Kokoro turned to walk away. A faint rustle stopped him. He looked to the side.
Jikken was slowly standing up. His face glitched violently as he dragged a hand over it.
"Finally…"
He looked at Kokoro through his fingers.
"...I haven't fought someone who could keep up since I had fallen…"
Kokoro sighed. "You're maddening, you know? You do not learn from your mistakes."
Jikken stared. "And what mistake have I made?"
Kokoro lowered into a crouch. "Fighting me."
His hand touched the ground.
Jikken's eyes widened.
Suddenly, the ground beneath Shinku cracked. Jikken's head jerked to the side.
Thick roots burst out and wrapped around Shinku, dragging him underground. Jikken exhaled in relief.
Then he remembered. He turned back.
Kokoro was still crouching. Still touching the ground.
Crack.
Jikken looked down. The ground had darkened. It was decaying.
Thud-thud-thud.
His eyes snapped up as he heard footsteps. Kokoro was already sprinting at him.
Jikken reacted instantly. Two giant glitched hands formed and slammed together. But they hit nothing.
Kokoro had already veered off. He ran up a building, grabbed a balcony railing, pulled himself up, and flipped onto the edge. He perched there, watching.
Jikken glanced down again. The decay had spread across the entire open area between the buildings.
"When he crouched…" Jikken muttered. "…that's what it was for…?!"
He turned and ran.
How stupid can I be to not know...!?
His foot stepped onto nothing. The ground collapsed. Jikken fell. He looked down.
An abyss.
Two glowing white dots stared back.
Drip.
Drip.
A massive black skull formed below, ink-like liquid dripping from it. Its jaw opened wide.
A roar echoed through the void.
Above, Kokoro watched emotionlessly as Jikken disappeared into it.
CLACK.
The sound of its jaw snapping shut echoed through the entire area.
Kokoro stood and jumped down, landing softly in an alleyway. He adjusted his gloves as he walked, flexing his fingers.
That was an easy one…such a pity. I've heard so much about him.
"...guess I'm too strong." He muttered. He stepped out of the alley.
Time for the next—
Drip.
He froze. His guard went up instantly as he scanned the area.
There was nothing.
Drip.
Below him. He relaxed slightly.
...an ally?
Crack.
Black teeth burst from the ground beneath him. The ground began to crumble.
Kokoro immediately took off sprinting.
The area that the teeth covered was vast, so he needed to be quick.
The ground collapsed under every step as the jaw rose to close.
When he was the closest he could get to escape, he pushed harder and jumped.
Midair, his body tilted too far forward. If he landed like that, he'd fall into the jaw.
He forced his weight forward, correcting himself.
He landed, barely avoiding the jaw.
The jaws snapped shut behind him.
Kokoro turned and froze.
A massive black skull floated before him, dripping, its white dot-eyes locked onto him.
The Inked Maw of the Earth.
"What are you doing, Maw?!" Kokoro snapped. "I am not your enemy! I am not to be eaten! I am your master! You are to obey me!"
...
Silence.
Then, a low, rumbling chuckle.
"Obey…you?"
The Maw's voice shook the air.
"You mistake yourself for something worthy of command."
"You are nothing to me."
Kokoro's expression tightened. Then he saw it. A flicker above the Maw.
Two massive glitched hands. His body went stiff. A figure appeared behind the Maw.
Faint. Flickering. Towering.
Jikken.
His hands hovered above the skull, controlling it perfectly.
Kokoro's thoughts stalled.
I could barely force that thing into submission…
His eyes narrowed.
And he's controlling it effortlessly…
.
…what the hell are you?
* * *
Magnus dropped his arms, breaking his stance.
"Alright…" he exhaled. "I think it's finally time to try this one."
He started bouncing lightly on his feet.
"Don't end too fast," he added with a smirk. "I want the full experience."
He stopped and shifted.
A new stance.
Music notes echoed faintly out of nowhere. Colored lights flickered across the surrounding ground.
His posture was strange. Right hand near his chin. Left hand low, near his abdomen.
Then it switched.
Right hand dropped. Left hand rose.
Back and forth.
Like he was dancing.
The Kinetic Arts:
Violent Cadence.
Magnus dashed forward.
Brawler dropped into a high block—but felt nothing.
He lowered his guard—
Magnus was already above him, spinning.
An aerial kick came down.
Brawler reacted and blocked it.
Magnus landed extremely low in a split. His body nearly flat to the ground, hands beneath him.
He spun. A sweep hit Brawler's leg. But he didn't stop.
Magnus pushed off the ground, leaning back on his hands. His leg whipped around, wrapping Brawler's left leg.
Then his other leg followed—locking around his thigh and waist.
"Damn…you're a big boy~," Magnus smirked.
Brawler raised an eyebrow.
He then frowned, trying to force himself free.
But it was too late for that.
Magnus grabbed the back of his head and yanked him down.
Thwack!
Thwack!
Thwack!
Thwack!
Fast, heavy punches.
Brawler barely had time to react before swinging back.
Magnus dropped instantly, releasing him and flipping into a handstand.
His legs unraveled mid-motion—
WHAM.
A brutal kick slammed into Brawler's jaw.
His head snapped sideways. His vision blurred. He staggered back, clutching his face.
"You freaky-ass…bastard…" he muttered.
Magnus tilted his head slightly.
"I'll make it quick," he said calmly. "Less pain for you."
He kicked up into another handstand.
Then started moving.
Hopping and spinning around Brawler.
Breakdancing.
His body flowed nonstop—hands, legs, spins, rotations. Lights flickered with every motion. Colors flashed. Notes echoed.
It didn't look like fighting.
It looked like pure chaos.
"Sweet dreams."
Magnus pushed off the ground and launched upward high into the sky.
Higher than Brawler's height.
He hovered for a moment, arms crossed, legs spread wide.
Then he spun. Faster and faster.
Colors trailed behind his legs in bright arcs.
Then he dropped upside down.
A single kick came crashing down onto the top of Brawler's head.
CRACK.
The sound was sharp and devastating.
Brawler's body went limp and collapsed.
Magnus landed beside him, steady as ever. He stepped forward and stood over him, looking down as Brawler faded out. A small, crooked smirk formed.
"Night-night, big guy…try not to drool too much."
* * *
Chuff-chuff-chuff.
The heavy thrum of rotor blades rolled across the battlefield.
Everyone looked up.
A helicopter hovered above the chaos.
A news crew.
The cameraman leaned out, lens pointed straight down. Beside him, the reporter gripped a microphone, wind tearing at his clothes as he shouted into it.
"WE ARE REPORTING LIVE FROM THE BATTLEFIELD—WHAT YOU'RE SEEING RIGHT NOW IS COMPLETE CHAOS!"
"MULTIPLE HIGH-LEVEL INDIVIDUALS ARE ENGAGED—IDENTITIES STILL UNCONFIRMED, SAID TO BE THE HEROES OF J.A.G.E.R.—BUT THE SCALE OF DESTRUCTION IS OFF THE CHARTS."
"THAT BLACK LIQUID ENTITY'S BEEN TORN APART MULTIPLE TIMES AND IT KEEPS COMING BACK."
"AND OVER THERE—THAT YOUNG FIGHTER—HE'S THE ONLY ONE KEEPING UP WITH IT!"
"WE URGE ALL CIVILIANS TO STAY AWAY FROM THE AREA—THIS IS NO LONGER A CONTAINABLE SITUATION."
The camera zoomed in, and locked onto Kanasei.
Kanasei diverted his focus away from the noise above and back to The Toymaster.
It was staring directly at its detached arm.
Kanasei stood, dropped the arm, then kicked it behind himself.
The Toymaster's expression twisted with anger.
"Give it back."
Kanasei met its gaze.
"…you're not getting shit back."
The Toymaster stepped forward.
"I wasn't asking."
It lunged.
Kanasei dipped low, slipping under its reaching hands, then snapped a high roundhouse toward its head.
The bone blades pierced straight through its head.
He followed through—ripping its face open.
Black liquid sprayed out.
The Toymaster staggered back, blinded.
Kanasei didn't hesitate.
He stepped in.
A right roundhouse slammed into its side.
Pierced through.
A left.
Pierced again.
Another.
And another.
A relentless barrage.
Each kick tore deeper into its torso. Black liquid sprayed with every strike, burning into Kanasei's clothes and skin. But he didn't stop.
The Toymaster's body was being shredded apart. Only a thin section of its torso remained.
Kanasei twisted his body and delivered one last kick.
It went clean through.
The Toymaster split in half.
The upper body dropped to the side.
The lower half collapsed forward.
.
.
.
Kanasei stood there, panting, staring at the two halves and the surrounding gore emotionlessly. He walked forward and nudged the upper half away from the lower, separating them further, making sure.
"They won't connect again."
"…this isn't over…"
Kanasei flinched, but he was too late.
Something grabbed his leg and yanked him down, throwing him sliding backward.
He snapped his head up...The Toymaster.
The upper half was crawling, dragging itself toward the lower body.
Kanasei pushed himself up instantly and ran—
But he was just too late, once again.
Threads shot out and connected. The body stitched itself together.
The Toymaster stood. Whole again.
"How stupid can you be?" it chuckled, its grin stretching wider. "Do you never learn?"
"You saw them rip my head off…and I still lived."
Its voice cracked and shifted.
"And yet you still don't understand why."
Kanasei's expression tightened. Fear crept in.
But then, his eyes flicked past it.
The arm.
It was still there...! It hadn't retrieved the arm.
An idea formed.
Kanasei sprinted forward.
The Toymaster raised its guard, but Kanasei sprinted past it. Straight for the arm.
The Toymaster turned, eyes widened. It chased after him.
Kanasei reached it first. He grabbed the arm, turned, and hurled it as far as he could. The throw tore through the air, sent flying by pure adrenaline.
The arm was far gone. It was out of reach.
A small smile crept onto Kanasei's face...but not for too long.
Kanasei barely had time to react as The Toymaster grabbed him from behind and threw him hard.
The world flipped. The sky and ground traded places.
Sky.
Ground.
Sky.
Ground.
CRASH—WHAM!!
Glass shattered around him as his body tore through a car. Metal screamed against his back, burning and tearing his back. The impact carried him through the interior.
Suddenly, the world came to a stop.
He slammed into a wall.
Everything went silent. A cold, ringing silence.
Kanasei's eyes flickered. A weak groan escaped him.
"Poor thing…" The Toymaster's voice echoed, distorted and amused. "You actually thought that little tantrum with my arm would save you?"
It laughed.
"Such a cute, weak attempt at heroism."
"All that effort…just to end up like this."
...
"Tell me, Kanasei…does it hurt?"
Its voice twisted further.
"Or are you too weak to even stay conscious?"
…
Silence.
A memory.
"It's another regenerative compound."
"Similar to the one administered intravenously, but much stronger."
"Use it only if necessary."
He remembered what Jikken told him.
Kanasei's fingers twitched.
Slowly, he forced his hand into his torn jacket. Searching and praying.
He felt something solid. He grabbed it and pulled it out, and it was the metal case.
A faint smile formed. He opened it, and the pill was still there. He dropped it into his mouth, chewed once, twice, then swallowed.
For a second, nothing happened.
Out of nowhere, pain burst through. Every nerve in his body screamed at once. Kanasei gritted his teeth as his body glowed red.