Apocalypse Reset: My Crab Can Heal the World!

Nazakiel vanishes, reappearing in the air high above the castle. He floats among the rubble, his eyes glowing violently bright.

With a snap of his fingers, Barns and Clancy are barraged by bolts of energy. They tear through the remains of Dimartino Castle, leaving deep scars in the stone wherever they slice.

Nazakiel imagines destruction - and so destruction is wrought.

It takes all of Barns’ energy just to deflect the relentless stream of magic that cleaves through the air. He has no attacks that can reach Nazakiel at this range. Maria, still tucked into the corner, shouts something.

"I can give you my wings, but only for a moment!"

Barns turns to her, barely processing the words. "Then do it!"

Maria nods, and channels her Royal Arts. She’s enveloped in a wave of golden, gilded magic, which transfers through the air to Barns.

On his back, a pair of wings in resplendent silver emerge, shimmering with magical energy.

"You’re a lifesaver!" Barns shouts back as he deflects yet another of Nazakiel’s thrashing attacks. "Clancy, stay safe. I’m going up!"

Barns takes to the sky, soaring toward Nazakiel. The Sentinel narrows his eyes as a wicked smile creeps upon his lips.

He imagines Barns’ wings bursting apart - it’s all he needs to do. And when he bats his malevolent eyes, that’s exactly what happens.

Barns’ wings explode into a mass of feathers, but the hero isn’t ready to give up, not yet. He pushes beyond his limits, through the hail of silver feathers, launching himself with pure willpower alone.

He strikes at Nazakiel with all his might. The Sentinel deflects the SSS Rank weapon with his forearm, effortlessly.

Nazakiel moves even quicker in the air. Suddenly, he’s directly under Barns. He launches himself, uppercutting Barns before appearing directly above him. He hits Barns with a downward kick, sending the hero plummeting back to the castle.

He grits his teeth, trying to stabilize, but the sheer force of the attack sends him spiraling.

Not yet. He can still fight.

Barns twists mid-air, flaring his energy, and stops himself just before hitting the ground. He kicks off the air itself, rocketing back toward Nazakiel.

’I’m too slow. If I want to land a hit on him… I have to be even faster!’

Barns grips Silver Rake tightly. A new technique. One he’s never tried before.

He channels all of his energy into one final charge.

He moves so fast that the world around him blurs. His cane ignites with power, forming a long, sweeping arc of silver light.

"Secret Art: Riptide Execution!"

A flash of blinding silver slices through the air, cutting straight for Nazakiel.

Barns feels it - this is it. There’s no way even he can dodge this.

But Nazakiel doesn’t move.

He doesn’t need to.

The moment before Barns’ attack lands, reality distorts.

Barns’ blade passes through nothing.

Nazakiel imagined himself dodging.

And so he did.

Barns’ own attack bends around Nazakiel, curving through empty space as if forced away by an unseen hand. His technique - the perfect strike - undone before it even began.

For a moment, Barns’ brain short-circuits trying to comprehend it, as he slowly starts to lose momentum in the air.

Nazakiel smirks.

"You see it now, don’t you? Your attacks never had a chance."

Then, Nazakiel flicks his hand.

A phantom fist materializes out of nowhere and slams into Barns’ chest, knocking him out of the sky.

Barns crashes into the stone floor, activating Harden Body just in time to prevent himself from splattering. He struggles back to his feet and looks up at Nazakiel. The Sentinel glowers down like the devil himself.

"He’s playing with us," Barns says with clenched fists. "After everything we’ve done, he’s hardly broken a sweat."

"BARNACLES. TIME FOR ACTION."

"What?"

"CRAB RELEASE. S RANK AFFINITY. CLANCY READY."

Barns recalls the ability - he’d only learned it yesterday. The ability to transcend Clancy beyond his limits, even if just for a short period of time.

"Are you sure, King? We’ll only have one shot."

"CLANCY READY!"

Barns nods, looking back to Nazakiel. The Sentinel is eagerly awaiting their next move.

"Alright, King. Here goes nothing…Secret Art! Crab Release!"

The world seems to freeze for a moment, shocking even the haughty Sentinel above. The air becomes almost…aquatic. The ambient water and magic in the atmosphere responds to the ’Crab Release’, and all of that untamed power surges into Clancy. The crab grows bigger and bigger, exponentially increasing in size until suddenly the mighty Clancy is larger even than Dimartino castle.

As Barns and Maria look up, they can’t even see Nazakiel - he’s blocked by Clancy’s gargantuan transformation.

"What in the - he can do that!?" Maria gasps, running to Barns. Neither of them can look away.

"It’s a new thing." 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

"He’s the size of a city, Barns!"

"Yeah, I see that…I just hope it’s enough."

Meanwhile, in the air, Nazakiel is thoroughly surprised.

He floats directly in front of Clancy, nothing but a speck in comparison. The mighty crab bellows, a torrent of foam leaking out of his mouth.

"You think it matters how big you are, you -"

Before Nazakiel can finish talking, he’s swiped by one of Clancy’s claws. The sheer size and impact sends Nazakiel flying at mach speed, tumbling through the air. He travels nearly a mile before he’s able to recollect himself, but in seconds he teleports back to where he was, his fury burning even greater.

"You disrespectful, overgrown abomination! Very well! If you want to die so desperately, I shall grant your wish!"

Nazakiel imagines the kaiju crab being surrounded by chains - not just any chains. Ones created from pure, diabolical magic - barbed with spikes that could penetrate even Clancy’s shell. Loaded with explosive power - the more Clancy would struggle against them, the more they would sear into the crab’s shell. They would tighten and tighten until eventually Clancy gave way, and the chains would crush him to pulp.

His imaginations begin to manifest - but as the chains begin to wrap around Clancy, summoned from nothingness, the mighty crab breaks free of them. The shattered chain links fill the air with debris and a wall of ferocious wind ravages Nazakiel.

The Sentinel gathers himself. "So, you truly can resist my imagination. Your death is not a precaution but a necessity, you vile creature. How dare you. How dare you!"

Clancy swings again, but this time Nazakiel is ready. He catches the claw - easily a hundred times larger than himself, with his bare hands. All Nazakiel has to do is imagine himself as strong as the crab. Miraculously, he’s able to push back against Clancy, as the two lock into a power struggle.

Nazakiel’s arms quiver against Clancy’s overwhelming might, but the sheer power of imagination keeps him going. The Sentinel gnashes his teeth in anger.

"Why won’t you just DIE!" Nazakiel roars, pushing all his strength into Clancy. Nothing he could do - nothing he could imagine was strong enough to deal a definitive blow to the crab. Clancy has some power, something unknown - that allows him to defy and alter fate itself.

’Nothing could have survived those chains. Not without a specific ability to counteract me. Could this crab be…’

He shook the thought out of his head. It wasn’t even worth considering. Regardless, Nazakiel has an attack ready that not even Clancy could dismiss.

The Sentinel breaks away from Clancy, teleporting backward. He stares at the massive crab from a safe distance as the King braces himself for another round, holding his pincers up defensively.

"PROTECT DIMARTINO! ALWAYS! EVIL SENTINEL, GO AWAY!"

"Insolent creature, you can barely even speak the common tongue! Where does this power come from!"

"POWER OF FRIENDSHIP! BARNACLES!"

Nazakiel laughs. "Friendship? Can your friendship survive THIS!?"

Suddenly, the skies above tear open, creating a portal directly into outer space. Exactly as Nazakiel imagines.

And from the portal, something begins to emerge. Flaming, giant - large enough to level the entirety of Dimartino. A meteor of epic proportions, even greater than Clancy, falls from the sky.

Existence itself trembles in the wake of the meteor. Nazakiel throws his arms open wide, cackling.

"What will you do now, you stupid crab!?"

It falls - closer and closer. Everyone - from Lantafort to Ordella, can see it. It looks like the end of the world.

Barns had seen powerful enemies before. He had fought against demons, vampires, monsters that defied reason. But this? This wasn’t a battle anymore. This was a fight against the end of the world itself.

He and Maria stood side by side, unable to exchange any words. Even with their obfuscated view underneath Clancy, they could see what was happening before them.

The heavens weep - the sky itself cracks. Nazakiel throws his head back in awe at the devastation he’s wrought. It’s a power he only used once before. The power that created the seventh apocalypse, and destroyed an entire subcontinent.

"And so comes the end of the human empire of Dimartino!"

The meteor, seconds from impact, seems to move faster and faster with every second. The only thing between it and landfall is Clancy.

The world holds its breath. The sky itself unfurls as the meteor descends, flames licking across the heavens like an omen of death. Maria, Underhill, the Adventurers, even Nazakiel himself - no matter where they were watching from, none spoke. No one moved.

Then, Clancy stepped forward.

He raised his claw high, the ocean itself bending toward him. He clicked once. Twice.

"PROTECT DIMARTINO!"

And then he struck.