Itekan prepped them on the plan, and everyone agreed—it was their best shot.
The strategy was simple: concentrated destruction.
Four Arms had monstrous strength and inhuman stamina. Trying to wear it down was suicidal; none of them could tank even a single full-strength blow. Instead, Itekan proposed they pour every ounce of power into one location—a specific weak point.
Earlier, when Itoyea and Bukanami launched their assault, Itekan hadn't stood idle. He had struck as well, but like the others, his blades had failed to pierce the creature's skin.
Except once.
One strike had caused a subtle jolt—a twitch in the beast's neck, a break in its rhythm. At first, Itekan assumed it had been Itoyea or Bukanami who'd landed a clean hit. But replaying the moment in his mind, he remembered exactly where his blade had landed: the underside of Four Arms' chin.
A flaw in its natural design, he realized. The chin had the lowest density in its skull—likely a structural necessity to offset the crushing weight of the massive jaws above.
A weak point. Hidden in plain sight.
"Let's head in!" Itekan shouted.
---
They surged toward the monster, who had just swatted away a squad of guards like toys.
Tobi was already there, legs planted deep into the earth, holding one of the creature's arms at bay with raw, trembling might. His eyes burned with determination, every muscle in his body screaming.
Itoyea launched high into the air, sword glowing with focused SE.
Four Arms saw him and raised an arm—but Itekan's shadow tentacles lashed out, binding the limb mid-swing. Itoyea dashed across it like a narrow bridge, reaching the shoulder in moments.
"Way of the Wind: Second Form – Thunderclaps!!"
The blade struck beneath the chin.
Electricity burst from the point of impact. A shockwave of concentrated spiritual energy cracked across the demon's jaw. Four Arms roared—not in fury, but pain.
Still restrained by Tobi's strength and Itekan's shadows, the demon's movement was limited. It couldn't counter.
From above, Bukanami descended like a streak of gold, both blades crossed over his chest. His eyes pulsed with fiery golden light.
"Divine Dragon Style: Blood and Sword!!"
He struck the same spot with both blades—one glowing gold, the other soaked in inky darkness. The collision of SE types detonated on impact. Flesh ruptured. Blood sprayed.
The wound widened.
Then came Konacho.
Spinning midair, her twin chained synths sliced and wrapped with fluid precision. She buried them deep into the gash, digging further with every rotation.
Four Arms screamed and ripped an arm free.
He caught Itekan's tentacle and yanked hard—pulling the boy toward its mouth.
Its jaws gaped wide.
Itekan didn't flinch.
"Calogaja!" he shouted, flashing through hand signs.
A swarm of shadow daggers shot into the beast's neck, forcing its head back in recoil. Itekan vaulted off its jaw, kicked against its snout, and reattached his tendrils to a flailing limb, swinging himself back into play.
But the demon had fully entered its berserk state.
Its arms whipped the air like battering rams. One punch caught Itekan mid-swing and sent him flying. He hit the ground, rolled, and rebounded off an arm.
"Shadow Hands: Shadow Domain of Spikes!"
Instead of forming the usual dome, shadows condensed into a storm of jagged, black spikes—raining down across Four Arms' back and shoulders like divine punishment. The monster bellowed.
Itekan didn't stop.
He channeled SE into his feet, body blurred by speed, his form a streak of darkness.
He launched upward one last time, twin daggers raised high. The others watched, breath held.
He drove them straight into the chin.
He didn't stop.
He burst through the top of its skull, trailing gore and shredded bone, a black comet of violence.
The chin cracked.
Then shattered.
Four Arms' massive head jerked back—
—and the entire monster collapsed like a fallen mountain. The earth trembled under its weight.
A low rumble echoed in its chest.
Then silence.
No twitch. No breath. No movement.
It was done.
---
Itekan hit the ground with a hard thud, rolling through dirt and blood. He barely had the strength to move.
"Please," he whispered. "Let that be enough."
Tobi caught him just before he collapsed, lowering him gently. His own body trembled, the lion-like mane on his head soaked in blood. Deep gashes ran along his arms and ribs.
Itoyea arrived, panting, blade dragging behind him. Bukanami landed beside him, weapons lowered.
Konacho stepped forward and, without ceremony, buried her synths in the demon's head one last time.
"...Yeah. It's dead."
---
Tobi knelt, unmoving.
His SE was spent. His strength was gone. He should've fallen with it.
But inside… he felt something new.
I was born with pressure. With bloodline. With expectation.
They said I'd lead. Said I was the future. But I couldn't keep up—not with SE this weak.
They trained me like a prodigy, but I was always lacking. Always the one falling short.
He clenched a shaking fist.
But not today.
Today… I mattered.
He didn't need to say it aloud.
The others saw it in his eyes.
---
Then came the aftershock of silence—a vacuum of noise, the world holding its breath.
And then the screams.
But not of terror.
Relief.
From alleys, tunnels, and cracked rooftops, the citizens of Lysternia began to emerge. At first, only a few. Then dozens. Then hundreds. Wounded. Weeping. Wide-eyed.
They gathered in awe around their saviors.
Tobi, kneeling in silence, his beast form slowly receding.
Itoyea, holding Itekan upright as both bled from a dozen cuts.
Konacho and Bukanami still stood guard, weapons out, scanning—ever ready.
A girl, no older than seven, broke from the crowd. She ran up to Konacho, tears streaking her face, and hugged her waist.
Konacho froze—then gently rested a hand on the child's head.
Others followed.
A woman took Tobi's massive hand in hers and kissed it.
"Thank you," she whispered, voice cracking. "You saved us."
An old man knelt before Itoyea, head bowed.
"You protected our children," he said, shaking.
Itekan glanced around, stunned.
"We just… did what we had to," he murmured.
But the wave of cheers that followed swallowed his words whole.
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.Spiritual Energy (SE)
Spiritual Sea (SS)
Spiritual Signature (SST)
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