Sai turned to Corse with a steely gaze. "Corse, keep Seabi safe."
Corse, slightly taken aback, started to respond, "It's not like I wasn't—"
Sai's glare cut him off mid-sentence. Corse swallowed hard, an involuntary reaction to Sai's intimidating presence.
Did this guy just make me involuntarily gulp? This must be the no-nonsense Sai we're dealing with here! Corse thought, his mind racing.
Without another word, Corse scooped up Seabi and sprinted away. "Of course, man!" he called back.
Kachiro, observing the scene, commented with a sneer, "Your aura, it's a lot different. I kinda hate it more than the other; it looks more generic, but it's interesting."
"This is my final—" Sai began.
"Form?" Kachiro interjected.
"No," Sai responded, trying to continue.
"Stand?" Kachiro interrupted again.
"No—"
"Breath?" Kachiro guessed once more, a mocking tone in his voice.
Exasperated, Sai asked, "What are you getting at?"
Kachiro shot back, "The hell are YOU getting at?"
Sai took a deep breath. "This is my final attempt at fighting you. If this form didn't work, I would give up altogether. But it does seem to work."
"So this is new to you, I see," Kachiro mused.
"Mhm," Sai confirmed.
"Well, stop wasting my ti—" Kachiro's words were cut short as Sai suddenly flashed towards him, landing a powerful punch to his stomach. Kachiro doubled over, pulling his face mask down to catch his breath.
"Goddamn! I forgot you could hurt me! How can you, though?" Kachiro wheezed.
"That's my little secret," Sai replied with a smirk.
Flashback
Sai crouched behind a corner, his mind racing. Physical attacks just don't work against this guy, and he can shatter magic. It's almost like he has the ultimate defense! I need to come up with something quick!
He placed his hand on his head, trying to decide which tag to pull. Wait—
Sai yanked both his shock and burn tags simultaneously, a red aura violently sparking around him. Why haven't I thought of this before?
By combining both my shock and burn tags, I enter my shock-burn state. My power is multiplied fifty times over, and all of my attacks now directly hurt anything that can feel pain. My time with this form is forty minutes, but after that, both my shock and burn tags take two hours to regrow.
Flashback Over
Kachiro straightened up, still grimacing from the pain. "You're pretty quick, and I haven't felt pain like this in a while." He dropped his breaker aura. "It's about time I dump my mana into something else."
Sai's eyes narrowed. "You dropped your aura!" he shouted, firing a beam of red magic towards Kachiro. Kachiro leaped over the beam, but as soon as he landed, Sai was already in front of him, his fist hurtling towards Kachiro's face. Kachiro quickly ducked under the punch, narrowly avoiding the strike.
"I'm definitely not letting you touch my face!" Kachiro retorted, delivering a powerful uppercut to Sai's chin. The force launched Sai into the air, and Kachiro sent razor-sharp tendrils of white blood shooting from his back towards the airborne Sai. Displaying remarkable agility, Sai dodged each tendril midair and landed gracefully in front of Kachiro, delivering a swift kick to his side. Kachiro absorbed the blow and retaliated by swinging his sword down on Sai. Sai deftly dodged the swing, prompting Kachiro to strike again. Once more, Sai evaded the attack.
"HAAAA!" Sai screamed, unleashing a powerful red beam from his right hand at point-blank range. Just as the beam was about to make contact, Kachiro vanished and reappeared behind Sai, slashing him across the back. Blood sprayed from the wound as Sai fell to the ground, landing on his stomach.
"You Negative Point brats really are just humanoid rats!" Kachiro sneered, attempting to stomp down on Sai. Sai rolled out of the way and flipped back onto his feet.
"It's like you didn't even feel that. Are you not tired?" Kachiro asked, frustration evident in his voice.
"Never," Sai replied, his voice filled with determination.
"Rat activity," Kachiro muttered disdainfully.
Sai's eyes burned with resolve. "I'm so grateful for this power. It'll be enough to avenge my family and all the people you killed."
Kachiro shrugged, a smirk playing on his lips. "Dude, I can guarantee you at least seventy percent of them are in a better place now."
"You took them all away from their lives. The pain they must have felt..." Sai's voice wavered with emotion.
"Ugh, not one of these again. Dead parents this, loneliness that, revenge story here, avenging dead sibling there, you're their killer bleh, your place in hell is open for you blah. All you hellbent revenge kids think and talk the same," Kachiro replied, rolling his eyes.
"Because we're all the same," Sai countered, his voice steady.
"Really though! You all want to get back at a winner for winning, all because something you loved got taken away from you that you can't get back. Yes, you'll succeed, and yes, you'll find a new purpose on your way to success, but that doesn't make you a winner. It makes you a sore loser!" Kachiro's voice dripped with condescension.
"Is this just all a game to you?" Sai asked, incredulous.
"Oh, please. I only put this sadistic sociopath facade on to feel a bit into fighting, but I keep running into the same carbon copy. I understand what Seabi is fighting for now, the chance to avenge his dead friend! He got cornered by the opposition and probably had a long night of thinking, which led to him blaming us for his shortcomings," Kachiro explained, a mocking tone underlying his words.
Sai's voice was steady, filled with incredulity. "Are you... mocking people who love their family and close ones?"
"Yes," Kachiro replied, his tone dripping with disdain. "Because you all handle it the same way. You just can't accept the fact that they're gone!"
Without warning, Kachiro punched Sai in the face, sending him reeling backward. Seizing the moment, Kachiro lunged towards Sai. "I'll answer you," he snarled. "No, this isn't a game to me. This isn't a show either!" He jabbed Sai's chest twice before delivering a powerful right hook to his stomach, seamlessly transitioning into a spin kick that knocked Sai off balance.
"This is an activity. This is my job! I'd be damned if I had to spend the rest of my life listening to edgy, angst-ridden teenagers or man-children wail on about their life issues instead of growing the fuck up!" Kachiro roared, punching Sai in the stomach before slashing him twice across the chest. He ended the brutal combo with a fierce kick, sending Sai crashing into a wall. Sai bounced off the wall but remained standing.
"Why don't you just leave this life then?" Sai asked, his voice strained. Kachiro strode up to him and grabbed his throat, choking him.
"Leaving here isn't an option for me," Kachiro growled. "I grew up with the M.A.G.I.C, and I actually love being a part of this project. How many children do you know get pre-loaded with weapons and enhancements after birth? I won the jackpot of life, and I intend on keeping it all sweet."
Sai's voice was remarkably calm, considering the chokehold. "What kind of jackpot are you talking about? One where you're born evil and live evil with evil people, so you don't even have to consider the idea of becoming a villain with a villain group because you already have one?"
Kachiro's eyes widened in shock. Is this motherfucker not BREATHING?!
"No," Kachiro spat. "I was born into an already good living situation, and I didn't end up being a failure mobling. Out of billions of children, only three came out completely successful, with the ideal bodies, actual emotion, and undying loyalty to our father. Maybe that mobling could be a fourth, but that's beside the point. Our father treats us well because we're the only successes he has personally had. We're fed well, get almost anything we want, and we're respected. I might sound spoiled to you, but we still need to train, maintain our bodies, and work for care. If I'm already living the dream life, why would I want repetitiveness?"
Sai's eyes narrowed. "I don't know."
"Exactly! So cheer the hell up!" Kachiro demanded.
"I—" Sai began, but suddenly a beam of red magic shot out from his hand, hitting Kachiro squarely and knocking him back. Kachiro's grip on Sai's throat loosened, and he staggered backward.
Kachiro smirked, wiping a trickle of blood from his mouth. "But this is turning out to be a little more interesting."
Sai's voice echoed with power as he shouted, "OVER PRICE!!!" His aura doubled in size, and his hair began to glow an intense red.
Over Price doubles the efficiency of all my tags, but any tag I use it on can't be used for three days, Sai thought, steeling himself for the coming battle.
Kachiro's eyes narrowed at the sight. "Bright," he muttered.
Sai lunged at Kachiro, unleashing a relentless flurry of attacks. Kachiro managed to dodge most of the punches, but Sai's fist connected with his chest, followed by two more blows to his stomach. Sai aimed a kick at Kachiro's face, but Kachiro blocked it.
That still hurt me, Kachiro winced inwardly. "I told you, you're not touching my face!"
Kachiro swung a punch at Sai, but Sai vanished and reappeared behind him, landing a powerful magic-infused punch to Kachiro's back. The force knocked Kachiro far back, but he managed to stay on his feet.
"You're a lot faster now," Kachiro admitted. "Though I will admit, you might perform a bit better if you let go of your vengeance."
"I'm not listening to you," Sai retorted, his eyes blazing with determination.
"Your funeral, buster. Nokogiri No Yoyo," Kachiro declared, summoning his light blue yoyo weapon. "Skill 1: Peak Spinner." Blades popped out from the yoyo's body, spinning like a saw. Kachiro swung the yoyo at Sai, who dodged it and caught the yoyo by its string.
"Skill 1: Blade Spinner," Kachiro announced. The string of the yoyo turned into a sharp spinning saw, slicing Sai's hand. Sai let go before it could do more damage. Kachiro whipped the yoyo around even more, trying to hit Sai, but Sai effortlessly jumped and ducked under all the swings.
"This just isn't working," Kachiro muttered in frustration as the yoyo's string returned to normal. He gripped his sword tightly. "Breaker Magic," he intoned, his sword beginning to glow. "Breaker Slash!" he exclaimed, unleashing a powerful wave of silver magic towards Sai. Sai jumped out of the way, but was immediately ensnared by Kachiro's yoyo and slammed face-first into the ground.
"Blade Spinner," Kachiro commanded, his yoyo's string transforming into vicious saw blades that began to tear into Sai as he struggled within the tangle.
"Damn-" Sai grunted, summoning a surge of energy that shattered the string's hold. He lunged towards Kachiro, delivering a powerful kick to his stomach and following it with a punch to the chest, sending Kachiro flying back. Kachiro managed to land on his feet but was immediately bombarded by a flurry of red magical orbs. Each orb exploded into a sphere of crimson destruction. Sai watched the aftermath, uncertain if it had done the job.
But Kachiro was not so easily defeated. "Skill 2: Dime!" he called out. The body of his yoyo, now glowing yellow, plummeted towards Sai at an alarming rate. Sai swiftly dodged, and upon impact with the ground, the yoyo caused massive destruction. Kachiro retracted his yoyo and began to play with it nonchalantly.
"None of this will do," Kachiro mused, irritation creeping into his voice. "You're just so good at dodging, and I keep getting hurt... So I either need to start putting in a bit more effort or use a bit more of my abilities." He stabbed his blade into the ground and raised a finger.
"Abilities it is. Awaken," Kachiro declared.
Sai's eyes widened as Kachiro's weapon began to transform. "Shuredda No Yoyo," Kachiro intoned. The string turned into a thick metallic wire, the yoyo body morphed into a large mechanical tire with spikes, and the other end of the string became a light blue dipstick with a large hole in it. Kachiro held a black stick with a button in his other hand.
"Run," Kachiro said with a smirk, pulling on the dipstick. The tire started rotating at an alarming speed, roaring like a powerful engine, steam pumping out of it.
"Rip," Kachiro commanded. The tire raced towards Sai, who managed to dodge out of the way. However, the tire followed him, relentless in its pursuit. Sai found himself in a desperate cycle of dodging and running away from the tire. He ran up a wall, but the tire chased him up the vertical surface.
"My magical weapon is modified. It functions a lot differently from your traditional magical weapon," Kachiro explained, his voice filled with twisted glee. Sai jumped off the wall, the tire hot on his heels.
"Not many magical weapons have multiple functions," Kachiro began, his voice steady and confident. "They are rare, but if you get one, there's nothing stopping you from just getting a plain old sword with a hint of wind magic and an awakening that is purely offensive. Yes, my awakening is purely offensive, but it's balanced out by just how unique it is."
As Kachiro spoke, the tire fell toward Sai, who sprinted madly toward his opponent.
"Look here," Kachiro said, planting the stick in his hand into the hole in the dipstick. He pressed the button on the stick, causing the tire to explode into a giant pillar of orange and yellow magic, obliterating half of the room. Sai managed to dodge the explosion, but through the smoke, the tire emerged, moving toward him as if it hadn't just detonated.
It doesn't explode, it erupts, Sai thought, his eyes narrowing.
"Damn, I thought that would hit you," Kachiro admitted. "That was its fully charged explosion! No matter, I'll just wipe you out another way."
Sai reached Kachiro and threw a punch. "It's still coming!" Kachiro exclaimed, moving to dodge the punch. But Sai feinted, kicking Kachiro in the stomach instead, knocking him back. The tire stopped in place.
So the tire only moves when he's focused on making it move! Sai realized.
"Asshole," Kachiro growled, tugging on the dipstick. The tire moved toward Sai again, but this time Sai fired a point-blank beam at Kachiro, hitting him and knocking him onto his back. Kachiro's sunglasses slipped, and the tire halted once more.
"And that tire limits your movements," Sai noted, a smirk forming on his lips.
"God damn it!" Kachiro spat, standing up and adjusting his glasses. "You're just making this a hell of a lot more boring, you little prick!" He aggressively tugged on the dipstick, and red magic flowed from his body, through the cord, and into the tire, charging it full with red energy.
"Don't get too cocky! Anything you throw at me can be put into the tire!" The tire began to rotate at high speeds, breaking the sound barrier and igniting into flames. It spun so fast that it completely phased out of existence.
"What—" Sai started, running toward Kachiro.
"Don't you understand? It's going so fast that it—" Kachiro let go of the dipstick, causing it and the cord to vanish. "Went forward in time!" Sai stopped in his tracks.
"Oh, you're actually smart. I thought you would pull some bullshit out of your ass, sniff it, and use some sort of ass-pull to beat me before it could come back. But you realized just how fast it's moving. Currently, I have it sitting on the edge of time, ready to come back anytime I want it. And when it does, it will kill you before you can even process that it returned."
"So, I'm getting close to beating you?" Sai asked, his eyes locked on Kachiro.
"No, who said that?" Kachiro retorted. "I was kinda joking with the whole ass-pull thing. I'm not even close to going down. But while I stall until my victory, I do have to ask—dude, what are you still fighting for and why? You're outclassed, and you're not going to win this. You could have at least stayed back at the Negative Point as some random commoner with the rest of the children saved... I presume. We didn't even do a good job at destroying your village. It's not like we killed everyone, and it's not like you're the only one left."
"It's not about what you didn't do," Sai replied, his voice filled with determination. "It's about what you will do to the Negative Point."
Kachiro stared intently at his adversary, his voice dripping with disdain. "We're gonna do nothing to the Negative Point itself, not the big city, no. We went around it to the villages, but we know that we're not strong enough to deal with the combined might of the Negative Point yet. You guys are the ones who attack us, going out of YOUR way to stop us and OUR business. I know the Negative Point is a battle continent or whatever, but all of this is uncalled for."
Sai's eyes burned with a fierce resolve as he responded, "And even that... I will avenge everyone you guys killed, even if it is just taking you down."
A smirk played on Kachiro's lips. "I'm sure they're watching right now, but it's not like they're gonna stop me." As he spoke, a bird made of white blood emerged from his back, soaring above Sai. "They're just watching to see which way you join them!"
The bird exploded, transforming into two spears of white blood that shot down toward Sai with blinding speed. The spears impaled Sai's feet, pinning him to the ground and rendering him immobile.
"You're lucky you're fighting me," Kachiro sneered, "I won't kill you in a boring one-shot way."
Sai's defiance shone through his pain. "BURN-OUT!!!" His red aura faded, leaving only an electrical one crackling around him. Suddenly, a tire materialized and exploded into a massive pillar of red magic, obliterating the entire room. When the dust and smoke cleared, Kachiro stood amidst the destruction, unscathed, with no trace of Sai. Kachiro's weapon reverted to normal and disappeared. Corse hid in the stairway with Seabi's body, observing the scene.
Good thing I'm not there. Sai's seriously dead, Corse thought to himself.
Sai's voice rang out, defiant and strong, "DOUBLE EFFICIENCY!" A large pillar of lightning erupted, signaling his survival.
Kachiro's eyes widened in disbelief. "You survived?!"
Sai leaped out of a deep hole, his mind racing. I had to remove the burn aspect of my aura to amplify my shock ability. This lets me move at 200% the speed of lightning. Though that definitely wasn't fast enough to out-speed the tire, it was fast enough to out-speed the explosion.
From his hiding place, Corse whispered to himself, "Shouldn't have doubted you."
Sai gathered his remaining strength. "200%!! BRIGHT BOLT!!!" He fired a small bolt of lightning, completely depleting his aura.
Kachiro scoffed. "Is that supposed to look dangerous?" His words were cut short as the bolt struck him, erupting into a giant, blinding pillar of lightning and electricity with Kachiro at its center. He screamed in agony, electrocuted and burned, while Sai landed in front of him, gripping the "hurt" tag on his head.
"They're not looking down on me to see how I'm going to die!" Sai's voice trembled with emotion as tears welled up in his eyes. "They're looking down on me..." He began to cry, ripping the tag off his head. His hand was shrouded in black, electric-like magic. "TO SEE ME WIN!!" Sai readied himself to throw a punch.
A flashback surfaced in Sai's mind. His hand was bandaged, and Vant stood beside him.
"That new tag popped up on your head overnight," Vant explained. "After we pulled it, it gave your left fist a black lightning aura. When you punched a training dummy, it exploded. From your explanation, it seems to inflict all the pain that the target of the attack has felt, ten times over, all at once. You can use this ability with no cooldown, but it makes you feel all the pain you've ever felt ten times over, all into your left hand. Honestly, for most people, an attack like that would be fatal. Make sure not to spam it because, remember, all of that pain you take just stacks onto itself, meaning you will feel all of that pain that you felt from using that move, ten times over. It's kind of a paradox of pain."
The memory faded as Sai's fist connected with Kachiro's face, causing the pillar of lightning to vanish. Kachiro's sunglasses shattered, his face mask broke, and he was sent flying across the room, buried under a pile of rocks. Sai's hand was now swollen and limp. He fell to his knee, clutching his left hand in pain.
"I can't feel it... It's probably broken," Sai muttered through gritted teeth.
Corse emerged from his hiding place. "You did it, Sai—"
Suddenly, the pile of rocks burying Kachiro exploded into the air. Kachiro stood, his hood down and his hat off. His dark orange hair flopped messily over his face, his red eyes gleaming with a manic smile.
Kachiro's laughter filled the air, echoing ominously. "GEHAHAHAHAHHAAAA!!!"
Sai, bewildered, struggled to comprehend the sight before him. "How are you—"
White blood oozed from Kachiro's face, a grotesque spectacle that only added to the growing dread.
"You activated a mechanism within me," Kachiro declared with maniacal glee. "Some sort of second awakening! I didn't think you'd be the one to do it, but I guess I was wrong!"
In the shadows, Corse retreated, his thoughts a jumble. He- That mana...
Kachiro's voice boomed as he recounted his twisted origins. "My mother, Tsuto Jibun, Z-005. She and my dad found a way to connect my strength limiter to my life force. After successfully turning all the blood in my body into white blood, and turning my heart white, my dad used his abilities to give me my true power. White blood is only a mutation in my body, not an ability. Others in M.A.G.I.C also have mutations along with their abilities."
"Strength limiter..." Sai echoed, the concept foreign yet unsettling.
Kachiro's eyes gleamed with a mad light. "You know, the potential everyone has. All beings have different strength limiters. They're like milestones! The stronger you get, if you completely push yourself beyond what you are capable of, you gain a whole new limit to your power and can grow stronger. It's a potential cap!"
We definitely messed up, Corse thought, a sense of doom settling over him.
"The longer I live and challenge my own limits, physically and mentally, I can break through my strength limiter without the need for an extra push. But thanks to you, I haven't only just broken through my limiter once... BUT TWICE!!!" Kachiro vanished, his sword disappearing from the ground. In an instant, he reappeared behind Sai.
"THIS IS A WHOLE NEW WORLD OF POWER FOR ME!!!" Kachiro's sword slashed across Sai's chest, sending him flying towards Kachiro.
"ENHANCEMENT MAGIC!!!" Kachiro's fist shimmered with an enhancement aura as he punched Sai in the back, causing him to lose all momentum and crash onto his stomach at Kachiro's feet.
"Thank you for pumping me up," Kachiro sneered, readying his sword to deliver the final blow. But just as he swung, Sai vanished. Kachiro's smile widened in anticipation.
THAT'S A LOT OF MANA! Kachiro thought, excitement bubbling within him.
Sai's body materialized beside Corse, who was equally astonished. "What the— Did you teleport?"
"N-No... I don't know what did it, but something saved me," Sai stammered, still disoriented.
Kachiro's eyes narrowed as he sensed a new presence. "I knew I sensed something off with the moblings. They're all gone, and put into one being."
Toi emerged behind Kachiro, his bandanna barely hanging onto his face, ripped and worn. He stood shirtless, his gauntlets already donned, his eyes burning with anger.
Kachiro turned to face him, a broad smile spreading across his face. "Hey, brother." He waved nonchalantly at Toi, the tension between them crackling like electricity in the air.