CHAPTER 31 — COLLISION
The sky screamed.
Ragnar descended like a falling star—his body angled downward, flames erupting from his leg as it carved through the air toward Tokita's head.
A meteor.
Unstoppable.
Tokita didn't move—
Until the last possible second.
He raised his arm.
Impact.
The moment Ragnar's leg collided with Tokita's guard, the world fractured.
A shockwave exploded outward, tearing through the ground beneath them. Concrete split. Windows shattered across distant buildings. The air itself seemed to rupture under the force.
For a split second—
Everything went silent.
Then—
Boom.
The delayed explosion swallowed the entire area in fire and dust.
Far from the epicenter, bodies continued to fall from the sky—civilians Tokita had thrown moments earlier. Some crashed into the river below with heavy splashes. Others were still descending, screaming as gravity pulled them down.
Back at the battlefield—
Smoke churned violently.
Debris rained down.
Ragnar stood within the haze, unmoving.
Ragnar tilted his head slightly, studying him.
"…Actually," he said, voice quieter now, more curious than mocking, "there's something I've been wondering."
Tokita didn't respond.
Ragnar's eyes narrowed.
"How did you know?"
A pause.
"That there was a river nearby."
Silence settled between them, broken only by the distant crackle of fire.
Tokita exhaled softly.
"…While we were fighting earlier," he said, "you thought I was just dodging."
Ragnar's gaze sharpened.
"I wasn't."
Tokita lifted his eyes slightly, calm… steady.
"I was moving through the battlefield on purpose."
A faint gust of wind passed between them.
"Every step. Every angle. Every direction you forced me into…"
"I was mapping it."
Ragnar didn't interrupt.
"The buildings. The elevation. The wind flow. The spacing between structures…" Tokita continued.
"And the river."
A brief pause.
"I found it while adjusting to your attack patterns."
Ragnar's expression slowly changed—not shock…
But recognition.
Tokita clenched his fist slightly.
"My original plan was to throw you into it."
"But…"
His voice lowered.
"They needed it more."
Silence.
For the first time—
Ragnar wasn't smiling.
"…So you were thinking that far ahead," he muttered.
Then—
Slowly—
A grin returned.
Wider than before.
Sharper.
"Man…"
He chuckled under his breath.
"That's seriously cool bro!!"
Tokita's expression changes a little as he smirks a bit.
Ragnar's lips curled slightly.
"…Is it just me," he said, turning just enough to acknowledge him, "or are we starting to understand each other?"
Tokita didn't answer.
Ragnar moved first.
He vanished.
Reappearing instantly in front of Tokita, his fist already driving forward—
Tokita tilted his body.
The punch missed by a hair.
In the same motion—
Tokita stepped in.
His fist rose.
Uppercut.
The strike connected cleanly with Ragnar's chin.
A sharp crack echoed.
Ragnar's body lifted—launched upward into the air.
But Tokita didn't stop.
He vanished.
Reappearing above Ragnar.
Then beside him.
Then below.
Movement beyond normal perception.
Tokita caught Ragnar's leg mid-air—
Yanked him down—
And drove two brutal punches into his face.
Blood sprayed.
Ragnar's body twisted from the impact, but Tokita held firm—gripping his leg like an anchor.
Then—
Tokita jumped.
Dragging Ragnar with him.
The ground below rushed up.
Broken structures. Collapsed streets. A ruined section of the city where debris had piled into a jagged crater.
Tokita's eyes sharpened.
And he slammed Ragnar down.
The impact shattered everything.
Concrete erupted. Steel bent and snapped. Nearby structures collapsed inward, drawn into the force of the collision. The shockwave flattened anything still standing within range.
And the infected—
Were crushed beneath it.
The entire zone became a grave of rubble.
For a brief moment—
There was nothing.
Then Tokita stood.
He glanced around once.
Calculated.
A faint hiss reached his ears.
Gas.
From a ruptured station buried beneath the debris.
Tokita stepped forward.
Picked up a small, flickering flame from a broken lighter lying among the rubble.
He looked at it for a second.
Then dropped it.
The fire spread instantly.
A spark—
Then ignition—
Then—
Boom.
A massive explosion consumed the entire area.
Flames roared upward, devouring the debris, the fallen infected, and everything buried beneath.
Tokita turned away.
He began to walk.
Behind him—
Fire raged.
The explosion continued to echo.
Then—
Something shifted.
A chunk of debris moved.
Tokita stopped.
Slowly—
He turned.
From within the flames—
A figure stepped out.
Burned.
Damaged.
But standing.
Ragnar.
Tokita's eyes narrowed slightly.
No way…
Ragnar exhaled, rolling his shoulders as flames curled around his body.
"…Fire?" he said, almost amused. "Really?"
He looked up at Tokita, a grin slowly returning.
"You thought that would work on me?"
His eyes gleamed.
"I am fire."
Tokita said nothing.
Ragnar took a step forward, flames flickering along his limbs.
"Actually…" he added casually, "I've been meaning to ask you something."
Tokita remained still.
"What?"
Ragnar gestured lazily toward the distance.
"While we've been fighting… you do realize your little rescue wasn't perfect, right?"
Tokita's gaze didn't change.
"I know."
"My aim wasn't exact," he continued calmly. "The buildings obstructed some angles."
Ragnar smiled wider.
"Exactly."
His voice lowered.
"There are always consequences."
He leaned slightly forward.
"Some of them didn't make it to the river."
A pause.
"They're going to die."
Silence.
Then—
Tokita spoke.
"…You're wrong."
Ragnar blinked.
"Did you forget?" Tokita said quietly.
"I'm not the only one here."
Ragnar's expression shifted.
Just slightly.
"…What?"
Then—
It happened.
A streak of lightning tore across the sky.
Fast.
Blinding.
One of the falling civilians—
A woman—
Was seconds from impact.
Before she hit—
A figure appeared.
Caught her mid-air.
And landed—skidding across the ground, carving a long trail through the debris.
The lightning faded.
Natsuki stood there.
Breathing hard.
Body damaged.
But moving.
"You're good," he muttered, setting the woman down gently.
He lifted his head.
Eyes locking forward.
"…That bastard really left everything to us," he said under his breath.
Then—
He stepped forward.
The battlefield had changed.
Again.