Chapter 7: The Guard and the Prisoner
The hideout lay deep beneath fractured terrain, buried underneath layers of ruined infrastructure and reinforced with thick steel plating, concrete barriers, and ancient alchemic seals that glowed faintly along the walls.
It had once been an industrial vault.
Now, it was a prison.
Dim lights flickered overhead, occasionally plunging the chamber into darkness before returning with a weak electrical hum. Pipes ran along the ceiling like veins, leaking condensation onto the cold floor, while the distant vibration of machinery created a constant, almost imperceptible rumble beneath everything.
At the center of the chamber, Daito's mother sat restrained against a concrete pillar.
Her wrists were bound.
Her ankles were secured.
Yet she remained upright.
Calm.
Across from her stood Nagare.
The Lieutenant and General who had brought her here were already gone. Before disappearing into the shadows of the facility, one of them had given Nagare a simple order.
"Stay here. Guard her."
Then, after a brief pause—
"He will come."
They had known Daito.
They knew the kind of person he was.
Relentless, stubborn, but predictable in exactly one way.
He would never abandon his family and they were counting on that.
Somewhere above them, a trap had already been prepared.
Layer upon layer.
Calculated, deliberate and final.
For a long time, neither Nagare nor Daito's mother spoke.
The silence between them was almost heavier than the restraints around her wrists.
Then—
"You've changed."
Nagare's eyes shifted toward her.
He didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he stared at the floor for several seconds before finally turning his attention back to her.
"It's how the world works now."
His voice was quieter than expected.
He stepped closer, although he made no attempt to draw his weapon.
"You either fight for what's right..."
He paused.
"...or you die trying."
He gestured toward the ceiling.
"Look at Daito."
His expression hardened.
"He sides with the NBA knowing damn well they caused all of this."
Daito's mother narrowed her eyes.
"The incurable diseases," Nagare continued.
"The constant Disorder outbreaks."
"The Freakers."
His fists slowly tightened.
"There is no doubt they created it. Maybe not every single part of it, but enough of it to keep themselves in power."
He began pacing across the room.
"For their own benefit."
"Power."
"Control."
"Stability through fear."
His footsteps echoed against the concrete.
"They build walls around the rich cities. They give them clean water, fertile soil, medicine, food, proper education..."
He stopped and looked down at the cracked floor beneath them.
"And here?"
His expression twisted.
"Infertile land."
"Weak nutrition."
"Barely any support."
He pointed toward the ceiling.
"They leave people to rot and then wonder why Disorder keeps spreading."
His voice grew tighter.
"It's like they want our bodies weak."
"It's like they want us desperate."
"So when Disorder comes..."
He looked directly into her eyes.
"...we're too weak to fight it."
Daito's mother watched him carefully.
Nagare continued.
"They're playing with people's lives."
For the first time, his voice began to lose its certainty.
"There is no excuse for the civilians that died today."
He looked away.
"No excuse."
A long breath escaped him.
"But they were going to die anyway."
"Disease."
"Starvation."
"Neglect."
His eyes hardened again.
"At least this way..."
He swallowed.
"...we fight back."
Silence returned.
Daito's mother studied the young man standing before her.
Not as an enemy, not even as a terrorist. But as someone she had known long before this.
A boy she had once treated after street fights. A boy who used to come to her covered in bruises, pretending that nothing hurt. A boy who had once believed that becoming stronger meant becoming capable of protecting everyone.
"You sound tired," she said softly.
Nagare frowned.
"I'm not tired."
"You are."
"I'm not."
"You're carrying too much."
Nagare's jaw tightened.
She continued before he could answer.
"You think I don't see it?"
Her voice remained gentle.
"I see the injustice."
"I see the inequality."
"I see the way this town has been forgotten."
She lifted her chin slightly.
"Your anger isn't wrong."
Nagare's expression faltered.
For a moment, he looked almost like the boy she remembered.
Then he asked—
"Then what would you do if you were me?"
His voice cracked slightly.
Not from weakness but from desperation.
"You used to be a hero."
His eyes remained fixed on her.
"You saved people."
"You treated the sick."
"You spent your life trying to preserve humanity."
He stepped closer.
"My predecessors fought for peace."
He paused.
"You fought for it."
"Your husband fought for it."
"And you wanted to stand beside him."
Nagare's eyes trembled slightly.
"Just like Daito did."
His voice dropped.
"So what would you do?"
Daito's mother didn't hesitate.
"I would never let my pain decide who deserves to live."
Nagare looked away.
"You think I don't hate what's happening?"
Her voice softened.
"I hate it every day."
She lowered her eyes.
"But if you burn everything down to fix corruption..."
She paused.
"...what are you left protecting?"
Nagare said nothing.
His breathing slowed.
The words had struck somewhere deeper than any weapon could.
"There must be another way," she whispered.
"There must be."
Nagare's fists slowly unclenched.
"You don't find peace by becoming what you despise."
His eyes remained lowered.
"I must find the answer," he muttered.
"My predecessors fought for it."
His voice grew quieter.
"You."
"Your husband."
"Peace."
"Freedom."
"For everyone."
He looked toward the ceiling.
"But peace doesn't listen anymore."
For several seconds, neither spoke.
Then—
BEEP.
A faint alarm flickered somewhere in the distance.
Nagare's head lifted.
BEEP.
Another signal followed.
His eyes sharpened. He knew exactly what it meant.
Motion sensors.
Perimeter disturbance.
Someone had breached the outer defenses.
Daito had arrived.
Fwoo....
Nagare slowly turned toward the exit corridor.
Daito's mother watched him.
"You know he's coming."
Nagare didn't answer.
"He'll tear through everything."
"I know."
"And you're leading him into a trap."
Nagare hesitated only for a second.
Then—
"Yes."
Her expression changed.
"He won't stop."
"I know."
"And if he dies?"
Nagare's throat tightened.
For the first time, the certainty disappeared from his face.
"...Then the world loses its last honest man."
The words hung heavily in the chamber.
Neither of them spoke again.
Above them the war had begun.
* * *
Above Ground
BRRZZZTTTLE!
Thunder rolled across the ruined sky as an NBA jet descended through a cloud of smoke and ash.
Its engines screamed against the wind.
FWOOSH!
The aircraft descended rapidly toward the ruined industrial district below, kicking dust and debris into the air as its landing systems activated.
Before the jet had even touched the ground completely, Daito was already looking outside.
His expression was different.
He wasn't broken, he wasn't raging, he wasn't moving blindly through another storm of anger.
He was focused and cold.
His eyes remained fixed on the facility ahead.
Steel doors reinforced with multiple layers of plating. Watchtowers positioned at strategic intervals. Defensive barriers embedded beneath the ground. Energy signatures layered throughout the entire complex like a vast spiderweb.
Daito studied the structure for several seconds.
Then he understood.
"A trap."
Tasao stood behind him, rolling his shoulders.
"Obviously."
Daito stepped down from the aircraft.
The wind pushed against his coat as dust spiraled around his boots.
"They think I'm a storm."
Tasao cracked his knuckles.
"You kind of are."
The Woman in White stepped from the aircraft behind them.
Her eyes scanned the facility.
"This is deliberate."
Daito looked toward her.
"They want you to rush in."
Daito nodded.
"They want me emotional."
His hand slowly moved toward the sword at his side.
He drew it.
SHING!
The blade caught the pale sunlight.
"So I won't be."
His eyes sharpened.
"This time..."
He lowered his stance.
"I'm thinking."
The moment he said it—
FWOOOSH!
Something erupted from the smoke below.
The ground trembled.
KRAAAACK!
Stone fragments tore themselves from the earth and began hovering in the air.
Then—
CRACKLE!
CRACKLE!
A massive figure rose from the smoke like a dark mountain.
Kirigaya.
His body emerged through the dust, surrounded by floating fragments of stone that vibrated violently under his control.
His eyes locked onto the approaching team.
Then he thrust both arms forward.
SWOOSH!
FWOOOSH!
The air screamed.
Giant stone projectiles ripped themselves from the surrounding terrain and launched toward the descending jet with terrifying speed.
"BRACE!"
Tasao's voice cut through the chaos.
The team reacted instantly.
Zumi stepped forward.
His hands moved.
WHUMM!
Gravity distorted around the incoming stones.
The massive projectiles suddenly lost their trajectory, bending sideways as though the air itself had become liquid.
Several slammed harmlessly into the ground.
BOOOOM!
Others were redirected into nearby structures.
CRASH!
Tasao charged forward.
He swung his fist.
BAM!
One stone exploded beneath the impact.
Another came from his blind side.
BANG!
He smashed it apart as well.
Fragments rained around him.
Meanwhile the Woman in White raised her weapon.
She didn't fire randomly, she waited.
One shot.
BANG!
The bullet struck a precise structural weak point.
The enormous stone fractured.
CRACK!
Then—
BOOOOM!
It disintegrated into a cloud of dust before ever reaching the aircraft.
Daito moved last.
He waited for one final stone.
It came straight toward him.
Fast, heavy amd real close.
Daito didn't flinch.
He waited until the final possible moment.
Then—
SLASH!
The blade flashed.
The stone separated cleanly.
For a heartbeat, nothing happened.
Then the two halves slid apart.
THUD.
Daito landed silently.
The dust hadn't even settled when he stepped forward.
One step.
Then—
SWOOSH!
SLING!
His body disappeared from its position.
Kirigaya barely had time to react.
Daito appeared in front of him.
Steel met flesh.
SHHHK!
A single clean line crossed Kirigaya's neck.
His eyes widened.
His body remained standing for a fraction of a second.
Then—
THUD!
His head separated from his body.
The corpse collapsed into the dust.
Silence.
Daito didn't look back, he simply continued walking.
Ahead of him at least one hundred soldiers waited.
Armed, disciplined, and trained specifically to counter blade combat.
Some carried rifles, others carried specialized weapons. Several assumed martial arts stances.
They were prepared.
But they were still human.
"Huff...."
Daito exhaled slowly as he counted them.
One hundred.
Then his eyes narrowed.
He moved.
SLASH!
BAM!
POW!
The first soldier dropped.
Daito pivoted.
KICK!
The second was launched into the wall.
CRACK!
A third attacked from behind.
Daito ducked.
PUNCH!
His fist drove into the soldier's stomach.
The man folded instantly.
Daito continued.
He didn't rush.
That was what made it terrifying.
Every movement had purpose.
Every step had been calculated.
His footwork carried the discipline of a veteran who had survived too many battles to waste even a fraction of his energy.
His sword moved like an extension of his body.
SLASH!
A weapon was cut apart.
BANG!
A knee was destroyed.
PUNCH!
A jaw snapped upward.
SWOOSH!
Daito slipped beneath a spinning kick.
SLASH!
Another opponent fell.
The soldiers attempted coordinated attacks.
Two from the front, three from the sides, one from behind.
Daito saw all of them as he stepped backward.
Fwoosh....
The first strike missed.
He rotated.
Fwoosh....
The second passed inches from his face.
He ducked beneath the third.
Then—
BAM!
His elbow struck one soldier's throat.
KICK!
Another went flying.
SHING!
His sword flashed.
The remaining attackers fell.
Daito continued forward.
One.
Two.
Three.
He counted silently.
Fifteen.
Twenty-three.
Forty-one.
Seventy.
The number kept rising. The soldiers fought harder. They fought together. They adapted.
They tried to overwhelm him through numbers but Daito operated on another level.
He wasn't fighting with anger anymore.
He was fighting with calculation, discipline, and purpose.
SLASH!
BAM!
POW!
KICK!
SLASH!
PUNCH!
CRACK!
BOOM!
Bodies fell around him.
And unlike Freakers, these enemies were human.
They fought back, they feared death, some hesitated, and some screamed.
Some realized too late that they were facing someone who had already decided exactly how far he was willing to go.
Daito didn't enjoy it.
He didn't celebrate it, he simply continued.
Until—
The last soldier fell.
THUD.
Silence returned.
Blood dripped from Daito's blade.
Drip.
Drip.
Drip.
He stood alone in the blood-soaked corridor.
Behind him, the rest of his team had finished clearing the surrounding area.
Tasao looked toward him.
"Go ahead."
He cracked his neck.
"We'll finish here."
Zumi nodded once.
"Bring your mother back."
The Woman in White said nothing.
She simply watched Daito her expression carried something close to approval.
Daito nodded.
Then turned toward the darkness ahead and walked.
Step....
Step.....
Step.....
Each footfall echoed deeper into the facility.
He had come for one person.
His mother.
And he wasn't leaving without her.
But somewhere ahead—
Fwoosh....
Something much worse was waiting.
* * *
The main dormitory chamber was considerably larger than the corridors Daito had passed through, stretching several meters beneath the facility like an underground hangar that had been converted into a military barracks. Rows of reinforced pillars supported the ceiling, while heavy chains hung from the upper platforms and disappeared into the darkness above. Emergency lights flickered along the walls, bathing the entire chamber in a dull red glow that made the place feel less like a shelter and more like the interior of some enormous machine.
Daito entered slowly.
His footsteps echoed across the concrete.
Then he stopped.
Something was standing in the center of the chamber.
General Deidara-bachi.
The General's enormous frame was covered in thick biker-style spike chains, each one wrapped tightly around his torso, shoulders, and arms. Metal plates had been attached to various parts of his body, giving him the appearance of a heavily armored enforcer rather than an ordinary soldier. Yet it was his smile that immediately caught Daito's attention.
Deidara-bachi looked almost amused.
"I didn't expect you to still have energy."
Daito said nothing.
His sword remained lowered at his side.
Fwoosh.....
Deidara-bachi slowly raised one hand.
Between his fingers was a syringe.
Inside it, a dark violet substance moved sluggishly beneath the glass, glowing faintly whenever the emergency lights passed over it.
GLOW...
"Stimuleigh."
His smile widened.
"An experimental enhancer designed to amplify Savage biological resonance."
He rotated the syringe between his fingers, admiring the substance.
"Even in its testing phase, the efficiency has been remarkable. Increased physical output, accelerated cellular response, heightened Savage Power activity, and an almost complete suppression of the body's natural limitations."
His eyes settled on Daito.
"You've never seen anything like this before, have you?"
Daito's expression didn't change.
Deidara-bachi laughed.
"Of course you haven't."
Then, without hesitation, he drove the needle into the side of his own neck.
PSSTLE!
The entire chamber seemed to hold its breath.
For one second, nothing happened.
Then—
POP!
A vein bulged beneath Deidara-bachi's skin.
POP! POP!
Another appeared.
Then another.
Black lines spread rapidly across his neck and face, crawling beneath his skin like something alive.
His muscles suddenly contracted.
RIPP!
His shirt tore apart.
RIPP!
The metal plates strapped across his chest bent outward as his body expanded beneath them.
The chains surrounding his torso began to move.
At first, they rattled.
CLINK...
CLINK...
Then they tightened.
CLATTER! CLATTER!
The links began forcing themselves beneath his skin.
Deidara-bachi's back arched violently.
"AAAAAAGH!"
His scream shook the chamber.
The chains embedded themselves deeper into his flesh, disappearing beneath his skin before emerging again across his shoulders and arms. Muscles expanded around them, swallowing portions of the metal until the chains no longer appeared to be equipment.
They had become part of him.
CRACK!
The floor beneath his feet fractured.
CRACK! CRACK!
Concrete splintered outward.
Deidara-bachi's body continued to grow until his silhouette had become almost monstrous. His eyes changed next.
The whites disappeared.
The irises vanished.
Everything became black, completely black.
There was no longer anything human in his gaze.
Then the chains moved again.
FWOOSH!
Several lengths of metal erupted from his back.
They struck the surrounding walls.
BOOOOM!
Concrete exploded.
Another chain ripped through a support pillar.
CRASH!
Dust poured from the ceiling.
Daito raised his sword.
Deidara-bachi's smile had disappeared.
His mouth opened.
And what came out was no longer a human voice.
"GRAAAAAAAAAAH!"
The Frevage had been born.
The creature charged.
FWOOSH!
One of the enormous chain appendages shot toward Daito.
Daito raised his blade.
CLANG!
The impact sent a violent shock through his arms.
His boots scraped across the concrete.
SKRRRRRT!
He was pushed backward several meters before finally stopping himself.
Another chain came from the side.
SWOOSH!
Daito twisted his body.
The chain passed within centimeters of his face before crashing into the wall behind him.
BOOOOM!
The entire section of concrete collapsed.
Daito immediately countered.
He stepped inside the creature's range and swung his blade toward the exposed section of chain connecting to its shoulder.
SHING!
The sword struck.
RIP!
The chain split.
Sparks erupted from the severed links.
The Frevage roared and swung another appendage.
Daito ducked.
The chain passed over his head and smashed into a support column.
CRAAAAACK!
The entire ceiling shook.
Daito looked upward for only a fraction of a second.
The structure was already failing.
That was when the Frevage attacked again.
Ten chain appendages erupted simultaneously.
FWOOSH!
They came from every direction.
One from above.
Two from the left.
Three from the right.
The remaining chains tore upward from the floor itself.
CLING!
CLANG!
BOOM!
Daito moved.
He slipped between the first two attacks, rotated beneath another, and brought his sword upward.
SLASH!
A chain was severed.
He ducked.
Another passed over his head.
He stepped sideways.
A third crashed into the ground where he had been standing.
BOOOOM!
Concrete erupted beneath him. Daito jumped through the dust.
The Frevage's fist came toward him.
He blocked.
CRASH!
The impact sent both of them backward.
Daito landed on one knee as blood trickled down his forearm, he looked at it.
Then he slowly stood.
The Frevage roared again.
Daito tightened his grip.
"A man does what he has to do..."
His eyes narrowed.
"...to get the job done."
The words were not shouted. They weren't meant for the monster. They were for himself.
His father's voice had returned to him.
Not as a memory of anger, not as a memory of violence but as a reminder.
Purpose, discipline.
Do what must be done.
"Huff...."
Daito inhaled.
His shoulders relaxed.
His grip tightened around the sword.
Then he stepped forward.
The Frevage charged at the same time.
SWOOSH!
The two forces collided.
The dormitory exploded into chaos.
* * *
The building had already begun to die around them.
CRACK!
A wall split from ceiling to foundation.
CRACK! CRACK!
Concrete pillars bent under the strain of the battle.
Dust poured from above as sections of the ceiling collapsed behind the fighters.
The Frevage swung its chains with enough force to tear through reinforced concrete, while Daito moved through the destruction with calculated precision, using every piece of debris around him as both a weapon and a stepping stone.
The battle eventually tore them out of the dormitory and into the open courtyard.
BOOOOOOM!
A section of the exterior wall collapsed behind them.
Dust rolled across the courtyard in thick waves, swallowing broken vehicles, shattered trees, and abandoned construction equipment.
Daito emerged through the cloud.
Across from him stood the Frevage.
Its chains writhed around its body like living serpents, scraping against the ground and occasionally striking the walls around it as though they were searching for something to destroy.
Its black eyes remained fixed on Daito.
Then—
SWOOSH!
It charged.
The force of its movement compressed the air around its body.
FWOOSH!
Daito lowered his center of gravity.
The Frevage swung.
Daito kicked the ground.
CRAAASH!
Concrete exploded beneath his foot as he launched himself sideways.
The chain passed through the space where his torso had been a moment earlier.
BOOM!
It smashed into the ground.
Daito landed several meters away.
Before the Frevage could recover, he reached down and grabbed a massive slab of broken wall.
CRACKLE!
The piece of concrete was nearly as large as his body.
He didn't hesitate with a violent rotation of his torso, he hurled it.
FWOOSH!
The slab crossed the courtyard like a cannonball.
The Frevage responded immediately.
Three chains shot forward.
CLING!
CLANG!
CRASH!
They struck the concrete slab simultaneously.
The enormous piece of debris shattered in mid-air.
BOOOOM!
Thousands of fragments exploded outward.
Daito used the explosion as cover.
He disappeared into the dust.
The Frevage's chains whipped in every direction.
SWOOSH!
SWOOSH!
SWOOSH!
Nothing.
Then—
BAM!
Daito emerged from the creature's blind side and drove his fist into its ribs.
The impact produced a deep shockwave.
BOOOOM!
The Frevage's body lifted from the ground.
But before it could recover, Daito grabbed a fallen metal pipe. The pipe was enormous, almost the thickness of a human torso.
Daito twisted it between both hands.
GNNNGH!
Metal groaned.
The pipe bent.
Then he released it.
FWOOSH!
It flew forward like a ballistic spear.
The Frevage raised its chains.
GRAB!
Three of them caught the pipe simultaneously.
CLANG!
The metal bent violently between them.
Then—
CRACK!
The pressure became too much.
The pipe exploded outward.
BOOOOM!
Fragments of twisted metal shot across the courtyard, Daito shielded his face with his arm.
The Frevage emerged from the smoke, it swung.
Daito blocked.
CRASH!
The force of the blow drove him backward.
He planted his foot. The ground shattered beneath him. The Frevage followed with another punch.
Daito met it with his own.
POW!
The two fists collided.
For an instant, neither moved.
Then the shockwave exploded outward.
BOOOOOOM!
Dust and debris were blasted away from the point of impact in a perfect circular wave.
Nearby windows shattered simultaneously.
SHATTER!
Street lamps bent.
Metal railings tore loose.
Even the ground beneath them cracked outward in concentric patterns.
The Frevage pulled its arm back as Daito did the same.
Then both attacked again.
POW!
PANG!
BOOM!
PUNCH!
CRACK!
Their fists collided repeatedly, each strike carrying enough force to shake the surrounding structures.
The Frevage possessed overwhelming physical power, but Daito was faster.
More precise and more efficient.
The creature fought through instinct and rage and Daito fought through experience.
That difference became obvious as the battle continued.
The Frevage launched another barrage of chain attacks.
FWOOSH!
Ten tentacles struck simultaneously.
One descended from above.
Two swept in from opposite sides.
Three came directly toward his torso.
Four erupted from the ground beneath his feet.
Daito moved between them, he didn't retreat, he entered the storm.
SWOOSH!
He slipped past the first.
Ducked beneath the second.
SLASH!
Severed the third.
He spun.
The fourth passed behind his back.
Another came toward his head.
Daito leaned backward.
The chain missed by less than an inch.
Then—
RIP!
One of the remaining chains caught his shoulder.
Daito's jacket tore open.
Blood sprayed across the concrete.
PSSSH!
He stumbled for half a step.
The Frevage immediately attempted to capitalize.
FWOOSH!
Another chain came toward his chest.
Daito grabbed the chain with his free hand.
GRIP!
His boots dug into the ground.
SKRRRT!
The chain pulled but Daito pulled harder.
For a moment, the two forces locked.
Then Daito stepped forward, the Frevage's massive body shifted.
Daito twisted and kicked.
BAM!
The Frevage was launched backward.
It crashed through the remains of the dormitory wall.
BOOOOM!
Concrete collapsed around it.
Daito didn't wait.
He sprinted after it.
SWOOSH!
As he ran, his eyes caught something beside the ruined courtyard.
A fallen tree.
Daito changed direction.
He grabbed the trunk.
CRACK!
The roots tore free from the broken ground.
He pulled.
CRACK! CRACK!
The trunk came loose.
Daito swung it over his shoulder.
The Frevage emerged from the rubble.
Its chains spread outward.
Daito threw the tree.
FWOOSH!
The trunk crossed the courtyard with tremendous speed.
The Frevage raised its arms.
CLANG!
The tree struck its chest.
BRRRTTLE!
The bark exploded from the impact.
Then—
KABOOOOOM!
The Frevage was driven backward.
The shockwave traveled through the courtyard.
TWISHH!
Windows shattered across the surrounding buildings.
Street lamps bent sideways.
Dust rolled through the streets like a miniature sandstorm.
For several seconds, nothing moved.
Then the Frevage stood.
Its chest was damaged. Its chains were torn. But it was still smiling.
Daito's eyes narrowed.
The creature stomped its foot.
CRUSH!
The ground beneath it fractured.
Then the earth beneath Daito erupted.
BRRMMMM!
Concrete, soil, steel reinforcement, and broken pavement were violently forced upward, forming an enormous rising mass of debris.
Daito jumped.
But the rising earth followed him as he landed on it.
The debris continued climbing.
Daito ran.
Each step shattered another section beneath his boots.
CRACK!
CRACK!
CRACK!
The enormous formation rose higher into the air, carrying him with it.
The Frevage looked upward.
Its chains began glowing with dark biological energy. Daito reached the summit of the rising earth. For a brief moment, he stood above the battlefield.
The entire ruined district stretched beneath him. Smoke drifted between collapsed structures. Fire burned in the distance.
The NBA aircraft hovered far above.
And somewhere beneath all of it his mother was waiting.
Daito clenched his fist.
The Frevage launched itself upward.
FWOOSH!
Its chains coiled around its arms, forming massive black chain-fists.
The two combatants collided in mid-air as Daito raised his right hand.
He remembered his father.
The lessons.
The discipline.
The countless times he had been told that strength meant nothing if the person wielding it didn't know what they were fighting for.
Daito inhaled, his eyes hardened.
The Frevage drew its fist back, Daito did the same.
For one fraction of a second, everything seemed to slow.
Then—
SWOOOOOSH!
Their fists met.
CLAAAAAASH!
BOOOOOOOOOOM!
The impact detonated across the sky.
A massive shockwave exploded outward, tearing through the clouds above the facility and sending debris spiraling across the battlefield.
The ground below fractured.
The remaining windows of the surrounding structures shattered at once.
SHATTER! SHATTER! SHATTER!
The force of the collision swallowed both fighters.
For several seconds, there was nothing but dust, smoke, and the ringing aftermath of the impact.
Then, from somewhere inside the cloud a single figure moved.
And the battle was far from over.
To be continued.....