The night was still heavy with the scent of salt and smoke from the earlier battle. Villagers worked feverishly to repair the platforms, tying ropes, hammering planks, and whispering nervously about the monster that had attacked. Children clung to their parents, eyes wide with fear.
Kaizen sat cross-legged at the dojo's edge, eyes closed, trying to steady his breathing. His muscles ached from the strain, but it wasn't the pain that lingered it was the storm. He could feel it even now, coiled and restless, whispering to him like a tide begging to break its dam.
"Control is command," he muttered to himself, repeating Bang's words like a mantra.
The dojo doors slid open. Renji stepped out, his staff in hand, watching Kaizen in silence. For once, there was no venom in his gaze, only wariness.
"You fought well," Renji admitted at last, though his tone was clipped.
Kaizen opened one eye, smirking faintly. "Careful. If you keep saying things like that, people might think you don't hate me."
Renji didn't smile. "Don't mistake acknowledgment for trust."
Before Kaizen could reply, the sea shuddered. The water beneath the platforms rippled violently, waves crashing harder than before. The villagers froze, tools clattering to the ground.
Then came the sound an unearthly chorus of screeches, guttural and piercing, echoing from the dark horizon.
Bang stepped out onto the platform, his eyes narrowing as he scanned the sea. "So… Garou moves faster than I thought."
Shapes broke the surface multiple hulking silhouettes, each different, each grotesque. Scaled serpents, crab-like titans with armored shells, eel-bodied horrors with rows of jagged teeth. At least half a dozen, all converging on the floating village.
Gasps spread through the villagers. Panic began to spark like dry grass to flame.
Bang's voice cut through the fear. "Everyone inside. Lock the doors. Do not interfere."
Renji's grip on his staff tightened. "Six monsters at once… He's testing us."
"No," Bang corrected grimly. "He's testing him." His gaze fell on Kaizen.
Kaizen stood slowly, rolling his shoulders, exhaustion still clinging to his limbs. But when his eyes opened, there was no hesitation. "Then let's show him I don't break."
The monsters hit first. The largest a crab monstrosity with claws bigger than boats smashed down onto a platform, splintering wood, sending villagers scrambling. Another serpent coiled around a pier, dragging it into the sea.
Kaizen sprinted forward, fists igniting with silver sparks. He struck the serpent's jaw mid-coil, snapping its head back with a thunderous crack. The impact rattled the pier, but the beast hissed and struck again, forcing Kaizen to duck and weave, his fists a blur against the monster's scales.
Renji leapt into battle beside him, his staff spinning in controlled arcs, striking joints and eyes with precision. Together they kept the serpent at bay, but the others were closing fast.
Bang, standing calmly at the center of the chaos, did not move. His role tonight was not to fight. It was to watch.
Kaizen fought with grit, but the monsters were relentless. Every blow he landed only seemed to enrage them further. The crab's claw slammed down, smashing platforms to pieces. Kaizen barely rolled aside before it split the ground where he stood.
The storm inside him surged again. He could feel it power begging for release, lightning crawling across his veins. He punched harder, faster, sparks bursting with every strike. One final blow to the serpent's skull sent it collapsing into the sea with a screech.
But victory was brief. The eel-like horror lashed out, wrapping around Kaizen's torso, squeezing. His ribs groaned under the pressure. His vision darkened. The storm screamed inside, demanding freedom.
Let go. Destroy it. Break the chains.
Kaizen's eyes flickered silver.
Renji saw it. His heart clenched. Not again… not now!
But before the storm could take him, Kaizen roared, wrenching his arms free. He tore at the eel's coils, muscles burning, veins alight with restrained power. With a surge of sheer will, he twisted, slamming the eel against a platform post. Wood cracked, water sprayed, and the beast released its grip.
Kaizen staggered free, gasping, but his eyes dimmed back to normal. The chains held.
Renji's jaw tightened. For the first time, he saw the boy not as a danger waiting to explode but as someone clawing desperately against his curse.
The battle raged on. Two monsters down, four remained. The crab charged again, its claw swinging wide. Kaizen met it head-on, bracing his stance. His fist collided with the claw in a shattering shockwave. Wood shattered beneath their feet. The crab screeched, stumbling back, shell cracked where Kaizen's blow had landed.
"Ha…" Kaizen exhaled, blood dripping from his knuckles. "Guess even rocks break if you hit them hard enough."
But exhaustion gnawed at him. His legs felt heavy, his breaths ragged. He had fought too long, too hard.
The eel lunged again. The serpent's tail whipped. The crab pressed forward. Three monsters at once bore down on him.
Kaizen's body screamed to give up. The storm screamed to take over.
And yet he dug his heels in, raised his fists, and refused to fall.
On the cliffs overlooking the village, Garou watched with arms folded, silver hair whipping in the wind. His grin widened with every clash.
"Yes," he muttered, eyes locked on Kaizen. "Fight it. Struggle. Drown yourself in the chains you've built. I want to see which breaks first the monsters… or you."
His laughter rolled across the waves like thunder.
Kaizen's final stand came against the crab. Its claw raised high, ready to crush him flat. Kaizen stood firm, fists glowing faintly silver. His eyes burned not with surrender, but with unyielding fire.
He slammed both fists forward into the claw as it descended.
The shockwave was deafening. The claw cracked, then shattered, fragments flying into the sea. The crab screeched in agony before tumbling backward into the waves, thrashing until the ocean swallowed it whole.
The last remaining monsters, wounded and wary, slipped beneath the waves, retreating.
Silence returned, broken only by Kaizen's ragged breathing. He swayed, nearly collapsing, but Renji caught him by the arm.
For the first time, Renji's grip was not one of hostility but of support.
"You're still a reckless fool," Renji muttered. "But… you're not a liar. You really are fighting it."
Kaizen smirked weakly. "Told you… I'm not your enemy."
Bang stepped forward at last, surveying the ruined platforms, the broken wood, the shaken villagers peering from the dojo. His eyes softened briefly as they landed on Kaizen.
"You stood against six and did not surrender to the storm. That is no small feat."
Kaizen managed a tired grin. "Guess that means I pass?"
Bang's gaze hardened again. "No. This was only the first lesson."
Kaizen groaned. "Figures."
But despite his exhaustion, a fire still burned in his chest stronger than before.
Far away, Garou's laughter echoed once more.
"The flood has only begun."