"So," Takashi started. "You're my brother's son, eh? Well, I suppose I have to kill you." Takashi started walking toward Marino, and Marino stepped back.
Takashi lunged at Marino, and Marino narrowly dodged, causing Takashi to ram into a wall. The wall crumbled, and Takashi stood unphased. His face curled into a grotesque smile. He rushed again and caught Marino by the collar, throwing him through multiple rooms in the complex. Marino stood warily, looking through the rubble for Takashi, when Takashi slammed into him from the side, cracking half of Marino's ribs. Marino cried out and zapped Takashi with his Awakening, sending him flying.
Takashi instantly stood, surprised, then regained his composure. "I see your old man didn't have enough time to teach you," Takashi said, his voice deep and cracked in various places. "What a shame that he..passed." Takashi chuckled, then ran so fast he appeared in front of Marino. Takashi cracked Marino over the head, and a woman sprinted in. It was Koyonagi.
"RUN, MARINO!" Koyonagi shouted. Takashi turned and snarled. "Koyonagi Naoko, yet another failure of mine," he spat. Koyonagi flinched at his words, and her eyes set with determination. "Takashi. Where'd they hide you all these years? Hell?" Takashi laughed out loud. "You wish. No, they locked me in a straitjacket of pure tungsten. They allowed my thoughts to fester, and so I planned revenge. I figured you were hanging around in this pathetic place, so this is where I came, and I found my brother's absolute write-off of a son." He turned and looked at Marino this time, and Marino's anger skyrocketed. He screamed and charged at Takashi faster than a zeptosecond. He slammed into Takashi, sending him flying. Marino charged after him, slamming Takashi into the ground and falling out of the air himself. FLYING?! He thought. WAS I FLYING?! He hit the ground with a thud, probably breaking a few bones. His adrenaline shoved the pain away. Marino tackled Takashi, but he was already gone. Koyonagi, who had wrapped plants around herself and shot up from the ground, was slammed to the ground by Takashi, and Takashi stood. He looked at Marino, snarled, and jumped at him.
Marino responded with a swift uppercut, snapping Takashi's jaw. He roared in anger. His body lit up, covered in verdigris-colored electricity. Marino's body lit up in retaliation, filled with blue and white electricity. Marino stared in awe at his body for a moment and looked up at Takashi, who was also staring. Takashi grimaced and charged at Marino, who dodged and weaved, the electricity flowing after him. Takashi held out his hand, balling it into a fist. Marino stopped, confused, and a fist made of electricity crushed him. Koyonagi, who had been unconscious, stood warily and charged Takashi. She flipped over him and cracked him in the back of the head expertly, her eyes glowing jade green. Takashi screamed in rage and formed a blade made of electricity—and stabbed Koyonagi directly in the gut. Blood flowed from Koyonagi's stomach. Marino stared in shock, momentarily bewildered.
KILL HIM.
HE DESERVES NO MERCY.
Marino's crushing thoughts took over. The electricity around him turned white. Fire flowed from his eyes, singing his eyebrows. Every step he took turned the gravel into sand, then the sand into pure glass.
KILL HIM.
KILL HIM.
KILL HIM!!
Marino's eyes snapped open, and he teleported in front of Takashi. Takashi attempted to flee, but Marino grabbed his shirt, scorching the area around his hand. Marino slammed Takashi into the ground and shoved a searing hand into the side of Takashi's face. Takashi's screams echoed throughout the training valley. Once Marino finally removed his hand, the area under it scorched beyond charcoal. Takashi was dead.
Marino's anger soothed, and he went to check on Koyonagi. Her eyes were distant, her gaze fixed on the stars above. "They're beautiful tonight, aren't they, Marino?" she asked, her voice full of pain. "I can see my husband, Marino. I can see him…" Koyonagi's voice wavered once, twice, and she breathed, closing her eyes. Deep in his heart, full of sadness, Marino knew Koyonagi's eyes would never open again.