The creature finished changing.
What had been a writhing mass of absence began to settle.
Lines formed where there had been none.
Edges sharpened.
The torn crown compressed into something deliberate—like a helm forged from night itself. The scattered eyes reorganized, fewer now, but brighter. Focused.
Worse.
Kyūsei swallowed.
"…it looks cleaner."
Kazuto didn't smile this time.
"Means it decided what it wants to be."
"That's bad?"
"Very."
The thing raised its head—
and for the first time, it stood upright.
Two legs.
Two arms.
A torso shaped by intention, not accident.
Still enormous.
Still wrong.
But now—
purposeful.
---
The air changed again.
Heavier.
Not crushing like before—
directed.
Pressure pressed specifically on them, like a hand choosing where to rest.
Kyūsei felt it lock onto him.
Then onto Kazuto.
Then—
briefly—
onto the others below.
Testing priorities.
Choosing targets.
"Oh, I hate smart enemies," Kyūsei muttered.
"Means we're worth thinking about," Kazuto replied.
"I'd prefer to be ignored."
"Too late."
---
The creature moved.
No wasted motion.
It stepped forward—
and the distance between it and them collapsed.
Not fast.
Not slow.
Just—
gone.
Kazuto reacted first, blade already swinging.
The strike landed.
And stopped.
The creature caught it.
Barehanded.
Kyūsei's breath hitched.
No recoil.
No damage.
Just control.
Kazuto's eyes widened a fraction.
"…that's new."
The creature tilted its head.
As if considering him.
Then it flicked its wrist.
Kazuto flew.
Not thrown.
Dismissed.
He crashed through two broken pillars and disappeared into the lower stairs.
"KAZUTO!" Kyūsei shouted.
The creature looked at him next.
That attention felt heavier.
Focused.
Chosen.
"Unfair!" Kyūsei yelled.
Then it moved.
---
Kyūsei barely saw it.
One second distance.
Next second—
impact.
Something hit his guard—
No.
Hit through it.
Wind shattered.
Fire scattered.
He slammed into the ground hard enough to crater stone.
Pain exploded across his back.
He gasped—
and the creature was already above him.
Watching.
Learning.
Adapting faster than they could hurt it.
Kyūsei forced himself to roll—
Just as a dark limb punched through where his head had been.
He scrambled up, breath ragged.
"I am officially outmatched!"
"No argument," Mira said, appearing beside him.
She dragged him sideways just as another strike split the ground.
Lena joined them an instant later.
"Status?"
Kyūsei coughed.
"Alive. Regrettably."
"Good. Continue being that."
---
Below, Kazuto pushed himself out of rubble.
Blood ran freely now.
His arm shook.
But his eyes were clear.
Locked upward.
"Stronger defense," he muttered.
"Better reaction speed."
He spat blood.
"Good."
Then he stood.
---
Back at the summit—
the creature turned away from Kyūsei.
Toward the others.
Kyūsei's chest tightened.
"No—"
It stepped.
Toward Lena.
Toward Mira.
Toward the group below.
Toward easier targets.
"No!" Kyūsei shouted.
He moved before thinking.
Wind under his feet.
Fire in his hands.
He launched himself straight at it.
Reckless.
Obvious.
Necessary.
"HEY!"
The creature stopped.
Turned.
Looked at him again.
Good.
Bad.
Both.
Kyūsei grinned despite fear clawing his throat.
"Yeah. Me."
The creature tilted its head slightly—
Then struck.
---
This time Kyūsei was ready.
Not stronger.
Not faster.
Just—
aware.
He didn't block.
Didn't counter.
He moved.
Not where the strike was—
Where it would be.
Kazuto's voice echoed in his head:
Act first.
Kyūsei pivoted early.
The attack missed by inches.
He stepped inside—
Too close for the creature's full strength.
He slammed his palm against its torso.
"Burn!"
Fire exploded point-blank.
Wind compressed it inward.
For a moment—
Contact.
Real contact.
The creature flinched.
Tiny.
But real.
Kyūsei's eyes widened.
"I can hit you!"
Then it hit him back.
---
The counter wasn't fast.
It was inevitable.
A simple downward motion.
Kyūsei tried to move—
Too late.
The strike landed.
Everything went white.
---
When sound returned, it came in pieces.
Rubble falling.
Someone shouting.
Rufus crying very loudly.
Kyūsei blinked.
He was lying at the base of the stairs.
Far from where he had been.
His body screamed in places he didn't know existed.
"…I hit it," he croaked.
Kazuto's voice came from above him.
"You did."
Kyūsei turned his head slightly.
Kazuto stood between him and the summit again.
Sword raised.
Breathing hard.
Bleeding more.
Still smiling.
"Rest a second."
"I don't think I can stand."
"Then don't."
"What about—"
Kazuto cut him off.
"I'll buy you time."
Kyūsei's chest tightened.
"You always say that."
"And I always mean it."
---
Up the stairs—
The creature stepped forward again.
Toward Kazuto.
Focused.
Analyzing.
It raised its hand—
Kazuto raised his sword.
Their eyes met.
One human.
One not.
Kazuto exhaled slowly.
Then spoke, almost casually:
"Round three."
The creature moved.
And Kazuto met it head-on.