The Clash of Shadows (Part B)
The battlefield became a storm of chaos. Every breath Mori took burned in his chest, as though the very air had turned against him. The three monstrous presences of the "Ashen Reaper Mantis", the "Hollow Warg", and the "Duskfang Serpent" weighed down on everyone, their roars vibrating through bone and marrow.
"Hold the line!" Kaida roared, slamming his palms into the ground. Spikes of jagged earth erupted upward, forcing the Hollow Warg back. But the beast dissolved into shadows and reappeared behind him in an instant.
"Ren! Behind you!" Haruka cried.
Kaida spun, barely raising a stone barrier in time. The Warg's claws tore into it like paper, the force sending Kaida sprawling backward with a heavy crash.
"Damn it!" Renji gritted his teeth, arrows of compressed wind firing in rapid succession. They sliced through the air, striking the Warg's glowing eyes and forcing it to recoil. "Over here, ugly!"
The Warg's blue flames flared, and with a guttural growl, it blurred toward Renji.
Miya was faster. Lightning surged across her arms, and she intercepted the beast mid-lunge, her fist colliding with its muzzle. The explosion of sparks illuminated the battlefield. "You're not touching him!" she snarled.
Renji exhaled sharply, sweat dripping down his cheek. "Tch. Thanks, Hoshino."
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>> The Serpent Strikes
A thunderous hiss shook the ground as the "Duskfang Serpent" coiled its massive body, obsidian scales grinding against stone. It struck like a whip, jaws splitting into four grotesque maws.
The chain-wielder from the Shadow World barely had time to react. His glowing chains wrapped around the serpent's throat, but the creature's raw strength shattered them instantly. The recoil sent him flying against the ravine wall, blood spraying from his mouth.
"Shit!" the crimson-eyed woman shouted, dashing toward him—
But the serpent lunged at her instead.
Mori's heart froze as he saw it happen. She twisted, her shadow-forged blades forming a shield, but the serpent's four jaws clamped down. The sound was horrific—bone, flesh, steel, all crushed together.
Her scream tore through the battlefield. When the serpent recoiled, her right arm was gone, ripped cleanly off at the shoulder. Blood splattered the rocks as she staggered back, her face contorted in agony.
"Y—You bastard!" Kenta roared, fire bursting from his fists as he hurled himself at the serpent. His flames engulfed its head, but the creature thrashed violently, sending shockwaves across the ravine.
Haruka dashed toward the woman, light forming around her palms. "Stay still—I'll stop the bleeding!"
The woman grimaced, sweat pouring down her pale face. "Don't waste your strength on me—fight!"
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>> The Mantis Advances
The "Ashen Reaper Mantis" moved like death incarnate, its bladed arms cleaving through stone as if it were paper. It descended upon Daichi, who met it head-on, his body glowing with earthen reinforcement.
The mantis's blade slammed down. Daichi raised his arms in defense, his reinforced skin turning to stone. The impact echoed like thunder, cracks spiderwebbing along his body. He staggered, coughing blood.
"Daichi!" Takumi rushed forward, water swirling around his arms. He unleashed a torrent, striking the mantis's head and forcing it back just enough for Daichi to breathe.
"I—I can still stand," Daichi growled, forcing himself upright. But his legs trembled, his aura flickering like a candle in the wind.
Miya gritted her teeth. "At this rate, we'll all collapse before we scratch them."
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>> Mori's Helplessness
Mori's hands shook violently as he tried to keep up, but every attack, every clash, felt impossibly beyond him. Fire, lightning, stone, water, light—everyone was unleashing their full abilities. And him? He was just running, dodging, gasping for air.
'I'm useless…'
His chest burned with the thought. 'Even now… I can't do anything. I can't protect anyone.'
"Mori!" Kaida shouted, grabbing his shoulder as another shockwave tore across the battlefield. "Stay alive! That's enough right now!"
Mori nodded weakly, though his heart screamed in frustration.
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>> Injuries Mount
The Hollow Warg let out a guttural roar, its flames surging higher. It lunged at Haruka, who had just finished closing the woman's wound with her light. Haruka raised her barrier just in time—but the Warg's claws smashed through it, ripping across her side.
She collapsed with a cry, clutching her bleeding waist.
"Haruka!" Mori screamed, running to her side.
"I-I'm fine," she hissed through clenched teeth, her face pale. "Don't—don't stop fighting!"
Renji darted in, unleashing a storm of wind arrows that forced the Warg back, but his movements were slowing, his aura thinning.
Meanwhile, the chain-wielder tried to rejoin the battle, but the blood loss had left him stumbling. One slash from the mantis's blade caught him across the chest, sending him crashing to the ground with a strangled gasp.
The crimson-eyed woman, pale from blood loss, still fought with one arm, her blades whirling desperately. But her balance was faltering, and every strike of the serpent drove her closer to collapse.
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>> Collapse
By the time the dust settled from another exchange, the battlefield was a nightmare of blood and broken stone.
Haruka lay on the ground, her hands pressed weakly to her wound, light flickering faintly.
Daichi was on one knee, coughing blood, barely able to lift his arms.
The chain-wielder was sprawled against the rocks, unmoving, his chest soaked in red.
And the woman, her right arm gone, staggered on her knees, her blades dropping one by one as the serpent loomed over her.
"Mori…" she whispered faintly, though her eyes didn't meet his. "Run… before it takes you too."
Mori's breath came ragged, his eyes wide with horror. His friends—his team—were falling one by one.
'If this keeps up… everyone will die.'
The three S-Rank beasts howled in unison, their auras flaring like a storm of despair. The ravine shook as if the world itself wanted to collapse.
And Kaien Mori, trembling, stood at the center of it all, powerless.
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