Toru Kurotaki's eyes narrowed as the 150 purple beasts crept closer, snarling with unnatural voices and twitching like puppets barely held together.
"Daigo!" Toru barked, shifting his stance. "Evacuate the civilians—now!"
Daigo nodded, slamming his palms together. Magnetic essence surged from his arms as he lifted a steel plate from the rubble, forming a makeshift barrier between the civilians and the beasts.
"I'll clear the path! Don't die, Toru!"
Toru cracked his knuckles, stepping forward. "Not planning to."
But before either could move another inch—
Veynos' clone moved.
It happened in a flash.
One second it was standing still—then the next, it melted into a shimmering worm, slithering across the ground at impossible speed. Toru's fist smashed through empty air, and the worm shot past him—heading straight for Daigo.
"DAIGO—!"
The worm writhed upward, reforming into Veynos mid-leap, and before Daigo could react—
CRACK!
A brutal punch slammed into Daigo's chest, launching him backwards into a concrete wall. The impact left a crater, cracks spiderwebbing out behind him as he dropped to his knees, coughing blood.
"What the hell…?" Daigo gasped. "That punch—it didn't match the weight of his body…"
Veynos tilted his head, eyes gleaming with wicked satisfaction. "I break the rules. I am not bound by the physics you cherish."
Toru's eyes widened, veins bulging with rage as he exploded forward—but that was Veynos' signal.
The purple beasts shrieked and charged at once, swarming like locusts around Toru.
"DAMN IT!" Toru roared, spinning into a wide Essence-infused sweep, flattening half a dozen enemies with a single arc of his arm.
But more came.
One leapt onto his back, claws ripping through his shirt—Toru grabbed it and snapped its spine over his shoulder.
Another darted from the side—he ducked and punched upward, launching it into the air before delivering a high-speed spinning kick to send it flying.
Blood splattered. Not his.
Yet they were unrelenting.
Veynos stood near Daigo, hands behind his back, watching Toru with amused curiosity as more beasts closed in.
"This is how you break a warrior," Veynos murmured. "You force him to fight a war of numbers… while his friend bleeds behind him."
Toru gritted his teeth, Essence flaring brighter.
"I don't care what you are," he growled, blocking another blow and crushing a beast underfoot. "But if you lay another finger on Daigo…"
He slammed his palms together—his aura now burning orange-gold, the mark of his EX-Rank surging in full.
"I will rip you apart."
But Veynos only smiled, stepping back into the shadows.
"Let's see you try, hero."
The beasts howled—and the real battle began.