The demon whose horn Ryuuto had snapped off staggered, clutching his head and screaming like metal grinding on bone. That shriek alone was enough to make the rest of the summoned hellspawn lose what little sanity they had left. They lunged at Ryuuto as if the only thought in their skulls was kill him now.
Ryuuto planted his feet, King Kong Staff resting against his shoulder. "Seriously? A bunch of dollar-store ghouls think they're scary? I'll smack every one of you back where you crawled from."
He swung. The staff extended like a red-hot meteor streak, tearing through the charging demons before they even reached him. Their bodies burst into black smoke one after another.
Off in the distance, Quicksilver peeked out from behind a broken pillar. His jaw dropped. "How is that brat THIS strong? Come on, Mephistopheles… don't embarrass me!"
He clenched his fists, muttering curses he was too scared to say out loud. No matter how much he hated Ryuuto, he sure wasn't going anywhere near that monster stick.
Mephistopheles, arms raised and magic shredding the air, barked orders. "Blackheart! Tear him apart. I'll finish him once he's begging for death."
"Gladly."
The surviving demon lord—Blackheart—scraped the dirt from his charred face and charged like a starving wolf, slipping past the arcs of Ryuuto's moving staff.
Ryuuto smirked. "Back again? Guess some demons really do forget pain as soon as they stop bleeding."
"I'll kill you completely this time!" Blackheart roared.
"Sure. Come try."
Blackheart's tail shot forward like a spear, aimed straight for Ryuuto's heart. His claws followed, gleaming with malice. But before they connected, Ryuuto dismissed the Ape King he had summoned earlier, the creature dissolving into a swirl of smoke.
"What are you doing!?" Blackheart snarled, thrown off by the sudden move.
Ryuuto wagged a finger. "C'mon. Walk right into it."
Enraged, the demon lunged. His claws were one inch from Ryuuto's chest when his triumphant grin froze.
Ryuuto's Byakugan flared open.
"Eight Trigrams… Revolving Heaven."
Chakra exploded outward in a spiraling storm. Blackheart, caught dead-center, was drilled with force so overwhelming that his body tore open like wet paper, blood spraying in long violent arcs.
He couldn't even scream. Every limb hung limp. His entire frame trembled like a puppet with severed strings.
Ryuuto cracked his knuckles. "And now we finish the lesson."
Eight Trigrams: Air Palm.
Eight Trigrams: Sixty-Four Palms.
Eight Trigrams: One Hundred and Twenty-Eight Palms.
Eight Trigrams: Three Hundred and Sixty-One Palms.
His palms blurred faster than sound. Blackheart's body twisted under each strike, bones snapping like firecrackers. By the time Ryuuto delivered the final blow, Blackheart wasn't so much a demon as he was a leaking sack of misery.
Quicksilver swallowed hard. Sweat poured down his neck. "Nope. I'm never… EVER fighting that kid hand-to-hand."
One last explosive palm strike sent Blackheart splattering into a steaming crater. The battlefield went silent.
Wolverine let out a sharp whistle. "Kid! That was brutal."
Tony, still physically weak but grinning like he'd just watched a mech-transformer anime, coughed. "Love to see it."
Ryuuto shrugged. "Light work. These guys were doomed the moment they picked a fight with me."
A chill rolled across the ruins.
Mephistopheles hadn't moved. He didn't mourn Blackheart at all. His eyes glowed with a cold, ancient fury as the orb of dark energy swelling in his hand distorted the air itself.
Wolverine's claws snapped open. "He's powering up again!"
Tony steadied himself, repulsors flickering. "Kid, we're with you."
Ryuuto stepped between them, cracking his neck. "Relax. This time, we end him together."
Mephistopheles tilted his head, lips curling into a twisted smile. "Three insects challenging a demon king? Cute. Let me show you just how tiny your lives truly are."
The air trembled. Darkness coiled. And something began to unfold behind him…