"Let me see what you're made of!"
Akuma casually tossed aside the belongings he was carrying. The killing intent around him began to surge violently as he charged toward Hanzo, swinging his arm.
Hanzo desperately tried to dodge, but locked in place by that overwhelming killing intent, he was a fraction of a second too slow. He had no chance to mount any defense and could only watch helplessly as Akuma rushed toward him.
Akuma himself froze for a split second, but by then it was too late to pull back his punch back.
But at that moment...
Ryuji arrived.
Without using his fists, Ryuji suddenly drew the divine sword from his back. He swung it fiercely, releasing a crescent-shaped slash that shot out faster than his own charge, crashing violently into Akuma's fist.
The fist radiating red killing intent and Ryuji's white slash collided head-on. The two forces locked for a brief instant, then the two completely opposing energies reacted and exploded. The blast sent Hanzo flying while also forcing Akuma, who had thrown the punch, to take a step back.
At that moment, Ryuji rushed forward, caught the airborne Hanzo and pressed a burst of dragon fire against his chest to heal him.
After all, conceptual lifespan only ensures you don't die. As for what condition you're alive in, it doesn't care.
On Akuma's side, the moment he saw Ryuji, a thought rose in his mind.
This is the one who can be my opponent!
Slowly raising his hand and looking at the slightly torn skin on his fist, Akuma narrowed his eyes and carefully examined Ryuji, who had turned around with sword in hand.
"Such a powerful slash…"
But when he looked at the sword in Ryuji's hand, Akuma showed obvious disappointment.
"But unfortunately, you're a swordsman."
His fighting spirit toward Ryuji instantly diminished by more than half. In his eyes, his own body was the strongest weapon. Someone like Ryuji who relied on weapons was weak.
Ryuji retorted without hesitation.
"Learning to use tools is proof of being human. Millions of years ago, monkeys became human by picking up sticks and stones and mastering fire and other tools. And learning to control one's reason and desires is also fundamental to being human, isn't it?"
He also believed the body was his greatest asset, but he wasn't arrogant enough to think his body could overpower everything.
When your body isn't strong enough, using weapons is not wrong.
And besides...
It looked cool.
He had already heard the man's name, and his appearance perfectly matched it.
Akuma.
He is undoubtedly the pinnacle of Street Fighter. In later lore, he even possessed the power to split the sea with his body.
In crossover titles, he fought evenly with beings like Thanos and Asura, even shattering meteors.
The Akuma before him wasn't that powerful yet, but the Satsui no Hado radiating from him was an extremely terrifying force.
Ryuji didn't know how he he knew this, but just facing Akuma with the Satsui no Hado, he understood one thing clearly:
Satsui no Hado is life's yearning for destruction and slaughter. In a sense...
It is divine power.
From the looks of it, Akuma's control over the Satsui no Hado wasn't especially refined. But that made sense, his mastery of it had grown rapidly through constant battles and relentless training, especially by fighting others who also wielded the Satsui no Hado.
Even his combat strength wasn't entirely stable. When his emotions surged, he would naturally be incredibly powerful. But if his desire for battle and destruction didn't fully ignite, then although he would still stand at the top level, he probably wouldn't surpass the others by too wide a margin. In that state, he could likely be taken down by a group working together.
Right now...
"You're no match for me, Akuma."
Ryuji did not reach for the Demon Slayer Blade on his back, but instead tightened his grip on the divine sword.
Although this Kuroinu sword of his was quite obscene in origin, it was still a proper divine weapon. The power on it naturally restrained Akuma's Satsui no Hado.
And purely speaking, Akuma's physical constitution wasn't as high as his, nor was his life force more vigorous.
But the Satsui no Hado on Akuma's body was something that grew stronger the more he fought.
The more intense the emotions, the stronger the desire for victory, the stronger the Satsui no Hado became. But if it couldn't stack up, then at most he was only about ten times stronger than Mai and Hanzo combined…
If it did stack up, however, that was another matter.
So, if he truly wanted to kill Akuma, he could simply unleash a space-time slash, or cut him down directly with the divine sword.
"Hmph, how arrogant…"
Akuma snorted disdainfully, but did not deny it.
He could feel that the sword in Ryuji's hand radiated a power that suppressed his Satsui no Hado. And although he had dispersed Ryuji's slash earlier, that attack had been launched hastily.
Moreover, that slash had not carried the power that suppressed his Satsui no Hado. So, if Ryuji used that blade to fight him seriously, he might not even be able to unleash his full strength before being killed by Ryuji.
That much, he had to admit.
But Ryuji had no intention of fighting him with a sword.
He unfastened the sword from his body and handed it to Mai, who had hurriedly followed him out, then looked at Akuma.
"But I also want to fight you, Akuma. How about we go into the mountains?"
Ryuji pointed toward the mountain range behind him. He wanted to know just how far he could go against Akuma without using his sword.
He didn't know why Akuma had appeared here, nor did he care. He came to this world to grow stronger and fuck Mai. With a potential opponent who might let him go all-out, naturally he wouldn't give up such a chance.
And most importantly...
He could not sense any evil aura from Akuma.
It was strange. Akuma possessed a power destined to create endless slaughter, yet there was not the slightest trace of malice in his aura.
What Ryuji felt instead was a pure and clear fighting spirit.
And his instinct told him that Akuma was not a bad person.
Akuma paused for a moment, then a smile appeared on his face.
"Are you looking down on me, boy?"
~~~~~~~~~~
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