Inside the mansion, the air was thick with the metallic stench of blood and dust. Torn curtains swayed through shattered windows, letting the cold night wind whistle through the broken halls. Chandeliers hung crookedly from cracked ceilings, their dim light flickering across the carnage that filled every corner of the room.
Satoshi roared as he charged forward, the chainsaw engine screaming like a furious beast. The spinning blade tore through the air as he swung it with relentless fury toward Kensho.
CLANG!
Sparks exploded as the chainsaw crashed against Kensho's massive sword.
The shockwave of the impact rippled across the room, sending splinters of wood and fragments of stone blasting from the walls. Tables overturned, statues cracked, and pieces of ceiling rained down as the two weapons locked in a violent struggle.
Kensho grinned, his monstrous eyes glowing with savage excitement.
"You humans never learn," the demon growled.
With one brutal push, Kensho forced Satoshi backward. The chainsaw screeched against the sword's steel edge, sparks scattering like fireworks.
Naoya moved instantly.
Dark cursed energy surged around his body like a storm. The air around him distorted as he thrust his palm forward.
"Crushing Impact!"
A blast of jagged black energy shot forward, slamming into Kensho's torso.
The explosion blasted the demon through a marble pillar, shattering it into fragments. Stone dust filled the hallway as the pillar collapsed.
But Kensho stepped out of the rubble unharmed.
His skin smoked slightly where the cursed energy had struck, but the wounds sealed themselves instantly.
Ranmaru appeared behind him.
In a blur of motion, he swung his prison chains.
The chains shot forward like serpents, wrapping around Kensho's arms and torso with metallic snaps.
"Got you!" Ranmaru shouted.
But Kensho only laughed.
The demon flexed his muscles.
CRACK.
The chains snapped apart like brittle twigs.
Before Ranmaru could react, Kensho spun around and swung his enormous sword.
The blade cut through the air with terrifying speed.
Ranmaru vanished just before the strike connected, teleporting across the hallway.
The sword smashed into the wall instead, slicing through stone like paper and carving a massive scar through the mansion.
Satoshi charged again.
His chainsaw roared as he leapt forward, bringing the spinning blade down toward Kensho's neck.
Kensho raised his sword.
The weapons collided again in a thunderous explosion of sparks.
Both fighters pushed against each other with monstrous strength.
The floor beneath them cracked.
Wood splintered and marble tiles shattered under the pressure.
Naoya dashed forward from the side.
Cursed energy wrapped around his fist like lightning.
He drove the punch straight into Kensho's arm.
BOOM.
The impact exploded with devastating force.
Kensho's left arm was blown clean off.
Flesh and bone scattered across the hallway.
The severed limb crashed to the floor.
But the demon only roared with rage.
Dark flesh twisted violently as new muscle and bone erupted from the stump.
Within seconds, Kensho's arm regenerated completely.
Naoya's eyes widened.
"Ridiculous…"
Ranmaru wiped blood from his lip.
"We need to trap him."
He slammed his chains onto the ground.
"Prison Gate!"
A massive glowing portal erupted beneath Kensho's feet.
Chains made of pure energy burst from the darkness, wrapping around the demon's legs and arms.
The gate pulled downward, dragging Kensho toward a swirling void below.
The prison dimension.
For the first time, Kensho's smile faded.
Naoya saw the opening.
"NOW!"
Cursed energy surged around him like a hurricane.
He pulled his arm back, gathering every ounce of power into a single attack.
"ULTIMATE IMPACT!"
Naoya's fist slammed into Kensho's chest with overwhelming force.
The punch launched the demon downward like a meteor.
Kensho crashed through the portal into the underground prison.
Ranmaru clapped his hands together.
The portal began closing.
Chains slammed across the opening like prison bars.
"Yes…" Ranmaru breathed. "It's working…"
But suddenly—
CLANG.
A massive blade jammed into the gate.
Kensho's sword pierced the closing portal.
Sparks erupted as the blade forced the gate open again.
The chains snapped.
The portal shattered.
With a thunderous roar, Kensho burst back into the hallway.
The demon's fury shook the mansion.
Ranmaru barely had time to react.
Kensho's sword flashed.
The blade pierced straight through Ranmaru's chest.
The sound of tearing flesh echoed through the hall.
Blood sprayed across the walls.
Ranmaru's eyes widened in shock.
His body collapsed to his knees as the sword tore free.
"RANMARU!" Naoya shouted.
Satoshi roared in rage.
Ignoring the deep wound in his shoulder, he charged forward like a wild beast.
The chainsaw screamed louder than ever.
He swung the blade wildly, smashing through broken beams and debris as he attacked Kensho with everything he had.
The two fighters clashed violently again.
Chainsaw and sword collided again and again, sparks lighting the hallway like lightning.
Naoya joined the attack.
His fists moved like cannon blasts, each punch shaking the mansion's foundation.
Together, they forced Kensho backward through the ruined corridor.
For a moment, it seemed like they might overwhelm him.
Then—
The air suddenly warped.
A dark mirror appeared in the center of the hallway.
Its surface rippled like black water.
A tall demonic figure stepped out.
Kagamiyo.
Its body shimmered like living glass, reflecting the broken mansion in twisted fragments.
The demon's cold voice echoed through the hall.
"Kensho."
The sword demon turned.
"The key awaits at the Underground Betting Place."
Kagamiyo's mirrored face tilted slightly.
"You are needed there."
Kensho growled in frustration.
His glowing eyes flicked between Satoshi and Naoya.
Then he smiled.
"This isn't over."
With one violent swing, Kensho slashed through the mansion wall.
The entire section of the building exploded outward.
Moonlight poured through the opening.
Kensho stepped toward the mirror portal.
Satoshi lunged after him.
But Kagamiyo raised one hand.
The mirror rippled.
Kensho vanished inside it.
The portal shattered into fragments of dark light.
Silence fell over the ruined mansion.
Satoshi dropped to one knee, breathing heavily.
Naoya clenched his fists in fury.
Behind them, Ranmaru lay on the floor in a spreading pool of blood.
But suddenly—
Ranmaru moved.
With shaking hands, he pressed his chains into the ground.
A small portal crackled open.
"Underground… Betting Place…" he gasped.
The gate flickered weakly.
Satoshi rushed to his side.
"Don't move! You're dying!"
Ranmaru shook his head weakly.
"No time…"
He forced the portal wider.
"You… must stop them…"
Blood spilled from his mouth.
"Go… now…"
Satoshi and Naoya exchanged a glance.
Then they both leapt through the gate.
The portal collapsed immediately afterward.
Moments later, Itsuki and Masaki burst into the mansion.
Their eyes widened at the devastation.
The walls were shattered.
Furniture lay in ruins.
The floor was soaked in blood.
Then they saw him.
Ranmaru.
His body lay twisted on the ground, pierced and motionless.
Blood pooled beneath him like a dark lake.
Itsuki slowly lowered his head.
Masaki clenched his hammer tightly.
The mansion had fallen silent.
Only the faint smell of burnt flesh and blood remained.