Kurayami's eyes widened, disbelief flashing across his face. The man before him was no longer human—Kaku's body twisted and warped, claws like blades, teeth jagged and gleaming under the firelight. His golden eyes burned with feral madness, laughter scraping the air like a hyena's howl.
Kurayami's grip tightened on his sword. "What the hell… is this?"
Kaku's grin stretched wider, unnatural and terrifying. "This… is what your grave looks like!"
With a guttural roar, the beast lunged forward. The ground split beneath his charge, speed unnatural for his size. Kurayami barely raised his blade in time. Steel met claw in a thunderous clash, sparks scattering like embers into the night.
The impact hurled him back, boots skidding across the scorched earth. His chest burned—a crimson line of blood trailed across his side where Kaku's claws had grazed him.
Kurayami hissed, breath sharp between his teeth. He's faster… stronger. He isn't the same person anymore.
Kaku threw his head back and laughed, the sound echoing wild and unhinged. "What's wrong? Weren't you so calm a moment ago? Try keeping that composure when I rip you apart!"
Kurayami steadied his stance, sword gleaming in the firelight. Pain throbbed at his side, but his eyes hardened, resolve sharpening like his blade.
Kaku lunged again, claws slicing through the flames.
Meanwhile on the other side,
Steel rang out as sparks carved bright streaks through the smoke-filled air. Haruto and Takomi moved like shadows, each strike met with an equally precise counter. Their blades collided in a furious rhythm—slash, block, parry, thrust—neither giving the other room to breathe.
Takomi's grin widened between clashes, his golden eyes glowing with savage light.
"While you waste your strength here, Master Haido has already taken the king's head."
Haruto's blade locked against his, their faces inches apart. Instead of fear, a faint smile curved Haruto's lips.
"You think too small. There's someone far stronger than us waiting on the other side. Your master will never succeed."
Takomi snarled, forcing Haruto back with a burst of Ren.
"You'll see for yourself. No one can match Master Haido!"
He leapt forward, body twisting unnaturally, his blade glowing with wolf-like ferocity.
"Wolf Ren—Fang Swipe!"
His strike ripped through the air like a predator's bite, impossibly fast and precise.
Haruto barely shifted in time. The edge of Takomi's blade grazed his shoulder, leaving a sharp line of crimson across his cloak. Another swipe followed, then another, each cut aimed to tear him down piece by piece.
Blood dripped from Haruto's arm, but his stance remained firm. He winced, his breaths steady, eyes still locked on Takomi without faltering.
Takomi's laughter echoed, wild and mocking.
"Even Dragon's bleed!"
Haruto adjusted his grip, blade gleaming under the firelight.
"Bleeding doesn't mean breaking."
They circled each other, tension crackling like lightning before the next storm of strikes.
The battlefield shifted once more, flames and steel giving way to the savage clash between Kurayami and Kaku.
The battlefield shook under Kaku's frenzy. His twisted form darted in and out of the firelight, claws gleaming with savage hunger. Each strike came faster, heavier, sharper—the rhythm of a beast that smelled blood.
Kurayami's cloak was already torn to shreds, his body streaked with crimson cuts. Every movement left trails of blood across the scorched earth, his breathing ragged but unbroken.
Kaku's laughter scraped the air, hyena-like, mocking. "You're slowing down… I can smell it. The weakness. The fear!"
His claws flexed, Ren flaring violently as his golden eyes burned brighter.
"Hyena Ren—Scavenger's Rush!"
[Scavenger's Rush:
Gains bursts of speed and strength when he senses weakness (injured or tired foes).]
The ground cracked beneath him as he exploded forward, speed tripled, strength surging with predatory madness. His claws slashed in blinding arcs, tearing through steel and air alike.
Kurayami tried to guard, his sword flashing desperately, but the beast was relentless. Claws slipped past his defense, raking across his chest, shoulder, and side. Blood sprayed, painting the firelit ground.
"Gh—!" Kurayami staggered, coughing, crimson spilling from his lips. His knees threatened to buckle under the assault.
Kaku loomed over him, feral grin stretching wider as he licked blood from his claws. His laughter rose again, jagged and wild, echoing through the burning village.
"Bleed for me! Fall to me! You were prey the moment you stood against me!"
Kurayami's vision blurred at the edges, his breaths shallow and broken—but his grip on the sword never loosened.
Kurayami's chest heaved as blood trickled down his side, vision wavering under the weight of Kaku's relentless assault. Yet in the beast's jagged grin, he began to notice something—tiny shifts in movement, slower steps, heavier breaths.
Kaku's frenzy was losing its edge. His claws still struck with fury, but his breathing had turned ragged, his shoulders rising and falling with exhaustion.
Kurayami's eyes narrowed. He's tiring…
And then, like a spark in the chaos, memory pulled him back.
"Why should I always practice more on stamina and endurance, Master!?" Kurayami had barked, frustration in his young voice.
His master's reply was calm, almost amused. "Oi, kid. Everyone says having no Ren is your weakness. But if you fight tactically, it can become your greatest weapon."
Kurayami frowned, crossing his arms. "Weapon? How?"
"Using Ren drains stamina. The more they push their power, the faster they burn out. Your best chance against a Ren user is to hold out—make them exhaust themselves. When they're worn down, that's when you strike."
Kurayami's brow furrowed. "…So I just have to outlast them?"
His master smirked. "Exactly. That's why you train endurance harder than anyone. You probably won't understand now, but one day, you'll thank me."
"Cheh, whatever…" Kurayami muttered, only for his master's voice to thunder again.
"For now, run. Get to the nearby village and back in fifteen minutes."
Kurayami's eyes had widened. "Fifteen minutes!? That's insane!"
"After that," his master continued, ignoring his protest, "you're headed to the waterfalls for endurance training."
"Ehhhhhhhhh!?" Kurayami's shout had echoed through the forest, much to his master's amusement.
The memory faded, replaced once more by firelight, blood, and the snarling beast before him.
Kurayami steadied his sword, ignoring the sting of his wounds. His lips curved into the faintest of smiles as his gaze locked on the panting, slowing Kaku.
"I understand now, Master…" he whispered under his breath. His eyes hardened. "This is the moment you were preparing me for."
Kaku's ragged breaths filled the night, his monstrous grin twitching with irritation as he caught sight of Kurayami's faint smile. Blood ran down both their bodies, the air thick with smoke and the stench of iron.
The hyena-man snarled, golden eyes blazing.
"What the hell are you smiling at, you bastard!?"
Kurayami raised his blade, steady despite the wounds across his body. His breathing was measured, calm—too calm for a man on the edge of collapse.
"You don't get it, do you?" His voice was low, cutting through the fire-crackled silence. "You've been clawing and tearing with everything you've got… but me? I've been holding on, waiting for this moment."
Kaku's claws flexed, digging into the scorched earth. His muscles trembled under the strain, yet his grin only widened, forced and defiant.
Kurayami's stance sharpened, his eyes like steel.
"You've already started slowing down. That wild power of yours… it's burning you out."
He leveled his sword, the firelight glinting across the blade.
"And now, beast… it's my turn to hunt."
Kurayami's faint smile hardened into focus. His cloak fluttered as he shifted his weight forward, sword angled low.
Kaku lunged first, claws slashing wide—slower than before.
Kurayami vanished from his sight.
A sharp whistle of air followed, and steel cut across Kaku's shoulder in a clean line. Blood spattered.
The beast roared, whipping around, but Kurayami was already gone, moving like a blur through the firelit battlefield. His footsteps barely touched the scorched earth, each strike flowing into the next.
Slash. A deep cut across Kaku's arm.
Step. A flash of steel against his side.
Dash. Another wound carved across his back before he could turn.
"You're too slow," Kurayami said coldly, his voice trailing from the shadows he left behind.
Kaku swung wildly, claws tearing through smoke and flames, but every strike met only empty air. His breaths grew harsher, movements heavier, the power of his Hyena Ren now betraying him.
Kurayami's eyes sharpened, his speed surging higher, his blade gleaming as he darted in again.
"This is what endurance was for… this is what I've trained for."
The battlefield trembled with every exchange—beast against shadow, brute strength against blinding speed. And for the first time, the predator looked cornered.
Blood streamed from fresh cuts, staining the earth beneath their feet. Kaku staggered, his monstrous grin faltering for the first time. His chest heaved violently, breath coming in ragged snarls.
Damn it… I don't have the stamina left to summon the Pack Mirage. Tch… then I'll tear him apart with this instead.
His golden eyes burned, frenzy twisting with desperation. With a guttural roar, he slammed his lone hand into the ground, Ren flaring violently.
"Hyena Ren—Carrion Bite!"
The air itself seemed to shatter as Kaku lunged. His claws snapped forward like fangs, each strike crashing down with crushing force, tearing through stone and earth as if the battlefield were nothing but brittle bone.
Kurayami's eyes widened, his body already screaming from wounds and fatigue. He threw himself sideways, cloak whipping as the claws missed by a hair's breadth. The ground where he had stood split open, jagged trenches carved deep into the soil.
The force grazed him—pain seared his ribs as blood spattered across the dirt. He stumbled, boots skidding, but managed to hold his footing.
Both fighters froze for a heartbeat, panting, shoulders heaving.
Kaku's grin twitched wider again, blood dripping from his wounds.
Kurayami tightened his grip on his sword, sweat and crimson dripping down his face.
Two predators, battered and broken, circling each other under the crackle of flames—both exhausted, both on the edge of collapse.
The next move would decide everything.
The tension snapped.
Both fighters lunged at once—steel and claw rushing through the flames.
But this time, Kurayami was faster. His movements twisted unnaturally, feints slipping past Kaku's wild swings. In the blur of motion, his blade cut a deep crimson line across the beast's chest.
Kaku gasped, the strength in his legs giving out as he staggered and collapsed to the ground. Blood pooled beneath him, his once-maddened golden eyes now wide with something new—fear.
He scrambled backwards on the dirt, claws dragging against the earth, body trembling. The feral grin that had mocked Kurayami moments ago was gone, replaced by terror.
"N-no… stay back…" Kaku's voice cracked, shaking. His body pressed lower as he crawled, desperate to escape. "Please… leave me… get away from me, monster…"
Kurayami advanced step by step, his boots heavy against the broken ground. His sword gleamed faintly in the firelight, raised and ready, his shadow stretching long over the trembling figure.
His eyes were cold—merciless.
The hunter had become the hunted.
Kurayami stopped before the broken figure. Kaku's body trembled, blood dripping steadily onto the scorched earth. His pleas rang hollow in the crackling silence of the battlefield.
Kurayami's gaze never wavered. His voice was low, stripped of pity.
"You chose this path. Now you face its end."
The blade flashed.
A clean strike, swift and final.
Kaku's eyes went wide in shock before the light drained from them. His body slumped lifelessly to the ground, crimson spreading across the dirt.
Kurayami stood over the corpse, breath heavy but steady, the firelight casting his shadow long and grim. His sword dripped with blood, his face unreadable.
But then the strength left him all at once. His knees buckled, the sword slipping from his hand.
Kurayami collapsed onto the blood-soaked earth, his body refusing to move. His chest rose and fell with shallow breaths, eyes half-lidded, consciousness fading.
The warrior who had just slain a monster now lay motionless, zoned out in the grip of exhaustion.
The scene shifted once more, the clash of steel and fire drawing back to the battlefield where Haruto and Takomi faced off.
Their blades rang in furious rhythm, each strike met with equal ferocity—slash, parry, thrust, block—the relentless symphony of warriors pushing themselves beyond their limits. Sparks lit the smoke-filled air, illuminating their bloodied figures as neither gave ground.
Takomi's grin widened, golden eyes glowing with feral delight. With a sudden burst of Ren, his body twisted unnaturally.
"Wolf Ren—Fang Swipe!"
His sword cleaved forward, savage and precise, mimicking the tearing bite of a wolf. Haruto raised his blade, but the strike carved deep across his arm. Blood splattered, staining the earth, and a hiss of pain escaped his lips.
Takomi pressed harder, his laughter wild. "You're breaking! You can't keep up with me!"
Blow after blow rained down, each one sharper, faster, merciless. Haruto staggered, his cloak in tatters, crimson dripping from his wounds. His breathing grew ragged, but his eyes never looked away from Takomi's.
"Gh…" Haruto's voice rumbled low, rough with pain. A growl rose from his chest, defiant despite the blood running from his lips.
"You wanted to see it, didn't you? My Dragon Ren…"
For the first time, Takomi's grin wavered. His eyes narrowed, sharp with unease.
The battlefield shifted.
Dark clouds rolled across the sky, devouring the moonlight. Wind roared through the flames, bending them low as the air grew heavy, suffocating. The ground itself trembled underfoot.
Elsewhere on the battlefield, amidst blood and ash, Kurayami's body lay collapsed and still. His breath shallow, his consciousness fading into the void of exhaustion.
But the sudden rumble of thunder stirred him.
His eyelids fluttered, vision blurred, and slowly—he opened his eyes.
Above him, the sky churned black, clouds spiraling in unnatural fury.
Kurayami's eyes widened, his lips parting in disbelief.
"…Haruto?" he whispered, awe and surprise breaking through his exhaustion.
Even Takomi froze mid-step, his golden eyes darting upward. The feral grin that had never faltered now cracked with uncertainty.
Haruto straightened, his battered frame unmoved by the storm tearing around him. His blade gleamed under the flicker of fire and lightning. His voice cut through the chaos.
"Dragon Ren—Dragon's Pulse."