Kazuki and Shinki clashed through the devastated forest, their light-speed movements shredding the terrain around them. Lightning arrows surged from Kazuki's hand, colliding with Shinki's beams of red light in blinding, explosive impacts that leveled trees and blew apart mountains.
As the battle raged, Kazuki growled through gritted teeth.
"Alright, now talk! Why the hell am I having memories of you?! Did you use some technique to mess with my mind, or do I actually know you?! Answer me, goddammit!"
Shinki, unfazed, sneered.
"What good will it do if I told you? After all... I'm your enemy."
Before Kazuki could respond, Shinki appeared in a flash, slamming a kick into Kazuki's side and sending him flying through the forest. He leapt into the air, summoning a flurry of red spear-shaped beams and launched them down at lightning speeds.
Kazuki rebounded, dodging as fast as he could, slipping between the raining attacks. But in that high-speed chaos, he noticed something.
"He's stronger than me right now… but his movements… they're starting to get sloppy. One minute its extremely fast, the next moment, its slowing down. "
In the middle of his thought, Shinki suddenly appeared again—this time in front of him—and landed another brutal kick, sending Kazuki crashing through a line of trees.
From above, Shinki raised his palm and called out:
"Beams of Death."
Red orbs of energy launched toward Kazuki like a barrage of missiles.
Kazuki regained his balance mid-air, drew his purple flame sword, and roared as he unleashed a massive torrent of fire shaped like a dragon. It surged forward, colliding with the red energy and erupting into a deafening explosion that obliterated the surrounding forest.
With momentum on his side, Kazuki shot toward Shinki like a purple lightning bolt. In response, Shinki drew a glowing red circle in the air with his sword and declared:
"Let me show you what my power can do!"
The circle released a powerful beam of red energy, but Kazuki countered with a devastating punch cloaked in purple flames, redirecting the beam to the side—causing a colossal explosion that incinerated two entire mountains.
Kazuki smirked.
"You're keeping your distance. Afraid I'd kill you?"
Shinki chuckled.
"No, that's not it. But let's make a deal—if you can slice off my arm, I'll admit defeat and tell you what you want to know. Sound fair?"
Kazuki's smirk widened.
"Why stop at your arm when I can take your head?"
He launched flaming purple arrows the size of spears, each one whistling with violent heat. Shinki sighed and raised his sword, wiping out the arrows with a swift slash.
Suddenly—
(Flashback)
A six-year-old Shinki knelt beside a one-year-old Kazuki, helping him walk.
"You can do it," he cheered, smiling warmly. "You're getting it!"
(End of flashback)
Shinki's expression softened as he murmured to himself.
"I'm proud of you, Kazuki. You've grown strong… though I wish it didn't have to come to this."
Kazuki lunged and stabbed Shinki through the chest.
"You got carried away... and now you're going to die," he declared.
But Shinki smirked.
"You got cocky… and now you dropped your guard."
To Kazuki's shock, the body he stabbed dissolved—it was a doll. The real Shinki appeared behind him and kicked him through the forest once more.
"You're strong, Kazuki," Shinki said, walking calmly toward him. "And your battle IQ is impressive… but you're not ten steps ahead of your enemy. That's the difference between surviving… and dying. You should know that by now, you are a solidier after all."
Kazuki stood, blood dripping from his eye, eyes filled with rage.
"Who are you to be correcting me?! You damn piece of shit!"
He roared, charging up a terrifying mix of lightning and flames. As the storm of energy surged, a flood of blurry memories overwhelmed him—memories of him as a six-year-old, playing with an older boy who looked just like Shinki.
Shinki watched him and spoke gently.
"Wow… my illusions are working. I can create memories, visions, but they're not always reliable—gives me a headache each time i use em." He laughed.
"Tried it on Diablo last time we fought. Didn't work… probably because he's some kind of god."
Kazuki clutched his bleeding eye.
"These aren't illusions. These… these are real. Childhood memories... I had an older brother… who left when I was six. He was twelve when he disappeared. No… no way. It can't be him… it can't be Shinki!"
Shinki slowly approached.
"You're in a bind, Kazuki. But I know you've still got tricks up your sleeve."
"Shut up!" Kazuki screamed, rising with fury.
He summoned every ounce of his power, fusing flames and lightning into one ultimate blast.
"COMPLETE INCINERATION!!". He shot out this powerful attack at Shinki.
The resulting explosion wiped out several mountains with a powerful explosion and annihilated what was left of the forest. Kazuki collapsed to his knees, breathing hard.
"Damn… my spirit mark disappeared. I wasn't expecting much, it just evolved. I need time to adjust too this power properly. When i get to the city, I'll go train with Veronica-", Kazuki was stunned as he looked forward.
As the smoke cleared, Shinki emerged—clapping.
"So this is how strong you've become? Nice. Really nice. At this rate, you'll just keep getting stronger with unimaginable power and speed, Kazuki!"
He shot forward, sword raised, preparing the killing blow.
"Come on, Kazuki… Get up. In the worst moments of battle, find another way. Never give up!"
Suddenly, Kazuki called out in desperation:
"GOD'S DEVASTATION!"
Massive purple lightning bolts rained down from the sky, blasting Shinki and unleashing a final, colossal explosion.
Kazuki stood slowly, panting, body trembling as lightning bolts rained down at light speed. But then… he heard a voice as the smoke of his attacks cleared away.
"Was that the death you pictured for me? If so… not bad at all. That move would have kept most people in their graves already."
Shinki stepped forward, bloodied, his arm burned, but alive.
"Now… let me picture your death.", Shinki said with a smirk.
He charged up his sword with a devastating amount of red energy so overwhelming that the earth trembled. Kazuki on looking at this was nothing but annoyed and shocked at the same time.
"This technique… is called Overkill. And this… is how you'll die!"
Kazuki froze in terror.
"He still has this much energy… after all of that?! I put everything into those attacks… and I forgot to activate my forcefield… What do I do?! I'm low on energy to activate my forcefield. What the fuck do I do now?!"
Shinki condensed the red energy into his blade and hurled it toward Kazuki at speeds faster than light 14 times.
But instead of striking him, the attack veered off—obliterating several mountains in the distance.
Shinki dropped to the ground, coughing blood, staring up at the stormy sky.
Kazuki, confused and beaten, walked toward him in silence. As he reached Shinki's side, he looked down with a shaken expression.
Then, softly, he asked:
"Hey… elder brother… Is that really you?"
The rain began to fall.
Shinki smiled and let out a weak laugh.
"About time you called me that… I was starting to miss that word... my little brother."
End of Chapter.