The dust slowly began to clear.
Sasaki's eyes narrowed.
Now he could finally see the Ultra Darkside Spirit clearly.
His entire body was made of bones....thick, muscular bones that gave him a powerful, unnatural appearance.
Two massive, muscular wings extended from his back.
Yet his face remained humanoid, covered with skin.
And from both elbows extended two long swords with rough spikes running along their edges.
Sasaki stared at him.
What is with that appearance?
Before he could think any further...
Two hands suddenly wrapped around him from behind.
Sasaki's eyes widened.
The Ultra Darkside Spirit was nowhere in front of him.
He was already behind him.
The Ultra Darkside Spirit grabbed Sasaki and slammed him toward the ground at incredible speed.
He kept hold of Sasaki even after the impact.
BOOOOM!
The force of the attack drove both of them deep beneath the battlefield.
The earth broke apart around them.
They continued downward until...
CRASH!
They burst into a massive underground cave.
Sasaki landed hard.
Dust filled the area, blocking his vision.
Slowly, the dust began to settle.
Sasaki's neck, which had been injured from the fall, had already healed.
He pushed himself up.
"What…"
He looked around.
The cave was enormous.
Renshical crystals covered the walls and ceiling in different colors.
Blue.
Red.
Purple.
Green.
The crystals gave the entire cave a strange but beautiful light.
Sasaki looked down.
His two blood swords were lying several meters away.
He immediately controlled them.
The swords flew back into his hands.
Then.....
He sensed something.
Sasaki turned.
The Ultra Darkside Spirit was already standing beside him.
The moment their eyes met.....
The Ultra flew toward him.
He flys towards Sasaki,grabbed him and slammed him against the cave wall.
BOOM!
Several Renshical crystals behind Sasaki shattered under the impact, while a few pierced into the space around his back.
Sasaki gritted his teeth.
The Ultra Darkside Spirit had already withdrawn the swords from his elbows.
He pulled his fist back.
Sasaki immediately reacted.
The blood swords returned into his body.
At the same time, a short distance away, Sasaki formed a blood fist.
The fist shot toward the Ultra's left side.
Without even looking.....
The Ultra caught it with his left hand.
CRUSH!
The blood fist was destroyed.
Sasaki immediately used Switch Mode and moved several meters away.
But the Ultra wasn't giving him time to recover.
"There's no time to play tag now, Sasaki."
SWITCH MODE!
He appeared directly in front of Sasaki.
"Fight me like the Reaper you are."
Sasaki raised his fists.
The two immediately collided.
BOOM!
A powerful shockwave spread through the cave.
Then another.
And another.
They disappeared and reappeared around the underground chamber.
Punch.
Block.
Counter.
Dodge.
Punch.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Every collision shook the walls.
The crystals trembled above them.
Sasaki suddenly formed six blood fists behind his back.
Each fist was connected to him by a thick blood rope.
They moved with him like extra arms.
The six fists attacked from different directions.
For the first time, Sasaki began gaining control of the battle.
The Ultra blocked one punch.
Another came from the side.
He ducked.
Two more came from above.
He blocked them.
Sasaki's real fist immediately followed.
BOOM!
The Ultra was pushed backward.
Meanwhile, far above them....
Inside Alfie's consciousness.....
The endless dreamlike space remained calm.
Alfie sat beside his two Renshical sides.
The white one looked at him.
"I hope you understand everything I told you."
"Yeah…"
Alfie nodded.
"I understand."
He glanced toward the dark one.
"But someday, I'm still going to settle the score with that hothead."
The dark one casually looked at him.
"I'm always ready to go anytime."
He grinned.
"But luckily for you, this time you said it without getting mad."
He shrugged.
"So… whatever."
"I'll still win no matter what you try."
The white one stood.
"You've got to go now."
He looked at Alfie seriously.
"Before things get a lot worse."
Back inside the underground cave.....
Sasaki and the Ultra Darkside Spirit continued their brutal hand-to-hand battle.
They switched from one side of the cave to another.
Their fists collided.
Their bodies smashed into the walls.
Every impact sent vibrations through the underground chamber.
Sasaki suddenly grabbed the Ultra with four of his blood hands.
Tiny tornadoes formed beneath Sasaki's feet.
WHOOSH!
He accelerated upward.
The cave ceiling shattered as Sasaki forced his way toward the surface, dragging the Ultra Darkside Spirit with him.
They finally burst out of the underground.
Sasaki was still holding him in mid-air.
The tiny tornadoes beneath Sasaki's feet kept him suspended.
But something immediately felt wrong.
Sasaki's instincts warned him.
He's not resisting.
Sasaki's eyes widened.
He released his grip.
But...
It was already too late.
Two long swords suddenly came out from the Ultra Darkside Spirit's elbows.
SHINK!
They pierced into both sides of Sasaki's stomach.
"AAAGH!"
Sasaki cried out.
The Ultra released him.
Sasaki fell toward the ground.
Just before his face could hit the earth, he activated his tiny tornadoes and stopped himself.
But something was wrong.
His injuries weren't healing.
Blood continued flowing.
His Tornado Domain protecting Alfie and Jackson immediately disappeared.
The tiny tornadoes beneath his feet also vanished.
Sasaki dropped to his knees.
He struggled to breathe.
What's… this?
Why can't I heal?
He coughed.
I thought I took control of my Renshi.
He shouldn't be able to control my healing ability anymore.
So why isn't it working?
The Ultra Darkside Spirit slowly walked toward him.
"Remember what I told you…"
Sasaki forced himself back onto his feet.
His body swayed slightly.
"You were fighting with my outer self all this time."
Sasaki looked at the swords coming from the Ultra's elbows.
"These swords aren't ordinary swords, Reaper."
The Ultra raised one.
"They're Anti-Dark Renshi Swords."
He smiled.
"They can cut through any ability made from Dark Renshi."
Sasaki remained silent.
"Just imagine…"
The Ultra tilted his head.
"If I really wanted to kill you this entire time, why didn't I simply cut off your head with these?"
He pointed the sword toward Sasaki.
"It would've saved me all this stress."
"Because…"
Sasaki slowly raised his head.
"…you can't."
The Ultra smiled.
"Oh…"
He lifted one of his spiky swords toward Sasaki.
"Looks like someone still thinks he's getting out of this."
He slowly ran his tongue along the edge of the sword.
"If I cut your throat with this right now, you'll bleed out."
He chuckled.
"Right here."
"Right now."
"But…"
He lowered the sword.
"I still don't see what's fun about that."
He stared at Sasaki.
"Every time I get to this point…"
He pointed toward him.
"You know, the point where I want to finish you…"
"I always think of something better."
His expression darkened.
"But now…"
"I don't think I can think of anything better than killing you…"
He looked toward Alfie and Jackson.
"…and those kids."
SWITCH MODE!
The Ultra disappeared.
He appeared directly in front of Jackson.
His sword extended from his elbow.
Jackson froze.
The sword moved toward his head.
Sasaki's eyes widened.
SWITCH MODE!
He appeared between them just in time.
Sasaki grabbed the sword with both hands.
The Ultra raised his other sword.
He was about to cut Sasaki's hands.
But Sasaki reacted first.
He slammed his forehead into the Ultra's chest with concentrated Renshi.
BOOM!
The Ultra was sent flying.
Sasaki's forehead was bleeding from the impact.
His chest bones are incredibly strong.
Sasaki didn't waste another second.
SWITCH MODE!
He appeared where the Ultra had landed.
A giant Renshical sword formed in his hand.
He attacked immediately.
The Ultra stood.
Their swords collided.
CLANG!
Then again.
CLANG!
And again.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
The two vanished across the battlefield.
They reappeared several meters away.
Sasaki swung.
The Ultra blocked.
The Ultra countered.
Sasaki dodged.
Sasaki swung again.
The Ultra ducked beneath it.
Their swords continued moving faster and faster.
Every clash sent Renshi through the ground.
The earth cracked beneath their feet.
Sasaki screamed as he increased his speed.
Every missed sword swing released enough concentrated Renshi to cut through the ground.
The entire battlefield seemed to shake from their fight.
The Ultra landed several powerful hits on Sasaki.
Blood flew from Sasaki's injuries.
But every drop that left his body immediately moved.
The blood formed swords.
Then more swords.
Then more.
They attacked the Ultra from every direction.
But the Ultra continued avoiding them.
His bone body was extremely difficult to penetrate.
He focused completely on Sasaki.
The Renshi flowing through his elbow swords became stronger with every attack.
Sasaki's body began giving in.
Too much blood had already left him.
His movements slowed.
The Ultra saw it.
"There's no saving you, Sasaki!"
"You're dying here!"
He pulled one sword back into his elbow.
His fist became covered in concentrated Renshi.
BOOM!
His fist struck Sasaki's torso.
Sasaki was launched into the air.
Before he could land.....
The Ultra was already above him.
BAM!
A punch struck Sasaki's face.
Another.
Then another.
Sasaki couldn't properly defend himself anymore.
The Ultra continued attacking until Sasaki's movements became weaker.
Finally.....
Sasaki stopped moving.
The Ultra delivered one final powerful punch to his chest.
BOOM!
Sasaki fell.
The damage from the punch began healing almost immediately.
The Ultra looked down.
"These injuries heal because they weren't caused by my Anti-Dark Renshi Swords."
He grabbed Sasaki by the head and lifted him.
Sasaki hung weakly in his grip.
The Ultra exhaled.
"You gave me one hell of a battle, Reaper."
He looked genuinely impressed.
"I never expected you to be this strong."
A chuckle escaped him.
"I really enjoyed going all out for the first time in a long time."
He looked at Sasaki.
"But your days end now."
The Ultra placed one hand against Sasaki's chest.
He felt the steady beating of his heart.
"There it is…"
He smiled.
"Your heart."
The Ultra's left elbow shifted.
A sword extended from it.
His right hand continued holding Sasaki's head.
"This ends here."
He pulled the sword back.
Then launched it toward Sasaki's heart.
But—
A sharp white light suddenly flashed across the battlefield.
SHING!
The Ultra's left hand was severed just before the sword could make contact.
The sword disappeared with it.
The Ultra froze.
His eyes widened.
He immediately dropped Sasaki.
His attention was completely focused on his missing hand.
It wasn't regenerating.
He stared at it in disbelief.
His expression changed from anger to shock.
"How…"
"How is this…"
His voice trembled.
"…possible?"