Kazuki walked down the silent halls of the Infinity Castle, his steps echoing lightly against the cold floor. The eerie quiet made him uneasy.
"It's too quiet..." he muttered to himself. His eyes narrowed. "There are shikigami here, but none of them are above C-rank... though there's a lot of them."
As he turned a corner, a centipede crawled out of the ground in front of him. Then another. And another.
Suddenly, giant centipedes began bursting from the walls, hissing and writhing as they charged toward him.
Kazuki pulled a dagger from his pocket, his face scrunching in disgust.
"I'm used to freaky stuff... but this is just disgusting."
Without hesitation, he darted forward, moving at the blinding speed of lightning. Each swing of his dagger cut through the monstrous centipedes with deadly precision, tearing them apart in rapid slashes of steel and fury.
Meanwhile, deep within the castle...
Shinki, draped lazily on a throne, napped in silence—until his eyes suddenly opened. He sat up slightly, a small grin forming on his lips.
"He's here... Kazuki made it this far. I guess I have to fight him now."
Moments later, Kazuki stepped into the throne room, his eyes locked onto the man before him.
"So I've finally found you. I've gotta say, you don't look like you changed much," Kazuki said. "Shinki... of the Dark Sign."
Shinki wasn't fazed. He simply looked at Kazuki with a calm expression and asked,
"I can see the intent to kill in your eyes. But what do you want from me?"
Kazuki's eyes narrowed.
"I keep having memories of you. Like you're my elder brother or some kind of family member. But you're evil. What did you do to me? Why the hell do I feel related to someone like you? Is this some kind of mind control?!"
Shinki's expression shifted for just a moment—a small, almost unnoticeable smile appeared on his face.
"It's about time you knew... little brother." He thought to himself.
Kazuki's rage boiled. "ANSWER ME!" he shouted.
Suddenly, a spirit mark in the shape of a diamond with four circles appeared on his arm. A scarf made of lightning coiled around his neck, and his hands ignited with purple flames.
Shinki stood, his interest piqued. "Interesting power... I'd like to see what you can do with it."
Kazuki smirked.
"I'm easily B-rank now. That means I can go toe-to-toe with you. If I play my cards right, I could easily beat you. Don't think you'll leave here with your body in one piece."
"And I killed one of your subordinates," he added. "If I can take you down, *The strongest Dark sign member* I can wipe out all of the Dark Sign too."
Shinki's expression remained calm, but internally, he scoffed.
"You can barely beat Kenji or Sorata in that form. And you want to beat me...? You really are starting to get arrogant, Kazuki.",
Back in the city...
Alex and Kinto were walking through the streets when Kinto turned to him with a grin.
"Hey, I've been working on something new lately. Want to check it out?"
Alex frowned. "Nope. You're just gonna show me some new explosive and use me as your test dummy."
Kinto laughed. "Nah, it's different this time. Though... I may have borrowed some of Deo's tech for this."
They eventually arrived at Kinto's house and headed upstairs. As Kinto approached his locker, he typed in a code. The locker shifted open, revealing a hidden lab inside the wardrobe.
Alex's jaw dropped.
"Yo... When the hell did you have time for this?! You turned your room into a damn lab?!"
"This is nothing," Kinto replied. "I have something else to show you."
They stepped into the lab, where Kinto revealed a large metallic cross made from robotic components with a red circle on the middle.
"I've been working on a way to create new explosives... without having to carry them around."
Alex raised a brow. "This thing looks too heavy to carry. What's your plan?"
Kinto smirked.
"Instead of throwing bombs everywhere and wasting energy, I made this: an explosive that can teleport to me. All I have to do is snap my fingers, and this cross will appear right where I am."
Alex paused for a second, stunned.
"That's... actually really smart. Damn, Kinto. I knew you were smart, but this is next level. Looks like your 500 IQ is still scary."
Kinto grinned. "Thanks. And by the way... I've got another update for you. It's double X-rated."
Alex's face lit up in excitement.
"Ohhhh? What's the update? Spill it."
"You remember that Rin girl from the Iron Country? The one I fought during the assassination exams?"
Alex nodded. "Yeah. The one with the two brothers."
"Exactly," Kinto said with a smug grin. "Well, after all that chaos and the city getting restored... we ended up at a hotel. And bro... we banged. Straight up."
Alex's face turned red with joy.
"Hell yeah!! My boy Kinto ain't a virgin no more! Tell me everything—did she give you a BJ?! Rate it out of 100!"
Kinto laughed shamelessly.
"Bro, she was sucking my key like a vacuum cleaner! I swear to God, she sent me to the shadow realm and brought me back!"
Alex's eyes lit up with imagination.
"Yo, did she moan your name or anything?! I need the full damn report!"
Back in the Infinity Castle…
The two brothers clashed with immense speed, their battle ripping through the walls and ground around them with purple lightning blasts and red energy beams. Kazuki, armed with a lightning-forged a sword and a blade of purple flames, unleashed waves of arrows and slashes.
Shinki dodged with precision, his red energy blade slicing through the incoming attacks. The room exploded around them, every impact shaking the castle's core.
The battle escalated until the entire Infinity Castle collapsed under the sheer pressure of their powers. A massive explosion leveled the area and the forest around them.
As the dust cleared, Kazuki emerged from the rubble, panting. He looked up—and saw Shinki, standing calmly atop the debris.
Shinki looked down at him with renewed respect.
"Hmm... You really are strong, Kazuki. I won't make the mistake of underestimating you again."
His sword began to glow, red energy crackling around the blade.
Kazuki smirked and raised his own power, purple lightning surging around his body.
"Then I guess it's time I up my game."
END OF CHAPTER.