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Patreon.com/Doflamingo4.
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If you liked this one. Cheek also my other stories:
[ Shadow Monarch in Hogwarts].
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________________________________________________________________________________
Third POV:
Akai's smirk lingered for only a second.
It sat on his bloodied face like a crack in stone—small, fragile, there and gone before anyone could really see it. His chest heaved, his arms hung heavy at his sides, and his legs trembled beneath him like they might give out at any moment. But his eyes—his eyes were still sharp. Still focused. Still hungry.
"…This will be the last time I fall here."
The words came out low, rough, scraped raw by everything he had been through. They weren't loud. They didn't need to be. They carried the weight of someone who had made a decision and wasn't going to change his mind.
And then—
They moved.
All at once.
The shift was instant, violent, absolute. One moment the hall was still, the twenty-two remaining knights frozen in their silent, watchful poses. The next, they exploded into motion like a dam breaking, like a storm finally unleashed.
CLANG—!
WHOOSH—!
BOOOOM—!
The hall exploded into motion.
Metal screamed against metal as swords were raised, swung, brought down with force that could split stone. The air itself seemed to shatter around the moving blades, torn apart by their speed and weight. The sound was everywhere—above, below, around, inside—vibrating through the floor, through the walls, through Akai's very bones.
Twenty-two armored giants Knights surged forward, their blades cutting through the air like executioners' judgment.
They moved as one, their steps synchronized, their strikes coordinated, their bodies forming a wall of steel and stone that seemed impossible to breach. Each knight was huge, towering, its armor dark and heavy, its sword longer than Akai was tall. Together, they were a tide—unstoppable, unbreakable, inevitable.
The ground trembled under their synchronized advance, each step shaking the very structure of the hall.
Dust fell from the ceiling above. Small stones broke loose from the pillars and clattered to the floor. The throne at the far end of the hall seemed to pulse with each impact, the engravings on its surface glowing brighter with every step the knights took.
Akai didn't wait.
His body moved before his mind could catch up, before the fear could settle in, before the pain could remind him of everything he had already endured. His feet pushed off the stone, launching him forward—
And vanished.
TAP—!
The sound of his footstep was sharp, quick, barely audible beneath the thunder of the advancing knights. But it was there. A small sound. A defiant sound. The sound of someone who refused to stop.
His speed had changed.
No—
It had evolved.
The air rushed past his face, cold and sharp, carrying the taste of dust and metal and his own blood. The knights loomed ahead, their swords already swinging, but they looked slower now. Blurrier. Like he was seeing them through water.
He slipped past the first strike, ducking under a sweeping blade that shattered the floor behind him—
KRRRRAAASH!!!
The sword crashed into the stone, carving a deep trench where Akai had been standing a moment before. Fragments of rock exploded outward, sharp and fast, bouncing off the walls and pillars. A piece caught Akai's shoulder, drawing a thin line of red, but he didn't slow down.
He twisted mid-motion and launched a kick—
BAM!!!
His foot collided with the knight's torso.
The impact was solid, satisfying, the kind of hit that sent shockwaves through his leg and up into his spine. For a split second, he felt resistance—the hard, unyielding surface of the knight's armor pressing back against him, refusing to give.
For a split second—resistance.
Then—
CRAAAAACK!!!
The armor fractured.
A web of cracks spread across the knight's chest plate, branching outward from the point of impact like lightning across a dark sky. The metal groaned, strained, and then gave way, pieces falling to the floor with sharp, ringing sounds.
The knight staggered.
Its massive body lurched backward, its sword swinging wide, its balance broken. For a moment, it looked almost human—almost vulnerable.
DING.
The screen flickered in the corner of his vision, gold text flashing against the dark red background.
[Level Up!] → Level 10
[Speed Increased]
[Busoshoku Haki Stability Improved]
Akai didn't stop.
He couldn't.
There was no time to celebrate, no time to rest, no time to even register what the system had given him. The numbers on the screen meant nothing if he wasn't alive to read them.
Another knight was already upon him—
THUD!!!
A brutal kick slammed into his side.
The impact came from nowhere, from everywhere, from a direction he hadn't been watching. The knight's armored foot connected with his ribs, folding him almost in half, driving the air from his lungs in a single, violent rush.
Akai's body flew across the hall—
CRASH!!!
He hit the ground hard, his back slamming against the stone, his head snapping back, his vision exploding into white sparks. The impact knocked what little breath he had left out of him, leaving his chest empty and burning.
He rolled—
His body tumbled across the floor, over and over, each rotation slamming a different part of him against the cold stone. His shoulder. His hip. His elbow. His head.
Coughed blood—
"Ghh—!!"
The red liquid splattered across the floor, dark and thick, mixing with the dust and the fragments of broken armor already scattered around him.
Pain surged again.
Fresh. Brutal. Unforgiving.
It rolled over him in waves, each one higher than the last, each one crashing down with more weight. His ribs screamed. His back screamed. His head pounded with a rhythm that matched his heartbeat.
But—
He stood.
Again.
Always again.
His hands pressed flat against the floor. His arms pushed. His knees drew up beneath him. The movements were slow, clumsy, nothing like the quick, sharp motions he had used moments ago. But they worked. Inch by inch, he rose.
"…Not enough."
The words came out ragged, broken, barely audible. But they were there. A promise. A threat. A declaration.
He rushed forward once more.
This time—two knights attacked simultaneously.
Their movements were perfectly coordinated, their blades crossing in an arc that left no room to dodge, no space to escape. The swords swept toward him from opposite directions, their edges gleaming in the dim light, their paths intersecting right where he stood.
Blades crossed—
SHHHHHRRRRRAAAK!!!
The sound was enormous, a shriek of metal against metal that echoed through the hall like a scream. Sparks flew from the point where the swords met, orange and white and red, lighting up the darkness in brief, violent flashes.
Akai jumped—barely escaping being cut in half—
His body launched into the air, his legs folding beneath him, his arms spreading for balance. The blades passed beneath him, close enough that he could feel the wind of their passing, close enough that he could see his reflection in their polished surfaces.
But a third knight intercepted mid-air—
BOOOOM!!!
A punch slammed into his back, sending him crashing down headfirst into the ground.
The fist was huge, armored, unforgiving. It hit him between the shoulder blades, driving him downward with force that felt like being hit by a falling tree. His body folded around the impact, his spine arching, his mouth opening in a silent scream.
Blood splattered.
The floor cracked beneath him.
For a second—
He didn't move.
His body lay still, spread-eagled on the cracked stone, his face pressed against the cold floor. His eyes were closed. His chest barely rose. His fingers didn't twitch.
The knights stood around him, their swords raised, their visors aimed down at his broken form. They waited. Patient. Silent. Ready to finish what they had started.
Then—
His fingers twitched.
The movement was small, almost invisible, but it was there. A sign. A spark. A refusal.
"…Fuck…"
The word came out weak, barely a whisper, but it was there too.
He pushed himself up again.
His hands pressed against the floor, his arms trembling, his whole body shaking with the effort. His head lifted, his eyes opening, his vision blurry and unfocused. Blood dripped from his forehead, from his nose, from the corner of his mouth.
His breathing heavier.
His body slower.
But his eyes—
Sharper.
More focused.
The fog of pain cleared. The exhaustion faded. Everything became sharp, clear, immediate. The knights around him, the swords above him, the throne at the far end of the hall—all of it snapped into focus, bright and vivid and real.
He charged again.
And again.
And again.
Each clash more brutal than the last.
Each fall heavier.
Each rise more dangerous.
KICK—!
CRASH—!
BLADE—!
BLOOD—!
The pattern repeated, over and over, a relentless cycle of attack and counterattack, of pain and recovery, of falling and standing. Each time he hit the ground, he got back up. Each time a blade cut him, he found a way to dodge the next one.
Every time he landed a hit—
Every time a knight cracked—
The system answered.
DING.
[Level Up → 11]
[Level Up → 12]
[Level Up → 13]
The numbers climbed, each one a small victory, a small step forward. But Akai barely noticed them. His mind was elsewhere, focused on the fight, on the knights, on the patterns he was slowly learning to read.
His speed surged.
His body adapted.
His haki—
Strengthened.
Invisible armor began forming more clearly around his limbs, especially his legs. He could feel it now—a thin, dense layer of something that wasn't quite physical, wrapped around his skin like a second set of clothes. It absorbed impacts, deflected blades, turned his kicks from blows into battering rams.
Each kick carried more weight, more impact—more finality.
Still—
The knights didn't fall easily.
They were resilient, stubborn, designed to endure. Their armor cracked but held. Their bodies staggered but didn't fall. Their swords kept swinging, kept cutting, kept coming.
Another strike—
BOOOOM!!!
Akai was thrown again, slamming into a pillar this time—
CRACK!!!
The impact was brutal, sudden, absolute. His back hit the stone, his spine compressing, his teeth clacking together so hard he tasted blood. The pillar shuddered under the force, cracks spreading up and down its length.
The structure shattered partially under the impact.
Pieces of stone rained down around him, bouncing off his shoulders, his head, his arms. Dust filled the air, thick and choking, making him cough and sputter.
He dropped to one knee, blood dripping steadily from his mouth.
"…Why won't you just stay down…" he muttered.
His voice was rough, tired, carrying the exhaustion of someone who had been fighting for what felt like hours. His chest heaved, his arms trembled, his legs felt like they might give out at any moment.
His eyes flickered upward.
Watching.
Analyzing.
And then—
He saw it.
Every time a knight moved—
Every time it struck—
There was a slight delay.
A moment.
A fraction of a second—
Right at the center of their chest.
A faint glow.
A core.
It was small, barely visible, hidden beneath layers of armor and stone. But once he saw it, he couldn't unsee it. A pulsing light, steady and rhythmic, like a heartbeat. The source of their movement, their strength, their life.
"…So that's it…"
His lips curled slowly.
The expression was tired, bloody, but real. A crack in the wall of exhaustion, a sign that he hadn't given up yet.
"…your weak point."
He stood fully now.
Despite the blood.
Despite the damage.
His legs straightened, his spine aligned, his shoulders pulled back. The movement was slow, painful, but it happened. He rose to his full height, towering over the kneeling position he had been in moments before.
His posture straightened.
His presence shifted.
Something about him changed—not physically, but in a way that was impossible to miss. The air around him seemed to grow heavier, denser, charged with something that hadn't been there before.
"So be it…"
And then—
He disappeared.
There was no warning, no preparation, no sign of what was coming. One moment he was standing still, the next he was gone, his body moving faster than the eye could track.
This time—
It was different.
Faster.
Cleaner.
Deadlier.
He moved like a shadow between them, slipping through gaps that shouldn't have existed, finding angles that shouldn't have been possible. His feet barely touched the floor, his body barely disturbed the air.
KICK—!
A precise strike—
His leg extended, his foot aimed, his whole body rotating to put as much force behind the blow as possible. The haki coating his leg shimmered, invisible but undeniable, adding weight and power to the strike.
Directly to the glowing core.
CRAAAAAAAAACK!!!
One knight exploded apart instantly.
The core shattered first, bursting into a thousand fragments of light, then the armor followed, cracking and crumbling and falling to the floor in pieces. What had been a towering guardian a moment ago was now just a pile of broken parts.
DING.
[Level Up → 14]
Another—
KICK—!
BOOOOM!!!
The second knight followed, its core cracking, its body collapsing, its sword clattering to the floor.
[Level Up → 15]
Another—
KICK—!
SHATTER!!!
The third knight fell, pieces scattering across the floor, rolling and sliding and coming to rest in a wide circle.
[Level Up → 16]
Akai's movements became terrifyingly efficient.
No wasted motion.
No hesitation.
Just execution.
His body flowed from one strike to the next, smooth and fluid, like water finding its way through cracks in a dam. Each kick was perfectly placed, each strike precisely aimed, each movement carrying him closer to the next target.
The hall filled with the sounds of destruction—
Armor breaking.
Stone collapsing.
Echoes of impact.
The noise was enormous, overwhelming, a symphony of violence that seemed to shake the very foundations of the hall. Each crash was a death knell, each crack a victory, each fall a step closer to the end.
Blood painted the floor beneath his feet.
His own.
And whatever essence held the knights together.
Dark red liquid spread across the stone, pooling in the cracks and crevices, reflecting the faint glow from the engravings on the walls. It followed him as he moved, a trail of red marking his path through the hall.
He was hit again—
THUD!!!
A fist caught him in the chest, driving the air from his lungs, sending him flying backward.
Thrown back—
CRASH!!!
He hit the floor, rolled, came to a stop against a fallen piece of armor. His vision blurred, his ears rang, his whole body screamed.
But he stood—
Again.
And again.
And again.
His hands pushed against the floor. His legs straightened. His back straightened. The movements were automatic now, instinctive, as natural as breathing.
KICK—!
[Level Up → 17]
KICK—!
[Level Up → 18]
KICK—!
[Level Up → 19]
One by one, the knights fell. Their cores shattered, their bodies collapsed, their swords fell silent. The hall grew quieter with each death, the thunder of battle fading into something softer, something emptier.
Only one remained.
The final knight stood before him.
Silent.
Unmoving.
Watching.
It was different from the others—taller, broader, its armor darker and more ornate. The engravings on its surface were more intricate, more detailed, telling stories that Akai couldn't read. Its sword was longer, sharper, its edge gleaming with a light that seemed to come from within.
Akai stood opposite it, chest rising and falling heavily. His entire body was drenched in blood, bruised, broken—yet standing.
His own blood mixed with the essence of the fallen knights, painting him in shades of red and dark. His clothes were torn, his skin was marked, his face was barely recognizable beneath the layers of dust and crimson.
But he was standing.
"…You're the last one, huh…"
His voice was quiet, almost conversational, as if he was talking to an old friend rather than a creature that had been trying to kill him moments ago.
The knight raised its sword.
The blade rose slowly, deliberately, catching the light from the engravings on the walls. The metal gleamed, sharp and hungry, ready for one final strike.
Akai stepped forward.
One last time.
His foot landed on the stone, solid and sure. His weight shifted, his balance adjusted, his body prepared for what was coming.
He moved.
Faster than ever before.
The air screamed as he cut through it, his body becoming a blur of motion that even the knight couldn't track. The distance between them disappeared in an instant, eaten up by his speed.
His leg drew back—
Haki coating it, invisible but undeniable.
The power gathered in his calf, his thigh, his hip, his whole lower body becoming a weapon aimed at the knight's core.
And then—
KICK.
A single, perfect strike.
His foot connected with the center of the knight's chest, right where the glow pulsed, right where the core lived. The impact was solid, absolute, the kind of hit that sent shockwaves through the air.
Directly to the core.
Silence.
For a moment, the world stopped. The hall froze. The light from the engravings dimmed. Even the dust hanging in the air seemed to pause, caught between one moment and the next.
Then—
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!
The final knight shattered completely.
The explosion was enormous, blinding, deafening. Light burst from the core, white and gold and red, flooding the hall with an intensity that made Akai throw his arm across his eyes. The sound followed a heartbeat later, a wall of noise that pressed against his ears, his chest, his whole body.
Fragments scattered across the hall.
Pieces of armor flew in every direction, bouncing off the walls, off the pillars, off the throne. Some landed nearby, some far away, some disappeared into the darkness at the edges of the hall.
The sound echoed endlessly—
Before fading.
Silence returned.
It settled over the hall like snow, soft and white and final. The dust began to settle, the fragments stopped moving, the light from the engravings returned to its normal, steady pulse.
Akai stood alone.
Barely breathing.
Barely standing.
His chest rose and fell in shallow, uneven breaths. His arms hung at his sides, heavy and limp. His legs trembled beneath him, threatening to give out at any moment. His eyes were half-closed, his vision blurred, his consciousness flickering at the edges.
But he was standing.
DING.
[Level Up → 20]
The notification appeared in gold text, bright against the dark red background. It lingered for a moment, then faded, replaced by silence.
The notifications stopped.
The battle…
Was over.
Akai stood in the center of the hall, surrounded by the broken remains of twenty-four guardians, his blood mixing with theirs on the stone floor. The throne loomed at the far end, silent and waiting, its engravings pulsing softly.
He didn't move.
Couldn't move.
Just stood there, breathing, existing, surviving.
The hall was still.
The silence was complete.
And somewhere, deep in the darkness beyond the throne, something stirred.
Something that had been waiting for this moment.
Something that was finally ready to wake.
---
[ End of Chapter 21].
To Be Continued....
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A Bonus Chapter...
Don't forget power stones... Please!!
__
If you want to read more about my works or just to support me then here is my patreon:
Patreon.com/Doflamingo4 .
__
If you liked this one. Cheek also my other stories:
[ Shadow Monarch in Hogwarts].
Patreon.com/Doflamingo4 .
_
Thank you all for reading...