Ash and Yamato immediately formed their hand signs.
Creature stepped forward, raising his right hand.
A blazing ball of fire appeared above his palm.
"BAKAYOOO!!" Kaijunoo roared through my mouth.
Yamato and Ash attacked first.
"Fire Technique!"
Twin streams of flames shot toward me.
Creature hurled his fireball at the same time.
The three attacks merged into one blazing inferno.
Without hesitation, my hands moved on their own.
"Water Technique!"
A massive wave burst from my palms.
The water swallowed the flames in an instant, filling the battlefield with steam.
Ash clicked his tongue.
"Stone Technique!"
The earth beneath me cracked apart.
A gigantic boulder shot toward my head.
"Baka..."
Kaijunoo muttered.
He compressed another sphere of water until it became unbelievably dense.
"Ice Technique."
The water froze instantly.
A spear of ice blasted forward and shattered the boulder into hundreds of pieces.
Rock fragments rained across the battlefield.
Before I could react—
Creature disappeared.
He was behind me.
His right hand had changed.
Instead of a black sphere...
A thin black dagger extended from his palm.
Death Hand...
He leaped into the air.
To gain more height, he kicked off something beneath him.
Unfortunately...
That something was my face.
I flew backward.
Then, while still airborne, Creature kicked off something else.
Unfortunately...
That something was the giant monster's face.
Honestly...
I never wanted to know what Creature's running shoes tasted like.
Using the second boost, Creature soared high above us.
He raised the black dagger over his head.
Then—
He plunged it straight into my neck.
The blade pierced deep.
For the first time...
I heard Kaijunoo scream.
"AAARGH!!"
Not me.
Kaijunoo.
The ancient monster inside me had finally felt pain.
Creature pulled the dagger free and landed lightly on the ground.
His eyes never left mine.
"I found your weakness."
The battlefield fell silent.
Even Kaijunoo...
Stopped laughing.