The shockwave from Akira's final strike hurled Kaerath across the shattered terrain like a meteor falling from the heavens. The demon's massive body tore through floating stone platforms, split open twisted trees of corrupted mana, and crashed violently into the battleground where Li Wei and the Lord Ghost Demon were locked in an intense duel.
The ground convulsed on impact.
A cloud of fractured aura rose into the air.
For a brief heartbeat, even the Ghost Demon paused and tilted his hollow, shifting face toward the new crater.
Li Wei spun back, breath sharp.
"That presence… it's—"
A second explosion erupted from the opposite side.
Akira landed.
The ground cracked beneath his feet, splitting into a spiderweb pattern. His blue flames rippled in slow waves, tearing apart any trace of Ghost Demon's shadows that touched him. His body still dripped blood from the missing arm, his eye socket burned under dried crimson, yet he stood firm—too firm for someone supposed to be dead minutes ago.
Ishita's eyes widened.
Her voice trembled between disbelief and fear.
"A-Akira… what happened to you?"
Her voice wasn't soft.
It was sharp, strained, trying to mask the crack forming inside her chest.
Li Wei took a step forward, gaze scanning Akira's missing limb, the scorched half of his face, and the way blue aura refused to leave his body.
"His condition… he should not even be moving. This aura—it's not normal. It's consuming him."
But Akira didn't answer.
His gaze was fixed entirely on Kaerath dragging himself from the rubble, lightning-red cracks glowing along his chest where Akira's previous strike had connected.
The Ghost Demon spread out his shadows to block Akira's advance.
"So the little blue flame survived. How durable you humans are when you refuse to die."
Akira walked straight through the shadows.
They evaporated around him like mist touching fire.
Kaerath spat blood, then laughed—a low, guttural sound.
"You came chasing me like an animal… You're making this entertaining."
Akira lifted his sword in silence.
The blue flame on the blade flared.
The temperature dropped, and the breeze swirled unnaturally.
Then — he spoke.
His voice sounded different.
Calmer, colder. Like his humanity had been burned away.
"I didn't come to entertain you."
His flame surged.
"I came to end you."
A pulse spread across the field, forcing Li Wei and Ishita to shield themselves as aura gusts tore through the air.
The Ghost Demon smirked.
"So the crippled boy has become a threat? Interesting…"
He moved faster than light—a blur of darkness splitting into dozens of copies, all lunging toward Akira.
Li Wei reacted instantly.
"Not happening."
He swept his palm forward, releasing a spiraling wind barrier infused with soul energy. The air pressure doubled, dispersing the shadow clones.
But the Ghost Demon materialized right behind him.
"Too slow."
Before the blow could land, a flash of blue passed between them—Akira, appearing as if he had teleported, intercepting the attack with a sweep of his sword.
The collision sent a shockwave across the battlefield.
Ishita flinched from the force.
"A-Akira… he's moving faster than before. His speed—"
Li Wei cut in, expression tight.
"It's not speed. It's the blue aura… It's reinforcing his nervous system, overriding pain, pushing his body past its natural limits."
Ishita swallowed hard.
"That means his body won't last."
"Exactly."
But Akira wasn't listening.
He pushed forward relentlessly.
Kaerath lunged, rage boiling.
The flames around his fists twisted, turning from red to a deeper, darker crimson.
"You want a true fight?! Then face this form!"
He dashed toward Akira, his four arms swinging in perfect synchronization. Blows rained down like a storm of molten meteors. Akira raised his sword, blocking, parrying, slipping past every strike. His movements were sharp, inhuman—each step a blur of cutting wind.
Li Wei and Ishita moved too.
Ishita's hands ignited with scarlet aura as she shot a wave of burning projectiles toward the Ghost Demon.
Li Wei's wind swept around her, amplifying her attacks.
For a moment, the three humans stood side by side against two of the deadliest demons alive.
Kaerath snarled.
The Ghost Demon smiled.
The battlefield trembled.
And then—
"ENOUGH."
The Ghost Demon unleashed a massive shockwave of black aura, expanding outward in a perfect sphere. The blast swept away debris, uprooted entire chunks of ground and sent Ishita flying back. Li Wei grabbed her mid-air, cushioning the fall with a burst of wind.
Akira remained standing.
His blue flames cut through the black wave like a knife slicing through fog.
Kaerath clicked his tongue.
"Tch. He's resisting your pressure? This brat is becoming a nuisance."
The Ghost Demon's form flickered with disdain.
"No… this boy is becoming a mistake. One we must correct."
Ishita struggled to her feet, chest heaving.
Her voice cracked.
"Akira… please don't push yourself like this—"
He didn't turn.
He didn't blink.
He didn't even seem to hear her.
All he said was:
"They died because of me.
And I refuse to let anyone else fall."
Li Wei tightened his grip on his blade.
He felt the sincerity… and the madness rising underneath it.
The Ghost Demon relaxed his arms and extended a hand.
Shadows began to gather, condensing into a point of singularity so dark the air bent around it.
Kaerath mirrored him, flames rising like twin serpents.
Two apex demons preparing a simultaneous attack.
Li Wei's voice sharpened urgently:
"Brace yourselves—this is going to be beyond anything they've used before!"
Ishita raised her aura, scarlet light shaking violently.
Her breathing turned rapid—her body at its limit.
Akira took a single step forward.
Blue flames burst across the field.
The demons released their attacks at the exact same moment—one a spiraling black sphere of dimensional collapse, the other a barrage of crimson destruction. The ground screamed, the air cracked, and the dimension itself warped.
Ishita and Li Wei prepared for the impact—
But Akira moved.
He moved before anyone else could breathe.
A flicker of blue.
A streak of flame.
A blur that cut through light and shadow.
His sword swung—
And everything stopped.
The combined demonic attack split apart, redirected, twisting into a chaotic vortex behind Akira. The blast tore through the battlefield—its path curving unnaturally—before exploding directly into Kaerath's already damaged body.
Kaerath screamed, the impact slamming him into the ground, his flesh burning and cracking.
But he didn't die.
He crawled out of the crater, bleeding and furious.
Ishita gasped.
"H-He redirected an attack from both of them at once…!"
Li Wei's eyes widened in awe and dread.
"His control… his precision… This is no longer human."
The Ghost Demon studied Akira silently.
Akira raised his blade again—blue aura tearing the sky behind him.
The clash had only just begun.
And now—
All three of them would have to fight together
in the last battlefield of the living.