Cherreads

Chapter 21 - Zero point

"Kagetsu, what the hell are you doing?"

Zo approached with slow steps, his tone calm yet filled with disapproval.

He walked right past Akizame without giving him a glance.

(Did he... ignore me?) Akizame thought.

"How many times have I told you your methods would get you in trouble one day?" Zo continued, his voice flat.

"Spare me the lecture... and give me a hand, will you?" Kagetsu snarled, still restrained and visibly exhausted.

Zo sighed. He placed a hand on the ash block and, with a simple gesture, shattered it in a silent burst that destroyed part of the unfinished structure.

Akizame's eyes widened.

His hand trembled involuntarily.

"Akizame?" the spirit behind him called.

"Akizame!" it repeated, more firmly.

"W-What?!" he finally answered, shaking himself.

"That guy... I think I recognize his spirit," said Enzo, concerned.

"Who is it?" asked the boy.

The spirit stared at Zo intensely, then spoke in a grave voice:

"Zenthos... the Zero Point."

"He was one of the generals during the war a thousand years ago."

"The war... between humanity and the spirits?" Akizame asked for confirmation.

Enzo nodded.

Akizame let out a long sigh, then clenched his teeth, veins popping from his forehead in anger.

"It doesn't matter. Those bastards killed my comrades... just because we tried to stop the Fuyumi family."

Then he shouted, his voice cracking from fury:

"Hey, you!"

"If you're helping him... then I'll have to take care of you too!"

Zo slowly turned toward him.

A moment later, Akizame was struck by a punch so powerful it smashed him into the concrete.

The impact shattered the surface, leaving a crater where his body landed.

Silence fell for a few seconds.

"Let's go," Zo said to Kagetsu. "We're done here."

(Just how strong is he…) thought Kagetsu, still in pain.

The two began walking away slowly, while blood continued to drip from Akizame's body, sprawled on the ground.

"Tsk..." Kagetsu grunted, clenching his teeth in pain.

"Look at the state you're in..." Zo started to say, but didn't get the chance to finish.

A sudden kick slammed into him, throwing him into a tangled mess of metal pipes.

The crash echoed across the entire construction site.

Kagetsu's eyes widened.

Standing in front of the twisted metal, bloodied and breathing heavily, was Akizame.

His gaze locked on Zo, fists clenched.

Without saying a word, Akizame charged with another punch. Zo blocked it instantly, trapping him with a swift leg hold.

"You surprise me," he said coldly, staring into his eyes.

Then, using his arms as leverage, he hurled him into the air.

Akizame's body flew to the third floor, crashing into a scaffold that collapsed under the impact.

"Akizame, watch out!" Enzo shouted.

Akizame barely stood up in time to try blocking a punch. He only managed to deflect it, but still got flung back, landing near the edge of the floor.

Zo didn't let up: he kept attacking, again and again.

Akizame searched for an opening, a chance to counterattack, but there was no space.

(I have to push him away... or I'm done for...) he thought, gritting his teeth, ready to gamble everything.

He let himself get hit on purpose, trying to create a gap.

"Now!"

The boy charged a powerful ash sphere and hurled it at Zo with all the strength he had left.

"No, wait!" Enzo warned.

Zo watched the attack approach. He didn't move.

"Pathetic."

He raised a hand and said coldly:

"Return to Zero Point."

The sphere vanished instantly, dissolved in a flash.

Akizame was speechless. Behind him, Enzo appeared, his face tense.

"I have no doubt now..." the spirit began.

"Hey, you. Your spirit is Zenthos, isn't it?"

Zo smiled faintly.

"You guessed it, Enzo."

"I want to talk to him. Make him appear," the spirit demanded.

Zo shook his head with an ambiguous expression.

"There's no need."

Meanwhile, Akizame was slowly getting back to his feet.

"Why are you so strong?" he asked seriously.

"Why don't you even need to summon your spirits to use their powers?!"

Zo turned toward him again.

"Who knows... maybe we have a secret. Or maybe… we're just the strongest."

Then he became more serious:

"You Reikeitai... you can't even begin to imagine who we are… or what he wants."

"He?" Akizame asked, focused.

Zo didn't respond. A subtle smile appeared on his face.

"One day you'll find out. But not today."

The ground began to tremble.

The entire area warped, as if space itself was collapsing under the weight of spiritual energy. Even the air grew denser.

Akizame dropped to his knees, crushed by the unbearable pressure.

"Enzo... let's do it," he whispered through gritted teeth.

"Are you sure?"

Akizame looked him straight in the eyes.

"This way… we won't lose."

"What are they planning…?" Zo muttered to himself.

"Listen..." Akizame said, rising to his feet.

"I'll show you why... among all spirit users, only the Reikeitai upholds true justice!"

A powerful surge of spiritual energy burst from his body, chilling even the air around Zo.

"What are you trying to do?" the enemy asked, increasing his power even further.

The building kept trembling, cracks and fractures spreading across beams and bolts.

"Come on, Enzo... almost there," Akizame said, increasing his spiritual pressure.

"You want to see who's stronger...? I'm in," Zo replied.

Both opponents screamed at once, their power exploding from within.

"What are they doing...? Don't they realize the building won't hold?" Kagetsu muttered from the ground.

(No... we can't end the fight here...) he realized.

Then, addressing Akizame, he added:

"Sorry... but we can't finish this battle today."

He glanced at the trembling structure.

"We'll settle things another time."

"What are you talking about?! What does that even mean?! And—"

At that exact moment, Akizame's voice was cut off—the floor beneath them collapsed.

Moments later, the entire skyscraper came crashing down.

The blast was so powerful it echoed all the way to the city center, alarming the population.

"I-It fell..." a man stammered.

"Call someone!" a woman screamed.

From the rubble, Akizame shot upward, flinging a metal rod into the air.

"Where did he go?" Enzo asked, materializing beside him.

The boy sat among the debris.

"He's gone... I lost..."

Just then, a Reikeitai vehicle pulled up.

From the car stepped a man about Akizame's age.

He had short dark blue hair and a bandage over his left eye.

"You've made a mess. This one won't be easy to cover up..." he said bluntly.

"I know..." Akizame replied.

He paused, then looked him straight in the eyes.

"Tetsuya... I'm certain:

if we want to catch them,

we need to attend the Fuyumi family's auction."

This incident occurred at 9 PM.

The following day, it was broadcast across Shinkase's news outlets.

From that moment on, it became known as:

"The First Night Incident."

More Chapters