BOOM! Soldiers all across Drakase looked up at Oni Hill in shock and horror as an enormous pillar of flame and lightning pierced the sky, and blasted the clouds apart for several miles. The soldiers' hairs bristled, terrified by the suffocating pressure echoing from the mountaintop.
"Fall!" Atop the mountain, Kashi angrily roared as he glared through the sparking flames at Razznik, who had blocked his fist with a punch of his own.
In response, Razznik snorted as chaotic mana exploded around his arm. "This is not nearly enough."
Bam! A tremendous force blasted Kashi's arm back, leaving him wide open. Razznik stole into Kashi's space and then launched his right fist at the draconian's chest.
"How about this then!?" Surprsingly, Kashi did not bother dodging, but instead, stomped his right leg behind him to stabilize himself and then punched at Razznik's face.
Brackt! Razznik's fist slammed into Kashi's stomach, but not before breaking through a stone wall. Meanwhile, Kashi's fist crashed squarely into Razznik's jaw, sending the Chaos God sliding several meters back.
Fortunately for Kashi, his hastily erected stone wall absorbed most of Razznik's momentum, so he easily shrugged off the Chaos God's blow and frantically chased after him. "Don't you dare call me weak!" Kashi roared as he punched out a pair of lightning and fire dragons. The mana-constructs roared in unison as they bombed the still sliding Razznik.
Razznik's eyes narrowed as he observed the incoming attack. "What is wrong with calling a bug a bug?" He arrogantly snorted as he punched both dragons. Chaos mana blasted out from his fists, shattering the mana dragons from the inside out. The dragons exploded into smoke and dancing embers.
Whoosh! Kashi burst through the resulting sparks and relentlessly kicked at Razznik's head. Razznik effortlessly parried the repeated attacks, the rebounding force keeping Kashi aloft.
"I am not a bug." Kashi angrily retorted as he repositioned mid-air. Suddenly large air currents gathered around him before he suddenly shot down like a bullet. "[Sky God's Descent!}"
BOOM! Razznik crossed his arms and successfully blocked Kashi's boot. However, the kick was only the first phase of the attack. A massive column of compressed air blasted out from Kashi's boot, sending Razznik sliding back once again.
"Back then you called me a lazy copycat." Kashi's eyes burned as he reached to a set of quivers that appeared by his hips. "Let me show you what I've learned." With those words, Kashi pulled out five arrows from each quiver. Without delay, lightning streamed out from his hands, igniting the bolts in malignant lightning. "Eat shit!"
VWOOSH! The lightning arrows zapped out of Kashi's hands, disappearing across the field in the blink of an eye. Across from the draconian, Razznik's eyes grew dark, and a thin smile tugged at the edge of his lips. "That's a little better."
Razznik praised Kashi as he suddenly punched out several times in quick succession, leaving several afterimages in his wake. Razznik's arms were like cannons, launching dozens of compressed air bullets. Boom! Boom! Boom! Kashi's arrows exploded as they smashed into the bullets, but the draconian was far from perturbed. In a display of astonishing agility and stubbornness, Kashi dashed forward, jumping, sliding, and dodging his way through the bullets. Normally, this would have been Razznik's turn to counterattack, but Kashi somehow continued flinging arrows despite his predicament.
Surprisingly, this time, the arrows actively dodged the bullets as they sailed through the air before ascending before Razznik, their lightning trails resembling the raised heads of an Electric Hydra.
"Is this a little better?" Kashi sneered as he clamped his fist. In response, dozens of lightning arrows shot down at Razznik with extreme malice.
"Just a little." Razznik mocked back as he jumped back and began actively dodging the missiles. The Chaos God smiled as he grabbed two arrows as they whizzed past him. "These'll do." Razznik swung both arrows, releasing ki-blades that shattered any arrow they hit.
Suddenly, Razznik's brows furrowed. "Fighting Elementalists is so annoying." The Chaos God stomped the ground and launched into the sky. Just in time it appeared as a giant mouth appeared in the earth where he had just been. If he had hesitated one more second, it would have swallowed him whole!
While mid-air, Razznik turned around and threw one of the arrows. BOOM! The arrow shattered against another that shot out of a portal. But, that was far from the end. Several portals suddenly appeared around him before he could reposition.
"Not bad," Razznik praised, as a dozen arrows shot out in rapid succession. Despite his praise, the Chaos God had not intentions of taking the punishment. "Banish!" Tremendous ki exploded from Razznik's body shattering both the arrows and the Dimension Portals.
Just then, Razznik's expression turned ugly as he glared above him.
"Too Late!" Kashi's fist angrily crashed into the stunned god's face, blasting him into the ground below. Kashi, of course, did not let this opportunity pass. He kicked against the air to match Razznik's momentum and delivered several punishing blows to the Chaos God's face. "How's. This. For. Weak!"
BOOM! Razznik struck the ground hard, causing cracks to form across the mountaintop. Above, Kashi's eyes blazed as flames surrounded his fists. A terrible ki-image resembling a cross between himself and a thousand-armed demon appeared behind the draconian as he punched down with a vicious expression. [Fire God Asura]!
Kashi's tweaked ultimate appeared before the world for the first time. The Asura's burning fist, which were as large as a man, rapidly punched down at Razznik. Like Razznik earlier, Kashi and his ki-construct's arms soon left afterimages as they delivered thousands of punches within only a few seconds. Chunks of earth and dust flew as the heavenly judgment destroyed everything it touched.
Rruumblle... All of Drakase trembled under the terrible destruction. Thousands bore witness to the fire demon's rage for several miles beyond even Drakase.
"Kashi..." Compared to most people's awe and wonder, Lunette's brows furrowed imperceptibly as she gazed at the roaring apparition. The young woman softly placed Syel's body next to a small, injured pile and then turned her attention to the terrible figure, whose splendor shone across the skies. "Why does it feel so sad?"
Where others saw rage and incomparable power, Lunette saw frustration and self-doubt. She did not know why she felt that way. In her eyes, it looked like the Asura was desperately attempting to remove something from existence. Like, only in that way, would its own identity be validated. But the more she thought this, the more Lunette doubted herself. This was Kashi she was thinking about. The draconian had quite a few vices, but lacking self-confidence was not one of them.
'I must be overthinking things.' Lunette almost brushed her suspicions aside, but then she saw it. Within the ki-construct; Kashi's furrowed brows, burning eyes and gritted teeth. Lunette finally knew the source of her unease. Kashi was not enjoying this fight.
For as long as she'd known Kashi, the draconian always had a smile or shit-eating grin no matter the odds. It was so bad that she often wondered whether Kashi was born to fight. The draconian never seemed as happy as when he was dancing on the edge of life-and-death. Which was why it was especially odd when, in this battle, which should have been the highlight of Kashi's life so far, he could not muster even the faintest of smiles. Instead, he appeared incredibly desperate, like he had something to prove to someone, or something.
"How disappointing." Compounding Lunette's fear, Razznik's cold voice reverberated across the mountaintop amidst the bombardment. Following his voice, a heavy draft blasted the surrounding smoke, revealing a black sphere at the center of the crater.
The Asura's fists continuously struck the sphere, but its attacks seemed to melt into the sphere like they were sucked into a black hole. The sphere then turned translucent, revealing Razznik standing upright, with a broadsword resting on his shoulder.
"What a disgusting waste of ki." Razznik sneered at Kashi who continued punching with reddened eyes. Having activated the skill, the draconian could not stop halfway until it finished. "I've seen enough. You lack killer instinct." Razznik raised his sword, and coldly ordered, "Leave. Let me fight the real Suzuki. That should be worth something."
"Real?" Kashi whispered aghast as his brain nearly short-circuited. Every insecurity the draconian had buried since his inception shot to the surface all at once. Lacking killer instinct? Kashi knew that best of all. Indeed, Kashi was terrifying when compared to most warriors, but he always found himself lacking when he compared himself to Suzuki and Razznik.
Nowhere was this more apparent than Suzuki's brief display when he took over Kashi's body at the Summit. Within seconds, Suzuki incapacitated the strongest people Kashi knew. It wasn't that Kashi could not possibly win if put in that scenario, but rather that he would never be able to do it so easily. It was like Suzuki and Razznik had sniper-precision skills, whereas Kashi was an early flintlock pistol. He could get the job done, but it was nowhere near as effective as a sniper rifle.
Kashi often wondered why he ended up this way. He inherited both Suzuki and Razznik's memories and skills, so, if anything, he should have surpassed both men. However, he had somehow regressed. It did not make any logical sense!
Razznik sensed the chaotic storm in Kashi's mind, but the Chaos God was all out of mercy. "Do not look so confused. It is but a difference in mindset." Razznik's grip tightened around his sword as he glared at the draconian through the falling fists. "Both Suzuki and I realize we are the only ones responsible for our safety. You do not seem to remember what it was like to get betrayed by everyone we trusted. While playing house with your little guild, you've forgotten that fact and allowed yourself to grow soft. To put it simply, you are a weak, useless liability who is too busy relying on others to feel the desperation to improve yourself." Razznik's gaze grew increasingly hostile as dark ki poured into the blade in droves. "Power of friendship? Trust in your nakama? Suzuki's life is not a manga, idiot. I will not allow you to infect him with your nonsense any further."
Razznik's rebuke exploded in Kashi's mind like several napalm bombs. The draconian could brush off Razznik calling him 'weak' when it was just a vague insult. But, he could no longer deny the truth when Razznik spelled out exactly why he was weak.
Kashi knew that by their standards, Razznik was well within his rights to call him weak. Kashi was objectively much weaker than he 'could' have been at this stage. In the beginning, Kashi started all the craftsmanship skills because they were one of Live No Evil's hidden methods to grow much stronger than others. The crafts often added extra stat points independent of those gained from leveling. If everything went as planned, Kashi should have equally split his time between crafting and fighting, ensuring he gained extra stat points and battled foes much stronger than himself to temper his skills.
However, things did not go as planned. The inclusion of Kira, Hektor, the Conquest Quest, and ultimately, the Hopeful Maggots threw things out of balance. Suddenly, Kashi found himself focusing on growing the guild to fulfill the quest more easily, which led him on crazy adventures. During his adventures, Kashi pushed his crafting to the background, and reduced how often he fought so he could, knowingly or unknowingly, spend more time with his guildmates. Even his cheat code skill, [Ferulic's Spirit Technique], which passively magnified his mana and ki was pushed aside because it required long periods of isolated meditation to improve.
It was no shock then that Kashi looked like an unpolished blade before Razznik. Kashi's dedication had shifted from pursuing ultimate strength, to achieving greatness with his guild. That shift meant that Kashi often looked at situations from how they would benefit his guild, instead of how it could increase his strength.
Objectively, Kashi was much weaker than someone with his knowledge should be. The daeben had never thought his decision was wrong because he remained one of the strongest people on the continent. But, suddenly, he was not so sure. Was his decision really wrong? More importantly, was it a terrible influence on Suzuki?
Kashi could throw away any criticism directly at himself, but he could not bear it if he somehow negatively impacted Suzuki. The draconian's self-doubts overwhelmed and subsequently crushed his soul, causing the slightest delays in one of his punches.
"So, you only amount to this much?" A trace of disappointment flashed in Razznik's eyes for a second before they turned cold once more. The surgically merciless god finally swung his sword at the tiny gap.
SCHING!
"What the fuck!?" Terrified shouts rang out all over the planet as everyone gazed at a dark light that sliced the heavens. Residents and Summoned alike grew cold over as the sky and moon suddenly split in half. One half even began sliding downward, eliciting untold panic and horror.
"No, wait. Look!" Just when fathers hugged their sons with tears in their eyes, the black light dissipated, and the sky returned to normal. Apparently, the horrific sight was just an apparition caused by terror infused into the baleful ki. Any who laid sight on it fell into an instant illusion.
"AARRGH!"
Back on Oni Hill, several Maggots paled as they looked at their spiritual leader who clutched a stump where his left arm used to be. The Asura construct roared in pain along with its master as it split into two halves and then shattered to pieces.
Disoriented from mind-numbing pain, and exhausted by expanding most of his ki in the last attack, Kashi helplessly fell to the ground. The draconian tried to land on his feet, but he stumbled and dropped to a knee instead. Kashi's heart dropped when he felt a cold blade against his neck. He looked up to see Razznik, who looked at his bloody shoulder with disgust.
Razznik drew blood as he pushed the blade a few millimeters into Kashi's throat. "Any last words?" Despite his question, Razznik raised his sword, without awaiting an answer.
Perhaps it was because he finally saw death in the face. The inevitability of his mortality finally opened Kashi's eyes. All the bullshit, excuses, and rationales faded away into dust. In that moment, he went back to the beginning, to the very moment he gained consciousness.
What was his first thought?
'Ah, Razznik died.'
Yes, Kashi's first thought was not about Suzuki, nor his reason for existence. After digesting both Razznik and Suzuki's memories and emotions, the first thought he had concerned Razznik's end. The knowledge that someone before him lived for a specific purpose and then unceremoniously died once that purpose was fulfilled irked him.
At the time, Kashi could not have known how that specific emotion would have affected his growth and identity. But, now, looking back, he saw it clearly. The guild, his friends, Lunette, everything. Everything stemmed from one obsession he'd carried since the day he was 'born.'
Faced with the incoming blade, Kashi let out a depreciating chuckle as he confessed through tears, "I just wanted to live." Both Kashi and Razznik knew what the draconian meant. Kashi did not mean something as simple as breathing. No, unlike Razznik, he wanted to have an actual life. He did not want to walk into that void empty, without any meaningful connections. He did not want to be so unsure of his own self-worth that his last words were a question, asking someone any sane person would consider a close friend whether anyone would remember him.
Too tired to move, Kashi looked up at Razznik with self-hatred, but hints of pleading, as if hoping the man would save him from his self-imposed hell. "I just wanted to live... Was that so wrong?"
Faced with Kashi's plight, Razznik shut his eyes. Unfortunately for those watching, the thousand-year-god had solidified his resolve over the centuries. Razznik opened his eyes barely half a second later, and then said as he swung his sword, "Who knows?"
Strangely, Kashi did not look away even as the blade rapidly descended. He resolved to watch Razznik until the light snuffed. He might have lived as a coward, but he would at least die with dignity like Razznik once did.
"Don't you dare apologize for wanting to live!"
Just when Kashi was about to accept his fate, a familiar voice broke into his world, shattering his resolve. Before he could think, Kashi suddenly dropped to the ground, causing Razznik's sword to swing overhead. Then, he pushed the ground with his good hand, causing him to roll ungainly across the earth and away from Razznik's second swing.
"You Can't Even Die with Dignity!?" Razznik's enraged bellow caused a heavy darkness to descend around Oni Hill. The enraged Chaos God seemed to suck all the light from the world as he swung his sword one last time, sending waves of death crashing towards the unsightly draconian. Razznik could not bear to look at Kashi pathetically clinging to life while covered in dust and tears. It was an insult to Suzuki whose body the fraud controlled!
Kashi's brows twitched when faced with the gigantic envelope of death. Surprisingly, however, rather than despair, the draconian's eyes brightened with delight for the first time as a gigantic twelve-meters-tall, and three-meters-thick sword flew out of a tear in the sky.
BANG!
The silver sword crashed into the ground before Kashi, blocking Razznik's waves of baleful mana. The dreadful chaotic energy crashed into the steadfast blade, but it held fast like a towering bulwark, leaving the mana no choice but to harmlessly spill past Kashi as they flowed on either side of the broadsword.
"Who!?" Razznik roared in anger as he glared at the Dimension Gate. However, even as he spoke, he had already dashed forward and swung his blade toward Kashi's exposed neck.
Bang!
"How impatient." A terrible aura descended onto Oni Hill as a shadow burst out of the portal to stand before Kashi. The newcomer's aura was so suffocatingly frigid that even the distant Queen Alia could not help but frown at his presence. It felt like he was the true embodiment of evil indifference, while everyone else were mere pretenders.
"You!?" Razznik's eyes widened with equal parts surprise and joy as he looked at the daeben who blocked his sword with an enlarged paintbrush. "Suzuki, you finally came out?"
Suzuki coldly snorted as he glared at the Chaos God. "What choice did I have, when you're bullying a minor with a thousand years of experience under your belt?"
"Me, a bully?" Rather than get annoyed at the accusation, Razznik let out an uncharacteristic laugh that caused everyone watching to flinch. "You do realize you are still a minor yourself?"
"Perhaps," Suzuki responded as he pushed against the brush to send Razznik a few steps backward. He then disengaged and stood by Kashi's side. "However, I am not the creepy adult trying to poison a kid's mind."
"I could never beat you with words." Razznik smiled as he threw in the towel. He glanced at Kashi, and then looked at Suzuki. "I suppose you are here to save that trash. Fine, I shall permit it for old time's sake. But, you must fight by it. Old rules apply. If you kill me, you win. If you die, I'll kill him too."
"Do not call your junior brother trash, Waste of Bytes," Suzuki retorted with a cold smirk. He paused and then added, "Besides, this is not my story. I'm only support." He then thumbed towards the still open portal as he said, "She is the one you'll have to fight."
"Who?"
"Me." A young voice, simultaneously filled with ancient wisdom and youthful vigor responded as a gigantic black paw passed through the portal.
Before everyone's shocked eyes, frantic hurricanes buffeted Oni Hill as a black wolf two-stories-stories tall leaped out of the portal before standing above an overjoyed Kashi.
"Y-You're awake!?" Kashi forgot all about Razznik, Suzuki, their terrors, and his accompanying self-doubts as he gazed at his closest companion whom he once thought he might never see again.
Sching! The silver sword cut a beautiful arc of light as the wolf picked it up with her mouth. With a shake of her head, Kira repositioned the sword so it pointed towards her left and then looked at Kashi. "I'll buy you time. I don't care what you have to do. Get yourself ready, and get back in the fight. You don't get to kill my mother and then throw your life away. Nor do you get to apologize for wanting to live when you took that luxury."
Despite her extremely harsh words, Kira's eyes shone with a mischievous light as she added, "I told you: No one can kill you except for me..."