Rei immediately transformed into Black Lunar Warrior as she landed Lunar Crescent Storm, making the drooling Cannibal lose balance momentarily.
She followed it up with a Lunar Boomerang.
Just when the beast put himself back on his feet, he took the boomerang, flinching in a dramatic way.
The isolated planet quaked beneath the ferocity of her attack.
Her Lunar energy surged like a storm as time passed, clearly showing her improvement after taking down the commanders.
Whenever Deadbeat tried to strike, she dodged it with calculated precision.
Though even after getting constantly beaten up by his own prey, Deadbeat grinned through it all like crazy but still for that moment, Rei seemed to be having the edge.
Her speed was unmatched. She weaved through his towering form, appearing behind him in flashes of moonlight.
"Lunar Crescent Strike!"
It slashed across Deadbeat's chest. His dark robes shredded. His skin - a sickly gray - hissed from the burn.
Deadbeat's grin faltered.
His long tongue flicked in the air, tasting his own blood for the first time in what seemed like years.
Rei didn't stop.
"Lunar Phantom Barrage!"
Blasts of concentrated Lunar orbs rained down, striking Deadbeat repeatedly. Each hit sent shockwaves through the air, the sheer force enough to crack the planet's surface as Deadbeat looked like a flop clown getting attacked by a storm of tomatoes from the angry audience.
Finally, with a cry of fury, Rei merged her hatchets together channeling her Lunar powers and hurled both the edges straight into Deadbeat's stomach in a skilled fashion aiming to finish things off.
The impact echoed like thunder.
The beast staggered back, clutching the glowing edges impaled in his abdomen.
For a breathless moment - silence.
Rei panted, sweat dripping inside her suit.
Deadbeat looked down at the weapon piercing his stomach - then slowly...
He chuckled.
The chuckle grew into a snarl.
And then - into a full-blown maniacal laugh.
"That was... exhilarating."
Rei's heart dropped.
With a sickening squelch, Deadbeat yanked it out of his body - the wound closing almost instantly as dark tendrils of energy stitched his flesh back together.
He laughed.
"Heh. Hahaha. HAHAHAHA!"
Rei's blood ran cold.
Deadbeat straightened, cracking his neck.
"That tickled."
In an instant, his fist smashed into her gut, sending her flying across the battlefield.
She gasped, coughing up blood.
Before she could react, he was already behind her-grabbing her by the throat and slamming her into the ground. That slam made her automatically detransform from her Warrior form leaving her vulnerable in her original human form.
"I hope you didn't think this was a fair fight." Deadbeat grinned.
He then proceeded to beat her mercilessly.
Every punch and kick sent shockwaves through the battlefield.
Rei's body cracked under the pressure, her vision blurring from the relentless assault.
But the worst part?
Deadbeat was enjoying it.
He laughed maniacally after every blow.
When blood spilled from her wounds, he licked it off his fingers.
"Delicious... I'm going to savor every last piece of you."
Rei was barely conscious, but tried to rise- though was smashed down again.
Her strength was failing.
She was on the verge of collapse as time was dying.
Her fate seemed sealed.
Meanwhile, Jim sprinted through the desolate planet in search of Heatsun and Moonsalt, his mind racing.
Finally - he found it.
A grotesque slaughterhouse.
The structure was made from dark bones, twisting like a nightmarish maze of death.
Chains hung from the ceiling, and the walls were lined with cages - some empty, others still stained with the remnants of Deadbeat's previous "meals."
Jim's heart pounded.
He found Heatsun and Moonsalt chained to the wall, both bloodied and weak - but alive.
"Dad! Mom!" Jim cried, rushing to them.
Heatsun's eyes fluttered open. "Jim...?"
Moonsalt weakly smiled. "You came..."
Jim hastily blasted the chains with Solar and Lunar energy, shattering them.
He grabbed his parents, helping them to their feet.
But as they stumbled through the slaughterhouse, Rei was still out there.
Alone.
Jim could hear the distant sound of Deadbeat's laughter and Rei's pained screams.
Jim panted. "I have to save her too. But..."
His stare fell to his parents yet again in there bloodied and unmoving forms.
He knew if he tried to save her, there was no guarantee Deadbeat won't recapture them especially when they weren't even in the state to run.
Jim muttered in frustration. "Damn! Why? Why does it have to be so hard? Why can't I do both?"
Heatsun even in his weakened state said. "Save her, if you must but don't worry about us. We had lived long enough."
Moonsalt gave a faint nod.
Jim thought for a minute but couldn't find any better alternative and knew he had to prioritize someone and abandon the other.
Tears fell in his eyes as he muttered. "I -I never wanted this. But...if I have to choose...I don't know...but.. for now...I will focus on taking you both...cuz...she would regret it forever...if you were sacrificed for her. Plus... even though I would regret either choice...I feel I would regret the other more...losing my parents.. when I am in control...is more painful."
So, Jim finally took the hardest decision to abandon Rei.
He immediately went inside the spaceship with his weakened parents and headed back to Soluna.
He boosted the spaceship's speed to max in frustration taking lesser time to return.
After few hours...
Jim returned to the base after rescuing his parents.
Henry and Marie started to treat their injuries using the medical equipments sighing in relief. "Glad to see you back. We were worried... about you."
Though after a few minutes, while treating Heatsun and Moonsalt's injuries, Henry asked. "By the way, what about Rei?"
Jim froze hearing that.
Heatsun and Moonsalt noticed his troubled expression.
Jim sat alone in the corner, gripping his fists, his mind clouded with guilt.
"Why did I leave her alone?" Jim muttered, remembering Rei's determined eyes as she told him she would be fine.
"I hated myself for turning away, even if it meant I could save my parents. I don't know what I should have done." Jim continued.
Henry and Marie's expression spoke concern.
Marie (trying to be calm): "Jim... you did the right thing. If you had stayed, you might've-"
Jim (angrily): "I should've been there! She trusted me! And I ran away!"
Moonsalt placed a gentle hand on Jim's shoulder, but he shrugged it off.
Heatsun: "She made her choice, Jim. But if you truly want to make up for it, be ready for when she returns. If... she returns."
Jim's heart clenched at those words. He refused to accept any possibility of Rei losing even though what he saw spoke something different.
Meanwhile, inside Dark Void's base, Tim, still disguised as Mighty Fighter, casually walked through the halls, trying to gather information. He had been away infiltrating enemy ranks for so long that he barely knew what was happening on Soluna anymore.
He approached Dark Void's throne room under the pretense of reporting in. Just as he was about to leave, he heard Dark Void speaking to himself, his voice cold and amused.
Dark Void (chuckling): "It's been a while since I've had real entertainment. And to think Deadbeat chose an Earthling as his next meal. The poor woman won't even be able to leave the Bind Circle... her death is inevitable."
Tim's blood ran cold.
"Rei... is fighting Deadbeat? Alone?!"
His heart pounded as he processed the horror.
Deadbeat wasn't just some strong opponent-he was a monster that devoured his enemies after torturing them. If she was trapped inside his Bind Circle, there was no escape.
Tim clenched his fists. He had spent an entire year hiding his identity, waiting for the right time to strike, but none of that mattered anymore.
Tim (thinking): "I'm done waiting. I won't let her die."
Without hesitation, he turned around and stormed out of Dark Void's base.
After sometime...
Tim arrived at Heatsun's base in record time, his mind solely focused on saving Rei.
However, the moment he stepped in, everyone turned towards him with tense expressions though Moonsalt was still inside the room. He was still wearing his Mighty Fighter disguise.
Jim was the first to react.
Jim (furious): "What are you doing here? Did you came to mock us?"
Tim exhaled sharply.
Tim: "There's no time to explain. I need to-"
Before he could finish, Heatsun attacked even in his injured state.
He lunged at Tim with a fiery strike, forcing him to block.
Heatsun (growling): "We have no reason to trust you, Mighty Fighter."
Tim let out a frustrated sigh.
He then grabbed his mask and tore it off, revealing his face for the first time.
Heatsun's hands hurt due to overstraining himself in his state.
Then, Everyone froze.
Jim (whispering, eyes wide): "...Tim?"
Tears welled up in Henry and Marie's eyes.
Heatsun (stunned as he slowly lifted himself enduring the strain): "You... you're alive?"
Tim clenched his jaw. "Yes. But we don't have time for this."
Meanwhile, Moonsalt came out of the room in her injured state after suddenly hearing the commotion. She was already heading in that direction.
Jim took a step forward, his emotions overwhelming him. "Where were you all this time? Why-"
Tim grabbed Jim by the shoulders.
Tim: "Rei is fighting Deadbeat alone. I just found out. If I don't go now, she's going to die."
Jim's face paled.
Jim (whispering): "...No."
Tim released him and turned towards the exit.
Jim suddenly grabbed his arm. "I'm coming with you."
Tim shook his head. "No. As an older brother, I forbid it."
Jim's eyes widened. Tim had never spoken to him like that before.
Tim (serious): "Deadbeat is beyond what you can handle. If you go, you'll only get in my way. You already made your choice to leave Rei behind. Don't make me waste time protecting you too."
Jim's hands trembled, but he couldn't argue as time was already running out.
Tim: "I will bring her back. Stay here and be ready."
Without waiting for a response, Tim rushed out, heading towards the battlefield at full speed via Heatsun's spaceship.
By the time, he escaped, Moonsalt finally came there only to see the spaceship departing and the group staring at it with seriousness.
Meanwhile...
On the isolated planet, Rei was struggling.
She had thrown everything she had at Deadbeat to break free, but nothing worked.
Deadbeat grinned, his sharp teeth glistening. "You're strong. That makes this even more exciting. I like my prey to struggle before I devour them."
Rei panted heavily, her body covered in bruises and blood. She refused to fall.
Rei: "I won't... let you win."
Deadbeat licked his lips and lunged at her.
The next moment, she was sent flying, crashing into the rocky ground. Blood spilled from her mouth.
She barely had the strength to move. Her vision blurred.
Deadbeat laughed, stepping closer. "Is that all, Earthling? I expected more."
Rei tried to stand, but her body wouldn't listen.
Deadbeat grabbed her by the throat and lifted her into the air.
Deadbeat (whispering): "I wonder how your flesh will taste."
For the first time, a flicker of fear crossed Rei's eyes.
She struggled, trying to break free of his grip by flailing with her hatchets, but he was too strong.
Deadbeat opened his mouth wide-ready to bite into her.
And then...
He bit her hard leaving a scar in her shoulder.
Deadbeat(licking the wound):“Ahh… exquisite.”
"I have to take it slow I guess... or I won't be able to savour it properly. Which means, prolonged suffering for you. But be grateful because you will satisfy me, the most feared Cannibal's hunger and your taste will forever live in my tongue."
He was getting no reaction as her breath came shallow. Cold. The screams around her felt like they came from someone else.
Her lips trembled, a single tear seemed to drop from her eyes although almost invisible— a breathless whisper trying to escape. But the dark took her before it could.