CHAPTER 36 — DOMINANCE (PART 1)
The battlefield burned.
Flames tore across the ruined skyline as Ragnar advanced—relentless, feral—his attacks no longer wild, but compressed… focused… evolving.
Streams of fire curved through the air like hunting beasts.
Tokita moved.
He didn't fight back—yet.
He ran.
Not in fear—
But in calculation.
Ragnar's flames chased him, bending unnaturally mid-air, snapping toward him in waves.
Tokita twisted—ducked—spun.
A backflip.
A slide.
A sharp pivot—
A blast tore past his face, close enough to scorch his cheek.
Then—
Ragnar compressed one.
A single flame.
Condensed.
Dense.
Deadly.
"…Got you."
He fired it.
Tokita's eyes sharpened.
Not good.
He dropped instantly—
His hand struck the ground.
Boom.
The earth surged upward.
Chunks of rock exploded from below, rising like a jagged wall between them.
The blast struck—
Detonating against stone—
The shock throwing Ragnar slightly off balance.
That was enough.
Tokita vanished.
Ragnar's eyes widened slightly—
Too late.
A hand grabbed his face—
And slammed him into the ground.
BOOM.
Concrete shattered.
The impact cratered the street beneath him.
Tokita didn't stop.
He stepped in—
Leg rising—
A finishing kick aimed straight for Ragnar's jaw.
But—
Something moved.
A corpse.
Half of a zombie—still twitching—
Ragnar grabbed it mid-motion—
And hurled it forward.
Tokita's pupils shrank.
Too close.
Too sudden.
The creature's jaws snapped inches from his face—
He tilted.
Barely.
The bite missed.
His expression changed.
Cold.
Irritated.
His fist drove forward—
Aimed at Ragnar's ribs—
But—
Impact.
The zombie took it.
And still—
BOOM.
The force blasted everything away.
Ragnar—
The corpse—
Both launched through a nearby skyscraper—
Crashing deep inside its hollow interior.
Silence—
For half a second.
Then—
Tokita was already moving.
He didn't chase from above—
He went below.
His fist struck the building's foundation—
Once.
Twice.
Again.
BOOM—BOOM—BOOM—
Cracks spread upward.
The entire structure trembled—
Then began to collapse.
Inside—
Ragnar staggered to his feet.
His breathing was heavier now.
Unstable.
His flames flickered—
Weaker.
My Core…
Running low.
He tried to move—
To escape—
But—
Too slow.
The building came down.
CRASH.
Concrete.
Steel.
Dust.
Everything buried him.
Outside—
Tokita stood still.
Watching.
His clothes—burned, torn, barely holding together.
He glanced down at them briefly.
…Still intact?
That military gear… not bad.
Then—
The rubble shifted.
BOOM.
Ragnar burst out.
Bleeding.
Burned.
Unsteady.
But standing.
Tokita exhaled slowly.
"…You're done."
Ragnar smiled.
Even now.
"…You sure about that, Red?"
Tokita's eyes narrowed.
"…you'll die if you continue,I'm not enjoying this."
Ragnar laughed—low, breathless.
"Yeah… you are."
Then—
He moved.
A sudden strike—
Fast—
Desperate—
Tokita dipped low—
And drove his fist upward—
Straight into Ragnar's ribs.
CRACK.
The impact folded him.
Air burst from his lungs.
Blood followed.
The shockwave rippled outward—
Glass shattered—
Debris trembled—
Ragnar coughed—
Trying to move—
To create distance—
But—
He couldn't.
He looked down.
Tokita's foot—
Planted firmly on his.
Pinning him.
Crushing.
Ragnar felt it.
Bone pressure.
One wrong move—
And it would snap.
"…Don't," Tokita said quietly.
Too late.
BOOM.
Another punch.
Ragnar's head snapped back—
Blood spraying from his mouth.
For a moment—
His vision went dark.
Three seconds.
Then—
His eyes opened again.
Tokita stared at him.
"…You're insane."
No response.
Just that same smile.
"…Whatever."
Tokita raised his fist again—
And this time—
He didn't hold back.
Punch.
Punch.
Punch.
Each hit drove Ragnar deeper into the ground.
The crater widened.
The earth fractured beneath them.
BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.
Far away—
The others felt it.
Not explosions—
But impact.
Raw.
Brutal.
"…He's winning," Nezuko muttered under her breath,As her gaze shift's to Hoshina who was regaining consciousness thanks to Mira.
Back at the battlefield—
Tokita's strikes didn't slow.
Didn't stop.
Ragnar couldn't move.
Couldn't escape.
Only endure.
And Tokita—
Wasn't letting up.