After the dust cloud slowly cleared and the air stopped shaking from the impact, we all stared ahead in disbelief. Kazuma was still standing in the exact same spot, completely unharmed. Not a single scratch marked his body. He casually brushed the dust off his shoulder as if nothing significant had happened. Then he looked at us with calm, almost mocking eyes and said that what we had just done was a very normal attack. To him, it was nothing special.
"You all really think you can win?" he said coldly. "That attack didn't even cause a single injury."
His words hit harder than any physical blow. For a moment, none of us could even speak. All my friends stood frozen in shock, trying to understand how our strongest move had failed so easily. Kairo was the first to break the silence. His face was pale, and even his voice trembled slightly.
"This man is an absolute monster," Kairo said quietly. "There's no way we can beat him."
But Leo immediately stepped forward, clenching his fists. His eyes were filled with determination rather than fear.
"Come on," Leo said firmly. "We still have a chance to win. Why are you losing hope so quickly? Stay positive. If we give up now, we lose for sure."
His words sparked something inside all of us. Even though fear still gripped our hearts, we nodded. We couldn't afford to give up. Not now.
"Yes," we said together. "We can do this."
Leo quickly shifted into leader mode. "First, we need a strategy," he said. "Without a proper strategy, we can't win against someone like him."
Kairo took a deep breath and stepped forward. "I have a plan," he announced. "Listen carefully. The two strongest fighters here are me and Leo. That's a fact. Haku and Renji, your job will be to distract Kazuma and keep him busy. While he's focused on you, Leo and I will gather our power and attack him with a full-force, high-powered strike. We'll put everything into it."
It wasn't a perfect plan, but it was the best option we had in that moment. We all agreed.
Before we could fully prepare, Kazuma moved faster than any of us expected. In the blink of an eye, he launched another attack. Renji reacted instantly, stepping in front of us and raising his shield. The impact was enormous, sending shockwaves through the ground beneath our feet. Renji gritted his teeth, barely managing to hold the shield steady.
But something felt wrong.
Kazuma's blood manipulation technique was far more powerful than we had realized. A strange red energy flowed from his attack and began spreading through the battlefield like a living force.
"Leo! Kairo!" Renji shouted. "I'll hold him off. I can give you two minutes. That's all the time I can manage. Use it wisely!"
Leo and Kairo nodded and immediately began gathering their energy. The air around them started to vibrate as power built up.
However, after only one minute, Haku suddenly gasped. His hands began turning red, the color spreading across his skin unnaturally.
"My arms…" Haku said through clenched teeth. "They hurt… the pain is intense."
Renji looked over in alarm. "What is this?" he demanded. "Is this the effect of Kazuma's attack?"
Kazuma let out a quiet, almost amused laugh. "Can you feel it?" he asked Haku. "That burning pain in your hands? That is the effect of my blood poison. After five minutes, both of your arms will turn completely red. You won't be able to move them at all."
We stared at him in horror.
He continued calmly, "There's only one way to save your friend. Kill me. If you kill me, my blood cells and the virus I created will die as well. But that's impossible for you. You're just humans."
His confidence was terrifying.
Renji's breathing became heavier. Holding off Kazuma was draining him quickly. "Leo… Kairo…" he said, struggling. "Are you ready?"
"We're ready!" they answered together.
Renji gathered the last of his strength and shifted his stance, transforming fully back into his human form to concentrate his remaining energy. That was the signal.
Leo and Kairo combined their powers. Their energies merged, creating a massive sphere of light that pulsed with overwhelming force. The ground beneath them cracked as they launched their ultimate attack straight at Kazuma.
The explosion that followed was blinding. The impact shook the entire battlefield, and a gigantic dust cloud rose into the sky, covering everything in thick gray smoke. For a moment, we couldn't see anything at all.
Leo and Kairo dropped to one knee, breathing heavily. They had poured every bit of strength into that attack. They tried to summon more energy for a follow-up, but only a small amount remained.
Slowly, the dust cloud began to fade.
Through the clearing air, we saw Kazuma lying on the ground. He was unconscious, his body covered in wounds. For a brief second, hope returned to us.
But then his fingers twitched.
He groaned and slowly pushed himself up. He was badly injured now—his breathing uneven, his body trembling. At that moment, even an average human could have defeated him. He was that weak.
But we were completely drained.
None of us had the strength left to launch another proper attack. Meanwhile, even in his injured state, Kazuma still had enough power to move and potentially strike back.
We were trapped in a cruel situation. Victory was within reach, yet completely out of our grasp.
Then, without warning, the ground behind Kazuma cracked open. A dark hole formed, swirling with strange energy. From within it, a powerful tornado erupted, spinning violently and lifting debris into the air.
We stared at it in confusion.
"Who is that?" someone whispered.
The tornado gradually slowed, and a figure stepped out from the center of the swirling wind. As the wind settled, we recognized him.
It was Ryso.
Relief washed over us instantly.
"Ryso!" we shouted. "Please—kill Kazuma! It's the only way to save Haku!"
Ryso didn't rush immediately. Instead, he walked slowly toward Kazuma, studying him carefully. His expression wasn't filled with hatred. It was calm, thoughtful.
When he stood in front of Kazuma, he asked quietly, "Why are you doing this? Did someone force you? Is there something behind all of this? Do you have a painful past that led you here?"
Kazuma looked up at him, blood at the corner of his mouth. "It's none of your business," he said weakly. "If you want to kill me, then do it."
Ryso shook his head slightly. "We don't want to kill you," he said. "Please give us the antidote for Haku's virus. We won't take your life."
For a moment, Kazuma said nothing. His eyes shifted toward us. Perhaps he saw that we were no longer enemies in that moment—just people desperate to save our friend.
At first, he refused. He turned his head away and remained silent.
But after a few tense seconds, something in his expression changed. His shoulders relaxed. Slowly, with trembling hands, he reached into his coat and pulled out a small vial.
"This is the antidote," he said quietly, handing it to Ryso.
We were stunned.
Kazuma closed his eyes briefly before speaking again. "Please… save us. Save the whole world from Tobari and King Akumu. I never stood a chance against them. I was never strong enough to oppose them directly."
His voice was no longer filled with arrogance. It carried regret.
"They are far more dangerous than you can imagine," he continued. "If you don't stop them, this world will fall into darkness. I couldn't fight back. I couldn't protect anyone. So please… you must do what I couldn't."
Silence filled the battlefield once again. The enemy we had feared only moments ago now sounded like someone who had lost hope long ago.
We rushed to Haku and gave him the antidote. Slowly, the red color faded from his arms. The pain began to ease.
As the tension in the air slowly disappeared, we realized something important. The fight with Kazuma wasn't the end. It was only the beginning of something much bigger.
Tobari. King Akumu.
The real battle was still waiting for us.