Inside the ruins of the Hotel Vitaliya, the air was thick with a sickening, rhythmic vibration. Marla, Lilia, and Ruy sat huddled together, the floorboards beneath them shuddering with every muffled impact that rolled in from the forest. The windows rattled in their frames, a frantic, glass-on-wood chatter that set everyone's teeth on edge.
Ruy sat on the floor, his back against a peeling wall, cradling Farrah's body with a desperate, protective grip. His face was the color of ash. "Holy shit... the guy Jadaka is fighting is no joke," he muttered, his knuckles white against Farrah's shroud. "They've been going at it for thirty minutes. No breaks. Just... thunder."
"But can he keep this up!?" Vitaliya pressed, her voice climbing toward a scream. She paced a tight circle, her boots crunching on fallen plaster. "Jadaka's never fought anyone like this. Not even that monster at the hot springs."
The first sob ripped out of Lilia, sharp and ragged. "Why does he always have to do this...?" she choked out, clutching her arms as if she were trying to hold herself together. "Why does he always have to be the shield!? Every single time!" Her voice broke, dissolving into a hollow wail. "Even after Remigio told him he hated his guts... Jadaka still jumped in front of the danger to save him. To save all of us... My heart can't take it. He's too sweet to be throwing his life away like this..."
Marla knelt, her knees hitting the dusty floor with a dull thud. She pulled both girls into a crushing embrace. "We need to have faith, children," she said. Her voice was steady, though her eyes were glassy with terror. "He doesn't do this because he loves the blood. He does it because he has something worth protecting. We have to believe he's coming back."
Lilia collapsed to her knees, her hands clasped so tightly her fingers turned blue. She began to whisper, a frantic, feverish stream of words. Please, Forever God, if you are willing to hear me... Bring him home. Battered, broken, furious—I don't care. Just bring him home... Don't let the only person I love die...
Marla, Vitaliya, and Ruy joined in, their voices merging into a low, unified hum of desperation and hope.
Outside, Remigio was perched atop a crumbling stone wall, watching the scene through a jagged hole in the hotel's facade. He saw their shaking forms. He heard the prayer for the boy he had tried to destroy. A wave of cold, oily guilt washed over him.
I am an absolute piece of shit, he thought. The realization was a physical weight in his gut. I stayed away from the funeral because I was too much of a coward to face them. And now this is happening... because of me.
Another shockwave, fiercer than the last, slammed into the hotel. The structure groaned, and a pane of glass finally shattered, raining shards onto the pavement. Remigio's head snapped toward the forest. His face hardened, the self-pity burning away into a grim, jagged resolve.
What am I doing? he snarled at his own reflection in a shard of glass. The person who treated me like a brother—even after all the bullshit I pulled—is out there dying for everyone.
He vaulted off the wall, his boots hitting the dirt in a sprint. There's no way I can beat that monster. I might not even be able to touch him. But I can buy a few seconds.
On his way, he passed a scorched cargo van listing heavily into a ditch. The area was a graveyard of brass casings and cooling bodies—a gang shootout from the day before. Remigio didn't hesitate. He dove into the carnage, his hands flying over the discarded arsenal. He stripped a tactical vest from a corpse, stuffing it with thermal detonators and specialized, armor-piercing clips. He grabbed two heavy-duty assault rifles, the cold metal feeling heavy and alien in his grip.
I don't know if this is going to work, he thought, his heart hammering against his ribs. But it's better than nothing.
Back in the forest, Shikiba roared. The crimson aura around him flared with incandescent fury, turning the air into a shimmering heat haze. He delivered a ferocious uppercut that launched T'Jadaka into the sky, following the trajectory so fast he was nothing but a purple blur. He materialized directly above T'Jadaka's spinning form.
"I'll show you what happens when you spit in my face, you stupid fucking—" Shikiba didn't finish. He brought both fists together, driving them down in a massive Sludge Hammer. "BITCH!"
The blow smashed T'Jadaka toward the earth with the force of a falling star. Shikiba didn't stop there. Using the air as a solid launchpad, he delivered a crushing Drop Kick aimed directly at T'Jadaka's descending spine.
The dual impact slammed T'Jadaka into the dirt. A concussive explosion of pulverized rock and soil erupted, carving a colossal, steaming crater into the forest floor.
When the dust finally began to settle, T'Jadaka lay motionless at the center of the ruin. The obsidian Mazoku marks were retreating, fading back into his skin and leaving him deathly pale. He was spent.
Shikiba stood over him, breathing in ragged hitches. His purple skin faded back to its normal hue, the crimson aura dissipating into the scorched air.
"Hot damn," Shikiba gasped, rubbing his sternum. "Even running on fumes, beating the crap out of you felt like a workout. Didn't think it would take that many hits to finally put your ass down." A manic, twisted satisfaction crossed his face. "Then again... it was fun while it lasted. I don't know if I'll find someone half-decent for a while."
He knelt beside T'Jadaka's still body, the smirk returning. "Well, whatever. Doesn't matter. You can't expect me to let you live after you spit in my face. You gotta die for that nasty shit." He reached down, his fingers clawing toward T'Jadaka's throat.
SNAP!
A specialized, armor-piercing round struck the back of Shikiba's hand. It didn't shatter the bone, but it bit deep, drawing a sharp spray of blood.
"Ah! Who the fuck!?" Shikiba roared, recoiling. He spun around, silver eyes blazing as he scanned the treeline. Sound dampener. I can barely sense the prick.
He glanced at the wound. The bullet was lodged deep. Mana-resistant slug. Smart.
Behind a splintered oak, Remigio was vibrating with terror. A cold sweat broke across his forehead. Holy shit... that actually hurt him!? The reality was a jolt to his system. What the hell kind of guns did I grab!? He took a shaky breath, trying to slow his racing pulse. Calm down... can't get the jitters. I need to get him away from Jadaka.
Shikiba's gaze swept the ruins, his face a mask of annoyance. "To hell with this." He lifted his hand toward the origin of the shot.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
Three more rounds—armor-piercing and mana-resistant—whistled past his head. Shikiba danced out of the way, his speed a blur. "I got you now~" he purred. His finger traced a glowing symbol in the air, and he unleashed a crimson energy slash that leveled a swath of weakened trees.
"Ha! I knew they'd get—"
His triumph turned to confusion as something heavy came whistling through the air. It impacted the dirt near his feet. He stared at it. A rock? They threw a goddamn rock at me? He let out a mocking laugh. "That's just pathetic."
Shikiba slapped the rock away, but the second his hand touched it, his eyes went wide. Wait...
Falling in the rock's shadow was a small, metallic cylinder. Shit—a flashbang! He tried to swat it, but the device detonated with a deafening CRACK and a blinding wall of white light.
"Ah, son of a bitch!" he yelled, clamping his hands over his searing eyes.
The moment the light erupted, Remigio burst from cover. He moved with a desperate, clumsy speed, scooping T'Jadaka's unconscious body over his shoulder. He didn't look back. He sprinted into the deepest recesses of the forest. I wasn't trying to fight you, you monster. I was just trying to save him.
Shikiba roared in the distance, his vision swimming with painful afterimages. "What a pain in the ass!"
Remigio's lungs were burning. T'Jadaka was a heavy, limp weight on his shoulder as he crashed through the undergrowth.
Seems like this guy gets cocky too easy, Remigio thought, his breath coming in ragged gasps. That distraction worked. Don't worry, Jadaka... we'll get you home, you'll heal, and—
A crimson-purple blur materialized directly in his path. Remigio skidded to a halt, his heart stopping. Shikiba stood there, his silver eyes radiating a lethal, quiet impatience.
"Surprise, bitch!" Shikiba snarled. He backhanded Remigio with a casual, dismissive flick of his wrist.
The blow wasn't meant to kill, but the force was devastating. Remigio was launched backward, slamming into a tree trunk before tumbling into the dirt. T'Jadaka's body was tossed free, landing on a bed of soft pine needles.
Remigio groaned, clutching his shattered ribs. "Uh... Holy shit... he didn't even hit me hard..."
Shikiba walked up, his posture dripping with contempt. "Man, who the fuck are you? I didn't know the local hooker would be the one trying to save her man. You should have sent one of his buddies."
Remigio struggled to his knees, spitting a mouthful of blood and dirt. "I'm not a woman, you goddamn ignoramus."
Shikiba stopped, looking genuinely surprised. He squinted at Remigio's delicate features. A crude, amused grin spread across his face. "Bro, you're a man!? You look feminine as fuck. By your face, you look like a whole bitch."
Remigio fumbled for the pistol in his vest, his fingers slick with sweat. But before he could even clear the holster, Shikiba moved.
A blur, and Shikiba's fist buried itself in Remigio's abdomen. The air left Remigio's lungs in a violent rush. He retched, a stream of bile hitting the forest floor. Shikiba reached down and grabbed a handful of Remigio's long hair, yanking his head back.
"Geez, some rescue party you turned out to be," Shikiba drawled. "If I had a human heart, I might feel pity."
Remigio gasped, the metallic taste of blood filling his mouth. "How... did you find us? And why do you want Farrah's head!? She's dead! What's the point!?"
Shikiba laughed—a high, manic sound that made the hair on Remigio's neck stand up. "Oh... you really don't know? Well, allow me."
He reached into his shredded pants and pulled out a tarnished dog tag—identical to the one Javier had given T'Jadaka. He twirled it between his fingers.
"That dog tag Javier was carrying? Built-in tracker. The boss knew Javier and the dead bitch had a history. He suspected Javier might rat him out, so he tagged him. Just in case he got sentimental and did something stupid... like a heroic death."
Remigio's eyes widened. T'Jadaka brought him right to us. "That still doesn't explain why you want her head! The bounty is off!"
Shikiba shrugged. "He wanted it on his desk. Farrah killed his son, after all. He wants a trophy. Something to look at while he drinks his morning coffee. A little piece of her to remind him of the price of crossing him."
"You're a fucking psychopath! Why would you even take a job like this!? Why couldn't you just let them grieve!?" Remigio screamed, tears streaming down his face.
Shikiba dropped the hair and clamped his hand around Remigio's throat, lifting him off the ground. The grip was a vice, instantly cutting off his air. "You think I care about the money!? About you!? HUH!?" He squeezed, pulling Remigio's face inches from his own.
Shikiba's eyes glittered with a boundless, chilling malice. "It's all just an excuse. A reason for me to be savage without my family being on my nuts. My goal... my only goal in life... IS TO KILL AS MANY PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE!"
Remigio's face went pale. This guy... he's a pure demon.
"And I'll start with one~"
Before the blow could land, T'Jadaka rose.
He didn't just stand; he surged upward with a chilling, unnatural grace. The air grew heavy, thick with a pressure that made the lungs ache.
"T'Jadaka...?" Remigio wheezed.
Shikiba let Remigio drop, watching the boy with a cruel smirk. "Well, look who decided to wake up from their little nap. Don't get too comfortable—I'm sending you back to sleep permanently."
Shikiba flicked his wrist, sending a jagged arc of magic toward him. T'Jadaka didn't flinch. He simply tilted his head, the spell whistling past his ear and detonating a tree behind him.
"Well, well... Look who—"
Shikiba's words were cut short by a fist to the jaw. The impact sounded like a thunderclap, a concussive roar that sent Shikiba spiraling back into the treeline.
"Whoa... Jadaka? Since when did you get this strong?" Remigio scrambled to his feet, but there was no answer.
T'Jadaka's eyes were fixed forward, glowing in a void of black and white. Remigio waved a hand in front of his face. There was no recognition. No soul.
There's no way... is he still unconscious!?
In the distance, trees splintered like dry kindling as Shikiba exploded out of the wreckage.
Where did that strength come from!? he spat, wiping a smear of crimson from his lip. He wasn't hitting like that earlier. What the hell happened!?
Suddenly, the air went ice-cold. T'Jadaka was right there, inches from his face. He exhaled, and a plume of hot steam hissed from between his teeth. His eyes were vacant—wide, staring voids of black and white.
Shikiba stood his ground, his breath hot with rage. "I don't know what happened to you, but if you think this random power-up is going to save you, you're in for a rude awakening."
T'Jadaka said nothing. He didn't even blink. The silence was a physical insult.
"Don't ignore me!" Shikiba roared. Darkness erupted around him as he surged back into his Turbo Demon state, the purple glow intensifying. "Enough playing around. I'm killing you right—"
The sentence died in his throat. T'Jadaka's fist was already inches from his nose. Too fast! No time to brace! Shikiba took the hit head-on, but managed to throw a desperate, wild counter. Two massive shockwaves detonated simultaneously as both their heads snapped back from the dual impact.
Shikiba wiped black blood from his lip, a wild, jagged grin spreading across his face. He thinks he can trade punches!? Let's see him keep up!
They became a blur of pure violence. Every exchange sent tremors through the earth, the terrain literally disintegrating under the pressure of their fists. Shikiba tried to break the rhythm with a sharp flying knee to the face, but T'Jadaka didn't resist—he went limp, flowing with the momentum of the strike to deliver a brutal counter-knee to the base of Shikiba's skull.
He's using my own force against me!? Shikiba snarled. He lunged, grabbing T'Jadaka's face and slamming him into the dirt with a sickening thud. He tried to fire a point-blank magic slash into the boy's skull, but T'Jadaka's hands were like iron vices. He caught Shikiba's arm, flipped his entire body weight, and used the leverage to pin Shikiba down.
Then came the impossible: T'Jadaka launched into a one-handed handstand directly on Shikiba's head. From that inverted position, he drove a devastating downward kick into Shikiba's spine. The ground gave way. The crust of the earth shattered, and Shikiba plummeted through the rock, crashing into a dark, forgotten cavern below.
What the hell is this!? Shikiba thought, his vision swimming in the dark. He's fighting like a machine...
As Shikiba tried to find his footing, T'Jadaka dropped from the ceiling like a falling star. His heels landed clean on Shikiba's neck. Roaring in frustration, Shikiba grabbed T'Jadaka's ankle, slammed him into the cavern floor, and followed up with a heavy sledgehammer blow that sent them both crashing even deeper into the abyss.
They plummeted through the darkness. Shikiba seized T'Jadaka's head and brutally slammed it face-first into the second cave floor, dragging him several feet through the jagged rock before flinging him against the cavern wall.
I can't keep my Turbo State on for long... Shikiba thought, his lungs burning. Fighting him the first time was hard enough. I need to end it right now.
The purple sheen of his skin flickered ominously. He saw T'Jadaka dash forward, pulling back a punch. They closed the distance, both drawing back for one final, devastating strike to end the war.
But T'Jadaka's attack wasn't a punch.
He caught Shikiba's fist in mid-air, stopping the crimson-charged blow's momentum dead. The instant Shikiba fully committed to the attack, T'Jadaka utilized the entire force of the punch, spinning his body to deliver a devastating spin-kick directly to Shikiba's jaw.
Shikiba was launched with enough power to shatter the cavern's foundations. He ripped through layers of solid stone until he hit the forest floor above. The entire cave system imploded the moment he cleared the exit.
His body landed with a sickening thud in the center of the forest, utterly motionless. Surveying the rubble of the cave-in, T'Jadaka began a slow, menacing march toward his fallen opponent.
Shikiba groaned, dragging himself back to consciousness. He actually knocked me out of Turbo mode... He attempted to rise, but his body buckled. His mana was tapped out; the numbing technique had flickered off, leaving him raw and exposed to the white-hot agony of his injuries.
He watched the "anomaly" approach with a slow, predatory gait. My own damn fault, Shikiba thought, a bitter taste in his mouth. If I'd stopped playing with my food and finished him, I wouldn't be bleeding in the dirt. A jagged, breathless chuckle escaped his lips. "I always figured it'd be a Dragonoid that would kill me... not a manaless freak like you. Still," he grinned through the blood, "this is a hell of a lot of fun."
Shikiba staggered to his feet, fueled by pure adrenaline, and threw a wild, desperate punch. T'Jadaka, moving with a chilling, effortless speed, sidestepped the attack. He countered instantly—a devastating uppercut slammed into Shikiba's stomach, followed by a brutal knee to the jaw that sent him spiraling backward into the dirt.
T'Jadaka didn't pause. He launched himself high into the air, drawing his leg back. The blow connected with a sound like a physical wound opening in the earth—a deafening, earth-sundering CRACK.
When the dust cleared, Shikiba was revealed, his body trembling with the aftershock. He had managed to throw his left arm up at the last second. The limb was now snapped and twisted at an unnatural angle, the bone audibly fracturing. But the block allowed him to roll out of the way of the follow-up.
Shikiba coughed, the metallic taste of blood thick in his throat. He always makes a follow-up attack every time he lands or misses... It's the first thing he does. Every. Single. Time.
The pattern was rigid. Predictable.
Shikiba stumbled toward a massive, splintered oak. He braced himself against the trunk and grinned maniacally. "Is that all you got, pussy!? Come get me, you dumb piece of shit!"
T'Jadaka launched into a brutal flying knee. Shikiba sidestepped with just enough agility, letting the attack clip the air. He instantly drove the back of T'Jadaka's skull into the thick wood of the tree.
Right here, he should go for a counter-attack to get me off him...
Just as he predicted, T'Jadaka countered, whipping a savage elbow back toward Shikiba's face. "Weave!" Shikiba snarled, expertly dodging the blow while driving T'Jadaka's head deeper into the wood. He launched into a vicious, close-quarters flurry: a sharp punch with his good arm, a brutal headbutt, a smashing elbow with his broken arm. He repeated the sequence, over and over.
Stay down, stay down, stay down, stay fucking down! Shikiba roared internally. He poured every ounce of residual stamina into the barrage until the terrifying, manaless warrior finally went slack.
Shikiba staggered away, his legs trembling. He stood over the motionless form of T'Jadaka, panting heavily. The exhaustion was monumental.
"Shit..." he wheezed, rubbing his throbbing jaw. "If that motherfucker got back up after all that… I'd be a dead son of a bitch."
He ran a hand over the tatters of his pants, searching for a cigarette. He found a crumpled box. He tore it open, but the contents were uniformly broken and useless.
"Fuck!" He hurled the pack onto the ground. He stared down at T'Jadaka's body, then toward the ruined forest and the smoking crater. He needed to finish the job and escape before his clan found him.
Shikiba raised his hand, a dull crimson glow of mana gathering in his palm. "I'm not sure if I have enough juice to make absolutely sure you're dead, but we'll cross that bridge when it comes," he wheezed, his eyes narrowing.
"That's enough, Shikiba."
The voice, calm and laced with authority, cut through the ruin. Shikiba snapped his head back. Standing beyond the wreckage was a young woman with a heart-shaped face and a sleek bob of black hair. She looked perfectly composed in a fashionable dark trench coat, untouched by the carnage.
"What the hell do you want, Fusui?" Shikiba spat.
"Uncle just sent me here to stop you," she replied. She surveyed the scene with a clinical glance. "You can't kill him."
"HUH!? Why the hell not!? He tried to stop the mission!"
Fusui sighed. "The mission is over, little brother. He canceled it. That's why I was sent here."
The news hit Shikiba like a physical blow. The last of his adrenaline vanished, replaced by an incandescent fury. "WHAT!? So I did all this shit for nothing!? Fuck that!" He spun back toward T'Jadaka, raising his hand to fire a final blast.
Before the mana could coalesce, two figures exploded from the treeline. They grabbed Shikiba's arms in an iron-vice grip. One was a massive, overweight man; the other was a wiry young man.
"Damn it! You guys too!?" Shikiba raged.
A third figure approached—a bulky, imposing man with a blunt bob and a stern expression. He fixed his gaze on Shikiba.
"Normally, we'd have to seriously restrain you," the man stated in a deep monotone. "But it seems like this fight wore you out more than we thought, little cousin."
"Shut the hell up, Hollis... I can still—"
Hollis took a step closer. "Still what, exactly? Your power is gone. Stand down."
"Tsk!" Shikiba pulled free, his movements jerky. "Whatever. It was still fun anyway." He turned on his heel and walked off.
Fusui knelt beside T'Jadaka. She placed two fingers against his neck. "I think we might be too late, cuz. He looks pretty dead."
Hollis strode over and knelt, placing his ear directly over the boy's chest. He waited for a tense, silent minute.
"No," Hollis stated. "He's still alive, surprisingly. The heart is beating, but barely—a single, slow pulse every few seconds."
"What!? Seriously!?" Fusui exclaimed.
Hollis nodded grimly. "This is why Viltrumlights are a hard counter to magic users. They don't die easily. Not to mention they become significantly stronger the closer to death they are—it's a brutal survival mechanism."
"Huh... If they didn't have such incompatible reproductive qualities, a Viltrumlight might make a good addition to the gene pool," Fusui mused.
"It's safer not to risk the incompatibility," Hollis countered. "We need to take him to the medical bay at Shetu. Now."
The overweight man, Horio, carefully hoisted T'Jadaka into his arms. "Hot damn! Why the hell is he so heavy!? He's like picking up twenty boulders!"
"Viltrumlights can consciously control their mass," Hollis explained. "They can range from two hundred pounds to over a thousand. I'm guessing when they're unconscious, they default to maximum density. Just be extra careful, Horio."
"Hey! Let me go, you living tank!" Remigio yelled, struggling against the wiry man, Reiichi.
Hollis turned, his eyes dismissing Remigio. "Reiichi, why are you holding that demi-human kid? Put him back. We don't have time for strays."
Are they talking about me like I'm some kind of lost pet!? Remigio seethed.
"But brother," Reiichi said. "Isn't this the demi-human royalty that ruled this area years ago?"
Remigio's eyes widened. "Demi-human royalty?"
Hollis scrutinized Remigio, taking in his delicate features. "What's your name, boy?"
Remigio spat out his reply. "Eat a dick."
A sharp, barking laugh escaped Fusui. "HA!"
Hollis's expression didn't change, but his eyes narrowed. "Funny guy, huh? No matter." He delivered a quick, precise chop to Remigio's neck. The boy went limp. "Take him back too. I need to verify his identity."
With Horio carrying the heavy form of T'Jadaka and Reiichi carrying Remigio, the quartet departed the ruined forest, leaving behind only the dust and the silence of the carnage.