Nezumi's dragon fist made direct contact with Tensai's dragon. Green and black shockwaves of prana radiated from their clash, shrouding the area in their vibrance.
For a moment, Nezumi's aura surpassed Tensai's, and he pushed the dragon back, but his success was short-lived. His arm began to buckle under the pressure, and his body started deteriorating. Yet, he shoved his fist forward.
A sphere of their conflicting pranas enveloped the battlefield, emanating the energy produced from their clash. Heat, radiation, and sheer prana erupted outward in a thunderous explosion of energy.
The sphere and shockwave grew. Everything they touched was obliterated, and within a fraction of a second, all that existed within a radius of several thousand miles was instantly incinerated.
***
Nezumi found himself standing in an impossibly deep crater in the ground. Above him was Tensai's dragon, which seemed even more massive than before.
To say Nezumi felt insignificant would be an understatement. He was a flickering light about to go out.
He could only watch as the dragon above him gathered and balanced prana in its mouth. Its prana took the shape of a large black sphere. The ground began to buzz. Nezumi nearly lost his footing as vibrations ravaged below. Chunks of rock were lifted by the pull of the prana, hovering close to the orb.
Nezumi forced a smile. His right arm, which he used to form his last dragon fist, was now a prune. It was darkened, thinned, and shriveled.
"I can't move my body anymore," Nezumi whispered, keeping his smile. "It looks like this is the end of the road for me. Raijah, Teo, I trust you'll finish what I started."
Nezumi closed his eyes. He could sense the energy ball gaining size and strength. For a moment, he felt all was lost. Then, after reminiscing about the chance Val gave him, he regained his spark.
His body took a step forward. "Fuck that," Nezumi spat. "If I'm going to die, I want to go out while fighting. With everything I've done, the least I could do is channel every fiber of my being into making things easier for them."
He knew it was futile, but he formed a dragon fist with his left hand. By now, the beast was nearly done preparing the attack. Nezumi could sense the sheer destructive power contained within it. It was already enough to eradicate the realm they were in.
Nezumi took another step forward. His right arm was almost completely gone. He knew that he would follow soon after.
Nezumi took another step forward. Above him, the dragon had finished its preparations. It breathed the prana out, firing it into a massive conical blast aimed straight at Nezumi.
Nezumi tried to step forward once more, but his body grew too painful to sustain, and his dragon fist disintegrated. A sickening sense of no longer being supported by his feet took over, and his stomach did a flip as he stumbled.
Nezumi would've found himself face-first on the ground had Raijah not appeared to support him.
"You did well," Raijah said, letting Nezumi lean his weight on him to stay on his feet.
Ahead of them, Teo had enlarged Teiden to several hundred times its original size. In length, Teiden had far surpassed Tensai's dragon form. He held Teiden vertically above his head, and the ground trembled from the very weight of the blade.
Tendrils of explosive red lightning licked the walls of the sword, and Teiden, experiencing the effects of Teo and Raijah's union prana, had become a red and black monster of a blade.
"Divine Lightning x Dark Prana: Divine Slash...
"Solstice!"
With a raspy below and a heaving effort, Teo swung the sword down toward Tensai, plunging the blade through the blast and severing the dragon, all in one cleave.
***
Blobs of black prana surrounded Nezumi, Raijah, and Teo. Upon making contact, Teo's attack sliced clean through Tensai's dragon, causing his prana to disperse into the lumps that now dotted the barren battlefield.
In addition, Ame-no-Ohabari and Tensai's pair of earrings also emerged from the dragon's explosion. Teo held onto the artifacts while awaiting Raijah.
Raijah stood face to face with Nezumi, whose entire right upper half had disintegrated.
"Looks like my time is up," Nezumi declared, smiling to ease the tension. "Send the others my regards."
"I will," Raijah responded. He was not sure how he should feel. Honestly, he was too exhausted and wounded to feel anything but pity, but he genuinely sympathized with Nezumi. "You have my respect, Nezumi. I'll make sure your efforts aren't forgotten."
"Thank you, Raijah," Nezumi said. "You two should get going. That enchanted lake is a long way from here."
"If you want, I'm sure we could get you back quick enough to give your formal goodbyes to Val and the others."
Nezumi shook his head. "No. Thanks for the offer, but I'd rather them not see me like this. Besides, I'd like to live out my final moments on my own. I feel oddly calm."
"I see," Raijah said, turning to Teo. "Well then, we'll leave you to it."
Once Raijah neared Teo, a quick jolt shook the ground. The mounds of prana Tensai left behind began to quake and combine. In due time, they reformed Tensai into humanoid form.
Tensai's body no longer bore the markings of the dragons. He was deathly pale, but his voice was as lively as ever.
"I'm not done!" Tensai said. His voice was halfway between a whisper and a shout, deep, rumbling like the earthquake below them. "I. . .am. . .not. . .done!"
Neither Raijah nor Teo or Nezumi moved. None of them knew how to react, and more importantly, none was in any shape to fight.
Suddenly, Tensai's mouth began to foam. His body began to swell and expand, the lumps growing from the size of grapes to larger than that of melons.
Teo took a few steps back. "Without Ame-no-Ohabari, his body can't tolerate such massive amounts of prana! At this rate, he's going to explode!"
Nezumi stepped forward, barely managing to carry his own weight. "You two just go ahead," Nezumi said. "I'll get him far away, but there's no guarantee that the blast won't reach you. Get to that lake as fast as possible."
Teo and Raijah had no time to dawn on his propasal. They took off at blinding speeds, leaving streaks of red and black and vanishing into the distance.
Nezumi exhaled through his nose as he faced Tensai. "Just when I think I can rest easy, you show up and make things difficult for me."
At this point, Tensai had swelled up to the point that he was unrecognizable. Bulges of prana protruded from his body, nearly burying his head in the masses.
Nezumi drew in a breath and let it settle. Holding the air, he lost himself in a state of semi-consciousness as he contemplated his options. With an audible sigh, he said. "One more push, Nezumi."
Nezumi's feet desperately attempted to create a form of traction. He felt the remaining parts of his body working: his leg muscles running warm, and fresh air entered his lungs and flowed into his last three limbs. Facing forward, he began to sprint.
He slammed his shoulder into Tensai's inflating body, propelling him into the air at frightening speeds.
In the corner of Nezumi's eyes, everything became a blur. He continued to push for what seemed like an eternity. Once he could no longer feel his body, relief washed over him as he realized his time had finally come.
Nezumi's face quirked up into a painful smile, one that stretched the withered skin of his cheeks. The lower half of his body was already gone, but both his eyes were alive and bright with intense merriment.
"Everyone. . .Thank you for coming into my life. Especially you, Valerie. I gave it my all because I owe my life to you. You're my very best friend.
"If I could've somehow prevented all this, I wonder if I could've made you mine one day.
"Well, it's not like that matters now.
"I'm happy. I'm happy that I finally succeeded at protecting something."
***
Tensai began to fall once Nezumi dissipated. The second he hit the ground, he would explode and become a mere memory. He was alone in his final moments. Alone with only himself to witness his end.
But, oddly enough, he stretched his arm out, desperately waving it in the air.
"Why am I holding out my hand?
"Am I asking for help?
"No, that can't be it. Everything I've ever wanted, I took with this very hand.
"But, now, I'm the one in need."
Tensai managed a chuckle.
"A millennium of life, and this is the moment where I found my answer.
"I guess humans only learn their worth in the face of death.
"In the end, I never managed to find that world.
"I spent every minute of my life searching for the meaning of life. . .and I'm going to die having never had the chance to live."
"Well. . ."
Tensai hit the ground, and his prana erupted in a brilliant burst of darkness, encompassing the world.
". . .I suppose death is the only remedy for a heart like mine."