Chapter 125: Weren't Hype After All
For several long seconds, the battlefield remained completely still.
The fires consuming the surrounding buildings continued to crackle and roar, embers drifting lazily through the smoke-filled air as Daito Greyhell knelt over the unconscious Champagne. His breathing was ragged, every inhale scraping painfully against battered lungs while blood dripped steadily from his chin onto the shattered pavement below.
His expression was unreadable. His emotions all fought for control behind his exhausted eyes.
Then... Something inside him snapped.
"YOU BITCH!!"
BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!
Without warning, Daito drove his foot into Champagne's stomach with explosive force.
The impact echoed across the ruined district like a cannon blast. Champagne's unconscious body shot through the air, spinning helplessly before crashing into the side of a heavily damaged building.
CRAAAAAAAAASH!!
The entire wall caved inward and concrete exploded outward as his body disappeared into a massive crater, chunks of stone raining onto the street below.
The instant Daito finished the kick... His own body finally gave up.
"GHK—!!"
His knees buckled beneath him as he collapsed onto one knee before violently coughing.
COUGH!!
A mouthful of dark blood splattered across the cracked pavement.
Then another.
COUGH! COUGH!!
Brandon's eyes widened.
"DAITO!"
He rushed toward him immediately, dropping to one knee beside the battered swordsman.
"What's wrong?!"
Daito clutched his side so tightly his fingers trembled. Every nerve in his body screamed in protest. He struggled to steady his breathing before finally speaking through gritted teeth.
"...That last attack..."
Another violent cough interrupted him.
COUGH!
SPLISH!
Blood spilled between his lips.
"...Dislocated..."
He inhaled sharply.
"...my shoulder."
Brandon immediately examined him before nodding grimly.
"...Anything else?"
Daito slowly closed one eye. His breathing became even heavier.
"...There's..."
He swallowed hard as another wave of agony surged through him.
"...This burning sensation..."
His voice dropped to a whisper.
"...From my head..."
A pause.
"...To my damn toes."
It felt as though molten metal had been poured directly into his bloodstream.
Every nerve, muscle, and bone, they all burned.
Champagne's dragon energy hadn't simply injured him. It had invaded him. The lingering Savage energy continued tearing through his body from the inside, refusing to disperse naturally.
Another mouthful of blood escaped him.
COUGH!!
Daito wiped his mouth with the back of his hand before slowly looking toward Brandon.
"...Relocate it."
Brandon nodded without hesitation.
"Brace yourself."
Before Daito could answer—
CRACK!!
Brandon forcefully snapped his shoulder back into place.
"AAAAARGH!!"
Pain exploded through Daito's body.
His entire arm convulsed violently as the joint slid back into its proper position with a sickening pop. Veins bulged across his neck. His jaw clenched so hard it looked ready to shatter. Yet even after his shoulder had been reset...The pain didn't stop.
Instead—
Fwoosh....
Another wave of blood erupted from his mouth.
COUGH!!
Brandon frowned.
"...The shoulder wasn't the real problem."
Daito didn't answer.
Instead... He slowly pushed himself upright. His body trembled violently. His breathing became deeper and slower.
Then he screamed.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!"
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!
A tremendous shockwave burst outward from his body, blasting loose rubble in every direction.
The air distorted violently and dust vanished.
FWOOOSHH!
Nearby flames bent away from him as an emerald glow suddenly leaked from every pore in his body. Tiny streams of green dragon energy escaped through his skin like pressurized steam bursting from cracked pipes.
The energy continued building, growing, and condensing.
Until finally—
FWOOOOOOOOOOOM!!
The dragonic energy erupted outward in every direction. A massive circular shockwave expanded across the street, carrying the remaining traces of Champagne's Savage aura away from Daito's body before scattering it harmlessly into the atmosphere.
Brandon instinctively shielded his face. The pressure alone nearly knocked him backward. When the wind finally settled... Only faint traces of emerald energy remained drifting around Daito like dying embers.
He slowly exhaled.
"...Energy..."
Another breath.
"...Disperser."
Brandon blinked.
"...You actually named that?"
Daito ignored the question completely. He attempted to take another step.
One.
Step....
Two his legs suddenly failed him.
THUD.
He collapsed back onto the broken pavement with a frustrated sigh.
"...Damn."
For a while, neither man spoke.
Daito eventually turned his head toward the unconscious Champagne, who remained buried inside the crater hundreds of meters away. A faint smile tugged at the corner of his mouth despite everything.
"...He got stronger."
Brandon folded his arms while staring at the devastation surrounding them.
"I still don't understand what happened to him."
His expression darkened.
"But whatever the Boss did..."
"...It wasn't natural."
He looked back toward Daito.
"For now..."
"...You should rest."
A calm voice interrupted them.
"...Looks like..."
A brief pause.
"...You weren't all hype after all."
Both men immediately looked up.
Standing barely ten meters away, completely untouched by the destruction surrounding him, was the Boss.
His hands rested comfortably inside his pockets. His cool glasses reflected the burning city. The faint smile on his face hadn't disappeared. He had been watching the entire time. Without saying another word, the Boss slowly shifted his gaze beyond them.
His eyes settled upon the aircraft hovering in the distance.
Vwooosshhh.....
The one carrying Nyx...and the briefcase.
His smile widened.
"So that's where it is."
Without warning—
BOOOOOOOOOOM!!
The ground beneath his feet exploded.
He shot forward at terrifying speed, accelerating toward the aircraft before Brandon could even react.
Daito's exhausted eyes widened.
"...Shit."
Brandon immediately turned toward him.
"Daito!"
Ignoring every protest from his battered body, Daito forced himself back onto his feet. Blood continued dripping from countless wounds. His muscles screamed and his vision still blurred, but none of it mattered not now really.
He looked toward Brandon with calm determination.
"...Guess..."
He steadied himself.
"...Break time's over."
Then he pointed toward the unconscious Champagne.
"Look after him."
Before Brandon could answer—
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!
The pavement beneath Daito shattered.
SWOOOSH!
He exploded forward with breathtaking speed, chasing after the Boss as fragments of concrete and asphalt erupted into the air behind him.
His torn blue-purple jacket snapped violently in the wind. His sword remained firmly gripped in his right hand. His eyes never left his target.
Far ahead... the Boss smiled without looking back.
The hunt across Playmore...had begun once again.
* * *
The Boss reached the top of Playmore's Great Wall in a single bound.
BOOOOOOM!!
The massive stone structure trembled beneath his landing as countless cracks raced through its ancient surface. Without so much as a glance behind him, he immediately accelerated, sprinting along the enormous wall that encircled the city like a streak of black lightning.
A heartbeat later—
BOOOOOOM!!
Daito Greyhell landed directly behind him.
The instant his feet touched the wall, the chase began. Both men exploded forward with terrifying speed. The wind howled.
SWOOOOSH!
The stone beneath their feet shattered with every step.
To anyone watching from below, they no longer looked human. They were nothing more than two blinding streaks racing around the circumference of Playmore faster than the eye could properly follow.
FWOOOOOOOSH!!
Daito narrowed the distance, his fingers tightened around the hilt of his sword.
Then—
SHIIIIING!!
His blade flashed toward the Boss's neck. The Boss leaned backward by mere centimeters.
SWOOOSH!
The sword sliced through empty air.
Before Daito could recover, The Boss twisted his body effortlessly and continued sprinting without losing momentum.
"Tch..."
Daito accelerated again.
Another slash.
SHIIIIING!!
Miss.
A third.
SHIIIIING!!
Miss.
A fourth.
SHIIIIING!!
The Boss dipped beneath the blade before casually stepping to the side, never once breaking his rhythm.
The Great Wall groaned beneath their relentless pace.
CRAAAAACK!!
Massive sections crumbled away, crashing into the burning city below as the two monsters continued their high-speed pursuit.
Daito's expression slowly darkened.
The problem wasn't strength, nor skill.
But it was speed.
The Boss moved just as fast as he did. Perhaps...even faster in a straight sprint.
SWOOOSH!
ZIIP!
Every time Daito swung his sword, his own momentum slowed for the briefest instant. That tiny delay was enough. The Boss widened the gap again and again. Without looking back, he chuckled.
"You're wasting energy."
Daito clicked his tongue.
"...Tch."
Without taking his eyes off his opponent, he activated his communicator.
SSHHK!
"Fah-jin."
A brief burst of static answered.
"Monday."
Another pause.
Then Daito gave a single command.
"Long-range support."
* * *
Far above the battlefield, inside the aircraft escorting Nyx and the briefcase, Fah-jin immediately adjusted her enormous rifle.
GLANG!
HUMMM!!
Its core hummed to life.
Beside her, Monday Valhalla calmly stepped toward the open cargo hatch. Lightning instantly began dancing around his body.
KRAK... KRAK... KRAAAK...
The electrical discharge illuminated the cabin with blinding flashes of blue-white light.
"...Understood."
Back on the Great Wall... the Boss continued sprinting.
Then—
BOOOOOOOOOOM!!
An enormous beam of concentrated energy ripped across the battlefield.
Fah-jin had fired.
The attack tore through the sky with enough force to vaporize anything in its path. The Boss tilted his body sideways. The beam missed his head by less than an inch.
CRAAAAAAAAASH!!
Instead, it obliterated an entire section of the Great Wall behind him.
Stone exploded into the air. Dust swallowed everything.
Before it could settle Monday attacked.
He raised one hand.
BRRMMMM!!
The sky darkened and the clouds twisted violently overhead.
Then—
KRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAK!!
Dozens of colossal lightning spears crashed toward the Boss simultaneously.
The battlefield became a sea of blinding white.
Yet somehow... the Boss smiled.His feet never stopped moving. He zig-zagged effortlessly between the falling bolts.
BZZZTLE!!!
BZZZ!!
BOOOM!!
Each strike missed by centimeters one after another.
BOOOOOM!!
KRAAAASH!!
BOOOOOOM!!
Entire sections of the Great Wall collapsed beneath the relentless bombardment.
Still... he wasn't hit once.
Inside the aircraft, Fah-jin lowered her rifle for only a second before shouting in disbelief.
"What the hell is this guy made of?!"
Monday didn't even spare her a glance. He simply gathered another mass of lightning into his palm.
"Complain less."
Electricity exploded outward.
"And keep firing."
The aircraft slowly drifted farther away from the Great Wall, maintaining a safe distance while continuing to provide support.
The Boss noticed immediately.
His smile disappeared and his eyes sharpened.
"...If I let them escape now..."
His voice became unusually serious.
"...I lose."
Without warning—
BOOOOOOOOOOM!!
A pillar of lightning crashed directly onto the Great Wall.
Monday himself descended within it.
His fist, wrapped in crackling electricity, shot toward the Boss's head. The impact obliterated the section of wall where the Boss had been standing.
KRAAAAAAAAAASH!!
Stone erupted skyward and lightning consumed everything. Inside the aircraft, Fah-jin's eyes lit up.
"Direct hit—!"
She never finished the sentence, the dust cleared.
Monday stood alone.
And the Boss...was gone.
Monday slowly looked upward.
"...Above."
Everyone followed his gaze.
Fwoo....
There cutting across the burning sky, was a sleek black hoverboard. .The Boss stood calmly upon it, one hand resting in his pocket while the other balanced casually against the wind.
The board's propulsion system screamed.
FWOOOOOOOOOOOSH!!
It accelerated like a missile. Its destination... the aircraft carrying Nyx and the briefcase.
Daito's eyes widened.
"...NO!!"
Without thinking, he hurled himself from the Great Wall.
SSHHWWOOOMM!!
The world blurred around him, the distance closed rapidly.
At the last possible second—
GRAB!!
His hand caught the rear edge of the speeding hoverboard.
The Boss glanced downward a faint smile spread across his face.
"...Oh?"
The hoverboard continued flying at incredible speed while Daito hauled himself upward.
The instant both men stood on the same platform, they attacked.
BOOOOOOM!!
Daito's fist shot toward the Boss's jaw. The Boss blocked with his forearm before driving an elbow toward Daito's ribs.
THUD!!
Daito absorbed the blow and answered with a sword slash.
SHIIIIING!!
The Boss caught the flat of the blade with his bare hand, redirecting it just enough to avoid losing his fingers.
The hoverboard entered full autopilot.
SWIISH!!
Its engines screamed as it spun wildly through the skies above Playmore, twisting between collapsing buildings while its two passengers fought with everything they had.
Far behind them and infront of them, Monday and Fah-jin continued their relentless assault.
Lightning crashed endlessly and energy beams tore through the air.
BOOOM!
BANG!
BZZZTLE!
Shockwaves exploded across the skyline. Yet the hoverboard dodged everything automatically, banking sharply around each incoming attack while Daito and the Boss continued exchanging brutal blows without pause.
Then...Monday stopped.
Fwooosh.....
He slowly raised one hand toward the sky. The atmosphere itself seemed to hold its breath. Lightning from every cloud overhead converged into a single blinding point above his palm.
The entire battlefield turned white.
"...Enough."
KRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAK!!
To be continued.....