The clash between Toru Kurotaki and the stronger Veynos clone raged on in the ruined heart of the city. With buildings cracked, glass strewn across asphalt, and purple essence boiling in the air, the two EX-level forces battered each other like living titans.
Toru's breath was ragged, sweat mixing with the blood dripping from his brow. He'd already driven Veynos through multiple walls, flipped him off rooftops, and landed several heavy strikes—but the clone wasn't slowing down.
"You're a damn machine..." Toru muttered, planting his feet as he barely dodged another whipping punch. "Why aren't you running out of juice?"
Veynos' dark blue hair clung to his pale face, and those eyes—glowing with an unnatural hue—never blinked. His movements were distorted, flexible like molten flesh, yet carried the impact of a train. He showed no signs of fatigue.
As they prepared to charge again, Toru's sharp eyes caught movement—a civilian crawling out of a broken stairwell nearby, dazed and bloodied.
Toru didn't hesitate.
"Damn it—!"
He rushed to the civilian, shielding them with his body. But in that moment, Veynos twisted unnaturally, his arm elongating like a spear of sinew and essence—and slammed into Toru's back, sending him skidding forward across the concrete, narrowly keeping the civilian safe.
"Agh…!" Toru groaned, staggering to one knee, his back searing in pain.
But Veynos wasn't done.
In a flash, the clone turned and charged at Daigo, who had just returned to the fight. Daigo, still worn but alert, threw up a metallic shield using a nearby pole—but the impact rattled him.
"Not again," Daigo grunted.
Then—a grotesque surprise.
A fleshy snap echoed as an arm shot from Veynos' stomach, punching Daigo in the gut, then swinging again across his jaw, sending him flying. Before Daigo could recover, Veynos pounced, hammering him with blows that echoed through the city block. The ground cracked beneath Daigo as he was launched out of sight with a thunderous crash.
"DAIGO!" Toru roared, surging forward, rage and essence colliding in his chest.
The final battle began—Toru versus Veynos, with no one else in reach.
Essence exploded between them as they collided once more—punch for punch, slam for slam—tearing through ruined buildings, smashing into steel and concrete, glass and bone breaking under the force of their fury. At one point, Toru grabbed Veynos by the throat and hurled him through a parking garage, only for Veynos to rebound and drive Toru into a wall with an explosive tackle.
Bruised, bleeding, but still standing—Toru let out a defiant roar, channeling all of his essence into one final surge. Purple aura clashed with golden blue light as Toru powered through Veynos' final punch and smashed his fist directly into the clone's core.
A pulse of corrupted essence rippled outward. The clone froze, shaking violently… then cracked apart like glass, his body disintegrating into ash and mist.
The silence that followed was deafening.
Toru dropped to one knee, badly injured, coughing and clutching his ribs. "Where… where's Daigo…?"
But no answer came.
He looked around, blood dripping from his knuckles. The block was in ruins. The only thing that remained was the fading echo of battle—and the worry settling in Toru's chest.
Daigo was gone.
And Toru wasn't sure if he was still alive.