Nezumi’s Final Stand

Nezumi's punch landed squarely on Tensai's face, applying such force that it took off a portion of Tensai's head and sent him hurtling through the air.

"What a strange place," Nezumi remarked as he shook the blood off his hands. "From gravity to the air itself. . .this place is totally different. An entirely separate plain. If it weren't for Cora and Val, my body wouldn't be able to handle these conditions."

When Nezumi turned, Teo was already on his feet. He was not releasing any prana, but Nezumi could feel his hostility.

"I'm on your side," Nezumi assured him.

Teo examined Nezumi. His veins were popping out, and his muscles were swollen. His body had a reddish tint, and he was generating such heat that his body was emitting enormous amounts of red steam.

"What happened to you?" Teo asked.

"Oh, this is Cora's technique. To put it simply, it's just a massive upsurge of energy. Everything is heightened: strength, speed, and even sensory awareness all increase."

"I see," Teo replied, too weary for an argument.

Raijah was slow to his feet, being as his ribs weren't getting any better. "It's as if he's somehow nullified my healing," Raijah thought.

Teo gave Nezumi a brief summary of Raijah's synopsis, but as he finished, a healed Tensai appeared within eye distance.

Nezumi, Raijah, and Teo all got in their respective stances, prepared to fight.

"Nezumi?" Tensai began. "You seem somewhat different than before."

Nezumi ignored Tensai's remark. He shook his head with disgust. "So you've really done it, huh, Tensai? You've become a monster all for the sake of ambition."

"Who are you to judge me?" Tensai spat. "When I look around, I only see imperfections. I'm not like everyone else, who accepts our world for what it is and is willing to survive by barely making ends meet.

"I want to live, not just survive.

"To live, one must have meaning.

"Meaning does not exist in this world."

Tensai's feet lifted off the ground as he began to fly.

"I have achieved immortality. Can you even comprehend what that means? If the next world lacks meaning, then I will venture to another and another, and so forth. The only thing standing in my way are three maggots.

"Three maggots that I shall now crush. . ."

Raijah heard Tensai shout, ". . .Starting with this one!" Suddenly, his pupils turned into pinpricks as he felt Tensai's fist engrave itself into his chest. Then with a flash of pain, he was coughing up blood and tumbling through the air for what seemed like miles.

Tensai pivoted on his heels and shifted his attention to Teo, but Nezumi interjected.

"Wood Prana: Great Forest Creation!"

Massive tree roots emerged from the ground, entangling Tensai's arms and legs while lifting him into the air.

Nezumi sprinted up the roots, and Teo trailed after him. They leaped into the air and descended down upon a hindered Tensai, Nezumi being the first to strike.

He manipulated prana and created a single dragon fist, but Tensai simply ripped through the roots and blocked with his forearms.

When Tensai dropped to the ground, he noticed that he was in a dense, vibrant forest. The trees covered the sky almost completely, leaving only a few fragments of blue.

"My transformation is taking longer than expected," Tensai whispered. "Fortunately, I'm beginning to adjust to it. A bit longer, and I'll be able to use prana."

Tensai glimpsed a blur of speed in his peripheral.

The moment's warning was all Tensai needed. As Nezumi rushed at him, he slid his foot across the ground and pivoted. The end of his foot thudded into Nezumi's ribs, bringing a grunt and a stumble.

Tensai let his foot bounce off Nezumi and spun, carrying it around just as Teo came within range. His foot dipped and darted under Teo's sword and clipped his ankle from under him.

As Teo fell, Tensai completed the spin in time to dodge Nezumi's dragon fist and deliver a roundhouse kick that sent Nezumi reeling.

Ignoring him for a moment, Tensai half-turned, twisting his ankle to whip the length of his leg. Teo, just starting to rise, blocked the kick with the butt of his sword.

As he flowed into his sword form, Teo brought his weapon across his chest and stepped forward, slashing the blade across Tensai's throat.

The blade, however, did not sink as deep as Teo expected.

"What?" Teo mulled. "Was my attack too shallow? No. A strike like that would've proved fatal against any other opponent."

Teo evaded another kick and slipped away, but Tensai pressed forward, spinning on his heels to unleash a reverse crescent kick.

Teo anticipated this and manipulated prana while leaping over Tensai's foot.

"True Devil Prana: Chaos Inferno!"

A concentrated pillar of black flames erupted from Teo's hand. The blazes quickly ripped through thousands of trees, raining down ash across much of the vicinity.

Tensai dashed and dodged away from not only the flames but the heat. A layer of sweat had collected on his skin, and his breath was ragged.

"His flames didn't make direct contact, but I'm no longer healing. If I don't get rid of that devil, he'll make things difficult for me."

Nonetheless, Tensai escaped the forest and instantly located Teo.

Teo's blade was grounded in the grass, and he was clutching at it to hold himself up. "He's just too fast," Teo mumbled through gritted teeth. "I can't keep this up. I've already exhausted most of my prana."

Tensai's hand instinctively curled into a fist. He bolted toward Teo, readying a blow that would undoubtedly prove fatal.

Before he could strike, Raijah and Nezumi appeared before him, swinging their feet at both sides of his head.

Tensai threw his arms up to block, but the combined force of their attack sent him flying backward. His toes landed first, skimming the grass, then his heels thudded to a stop.

Nezumi was stationed directly in front of him. Behind him, Raijah, still wincing with pain, stood beside Teo. They were all sweating profusely. Fatigue had begun to run its course.

A light breeze whistled passed the stone obelisks and through the thin blades of grass. All around them, the sinking earth was torn and scarred from the effects of their previous clashes.

Tensai's stare pierced through Raijah. His face morphed into a frown. "You just don't know when to quit, do you?"

Raijah did not respond.

Tensai's frown grew deeper. "Very well. That iron will of yours. . .I shall crush it with my bare hands."

Nezumi stepped forward. "Raijah, Teo, start preparing that last attack. My strength will soon fade away. I'll use the time I have left to hold him off."

"Can you really buy enough time?" Teo asked, still trying to support his own weight.

"I don't have a choice," Nezumi responded.

Tensai settled into his stance. With every passing moment, his thoughts were becoming more transparent. Soon, his transformation would be complete, and his victory would be all but cemented. All he had to do, was hold out for a bit longer.

Nezumi also crouched into his stance. He did not fight as his brain told him to. No careful evaluation, no judging of the terrain, no detailed testing. Nezumi couldn't give his enemy time to think.

He burrowed deeply into his consciousness, allowing his instincts to guide him. He went beyond a lack of sentiments, burning away all distractions.

Nezumi spun into a sequence of attacks. A front-hand jab became a reverse punch which became a roundhouse kick. His combinations were like streams blending into a larger and larger river.

Despite his efforts, Tensai fought as well as Nezumi feared. Their techniques were perfectly identical.

"Nezumi..." Tensai said with a grunt, falling back before Nezumi's dragon fist, a line of blood dripping from his chin. Nezumi's foot flashed in the air, shimmering with green prana.

Tensai came back with a fang strike, which Nezumi anticipated, countering. He took a scratch along his face but ignored it. The exchange set Nezumi back a step, and gave Tensai a chance to perform an ax kick.

Nezumi felt the kick coming due to his complete understanding of Tensai's abilities. The way Tensai shifted, the direction his eyes flickered, told Nezumi exactly what was coming.

Nezumi blocked Tensai's attack, but he breathed hoarsely. Nezumi's legs chose that moment to tremble. He could feel it creeping back in, the wobbly feeling, the excruciating pain that felt as if his body was being split into fragments. It was hard to keep his knees straight as he started forward.

"Just a bit more," Nezumi mustered, trying to keep his pace.

Tensai growled, then launched a roundhouse kick.

Nezumi responded with a reverse round kick, but Tensai's fury forced him back a few steps.

Nezumi tried to slip away, but Tensai pressed forward, battering at his defenses, kicking him in the leg, then the face, and finally the liver.

From the first blow, Nezumi knew that luck, skill, determination, or whatever had brought him this far was still present, for he was still standing despite the onslaught.

Tensai struck, and Nezumi saw his opening. He lunged forward, clasping the back of Tensai's head and ramming his knee into Tensai's face. As Tensai began to fall back, Nezumi felt the crunch of bones shattering, and his knee grew wet with Tensai's blood.

Tensai struggled to his feet. He spat out a clot of crimson blood, and his face warped with rage. He was not the type of man whose emotion was constantly on display, but in this instance, he exhibited more anger than Nezumi had ever seen in one person.

He unleashed his immense aura, and his voice resembled that of a raging ocean. "Nezumi!" his broad voice was shrill and deafening. "This is where you make your final stand!"

Nezumi dropped to one knee under the pressure of Tensai's prana. He was being crushed under an unliftable weight. The tension continued to grow. Soon, Nezumi found himself flat on the ground.

Suddenly, all the weight vanished just as quickly as it appeared.

When Nezumi looked up, Tensai was doubled over. The ring around his forehead had shrunk, squeezing his head to the point of bleeding. Tensai's scream was that of utter anguish. His rasped voice was like metal screaming against stone.

Nezumi scrambled to his feet. "That halo. . .it seems to be limiting his power. This is my chance."

Nezumi rushed Tensai and blasted a kick into his jaw, propelling Tensai into the air. Following up, he formed two dragon fists and jumped into the air, hovering at a favorable angle above Tensai.

"Doragonken: Twin Dragons' Blitz!"

He delivered countless swift punches to the air, hurling prana dragons with each continuous blow. Each dragon fist connected, but Nezumi showed no signs of slowing down. Ten. . .twenty. . .fifty.

By the time Nezumi landed his hundredth blow, Tensai's body was set ablaze by Nezumi's green aura. He was sent crashing back to the ground, landing awkwardly on his back.

Nezumi landed a few meters away from him. The heat generated from his current state was cooking his body from the inside out. Soon, he'd be reduced to ash.

"Is it over?" Nezumi wondered, eagerly watching Tensai's body.

To his dismay, dragon tattoos began to spread across Tensai's entire body. Within seconds, he was a mass of darkness. Then, he began to transform.

He morphed into a serpentine black dragon, dwarfing trees and mountain ranges, and shattering obelisks until he reached what was roughly the size of a small country.

He grew stag-like horns and a dark, hairy mane with a beard and tufts of hair on the back of his legs. A long whisker formed below his mammalian snout, and black scales covered his body like armor.

Nezumi nearly dropped to the ground at the sight of Tensai's dragon form. Hunger gnawed at him as if he had swallowed weasels. Sweat rolled down his eyes but quickly evaporated due to his body heat. His strength began to fade as if leached out with the heat.

"Raijah and Teo aren't here. Their attack must not be ready. I can't fall yet. I have to hold out."

With a roar, he threw all his reserves into one last surge. He leaped into the air, rising high above Tensai's colossal transformation.

He came down with impressive momentum, and a burst of vibrant green prana erupted from his hands, forming a single dragon fist that rivaled Tensai in size.

"Doragonken: Kyodaina Dragon Fist!"

With a grunt, Nezumi hurled the mass of green prana toward Tensai, shouting, "It's like you said, Tensai. . .this is my final stand!"