A gush of oppressive auras filled Shin's physical body and mental core. His sun-like eyes eventually faded as they turned severely pale. It was too much for him to handle that it made him unconscious and frozen. Even so, he still had a pulse.
Grandpa Makoto, on the other hand, rolled down from Shin's immovable arm. His consciousness was completely gone after casting the last skill. Considering that he lost way too much blood, he had passed away.
"It is currently 11:55 PM of June 9, 2021. Five more minutes before Free-Annihilation Day officially ends." It was a notice announced again by the capital's automated robot. As the end of the day draws on, the pitch of the announcement rises.
While leaning his back on the bench, Abe was staring blankly into the night sky. He was not paying attention to his surroundings at that moment and just casually inferred, 'Five more minutes, huh. We can proceed now with your plan, Paramount.'
Abe regained his right self. As he was resting, he tried to peek into the relatives' last moment together, but he was struck back by what he had just witnessed.
"What the hell happened to the both of them!?" Abe uncrossed his sitting position and stood up in confusion. He ambled towards them and crouched to check if they still have pulsation. He found a pulse in Shin's body, however, there was no pulse in Grandpa Makoto's.
"I see. Too bad, you were not in your prime age" Abe was dumbfounded, although he was the reason for his demise. He stood back up again and softly murmured, "Goodbye for eternity, former mentor."
Abe turned his back on them and his auras started to accelerate. In a wink, a massive vertical crack gradually opened once more. It was his skill "Dimensional Crack" that allows him to travel around the world by simply opening this planet's dimension.
"I have nothing to do now. I guess I'll go back to the Headquarters in the Northern Portion." Abe leisurely walked towards his transportation skill.
*Tssshhr!"
"Wha—" But, in an instant, someone kicked Abe forcefully into the crack. It was so sudden that it caught him off guard. He was sucked in and the crack had already closed.
"I wish that kick could make this pain go away. My entire brain still hurts." A mature-looking teenager was holding his head as if it was gonna fall the second he removes it. It was Shin. His consciousness was back.
Shin was not grieving for his grandfather's loss. Their family has a motto that says: "Death is unavoidable on a battlefield. Instead of sulking, pay the enemies back with retribution." He imprinted that thought into his mind.
Shin roamed the area to find an object good enough to make him bleed. He found a very sharp rock. It was somewhat near Grandpa Makoto's lifeless body. Its sharpness was kind of similar to one of a knife's.
Shin placed himself in front of the late Grandpa Makoto and set his feet wide apart. With the sharp rock on his left hand, he grazed his right palm, which resulted in a continuous blood flow dripping down his arm.
He proceeded further by dropping the rock. Through his left hand's fingers, he wiped the blood on the wounded palm. Then, he put his right hand's and bloody left hand's fingertips together.
Amidst Shin's ritual, a massive vertical crack emerged for another time. Its emplacement was a little bit far from Shin's location. Abe, once again, succeeded in going back. His reappearance was quite delayed since his Dimensional Crack had a cooldown.
Shin noticed that Abe had come back. He stared daggers at him, thinking that Abe was feeling proud of himself because he took Grandpa Makoto's life.
'So, Shin is actually alive, huh. I thought he was as good as dead since he lost his consciousness. Yet, he got an opportunity to kick me. What a lucky brat with an interesting development,' Abe smirked pungently. 'Other than that, what the hell is he doing?' Abe rose his left eyebrow in bewilderment.
"Acknowledged by the two afterlife realms, I hereby grant myself an endless cycle!" The volume of Shin's chant was on a high level. Glitters began sparkling around him.
'A chant? Is he performing a "Ritual of an F-Rhythm Degree" right now?' Abe cognitively assumed. He knew that he had to break this ritual off.
Every skill, also known as "Clutch", utilized in this world has a ranking. It was named the "Rhythm Degree". Originally, there were 10 general classifications. From lowest to highest, there were Basic, Decent, Intermediate, Victor, Royal, King, Absolute, Supernatural, God, and True.
Unlike True Rhythm, all of the skills with a Basic Rhythm up to God Rhythm don't need any chants or speeches to activate its permanent duration. True Rhythm clutches embedded itself into the user's whole existence.
In the old era, some people were greedy and wanted to learn True Clutch as it was first in the ranking of the clutch, meaning it was the strongest. It was capable of giving the user the power to break the laws of nature.
The use and possession of clutches with a T-Rhythm Degree was banned and given the odd name "Forbidden Rhythm" and its other term "F-Rhythm Degree". It was never used again since then, so it was forgotten by many.
Without hesitation, Abe sprinted towards Shin with a tightly clenched right fist. However, he discontinued running as he was too late on doing the action.
The ritual performer, Shin, was already enveloped in a rich yellow and hollow violet color inside out. In this world, the yellow symbolizes the "Partial Light" and the violet represents the "Partial Dark". Since Shin was emitting both of them, he can now be regarded as an imitation of the "Partial Balance".
*Fyuuuuuh!" An intense wind abruptly blew from Shin's entirety. He was like a storm but without the rain. The trees were being dragged and some light materials were being carried away by the strong gust.
After 10 seconds of glowing and staying blustery, the luminous elements surrounding him disappeared as if they entered his one and only soul. Shin felt refreshed once he finished executing the ritual.
'Is it really an F-Rhythm Ritual? If it is, then I need to be wary of him. Even though I have an "Aptitude" with the same Rhythm Degree as his, I still do not know what Forbidden Clutch he learned.' Abe was so cautious and got himself on a complete guard as he prepared his fighting stance.
Shin was totally defenseless on the opposite side. He was fascinating his fresh self as he simultaneously closed and opened both of his hands. But, there was nothing more than being invigorated. His power was still the same as earlier. He knew that himself.
Abe perceived that there was something wrong with him. And yes, there was. He discerned his battle status and nothing happened to it. It didn't increase after conducting the ritual. Abe felt relieved and yelled, "You worried me for nothing!"
Withdrawing his self-restraint, Abe fiercely marched towards Shin with a blue aura-infused right fist. It was modified more by a skill that made his blue aura darker in a shade like a deep ocean.
Shin snapped back to reality and sensed Abe's heavy feelings. He quickly glanced at him and noticed something familiar on him. "Hey, isn't that the 'Tails of Limit'? The clutch, which was the first strength enhancement taught by Grandpa Makoto in the past dojo? Don't tell me that you ar—"
"SILENCE!" Abe shouted in irritation. He decided not to hold himself back and just rushed at him to put his life at its end.
Abe hurled a solid punch against Shin's gut. He could not stop himself as his anger was being let out and it urged him to use his full power. Knowing the impact was so potent, it made a hole out of Shin.
Shin spewed blood out of his mouth as a flood of blood poured out of his penetrated gut. Most of his lower body was covered by his blood. Even the right side part of Abe's body was dyed by his victim's blood.
( Welcome to the Donut Fam. )
As there was no more sufficient blood and oxygen to keep his body alive, Shin perished.
Abe pulled his arm out of Shin's disturbing corpse and threw it onto the ground. Albeit his prey was already finished, Abe did not give any mercy towards Shin and sliced his neck by using the "Dimensional Cut" to make sure that he would remain dead.
Abe glared at his blood-stained self. "I guess I need to change and wash my body and my clothes. Plus, the blood stinks." For the last time, Abe used the "Dimensional Crack" to go back to the headquarter. He entered the portal and he instantly teleported.
"It is currently midnight of June 10, 2021. June 9, 2021, and Free-Annihilation Day has officially ended. I hope there were no casualties during that period. Happy June 10, 2021, to us!" The automated robot announcer cheerfully declared the new start as if it was the celebration of a New Year.