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Chapter 21 — A Pulse Out of Control
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> Warning: This chapter is entirely fictional, set in a dark, bloody anime world, and has no connection to reality.
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Scene 1 — The Heart of the Blazing Inferno
The sound of exploding, burning branches tore through the silence.
The air boiled.
Smoke thickened until the sky itself became suffocatingly gray.
Kiura stood with his back exposed…
Then—
Enzo's flaming sword surged from behind, piercing his body and bursting out from the front like a dark red flash.
Kiura clenched his hand around the blade, but Enzo pulled it out with force, leaving a burning trace in the air.
Enzo stepped back calmly, his eyes glittering like someone who had finally found the long-awaited pleasure.
Enzo:
(You're finished…)
But Kiura… turned around.
Blood spilled from his mouth, his smile widening as if the pain were nothing more than a fleeting breath.
Kiura:
(Who said I'm finished?… I decide when my end comes.)
Enzo laughed softly, tightening his grip on his sword.
Enzo:
(This… is better.)
The two charged!
The swords collided with a force that split the ground—
The shockwave hurled rocks in every direction, flames intensified, and winds clashed like a reckless storm.
Rinion tried to raise a mana barrier to protect herself, but the pressure was greater than she expected.
She was thrown back into a burned tree, heat choking her chest as a cry of pain escaped her lips.
Rinion:
(It hurts… Kiura… be careful… I'm still here.)
But Kiura didn't look back.
The voice that answered her… belonged to another being.
Kiura:
(I told you… that person no longer exists. I'm in control… and I don't care whether I live or die.)
Suddenly…
Thump…
Thump…
Thump…
The ground trembled beneath their feet.
Enzo looked around, cautious for the first time.
Enzo:
(What is that sound?!)
The rhythm grew louder… faster…
Kiura grabbed his chest—not in pain, but as if listening to something within.
Kiura:
(This… is my heart.)
Enzo's eyes widened.
(Your heart?! How can it make a sound like that?!)
Kiura pointed at himself, his crimson eyes blazing with boundless rage.
Kiura:
(Kiura's body… is reacting. Feeding on what it feels right now.)
Enzo:
(Reacting? To what?!)
Kiura:
(To Rinion's injury… and to what he's seeing inside his mind right now… his sorrow, his anger… mixing together.)
Enzo let out a short laugh.
Enzo:
(So… you're going to get stronger? Excellent. Show me.)
Kiura raised his hands.
The particles of air turned red.
Two massive spheres of dark crimson energy formed, black lines running through them like sinister veins.
He launched them toward Enzo.
Enzo tightened his grip on his sword.
Enzo:
(Flame Blade: Crescent Cut.)
He dashed forward, slicing through the air and cutting the first sphere with astonishing ease.
But Kiura… smiled.
Kiura:
(You fell into the trap…
Death Trap: Second Form.)
The second sphere exploded into hundreds of smaller orbs, surrounding Enzo from every direction.
Yet still…
He smiled.
Enzo:
(I like this challenge…)
He moved.
Enzo (Full Power)
His speed made time itself seem slow.
He cut through the orbs one by one and manifested a mana shield to block the next wave of explosions.
Kiura:
(This won't work… Death Trap: First Form.)
The orbs didn't explode—
They split into even more shards, floating like dark stars around Enzo.
Kiura:
(This technique has endless forms… your fate is one: death.)
Enzo dismissed the shield.
He vanished among the shards and rushed straight toward Kiura!
When he reached him, he leapt into the sky—yet the orbs stopped at Kiura.
Kiura (This is an old trick, but it won't work on me.)
The orbs pulled themselves back to chase him, but Enzo moved in erratic paths as blazing red lines were drawn across the sky.
At that moment…
A glowing line appeared in the air, words carved in fire:
"I will kill you now… and you will not escape my power."
Kiura:
(You boast about your strength, yet you've done nothing.)
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Scene 2 — The Distant Forest
Zokimoshi stood frozen in shock as he read the blazing words in the sky.
Zokimoshi:
(You won't do it, you bear… I'm coming. Just wait for me!)
And he dashed forward at full speed.
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Scene 3 — The Plains
The man in the brown cloak stood as the wind played with the edges of his clothes.
He lifted his head toward the sky and saw the fiery words.
???:
(This… is not normal. Who is this meant for?)
He moved… faster than before.
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Scene 4 — The Sky of Battle
Enzo stopped in midair for a moment, ignored the orbs, and raised his sword downward.
Enzo:
(Sun Flame: Red Meteor!)
He descended like a shooting star.
The flames around him stretched into a long tail that split the clouds.
The red orbs chased him like beasts.
Kiura opened his arms.
Kiura:
(Come…)
At the instant Enzo reached him—
Kiura calmly shifted aside, vanishing from the sword's path.
While Enzo was suspended in midair, unable to change direction—
Kiura appeared in front of him and said coldly:
Kiura:
(You said earlier: full power, and you always boast about your strength… so why are you so weak?)
He slammed his fist into Enzo's abdomen—
The deep sound of bones shattering echoed—
Enzo was hurled violently toward the forest, crashing through trees at insane speed.
The orbs followed him—
Then…
Explosion!
A massive light ignited the sky, and the earth trembled.
Kiura took a slow breath.
Kiura:
(The battle is over.)
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To be continued…
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