"Again!"
He didn't choose to use dragon fire to heal himself. Instead, Ryuji simply accelerated the circulation of his blood qi secret art. As a result, his thinking became simpler and simpler. A wild grin spread across his face as he charged at Akuma once more with a punch.
"Come!!"
Akuma did not show weakness either, swinging his own fist. The two collided again, fists and legs striking as they continuously shifted through the forest, destroying this ancestral land of the Shiranui-ryū.
However, Akuma could clearly feel that he was gradually becoming less and less of a match for Ryuji.
The potential within this young man's body seemed inexhaustible.
He himself could barely resist the erosion of the Satsui no Hado because of his fighting spirit and years of training.
But although he was also affected, Akuma could tell that it was more because of their battle itself. As for the Satsui no Hado on Ryuji's body, rather than being something he had been tainted with, it was more accurate to say he had awakened it himself.
His body was born to bear the Satsui no Hado.
But it didn't matter!
He, Akuma, also wanted to see his own limits.
Their auras and the energy within their bodies continued to surge upward. When their auras intertwined once again, two crimson pillars of light shot straight into the sky.
A ferocious shockwave once again swept out in all directions.
Hanzo, who had just arrived, looked up and saw the red-glowing shockwave. Without hesitation, he flipped behind a large boulder for cover.
But what he never expected was that the huge rock shattered instantly under the violent impact. Caught off guard, he was sent flying by flying debris, blood spraying from his mouth as his body tumbled down the slope, nearly smashing his head against a sharp rock.
Yet precisely because he was knocked rolling downhill, he perfectly evaded several shockwaves that followed, managing to keep his body intact.
Hanzo, who was almost sent to the afterlife by the aftermath of Ryuji and Akuma's battle, looked at the sky, which had darkened at some unknown moment. The corners of his mouth twitched uncontrollably.
He could sense that two massive vortexes of qi were forming in the sky and the natural qi constantly flowing toward the two men locked in combat.
It was as if they were stepping on their own feet to climb into the sky: if you became stronger than me by one point this instant, then in the next moment I would surpass you by one point.
At this point, it was difficult to describe the two of them as human anymore.
Leaning against a massive tree, staring at the blood left behind by Ryuji and Akuma, Hanzo tried to reach out and touch it. But before his fingers could make contact, red and black lightning burst from the blood itself, piercing straight through the large rock beside him.
Such a horrifying sight confirmed once more that what he was witnessing was not a battle between men, but a clash between gods.
Watching Ryuji's blood, which was still smoking, and Akuma's blood, which emitted the same crimson Satsui no Hado, Hanzo spat out another mouthful of blood and voiced his thought.
"But if this continues, both of their bodies will give out…"
Both of their bloodstreams were filled with foreign energy that could not be restrained. They could hold on for a short time, but once they crossed a certain threshold, their bodies would collapse.
Because this was truly not power that humans could possess. Compared to the forces of nature, the human body was simply too insignificant.
"The Satsui no Hado truly deserves to be called a forbidden power… This power should never be used by mortals."
Hanzo looked worriedly in Ryuji's direction, but he also understood very clearly...
He really had no qualification to approach.
What he could sense, the two who were using the Satsui no Hado could naturally sense as well. Both of them knew that as they continued clashing with the Satsui no Hado, the "killing intent" within this world was continuously flowing toward them.
However, at this moment, the two swords that Mai had taken away suddenly began to glow together under her astonished gaze.
An unknown power surged toward Ryuji's direction.
At the same time, Ryuji, who was on the verge of being completely overwhelmed by violent killing intent and the continuous resonance with Akuma's fighting spirit, with forbidden power rampaging through his body, about to lose himself completely and become a killing machine, was blessed by a divine power.
The blessing of the world began to take effect, stimulating the strongest latent powers within Ryuji.
Ryuji's perception expanded infinitely. As he fought Akuma, he felt his will advancing toward a strange and wondrous realm.
It was as if his entire being had separated from his body. Even though he was still fighting Akuma with all his strength, he began to perceive something different.
He saw everything beneath the world:
Wild animals hunting their prey, squirrels gathering grain, birds catching fish and insects, humans fighting each other...
Is the thought of a wild beast hunting a 'killing intent'?
Is the thought of harvesting rice also a 'killing intent'?
Is the intention of cells absorbing nutrients also a form of 'killing intent'?
Is every moment of human existence actually a form of killing? Does humanity live every second for the sake of killing? Are human thoughts themselves killing intent and human will itself the desire to kill?
Is everything in the world composed of 'killing intent'?
For a moment, Ryuji was dazed. Even though his blood energy was still surging, even though his will to fight remained extremely strong, at this moment his mind could not help but begin thinking about these questions.
And coincidentally, Akuma had also fallen into a similar state.
Just as Ryuji's will had collided with his, causing his own will to boil within that burning fighting spirit, even pushing it toward losing control.
Because Ryuji had actively clashed wills with him, during their intense battle, Akuma was able to sense what Ryuji was perceiving, through that clash of wills.
At this moment, he too saw what Ryuji saw.
But the perspective was different.
Why are fish and insects eaten? Because they are not strong enough. Why are they not strong enough? Because their will to fight and their desire to grow stronger are insufficient.
Their 'killing intent' is not enough for them to survive.
Why did humanity choose civilization instead of endless war? Because civilization itself is killing intent! The gathered killing intent of all people!
The strongest killing intent is the collective killing intent of humanity, not merely the killing intent to survive, but the killing intent to conquer the world.
This greatest killing intent suppresses the killing intent of others! And to break free from that restriction, one must become stronger than everyone else!
Struggle is killing intent! Killing intent is battle!
Struggle itself is life!
And at this moment, Ryuji also found his own answer.
"Survival is killing intent. The will to kill is life! Life itself is struggle!"
They saw the same thing, but because they were different people, they arrived at similar yet fundamentally different conclusions.
And then, they swung their fists at each other.
"Fight!"
~~~~~~~~~~
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