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The ground cracked under Tekio's feet.
He ran.
Lightning exploded around his body, muscles contracted to their limit. There was no more strategy. No honor. Only hatred.
Dante barely had time to react. The punch came straight to his jaw—fast as lightning, brutal as a derailed train. The enemy's head snapped back with the impact, but his feet held firm. Dante responded with a right cross wreathed in dark Aether.
Tekio flew two meters to the side.
He scraped across the ground, rolled, and was already rising, spitting blood.
And ran again.
Dante twisted his wrists, trying to make the Aether respond. The energy reacted irregularly, like a choking engine. But it was enough to create three shadow blades that shot toward Tekio.
Tekio dodged the first, destroyed the second with an electric punch, but the third cut his shoulder. Blood sprayed, hot. He did not stop.
He jumped. Came down with both feet aimed at Dante's chest.
The impact was like a meteor strike. Dante sank into the ground. The earth shook. But with a snap, he exploded into shadows and appeared behind, with a spinning kick in the air.
His heel connected with the side of Tekio's head.
The young man flew.
But he twisted in the air, and with the momentum, launched a concentrated lightning bolt from his fingers, hitting Dante in the abdomen.
— AGH! — the villain felt the electric burn spread. The Aether flickered.
Tekio landed on his feet, even bleeding.
Even dizzy, he fought purely on instinct, his core screaming to kill.
His eyes showed no pain. Only fury.
Dante then moved his fingers in a spiral. The Aether began to respond more precisely. Using Akira's technique, he created an ethereal whip with hooks on the ends, spinning at high speed.
Tekio advanced.
The whip came.
One of the hooks dug into his side, tearing his skin and nearly reaching his ribs.
He screamed—but with anger, not pain.
He grabbed the whip with his bare hand.
And pulled Dante with all his strength.
The villain was dragged through the air—surprised.
Tekio leaped into the air and, with his body spinning, smashed a punch into the center of his face. The sound of the impact echoed like thunderclaps in the mountains. Dante flew in a straight line, crashing through a stone column and landing on his back, spitting blood.
He rose slowly, eyes narrowed, touching his swollen face.
— ...Tch.
Gradually, his posture changed. It was no longer contempt.
It was calculation.
Study.
Fear, perhaps.
Tekio came again.
Without respite.
Without mercy.
Without control.
Dante tried to use Akira's Kusarigama. The chain formed amidst the Aether—unstable, but functional. He spun the weapon, tried to launch the curved blade at Tekio's chest.
Tekio dodged, moved under it, and drove a lightning bolt into the ground with his fist.
The entire field shook.
The shock traveled up Dante's legs, making his body lock up for a second. It was all Tekio needed.
Three punches to the abdomen.
Two to the jaw.
One straight to the heart.
Each blow made Dante's body sink into the cracked ground.
The last punch was to the chin, making his neck snap.
Tekio screamed.
— DIE!!
He launched a concentrated lightning bolt straight into Dante's face.
The explosion swallowed the top of the area.
A cloud of smoke rose.
Silence.
Tekio panted. A deep cut on his ribs. His arms trembling. His entire body ached. But he did not fall.
The smoke dissipated.
Dante emerged from it—with half his face burned. The left side of his mouth torn. His left eye partially closed, bleeding.
But he laughed. A low laugh. Ruined.
— You really... will kill me if I don't regain my power.
He spat blood.
— She is in you... It's not just the body. It's the damned soul of that woman...
Tekio lowered his shoulders. The lightning still danced around his body, but now it vibrated with instability.
He raised his gaze. His voice hoarse. Firm.
— I will kill you...
— For everything.
— For her.
— For what you did to Akira.
— And because I hate you.
He ran.
Dante planted his feet. The Kusarigama spun again.
The next exchange began.
And neither of them would stop.
Tekio ran.
His bloodied legs dragging across the ground. His muscles screaming. But he felt nothing anymore.
Yara strengthened his body with regeneration and absorption techniques.
He fought with energy techniques superior to the highest Sif rank thanks to Yara.
But all Tekio truly exuded was...
Pure fury.
— I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!!! — the scream exploded from his throat like directionless thunder.
Dante spun the Kusarigama. The chain cracked in the air, more alive, more precise. He spun it around his own body, forming a circle of dark energy.
— Then come. Show me how much you hate me.
Tekio advanced.
The first move was brute: a punch from above. Dante dodged, spinning the chain and trying to trap Tekio's arm. But the boy shattered the chain on impact with the lightning pulsing in his fists. And he immediately followed with a second strike, an uppercut to the chin.
Dante staggered back.
Tekio did not stop.
— I'M GOING TO DESTROY YOU!!
Another punch. A knee strike. A lateral lightning bolt that hit Dante's shoulder and made his flesh burn.
Dante let out a roar of pain, but... smiled.
— Yes... now I understand...
He retreated two steps. He breathed heavily. Akira's body was still not perfect for him. The Aether fluctuated, and each use of a technique was like drawing water from a well too deep. But gradually...
He was adapting.
— This soul... this body... this energy... She was sharp. Precise. Lethal.
He raised his left hand. The shadows that had enveloped him before in a raw form began to behave.
— Technique number five...
— Interlinked Shadows.
From his shadow, thin hooks projected in various directions, connecting with the Kusarigama's own movements. It was as if the attacks now had invisible threads, shaping the space around them.
Tekio tried to move—he was pulled by one of the hooks.
Dante spun, and the Kusarigama's blade came in a horizontal arc, opening a deep cut in Tekio's abdomen.
Blood.
The boy staggered back.
But did not fall.
The electric aura rose like a roar.
— I SAID... — Tekio spat blood and steadied his feet.
— ...I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!
He advanced with a scream. A lightning bolt exploded from his fist. Dante used the Kusarigama to block, but was dragged meters backward.
Tekio followed the movement. Each of his punches was now accompanied by two voices—his and Yara's.
A fist to the throat.
Lightning to the chest.
A knee to the ribs.
A headbutt.
Dante staggered.
But each time he retreated, something inside him grew.
— Hah... you're forcing me... to evolve too fast...
He invoked another technique.
— Technique eight:
— Inverted Shadow Projection.
His body duplicated into a black specter. Two Dantes attacked simultaneously, one real, one false. Tekio tried to block, but was struck from behind. A cut on his back. Another on his leg.
But he held his own blood.
He crouched. Spun.
And punched the ground.
The lightning exploded from the soil, and both Dantes were thrown. The clone dissipated. The real one collided with a twisted tree and fell to his knees.
Dante was now panting. His body ached. But the Aether responded with more precision.
He stood up. His eye purple. His jaw cracked.
And smiled again.
— I still can't use everything... but it won't be long.
— When this is complete... you won't stand a chance, Tekio. Enjoy this while I'm just warming up...
Tekio stopped. His chest rose and fell like an off-beat drum.
His eyes were pure hatred. His hands trembled. But not from fear—from reaching his limit.
— It doesn't matter, I will kill you...
He ran.
And Dante did too.
The two collided in the middle of the destroyed field.
Fists. Chains. Lightning. Shadows.
Everything blurred together.
Every blow broke the ground. Every impact cracked the sky.
The combat was no longer human.
It was personal. Ancestral. Spiritual.
Tekio roared like thunder.
Dante responded with cold smiles and laughter.
The war between fury and calculation.
And neither one retreated.
The sky seemed held by invisible threads.
The city floated, the winds ceased, and the roots pulsed like buried hearts.
Mei observed everything in silence.
Her golden eyes moved in layers of thought, analyzing the whole, like a war machine calculating possible futures.
Ancient enemies resurfacing.
A city rising based on a forbidden ritual.
The Abyss… the forgotten domain, returning to the surface.
And more bubbles… perhaps incubators for new aberrations.
And then… the bluff.
Tekio in danger.
It sounded strange. He was with Aisha and Akira.
The three of them together could take down any opponent.
So… was this a lie from Vernasha?
Or worse… was it a half-truth?
"If it's true… I can stop it."
"If it's a lie… I'll be back in seconds."
"But… what if it's something in between?"
Mei's gaze tightened. Her teeth clenched. A single muscle in her cheek twitched—a rare sign of tension.
She did not speak, but she weighed the world within herself.
That was when Fenra stepped forward. Her voice cut through the air like a sure spear:
— Go, Mei. Go check.
Mei turned her head, surprised.
Fenra continued:
— Dan, Stella, and I can handle things here. You're fast. If it's true, you save him. If it's a lie, you come back. But whatever it is… you're not alone anymore.
We're not scattered pieces. We will fight as one.
Mei's golden eyes flickered, a glimpse of contained emotion.
Perhaps, for an instant… she felt that everything could work out.
But no.
— What boring talk!. It's time to shake up this board a little... — said Vernasha, with a smile full of teeth.
In the blink of an eye, she disappeared from sight.
And reappeared behind Fenra, her finger lightly touching her back.
— Now… the preparations begin.
Fenra spun with lightning speed, and in an instant, the two activated their temporal manipulations.
The energy explosion paralyzed everything around them for a fraction of a second.
Circles of time, vibrating symbols, layers of reality unraveling.
Vernasha smiled with ecstasy.
— I knew it was you… my great cosmic rival.
I won't fall for your trick again.
And in a tear in space, the two vanished.
Mei stood paralyzed.
Before her, only Hazau remained.
Dan and Stella were motionless—eyes wide, hearts beating like war drums.
The memory of past times consumed them.
"Is everything going to happen again?"
"That chaos… that defeat…"
Mei clenched her fists. The spiritual fire in her eyes burned pure gold.
Hazau looked at her… and smiled with insane tranquility.
— Did you like what you saw?
— Did you like hesitating again?
— Because if you keep this up… everyone will di—
But he didn't have time to finish.
In a blink, Mei was in front of him.
And the stellar plasma punch she unleashed obliterated Hazau's entire body.
The explosion tore a gash in the ground, vaporized the vegetation behind him, melted the root structure, and sent waves of light into the sky.
The world turned white for a second.
When the dust settled… there was no body left.
Mei trembled.
Not from fear. From frustration. From rage.
"Is Tekio really in danger?"
"Are Aisha and Akira alive?"
"And where did Fenra go?"
"What is their ultimate goal?"
"All this time, were we in their hands? How far did they plan?"
She took a deep breath. Looked at Dan and Stella.
— Stay alert.
— Recover your composure.
— A new war has begun.
— And we are going to look for Tekio, Aisha, and Akira. Now.
Dan, still with fear in his eyes, took a deep breath.
Stella clenched her fists tightly.
In both, an ember rekindled.
Mei saw it.
And she liked what she saw.
But before she could leave...
A voice tore through the silence, cutting the air like a poisoned knife.
— Why the hurry?
Hazau.
Remaking himself.
Not regenerating… but reconstructing himself from the very idea of his own body.
As if his essence were indestructible.
— By now… Tekio is probably already dead.
— And Aisha too.
— I'm being kind by offering conversation…
— But if you prefer to fight… I have all day.
Everyone stood motionless.
Mei… once again… stopped.
Thought.
And deep in her chest… something burned.
Something she did not yet know how to name.
But which would soon… turn to fire.
To be continued...