Kaito stood amidst the dust and debris, his body groaning from exhaustion and injuries. Before him, the elegant man rose slowly, his suit torn in multiple places, but his smile remained calm… or rather, it had turned sorrowful.
"You are… stronger than I expected," the man said in a quiet voice. "You hurt me. You made me remember… and that is painful."
Kaito raised his hand, the **Infinite Void** swirling around him like a purple storm, attempting to halt the **Cosmic Memory Graveyard**.
"If you wish to force the world to forget my existence," Kaito whispered with confidence, "then I shall make this world forget me voluntarily. I will separate myself from the world, becoming independent. Thus, the laws of physics will no longer affect me. Any attack, whether physical or conceptual, will be futile."
"That will consume a massive amount of energy," the Monster of Oblivion replied firmly. "Furthermore, you can only separate yourself from the world for a few minutes. All I must do is endure for that duration, and you will perish. Look at yourself; your nose is bleeding. This world already rejects your existence."
"Who exactly are you?" Kaito asked, his voice rasping.
The man smiled faintly and began to speak as if narrating an ancient tale, pacing as if on a stage.
"I was once… an ordinary man. My name is **Akihiro Tanahashi**. A university professor specializing in psychology. Let's say I was a psychiatrist." He looked at his mangled hand and continued: "I was married to the most beautiful woman in the world… **Yoko**. She laughed a lot. She loved the rain and loved to cook for me, even if she burned the food. We would sit at night listening to old music… promising that we would never forget each other. Her long blonde hair, her enchanting scent—I still remember every detail of her."
His voice dropped.
"She was diagnosed with a rare disease. A disease that eats away at memory gradually. I watched her forget my name… forget my face… forget that we were married. 'Who are you?... Who am I?... What am I doing here?' In her final days, she would look at me and ask: 'Why are you crying?' Because I love you and I don't want to lose you."
Silence reigned for a moment. Even the winds of Yami seemed to listen to his story.
"When she died… I couldn't bear the thought of forgetting her. I started memorizing everything. Every photo, every voice recording, every message. I smelled her clothes every night so I wouldn't forget her scent. I was terrified of waking up one day and not remembering the sound of her laughter… so the fear began to eat me."
The man looked at Kaito with dull gray eyes.
"One night… I forgot the tone of her voice for just a few seconds. I collapsed. I screamed. I screamed until my scream turned into something else… into this."
Black fog suddenly erupted, and his appearance transformed. The elegant suit began to tear, and the skin beneath turned into something black and punctured, as if made of lightless black holes.
"I became the Monster of Oblivion. I steal the memories of others… to fill the void inside me. I believe that if I steal all memories… I will be able to keep the memory of Yoko forever." He looked at Kaito with deep sorrow. "You… remind me of myself before the transformation. Fighting for those you love… afraid to forget them. Therefore… I will help you. I will make you forget all the pain. I will make you forget Saki… forget your students… forget even yourself."
Black energy exploded from his body with immense force, surrounding the entire area. Kaito felt his mind being pulled despite his **Infinite Void**, despite separating himself from the world. His memories began to fade with terrifying speed: Saki's face… the names of his students… even the reason for his existence in this world.
But he bit his lip until blood flowed and shouted a thunderous cry: "I will… NOT forget!"
Kaito lunged at the monster with all his remaining strength. The two collided in the middle of the destroyed street, creating a massive explosion that sent dust and debris into the sky.
The fight turned into a brutal clash of fists. The **Cosmic Memory Graveyard** resisted Kaito's **Separation from the World**, forcing them into pure physical combat—breaking joints and crushing bones. Kaito threw a powerful right hook directly at the monster's face; the monster blocked it with his arm and countered with a swift kick toward Kaito's ribs. Kaito spun quickly, caught the leg, and slammed him into the ground, shattering the asphalt. He aimed another punch while the monster was down, but the monster rose instantly and drove a knee into Kaito's stomach, followed by a flurry of rapid punches to his face and neck. Each punch attempted to steal a memory: a blow to the chest erased the memory of a student's name; a kick to the jaw wiped away a moment from a previous battle.
Kaito responded with a harsh palm strike to the monster's chest, "separating" the concept of "breathing" from him for a full minute, causing a delay in his reaction. Kaito seized the opportunity and delivered a devastating sequence: a left hook to the liver, a knee to the face, and a crushing elbow to the collarbone. The elegant man crashed against a wall, but he laughed through the blood and sweat, saying hoarsely: "Even if you hit me… I will make you forget how to hit."
The fight was like a violent dance between Memory and the Void; every physical strike carried an attempt to erase the other's existence.
"How can he fight me while separating his existence from the world, avoiding my **Cosmic Memory Graveyard**, despite his physical state being battered by this world's rejection?" the monster whispered, hesitant and tense. "Was that person wrong?? Did he try to set me up so Kaito could finish me?"
"It seems you're tiring faster than me," Kaito said, driving the monster back with consecutive punches. "Where is your confidence? I told you, I wasn't born to fight; I was born fighting."
The monster stumbled into a pit created by their fierce battle. He tried to pull his foot out but couldn't. "Why is my foot stuck... I can't pull it out!"
Kaito answered, charging his fist with purple energy that turned the atmosphere darker than before: "That, my little friend, is not a pit… it is a small black hole I placed while you were talking about your past. Did you think I cared to know it while I was listening to you?"
The monster was shocked. He tried to pull his foot, but it wouldn't budge; instead, the more he struggled, the more the hole swallowed him. "Do you think I will be defeated by such a cheap trick? I will cut this foot off!!"
"No you won't... you're too late." Kaito delivered a punch to his head that didn't just rip his head off, but distorted space-time, causing the monster's body to tear into tiny pieces.
"So this is death," the monster whispered as he faded. "Now no one is left to remember me… no one is left to remember Yoko…."
Kaito's legs could no longer carry his weight after a bloody battle where he surpassed himself despite everything he suffers within this world. Yet, he was not happy with his victory, even though he saved his students from certain death.
"Ahh… it seems I am no longer the strongest…."
Kaito fell unconscious.!
Questions for Readers😎:
1) Akihiro (the Monster of Oblivion) was a victim of love and pain. Do you feel sympathy for him after learning his past? And was Kaito right to exploit his story to set a trap?🥺
2) Before dying, the monster wondered: "Was that person wrong?". Who is this person who incited the monster against Kaito? Are we about to face the true enemy?🤫
🥰Who would have expected Kaito to turn a tragic story into a deadly trap? Kaito's combat intelligence proved he is not just the strongest, but the smartest. We are at a turning point in the story, and your Power Stones and Gifts are what drive me to write more of these incredible tactics. Don't forget the Collection to be the first to know who the 'mysterious person' behind the Monster of Oblivion is!🎁