she was already with Leo too.

‘Stay calm, Jasmine. Stay calm.’

“How unsurprising. It seems that you aren’t good with men either.”

My head slowly creaked towards Lydia. I felt my rationality exit my mind while my eyes popped. I cocked my head to the side and glared at her.

“That’s it. You’re dead.”

She chuckled lightly as several beams launched forward again.

“Cerulean: Night Sky.”

Blue Ki replaced the net-like pattern on the left side of my body. I flashed forward, leaving behind a deep blue trail as the beams of Ki failed to recognize where their target was.

A second split into sections of milliseconds, and my fists lightly tapped against several parts of her body. I saw her eyes move down in slow motion as my Night empowered fist rocked her jaw into the stratosphere.

The blue and black Ki flared on both of my arms while both of my fists sank into her stomach. A navy blue Ki spread across her body, containing the twinkling stars of the night sky. Each of them exploded at the same time as the second came to an end.

Lydia's bloodied body flopped to the ground—her face an unrecognizable mess. My foot rested on her head while I pulled out a lollipop from my pocket.

“...Yeah. I’m still annoyed.”

The ground broke apart further as I imprinted Lydia's head deep within it. I popped the lollipop into my mouth and twirled it around.

‘Tch.’

My attention turned towards the rest of the battlefield. Len and Marina fought multiple Guards at once but showed no signs of fatiguing anytime soon.

“Marina! Len!”

They both looked at me and nodded their heads. I jumped high into the air as they backed away in order to not get caught up in the attack I was about to unleash.

“Cerulean: Fleeting Sky.”

A net of blue Ki wrapped around both my arms. I took a deep breath, ignoring the strain from using my ability in quick succession. My body felt as light as a feather while my senses entered a new realm. The technique forced the next second to split into a series of segments: a feat only possible due to what I learnt and encountered during Shin.

I locked on to all the targets in the area, and my fists blurred, shooting forth waves of blue Ki that lightly tapped against each of them. A zigzag trail was left behind my flickering body while I placed my hand against the small wing-shaped balls of Ki resting on each target.

Blood trickled out of my nose once I arrived in front of the final target. My hand pressed against the Ki, and the air around each of them shattered as my eyes flashed blue.

It rippled through them, crushing their Ki Armour; the blue lines connected together to form a network. The final line reached me, and pillars of blue light descended down from the sky over each point along the chain, containing explosions that shook the whole area.

The second came to an end, and I dropped to one knee as blood gushed out of my nose. My eyes stung while several blood vessels popped inside of them. My whole body ached as I twirled the lollipop in my mouth.

“Tch.”

My Ki Reserves dropped down to one-fifth. I got to my feet and examined the battlefield. Marina took care of the targets I had missed as Len stood by my side.

“You ready?”

“Ha. Of course~”

We dashed forward while Marina caught up with us. We headed towards the heart of District 1—the place where the final showdown would begin.