Akaza stared at Raiden with disbelief, as if the young man had shown him something unimaginable. The speed and power Raiden had just displayed were nothing like his earlier fighting style, as though two entirely different fighters stood before him.
For a split second, the strength Raiden showed reminded Akaza of Kyojuro Rengoku, the Flame Pillar. Rengoku was a Pillar — but was this boy too? To deliberately hide such power, especially in front of him, was intriguing.
Akaza's surprise swiftly shifted into an eager hunger for combat. A manic excitement sparked across his face because Raiden's strength felt like the kind of battle he had been craving for a long time.
Blood trickled down Akaza's fully regenerated arm, but he paid no mind to the injury. Instead, his gaze locked onto Raiden with hungry intensity.
"Good, this is finally interesting," Akaza said with laughter, fervent and unrestrained. He crouched slightly, one fist at his waist, the other palm extended toward Raiden and Kyojuro Rengoku. His smile turned sharp and dangerous.
"Destructive Kill: Chaotic Style," Akaza roared as his fighting spirit flared, spreading an invisible wave of power. This time, he did not attack a single target, but opened his assault to strike both Raiden and Rengoku together.
Raiden, while cooperating with Rengoku's Fourth Form: Flame Tiger to resist Akaza's Chaotic Style, kept an eye on the darkening horizon. The approaching dawn made the shadows retreat, but the danger persisted.
"Focus, Raiden, focus on me," Rengoku called, noticing the young man's brief distraction.
Akaza seized the opportunity and shifted part of his attack to engulf Raiden. Meeting Akaza's fists directly, Raiden finally felt the true terror of his opponent's strength.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Raiden tried to adjust his breathing rhythm again and again, but Akaza's pressure was relentless. He fought to help Rengoku share the burden of the offensive, yet Akaza's power was overwhelming.
Clang! Raiden's Nichirin blade cracked violently, snapping cleanly in two under Akaza's condensed fighting spirit. The broken halves clattered to the ground, robbed of their edge.
Seeing this, Rengoku met Akaza's onslaught with sheer determination.
"Flame Breathing Fourth Form: Blooming Flame Undulation," Rengoku called, releasing a vortex of intense crimson fire toward Akaza's spirit. The flaming wind roared, but even Rengoku could not fully withstand the force. One of his eyes was sliced by the violent airflow from Akaza's attack.
"It won't matter," Akaza said, spreading his hands wide. "These wounds mend for me in a breath. But look at yours — one blade broken, one eye lost. If you were demons, you might recover. But can you still stand? Can you defeat me?"
A crimson aura curled around Rengoku as he stood his ground. His figure blurred in the swirling fire, but his gaze burned brighter with resolve.
Raiden stood beside him, clutching the broken blade, determined and unbowed. This moment marked the true beginning of his fight.
Raiden lifted the shattered hilt, and heat surged up his arm. Flames raced along the broken blade until it glowed a fierce crimson and gold.
"Flame Breathing Secret Art Ninth Form: Rengoku," Raiden announced in unison with Rengoku. Two voices echoed in the dark night as dawn approached.
Rengoku blinked in astonishment for a moment. Raiden was known as a user of Thunder Breathing — how could he suddenly unleash a Flame Breathing Secret Art as well?
There was no time to question it.
"Even with such injuries, your fighting spirit still blazes," Raiden said through gritted teeth. "Rengoku, let us stand together."
"Destructive Kill: Annihilation Style," Akaza responded.
The battlefield seemed to heat to boiling point. Around Raiden's broken blade and Rengoku's form, twin storms of crimson and gold flame surged forward with terrifying energy.
Where the flames met Akaza's spirit, the world trembled with explosive light and thunderous sound. Fiery spheres erupted one after another, each blast sending ripples through the air. The heat became so intense that even time seemed to buckle under it.
The flames fought to consume the fighting spirit, and the fighting spirit tore back at the flames in a relentless cycle. At the center of it all, a blazing sphere of light flared like a small sun, its brilliance too fierce to look at directly.
When the radiance finally eased and the waves of heat began to fade, a massive crater marked the ground where the clash had peaked. Flame‑scorched earth and fractured rock told of the power unleashed.
Akaza stood in the center, his breathing harsh but his wounds already healed. Raiden and Rengoku lay opposite him, lungs burning, chests heaving.
Raiden exhaled with relief. They had survived. With Rengoku's help, neither of them sustained mortal injuries — just exhaustion and strain.
Akaza's voice broke the quiet. "Rengoku, Raiden, become demons. Let us be friends. Our battles could never end if we fought forever like this."
Ding.
Detected system prompt.
Friend request received from Upper Moon Three Akaza. Do you accept?
"What? This..." Raiden blinked in surprise as an unexpected joy swelled in his chest. His wounds felt distant and numb now.
A friend request from Akaza... already?
He had considered finding an opportunity to form a connection like this when he entered the Transparent World — but here, in front of Rengoku, it had happened by accident.
___
Support the story by sending Power Stones to unlock bonus chapters.