Swooooch...
A gust of dark aura howled through the fractured chamber.
Code stood still, hunched low in a stance, eyes locked on Khalzheroth, his fist drawn, sweat sliding down his cheek.
'This entire room is a death trap. With every corner filled with anti-tenzen, one wrong breath and I'm done for... And the worst part-' he gritted his teeth, 'I can't even detect the distortions until they hit.'
Then Van's words echoed in his skull:
"The only way to detect anti-tenzen... is through tenzen, and that depends entirely on your emission control."
His eyes narrowed.
"Then... I have to get faster. Not just fast-instant. Strike before he even thinks."
FWOOSH!
Code vanished.
But the moment he reappeared-
SHK!
His body had already been split clean across the torso. His halves crumpled to the floor.
Khalzheroth chuckled.
"This is getting repetitive."
But before he could finish-
BRRRRK!!
The ground cracked. A sonic boom followed.
BOOM!
Code reappeared. Fist out. Already slamming into Khalzheroth's skull.
SMASH!
A massive gust tore through the chamber.
Dust burst.
Then-
GSHAAAK!!!
Code's right arm erupted, a violent splatter of blood and bone coating Khalzheroth's face.
"You're relentless," the demon muttered.
SMACK!
Code's left hook crashed into Khalzheroth's jaw, a thunderous uppercut that cracked the air.
KRIIK!
Khalzheroth's neck twisted with a horrible sound.
"AAAHHHH!" Code screamed, channeling every last drop of tenzen into his fist.
But then-
BLAM! BLAKSH!
Code's skull exploded into dust.
His body fell.
But in that instant...
TWOOCH!
His head regenerated mid-fall.
He rose-only to meet Khalzheroth's incoming fist.
BLAST! THWOOOMPH!!
"Begone!" the demon growled.
CRASH!!
Code's face was obliterated.
He hurtled backward, smashing into the wall.
TWOOCH!
Another regeneration. But before he could react-
BOOM!!
Khalzheroth burst through the air and met him with a gut-shattering punch.
SPLURRT!
Blood burst from Code's mouth as he flew into the adjacent chamber, body spinning.
TWOOCH!
He regenerated just before he crashed.
THUD!
He tumbled across the ground, then slammed against the far wall.
From the shadows, Khalzheroth grinned.
"Oi, oi... I'm starting to like you."
Code wiped the blood from his mouth.
His chest heaved.
Badum. Badum...
A low pulse from his core.
VMMMMMM...
Tenzen surged. Through his heart. Into his bones. Into his soul.
His veins bulged. Power crackled from his fingertips.
The ground beneath him shattered.
"I'll..."
FWOOOOOSH!
He flashed forward.
"...KILL YOUUUUU!!"
He landed hard in front of Khalzheroth.
"Colossus..."
He whispered.
Right fist drawn.
Left leg planted. Right leg tensed.
Time slowed.
The chamber bent.
Tenzen burned through every artery, every muscle, every fibre of his being. His body screamed.
BLARM!!!!
"THRUSTTTTT!!!"
FWOOOSH!! KRRRRRKKK!! BLAMMM!!
His fist detonated forward-
BOOM! SCREEEEEE! BLAST!
It hit.
The entire chamber roared.
A rupture tore through the ground, slicing the air open with thunder.
Sand. Rock. Bone. Air. All blown backward in a spiraling dome of devastation.
RUMMMMMBBBBLLLE...
A crater expanded from beneath Code's feet, the floor widening like a blooming scar.
Dust spiraled. Walls groaned. The heavens above the chamber cracked.
Code stood amidst the wreckage, chest heaving, blood trickling from his nostrils, fist still outstretched.
And for a moment-
Silence...
Silence. Smoke. And then-
As the dust began to settle, Code's blurred vision caught the silhouette.
A figure. Dark, tall and unmoving.
The smoke cleared fully.
It was Khalzheroth.
He stood upright, not a scratch on him. One arm extended-clutching Code's fist.
"...Impossible..." Code muttered, eyes trembling.
"You'll need far more than that, gifted child," Khalzheroth said calmly, almost pitying.
And then-
BRRSHK!!
Code's entire arm erupted, flesh and bone exploding into a wet red cloud. Gore sprayed out violently, splattering against Khalzheroth's chest.
Code recoiled, stepping back, mouth wide in agony. "Why...?"
But the answer came not in words-
-but in the slow descent of Khalzheroth's palm.
It hovered... and then pressed against Code's face.
Time halted.
Tick.
The air grew cold.
Tock.
Silence drowned the space, as Khalzheroth's lips curled.
"Zerukh'tal Veymorraneth..."
His whisper crawled across the room, ancient and venomous.
"...Drahzil."
Vwooooomph!!
A dome of pure black energy exploded from his palm-consuming everything.
In a flash...
Nothing remained.
No flame. No smoke. No sound.
Just void.
A single breath passed-
Then the sound returned. A low, sickly heartbeat. Code's vision spun violently.
"Ugh..." His remaining consciousness groaned. He couldn't see anything. Just blackness.
Then-
SKRABLAAAM!!!
From the marrow of his bones to the strands of his DNA, Code's entire body combusted.
Red. Crimson. Pieces.
Blood and tissue splattered across the room in all directions.
Everything was gone.
Only a single eyeball hit the floor and rolled... twitching.
And through its blurred, lopsided vision, it saw one thing:
Khalzheroth standing, his hand still extended.
Code's thoughts spiraled. No regeneration. No revival. No rewind.
"...Why isn't fate changing...?"
Silence answered.
Panic gripped what was left of him.
"Why... can't I come back...?"
Then, Khalzheroth spoke:
"Even fate has its limits," Khalzheroth whispered, footsteps crunching across debris as he slowly approached.
Code's thoughts drifted.
"So this... is how it ends?"
Images flashed. Van. Nara. Hina. His blood. His pain. His dreams. His hope.
All gone.
Darkness swelled as Khalzheroth neared.
A final tear slid from the eyeball, a glint of wetness amid red.
"I was... supposed to win..."
Khalzheroth crouched, smirk twisting as he reached for the eyeball.
Closer.
Closer.
Then-
Swoosh! Shiuuuun! SPLURRT!!!
Out of nowhere-a flash of gold cleaved through the air.
Blood exploded, painting the wall behind Khalzheroth in an instant.
His body jolted. He staggered a half-step back.
His eyes widened.
Drip... drip...
He looked down slowly.
His arm was gone. Severed at the elbow.
Blood gushed down the stump, steam rising from the edge.
"...Tch."
Khalzheroth's breath hitched. Not in pain-
but in surprise.
His gaze rose.
Through the dust...Through the haze...He saw it:
A figure.
Standing where Code had just died...
Dual golden blades gleamed at his sides- humming with dark aura.
Tattered cloak swaying in the fallout of the room's collapse. His hair rustled slightly.
A shadowy smirk curled on the newcomer's lips.
"Yo."
Khalzheroth's eye twitched. His grin slowly returned.
"...How delightful."
He raised his gaze fully, pupils tightening.
"Who... are you?"
The figure tilted his head, one blade slowly rising behind his back.
"Ahem..." He cleared his throat loudly.
"Someone you probably should've killed first."
***
T. B. C.