The fight continued.
Not because either of them hated each other.
Not because either wanted to win.
But because neither knew how to turn the transformation off.
So naturally, they kept punching each other until something happened.
It was a very Fuuma solution.
BOOM!
Leo's fist connected.
A chest plate shattered.
Kotaro answered with a kick.
Part of Leo's shoulder armor exploded apart.
More fragments fell into the ocean.
More energy leaked away.
The Devil Trigger forms were literally coming apart now.
Eventually—
The cracks reached everything.
The wings.
The tail.
The helmets.
The armor.
All of it.
---
Leo swung.
Kotaro blocked.
The impact sent one final shockwave across the sea.
Then—
CRACK.
The armor covering Leo's arm shattered completely.
CRACK.
Kotaro's chest armor followed.
Then the entire transformation began breaking apart.
Pink flames dispersed into the wind.
Blue ice crystals dissolved into mist.
The wings vanished.
The tails disappeared.
The helmets crumbled.
And a few moments later—
Two very tired cousins dropped onto a floating chunk of ice.
Silence.
Leo looked down at himself.
Normal.
Human.
Still wearing his combat outfit.
"Well."
He stretched.
"That worked."
Kotaro looked down.
Then immediately looked away.
"...I have discovered a flaw in this plan."
Leo glanced over.
Then immediately covered his eyes.
"Nope."
Kotaro pointed.
"I wasn't exactly wearing armor before transforming."
"Still nope."
Kotaro sighed.
"Fair."
Leo removed his jacket and tossed it over.
"Here."
Kotaro wrapped it around his waist.
"Thanks."
"No problem."
The two sat there for a moment.
The ocean rocking gently beneath them.
The battle finally over.
Kotaro rubbed the back of his head.
"So..."
"So."
"We blew up a Nomad base."
"Probably."
"We unlocked Devil Triggers."
"Apparently."
"We nearly sank an island."
"Allegedly."
Kotaro laughed.
Leo laughed.
Then both stood.
"Let's go home."
"Yeah."
By the time they returned to the island, the rest of the group was waiting.
Asagi was the first one over.
"Are you two idiots done?"
"Mostly."
"Mostly?" Kurenai repeated.
"The island is still above water."
"That's not an answer."
Tatsuro was already scanning Kotaro with three different devices.
"Interesting."
Kotaro immediately stepped back.
"No."
"What?"
"I know that tone."
Tatsuro looked genuinely offended.
"I am a scientist."
"Exactly."
Rinko nodded.
"That's fair."
Leo looked around.
"Where's Oboro?"
The group exchanged looks.
Finally Ayame answered.
"She escaped."
Leo sighed.
Of course she did.
Between two Fuuma Devil Triggers tearing apart the facility, nobody had exactly been watching the exits.
Kotaro crossed his arms.
"So we destroyed their base."
"Yes."
"We rescued me."
"Also yes."
"But Oboro escaped."
Everyone nodded.
Kotaro sighed.
"Sounds about right."
A few hours later, everyone boarded the boat back to Gosha Village.
The ocean was calm.
The mission was over.
Kotaro was safe.
Nomad had lost one of their major facilities.
And for the first time in weeks, Leo felt like he could finally relax.
Which naturally meant something was probably about to go wrong.
A few days later, Gosha Village was louder than usual.
The moment it was confirmed that Kotaro had been rescued, the entire village celebrated.
Nomad had lost a major facility.
A Fuuma heir had been brought home alive.
And one of the strongest bloodlines in the village hadn't been dissected by mad scientists.
For once, things had gone right.
Well, mostly.
The investigation into the village elder began immediately after the mission.
Leo didn't enjoy sitting through the meetings.
Mostly because he already knew the answer.
Turns out he was right.
The Igawa Elder had been feeding information to Nomad.
Just like in the original timeline.
The evidence was overwhelming.
Financial records.
Secret communications.
Missing reports.
Everything.
When the verdict was announced, nobody defended him.
Not even the other Igawa members.
The betrayal had endangered the entire village.
A public execution was ordered.
Kotaro was given the honor.
The former elder knelt in the center of the execution grounds.
The entire village watched.
Kotaro walked forward.
No speeches.
No dramatic declaration.
Just a single draw of his sword.
One clean strike.
The blade flashed.
The traitor fell.
And just like that, it was over.
Justice in Gosha Village was often brutally simple.
Afterward, things finally settled down enough for family meetings.
Which was how Leo and Kotaro found themselves sitting in the Fuuma Estate with Aoi, Ryuji, and several other clan members.
Aoi listened quietly as the two explained everything.
Nomad.
The experiments.
The Devil Trigger forms.
The fight.
The destruction.
Everything.
Eventually she blinked.
"You both unlocked your Demon Forms?"
"Yes," Leo answered.
"Yeah," Kotaro added.
Aoi nodded.
"And then you both returned to normal?"
"Yes."
She folded her arms.
"How?"
The cousins looked at each other.
Then answered together.
"We punched the shit out of each other."
Silence.
Complete silence.
Aoi stared.
Several clan members stared.
One elderly Fuuma nearly dropped his tea.
Then—
Ryuji started laughing.
Not chuckling.
Not snickering.
Laughing.
The kind of laugh that starts in the stomach and becomes a full-body event.
He leaned back in his chair.
Tears formed in his eyes.
He slapped the table.
Then somehow laughed harder.
"I-I can't—"
He wheezed.
"My sons unlocked a legendary bloodline transformation and their solution was to beat the transformation out of each other!"
His laughter became so powerful that Taima Particles started gathering around him.
Golden light appeared.
The room shook slightly.
A distant choir could almost be heard.
Leo pointed.
"Dad's ascending."
Kotaro nodded.
"Dad's ascending."
One of the clan members looked horrified.
"Is he becoming a god?"
Ryuji pointed dramatically at the ceiling.
"I have seen the truth!"
The golden light intensified.
"I shall transcend mortal li—"
SMACK!
Aoi hit him across the head.
The light vanished instantly.
Ryuji fell back into his chair.
Mortal once more.
Aoi calmly sat back down.
"I will not be losing my husband to divinity."
The room nodded.
Entirely reasonable.
Ryuji rubbed the back of his head.
"You're no fun."
"You married me."
"Fair point."
Leo sighed.
Kotaro sighed.
The two cousins looked at each other.
After fighting through a Nomad base, unlocking ancient bloodline powers, nearly sinking an island, and exposing a traitor—
Somehow this was still the weirdest part of the week.
Meanwhile, far from Gosha Village, in a skyscraper that overlooked a sea of lights, Oboro finished her report.
The office was silent.
Too silent.
The kind of silence that made people nervous.
Oboro stood with her arms folded while the man before her listened.
Akeo Black sat in a large chair near the window, a glass of red wine in one hand.
The city stretched endlessly beyond the glass.
When Oboro finished speaking, he remained quiet for several seconds.
Then he chuckled.
Then laughed.
Then laughed harder.
Oboro blinked.
"...My lord?"
Akeo covered his face.
"I am sorry."
He wasn't.
"This is simply too amusing."
Oboro frowned.
"Which part?"
Akeo smiled.
"The part where Nomad spent years preparing an experiment."
"The part where we successfully awakened a Fuuma Demon Mark."
"The part where two Fuuma immediately used it to destroy our facility."
He took a sip from his glass.
"And then solved their transformation problem by beating each other unconscious."
Oboro sighed.
"When you say it like that."
"When I say it accurately."
Oboro couldn't argue.
Akeo stood and walked toward the window.
His reflection stared back at him.
Red eyes.
Dark hair.
A calm smile.
The smile slowly widened.
"Leo..."
Oboro looked up.
Akeo rested a hand against the glass.
"That is my nephew."
"My sister's child."
"I see."
His voice wasn't angry.
Nor disappointed.
It was curious.
Interested.
Like a scientist seeing an unexpected result.
Oboro tilted her head.
"You seem pleased."
"Pleased?"
Akeo laughed softly.
"No."
He looked back at her.
"I'm fascinated."
The city lights reflected in his eyes.
"Seven years ago he was insignificant."
"A talented ninja."
"Nothing more."
He swirled the wine in his glass.
"Now he has acquired an unknown power."
"Bonded with a Hell Blade."
"Unlocked a Demon Form."
"Destroyed one of our facilities."
"Survived encounters with Ingrid."
"Survived encounters with Teutates."
"And somehow continues becoming stronger."
Oboro crossed her arms.
"He is troublesome."
Akeo smiled.
"He's family."
Oboro immediately understood.
That smile.
That tone.
That was not how people talked about enemies.
That was how the Black family talked about interesting relatives.
Which was somehow more concerning.
Akeo looked toward the moon.
"The Fuuma family has always produced monsters."
His smile widened.
"The question is what kind of monster Leo will become."
Oboro walked beside him.
"Should we eliminate him before he becomes a larger threat?"
Akeo looked genuinely confused by the suggestion.
"Why would I do that?"
Oboro blinked.
"...Because he's destroying our operations."
"Yes."
"He rescued Kotaro."
"Correct."
"He exposed our infiltrator."
"Also true."
"He has personally ruined years of planning."
"An unfortunate side effect."
Oboro stared.
Akeo took another sip of wine.
Then smiled.
"If a nephew isn't causing problems, is he really family?"
Oboro slowly lowered her face into her hand.
Some days she forgot Nomad was being led by a man who was both a criminal mastermind and an eccentric aristocrat.
Akeo looked out across the city once more.
"Besides."
His smile became dangerous.
"I would like to meet him."
Oboro immediately did not like where this conversation was going.
"My lord."
"Yes?"
"Whenever you say that, something explodes."
Akeo thought about it.
Then nodded.
"That is statistically accurate."
Somewhere in Gosha Village, Leo suddenly sneezed.
Asagi looked up from her tea.
"You okay?"
Leo rubbed his nose.
"...I think a relative is thinking about me."
The room immediately became silent.
Rinko slowly looked away.
Kurenai sighed.
Yuuko closed her book.
Asagi pinched the bridge of her nose.
"Why do I feel like that's not a good thing?"
Leo looked toward the window.
For some reason, he had the exact same feeling.
To be continue
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