Yahageshii's rage surged like a roaring beast, flames engulfing his fists so intensely that the air around him warped from the heat. The ground beneath his feet began to crack, the oppressive heat radiating an almost suffocating presence.
"If you're striking first, don't blame me for hitting back!" he growled, his figure moving like a phantom as he charged at Akari.
Akari stood motionless, his deranged smile widening, like a hunter savoring the moment prey willingly steps into his trap. Just as Yahageshii's flaming fists were about to connect with Akari's chest, a gas canister suddenly appeared in their place. The air around them tightened with the stench of imminent combustion, suffocating with the promise of devastation.
BOOM!
The deafening explosion rocked the area, sending a fiery shockwave outward. An entire side of the abandoned building was blown apart, a massive hole left in its wake. Yahageshii was flung back, slamming into a wall, coughing blood as pain wracked his body. Before he could recover, faint footsteps echoed once more.
"Yahageshii!" Ryuosho roared, fury blazing in his voice. Electricity surged around him as he activated his lightning soul. In a flash of blinding brilliance, he transformed into a streak of lightning, charging straight toward Akari.
"Big brother, someone's moving on the right! It's another idiot standing up again!" The voice of a young girl rang out, high-pitched yet chilling, stabbing through their ears like needles.
Ryuosho's gaze instinctively darted to the right—only to find nothing.
"Wait—!" Shingin yelled, lunging forward to grab Ryuosho by the collar. Though his intervention slowed Ryuosho's momentum slightly, the lightning soul's forward thrust was unstoppable.
In the very next moment—
Squelch.
Invisible wires slashed through Ryuosho's body, a spray of blood bursting from his wounds. As the electricity flickered around him, he suddenly realized the surrounding air shimmered with razor-thin steel wires.
"Damn it…!" Ryuosho gritted his teeth, his body trembling as cold sweat poured down his face. Every nerve screamed in agony. If Shingin hadn't grabbed him in time, those wires would've diced him into pieces. The sharp tang of blood and the searing pain merged into a living nightmare.
As he came to a halt, Ryuosho finally noticed the nearly invisible wire net encasing the entire area. His speed—an asset in most battles—had become a fatal liability.
Nearby, Riyugi's face turned pale. Her realization struck like lightning: "Shingin! He's been profiling our abilities and identities this entire time!"
Shingin felt a cold chill down his spine. Every word Akari had uttered, every seemingly harmless question, had been a calculated ploy to dissect their powers, background, and strategies. They, as empowered individuals wielding fire, water, and lightning, had been reduced to mere puppets in his hands.
"The rooftop fight... the explosions at the base... He's been playing us from the start!"
Images of Akari's maddening, cunning smile flashed in their minds, a grotesque reminder of his manipulative brilliance.
"Big brother, big brother! They've stopped! They're scared now!" The girl's voice returned, brimming with twisted excitement.
"You're right, Akane. It's always delightful watching fools writhe in fear," Akari's voice echoed from the shadows of the ruined building, accompanied by the soft clink of metal on concrete. His footsteps moved unpredictably, their direction impossible to pin down.
"Akari! What do you want?!" Shingin shouted, desperate to steady the team's crumbling resolve.
"What do I want?" Akari's voice came from the left, but his figure appeared to the right, a chipped machete gleaming in his hand. "Akane wanted to see blood. So why not oblige her?" With that, he flung the machete into the air before vanishing once again.
"Big brother! That girl's trying to escape to the left corner!" Akane's sharp voice rang out.
Shingin's head snapped toward the direction Akane mentioned and saw Myouka retreating toward the corner.
"Don't worry, Akane! I'll handle it!" Akari's cheery voice rang out as he charged at Shingin, his dagger flashing dangerously. Yet, just as quickly as he appeared, Akari disappeared again.
Shingin instinctively wrapped himself in swirling water for protection. However, Akari moved with such unnatural speed that he vanished from sight entirely, his movements beyond the limits of human perception. Everything blurred, his presence untraceable.
"Above? Below? Behind?! Where is he?!" Shingin's eyes darted frantically, his entire body on edge. Cold sweat trickled down his temples, his heartbeat pounding like a war drum. Every step felt like balancing on the edge of a knife. Akari's relentless speed had driven him to the brink.
BANG!
A gunshot shattered the tense silence, a thunderous roar that left ears ringing. Shingin's shoulder jerked back violently as a sharp pain exploded through him. Blood splattered, staining his clothes in crimson streaks. His breath hitched as he spun around, desperate to find the shooter—but saw nothing. Akari had vanished once more.
"Where did that shot come from?!" Shingin growled, a mix of fury and confusion. His gaze darted across the battlefield.
The gun's source became clear as he spotted a handgun suspended mid-air. Though its barrel didn't move, it seemed to fire as if guided by an invisible hand. The sight defied all logic, a weapon beyond the realm of human control.
Shingin's breath caught, his trembling hands summoning his water soul to slice at the steel wires. His movements were swift, calculated, aiming to sever the deadly wires and knock down the floating weapons, giving the team a fighting chance.
But as the wires snapped—
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Bullets rained down like a storm, fired from multiple angles. Ryuosho, Riyugi, and Myouka fell to the ground, blood splattering in every direction. Each shot struck with precision, leaving them no time to react.
"Is he… even human?" Shingin's voice trembled as he gritted his teeth, his water soul forming a blade in his hands. His eyes locked onto the surreal scene above. The sheer impossibility of Akari's abilities made his knees weak. The enemy wasn't just powerful—he was an unfathomable monster, twisting reality itself to his will.
Akari finally emerged from the shadows, his crazed grin as chilling as ever. He lightly tapped one of the floating guns, speaking softly as if addressing an unseen audience.
"This game," he said, his voice dripping with mockery, "is just getting started."