The battle between the Elements, Teshii, and Master Takeshi against Ghost raged on in the courtyard of the Shaolin Temple.
Hikaru, Reito, and Teshii stood their ground, locked in a cold-eyed standoff with Ghost.
Moriya was at Ikazuchi's side, using his control over vines to set him free.
Haruto, however, remained frozen in solid ice.
And Master Takeshi?
Teshii turned to him.
"Master Takeshi! I want you to stay back. Let us handle this."
Master Takeshi narrowed his eyes, questioning the order.
"Why?"
Teshii offered a faint smile, but his gaze never left Ghost.
"Because… I can't let a human fight a mutant."
Master Takeshi tilted his head.
"And what about you? Aren't you human as well?"
Teshii scoffed softly, eyes gleaming behind his crimson glasses.
"In a way… you could say I'm a special human."
Hikaru glanced at Teshii out of the corner of his eye.
"Special human?" he murmured, unsure what that even meant anymore.
Then–
CRKKK-SHFF!
Ikazuchi finally broke free. Moriya stood above him, controlling the vines embedded in the ground, expanding and shifting the stone just enough to let Ikazuchi's lower half pull free.
Teshii called out without looking.
"Zeus! Woody! Join us, now!"
Then, to Hikaru:
"Sunshine, use the Element of Light to free Tsunami!"
Hikaru nodded without hesitation and dashed toward the frozen Haruto, his body already beginning to glow.
Reito remained fixed on Ghost, his eyes sharp, calculating.
"So continuous attacks are what give us the advantage, huh?"
He let out a long breath, then slowly smirked. He brough his fists together – then slowly pulled the apart.
Between his palms… a blade began to take form.
A sword – elegant, jagged, and shimmering with layers of glacial power.
A sword of pure ice.
Teshii's eyes widened behind his glasses.
"That… is so cold."
His grin widened.
As for Ghost…
He no longer wore that calm, smug expression.
His face had shifted into one of focus and grit.
As he watched Reito forming a sword of ice, his jaw clenched, teeth grinding.
"You may have figured out my weakness… but doesn't mean you can beat me."
Ikazuchi and Moriya stood beside Teshii now.
Ikazuchi turned to him.
"So, Teshii… what's the plan?"
Teshii smirked.
"A plan I know you'll love, Zeus. Attack… attack… and keep attack!"
Ikazuchi's lips curled into a feral grin.
Sparks flickered at his fingertips, the air around him buzzing.
Electricity crackled – wild, erratic, hungry.
Then–
"ZIG-ZAG SPARK!"
With a burst of energy, Ikazuchi flicked his wrist – and the bolt tore loose.
But it didn't travel in a straight line.
It zig-zagged – ricocheting off the ground, the stone walls, and even the air itself.
It was unpredictable, erratic, darting like a predator with a mind of its own.
The trail it left behind scorched the earth and painted the battlefield in arcs of white-yellow fury.
Ghost's eyes widened.
His body flickered – transparent for a moment – as the lightning passed clean through him.
But–
BOUNCE!
The bolt rebounded off the stone wall behind him and came careening back toward him from a different angle.
"What the–!?"
Ghost's face twisted in shock.
He had already phased once.
His ten-second cooldown hadn't passed.
He couldn't phase again.
And he didn't have time to dodge.
ZZZZZTTT!
The bolt slammed into his chest.
His body convulsed violently, spasming as the current surged through him.
Sparks danced across his skin, muscles locking up.
"Aaaaaahhhh!" Ghost screamed in pain.
His limbs jerked unnaturally.
His balance shattered.
His senses scrambled, like someone had yanked he wires from his brain.
Teshii's eyes gleamed behind his crimson glasses. "That was sick, Zeus!"
Ikazuchi grinned, clearly proud of himself as the static crackled off his fingertips like confetti after a victory.
Ghost groaned, forcing himself up, his limbs twitching faintly from the electric surge. But before he could fully recover–
SWHHHT!
A blade of ice came slashing down at him.
It was Reito.
Teshii tilted his head, impressed. "Damn, Sub-Zero's quick."
Ghost instinctively phased out, the blade passing harmlessly through him – but Reito anticipated it.
POW!
Reito's foot collided with Ghost's jaw in a powerful roundhouse kick, sending the mutant flying through the air toward a nearby tree.
Moriya's eyes narrowed. Without a word, he raised his hand, calling on the Element of Wood.
A thick tree branch broke free like a javelin, hurtling toward Ghost mid-air.
But–!
Ghost's 10-second cooldown had just ended.
The branch passed right through him as his body phased again.
Ghost landed hard, skidding across the ground – but unharmed.
"Damn it!" Moriya hissed, his attack narrowly missing the target.
"Don't worry, Moriya," Ikazuchi called out quickly. "We'll get him next time!"
Moriya nodded, determination sharpening in his expression.
As Reito, Ikazuchi, and Moriya continued pressing the assault–
FSSHHHH…
A warm beam of golden light glowed from Hikaru's palm as he directed it toward Haruto, melting the thick ice that encased him.
Drip… drip… drip…
Droplets of thawed frost pooled at Haruto's feet as the ice finally cracked away.
"Ahhh… that was cold!" Haruto shivered, wrapping his arms around himself as his breath puffed out in white clouds.
"Haruto! Are you okay?" Hikaru asked, helping him to his feet.
Haruto turned to him, still shaking. "Yeah. Thank you, Hikaru."
Hikaru nodded. "Good. Then let's go help the others."
Without hesitation, Hikaru and Haruto took off toward the others – ready to rejoin the fight against Ghost.
CLAP!
Ghost blocked Ikazuchi's thunder punch.
Suddenly–
BAM!
Ghost drove a brutal counterpunch straight into Ikazuchi's stomach, sending him skidding backward across the courtyard.
Reito, Moriya, and Ikazuchi had surrounded Ghost, forming a tight triangle.
Ghost glanced around them, his white eyes narrowed–
Only to blink and see two more had joined the formation.
Hikaru.
Haruto.
Ghost's eyes widened in disbelief. "What?! Surrounded… in the blink of an eye?"
Ikazuchi grinned, crackling with electricity. "Hah! What are you gonna do now, Ghost?"
Ghost grit his teeth, tension stiffening his posture.
"I can't retreat… not without capturing at least one Element."
Then–
"SUNRISE PUNCH!"
Hikaru shot forward, fist glowing with radiant energy, lunging at Ghost with speed and purpose.
Ghost's body flickered – he phased, and Hikaru's fist passed right through.
But it was a setup.
"LIGHTNING GUNSHOT!"
A crack of thunder split the air as electricity slammed into Ghost's side, mid-phase. His body spasmed violently, limbs flailing as volts surged through his system.
He dropped to the ground, twitching – open.
Haruto stepped forward calmly, eyes focused.
Water began to rise from his pouch, not in a wild surge, but with eerie stillness. It climbed higher, forged into a shape by sheer will–
–a shimmering blade of water, towering like a guillotine.
The air turned heavy. Pressure built like a storm held back by breath.
Haruto raised a hand.
Then – he brought it down.
"TSUNAMI GUILLOTINE!"
The ocean fell.
A crushing wave shaped like a blade came crashing down with devastating force and brutal precision. It wasn't water – it was judgment.
Ghost's eyes widened.
But–
His ten-second cooldown had just passed.
WHOOOOSH!
Ghost phased into the ground – slipping away an instant before the guillotine struck.
SPLASH!
The water slammed into the earth, flooding the courtyard – but missing its target.
Haruto grits his teeth. "Damn it! I was too slow!"
Ghost rose from the stone floor, drenched but unharmed–
SHRAKK!
Vines exploded from below, coiling toward him like snakes.
THWARRP!
The vines ensnared him – tight.
"Got him! Moriya called out, arm extended.
But–
Ghost's body flickered.
FFWSSSH!
He phased out once again, the vines snapping closed on nothing.
Then–
BOOM!
A blinding white blast surged across the field, crashing into Ghost and launching him backward.
"Blizzard Blast!" Reito's voice echoed cold and sharp.
CRASH!
Ghost hit the ground hard, rolling to a stop – grunting.
But when he looked up–
All five Elements were toward him.
Their expressions weren't afraid.
They were focused. Ready.
Like warriors who knew their opponent's rhythm – and were about to break it.
Ghost's fingers twitched.
"This is bad…"
Meanwhile…
Master Takeshi watched from the background, just as Teshii had instructed, while the battle between the Elements and Ghost raged on in the courtyard of the Shaolin Temple.
He was amazed.
The sight before him – Reito moving in perfect tandem with the others – filled him with wonder.
"Amazing…" Master Takeshi murmured under his breath.
"They've only just met today… and yet, it looks like they've been fighting together for years."
His eyes shifted, glancing at Teshii, who was standing still in the centre of the battlefield.
"Teshii?" he muttered, confused. "What is he doing, just standing there?"
Teshii's face was expressionless. That usual smirk of his… was gone.
Master Takeshi furrowed his brow and stepped toward him.
"Teshii? Are you alright?"
No response.
Teshii just stood there, unmoving – his face blank, as if lost in something deeper than the battlefield before him.
Master Takeshi frowned. "I thought you said you were going to fight the mutant."
Again… silence. Teshii didn't respond. He didn't even blink.
Then–
"LEAF STORM!"
The sharp cry jolted Master Takeshi's attention back to the battle.
Leaves – glowing and sharpened like blades – burst from Moriya's control. They whirled through the air in a vicious gale and–
SWIP! SWIP!
They sliced through Ghost, landing clean wounds across his chest and arms.
Ghost gritted his teeth in pain, stumbling slightly. His pale eyes darted between the Elements who now surrounded him like a net slowly closing in.
He clicked his tongue in frustration. "Tch! I can't keep this up. I'll have to retreat… even if I haven't captured an Element yet."
His body began to fade again, slowly descending into the ground as his Permeation ability activated.
Ikazuchi's eyes widened. "HE'S ABOUT TO ESCAPE!"
But–
Reito stepped forward.
"Don't worry. I won't let him escape."
He slammed his hand into the frozen earth. Instantly, the temperature plummeted – so sudden it stole the breath from the air.
Frost exploded outward in a perfect circle from beneath Reito's feet, creeping across the battlefield faster than fire. Trees cracked with sound of splintering wood. Stone shattered. Even the air itself crystallized with every breath.
Hikaru looked at Reito, eyes wide. "Um… Reito?"
Within seconds, the entire battlefield was transformed into a gleaming, frozen tundra – glowing pale blue and blanketing everything I nan arctic silence.
Then, with a voice as cold as the ice beneath them, Reito muttered:
"Frozen Tundra."
TO BE CONTINUED!!!