"So you're the one who's been impersonating me and ruining my good name. That's perfect it'll save us the trouble of searching for you any longer."
Krenom only smiled, and in an instant appeared in front of Derivan, placing his hand against his stomach.
"When did he..."
Yashimiro's double released his choki, causing a massive explosion that blasted the real Derivan a great distance away.
"YASHIMIRO!"
"I didn't even notice when that bastard appeared in front of him," Blade thought.
"Who's next? No volunteers? In that case, I'll deal with you. It'll be better for you if you hand over what you're wearing around your neck."
"Over my dead body," Tortoro replied.
"Tempting offer."
Tortoro charged at Derivan's double, but the impostor effortlessly dodged every blow.
"What's wrong? Can't even hit me?" Krenom mocked.
"Shut up!"
Krenom blocked Tortoro's strike, then grabbed his arm and threw him over his shoulder, slamming him into the ground.
"Kira, let's go find Derivan. He might need help," Nohara suggested.
"Alright. What about you, Blade?"
"There won't be a better chance to get that crystal, so I'm staying here."
While Tortoro and Krenom fought each other, the girls decided to take advantage of the situation and search for Yashimiro.
"Damn you!" Tortoro fired an energy sphere, but Krenom easily avoided it.
"That's supposed to be an attack?" Krenom stretched out his hands toward his opponent, forming an energy sphere and immediately launching it.
When the attack hit its target, it caused a massive explosion powerful enough to destroy part of the island.
"I have to use the moment while those two are fighting to sneak up on that guy and take the Kinotro crystal from him," Blade thought.
Tortoro burst out of the ground and instantly appeared behind Krenom, trying to attack him from behind. Blade seized that moment and flew toward him, attempting to rip the necklace off Tortoro's neck. The Karokuzo demon sensed him and turned at the last second, striking Blade and sending him flying several meters away. However, a second later Krenom fired choki directly behind Tortoro.
"When will you understand that you don't stand a chance against me?"
Meanwhile, Nohara and Kira were still searching for Yashimiro.
"He flew in that direction," Kira pointed out.
"Then he should be lying somewhere nearby."
After a few moments, the girls finally found Yashimiro. He was unconscious, and blood was pouring from his stomach.
"That's horrible… his stomach is completely torn open," Kira commented, covering her mouth in shock.
"Damn it… if only Ania were here… Still, we have to stop the bleeding somehow."
Tortoro lay somewhere on the island, staring up at the sky.
"It's been a long time since I last used this form… but it seems I have no other choice," he thought, releasing his full power.
The demon's body began transforming into a massive black dragon. The entire island started shaking from his power.
"What's happening?" Kira asked.
"I have no idea, but it's definitely nothing good."
In his dragon form, Tortoro appeared in front of Derivan's double.
"Who would have thought you were hiding such a transformation from me? I hope that in this state you'll at least entertain me a little."
Tortoro roared and tried to strike his opponent with his claw, but Krenom easily dodged the attack.
"It looks like you gained more power, but at the cost of speed," Krenom observed.
Tortoro opened his jaws and began gathering an energy sphere, which grew larger with every second. When it reached the right size, Tortoro fired it.
"You think an attack like that can defeat me?" Krenom extended his hand toward the attack and with a wave redirected it back at the dragon.
When it struck Tortoro, a massive explosion followed, once again destroying part of the island.
"What kind of monsters are these?" Blade muttered, shielding his face from the powerful wind.
Tortoro appeared above Derivan's double, trying to grab him with his dragon tail. However, it was Krenom who grabbed Tortoro's tail and threw him over his shoulder.
"Hahaha! See? Even in this form you're not a threat to me," Krenom mocked, releasing a shockwave.
After taking another hit, Tortoro returned to his normal form and lay unconscious. Krenom flew toward him.
"After that transformation the necklace must have come off you… I guess I'll have to spend some time looking for it," Derivan's double remarked.
Hearing this, Blade also began searching for the Kinotro crystal. Meanwhile, Kira and Nohara continued taking care of Yashimiro.
"We managed to stop the bleeding. Looks like Shonetsu's regeneration has started working," Kira stated.
"Shonetsu regeneration?" Nohara raised an eyebrow.
"Our demon race also possesses regenerative abilities."
"Well, that's a surprise. I guess I didn't use enough choki to kill him."
Hearing Krenom's voice, Nohara and Kira immediately jumped to their feet.
"Did he defeat Blade and Tortoro that quickly? He must be incredibly powerful," Nohara thought.
"Move aside. I need to finish what I started."
"You've got to be kidding. Don't think I'll let you," Nohara removed her glasses and activated Kuritaizu. "Kira, take care of Yashimiro. I'll try to stop him."
"Alright. Just be careful."
"You want to fight me? I was planning to kill all of you anyway. It seems I'll just do it in a slightly different order than I originally intended."
Nohara raised her hand toward Derivan's double and created a dozen crystal blades, which she launched at the enemy. Krenom merely smiled, easily dodging them by jumping into the air, then fired an energy projectile toward Yashimiro and Kira.
"Don't think I'll let you!"
Before the attack could reach them, a crystal barrier created by Nohara appeared around the Dakero siblings. To Krenom's surprise, the barrier withstood his attack.
"Not a bad barrier, if it can withstand my attack," Krenom admitted.
Derivan's double vanished from Nohara's sight and instantly appeared behind her. The Hokane heiress sensed him and jumped aside at the last second. Unfortunately for her, Krenom expected that and released a shockwave.
"Damn it."
Before Nohara could react, she was hit, and a moment later a huge explosion followed.
"Nohara…"
"Alright, where was I… oh right." Krenom began walking toward Kira and Yashimiro. "Wait… if I got rid of her, shouldn't that barrier disappear?"
"We're still protected by Nohara's barrier… but I can't let him kill Yashimiro," Kira thought.
"Not so fast."
Krenom turned around when he heard Nohara's voice. He saw her again but this time her body was covered in crystal armor.
"If I hadn't activated this armor in time, I'd be done for."
"I'm impressed that someone as weak as you survived my attack," Krenom admitted.
"This isn't over yet." Nohara took a fighting stance, forming a crystal sword in her hand.
Nohara rushed at Krenom, trying to stab him with the crystal blade. Derivan's double only smiled as he avoided her attacks.
"You're too slow."
The red-haired teenager narrowed her eyes and, to Krenom's surprise, managed to scratch his cheek.
"So you can do it if you try," Krenom said, launching a series of rapid attacks that shattered her armor. Finally, with a kick to the stomach and an elbow strike to her back, he knocked Nohara to the ground.
But Nohara didn't give up. She trapped Krenom inside a crystal barrier, from whose interior sharp blades began to grow.
"You won't escape!" Nohara extended the blades.
Krenom appeared to be pierced by the blades inside the barrier at least that's how it looked.
"Did it work?"
"I must admit you have an interesting ability. If it weren't for the afterimage technique, you might have killed me," Krenom admitted, appearing behind Nohara.
Before the girl could react, Yashimiro's double grabbed her by the head and slammed her into the ground. Then he walked in front of her, grabbed her hair, lifted her head and kicked her in the face.
"Nohara…"
Kira wanted to react, but she couldn't leave her brother. Suddenly she noticed a dark-purple aura surrounding Yashimiro's body. His injuries had completely regenerated.
"Oh no… he's going through the transformation process! Yashimiro, stop!"
Krenom kept kicking and beating Nohara all over her body. At one moment his attention was drawn by an explosion of demonic energy coming from Yashimiro, who had transformed into his full Shonetsu form.