Kaan jumped into the air and came down like a hammer with his left leg. A glowing thread appeared in Imito's hands and wrapped around Kaan's leg.
His Murderous Intent recognized the threat and yanked his leg back before Imito could chop it off.
"My insult really affected you." Kaan didn't stop there, however, and tried to tackle Imito to the floor.
"Bring it on." Imito stood his ground, declaring he would take Kaan head-on. "I'm ready." He let out a growl.
And with that, Kaan stopped. Not by his own will, however, but because his intent told him he wasn't the predator here anymore. "I may be stronger than him by a mile, but to take down a user of True Sorcery… strength won't be enough!"
"What? Scared?" Imito rushed towards Kaan. "I'll fight you head-on, with my True Sorcery, Fusion!"
Imito's newfound True Sorcery allowed him to mix two of his copies to create entirely new abilities that carried the properties of both. By mixing Switch with any of his sorceries, he could create the opposite of them. By mixing his blood explosions with his soot manipulation, he had made the soot blow up. And what frightened Kaan the most was Imito mixing Switch with Biokinesis. Instead of creating life, it destroyed it.
However, it came at a cost. The ability demanded immense concentration, cognitive strain and mana.
This time, Imito was the one to close the distance. He delivered a jab to Kaan's stomach, which Kaan couldn't block in time. On its own, the punch did nothing.
But then, out of nowhere, Kaan's own fist slammed into his face. "I combined Biokinesis and Lightning to control the electric signals in his body! I'll damage him this way!" As Imito opened both hands to cast his Biodecay once again, Kaan's next move wasn't the one he expected.
"Endless Killing…" Kaan flexed every muscle in his body in unison to absorb the damage. "…Copy this." Then he unleashed an attack with both legs and fists all at once.
As Imito was knocked back, Kaan caught him by the leg and slammed him into the floor again and again.
Imito disappeared into the shadows and reappeared behind Kaan, then climbed onto his back. He wove threads of Plasma once again, combining his electricity with his sunlight sorcery. He wrapped them around Kaan's throat and began to choke him.
"Did you know that I can survive without oxygen for two hours?" He stood tall, unaffected by Imito's attack in the slightest. "I've been holding my breath ever since you used that dark smoke on me. My body is much more mysterious and magical than any of your sorceries."
"Fine then!" Imito let go of the threads and grew claws charged with electricity and heat. He moved as if to pierce Kaan's artery, but it was a feint. A feint Kaan fell for.
Putting every ounce of force into it, Imito broke through Kaan's indestructible skin, and his hand drove straight through Kaan's heart. "It's over." He hopped off his back and took a deep breath in relief as Kaan's body dropped to the floor.
But the dead man laughed, and Imito gasped in shock.
"Didn't I tell you…" Kaan slowly got up. "…that my body is much more mysterious and magical than any of your sorceries?" He looked almost unbothered, even though his heart had been destroyed. Only one question filled Imito's mind. How was he still alive?
But upon a closer look with Pablo's sorcery, Kaan's earlier words proved true. "He has… two hearts!" Imito said out loud.
Imito created countless shadow clones of himself, staking all the hope he had left, and his remaining mana, on cutting Kaan's jugular. Or else…
"This was the trick that worked on Kai," Imito said to himself. As the clones surrounded Kaan, the real Imito snuck up from behind and raised his hands to deliver a devastating finisher. "I…" Images of his past, his friends and his hopes flashed before his eyes. "I can win!"
"Hey, Imito!" Uso said. "Why are you trying to sneak up on me from behind, man?" He laughed.
"…Uso?" Imito landed on his feet. "What are you doing here?"
"He must've drunk too much beer. I told you guys that shit is overrated!" Nasaki smacked the back of Imito's head. "You alright?" he added.
"You're…" Imito reached out to Uso, as if to make sure he was real. "Oh. I see." He stopped himself. "My life flashed before my eyes."
Kaan's hand pierced Imito's chest, tearing a huge hole in it and lifting him into the air as well. "It's no surprise you've fought a Murderous Intent user before. This is textbook counterplay against them."
Imito vomited blood, struggling to keep his mana structure intact.
"But unlike anyone else you've fought before, I've fully mastered it. I don't fall for tricks like that." Kaan pulled his hand out of Imito's chest, and right before Imito hit the floor, he sliced him in half with his other hand.
As the remains of his body dropped, Imito looked at the moon above him. Unable to move, unable to do anything else, he held onto his mana structure.
"You're strong, Imito. You truly were a legend." Kaan stood tall, the victor of this battle.
"Otoru…" Imito looked at Otoru, who had only just managed to get up and still lacked the strength to run away. "I couldn't protect you, c-could I?"
Otoru looked at Imito's dying body with anger, his hands shaking, struggling to even breathe. Why was he feeling such emotions for a man he had just met? "Uncle…"
"…Uncle is sorr–" Before Imito could finish his last words, Kaan stomped on his head, finally killing him.
"No!" Otoru let out a blood-curdling scream that reached even Pablo, who was now miles away.
"Such a shame. He couldn't survive long enough to let you escape. He died for nothing." Kaan walked towards Otoru. "Well, at least you get to see him now."
"Damn you…" Otoru clenched his fists, the aura Kaan radiated almost drowning him. "…Your… your…" He clenched his teeth. "YOUR AURA IS TOO THICK, DAMN IT!" He roared to the sky, the sheer conviction in his words cutting through the dominance Kaan exerted and carving out room for himself. "If I can't run, then I'll fight!"
"You saw what I could do, and you still chose to fight?" It would be a lie to say the display of conviction didn't excite Kaan. He took a single, slow step towards Otoru.
"Sorry, bud, but Otoru The Undefeated doesn't intend to lose his title!" Otoru raised his fists, the flames in his eyes awakening just like in his fight with Pablo. "You ain't getting past me."
"Hm?" Kaan grabbed Otoru by the arm and lifted him into the air. "You talk too much for someone who has his guard down."
"Huh?! Since when did he get in range? I couldn't even see it!" Otoru's earrings glowed, the ghost landing a punch on Kaan's face, freeing Otoru.
"That… hurt? Can he get through my skin? And what was that punch? I couldn't even see it. Must be his Treasure." Without giving Otoru a chance to follow up on the hit, Kaan grabbed him by the leg this time and slammed him to the floor. "Agh!" Otoru yelled in pain. He quickly got up and tried to hook Kaan with his right.
Without any effort, Kaan caught Otoru's arm with his own right hand and jabbed him in the face, breaking his nose. Kaan could have killed him at any point, but for some selfish, sadistic reason… he wanted to snuff out the fire in Otoru's eyes.
He wasn't done, though. He grabbed Otoru around the waist and slammed him to the floor, then climbed on top of him and started pounding his face. "That conviction of yours… It makes me sick."
But no matter how hard Kaan punched, Otoru kept trying to hit him back. The fire didn't disappear, not even close.
Kaan raised his fists once more, only to realize Otoru had been knocked out cold. With a defeated sigh, he got off him. He then raised his leg to stomp on his head and kill him once and for all. "Out of every True Resolve user I have met, you were the most pathetic of them all. It makes me wonder why Imito even tried to save you."
He brought his leg down at full speed. "So long."
Just as Otoru's head was about to be turned into red mist, he rolled out of the way. "He woke up?" Kaan raised an eyebrow, annoyed. "You're just delaying the inevit–" Before he could finish, a sharp pain shot through his right leg.
The mark of a punch, one Kaan hadn't seen. This was not a punch a person desperately trying to dodge an attack could land.
…Unless…
"Don't tell me–" Kaan looked to his right and saw Otoru standing there, an aura around him that hadn't been there a moment ago. Otoru's hand was on his chest, and he was breathing heavily.
"What the fuck is this feeling…?" Otoru said to himself. "My head hurts… my chest burns." His vision slowly blurred. "I can't lose myself… not like… this…"
The desperate, shaking voice vanished as he said it, replaced by an animalistic growl. Otoru, or what appeared to be him, raised his hands like a bear baring its claws.
"This might be interesting after all." Kaan smiled from ear to ear.