Lucifer charges first this time.
The air in front of me changes.
Pressure suddenly crushes against my chest.
My eyes catch something almost impossible to see.
SKLASH—His fist slams fully into my face.
"—Ukhh—"
The air bursts out of my lungs in one violent shock.
My body lifts off the ground.
The world instantly pulls away from him.
I am thrown.
WHOOSH—The air screams in my ears as my body flies uncontrollably.
The ground rushes closer.
CRAAASH!
My back slams into the earth. Stone shatters beneath my body. I skid across the broken surface.
GRRRRK—SKRRRR—
The ground peels apart along the path where my body drags.
My body finally stops.
Several hundred meters from where Lucifer stands.
I lie on the ground.
My lungs are empty.
I try to breathe.
No air enters.
My chest feels as if it collapses inward.
I force my lungs to work.
HNNGH—A little air finally enters.
Pain spreads from my chest through my entire body. My ribs throb violently. My back feels numb.
I try to move.
My hand presses against the ground.
CRK.
My body rises slightly.
My legs tremble.
I fall back to one knee.
Warm blood drips from my nose.
TIK.
TIK.
Another drop falls from the corner of my mouth.
I wipe my lips with the back of my hand.
Blood.
My breathing is still heavy.
My body begins to feel warm.
Regeneration is working.
The sensation spreads from my chest to my shoulders, then throughout my entire body. Damaged muscles slowly tighten again. Cracked bones press back into place.
The warmth grows stronger.
Hot.
Like embers burning inside my body.
My eyes feel as if they burn as well.
My eyelids twitch.
Blood continues to flow slowly from my nose and mouth.
I look toward Lucifer standing hundreds of meters ahead of me.
He does not move.
His body stands upright.
His gaze is fixed directly on me.
I draw another breath.
The air enters my lungs roughly.
"What… was that." My breath still strained.
Lucifer lowers his head slightly.
His gaze falls to the ground before him.
"I gave you a path, son."
His head slowly lifts again.
His eyes look at me once more from the distance.
"Do not disappoint me."
He exhales briefly.
"Be yourself, until the end."
The warmth inside my body changes into fire moving through my muscles.
I press the ground again.
CRK.
My hand is strong this time.
I rise slowly.
My legs support my body.
The world spins slightly.
My breathing is still heavy.
I look at Lucifer.
Hundreds of meters separate us.
I step forward.
One step.
Two steps.
My body feels light and heavy at the same time.
My vision begins to blur.
I try to focus.
I want to move faster.
Faster than before.
My foot presses the ground.
THUD.
I prepare to charge.
My vision suddenly trembles.
The world feels as if it is being pulled away from my consciousness.
The sound of the wind fades.
My breathing echoes faintly in my ears.
My vision darkens.
Then everything cuts off.
—
Hiro stands still for a fraction of a second.
His body does not move.
His eyes slowly open wider.
There are no pupils.
Only empty white.
The wind blows past his upright body standing in the middle of the cracked ground.
Lucifer lifts his head slightly.
His gaze points straight toward Hiro from the distance.
Hiro moves.
His foot presses the ground.
BOOM—The earth shatters beneath his step.
His body vanishes from where he stands.
In the blink of an eye—
He is already directly in front of Lucifer.
His right fist shoots forward.
The air around it tears apart.
CRACK—WHAM!
A heavy impact strikes Lucifer's shoulder.
Lucifer's body shifts.
He steps back half a step.
Hiro moves again.
Left fist.
BAM!
Right hook.
THUD!
A rising kick from the side.
SWOOSH—CRACK!
His leg slams into Lucifer's ribs.
The air trembles around them.
Lucifer tilts his body.
His step shifts sideways.
Hiro's fist fires again.
WHAM!
The strike hits Lucifer's chest.
An uppercut follows from below.
THUD!
Lucifer shifts his shoulder.
His body moves back one step.
Hiro does not stop.
His movements have no pattern.
Punch.
BAM!
Kick.
CRACK!
Elbow from below.
THUD!
Lucifer begins to retaliate.
A straight punch shoots toward Hiro's face.
Hiro tilts his body without thinking.
The strike passes his cheek.
The wind from the punch slices through the air.
Hiro attacks again.
Right fist.
BOOM!
Left hook.
BAM!
A spinning kick.
SWOOSH—CRACK!
His leg strikes the side of Lucifer's head.
Lucifer's head moves slightly with the impact.
He steps back once.
Hiro surges forward again.
BOOM.
The ground cracks beneath his step.
Straight punch.
WHAM!
Uppercut.
THUD!
Kick to the ribs.
CRACK!
Lucifer moves faster now.
His body evades to the left.
Hiro is already there.
A punch strikes his shoulder.
BAM!
A hook hits his abdomen.
THUD!
Lucifer counters with an elbow.
The heavy impact strikes Hiro's shoulder.
CRACK!
Hiro's body shifts only slightly.
He attacks again.
Punch.
WHAM!
Kick.
BAM!
Uppercut.
THUD!
Repeated impacts fill the air between them.
Lucifer keeps moving.
His steps retreat.
Hiro continues pursuing.
His movements grow faster.
CRACK! WHAM! BAM! THUD!
The air trembles each time an attack lands.
Lucifer begins breathing heavier now.
He rotates his body to evade the next kick.
The tip of the kick still strikes his leg.
CRACK!
He steps back again.
Hiro surges forward.
BOOM.
Straight punch.
WHAM!
Hook.
BAM!
Rising kick.
CRACK!
Lucifer's body is pushed back several steps.
Then—
Hiro's movement suddenly slows.
His step falters.
His body stops.
A few seconds pass.
Then his body falls forward.
THUD.
He does not move again.
Lucifer stands several steps away.
His breathing is heavy.
He raises his hand.
A faint light surrounds his body.
Small wounds on his body slowly close.
He exhales deeply.
"Damn it."
His gaze falls to Hiro's body lying on the ground.
Then his voice rises.
"PARAGON!"