"Hmmmmmmm"
Nara took a deep breath, eyes locked onto the demon as he shifted his left foot back.
Behind him, Alpha crouched, surrounded by scattered gold. Her palms glowed faintly, tendrils of tenzen leaking into the glittering pile.
'This plan better work... or else...'
The demon stood ahead, finger raised, the tip brimming with dark anti-tenzen energy.
Swoosh!
A surge of tenzen exploded from Nara's body, cracks spiderwebbing the ground beneath him.
His eyes darted, tracking every twitch of the demon.
"Alpha, is it ready?" Nara asked, voice low, unwavering.
"No," Alpha replied, wiping sweat from her brow. "It's going to take longer."
Nara didn't respond.
Twoosh!
The demon fired.
Clap! BOOM!
Nara thrust both palms forward—fire roared out, meeting the orb in midair. The two forces collided, canceling each other out in a hiss of black and red smoke.
"Don't... get in my way!!" Nara shouted, launching himself toward the demon like a streak of fire.
He closed the distance in a heartbeat—
Twoosh!
Another orb fired—Nara leaned to the side, letting it graze past his ear. He spun, momentum flaring.
SWOOSH! BOOM!
His arms burst into flames.
"Spinning Fire Slash!"
He twisted midair, a cyclone of fire erupting from his arms, forming a blazing blade that whirled through the air and—
CLANG!
—it struck the demon.
But the attack stopped dead. A jarring impact, as if metal slammed against something harder.
Nara's eyes widened.
Around him, black anti-tenzen orbs materialized—dozens of them.
"Shit!"
Twoof! RATATATAT!
The orbs fired like bullets.
Nara leapt back, weaving through the barrage. Fire burst from his palms, intercepting some. Others clipped his arms, shoulders—
Twoosh! BANG!
An orb slammed down before him—he flipped backward, tumbling across the ground as more rained from above.
CRASH! BANG! BOOM!
He darted through the chaos, flames in his wake.
Then—
Silence.
Nara skidded to a stop, breathing heavy.
Pam!
He dropped to one knee, sweat trailing down his temple. His eyes stayed locked on the demon.
"Why... did it stop?"
Then he saw it.
Above the demon's horn, all the scattered orbs began to drift inward... converging and coalescing.
SWOOSH... CHK... CHK...
A single orb formed—dense, jet black, pulsing with energy.
Nara's gut twisted.
'A concentrated anti-tenzen blast... if that hits, we're done. No dodging. No surviving.'
His fists clenched.
"There's only one way... I'll stop it before it fires!"
He surged forward.
...
Meanwhile, Alpha gritted her teeth, still transferring tenzen. Her eyes flicked between the gold and the battlefield.
"Almost done..." she whispered.
...
'It's focused on charging. That means... it's vulnerable.'
Fwooooooo...
"Fire Style..."
Nara's hands glowed bright.
"CRIMSON BURST!"
BOOM!
His palm collided with the demon's chest.
A violent explosion of fire erupted point-blank, engulfing the demon in a massive, red inferno.
"Explode!!"
Nara screamed, pouring more tenzen into the blast.
"AAAHHHHH!!"
The flames cracked the ground, rocked the walls—as the it covered the demon.
"Arrgh, arrgh," Nara breathed heavily, as he stared at the flames.
"That must have done it," he thought to himself, a sense of relief washing over him—
—but then—
FWOOOSH!
The fire was sucked inward. Extinguished.
The demon emerged, scorched but unharmed.
Its horn glowed brighter.
"No... way..."
SWOOSH!
The demon's arm moved—fast. Too fast.
Time seemed to slow.
Nara's eyes widened, barely able to cross his arms—
SLAM!!
The massive arm crashed into him like a meteor.
BOOOOM!!
Shockwaves tore through the floor. Air cracked. The force blasted everything behind Nara, a wall crumbling under the sheer pressure.
BLUUUHH!
Blood exploded from his mouth. His body bent, eyes bloodshot.
TWOOF!
He was sent flying—spinning like a ragdoll—
CRACK!
—and slammed into the far wall, leaving a massive dent.
---
Then followed silence.
Then...
"Nara?"
A distant voice.
"Nara!"
The world changed.
He stood at the edge of a calm, black river. Trees loomed around, casting eerie shadows on the water.
Across the river... a boy stood. Smiling. Waving.
"Nara!" the boy called.
Something in his voice... it was warm. Nostalgic.
Nara felt his feet move. He stepped into the river—
Splash.
The water was cold, but not painful.
He walked forward.
Each step rippled gently.
The boy laughed. "Come on!"
Nara's heart ached. That face—
He reached the end. One more step and he'd be there.
Then—
"NARA!!!"
Alpha's scream yanked him back.
His eyes flew open.
He was on the ground. Still alive. Still in the room.
Alpha stood in the distance, over the glowing gold, face twisted in fear.
"Hh...huh...?"
He blinked. Pain roared back into his body.
"D-Don't come... just... finish it," he whispered hoarsely, collapsing to all fours.
Alpha hesitated, then returned to her work.
Ugh...
Blood spilled from his lips.
His body trembled.
'That vision... that kid... what was that?'
Then it hit him.
It was death.
"I barely scraped death... didn't I?" he whispered, a smirk cracking through the pain.
His fingers twitched. The fire in his veins hadn't gone out yet.
Not yet.
Swuuuuu...
The massive orb hovered, glowing ominously, as black anti-tenzen winds spiraled out across the room.
Each gust sent tremors through the air—dry, cold, and heavy like death itself.
The demon lowered its head slowly, horn pulsing with the violent energy.
"Shit..." Nara hissed, staggering to his feet. His legs quaked beneath him.
His fingers twitched.
Every instinct screamed: Run.
But he didn't.
"It all comes down to this plan," he muttered, casting a quick glance toward Alpha.
"Almost done... almost done..." she kept whispering, kneeling over the scattered gold, her hands glowing bright with tenzen as sweat drenched her face.
Nara let out a weak chuckle in his mind.
'She needs to see her face right now... she looks like someone casting a spell to summon a god.'
Then his smile faded.
'But this wouldn't work... not without her.'
ROARRR!!
The demon's voice split the air, an unholy scream that shook the foundation of the chamber.
Dust fell from above. Cracks widened.
"Gnnngh!" Nara groaned, clutching his ribs. Blood stained his teeth.
But Alpha didn't stop.
"Almost... almost..."
Time slowed.
The demon lowered its horn. The orb atop it grew brighter—unstable.
It began to tilt, like a sniper taking aim.
Nara glanced back at Alpha.
No words. Just trust.
He exhaled.
"All I can do... is hope."
TWACK!
Suddenly, the large swirling orb compressed—
Vmmm...
A deep, reverberating hum filled the air.
The orb folded in on itself, smaller... and smaller...
Fwoosh.
A vortex spun into existence around the horn, sucking in light, air, even the loose dust in the air.
The walls groaned, as if holding in a scream.
Crk... crk... CRK!
Stone cracked.
Nara stared at the scene—motionless, breath held.
And then—
Fwip.
It stopped shrinking.
A single, jet-black orb remained.
Silent. Small.
And for the first time...
The demon grinned.
"...Almost..." Alpha whispered, hands still glowing.
And then—
KRZZZK!!!
ZRAK!!!
It fired.
A blinding flash.
A spear of compressed anti-tenzen tore through the air, shattering reality like glass.
BOOOOOOOOOM!!
The moment it hit—
Everything vanished.
Walls vaporized in a blink.
The floor split, veins of energy surging outward like lightning.
A wave of black light and crimson smoke rolled through the chamber like a storm.
Nara was blown backward, his body lifted off the ground like a leaf in a hurricane.
KRRAAAANG!!!
A deep echo screamed through the chamber as rubble and flame spiraled upwards.
Everything the blast touched ceased to exist.
Then—
Silence.
Just a long, ringing void.
VMMMMMMMM....
A deep, fading vibration.
Residual anti-tenzen pulsing like a heartbeat from another world.
Then...
Suuuuuu....
A slow, cold wind crawled across the ruins.
Dust and ash fell like snow.
The room was no longer a room. Just wreckage.
Nara coughed.
"Aww..."
He lay sprawled across the fractured floor, blood on his lip, vision hazy.
"Still alive...?" he wheezed, voice shaky.
He rolled over, groaning, holding his ribs. Pain stabbed through every inch of his body.
"Wait... if I'm alive..."
His eyes widened.
"Alpha...!"
He forced himself upright, gaze darting through the dust, panic choking his breath.
'No... no no no—'
Then—he suddenly saw a flash of gold, followed by a familiar voice.
"Phew... That was crazy!"
***
TBC