Meanwhile, David struggles to find an opening around Ares' legs. Seeing Wyn’s struggle, he raises up and stabs Ares in the arm. This distraction allows Heysoos to pull with all his strength, and with the help of the remaining members, he manages to shift Ares’ sword away from Wyn.

  Ares pushes Yu’s blade aside by swinging his shield backward and then tries to dash at Heysoos. However, David springs up and locks the war champion in a headlock. Seizing the moment, Vivian, who has been aiming her arrow for quite some time, unleashes a shot. As the arrow flies, it strikes Ares’ helmet and pierces directly through the visor, likely landing between his eyes.

  Ares reacts by bending forward, flipping his body and sending David crashing to the ground. As David is thrown, he collides with the lodged arrow, flipping it upward so the arrow tip strikes the helmet. Ares roars in agony, and just as he reaches to pull the arrow out, Wyn – who sluggishly rose to his feet before David was thrown – fires the chakram blades from his gloves, embedding them in Ares’ pinky and ring finger.

  This distraction gives Heysoos the opportunity to hurl another chained hook, aiming to wrap it around Ares’ legs. With most of the able-bodied members assisting, he launches the anchor, and together they pull. Ares falls.

  “This isn’t part of the plan, Heysoos!” David exclaims as he struggles to get on his feet.

  As Ares summons a weapon in his injured hand, Heysoos, again joined by the others, yanks the chain, causing Ares to lose control of it. Meanwhile, Ares’ shield holds steady, blocking Wyn’s blades as he strikes from above. Heysoos hurls the remaining hooks at the shield, pulling them out of Ares’ reach. Without hesitation, Vivian dematerializes the arrow, and Wyn groans as he drives a blade down into the narrow visor of Ares’ helmet, beginning to spin it while Ares winces in pain.

  “For booty and glory!” Ares shouts.

  His armor heats up, prompting David to warn the others to stay back.

  Wyn detaches the blade from his glove, leaving it lodged in the helmet’s visor, then keeps his distance. As Ares rises, his hands struggle to pry the chakram blade free, his entire armor engulfed in flames.

  “NOW!” David commands.

  At his shout, Cateto enlarges. From beneath Ares, all the water and earth users – including Wyn and Kai, who’s still battling through burn wounds – summon water streams and rock pillars. Boosted by fierce winds and cyclones, they force Ares high into the air. At the same time, Cateto releases a powerful laser beam from Lisa and Vivian, fused with water from Yu and Heysoos and boosted by a gust from Violet. The combined onslaught drives Ares back, pinning him against the wall with the chakram still embedded. The other members join in, pelting the restrained Ares with projectiles.

  A sudden explosion echoes across the battlefield, but this time, it isn’t from Mira’s whip. Moments later, a heavy thud follows – Ares has freed himself from both the onslaught and the chakram. He’s now down on one knee, fist pressed to the ground, with nothing left of his armor or clothing.

  “He doesn’t have anything down there?” Mira remarks.

  “This is not the time, sister!” Lisa says.

  “Cateto, follow him!” David shouts.

  Cateto lets out another beam aimed directly at Ares, but Ares charges forward, deflecting incoming projectiles from the other members with his shield. After weaving past them, he propels himself with a thrust of his spear, launching with jets toward Cateto. However, Wyn intercepts, slowing Ares down just in time for Cateto to unleash another attack toward him. This time, though, Ares moves with Wyn’s cyclone, dipping low to avoid it before propelling himself forward once more. Now aiming directly for Cateto's chest, he charges with both hands gripping his sword and spear, ready to strike. Ares’ weapons pierce Cateto’s chest just enough to drive him backward, sending him crashing onto the ground with a heavy thud, landing on his back.

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  “NO! CATETO!” Wyn shouts.

  Fighting through the pain in his back, Wyn hurls himself upward and propels straight toward Ares, who is preoccupied dodging projectiles fired by those near Cateto in midair. The impact of Wyn's assault sends Ares reeling back slightly. However, with a swift outward thrust of his shield, Ares sends Wyn hurtling backward, defying the cyclone's force propelling him forward. As Wyn hurtles through the air, Ares gives chase, closing the gap with relentless speed. Just as Ares raises his ax to strike Wyn down, Charlotte intervenes, yanking Wyn out of harm's way. Changing course, Ares brings his ax down onto the ground, unleashing a wave of fiery pillars that erupt violently before the blade.

  “Don’t be so reckless, or you’ll die!” Charlotte snaps.

  “My back is holding me back! Please, protect everyone here!” Wyn pleads desperately. “David, we need to force him to use the sword and spear to save Cateto!”

  Cateto is still alive, but he can’t shrink back; the lodged weapons would instantly destroy his original tiny form. Mira and Violet are by his side, holding his paws tightly, praying they won’t lose him.

  David, Heysoos, Isbella, along with Yu and James, quickly surround Ares. They charge in, attacking him with their weapons, but Ares refuses to summon his sword and spear. Yu unleashes a stream from his blade, while James assists by creating a frozen torrent that latches onto Ares' shield. With a mere flick of his wrist, Ares shatters the frozen stream effortlessly.

  After Lisa misses her shot, David charges in. As Ares sweeps his ax at him, David dives forward and drives his sword into the ground between Ares' legs. A bolt of lightning strikes, hitting Ares squarely on the head. The war champion loses his balance, allowing Yu, James, and Isabella to encase him in ice, currents of electricity coursing through it.

  Then, from both sides, Vivian’s ice-tipped arrow, concealed within a powerful laser beam, and Lisa’s electrifying laser beams from her gun strike Ares simultaneously. The ice shatters, yet Ares remains standing, electrical currents crackling across his wet body. With a fierce battle roar, Ares’ form is engulfed in flames, and the sword and spear reappear in his hands. In that moment, Cateto shrinks down, and Violet quickly cradles him tightly in her arms to keep him safe.

  Kai reenters the battle, twin swords in hand, their handles chained at the bottoms. The heat radiating from Ares is overwhelming, forcing anyone near him to keep their distance. As he moves, Ares leaves a trail of fire in his wake, hurling flames and his weapons at the group. It quickly becomes clear that their best chance of defeating him lies in waiting for the other city cats to arrive.

  However, Ares grows increasingly relentless in his attacks. He dashes toward Isabella and Vivian, shield held forward to block their strikes. Charlotte sweeps the girls away to safety just as Wyn and James summon small pillars in front of Ares. He crashes through several of them, tipping forward as the shield slams into the ground. As Ares turns to rise, he’s met by an electrifying water dragon that crashes down on him, freezing upon contact. Following this, laser beams propeling Mira’s whip surge forward. The metal tip explodes on impact, shattering the ice around Ares. Immediately, he hurls a spear at the sisters, who swiftly evade the attack.

  “I’m back with the city cats!” Ruben announces as he rushes toward the battlefield along with the city cats and many other souls.

  David helps Wyn to his feet, and at Wyn's request, Yu summons a water dragon that rises from the ground and encircles Ares before freezing in place. The moment Ares shatters the dragon, Charlotte seizes control of Heysoos’s anchor, wrapping its chains around Ares' legs. Meanwhile, Wyn propels Kai’s twin swords, wrapping its chain forcefully around Ares' neck and sending him crashing to the floor. Charlotte then lifts the anchor high above Ares, and Wyn propels himself to grab it, pulling the anchor into the air. Just as Ares tries to resist the pull by driving his ax into the ground, Kai’s rock pillar erupts beneath him, denying his chance to stay grounded and granting Wyn the opportunity to manipulate the anchor freely, using it to exert even greater control over Ares.

  “NOW!” Wyn shouts.

  He propels himself toward the wall, but just before impact, he turns to hurl the anchor toward Ares, then jets upward. Ares hits the wall, and the fluke drives into his chest upon impact. Following this, all the city cats – minus Cateto – enlarge and unleash a barrage of mixed elemental attacks. The projectiles rain down, pinning Ares in place.

  After the long onslaught finally ceases, Ares transforms into nothing more than floating essence dust that gradually drifts downward.

  “We fucking did it!” James shouts.

  The moment Wyn lands, he collapses to the ground, prompting Charlotte to carry him in a gust of wind. He reassures his team that he’ll be fine, though he’ll likely be more of a support in the upcoming fights in Hell’s defense. Cateto appears fine as well, but he is out of commission; like the souls, he can’t return to the seventh level until all threats on this level have been eliminated first.

  Before they can celebrate and collect the essence, a loud explosion echoes from inside. Rushing back, they discover that all the robots and severed parts have detonated, wiping out numerous Hell souls. On the ground, Lust’s male side kneels to stabilize himself, both sides showing signs of significant damage. Many souls around Lust groan in agony.