ZERO ONE: ONE HOPE!

That roar—wild, raw, and full of vengeance—was not merely the cry of a human boy.

It was the shriek of a primordial being, awakened from ruin. A sound that tore through the air and stopped time in Junkyard Junction.

Blood-red fire roiled and enveloped Hariel's form, crackling with a power that seemed to tear at reality itself.

All fighting ceased.

The Gear Phantom members, who had been shouting wildly, were now frozen solid. Hariel's battered crew could only stare, their faces pale.

In the midst of the flames, Hariel stood. Not as a fighting kid, but as a manifestation of primal rage and power.

His eyes were no longer golden-orange, but a pupil-less, blazing red—like living infernal embers.

From his back, two giant wings of fire erupted, flapping slowly, spreading a wave of heat so intense that the nearby scrap metal began to melt like wax.

"YOU… DARED… TO HURT… MY… FRIENDS!!!"

With a single stomp, the ground beneath him cracked. His body shot forward like a crimson meteor.

Vyce—the Speed Demon—didn't even have time to move. She only saw a flash of fire... before her throat was seized by Hariel's blazing hand.

"You think... you can hurt them and just walk away?" Hariel growled. His voice echoed like a bone-shattering thunderclap.

Vyce's armor hissed, creaked, and began to melt under the extraordinary heat of Hariel's hand. She struggled, trying to use her speed, but it was useless. The grip was too strong.

"Red Flame… PHOENIX CLAW!!!"

The fire in his hand condensed, forming giant claws of flame. With a single, violent motion, Vyce's body was thrown into the air. But before she could fall, Hariel was already after her in the sky, hunting her with a burning gaze.

From below, Lumi and Niki watched it all with a tension that was nearly suffocating.

"He's... completely lost control..." Lumi whispered, her face fraught with worry.

"Hariel... you could kill her..." Niki murmured, his face pale.

But Hariel didn't hear. Rage had taken over his entire being.

"Red Flame… PHOENIX WINGS!!!"

Hariel's fire wings beat with an explosion, sending his body into a sharp dive like a red comet. He slammed into the ground, pinning Vyce's body with his own.

BOOOOOOMMMMM!!!

An explosion of fire erupted. Wild. Brutal. The ground split, metal flew, and the air itself seemed to burn. A large crater formed in the middle of Junkyard Junction.

Vyce was thrown far, her body badly burned, her armor scorched. She was flung into a pile of old iron, barely moving.

Hariel stood in the center of the crater. Fire still enveloped him, his red eyes staring coldly at the helpless Vyce.

But then... something caught his attention.

In Vyce's trembling hand, a small black box was clutched tightly. It wasn't ordinary metal. It radiated a cold, terrifying aura, a stark contrast to Hariel's wild heat.

"What is that...?" Hariel narrowed his eyes.

Vyce, though on the brink of consciousness, managed to lift her face. A faint, horrifying smile played on her blackened lips.

"You... won't... win..."

Click.

She pressed something on the box.

SRAAAAK!!!

The black box opened with a metallic scream—and an intensely blinding white light burst forth.

This light was not the light of life. It was like blades of ice piercing the air and the soul. It was painful just to be near it.

"What... is this?!" Hariel yelled, raising a hand to try and shield himself.

Too late.

The energy blast from the box spread in an invisible wave. Not heat—but emptiness. Silence. Cold. Deadly.

The phoenix fire enveloping Hariel's body was extinguished instantly, as if doused by something from another dimension. His majestic aura collapsed. His body was thrown back, hurled by an unseen force.

The world seemed to groan. The air vibrated. The ground shook. The sky... fractured.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMM!!!

A secondary explosion shook the world like the hammer of the gods. But this was no longer an ordinary explosion—this was a small apocalypse, born from the uncontrolled power unleashed by that mysterious black box.

Its shockwave blasted out in all directions, devastating every corner of Junkyard Junction. Giant heaps of metal were thrown into the air, flying like leaves in a hurricane. Heavy machines that once stood strong were now reduced to ash and rubble.

The ground rumbled, cracking like a shattered mirror, forming small chasms and gaping craters.

Black smoke billowed high, as thick as a death shroud covering the sky. The light of dawn that had been peeking over the horizon was now swallowed by an artificial darkness.

Hariel was thrown helplessly, his body flying like a limp doll caught in a typhoon.

He tried to move his hand. He failed. He wanted to call back his fire, but his body was as if paralyzed. There was only a hissing sound and a pressure that pierced his ears, and one final flash of white light... before his consciousness sank into absolute darkness.

On the other side, Niki and Lumi were barely holding on. As soon as he saw the strange light burst from the black box, Niki reacted fast.

"Lumi! Behind the generator—now!"

He dragged Lumi, crashing into a pile of old generator machines—the only barrier between them and annihilation. But the old iron wall wasn't enough. The second blast hit them, and both were thrown like stray bullets, slamming into scrap iron until their bodies tumbled several times.

"Lumi! Are you okay?!" Niki yelled, coughing in the dust and smoke.

Lumi floated, her light flickering unstably. "I'm... alright... But Hariel—"

Niki's eyes immediately shot towards the epicenter of the blast. A curtain of dust and smoke was still swirling like a hellish desert storm, swallowing the entire landscape they once knew.

One name tore through his mind: "HARIEL!!"

When the smoke finally began to clear, the scene behind it was truly horrific. Junkyard Junction was now leveled to the ground.

And at its center... was a massive, smoking crater. There, two figures lay still. Hariel. And Vyce.

Hariel lay face down, his body covered in burns and deep gashes. The majestic phoenix fire was completely gone. His hair was a mess, his skin scorched in places, and his breathing was so faint—almost invisible.

However... something strange was happening. His wounds were slowly beginning to close. From his skin, a thin vapor rose, as if his body was instinctively regenerating itself, albeit very slowly. His breathing was there. Faint, but stable.

Meanwhile, Vyce lay in a no less severe state. Her advanced armor was charred, her body bloodied and burned almost beyond recognition. But the most terrifying thing was the small object in her hand. The black box. Still clutched tightly, though now cracked and nearly destroyed, it radiated a residual cold aura that seemed to haunt the air.

Niki ran, limping, ignoring the pain all over his body. When he saw Hariel's body, he immediately fell to his knees, shaking Hariel's wounded shoulder.

"Hariel!! Wake up!! Please, wake up!!" No answer.

Lumi floated above him, her tiny face anxious. "He's... still alive. But his energy is almost completely drained. Its flow was disrupted by the box's effect... If left like this, he could lose control of his body forever."

"No... No! I won't let that happen!" Niki said, his eyes welling up. With his remaining strength, he lifted Hariel's body—which now felt so fragile—and carried him.

"Come on, let's get out of here. Before they come back."

And sure enough. From a distance, the roar of engines and shouts began to rise again. The remaining Gear Phantom forces were starting to regroup. They were beginning to move towards the crater.

But Niki paid them no mind. Only one thing was on his mind: getting Hariel away.

In a corner of the ruined crater, Vyce was still alive—barely, but conscious. Her bloodied eyes opened slightly. She looked up at the grey sky, then glanced towards Hariel being carried away. Her lips were chapped, bleeding, and barely able to move, but she still managed a small smile.

"You... haven't won... Fire Boy..." she whispered, so faintly it was almost a final breath.

Then, she lapsed into unconsciousness.