The air warped under the crushing pressure of psychic energy. The famine-eyed mutant screamed, veins bulging as his telekinetic field flared wildly. The great war drum before him thundered in sync with his heartbeat, unleashing soundwaves that tore through walls and ceiling beams alike.
Ryuuto didn't even blink.
Jane, still wrestling the possessed agents outside, cried out, "Ryuuto!" Her voice cracked with panic as the entire hospital trembled. The next instant—
BOOM!
A flash of white light and a sound like the heavens splitting apart. Concrete turned to dust, machines exploded, and the shockwave rippled across half of Manhattan. Civilians gathered outside, staring at the blocked-off zone as rumors spread like wildfire.
When the dust settled, three figures—Thor, the famine-eyed drummer, and the telepathic felon—lay sprawled across the rubble, coughing blood and looking utterly ruined.
Then they saw him.
Ryuuto.
Still standing. His shadow long against the ruin, skin marked in black patterns like death's own seal.
"You… how is that possible!?" Thor spat, staggering upright.
"Heh. Nothing's impossible." Ryuuto's voice was calm, mocking. His aura rippled—half divine, half demonic. Even Thor's breath caught in his throat.
"You're the one called Famine, right?" Ryuuto's eyes glinted like twin blades. "You've killed plenty before. Guess I'll start with you."
"Damn you!" Famine shrieked as Ryuuto darted forward—not at him, but at his drum.
"Stop! Don't touch that—!"
Too late. One clean slash and the drum split in two with a crack. A wave of backlash tore through Famine's body, blood gushing from his mouth.
"Return my drum! I'll kill you!"
Ryuuto raised a middle finger. "Bite me."
He sidestepped the enraged mutant and carved a red line across his chest with his scythe. Blood splattered the broken floor.
"Ryuuto, take this!" shouted the felon, charging with a steel rod gripped like a spear. His eyes gleamed with manic excitement. At last, the kill he'd dreamed of—
Shunk.
The steel rod rammed clean through Ryuuto's chest.
For a moment, even Thor went pale. Jane froze mid-step.
Then the impossible happened.
The felon collapsed first—his own chest torn open by an invisible wound. Blood spread like a dark flower beneath him.
Ryuuto smirked, barely glancing at the rod sticking through his ribs. "You were saying?"
The felon's voice shook. "You—you're not human…"
Ryuuto cracked his knuckles. "No time for small talk." His fingers flew through seals, and the air turned suffocating.
Thor's instincts screamed danger. "Felon! Now! Take him together!"
"Fine! Let's die together!" roared the felon, lunging again.
Ryuuto's scythe flashed. A clean slice—and the felon's head hit the ground with a dull thud.
"Shadow Imitation."
Darkness snaked from Ryuuto's feet, binding Thor's shadow like a living chain.
"What—?!" Thor leapt back in panic, tearing himself free just in time. He threw the Tesseract-like particle container aside and glared.
"You dare kill two of my men?!"
"Do I look like I need your permission?" Ryuuto's smirk widened.
The hospital's remains shook again as Ryuuto formed another seal. "Dust Release—Original World Stripping Technique!"
A blinding sphere of light devoured everything in front of him. Thor, desperate, raised Mjolnir and barely survived the blast, the shockwave sending him tumbling across the street.
Then, the Tai particles suddenly went berserk—flaring bright as they drained Jane's life force. She staggered, collapsing to her knees.
Thor's expression hardened. "Tch. Another time, boy. Next time, I'll end you myself."
With that, he vanished in a thunderclap, leaving nothing but a scorched crater and the stench of ozone.
Ryuuto lowered his scythe, breathing out slowly. "Run while you can, thunder clown. Next round, you're mine."
The storm clouds above rumbled in reply, as if acknowledging a challenge.