"Even if you became a god today,
even then I will kill you...
I will kill you anyway," Musō said, gritting his teeth.
TZZ…TZZ....
Lights flickered as they struggled to keep glowing.
"You think if you don't speak, I won't sense you are there?" No Kari said, feeling
ignored.
"No Kari!" Zeverin said, drawing No Kari's attention.
"This is the fruit of your patience,
don't even miss a second of it," Zeverin said.
"SHŪKYOKU KENGEN - JINSENSHINKYAKU"
[Ultimate Manifestation - Godstep of Instant Flash]
VRRRMMMM....
KRRRNNN-
KHOOOOOOOOM-!!
A faint circle drawn by a dark black colour suddenly started being visible to the naked eye, surrounding the whole area Zeverin and No Kari could possibly fight in; it took No Kari a second to realize a black line had appeared—the one that no one had ever witnessed, nor will they ever.
VZZZZZMMMM-!!
It wasn't like an invisible barrier that prevented any entry or exit like it did for Arashi; rather, a wave of lightning emerged from the ground like a flower blooming from its seed, and it defined its own boundary where no one could enter or exit at any point of the fight.
And the fact that it could only be manifested by a single person in the whole universe, which was Zeverin, that was also the reason why—
"Let me tell them myself, as this is only limited to me and it is no ordinary thing; that is why it is the only one that has got its own name, the only one who has got its own name, that is…HITSUGI…," Zeverin mumbled in the air.
TZZZZZZT-!!
A lightning strike jumped from one end of the black line to the other, crossing both of them as they were in its path; it instantly resulted in the bursting of No Kari's eardrums, but it had no particular effect on Zeverin at all.
And with that...
The place was lit again, not with lights but with the lightning itself, but that light fell on the two very important beings that initiated all this.
"You look much older than at our first meeting," Zeverin said, taunting him.
SSSSSSH-!!
A wave of air struck Zeverin directly on his face, just for his perception to turn and witness that the very punch of No Kari that could easily put his soul out of his body was just an inch away from doing so.
"The time I won't—" No Kari stopped as he felt something.
[No Kari's thoughts]
Intent detected ::: Attac-! Defen-! KILL! KILL! KILL!
Response :: Att—! Run! Run! Run!
Fsssssss...
An unimaginable amount of hot steam came out of the mouth of No Kari; his hand had a last amount of distance to cover to kill Zeverin.
"What is this feeling?" No Kari thought.
"Why do I feel so overwhelmed? It's like I am getting buried inside a 1000-floor building with this presssssure." He took a long pause at the word 's' in his mind.
"I am much stronger than at the start, more lethal, more calculative. Moreover, I have overanalyzed how Arashi moves, fights, or talks; he is superior to him, but—"
"I think I have miscalculated. Arashi is not the strongest here now 'cause the feeling of being prey, the feeling of being murdered, is not going anywhere—it is coming from Zeverin."
"No Kari, did I ever tell you what my subordinates or my own sensei gave me as a title?" Zeverin interrupted No Kari's thoughts while his fist hung just a mm away from his nose.
No Kari's gaze grew wider and wider in shock, but he just failed to accept what was happening. Like he was being defeated by an ant which he had just stepped on.
"Aww! That cute reaction, I think I should die for it," Zeverin mocked No Kari with an adorable expression.
FWOOOOSH - FTHK-!!
No Kari's punch wasn't tanked by Zeverin; it wasn't deflected by him either. So what happened? The punch became so sacred that even the air felt shame touching it, yet took it to heart.
THUD-!
Zeverin landed just behind, keeping one of his legs on his back.
"You have done this so many times, it feels like I am stuck in the loop of the same movement, same stance, same fighting style, same tantrums," No Kari said, turning and hitting his arm.
FWHAK-!!
No Kari swung his hand loose directly at Zeverin while still deciding to turn or not.
"Then it's my duty to keep you hooked, so I just try to be cool like you, giving your remarks on how I did so," Zeverin said with no emotion on his face.
THUD! SHIIIIIIIIIING!!
Zeverin didn't even unsheathe Raiko no Haha fully; he just split his hand from his elbow at a cellular level so he wouldn't even feel that his hand was no more.
[No Kari's thoughts]
Intent detected ::: Attack!
Response: Defence
What!? My intent reading was a second later after his attack, how is this even possible? My technique has a delay in detecting intent continuously, but a speed difference was impossible.
SSSSSSSSSSSSSS….
No Kari's severed arm crossed Zeverin's body without giving him a scratch, and his hand regenerated just after crossing the point after which he could not redirect the punch to hit Zeverin.
SHLNK-!!
Raiko no Haha was suddenly so deeply buried in his body that its top came out of the other side, piercing his heart which was on its way, giving No Kari an unimaginable amount of pain.
[No Kari's thoughts]
Intent detected ::: Attack
Response: Defence
Again! My intent reading, my technique is being delayed, but how is that even possible? How? Why? I am now 97 years old, faster, tougher. Then why?
Same question, same words, same sound continuously rotating in No Kari's mind with him not finding a definite answer, neither could he process any other detail about what was happening to him.
GRRRRT-!!
The newly generated muscles as a result of No Kari's technique now buried Raiko no Haha deep in his body in an impossible grip that had to be broken to force the katana back out.
"You will not win at any cost, not today," No Kari grunted.
"Who said I am fighting you now to win this fight? At this point, I am doing this just 'cause I am very happy doing it," Zeverin said as he stopped rotating Raiko no Haha.
THUDDDD-!!
Zeverin coated his leg with flux as he hit No Kari on his back, throwing him far away from himself.
Then—
Before No Kari could stand up again, before he could use his technique, just a second before he would exhale...
Zeverin raised his hand and closed his fingers into a fist really hard.
"His hand," No Kari thought.
"Why is it glowing?" No Kari thought, standing up.
In the meanwhile, Zeverin forcefully pulled his fist backwards like he was pulling a boulder attached to a rope with one hand.
JZZZZRAAAK-SHLNK-!!
No Kari realized the Raiko no Haha piercing his heart was nowhere to be found inside his body; it left without a trace, but...
"Why the hell isn't my wound healing?" No Kari thought, trying to heal.
TZZZZZT-KTHRANG-!!
The lightning Zeverin was playing with was now walking in a zig-zag path inside No Kari's body, destroying him internally from head to toe, which for No Kari was years' worth of torture but just 2 seconds for Zeverin.
KJZZZT-SHRAAAAK!!
No Kari was destroyed from inside, yet he had to throw up, and with a near-explosive urge he did throw up, but what came out didn't just shock him, it gave him a heart attack—it was the complete Raiko no Haha.
GRAB-! FLICK-!!
Zeverin caught it mid-air from the wrong end and flipped upon landing.
THCKKKKKK-!!!
A diagonal slash directly on his torso, then one more, then one more, and till the exact moment he forgot the count, he was constantly attacking him.
"Even after coming this far, I think we are standing at the very beginning of our fight," Zeverin said, cutting No Kari.
[No Kari's thoughts]
SHIIIIIIIIIIN!!
Huh, what is that? I am seeing... Oh! I understand, It now.
"Huh—" Zeverin stopped as he realized something.
KRSHHK- SCHLORP...
Zeverin froze due to the realization of something his mind couldn't process, and seeing the opening, No Kari used every ounce of his energy to tear the non-dominant hand of Zeverin and tear his chest open with his concrete-cutting nails.
FSSSSSSH... THUD-!!
Zeverin jumped like the air itself was moving and landed a few feet away from No Kari.
"Wonderful," Zeverin praised No Kari.
GULP-!!
No Kari, without any hesitation, ate the hand of Zeverin in front of him while he was watching, which even got stuck in his throat area.
"For what?" No Kari asked, licking his blood.
"You three... all three of you are connected. All the three Special Grade Tatari here are actively talking, sharing information, and working together. Magnificent." Zeverin was excited and at the same time in shock, but he was not angry.
"What!" No Kari's mouth opened in shock.
"Your motive was to kidnap a damn Vesper? From here? Literally? The untamed beasts who have gone extinct; you still wanna hunt them? Tell me."
"Are you going to hunt their wandering souls?" Zeverin said, using Lumen Reversal to regrow his limb.
"How—!" Before No Kari could start.
"But I also saw my responsibility in trouble; he is about to die. Zorian is about to die."
"I have to end this fast," Zeverin said, raising his katana.
"But how do you even know this?" No Kari shouted, losing his senses.
"Ok…
You can show yourself now, no need to hide…
I haven't been more ready than this in my entire life,
SHINKAKU," Zeverin said, ignoring No Kari.
KRRSHH - THRAK!!
Eight fingers appeared from the exact wounds given by No Kari in his chest. And all of them started tearing Zeverin's chest like paper from inside to come out.
First came bursting out two hands covered in unending, endless dark flames...
Second came the head, covered in the same dark flames as the hands were, but with space for eyes but had no eyes 'cause there also burned the same fire...
Third and last came the whole body; just till the end of the torso, it laid down tired, exhausted, completely utilizing all his energy.
Then...
It rose, kept both of its hands on both of his shoulders, and its torso on Zeverin's back. Just like a girl whose lover had hugged her from the back.
"It's just like the one—" Before No Kari could complete.
"Ushimoto had," Zeverin completed No Kari's sentence.
"How do you know what I am thinking?" No Kari cried.
"SH-!" Shinkaku said to No Kari.
"Darling, you very well know neither I nor you can extend the time, and you didn't forget about the cost, right?" Shinkaku said to Zeverin.
"Of course I do,
So, without wasting any other time," Zeverin took a deep breath, like it was his last breath in peace.
"LET'S START," Zeverin said as he tilted Raiko no Haha at 90 degrees precisely.
Tik.... Tik... Tik...
The screen of a timer glowed up.
TIIIIIIN: 2:30
The same time blinked continuously just before the timer started—the exact same time, which was 2 minutes 30 seconds.
Beep... Beep...
The timer began.
[TO BE CONTINUED]
"You didn't ask my title, No Kari," Zeverin said from behind the void.
"Just tell already!" No Kari said, growing irritated.
"Son….
Of…..
Devil….."