The air grew heavier - a suffocating pressure that seemed to crush the very atmosphere around them.
Blooma's crimson eyes shimmered like dying stars, her dark aura rippling and distorting the air as if reality itself was bending to her will. The ground beneath their feet split wider with every pulse of her energy.
Tim clenched his Solar Saber, its once-blazing light now flickering under the weight of Blooma's presence. Sweat dripped down his forehead, but he stood firm.
"We can't let her break us," he muttered, voice hoarse but resolute.
Rei stayed focus, her Lunar Crescent Hatchets glowing faintly. "She's feeding off our fear... we have to push through."
Jim, his Solun Lance crackling with solar-lunar energy, growled, "Then let's give her something else to feed on - pain."
Blooma smirked.
"Pain?" she echoed softly. "You think you understand pain?"
In an instant, her dark tendrils shot out again - faster than before.
Tim barely managed to block one, the force sending him skidding back. Rei slashed through another with her hatchets, but the sheer impact rattled her bones.
Jim thrust his lance forward, releasing a Solun beam - but Blooma twisted her body unnaturally, dodging the blast with ease.
Jeromy, using his plasma whip, snapped at the tendrils, keeping them from overwhelming the group. His breathing was ragged, but his stance remained solid.
"She's gotten faster..." Jeromy muttered.
Gravik, still maintaining his energy transfer, shouted, "Don't stop fighting! I can keep you going - just keep hitting her!"
But Blooma laughed softly - a cruel, mocking sound.
"You think this is fast?" she said. "You haven't seen anything yet."
Her aura exploded outward - and suddenly, she was everywhere at once.
A blur of darkness, striking from every angle.
Tim blocked one hit with his saber, only for a tendril to slam into his side.
Rei ducked a blow, her hatchets clashing with the mist, but a second strike clipped her shoulder.
Jim roared, launching a counterattack with his lance, but Blooma easily sidestepped it, retaliating with a burst of dark energy that sent him flying back.
Jeromy used his whip to protect them, but even he was struggling to keep up with Blooma's sheer speed.
She was a shadow - everywhere and nowhere - a nightmare in motion.
Sheila and Aron watched from a distance.
Aron gritted his teeth. "They can't keep this up... not at this rate."
Sheila clutched her twin-sabers tightly, her body still weak but her resolve unshaken. "We have to trust them... but if it gets worse, we step in."
Blooma, hovering midair, watched the battered group struggle to their feet.
"Still standing?" she sneered. "Why don't you just break already?"
Tim, now detransformed due to exhaustion, wiping blood from his mouth, smiled.
"Sorry..." he said, "we're too stubborn for that."
Rei who was also detransformed stood beside him, her Lunar Crescent Hatchets glowing faintly again. "You'll have to do better than that to break us."
Jim growled, slamming the Solun Lance into the ground in desperation as he was in his normal form. "Come at us again... if you dare."
Jeromy raised his plasma whip, the crackling energy bright against the darkness. "Round two?"
Blooma's eyes narrowed, her fury simmering beneath the surface.
"You fools..." she whispered.
The air trembled as Blooma's dark aura surged, twisting the very space around her.
The once distant screams of battle cries were now replaced by a suffocating silence - the quiet before devastation.
The battlefield, already scarred and broken, seemed to sink further into despair.
Tim's Solar Saber flickered weakly in his hand. His knees buckled, his breathing ragged. Sweat and blood mixed on his face, his once-blazing energy now reduced to desperate flares.
Rei's Lunar Crescent Hatchets barely held their glow. Her arms trembled, every swing heavier than the last. Her usual fierce determination was clouded with something dangerous - doubt.
Jim, gripping his Solun Lance, growled through clenched teeth. His body screamed for rest, but his spirit refused to break - yet even he could feel the gap between them and Blooma growing wider with every second.
Jeromy's plasma whip cracked through the air, but it was slower now. His once-flawless precision faltered, his every movement weighed down by exhaustion.
Blooma hovered above them, an unnatural calm in her expression - but her eyes gleamed with cruel satisfaction.
"I expected more," she whispered, her voice slicing through the silence like a blade. "You're not even close to entertaining me."
Another pulse of dark energy sent shockwaves through the ground, and the team staggered.
Tim panted, his vision blurring. "We... can't... keep up."
Rei, her voice shaking, muttered, "She's... too strong."
Jim, still defiant, yelled, "We're not done yet!" - but even his voice lacked its usual strength.
Jeromy winced, a dark tendril slashing across his arm. "We need... a plan..."
And then - a blur of motion.
Aron appeared beside them. His equipments were already glowing with healing energy, his medical kit open.
"Hold still!" Aron commanded, his voice steady despite the chaos. "I'll heal as much as I can!"
He worked quickly, mending Tim's bruised ribs, closing a deep gash on Rei's arm, steadying Jim's breathing, and treating Jeromy's wounds.
But Blooma's gaze slowly shifted - and her lips curled into a sinister grin.
"The healer," she whispered. "Of course."
A deadly black aura began to gather in her palm - a swirling vortex of darkness, growing larger and larger, humming with unholy power. It wasn't just a blast - it was a cataclysm.
She was preparing to wipe them all out.
Aron froze, realizing he was the target.
"No..." he muttered.
Blooma's attack swelled, the ground cracking beneath the sheer pressure. "Let's see how strong your resolve is when I snuff out your precious doctor and his pathetic wife."
Sheila, still weak but standing firm, moved in front of Aron - her twin-sabers in hand.
"I won't let you hurt him!" Sheila growled, her voice fierce despite her condition.
Aron's heart lurched. "Sheila, you can't-"
"I can, and I will." She braced herself, ready to shield him with everything she had left.
The attack kept growing - an enormous, pulsating sphere of dark energy, swirling with raw destruction. It roared louder and louder, as if tearing reality apart.
And then - Blooma released it.
A tidal wave of death hurtled toward them - too fast, too powerful.
Tim and Rei reacted instantly.
Their bodies moved on instinct - not to run, but to protect.
Tim grabbed Jim and Jeromy, pulling them close.
Rei yanked Aron and Sheila behind her, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Tim.
Gravik already scared of dying, knew he can atleast die with everyone. So, he clung to Sheila.
Their minds screamed - not from fear of dying, but from the desperation to protect the people they loved.
"No!" Tim and Rei both shrieked - their voices raw and fierce.
Their energies flared.
The blast collided with them.
A deafening explosion tore through the wasteland - an all-consuming force of dark energy. The ground disintegrated, the air howled, and an ominous silence followed.
As the smoke cleared...
Nothing remained.
The ground was scorched black. The sky - still.
No Tim. No Rei. No Jim. No Jeromy.
No Aron. No Sheila. No Gravik.
Just... empty ashes.
Blooma hovered, eyes wide for a moment - then her mouth curled into a victorious smile.
"Finally..." she whispered. "They're gone."
She tilted her head, listening for any trace of movement.
Nothing.
A cold, unforgiving silence.
She exhaled slowly, reveling in the moment.
"I win."