Two hours later, just as Jim and his forces were starting to waver, a powerful energy blast ripped through the battlefield, forcing Goblin to step back.
Sheila had arrived.
Her eyes burned with fury as she landed beside Jim. "Goblin, you bastard. You've haunted me for too long."
Goblin turned to her, recognizing the fierce Resistance member from many years ago. "Ah... the one who escaped my purge. I should have finished you back then."
Sheila cracked her knuckles, her power flaring up. "You won't get that chance again."
Meanwhile...
As Tim (as Solar Warrior) and Rei (as Lunar Warrior) soared above Soluna after getting the news of Goblin, getting ready to aid Jim and the others, an overwhelming, suffocating darkness suddenly filled the sky. The air became thick, almost pressing down on them. A cold, sinister chuckle echoed through the void.
Tim's body tensed as his sharpened senses screamed in alarm. "No way..." he muttered, his grip tightening around his Solar Saber.
Rei's eyes widened as she too felt the immense, crushing energy. "It's him," she whispered, instinctively gripping her Lunar Hatchets protectively near her stomach.
From above Soluna, the sky itself seemed to twist and distort.
A vortex of pure malevolence formed, swallowing the surrounding light. A figure slowly descended from the swirling abyss-a being draped in flowing darkness, his piercing crimson eyes radiating an unshakable presence.
Dark Void.
Tim and Rei didn't hesitate. They immediately channeled their energy, their bodies glowing as they ascended. White Solar energy radiated from Tim like a miniature sun, while Rei's Black Lunar energy wrapped around her like a celestial shadow.
The White Solar Warrior and the Black Lunar Warrior had arrived, face to face with Dark Void.
Dark Void merely watched them with a cold smirk. "So... you're the ones they've put their hope in?" His voice was calm, yet every syllable carried the weight of an inescapable doom. "How amusing."
Tim pointed his Solar Saber at Dark Void. "This ends here! Soluna has suffered enough!"
Rei stood by his side, her Lunar Hatchets gleaming with power. "We're not afraid of you."
Dark Void chuckled. "Good. Fear makes things too predictable." His fingers twitched slightly. Without warning, a tidal wave of dark energy erupted from his body, shaking the very core of Soluna.
Tim and Rei barely had time to react before the force slammed into them, sending them hurtling backward. They quickly recovered mid-air, but the sheer pressure made it clear-this battle was unlike anything they had ever faced before.
At the same time Jim, Jeromy, Sheila, Edward and the Celestic Justice Squad, Resistance continued their grueling battle against Goblin. Sheila shouted into the communicator, "Tim! Rei! We're barely holding out here! Where are you?"
Tim, glaring at Dark Void, clenched his fist. "Change of plans... Dark Void is here."
There was silence on the other end. Then Jim's voice, grim but determined, came through. "Then do whatever it takes. We'll handle things here."
Rei exhaled sharply. "Guess it's just us."
Tim nodded, his gaze never leaving Dark Void. "Yeah. Let's give him everything we've got."
On the other side...
Jim clashed fiercely against Goblin, their battle shaking the very ground beneath them.
His relentless training over the past weeks had pushed him to his limits, and now he was finally putting that effort to the test. Goblin, however, was no ordinary foe-his sheer strength and demonic aura made him a nightmare to deal with.
Chaos spread as Goblin summoned monstrous demons, each more terrifying than the last, rampaging through the battlefield in an attempt to wipe out anything he deemed "imperfect."
Sheila took charge against the largest demons, slicing through them with calculated precision of her twin sabers, her battle-hardened experience shining through.
The Resistance who were quietly watching got energized by Sheila's spirit and joined the chaos.
Edward, leading Celestic Justice, worked on controlling the numbers, ensuring the demons didn't overwhelm their forces.
Jeromy, using his plasma whip, darted through the battlefield, striking with precise, powerful blows, taking down demons while keeping an eye on Goblin's movements.
Despite the intense battle, the medical teams of both the Resistance and Celestic Justice worked tirelessly, treating the injured as quickly as possible with Dr. Aron absent.
They also relied on Gravik, who used his abilities to help the injured recover their energy. Resistance soldiers and Celestic Justice soldiers guarded the medical teams, ensuring no demon could reach them.
Goblin, though taking several powerful hits from everywhereâJim's Solun Finish, Edward's Spear strikes, Sheila's direct assaults, Jeromy's plasma whipsârefused to fall.
He let out a menacing laugh. "You all struggle so hard, but in the end, imperfection will always be erased!"
He unleashed a wave of blood red demonic sphere, knocking back several fighters.
Jim barely managed to block it, his body shaking from the impact.
Despite the exhaustion, Jim gritted his teeth. "We're not losing to you!" he roared, charging forward once more, his lance glowing with a fierce combination of solar and lunar energy. The battle raged on, neither side willing to back down.
Meanwhile...
Above Soluna, Tim and Rei felt the aura of Dark Void, coming to the conclusion that he wasn't just an ordinary villain. This was true evil.
Dark Void smirked. "So, the so-called Celestic Warriors finally appear before me. Have you come to amuse me with your resistance?"
Tim tightened his grip on his Solar Saber. "We've come to end you."
Rei spun her Lunar Hatchets in her hands. "You've terrorized Soluna long enough. You even used me..."
Dark Void let out a low chuckle before extending his hand. Black tendrils of void energy erupted from the sky, descending upon them like spears.
Tim and Rei dodged in perfect synchronization, their training kicking in.
With a flash of white light, Tim slashed through the tendrils midair, while Rei flipped over and sent crescent-shaped lunar energy blasts back at Dark Void.
Dark Void effortlessly dissipated them with a mere wave of his hand. "Impressive. But still far from enough."
With a simple motion, a massive dark wave erupted from Dark Void, engulfing the entire sky in a shadowy void.
Tim and Rei braced themselves as they dove straight into battle, their bodies surging with the power of their amplified Celestic Resonance.
The darkness of the void clashed violently with their celestial energy, illuminating the sky causing tremors that threatened the Solunar citizens from even standing.
Dark Void hovered effortlessly, his presence alone making the air suffocating.
Without hesitation, he raised his hand, and from the abyss, a barrage of Thousand Darkness Arrows emerged-countless black spears, each infused with crushing void energy, rained down upon Tim and Rei.
"Lunar Shroud!" Rei called, her form flickering into the shadows. She became a blur, twisting and weaving between the deadly projectiles, avoiding them with inhuman agility.
Emerging from the darkness, she flung her Lunar Hatchets like a glowing crescent, the weapons flying like two boomerangs of lunar energy that curved toward Dark Void.
Tim, seizing the moment, activated his Solar Rush, his entire body igniting in a fiery white blaze. He blasted forward, his speed shattering the air itself, dodging the remaining arrows as he closed in on Dark Void. His Solar Saber burned white-hot, ready to carve through the enemy before him.
Dark Void grinned. With a mere twitch of his fingers, the arrows he had already fired reversed direction mid-air, twisting unnaturally as they homed in on Rei's back.
"What-?!" Rei barely sensed the incoming attack as she instinctively held her belly.
"I've got you!" Tim roared. Just before the void arrows could strike Rei, he executed an Amplified Solar Saber Final Slash, his saber emitting a massive arc of solar energy that erased the arrows in a single, blinding sweep.
Dark Void's eyes narrowed. "Interesting and well ironic...the same attack that had once almost killed him, getting countered by him."
Rei, regaining her momentum, caught her hatchets mid-air and spun rapidly, gathering immense lunar energy. "Then take this, Lunar Boomerang!" She hurled both weapons again, this time with enough force to distort the very space around them.
Dark Void lifted a single hand. "Futile."
A void barrier formed around him.
BOOM!
Rei's attack struck with immense force, cracking the barrier, but it held.
Tim's eyes blazed. "You're not invincible!"
With a battle cry, he shot forward. A Solar Radiance erupted from his weapon, colliding against the damaged void barrier.
CRACK!
The barrier shattered!
Rei saw her opening and instantly vanished into her Lunar Shroud, reappearing behind Dark Void in an instant. Her hatchets gleamed as she flurry slashed at his back using Lunar Phantom Strikes!
A deep, powerful shockwave rippled through the battlefield as their attacks were hitting their target.
Meanwhile-Soluna's Surface...
The sheer magnitude of the battle above caused waves of destruction to rain upon Soluna.
Each clash between Dark Void and the Celestic Warriors sent debris and shockwaves cascading down, threatening to wipe out the Solunar people.
Heatsun and Moonsalt stood firm, shielding the civilians.
Moonsalt lifted her hands, her lunar energy forming a massive barrier to block incoming fragments of void energy as she at the same time used Lunar Waves to slow the attack. Heatsun obliterated any debris that got too close using Solar Barrage as he planted a Solar Shield near the remaining Solar and Lunar people.
"Keep moving!" Henry shouted as he and Marie led the people through the city ruins, finding a safe path amidst the chaos. "We have to get them underground!"
Marie nodded, guiding children and the elderly toward the hidden tunnels. "Hold on just a little longer!"
Despite the destruction, they would not falter.
Back to the Battle Above
Dark Void's shadowy form rippled as he was taking the combined blows of Tim and Rei, but as the smoke cleared-he was still standing.
A slow chuckle escaped him. Then, without warning, his red eyes flashed.
A shockwave of pure void energy exploded outward, sending both warriors flying back.
Tim barely managed to stabilize himself, his heart pounding. "Damn... even with that, he's still-"
Dark Void raised his hand.
The entire sky darkened.
"This game is over," he said coldly.
The air became crushingly heavy. A massive black sphere began forming above Dark Void, its gravitational pull threatening to consume everything.
Tim and Rei felt their bodies being dragged toward it.
Rei clenched her fists. "He's trying to erase us completely!"
Tim's grip on his saber tightened.
Their Celestic Resonance burned even brighter. It was now or never.
Meanwhile...
The war against Goblin the Terrible raged.
Every clash sent shockwaves through the battlefield, shaking the ground and weakening the footing.
The sky above was a chaotic storm reflecting the intense struggles below.
Jim stood firm but detransformed as a result of the intensity of the battle, his Solun Lance crackling with raw Solar-Lunar energy.
Across from him, Goblin loomed. His sharp claws dripped with a strange, corrosive energy that disintegrated the very air around them.
"You're still standing?" Goblin sneered, licking his fangs. "I thought you'd crumble by now."
Jim wiped the blood from his lips, his eyes burning with defiance. "I told you-I'm not losing to you!"
Just as Jim prepared to strike again, a crimson and blue blur shot past him.
Sheila.
She landed a devastating slash across Goblin's chest with her twin red-blue saber, her movements so fast they were almost imperceptible. Her battle-hardened aura radiated pure dominance.
Goblin staggered slightly before chuckling. "Heh... you've improved a bit."
Sheila smirked, spinning her saber expertly. "More than a bit."
Without missing a beat, Jim lunged forward transforming back into Grey Warrior, slashing with a Solun Explosion that exploded on impact. Goblin snarled as the energy burned against his demonic form, but he recovered instantly, countering with a black fire eruption that forced both Sheila and Jim to dodge.
Before Goblin could capitalize, a sharp plasma whip wrapped around his arm.
Jeromy.
He pulled hard, momentarily restraining Goblin's movement. "I've got you!"
Goblin's eyes flicked toward Jeromy, but before he could react, Jim and Sheila moved in perfect synchronization.
Jim and Sheila attacked at the same time, with Jim's weapon creating twin arcs of Solar and Lunar energy and Sheila's twin sabers charge just seemed to amplify the attack as her twin sabers hit Goblin's torso at the same time when Jim's attack landed.
The demon howled in pain but refused to fall.
Instead, his body expanded with dark energy, unleashing a massive demonic burst that shattered Jeromy's whip and forced all three fighters to leap back.
Goblin laughed wildly. "You're entertaining-but not enough!" He smashed the ground, sending a wave of hellfire toward them.
Jim acted fast. "Solun-Quake!"
He slammed his lance into the ground, sending a counter-shockwave that split the battlefield, extinguishing the flames and creating fissures beneath Goblin.
Sheila took advantage, rushing in with incredible speed, flipping over Goblin, and slashing downwards, her sabers glowing fiercely.
Jim followed, spinning his lance, preparing a devastating Solunar Dance-a rapid sequence of high-speed slashes infused with Solar-Lunar energy, creating a whirlwind of destructive force.
Goblin roared in frustration, unable to fully counter their relentless assault.
Then-
A group of Celestic Justice warriors-those trained by Jeromy-arrived on the battlefield.
"Commander Jeromy, we're here to assist!"
Jeromy grinned. "About time! Let's put this monster down!"
The Celestic Justice warriors unleashed a synchronized Celestic Beam Barrage, firing a storm of golden energy blasts at Goblin channeling their energy.
Jim took this chance, gripping his lance tighter. "This ends now!"
With Sheila and Jeromy covering him, Jim dashed forward.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the battlefield-
Edward, Celestic Spear in hand, stood amidst a massive swarm of demons.
Hundreds of them.
And he was laughing.
"Ha! This is amusing!" Edward smirked, twirling his spear before leaping into the air, spinning like a tornado. "Celestic Spiral Strike!"
His spear extended with monstrous energy, shredding dozens of demons in an instant as he landed with a devastating crash.
The demons rushed him, but Edward was untouchable.
He dodged, parried, impaled, and obliterated them with effortless mastery, reveling in the thrill of battle.
More demons swarmed-but Edward only grinned.
"Let's see how long you can entertain me!"
The war raged on.