The sky above Akihabara pulsed with chaotic energy as the rift grew wider, spilling more glitching light into the broken city below. Kuro stood motionless, his eyes locked on the shifting shadow that was forming within the swirling void. His breath caught for just a moment, a rare flicker of hesitation, a feeling unfamiliar to him. Something was different this time. Something bigger was coming.
The rival, still standing some distance away, wiped blood from the corner of their mouth and stared at the rift with a cold, calculated look. They knew what was coming, and the tension in their posture told Kuro that whatever it was, it wasn't going to be like the glitch-beasts he had already faced.
Kuro's grip tightened, blue sparks still dancing across his fingers from the battle moments ago. He could feel the energy surging inside him, but now, for the first time, that excitement was mixed with something else. Uncertainty? No, he refused to admit that. This was just another challenge, a bigger one, sure, but one that he could crush just like everything else in his path.
The rival broke the silence, their voice low but steady. "You feel that?" They didn't look at Kuro, their gaze fixed on the rift. "That thing coming through? It's not like the others. This one... it's the real deal."
Kuro narrowed his eyes, glaring at the rival. "What's your point? You think I can't handle it?"
The rival finally turned to face him, a smirk playing on their lips despite the exhaustion visible in their eyes. "I'm saying that if you rush in like an idiot, it'll be the last thing you do."
Kuro felt his pulse quicken, anger bubbling up at the suggestion that he couldn't handle what was coming. He was Kuro Kobayashi, the one who had torn through glitch-beasts, who had leveled buildings with his power. There was no way he'd let some oversized glitch-monster take him down.
"Yeah?" Kuro's voice was sharp, edged with defiance. "Watch me."
The rift shuddered violently, and the air around it thickened with an oppressive force. From within the swirling chaos, a massive shadow began to take form. It was bigger than any of the glitch-beasts Kuro had fought before, far bigger. The shape shifted and flickered, its edges jagged and broken like a corrupted digital file struggling to load.
Then, with a deafening roar, the titan emerged.
Its colossal form towered over the remains of Akihabara, a monstrous blend of organic and digital, with limbs that glitched and flickered in and out of existence. Jagged, insect-like claws scraped the ground as it moved, its body encased in shimmering, distorted armor. Its eyes, two burning orbs of neon red, locked onto Kuro with a terrifying intelligence, as if it recognized him immediately as a threat.
For a brief moment, Kuro's breath caught in his throat. The sheer size of the thing was staggering. Its presence alone felt like a weight pressing down on his chest, as if the air itself had thickened with its arrival.
But that hesitation quickly morphed into something else, excitement.
"Finally," Kuro muttered, his grin widening despite the tension in the air. "Something worth my time."
The titan's massive form flickered as it took its first steps, sending shockwaves through the ground. Buildings already weakened by the earlier chaos trembled and collapsed under the force, their structures crumbling into heaps of debris. The air was filled with the sounds of screeching metal, the roar of destruction, and the pulsing hum of glitch energy that radiated from the titan's body.
The rival moved closer to Kuro, their voice firm but urgent. "You can't just throw everything at it. This thing draws power directly from the rift. The more energy you feed it, the stronger it gets."
Kuro shot them a sideways glance, his expression hardening. "And what? You think I'm gonna sit around and let it stomp through the city? I'm not some weakling who needs a lesson on how to fight."
The rival's eyes flashed with frustration. "Listen to me! If you rush in, you'll only make things worse. You have to sever its connection to the rift, or it'll just keep absorbing everything you throw at it."
Kuro's teeth clenched, his body itching to attack, but something about the rival's words stuck in his mind. He hated admitting it, but they might have a point. This thing wasn't just a mindless monster, it was something more. And Kuro wasn't about to let it make a fool out of him.
Still, the thought of waiting, of holding back, made his blood boil. He didn't do patience. He did action.
"Fine," Kuro spat, raising his hands, energy crackling around his fingers. "I'll take it down my way. And when it's lying in pieces, you can thank me for saving your ass."
Kuro's hands surged with glitch energy, the blue light intensifying until it was almost blinding. With a roar of his own, he unleashed a massive wave of power directly at the titan. The blast tore through the air, a streak of blue lightning that shattered everything in its path. The street buckled, the remnants of buildings disintegrated, and the very air seemed to ripple as the wave hurtled toward the titan.
The titan didn't flinch.
The energy struck its massive body, but instead of being blown apart, the titan absorbed it. The blue light of Kuro's attack flickered and merged with the titan's glitching form, causing it to grow brighter, stronger. The red glow of its eyes intensified as it turned its gaze back to Kuro, its expression unreadable but undeniably focused.
Kuro's heart skipped a beat. His attack, the one that had obliterated everything in its path, had done nothing. Worse than that, it had made the titan stronger.
"What the hell...?" Kuro whispered, his fists tightening. "That should've wrecked you."
The titan responded with a roar that shook the ground, and in the next moment, it swung one of its massive claws toward Kuro, faster than something its size had any right to move. Kuro barely had time to react, leaping backward as the claw gouged into the ground where he had been standing, sending chunks of concrete flying.
He landed hard, skidding to a stop as he caught his breath. For the first time, Kuro felt the weight of the situation pressing down on him. This wasn't just a fight. This was something bigger, something that wouldn't go down with brute force alone.
Kuro stood panting, fists clenched tightly as the ground trembled beneath him. The titan had absorbed his attack like it was nothing, and the shock of that reality was still settling in. He could feel the weight of the power he had unleashed, but it had been completely useless. The titan now stood taller, more powerful, its form pulsing with the very energy he had thrown at it.
"Shit," Kuro muttered under his breath, glaring at the massive creature before him. It had been a long time since something had shaken him like this. But fear wasn't something Kuro liked to entertain for long. No, this was just another challenge, one he had to figure out how to beat.
The titan took another step forward, its heavy, glitching form causing the ground to crack and split. Every movement sent shockwaves rippling through the city, buildings crumbling further as debris fell around them. Kuro's pulse quickened, not with fear, but with the thrill of the unknown.
The rival, standing a short distance behind him, seemed to notice his hesitation. Their voice cut through the sound of destruction, sharp and clear. "I warned you! The more energy you give it, the stronger it gets! We need to sever its connection to the rift, or it'll just keep getting more powerful."
Kuro turned, his frustration bubbling over. "You keep saying that, but I'm not seeing you do anything about it! If you've got a plan, now's the time to show it."
The rival narrowed their eyes, clearly biting back their own frustration. They moved quickly, stepping toward Kuro while keeping an eye on the titan's movements. "I told you, we can't beat it with brute force. This thing is tied directly to the rift, and the rift is feeding it power. The only way to weaken it is to cut that connection."
Kuro scoffed. "And how do you suggest we do that? I'm not exactly equipped with scissors to cut a giant glitch monster's power source."
The rival shot him a look. "There's a weak point, right where the glitch energy connects it to the rift. I've seen it before with smaller glitch-beasts. The rift's connection to them isn't stable, it's like a tether. If we can disrupt it, we can stop it from drawing power."
Kuro crossed his arms, his skepticism clear. "And how do we get close enough to do that? Because I don't know if you've noticed, but that thing doesn't look like it's in the mood for a polite conversation."
The rival didn't back down. "You're going to keep it distracted. I'll handle the rest."
For a moment, Kuro just stared at the rival, his mind racing. He hated the idea of relying on someone else to get the job done, especially when his usual method of destroying things outright wasn't working. But he couldn't deny that what the rival was saying made sense. The titan was too powerful, and Kuro could feel his energy waning. If he kept throwing attacks at it, he'd only end up feeding it more power.
"Fine," Kuro finally said, though the word was practically spat from his mouth. "I'll play your game. But if this doesn't work, I'm taking it down myself, one way or another."
The rival gave a curt nod, already moving into position. "Keep it busy. That's all I need."
Kuro gritted his teeth, the blue energy around his hands flaring to life once more. He turned his gaze back to the titan, which was now looming even closer, its neon-red eyes burning with a cold, mechanical rage. It didn't seem to care that Kuro had failed to harm it, it was simply intent on destruction.
"Alright, you glitchy bastard," Kuro muttered, flexing his fingers as he prepared for his next move. "Let's see how well you handle this."
Kuro shot forward, his body moving with speed and agility despite the exhaustion beginning to weigh on him. He hurled himself toward the titan, firing quick bursts of glitch energy to catch its attention. The attacks didn't do any damage, but that wasn't the point. Kuro just needed to keep it focused on him, to keep it from noticing the rival slipping around to the back.
The titan roared, its massive form swinging one of its jagged arms toward Kuro. He dodged with a roll, barely avoiding the impact as the titan's claw gouged into the ground, sending up a spray of debris. Kuro landed in a crouch, grinning despite himself. This was dangerous, reckless, and exactly what he thrived on.
"You think you can catch me?" Kuro taunted, launching another blast of glitch energy toward the titan's head. "I'm just getting started."
The titan's eyes flared as it moved faster than Kuro expected, swiping at him again with terrifying force. This time, Kuro didn't have time to dodge fully, the edge of the titan's claw clipped his side, sending him flying through the air. He hit the ground hard, skidding across the cracked pavement, pain shooting through his ribs.
Kuro groaned, pushing himself up on shaky arms. Blood dripped from his lip, and he could feel the bruises already forming, but he couldn't stop now. The titan was bearing down on him again, its massive form blotting out the sky.
Meanwhile, the rival had reached the base of the titan, where the glitch energy was most concentrated. They could see the threads of energy connecting the titan to the rift, glowing like veins of raw power. This was the weak point they had been looking for. But the closer they got, the more unstable the energy became, crackling and pulsing as if aware of their presence.
The rival grit their teeth, concentrating as they reached out with their own glitch abilities. They had to disrupt the flow, just long enough to weaken the titan and sever its connection to the rift. But the energy was volatile, and one wrong move could send it spiraling out of control.
Sweat dripped down their face as they focused, their hands glowing with the same blue light as they prepared to strike. The titan's roars echoed behind them, but the rival didn't waver.
"This has to work," they muttered under their breath. "Come on... just a little more..."