While the students battled the Hunters summoned by Gisurd, Kazuhiko faced the main threat: Gisurd himself, who claimed to have received power from a god.
Kazuhiko's punch slammed into Gisurd, knocking him to the ground.
Instead of fear, Gisurd laughed.
"Fast as usual… But tell me, what will speed do against this?"
A chorus of hollow screams rose from beneath Kazuhiko's feet, as if the earth itself begged for mercy.
A portal opened.
Kazuhiko reacted instantly, leaping back, his feet sliding on the damp grass. From the portal crawled more Hunters in gray hazmat suits.
"Just what are you now?" Kazuhiko asked, his voice edged with anger.
Gisurd climbed to his feet, letting the Hunters emerge.
"I am someone beyond the status of a Resonant. I'm…"
Years ago, during the Great War between Resonants and the Graceless…
Gisurd was known then as Gislen. He had faced Kazuhiko and lost.
The Nameless Hero had been in secret talks with Lucian Daichi at the time, forging the pact that would end the war.
And on that battlefield, among the ruined trees and soil, Kazuhiko towered over the trembling Gislen. His eyes were cold and tired.
Gislen's heart pounded.
'Is this it for me?'
But Kazuhiko turned and walked away, sparing him.
Relief washed over Gislen until his hand moved on instinct. He grabbed a rock, swung it at Kazuhiko's back… But Gislen's attack, despite clearly being aimed at Kazuhiko's back, missed.
"The war is over," Kazuhiko said without looking back. "Go home."
And then he was gone, walking through the forest. Gislen fell to his knees in the mud, utterly defeated.
When Lucian heard of Gislen's cowardice and failure, he didn't shout. He sat behind a desk stacked with papers, his voice calm but final.
"We're no longer accomplices."
Gislen trembled. "But I'm still alive! Why... why throw me away?!"
Lucian's sigh was heavy as he leaned back on his chair.
"One who has no respect for themselves or their enemies… has no right to stand beside me."
"Respect?" Gislen's voice cracked. "You spat me out like filth, and you talk about respect?!"
The guards moved forward. Lucian didn't even glance at him.
"Don't kill him. He's not worth it. Just remove him from my sight."
And so he was discarded.
The following years were a blur of filth and loneliness. He stopped shaving, stopped living like a man. The war had left him broken. He couldn't get a job or live a normal life.
So he stole. First a wallet, then a purse. Survival was all that was left to him.
One day, while running with a stolen bag, he heard the woman he had robbed cry out for help. Hunters, the government soldiers, spotted him and chased him down.
He was cornered, panting, when a blur of motion knocked one Hunter down. In moments, all of them lay unconscious.
A boy stood there, grinning widely. He had brown hair and eyes full of innocence, which was what Gislen lacked.
Gislen could barely speak, but at that moment, something changed in him. "What's…Your name?"
The boy grinned wider.
"Yamikuro Asaki. Remember it."
That night, in his crumbling shack, Gislen stared at the ceiling. A single act of kindness from a child burned into his mind.
'A boy like that risked his life for someone like me… Why?'
The question broke him. He sobbed, screamed, and finally found himself standing on a bridge, staring at the stormy river below.
The waves clashed against the rocks peaking out of the water.
Maybe this is the only path left.
Before he could step forward, a voice cut through the rain.
It was as if a guardian angel stopped him.
"If you're going to throw your life away… why not offer it to Father Animus instead?"
He turned to his right in shock.
A girl glowing bluish-green stood beside him, her expression was unreadable.
He hesitated, listening as she spoke of a purpose of being needed again. For the first time in years, he felt… wanted.
That night, Gislen Urdale became the first human test subject of Animus, one of the higher-ranked gods.
And after years of training and unlocking his power, he returned.
He was now known as Gisurd, a different person than what he once was.
His target was Kazuhiko Ryoti.
And eventually, he was going to take down Lucian Daichi.
Back in the present day, Kazuhiko stood against Gisurd, who had summoned a portal.
Kazuhiko appeared next to Gisurd again, his punch sending Gisurd flying into the ground once again.
The Hunters that had climbed out of the portal threw their hands in front of themselves.
Bluish-green orbs shot out of their hands like fireballs.
Kazuhiko dodged them with a breeze, appearing behind the Hunters and knocking them down.
'What are these powers...? Those orbs were mixed with Seikodo. Could he really have been given powers by a god?'
Hunters kept climbing up from the portal.
And Gisurd stretched both of his arms before him, seemingly unfazed by Kazuhiko's punches.
There were too many things to focus on this battlefield, along with the worry about his students in the invaded school building.
"I have to end this quickly," Kazuhiko said aloud.
Gisurd only smirked.
He threw around his hands, and the downed Hunters on the ground followed his movements, flying at Kazuhiko.
But despite clearly flying at Kazuhiko, they ended up around him, not a single one hitting him.
A realization hit Kazuhiko as he tried to think of a counter to these powers.
'These Hunters... They're already dead.'
Kazuhiko looked at the school on his right.
'That means they are also fighting already dead Hunters.'
"Oh? You figured something out?" Gisurd noted, looking at Kazuhiko's facial expressions.
"These Hunters are dead, aren't they?"
Gisurd cracked his neck.
"That's right, one of my powers is controlling the dead."
Kazuhiko didn't respond; he stood still.
'Considering the dead Hunters are under his control, and by stopping his power, that'd most likely stop the Hunters. This is risky, but there's no way around it.'
Kazuhiko raised his head from the ground.
He placed his left hand behind his back and threw up one of his right hand's fingers at head level.
"Ascension: Definitiva regulkontrolo."