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Chapter 56: Sky vs. Masked Figure
Tsuna blocked Ryuu, who was intent on taking her revenge on the Evilus.
"What are you doing here!?"
"The look in your eyes when you walked away bothered me."
When they defeated the Man-Eating Flower and the immediate threat was gone, Tsuna's Hyper Intuition had seen right through her. He knew she was still harboring a fierce, naked killing intent.
"Let me go! The Evilus are right in front of us!"
"Then I definitely can't let you go."
"What!?"
"If I do, you'll just start down the path of revenge against them all over again."
Tsuna knew that if Ryuu realized the Evilus—the very people who had robbed her of her precious friends—were still alive, she would isolate herself and stain her hands with blood once more to avenge them.
"Lower your sword, Ryuu."
"Shut up! What could you possibly understand!?"
Standing before her hated enemy, Ryuu was completely incapable of remaining calm. She lashed out, throwing a vicious front kick right at Tsuna. He simply released his grip on her wooden sword and leapt back, smoothly evading the strike.
"It's true, I don't understand your pain. But your fallen friends would want your happiness over revenge. Aren't you the one who knows that best?"
"—!"
At Tsuna's words, the faces of her deceased comrades flashed through her mind. Ryuu's body froze, locking up as if she had been paralyzed.
"And if you run down that path of vengeance, their hatred won't just be aimed at you. It'll be directed at the people you care about now. If that happens, what will become of Syr?"
"T-That's…"
The image of Syr flooded her mind—the girl who had saved her life, the girl who had gently taken her bloodstained hands. Her rationality began to return, and she hung her head.
Meanwhile, taking advantage of the opening, the white-robed figures forced their agonizingly injured legs to move. Crawling on all fours, they desperately attempted to flee.
Then, it happened.
"!?"
Tsuna suddenly dashed toward Ryuu and tackled her to the ground. Unable to react to the abrupt movement, she collapsed hard against the earth.
"Wha—!?"
Pinned flat on her back, she looked up. Tsuna's hands were planted on either side of her head, his face hovering mere inches from her own. Realizing she had just been forcefully pinned down, Ryuu's face erupted in a bright blush.
"Eh…!?"
But she instantly understood the reason why. Embedded in the dirt just ahead of them was a knife, its hilt firmly caught in Tsuna's right hand.
Tsuna snapped his gaze toward the direction the blade had flown from.
Who is that…?
Ryuu followed his line of sight. Perched on a thick tree branch, staring down at them, was a mysterious figure completely cloaked in a dark purple robe.
Ryuu was stunned by the sudden arrival, but the crawling white-robed men let out sighs of profound relief.
"Gah!?"
Their relief was short-lived. The masked figure mercilessly hurled throwing knives straight into the back of their heads. The white-robed men went completely still, blood pooling around their skulls.
Without pausing, the masked figure drew a Magic Sword from their robes and swept it toward the lifeless bodies. A massive torrent of fire erupted from the blade, igniting the Flame Stones equipped on the dead men's belts.
A chain reaction of violent explosions and roaring flames ensued, instantly reducing the bodies to ash and threatening to swallow Tsuna and Ryuu in the blast.
"The dregs of the Evilus… incompetent fools who do nothing but drag us down."
When the masked figure finally spoke, the voice was thoroughly distorted—impossible to tell if it belonged to a man or a woman. Having silenced both friend and foe, the figure turned to leave.
"You'd go that far just to silence them?"
"!?"
The masked figure whipped around in a panic. Hovering in the air, carrying Ryuu securely in a princess carry, was Tsuna.
"P-Please put me down, Mr. Sawada!!"
Despite facing a member of the despised Evilus, Ryuu's mind was completely short-circuiting. Her face was burning red, entirely flustered by the current predicament.
"Natsu."
"GURURU… GAOOOOOO!!"
Tsuna summoned Natsu from his ring. The flame on Tsuna's forehead and the fiery mane of his lion cub flared, shifting colors. Natsu unleashed a mighty roar over the burning earth. Powered by the Tranquility characteristic of the Rain attribute, the flames vanished in an instant.
The once-burning ground was transformed into a charred, barren patch of earth littered with massive puddles—a testament to the Rain flames, which shared properties similar to actual water.
Tsuna slowly descended to the ground and set Ryuu down.
"Natsu. Cambio Forma."
At Tsuna's command, Natsu's form shifted, integrating into Tsuna's gloves and attaching thrust-emitting thrusters. The flames on his forehead and gloves shifted back to a brilliant orange.
"I'm taking you in."
Blasting his flames backward, Tsuna launched himself straight at the masked figure in the trees.
"Fool."
"Mr. Sawada!!"
The masked figure swung the Magic Sword once more. A blazing inferno swallowed Tsuna whole, prompting a horrified scream from Ryuu.
"To think you would willingly come to your own death."
"You bastard!!"
Seeing Tsuna engulfed in flames, Ryuu's rage boiled over. She gripped her wooden sword, ready to strike.
"You're the foolish one here."
"What!?"
Tsuna's voice echoed from within the inferno. Slowly, the raging fire began to warp, spiraling downward until it was entirely sucked into Tsuna's gloves.
"[Zero Point Breakthrough: Revised]"
A Magic Sword is a weapon capable of casting magic. Therefore, it can be absorbed by the [Zero Point Breakthrough: Revised]. Tsuna had purposefully charged head-on to bait them into using it.
"Sorry, but Magic Swords don't work on me."
"Gah!?"
Tsuna surged forward again. Unable to react to Tsuna's speed—which had been drastically boosted by the absorbed magic—the masked figure took a devastating right straight to the abdomen, their body folding in half with a sickening crunch.
"You… Gah!!"
The figure tried to counterattack, but Tsuna had already vanished from their line of sight. A heavy kick smashed into their back, slamming them violently into the ground below.
He's faster than before!! Did he absorb my magic and convert it into his own strength!?
This guy… is my absolute worst matchup!!
Ryuu watched in awe at Tsuna's sudden surge in power, while the masked figure felt a deep, swelling sense of dread toward the young boy.
My Magic Sword is gone!?
Having figured out that Tsuna couldn't move while absorbing energy, the masked figure planned to use the Magic Sword as a decoy, only to realize their right hand was completely empty.
"Looking for this?"
"!?"
The Magic Sword was now resting firmly in Tsuna's right hand. The masked figure couldn't hide their visible shock.
He took it then!!
They realized Tsuna had snatched the weapon the exact moment he drove that right straight into their stomach.
Suddenly, the flames on Tsuna's forehead and gloves shifted from orange to a brilliant, aggressive red. The Magic Sword was instantly engulfed in crimson fire, crumbling away into ash.
Red was the Storm flame. Its characteristic was Disintegration. Out of the seven attributes of the Sky, it boasted the highest destructive power. By breaking down the Magic Sword, Tsuna permanently disarmed his opponent while ensuring Ryuu wouldn't get caught in any crossfire.
"Now you can't use it anymore."
Tsuna's flames shifted once again, transitioning from red to a crackling green.
"Don't get cocky!!"
Realizing magic-based attacks were useless, the masked figure switched to close-quarters combat. To create an opening, they threw two knives directly at Ryuu.
Tsuna fired his thrusters, inserting himself smoothly between Ryuu and the blades, catching both knives barehanded.
Got him!!
The figure had predicted Tsuna would move to protect her. Aiming for that exact moment, they activated the hidden metal claws equipped on their gauntlets, lunging forward with their left hand to pierce Tsuna's exposed flank.
Tsuna simply raised his right leg, catching the descending strike against his shin and stopping the deadly blow in its tracks.
He blocked it!?
It was shocking enough that Tsuna had reacted to a perfectly timed blindspot attack, but catching the metal claws head-on was unbelievable. Tsuna had skillfully controlled his Dying Will right before impact to minimize the damage.
But still!!
The masked figure stamped down on Tsuna's left foot to seal his movements, raising their right hand to drive the five metal claws straight toward his heart.
"!?"
The metal claws collided directly with the throwing knives Tsuna still held—knives now coated in crackling green flames. The masked figure's metal gauntlet shattered into pieces, revealing pale, translucent white skin beneath. They couldn't comprehend how a standard throwing knife had just pulverized a reinforced metal gauntlet.
The flame Tsuna was currently using was the Lightning flame. Its characteristic was Hardening. It was the absolute sturdiest of all seven Sky attributes. When coated over a weapon, it exponentially increased the object's durability, defense, and attack power. Tsuna had reinforced the frail throwing knives with Lightning flames to shatter the gauntlet.
"Gah!!"
A fraction of a second later, an agonizing surge of pain and numbness violently coursed through the masked figure's entire body.
Just like actual electricity, the Lightning flame could electrocute its targets. Because the gauntlet was a metal-attribute weapon, the moment it shattered, the electrical charge surged directly into the figure's body.
"Guha!?"
Tsuna immediately launched into a backflip, catching the masked figure squarely under the jaw with his foot. The somersault kick launched them high into the air.
Tsuna's flames shifted a final time, turning from green to a deep, radiant purple. He crossed his arms, firing his thrusters downward to anchor his footing, and aimed both palms at the airborne enemy. Two distinct bullets of flame shot out.
Damn it!!
Judging it impossible to dodge mid-air, the masked figure crossed their arms over their face and curled into a tight defensive ball, bracing for impact to minimize the damage.
"[X-Machine Gun]"
"What!?"
The two incoming flame bullets abruptly multiplied countlessly. The masked figure's eyes widened in sheer panic, completely unprepared for the sudden barrage.
Tsuna's current attribute was the Cloud flame. Its characteristic was Propagation. It allowed for the rapid, exponential multiplication of anything it touched. Tsuna had multiplied the initial flame bullets, turning a simple double-shot into a devastating spread of heavy artillery.
The figure was completely helpless as the relentless swarm of purple flames scored countless direct hits.
"What the…!?"
But the masked figure did not emerge from the explosion, and only a scorched mask and an empty cloak fluttered down to the ground.
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