Marcus did not wait any longer.
He shot forward, not toward the prepared Hydra, but straight at Kin'iro.
"YOU!"
His fist aimed for Kin'iro's face.
CLANG!
Gin'iro appeared before Kin'iro. His shield was raised, blocking Marcus's punch. Sparks flew.
"You will not touch him," Gin'iro said, his voice flat.
Before Marcus could pull back his fist, a giant hand grabbed his shoulder from the side. It was Chairo.
"Come with me," Chairo said.
He pulled Marcus away, away from Kin'iro and Gin'iro, creating a new arena in the corner of the room. The ground beneath them trembled.
Marcus growled. "Let go!"
Chairo did not answer. He threw Marcus toward the wall, but Marcus had already twisted in mid air, landing with both feet on the fallen rubble. He did not fall.
"Inferno Step Chain!"
Blue fire footprints blazed on the shattered marble floor. Marcus shot forward, fast, leaving trails of fire behind him. Chairo raised his hand.
"Siege Stone Palisade!"
Sharp stone pillars erupted from the ground, forcing Marcus to veer.
Marcus did not stop. He leaped into the air, dodging the last pillar, and dove toward Chairo.
"Cobalt Impact!"
His punch struck Chairo's chest. Blue fire exploded inward, but Chairo did not retreat. He endured it, his body shuddering.
"Geologic Machine Gun!"
Fist sized stones shot from Chairo's hands. However, Marcus quickly blocked with his arms. Some struck his chest, but he did not fall.
"Blazing Counter!"
As the next stone approached, Marcus deflected it with his palm. Blue fire exploded at the point of contact, bouncing the stone back at Chairo.
Chairo did not dodge. The stone struck his chest and shattered.
He did not move.
"You are quite strong," Chairo said.
Marcus smiled faintly. "You too."
---
On the other side of the room, Daidaiiro and Ao wasted no time.
They shot toward Leon and the others. From two different directions, a fire spear and an ice spear shot simultaneously.
Kazan appeared before them.
With a single slash, he stopped both spears in mid air.
CLANG! CLANG!
His blade gleamed, holding back the heat and cold that tried to break through.
Daidaiiro growled. "You!"
"You two are my opponents," Kazan said.
Daidaiiro and Ao exchanged glances. Then, without a word, they attacked together.
Kazan did not retreat. His sword spun, blocking the fire spear from the right, parrying the ice spear from the left. Each collision created sparks of fire and shards of ice.
"You cannot hold out forever," Daidaiiro said.
"I do not need to," Kazan replied.
He dodged sideways, not backward, then countered with "Seppaku no Kōmyō." A white wave shot toward Daidaiiro.
Daidaiiro blocked with his spear. Red fire exploded, the white wave splitting apart. But Ao was on the other side, his ice spear thrusting from the side.
Kazan was no longer there.
"Mugen no Kōjin!"
Ten slashes in two seconds. Ao stepped back, his ice spear raised, but several slashes struck his arm.
Blood flowed.
"Ice," Ao said, staring at his wound. "No sharper than steel."
"Steel does not need to be sharp," Kazan said. "What matters is that it cuts."
---
Leon had not had time to move.
Suddenly, his mind went hazy.
Not from exhaustion. Not from wounds. But from something that entered his head. Voices. Whispers. Memories that were not his.
Aiiro stood before Leon, both hands still pressed to his forehead. His indigo eyes glowed bright.
"Do you see?" he whispered. "Do you see what I see?"
Leon shook his head. But the shadows around him came alive.
Not ordinary shadows. Those shadows had fangs, and they all moved to attack him.
Shiro remained still. The pale white light at his fingertips suddenly expanded.
One pulse.
BOOM.
A white light wave exploded from that point, sweeping across the entire room.
Its brilliance blinded. Its pressure shattered balance.
Leon could not see. Could not breathe.
His body was thrown backward like a ragdoll, crashing through empty air before CRACK! slamming against the wall until it shattered.
Leon was sent flying outside, to the area beyond the Nexus.
Sand. Mud. And thousands of pairs of blazing red eyes.
Hydra soldiers.
Leon rose slowly. Blood flowed from the corner of his mouth, but Lokantaka was still in his hand.
"Damn..."
From the shattered wall, Aiiro and Shiro stepped out.
"You cannot run," Aiiro said.
Shiro remained silent. But the light at his fingertips grew brighter.
Leon was now surrounded. Hydra soldiers behind him. Two Hydra before him.
---
Zephyr and Zenless had not moved at all.
They stood in place, observing.
But now, something changed.
"We attack the leader," Zephyr said.
Zenless nodded. His fan opened.
They shot forward together, Zephyr from the left, Zenless from the right.
However, something interrupted them.
"Watch out!"
A lightning whip struck from the left, forcing Zephyr to raise his sword to block.
Kiiro was already standing before him, smiling widely.
"Let us play with me."
CRACK!
Lightning struck from his whip. Zephyr blocked with his sword, sparks and electricity scattering.
"You are fast," Zephyr said.
"You too," Kiiro replied.
Zephyr stepped forward amidst the sparks. His sword spun low, nearly catching Kiiro's ankle.
"Fast alone is not enough."
Kiiro leaped back, his whip retracted with a hissing sound. His smile widened.
"Good. Now it is fun."
On the right side, Zenless stopped. Green mist began to shroud his path. Gurin stepped out of the mist, smiling widely.
"Finally, my turn has come," he said.
Zenless's fan opened fully. The green mist around Gurin immediately reversed direction, blown away.
Zenless sighed. "You like playing with poison?"
Gurin inhaled deeply, his smile widening.
"It is not just poison. I like playing with anything," Gurin said.
Zephyr and Zenless exchanged brief glances. Then, without a word, they accepted the challenge.
Zephyr raised his sword. "I hope you do not disappoint."
Kiiro laughed. "You too."
Two battles erupted simultaneously.
---
Marcus and Chairo paused briefly.
Three meters apart. Both were gasping for breath.
Marcus held his arm, hit by shards from Geologic Machine Gun. Blood dripped.
Chairo held his chest. His stone armor cracked, blue fire still seeping faintly through the fissures.
"You are strong," Marcus said.
Chairo did not answer.
"But it is not over yet."
Marcus raised his fist. Blue fire began to gather.
Chairo raised his hand. The ground beneath them trembled.
---
Amidst the chaos, Kin'iro did not move.
He found a seat, a piece of rubble left from the shattered wall. Gin'iro stood beside him, shield raised, protecting him from stray attacks.
Kin'iro sat. Crossed his legs. Smiled faintly.
He did not join. He only watched.
"Getting interesting," he whispered.
---
Marcus and Chairo did not move.
They stared at each other. Three meters apart.
Chairo clenched his fist. The ground beneath him rippled, small cracks spreading toward Marcus.
Marcus stomped the ground. The cracks stopped.
"You can move the earth," Marcus said.
"But I will not let you."
Chairo did not answer. He stomped his foot. The ground shook and stones shot forth.
Marcus met it with a step forward. Blue fire exploded from his fist.
Then they collided.
"Geologic Machine Gun!"
"Hell's Cadence!"
Stones and fists met. Marcus blocked with his arms, some stones striking his chest. He did not retreat. His fists hammered in rapid succession, left, right, left, right, forcing Chairo to block with arms that hardened like stone.
Each impact made Chairo slide backward.
"You cannot keep this up," Chairo said.
"I can," Marcus replied. "I can until you fall."
---
Outside the Nexus, Leon was still holding on.
Sweat flowed down his temples. His breath was heavy.
Aiiro continued attacking from within his head, whispers, illusions, false memories.
Shiro occasionally released bursts of light, wounding Leon's body.
The Hydra soldiers behind him began to close in.
Leon could not run. Could not focus. But he did not fall.
"Dark Edge!"
Dark energy enveloped Lokantaka. He slashed toward Shiro.
Shiro did not move. White light formed a shield before him.
CLANG.
Leon's slash was blocked.
Shiro finally spoke, his voice flat. "Stop resisting. You have already lost."
Leon ignored him.
"Shadow Section!"
From his own shadow, pitch black blades shot toward Aiiro.
Aiiro vanished into the shadows, reappearing on the other side.
"You cannot touch me," Aiiro said.
Leon gritted his teeth. "I do not need to touch you. I just need to hold on."
---
Inside the room, Kazan continued fighting Daidaiiro and Ao.
Daidaiiro attacked with his fire spear, wild, fast, hard.
Ao attacked from the other side with his ice spear, cold, precise, silent.
Kazan had to face two opposing elements simultaneously.
But he did not retreat.
"Water Stance."
His sword moved like water, deflecting the fire spear softly, redirecting the ice spear without sound. The blazing fire weakened when met by the wind of his blade. The incoming ice cracked before touching his skin.
"White Dragon Flash!"
A 360 degree circular slash. A white dragon shaped wave shot in all directions.
Daidaiiro and Ao were forced back several steps. There was no opening to approach.
"You are annoying," Daidaiiro said.
Kazan did not answer.
---
Zephyr and Kiiro exchanged blows.
Kiiro used his speed, appearing left, right, front, back. His lightning whip struck from all directions.
Zephyr used wind and lightning, his sword moving fast, blocking, countering.
CRACK!
Kiiro's whip struck Zephyr's arm. Burns appeared instantly, but Zephyr did not stop.
SHING!
Zephyr's sword struck back, hitting Kiiro's shoulder. Thin blood trickled.
They paused briefly. Stared at each other.
"You are fast," Kiiro said.
"You too," Zephyr replied.
---
Zenless and Gurin were still in the mist.
Thick green mist clung to his skin, making Zenless's throat sting if he breathed too deeply.
Gurin kept moving, not attacking directly. He only circled Zenless, releasing poison slowly from different sides every second.
Zenless could not see. But he did not panic.
"Golden Step."
He glided sideways, dodging an attack from behind that had not even been heard yet.
"Reflector."
A thin golden wall appeared before him. Gurin's poison bounced off, falling to the ground and hissing.
"You cannot hide forever," Zenless said.
From within the mist, Gurin's voice sounded soft, full of a smile.
"I am not hiding. I am just waiting."
---
Marcus and Chairo kept fighting.
Their wounds multiplied.
Marcus was hit by stone shards, arms, chest, thigh.
Chairo was hit by blue fire, his chest scorched, his arm burned.
But neither fell.
"You can still fight?" Marcus asked, gasping.
"I can," Chairo replied. The ground beneath him trembled, not as strong as before, but still there.
Marcus smiled. "Good."
He raised his fist. Blue fire began to gather, not as large as before, but still blazing.
Chairo raised his hand. The earth began to rise, not as high as before, but still moving.
They stared at each other.
---
In the center of the room, Kin'iro still sat. Gin'iro still stood beside him.
He looked around. Kazan was still fighting. Zephyr was still fighting. Zenless was still in the mist. Leon was still outside. The battle between Marcus and Chairo grew increasingly intense.
Kin'iro smiled.
"Still a long way to go," he whispered.
He did not move. He was still waiting.
=== CHAPTER 41 END ===