Ikazuchi was on his knees, motionless, his eyes fixed on his father's lifeless body. His gaze burned – not with sorrow, but with an unrelenting fury.
CRACK! CRACK!
Lightning surged violently around his body, wild and untamed. It sparked off his skin like a storm trying to break free.
His entire frame started to tremble. The electricity danced more aggressively now, lighting up the space around him in volatile flashes.
Teshii, watching closely, furrowed his brows and leaned in slightly, trying to gauge his state.
"Um… Zeus? Are you okay?" he asked, cautiously.
Then – Teshii's eyes widened behind his crimson glasses.
Because what he saw on Ikazuchi's face wasn't confusion or grief.
It was rage.
Pure, silent, vengeful rage.
Suddenly–
BOOM!
A shockwave cracked through the battlefield.
Teshii quickly turned around.
Hikaru, Haruto, and Moriya were still locked in a fierce fight against Velocity.
BAM!
Velocity appeared right in front of Hikaru, his speed blurring like a ghost–
–and drove a brutal punch straight into Hikaru's gut, knocking the wind out of him.
Hikaru staggered backward, clutching his stomach in pain, gasping.
Haruto reacted instantly.
"HYDRO VORTEX!"
Water burst from his pouch and twisted into a violent cyclone, hurling toward Velocity.
But–
ZOOM!
Velocity dodged effortlessly, blurring out of the vortex's path.
Haruto and Moriya rushed to Hikaru's side.
"Hikaru! Are you okay?" Moriya asked, reaching down and offering his hand.
Hikaru took it and pulled himself to his feet, wincing, one hand still on his stomach.
"He's too fast," Hikaru growled. "And he's getting even faster."
"Yeah, I can see that," Haruto agreed, eyes scanning the battlefield.
Hikaru narrowed his gaze, glowing faintly with light, trying to track Velocity's movements.
Then–
SKRRT!
Velocity skidded to a sudden stop just a few meters away from the group.
He grinned.
"So… where's all that determination from earlier? You guys look like you've slowed down now!"
Hikaru and the others gritted their teeth.
Teshii did too.
"That guy!" he thought angrily.
Then–
CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!
Ikazuchi stepped forward.
Electricity burst around his body, more violent than before. He walked past Teshii without a word.
Teshii frowned.
"Um… Zeus?"
The electric energy crackled fiercely around Ikazuchi, violently arcing off him like lightning trying to break free.
He was heading directly toward Velocity.
Hikaru and the others noticed, lowering their battle stances slightly.
"…Ikazuchi?" Hikaru muttered.
Velocity raised an eyebrow, watching them ease their guard.
"What? Giving up already?"
Then – he heard it.
Footsteps.
Slow. Heavy.
Velocity turned to his left–
And saw him.
Ikazuchi.
Walking straight toward him.
Crackling with uncontrollable lightning.
Eyes burning.
Expression locked in unfiltered rage.
Velocity smirked.
"Well, well, well, if it isn't–"
"LIGHTNING GUNSHOT!" Ikazuchi cut him off.
With a sharp flick of his fingers, he raised his hand like a loaded weapon. The air instantly tightened – crackling with electric tension–
And then, BOOM!
A concentrated bolt of lilghtning shot from his fingertips with a deafening thunderclap.
Velocity's eyes widened behind his visor.
He dodged – ZOOM!
But just barely.
Teshii stared at Ikazuchi.
"…Zeus?" he muttered, taken aback by the raw intensity.
SKRRRT!
Velocity skidded to a stop in front of the fence, right near the cliff's edge.
"I… didn't expect him to attack like that," Velocity muttered.
He looked up.
Ikazuchi was still staring him down.
Lightning wrapped around him like a storm given form.
That face.
Unrelenting fury.
Tch!
Velocity clicked his tongue.
"Is that the best you can do?"
Then–
SLAM!
Ikazuchi dropped his hand to the ground.
"ELECTRIC TERRAIN!"
A violent pulse of electricity exploded from him, spreading like a wildfire.
The ground lit up in glowing veins of lightning, streaking across the battlefield in hjagged arcs.
The air shimmered, the energy rising with lethal precision.
Each crackle screamed danger.
Velocity's eyes widened.
"Damn it!"
ZOOM!
He sprinted, trying to escape the field–
But he was too late.
The moment his foot hit the electrified ground–
ZZZAAAAPPPP!!!
"Aaggghhh!!"
Velocity's scream tore through the air as his body twisted and collapsed, rolling violently across the dirt.
He spasmed on the ground, twitching uncontrollably.
Every nerve in his body was misfiring.
Every muscle in rebellion.
But Ikazuchi wasn't done.
Not even close.
He raised his hand again.
Two fingers aimed–
Dead centre.
He looked at Velocity, his voice low, sharp, and ice-cold.
"Lightning Gunshot."
With a flick of his finger, electricity sparked at the tip.
Then – BOOM!
A bolt of lightning blasted from Ikazuchi's hand, aimed straight at Velocity.
Velocity's eyes widened.
He clenched them shut.
"I'm sorry, Leader…" he muttered.
Then–
THWRAAM!
A wall of wood burst from the ground between Velocity and the attack, intercepting the lightning
"WHAT?!" Ikazuchi shouted.
"IKAZUCHI!"
He turned sharply at the voice.
It was Hikaru – alongside the others.
"Calm down, Ikazuchi!" Hikaru said firmly. "Killing him won't bring your father back!"
Ikazuchi gritted his teeth, trembling.
"HOW WOULD YOU UNDERSTAND?! HAVE YOU EVER LOST A FAMILY MEMBER BEFORE?!
Hikaru didn't respond immediately.
But–
"YES!"
Ikazuchi turned. It was Haruto. His expression was dark, heavy with memory.
He stepped forward.
"I lost my brother to a mutant… just like Velocity."
Haruto's voice was steady, but it shook with emotion.
"I let vengeance consume me and I lost control of the Element of Water."
Hikaru's eyes widened.
"Haruto…" he muttered.
Haruto closed his eyes.
"I nearly destroyed everything – I almost risked many people's lives."
He opened his eyes again, fierce and unwavering.
"I don't want you to go through the same thing, Ikazuchi. Vengeance…. Is not the way."
Silence.
For a moment, it felt like maybe – just maybe – Ikazuchi would listen.
But then–
"I'm not you!"
The words hit like thunder.
Hikaru and the others froze.
"I'M NOT YOU!!" Ikazuchi roared.
The lightning around him surged – now volatile, erractic.
Crackling faster, louder, wilder.
Then–
KRA-KOOOM!
A massive bolt of lightning exploded down from the sky, striking the ground between Ikazuchi and the Elements.
Ikazuchi's rage sharpened.
He raised two fingers at Hikaru and the others.
"LIGHTNING GUNSHOT!"
And with a flick–
ZAAAMMM!
A piercing bolt shot toward them.
Then–
SLAM!
WHUMP!
Moriya stepped forward, slamming his hand to the ground.
Roots erupted instantly, twisting into a thick wooden dome.
It formed a shield just in time–
BOOM!
The thunderbolt slammed into the wood ,exploding sparks against the natural barrier.
Inside, the group braced themselves.
Outside–
"AAAHHHHHHH!!!"
Ikazuchi screamed.
The lightning crackling around his body grew denser – more unstable.
The sky turned near-black. Clouds churned violently above.
"GRAND LIGHTNING!"
The storm answered.
The air quivered.
And the sky opened.
A vortex of lightning descended.
Above them, clouds coiled into a monstrous, spiralling stormfront.
Ikazuchi stood in its centre, the eye of the storm.
Electricity wrapped around him like coiling dragons made of gold and fury.
His eyes glowed brighter than the lightning itself.
And then – he raised both arms.
"RAAAAGGHHH!!!"
His screams echoed like thunder across the land.
The clouds cracked.
CRAAAACK!
A colossal bolt of lightning – blinding, golden, wide as a tree trunk – plummeted to the earth.
KA-BOOOOOM!!
It slammed into the battlefield like divine judgment.
Then another.
And another.
The bolts fell one after the other – raining destruction from the sky.
Each one struck with purpose, feeding into the electric web Ikazuchi had summoned.
A celestial map of raw energy drew itself across the sky, lighting up everything below.
Lightning arced across the heavens and ripped through the earth like spears hurled by gods.
This wasn't just power.
This was dominion.
This was the storm answering to one man.
Velocity stood up, his body no longer twitching uncontrollably.
His breathing was ragged, shallow, his limbs weak.
He looked up – and saw him.
Ikazuchi.
Lightning crackled around him, an aura of chaotic voltage surging like a living storm.
He wasn't just standing anymore – he was rampaging.
KA-BOOOOOM!!!
A massive bolt of lightning slammed into the ground nearby, shaking the earth.
Velocity flinched, his eyes wide behind his visor.
"…What the hell?" he muttered, staring in disbelief.
He could hardly comprehend what he was witnessing.
Ikazuchi was no longer in control of the Element of Thunder.
The thunder was him.
"T-There's no way…"
Velocity took a step back, sweat trailing down his temple.
"There's no way I could take him out… like this."
Then–
Ikazuchi turned.
His eyes locked onto Velocity.
And in that instant, everything else disappeared.
Velocity froze.
His heart skipped a beat as he saw the raw, untamed rage burning behind Ikazuchi's eyes.
Lightning surged violently around him, lashing out at the air.
He raised his arm.
His fingers sparked with violent golden energy, pointed straight at Velocity.
"Damn it!" Velocity snapped. "I have to retreat."
He turned sharply–
ZOOM!
–and disappeared in a blur of motion, running at full speed, vanishing over the horizon.
But Ikazuchi's rampage wasn't over.
Not even close.
Even with Velocity gone–
Even with the others protected within the wooden dome–
The storm still raged.
The clouds remained blackened, furious.
Lightning bolts continued to tear through the sky like divine fury.
And there was only one person left on the battlefield…
Teshii.
Still standing by the shed.
Still beside Enji's lifeless body.
His eyes were wide with shock as he stared at Ikazuchi.
"…Ikazuchi," he whispered.
Then – without hesitation–
Teshii charge forward.
Electricity danced across the battlefield, thunder rumbled above, and the ground trembled beneath every strike.
He ran through it all–
Dodging, weaving, slipping past failing bolts of raw energy.
CRACK!
BOOM!
A bolt landed near his side, lighting up his face in a flash of white and gold.
He didn't stop.
"IKAZUCHI, THAT'S ENOUGH!!!"
Teshii's voice boomed as he neared him, shielding his face with his arms against the rain of thunder.
His glasses glinted from the bursts of lightning, but his determination didn't waver.
Ikazuchi didn't respond.
Another bolt of lightning struck the ground.
Then another.
Then another.
Teshii gritted his teeth, ducking low.
"Damn it!"
Electricity whipped around like serpents, the wind howled with fury, and the sky itself seemed ready to split apart.
As Ikazuchi's rampage continued, the world blurred around him – thunder roared, lightning flashed, the sky tore itself open.
But then–
Something flickered.
A memory.
A voice, drifting through the storm.
"…How the hell do you still smile after all that?"
The lightning paused.
Ikazuchi's breath caught in his throat.
His body, pulsing with rage moments ago, froze in place.
He saw it–
Teshii's face.
That casual grin, so ever-present.
But in that moment, behind the crimson glasses-
It had wavered.
Just for a second.
"Who knows?"
That's what Teshii had said.
That smile.
Even after everything he'd lost.
Even after pain, tragedy, heartbreak…
He smiled.
Because he had to.
Because he couldn't stop.
And suddenly–
Ikazuchi understood.
Teshii… had lost his mother, too.
And yet – he kept moving forward.
That's why he never told Ikazuchi how to mourn, or how to rage.
Because sometimes…
There wasn't anything to say.
Only to endure.
To breathe.
To keep going.
To smile.
CRACK–
Ikazuchi's electric aura faltered.
His body, once wrapped in arcs of blinding voltage, began to dim.
His fists unclenched.
His stance relaxed.
His breath slowed.
The air changed.
The storm began to recede.
Thunder faded.
The blackened sky lightened.
And at last–
Peace.
Ikazuchi stepped back, his feet unsteady.
Then–
"Zeus!"
Teshii finally reached him, his hand clapping gently onto Ikazuchi's shoulder.
"…Are you okay?"
His voice, gentle. Not teasing. Not smug.
Just… there.
Ikazuchi trembled.
His lightning, once fearsome and wild, was now nothing but a whisper.
"Yeah," he muttered, his voice breaking.
Then–
Tears.
Real tears.
Streaming down his cheeks, unrestrained.
"I'm sorry," Ikazuchi choked, barely able to speak. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry!"
Teshi ididn't hesitate.
He stepped forward and wrapped his arms around him.
Firmly.
No words at first. Just presence.
"it's okay. It's okay," Teshii whispered. "It's over now. Don't worry. I'm here."
And Ikazuchi cried harder, clutching Teshii's sleeve.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry!"
The tentsion that had gripped the battlefield finally broke.
Then–
Shhhrrk….
The wooden dome covering the others creaked, then slowly disassembled.
Moriya lowered his hand, roots pulling back into the earth.
Light filtered through.
And standing there–
Hikaru.
Haruto.
Moriya.
All three bruised, bloodied, burned–
But standing.
Their eyes softened as they took in the scene:
Teshii, arms around a crying Ikazuchi.
The thunder gone.
The storm subdued.
Hikaru stepped forward slowly, his chest heavy with emotion.
"…Ikazuchi," he whispered.
TO BE CONTINUED!!!