Destructive Uprising

Moravuno neon lights flickered against the raging inferno, casting eerie shadows as the city drowned in chaos. Buildings crumbled, sirens wailed, and the air reeked of scorched metal and blood. Syndicate enforcers flooded the streets, moving like a well-oiled machine, their weapons spitting fire and death. Civilians screamed, running for their lives, but there was no escape. Not tonight.

The Zodiacs rushed the streets of Moravuno as they help the citizens evacuate but in the mansion, The Monarch requested backup from the rest of the zodiacs.

And at the heart of it all, Leo stood his ground.

As golden flames raged like a second sun, licking at his arms as he tore through the enemy ranks. He drove his fist into the pavement, sending a shockwave of solar fire rippling outward. A half-dozen enforcers were flung back, their armor melting, weapons clattering uselessly to the asphalt.

More were coming. A lot more.

Leo wiped a streak of blood from his cheek, exhaling. "Alright, motherf**kers," he muttered. "Who's next?"

A streak of plasma fire shot toward him. He ducked, rolling across the pavement as the blast tore a chunk out of the street. He barely had time to recover before another barrage came flying in.

Then—

CRACK.

A blue whip lashed through the air, coiling around an enforcer's leg before yanking him off his feet. Sparks exploded on impact, the electricity frying his circuits before he even hit the ground.

"You're welcome," Aquarius called from above, perched on a broken streetlamp, her whip crackling with residual energy. She flipped down, landing effortlessly beside Leo.

"You always did have a bad habit of running in like a dumbass," she quipped

Leo smirked. "And you always have a bad habit of showing up late."

"Fashionably late," she corrected with a wink. With a flick of her wrist, her whip lashed out again, wrapping around an enforcer's throat and yanking him into a live power line. The poor bastard didn't even get a scream out before he convulsed and dropped, smoking.

A shadow streaked across the battlefield. A whisper in the air.

"Duck," came Virgo's calm voice.

Leo didn't question it—he dropped just in time for a razor-sharp glaive to whistle past his head and impale an approaching enforcer through the chest. Blood splattered. The body slumped.

Virgo landed beside him, moving like a ghost, retrieving her weapon in one fluid motion.

"You're getting reckless," Virgo noted, voice cool as ever.

"And you're getting preachy," Leo shot back. "Glad you made it, though."

Before Virgo could respond, the ground trembled. A violent shockwave ripped through the battlefield, sending debris flying. From the smoke, Aries emerged, cracking his knuckles.

"Oh, you assholes started without me?" he grumbled, rolling his shoulders.

Leo smirked. "Try not to break everything."

Aries bared her teeth in a grin. "No promises."

She lunged her fists colliding with an enforcer's face. The poor bastard went flying, crashing through a burning transport truck. Aries grabbed the next guy by the throat and slammed him into the pavement hard enough to leave a crater.

More Zodiacs arrived, each one carving through the Syndicate forces like a goddamn massacre.

Capricorn moved like a phantom, his twin daggers flashing in the firelight as he slashed between the enemies, slicing throats with surgical precision. Sagittarius swung down from a rooftop, loosing arrows that exploded on impact, lighting up the night in bursts of fire and bone. Gemini split into two, overwhelming their opponents with impossible speed, their synchronized attacks a blur of motion.

At the center of it all, Scorpio, Libra, and Taurus stood back-to-back with Leo, the battlefield raging around them.

Libra exhaled, adjusting her grip on her staff. "I was hoping for a quieter night."

Taurus let out a laugh, rolling his shoulders. "Come on, you know we don't do quiet."

Scorpio glanced at Leo, his usual scowl softening just slightly. "You did good holding them off."

Leo blinked. "Did... you just compliment me?"

"Don't get used to it."

Then a deep, cold voice sliced through the battlefield.

"Enough."

The Syndicate forces stopped. The battle stilled.

Through the smoke and fire, a towering figure emerged. Clad in jet-black armor, his face was hidden beneath a helmet, his warhammer resting against his shoulder, crackling with raw energy.

"So you're the Zodiacs," he mused, voice metallic, almost amused. "Let's see if you're worth the fear they say you command."

Leo's smirk widened. His fists ignited, golden flames licking up his arms.

"Finally," he muttered. "Someone who looks like a real fucking challenge."

The Zodiacs tensed.

Then the warhammer came down.

It slammed into the ground with enough force to split the street open. Asphalt cracked, chunks of concrete exploded outward, and a ripple of dark energy surged through the battlefield.

Leo barely managed to leap out of the way as the shockwave tore past him. Aries wasn't as lucky—he got caught mid-charge and was launched through a wrecked vehicle, the metal caving around his impact. He groaned, rolling onto his hands and knees, spitting blood.

Aquarius lashed out with her electric whip, striking the enemy's armor with a surge of voltage. The masked warrior barely reacted. Instead, he yanked the whip, yanking her toward him before driving his knee into her ribs.

Aquarius gasped, the impact knocking the air from her lungs. She crumpled, coughing violently.

"Son of a bitch," Sagittarius snarled, firing an explosive arrow at point-blank range.

The masked warrior caught it.

The arrow detonated in his grip, the explosion kicking up a wave of smoke and debris. But as the dust settled, he was still standing, armor barely dented.

"Damn it," Sagittarius muttered. "He's fast."

Taurus charged, slamming into the enemy with enough force to crater the pavement beneath them. They grappled, strength against strength. For a moment, it seemed like Taurus had the upper hand.

Then the masked warrior twisted, using Taurus's own momentum against him, hurling him into a burning wreck.

Virgo moved in next, glaive flashing in the firelight. She went for the legs—fast, precise, brutal. But the enemy caught the blade mid-swing, twisted, and backhanded Virgo across the jaw.

Leo gritted his teeth. This wasn't just some overpowered bastard. He was calculated. Methodical. Every move was a counter. Every attack, anticipated.

But Leo wasn't about to let this motherfucker think he had the upper hand.

With a burst of speed, Leo lunged forward, twisting mid-air as his golden flames exploded outward.

"Let's see you block this!"

His fist crashed into the enemy's chest, a concentrated blast of solar fire detonating on impact. The sheer force sent the masked warrior skidding back, his armor glowing red-hot where the hit landed.

For the first time, he hesitated.

Leo landed, breathing hard, smirk widening. "Yeah. That's what I thought."

Then, beneath the helmet—

A chuckle.

"Oh," the masked warrior murmured, rolling his shoulders. "This might actually be fun."

Leo's smirk vanished.

The real fight had just begun.