Kachiro stared intently at his opponent, a sly grin playing on his lips. "You've also broken your limits. You were the semi-success, B-069, right?"
Toi nodded solemnly. "Yes."
Kachiro continued, his voice dripping with curiosity. "I asked this question to the others. Let's see if you can give me a better answer. What are you fighting for?"
Toi's eyes burned with determination. "Good. I'm here to take down villains and evil."
Kachiro chuckled darkly. "I'm the villain?"
Toi's response was firm and unwavering. "I'm my own hero, you're your own hero. You're my villain, I'm your villain."
Kachiro smirked. "That's a really black and white way of saying we're enemies."
Toi's gaze didn't falter. "I'm not fighting you because I want to, I'm fighting you because I have to."
Kachiro's grip tightened around his sword, his knuckles turning white. "How selfless of you. Not being held back by vengeance, just the drive of doing what you think is right. You're not fighting for anyone but yourself. You're selfishly selfless."
In the eyes of Corse, Kachiro seemed to vanish into thin air. But from Toi's perspective, Kachiro was lunging straight toward him.
Kachiro's voice rang out with a twisted delight. "I like you the most, because you're keeping things from getting personal!!"
Toi braced himself, blocking Kachiro's fierce slash with his gauntlet. The clash created a massive shockwave, sending dust flying and even knocking Corse back.
Corse's mind raced. I'm not going out there!
Kachiro's smile widened as he met Toi's determined gaze. "You're actually strong!!"
Kachiro backed off from the clash and began a relentless barrage of slashes. Toi dodged them effortlessly, his movements fluid and precise. With a powerful punch to Kachiro's stomach, he managed to wind him.
Kachiro's breath came in ragged gasps. "You hit hard—"
Toi's voice cut through the air. "Super!" He barraged Kachiro's stomach with a series of rapid punches. Kachiro's grin never wavered.
"But hard won't be hard enough!" Kachiro exclaimed. He raised his sword and swung it down with tremendous force, but Toi deftly backflipped away, dodging the attack. He landed in a crouch, ready to spring back into action.
Toi's eyes narrowed. "Seriously? You're blunt proof?!"
Kachiro's laughter echoed in the dust-filled air. "And I'm magic proof too." He pointed his sword at Toi, the tip glowing with an ominous silver light.
Toi stood upright, scratching his chin thoughtfully while looking away.
"I don't know if that's true, but I don't want to see," he mused. Suddenly, his face lit up with excitement. "Oh, a plan!" He clapped his gauntlets together, a triumphant grin spreading across his face.
Kachiro, eyes gleaming with anticipation, replied, "I'm ready when you are!" A faint silver aura began to shimmer around him.
Toi's voice rang out, filled with determination. "BONELESS!!!"
In an instant, Kachiro's aura vanished. He looked at himself in shock. "What the—what did you just do to me? My mana is gone!"
Toi's expression was calm and confident. "I awakened my ability, simple subtraction. In short, I can take away someone's main source of power."
"You say that so casually, as if you didn't just change the fight!" Kachiro's voice was incredulous.
"Be grateful that I don't want to kill you. I could have easily taken away your blood, or your heart, or your life, or your oxygen," Toi stated, his voice cold and matter-of-fact.
"What the hell—" Kachiro began.
"No, sorry, that was a bluff," Toi admitted with a shrug. "I can only remove... energy and stuff, maybe abilities too, but that's all that Boneless does—"
"What the hell—" Kachiro repeated, still reeling from the revelation.
"Yeah," Toi confirmed.
Kachiro's eyes narrowed with renewed determination. "Don't get so cocky. SURRENDER!!!" Twenty sharp, large tendrils sprouted from his back, moving toward Toi at light speed.
Toi leaped back, dodging all the tendrils with agility. "Knowing how this fight might go, I'd say I'd need more than just beams and balls to beat you. Time to test this out!" All the tendrils retracted back into Kachiro.
Toi's voice was filled with resolve. "Alright, villain! It's time I get serious about stopping you! Full-send, awaken!!!"
Kachiro's curiosity was piqued. "Awaken? Now I'm curious."
Toi's gauntlets inflated into six large balls, ten times the size of Toi, before popping into many large shards. Toi began to levitate as all the shards fused into six large glowing balls that floated in the air above him.
Kachiro watched in astonishment. "What am I watching?"
Toi's voice was commanding. "Full-send! Activating my awakened weapon, Dangan Meka!!" One of the glowing balls flew to his right arm, fusing with it to create a dark blue robotic arm. Another ball did the same to his left arm. Next, two balls transformed his legs into long, dark blue robotic limbs. Another glowing ball fused with his chest, forming a dark blue robotic chest plate with a glowing light blue core and two boosters on the back. Finally, the last glowing ball fused with his head, creating a dark blue helmet with a large rhino horn. Its eyes were large, glowing, and light blue, with no mouth visible.
Toi landed on the ground and struck a heroic pose. "Your end has come, fiend! I am Toi, the grand superhero!" His voice resonated as if amplified by a speaker.
Kachiro's expression hardened. "That's all I needed to hear!" He sent out two hands of white blood with sharp claws from his wrists, aiming at Toi.
"Barrier up!" Toi commanded. A blue barrier formed around him, blocking the attack effortlessly.
The white blood retracts back into Kachiro
Kachiro's frustration boiled over. "Fine, I'll just do it myself!!!" He lunged at Toi with his sword in hand.
Toi dropped his barrier and prepared for the incoming attack. "Preparing for..." Powerful blue magic surged into Toi's fist, and his left eye gleamed with an intense light.
"Punch!" Toi shouted, driving his fist into Kachiro's stomach before he could strike. Kachiro grunted in pain as the impact sent him flying across the room.
That actually hurt. His magic is so strong in this state that it seeps through my white blood's defense and damages my core! This guy- Kachiro thought, stunned.
Blue fire-like magic burst from Toi's boosters as he flew toward Kachiro at blinding speed.
Might actually be worth my power! Kachiro mused, but before he could react, Toi uppercut him, sending him rocketing out of the destroyed building and far above the clouds.
"Shield, activate!" Toi commanded, a blue glowing shield appearing in his hand. He ascended to meet Kachiro, who had grown wings made of his white blood to stay aloft. As Toi flew toward him, Kachiro released two humanoid bodies made of white blood from his back. Their scythe-like hands swung at Toi, but he blocked and destroyed them both with a swift swipe of his shield.
Kachiro then unleashed an enormous head with sharp teeth, all made of white magic, toward Toi. The head, fifty times the size of Kachiro, loomed menacingly.
"Gatling gun, activate!" Toi's hand transformed into a gatling gun, and he fired thousands of blue magic bullets at the head, bursting it before it could reach him. However, as the white blood rained down, Kachiro emerged from it and kicked Toi in the chest. Toi flinched but remained firm.
"Defense shock, activate!" Toi electrocuted Kachiro, causing him to recoil. Toi then punched him in the face, knocking him back. Kachiro recovered quickly and launched an attack with his sword, but Toi blocked most of the slashes with his shield. Kachiro managed to kick Toi in the face, knocking him slightly off balance, and prepared to slash down on him.
"Crowd control, activate!" Toi's shield exploded into a giant shockwave, propelling Kachiro even further into the sky until they could see the edge of space.
Kachiro's excitement was palpable. "We're moving so fast, this is, EXCITING!!!" Thousands of flying white blood bodies materialized around Kachiro. With a point, Kachiro directed all of them toward Toi, their fingers sharpening into deadly points.
"Missiles, activate!" Toi launched tens of thousands of blue missiles from his back, targeting the swarm of bodies. One missile's explosion triggered a chain reaction of giant blue magic blasts, completely annihilating the swarm and lighting up the sky.
Kachiro stared down at Toi in awe, his eyes wide with admiration and a hint of fear.
Toi yelled with determination, "Feet boosters, activate!" Blue flames erupted from his feet, propelling him swiftly towards Kachiro.
Kachiro, breathing heavily, exclaimed, "I'm actually getting tired!"
Meanwhile, Heunae was relentlessly punching his way through hordes of men in hazmat suits, his fists a blur of power and precision. Each punch not only incapacitated his opponents but also sent boxes of equipment flying, shattering them into pieces.
There sure is a lot of shaking going on. I hope that means we're winning, Heunae thought as he continued his assault. Stretching his arm towards one of the men, he wrapped it around him like a snake ensnaring its prey. With a powerful swing, Heunae used the man as a weapon, his body crashing into dozens of others before being tossed aside like a ragdoll. Gunfire erupted from multiple directions as men armed with rifles opened fire, but the bullets bounced harmlessly off Heunae's impenetrable skin.
"He's bulletproof?!" one of the hazmat-clad attackers gasped in disbelief.
Heunae sneered, "Nothing you'd know about, scum." He extended his leg and delivered a devastating kick through the crowd of shooters, sending them flying. From behind, a man wielding a machete attempted a sneak attack, but the blade shattered on contact with Heunae's unyielding body. Heunae swiftly retaliated, punching the man in the face and bringing down the last opponent in the room.
Breathing heavily but victorious, Heunae muttered, "These minions are nothing compared to my god's creatures. If only he wasn't defeated so early, I'd be standing at the top of the world with him."
Flashback
Seabi, Corse, Heunae, Sai, and Toi sat around a campfire in a forest, the flickering flames casting dancing shadows. Heunae sat slightly apart from the group, staring into the darkness, lost in thought.
Toi broke the silence, "Okay, okay, today's part of the story is when Heunae fought Toruri!"
Corse chuckled, "I was waiting to hear how the chain man got his ass handed to him by some shirtless lizard!"
Seabi added with a smirk, "Well, we got taken down by some flaming psychopath."
Heunae scoffed, clearly unimpressed.
"That makes you no better than me," Heunae retorted. "We're both magical weapons. We both got defeated by Negative Point children who use fire, and we ended up on their side."
Corse's eyes narrowed. "Do you really consider yourself a magical weapon like me? Dr. Jibun managed to somehow take me out of the magical weapons and fused me with it, turning me into an actual functioning human magical weapon. What you are is somebody cursed with magical weapon components that you can't put away."
Heunae's expression hardened. "We're both weapons that are supposed to be used for battle, right?"
A heavy silence fell over the group as they stared at Heunae.
Seabi leaned over and whispered to Corse, "That's seriously edgy..."
Toi's voice was gentle but firm, "Don't think of yourself like that, Heunae. Yes, you were used, but at least you weren't thrown away at the start like I was! You're more than a weapon. You have personality, a will to live. You're irreplaceable."
Heunae sighed deeply. "I guess so." He stood up abruptly. "I'm going to sleep," he announced, walking away from the campfire.
Back to the Present
Heunae smiled to himself, a glimmer of satisfaction in his eyes. "But standing at the top with him would make me the strongest weapon..."
Floating in the atmosphere, Kachiro stared down Toi with a smirk. "Maybe I played a little too much!" he taunted. Two large dragons, formed from his white blood, emerged from his body and flew towards Toi.
Toi, flying towards Kachiro with determination, raised his fist, which dripped with blue magic. "You have a lot of blood," he observed. "But I guess I'll have to go through thousands of oceans of it to beat you!" He began to spin so fast that he visually transformed into a whirling drill of blue magic.
Kachiro commanded, "No, you won't! Twin White Dragon!" The two dragons merged into one larger, double-headed dragon. As the dragon and Toi clashed, Toi drilled through them with ease, eventually reaching Kachiro. With a powerful punch, he blasted right past him, his fist still raised. "Grand Spiral Break!!!" he shouted.
White blood poured from Kachiro's mouth. "I won't lose to you..." he declared, gripping his sword tightly. "YOU DAMN MOBLING!!!" With a burst of speed, he soared up to Toi, tackling him. They ascended so high they entered space. Kachiro carried them next to a much larger planet, then stopped and flew miles above Toi.
Toi shouted, "Dangan Meka lets me breathe in space!"
Kachiro responded, "I don't need oxygen to live! You pushed me to the end, younger brother, so I'll end this here!!!" An ocean of white blood poured from his eyes and mouth, consuming him into a giant white ball of blood the size of the planet behind them. The ball grew a mouth with sharp teeth, and inside it sat Kachiro's upper body, smiling manically. Multiple giant sharp claws of white blood emerged from the ball, heading towards Toi.
"Dah! Those are huge!" Toi exclaimed. "It's time I brought my own final move!" Blue magic dripped from his palms. "Grand Sword!!!" he declared, forming a sharp broadsword entirely from blue magic. He flew towards Kachiro like a shooting star, slicing and dodging through the myriad of claws. White blood splashed on his helmet and armor as he stopped directly in front of the ball.
Kachiro screamed, "YOU CAN'T STOP ME!!!" He sent millions more hands towards Toi.
Facing the near-limitless wall of hands, Toi calmly said, "Grand Break..." His sword tripled in size, radiating powerful magic shockwaves that altered the tint of space. "FINALLY!!!" he roared, swinging his sword. A large, shining blue slash wave cleaved through the wall and struck the giant white ball, slicing it cleanly in half along with the planet behind it.
"Victory!-" Toi began, but suddenly, Kachiro shot down towards him, stabbing him through the chest with his sword. Half of the blade protruded from Toi's back. Clinging to Toi's body, Kachiro grinned, his face and body stained with white blood.
"After I hit you and grabbed you," Kachiro hissed, "I could feel from the way your armor responded that your suit doesn't retain the magical weapon's invincibility!"
The two of them fell through space, plummeting back to the planet like a comet. From the ground, Corse noticed them.
"What is that? And why is it coming here..." Corse wondered aloud, his eyes widening in alarm.
The two bodies landed with a thunderous crash, igniting a fiery ring around them. Smoke billowed, causing Corse to cough as he approached the smoldering crater. In the center, Kachiro stood over Toi's battered body, his sword still embedded in Toi's chest. Toi, now out of his armor, bled profusely from his mouth, though his gauntlets remained on his fists.
Kachiro sneered, "Thanks for the good fight, little bro." He yanked his sword out of Toi's chest, eliciting a moan of agony. "But you can't be that tough." As Kachiro raised his sword to finish off Toi, his eyes widened in shock. "What—"
Behind him stood Sai, who pulled his "hurt" tag, enveloping his fist in a black electric aura. "DIE!" Sai roared, delivering a powerful punch to Kachiro's back. Kachiro spiraled away, screaming in pain as Sai's hand exploded into a bloody goo.
"DAMMIT!" Sai screamed in pain, clutching his injured hand. "That should finish him..."
Toi, barely able to speak, gasped, "Your hand, Sai!"
Sai forced a smile. "Don't worry about it."
Corse's voice rang out urgently, "GUYS!!!"
Kachiro slowly stood up, his hair obscuring his eyes. He panted heavily, but a dangerous aura surrounded him. "How are you alive?" Sai demanded.
"I'm... so much... STRONGER!!!" Kachiro growled.
"His mana is insane!" Corse exclaimed in disbelief.
Inside Toi's mind, Ukeireru's voice echoed, Don't let this be the end of your dream. We will help you accomplish it as long as you stay competent. Our will wavers with yours!
Though unseen by anyone else, billions of ethereal hands lifted Toi off the ground.
"Toi?" Sai asked, concern in his voice.
"I'll finish this," Toi declared, blood still dripping from his mouth. His entire right arm engulfed in bright blue magic, radiating power that shook the area. He lunged towards Kachiro.
Dammit, I can't move my body. Why have so much power but not be able to use it? Kachiro thought in desperation.
"Grand Break—" Toi roared, his right hand connecting with Kachiro.
I pushed myself too hard... Kachiro reflected.
Flashback
In a cozy bedroom filled with posters and a triple bunk-bed, young Kachiro, Kizutsuku, and another child with purple hair and a large burn scar around his neck lay in bed. Anata, their father, stood nearby.
"Kachiro, Kizutsuku, and Kanjiru," Anata said warmly, "You three are my stars, the only successes I've had in my life that I feel truly proud of. To bring something into this world that can be much more than associates—you are all my family. Daddy loves all of his children equally, just some deserve the spotlight more than others."
Back to the Present
Hah, maybe you deserve this spotlight, Kachiro thought, a fleeting smile crossing his face.
"FINISH!!!!" Toi screamed, unleashing a giant beam of blue magic. The beam carried Kachiro thousands of yards away before exploding, leaving him burned and unconscious on the ground.
"I lost," Kachiro whispered before succumbing to darkness.
Sai glanced down at the fallen figure, concern etched on his face. "Do you think that'll keep him down?"
Corse, wiping sweat from his brow, nodded with a mixture of weariness and confidence. "He's going to be knocked cold for a while after all of this," he assured, turning his attention to Toi. "Toi, please don't collapse."
Toi, still catching his breath, managed a faint smile. "I'll be fine," he said, though his voice wavered slightly. "I might collapse later though." His eyes scanned the area, a hint of worry creeping into his expression. "Where's Heunae?"