Punch after punch; kick after kick; blast after blast—neither Yuso nor Ryouiki appeared to be willing to back down from this fight, unwilling to simply concede with their goals on the line. The two were forced to fling themselves in every direction within the infinite dimension of red space, actively pushing themselves to the limit of their abilities.
*SWOOSH!*
Once again, Ryouiki forced himself to dodge another incoming pentagram that whirled at rapid speed, threatening to sever his body. The elderly man was getting increasingly acquainted with the power of the Aura Amalgamation, the fusion of all five rings' Aura Senses.
"Still feel empowered, Ryouiki? My eyes still seem to reside in their sockets!" Yuso taunted the white-robed man, his typically monotonous visage changing to one of sadistic curiosity.
The elderly man scowled, glaring at the redhead. "This is why you needed to be restrained! It's in your blood to be a monster… you're wasting your potential with this nonsense!"
*CRACK!*
Suddenly, Yuso's knuckles collided with Ryouiki's cheekbone, sending the elderly man through a deep sea of space for what felt like the millionth time. The white-robed man had a short stretch of time before the redhead resumed his assault, flying in on Ryouiki and launching a powerful kick toward his chest.
Ryouiki quickly blocked the kick.
"Wasting my potential…?" Yuso inquired loudly, "I've squandered decades under you. Why should I believe that 'this' is truly wasting my potential?"
Yuso then vanished in a flash of crimson light, reappearing behind Ryouiki to hopefully strike the elderly man in the back of the head. Ryouiki quickly spun his entire body around and stopped the attack, retaliating with his own.
Promptly digging his rings into Yuso's abdomen—*BOOM!*—Ryouiki unleashed a beam contrived of the five Aura Senses that instantly blew the redhead away, undoubtedly injuring the Demon of Adonai.
Correcting himself, Yuso clenched his abdomen tightly. 'He must have put much more force into that… I can barely heal myself. If he gets another blow like that, I'll be exhausted from healing myself sooner than I'd prefer…'
Lifting his head, Yuso noticed that the blast had separated him from Ryouiki by more than a hundred kilometers; fortunately, his eyes were capable of locking in on the elderly man despite the significant distance.
Just then, a memory encapsulated Yuso's mind.
It was the precise moment in the village of Furusato where Lord Phoenix, the kitsune-masked individual with seemingly limitless power, had Yuso restrained, introducing the redhead to the concept of an early death.
However, the kitsune-masked man had said something that day: 'I recommend that you get a hold on that power of yours. If you don't, it'll fester inside of you until you eventually consume everything. I'd hate to see these graceful lands of mine be encompassed by a lonesome boy's… resentment.'
Yuso's inner turmoil began to pulse, his emotions proceeding to fluctuate within his mind and body, and his potent magic flexing to accompany the abrupt arrival of the overriding sensations.
'Perhaps, in the end, I was still partially right: I do need to get a grip on myself, not only over my power but also over my emotions. If I do not strengthen my mind, I will lose before this fight gets close to its finale.' The Demon of Adonai was mentally hammered with a monumental realization, his Shirugeto eyes never straying from the elderly man in the far distance.
The redhead clenched his fists. Throughout his life, he was bereft of many emotions, if what he rarely felt could be considered emotion—devotion to his master and a will to conquer the tyrannical power of any holy presence, primarily curses and churches.
Yuso's Aura Sense grew; he could feel it. More of the chains that Ryouiki had wrapped around him shattered, and his mind finally experienced a tinge of freedom.
The Demon of Adonai knew that he was not gaining newfound powers, but he was unlocking more of his hidden potential; his mentality was no longer clouded, and his magic was no longer restricted.
Additionally, Yuso's crimson-red hair grew in length once more, indicating a surge in his growth.
Yuso prepared to fight Ryouiki with a spinning Shirugeto, kicking himself from the spot he was hovering in and closing the distance between him and the white-robed man, brimming with rage and an unbreakable human will.
It had taken the redhead less than a second to reach Ryouiki, even after the hundred kilometer separation.
"This is the end, Ryouiki!" Yuso shouted, an uncharacteristic emotion emerging from within him.
Ryouiki's eyes broadened as he utilized his green ring to materialize a giant golem that shielded the elderly man by folding its green arms around him, taking the brunt of Yuso's initial punch that was charged with magic.
Unfortunately, the golem could not withstand Yuso's attack, and it splintered into thousands of green shards, diminishing into nothing.
"Get a hold of yourself!" Ryouiki demanded as he created and discharged several Genso-Kyu at the redhead.
*KABOOM!*
Immediately, Yuso formed numerous pentagrams to swallow the incoming beams, redirecting their course to fly toward Ryouiki.
In fear, Ryouiki coated his body with green armor made from the green ring and conjured blue barriers to stop the impending beams of light. As the smoke from the explosions extended outward like a gray cloud, the now-armored man flew toward Yuso with ire.
"Don't think you can overpower me, Yuso!"
Ryouiki transformed his fist into a sharp blade with a valiant thrust, intending to impale the Demon of Adonai. The elderly man narrowly missed his slash at first, but just as Yuso had dodged it, another blade shot out from Ryouiki's armored forearm, tearing through the redhead's black kimono and piercing the flesh on his chest.
But that was not the end of it.
The green aura printed sword exploded—*KRRSHHH!*—and instantly overwhelmed the Demon of Adonai before Yuso could unsheathe it from his own body.
A grin stretched across the elderly man's lips.
Ryouiki's grin faded as he sensed Yuso fly behind him, prompting a spinning kick from the green-armored man. The redhead was not, as his senses had warned, behind him, and his kick hit nothing but empty space.
Then his senses alerted him once more, forcing Ryouiki to whirl himself around and throw a violent punch.
"What!?"
In a moment of bewilderment, Ryouiki noticed that instead of Yuso appearing behind him, it was one of his pentagrams, and now his armored arm was stuck inside the crimson circle. Even after attempting to pull his arm out, the limb would not budge. After a few short seconds, the pentagram then closed, severing Ryouiki's arm off.
"Grah! You brat! You should know by now that cutting me apart will do no good—!"
Ryouiki was berating Yuso for his alleged lack of common sense when a red chain swathed itself around the elderly man's sliced arm, preventing Ryouiki from growing it back.
"What the hell!?"
Floating off to the side, Yuso could be seen holding the red chain that popped out from his glowing palm.
Yuso stared at the man with hateful eyes. "I'm aware of your regeneration, Ryouiki—but can you regrow a limb that has no magic flowing to it?"
The elderly man's eyes widened. "You're cutting off the circulation of magic and blood in my arm! You bastard!"
"I believe that you're forgetting something…" Yuso said ominously, making the armored man perplexed.
*SHINK!*
A stone spike pierced Ryouiki's torso, a pentagram forming mere inches behind him. The elderly man then had a flash of insight.
'That pentagram was what I had sensed at first! How can I be so stupid!?'
Along with the spike, red chains had been fastened around Ryouiki's body immediately after being impaled, freezing all of his body's circulation, just like his arm. As a result, he was unable to heal the wound in his chest and was forced to endure it and slowly bleed out.
Ryouiki spewed blood as he spoke, "Yuso! Don't do this! Take these chains off of me!"
"I'm not wasting my potential any more, Ryouiki—you're my shackles, and I wish to break free."
Without warning, Yuso aimed his free hand at Ryouiki—*BOOM!*—and discharged a small, red beam that shot through his head between his eyes, killing him instantly.
Ryouiki was no longer alive, and Yuso was free. Only time would tell whether this event would result in chaos or benevolence.
XXX
Well, that concludes this fight between Ryouiki and Yuso! Yet again, one character is severed from the story and forces the plot to move on! How will Yuso proceed? As the chapter said, only time will tell. I really hope you enjoyed this fight and stay tuned for what happens next!
Have a Great Day!
Peace - Cr1ticalz_