Torn before his final fight with Heihachi, Kazuya Mishima, the cold-blooded oppressor, lands in the streets of Brockton Bay, ending up fighting Lung before Taylor can.
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Kazuya vs Lung! The Dragon and the Devil (1)
1
"Quite the location you've picked to die." Kazuya declared coldly.
His voice, though it hid a burning hatred, was the only thing cold in this place. The magma was rising towards the volcano's opening. The ambient temperature was overwhelming even wearing only his white karate pants, red foot protectors and gloves. But Kazuya could withstand that and more.
He had lived in the hellfire for decades. From the moment that man threw him off the cliff when he was just a child. The man who emerged from the smoke to answer his challenge.
"I thought it was apt."
Heihachi Mishima. The bastard who brought him into the world. He'd never call him father. That would be the last thing he'd ever do.
They looked at each other, a mere ten meters apart. The fire that burned in their gazes was greater than the flames of any volcano. This was a fight he had waited too long for. It would be the first and last time he would fight this creature. He had already defeated it once, but now he would make things right.
When Kazuya defeated him, he wouldn't settle for throwing Heihachi off the same cliff as poetic justice. He would throw him into the volcano. He would make sure he disappeared from this world. He didn't have the Devil Gene, there was no chance that even a monster like him would survive something like this.
"Let's settle this."
Kazuya frowned even harder. The bodies of both fighters were being charged with energy. The purple smoke of the devil within was rising from his. Heihachi's steel body was surrounded by the crackling electricity that was characteristic of the Mishima's fighting style.
A style that Kazuya himself used. He had no problem using the tools that old geezer had given him to destroy him, just as he had used his company for a while. Besides, he didn't give Heihachi too much credit.
When he thought of his childhood, of his training, what came to mind was the warm evening sun and the protective embrace of Grandpa Jinpachi. A man whom the monster in front of him had locked up like an animal for years, right after taking control of the Mishima Zaibatsu from him unjustly.
Kazuya's rage exploded.
He was doing this mostly for himself, but.... Jinpachi was the only person he respected. As the lava roared and burst through from under the rocks, they broke into a run to meet in the middle.
The man with the Devil Gene who was finally close to exacting his revenge against the real devil. He had to win. He would win, whatever it took.
Heihachi and he threw a punch at the same time....
But they didn't collide.
"What is this?"
His hated ultimate enemy was gone, but not only that. The lava. The rocks. Everything, he wasn't even in a volcano anymore, but on the street of a random city.
What was this, really?
He doubted it was a trick of that fucker. Heihachi could be many things, but not a coward. He had called him to the volcano to try to kill him, not to keep him away. Still, this was inexplicable. Where was he and what the hell had happened?
This could be any city. Transforming and observing the area from above was an option. Kazuya didn't, though not because he didn't want to draw attention to himself. Rather because something else caught his attention. He wasn't afraid of anything or anyone, especially not now that he was on the verge of total world domination.
He was simply confused by what could only be called teleportation, if it wasn't some sort of elaborate illusion. He didn't know what to think.
Kazuya huffed, fed up. Anyway, this had to happen just when he was finally going to get his hands on that bastard's neck. Typical. Luck hadn't been with him in life, he'd had to earn it all bit by bit. With his iron fist.
He walked quietly. Anyone would recognize him, but there was no one outside. Or almost no one. As he rounded the corner, he saw what looked like small-time gangsters and their leader. It was easy to identify him as such since he had no shirt and his face was covered by an iron dragon mask. Perhaps a way to compensate for his poor training.
Not that it took much for thugs to scare civilians. Kazuya smirked, wondering what he thought he was.
"The children, just shoot. Doesn't matter your aim, just shoot. You see one lying on the ground? Shoot the little bitch twice more to be sure. We give them no chances to be clever or lucky, understand?"
He figured by kids he at least meant teenagers, because otherwise so much preparation and support to kill a few kids would be the most embarrassing thing he'd ever heard in his life. Not because of the morality of the act, which he didn't care about, obviously, but because he shouldn't need the help or any more of a plan than stomping on their heads.
Even a gang like that getting together to kill a few teenagers, though, was embarrassing.
Anyhow, the rabble.
Kazuya had no idea what they were called and didn't recognize the leader, which meant he wasn't strong enough to even dream of entering the Iron Fist Tournament, much less winning. He was a nobody.
He walked right on by.
He had no intention of interfering, but then one of those two-bit thugs dared to put a hand on his shoulder.
"I'll only say it once. Take your filthy hand off me."
It wasn't a threat, but a promise.
"What?" It couldn't have been clearer, but the thug was too stupid to realize that he was in front of a superior being. Grabbing the arm of the hand he was holding him with, he flipped the thug over as if he were a child, cracking his back over his knee.
Weak.
Kazuya hadn't even hit him with his full power, though he supposed this was favorable. The agony of their buddy as he writhed on the ground was a clear message to the others. He could deal with them, all of them, whenever he wanted. But he had already wasted too much time here. It wasn't worth wasting a single second more.
Every second Heihachi was still breathing in this world was maddening.
He had to end a three-decade long vendetta today.
If any of them were more than trash, they could prove it in the next tournament. Then maybe Kazuya would deign to fight them.
"Who do you think you are?" the leader asked.
Was it possible that he was so stupid not to know that he was behaving like an arrogant dog in front of the world famous Kazuya Mishima? Kazuya turned around to look at him, with only contempt in his gaze.
That was enough to get the message across.
What I am is someone superior to you, that should be enough for you.
It wasn't enough for him. He was blinded by his pride or perhaps his greed, thinking that his reputation would increase if the rumor spread that he had defeated Kazuya Mishima. He would have to crush the leader for these petty insects to leave him alone.
"You asked for it," Kazuya said.
The gang leader took a step forward.
It would be his last step in this world.
Kazuya moved as fast as a fierce god.
The damned idiot didn't even have time to react to the uppercut, strong enough to launch him into the air.
Leaving a trail of dark blue electricity. In the air he lashed out at him, punching him with blows that could break large boulders. Kazuya finished his assault by launching himself into the air with his right leg forward. The impact of the kick threw that deluded man more than ten meters back against a wall.
He hadn't held back at all, only in the sense that he hadn't transformed in front of this rabble. They didn't deserve it and it wasn't worth it. The leader wouldn't rise again and his minions were trembling, they wouldn't even think of challenging him, which was how they should have behaved from the beginning. He was Kazuya Mishima, not just anyone.
"Did you see that electricity? He has to be a parahuman."
A what? Kazuya frowned deeper. Human"adjacent. He didn't like the term, he was superior, plain and simple. What bothered him most was that he hadn't heard that word. And that these petty thugs hadn't heard of him.
Even now, after seeing him demonstrate his skills and characteristic Mishima style, with lightning-like powerful strikes, human storms, they still wondered who he was. They should know, but clearly they didn't. They were confused and frightened. What's going on here? He wondered, not for the first or last time, for sure.
He didn't like unknowns. Power was everything. Someone who didn't know what was necessary wasn't in control of the situation, didn't have the power.
"He's speaking Japanese and I understand him perfectly," another said. "But I don't know Japanese."
"That's true."
"Neither do I. What a creepy power."
That was even stranger. It was the most normal thing in the world. What were these fools talking about?
A deep chuckle rose in the air. The leader. Not only had he not died, but he had gotten up from the crack in the wall with no trouble. Okay, maybe he wasn't as useless as he had first suspected. Maybe it would serve as a warm"up before he found Heihachi again.
"Lung!"
"Of course he wouldn't fall!"
So relieved. Deluded. Kazuya smirked, watching Lung move towards him. Lung stopped at the proper distance before the start of a fight, as if they were in a tournament match. His laughter died down.
"You... you're strong."
"You haven't seen anything yet."
"You haven't either."
Enough. He was transforming, his body slowly covering himself with metallic scales. Lung, huh? And those tattoos. He thought himself a dragon.
What was a dragon to the devil? He could investigate what kind of power he had obtained, he doubted it was the Devil Gene, after tearing him to shreds. He didn't think he would be a threat, in any case. No matter what.
Kazuya slammed his fists together. Electricity roared, flowing through his arms as soon as his fists made contact. A brief flash, but one that promised peril.
"Enough of this farce."
2
Taylor had been observing the encounter from the top of the building. If she'd brought a throwaway phone, she could have alerted the real heroes to Lung's plan, but since she hadn't there was only one option left that she wouldn't regret.
Or so she had believed.
Then that strange man appeared, dressed like a karateka and completely unafraid. He was a parahuman, obviously, but he didn't care about secret identities, he had used his powers without a costume (assuming he even had one).
Challenging Lung, if only because he'd gotten in his way; with that face and one of his eyes glowing blood red, he didn't exactly look like one of the good guys.
But Taylor had to admit that she didn't look like one either, the way her costume had turned out. Looks were deceiving. Even if he wasn't the best person in the world, at least he was now on the side of good (there were few things as black and white as killing children), and she supposed that was what mattered in the end.
She wasn't prepared to get in the middle of a fight between two parahumans like them, but at least she could lend that Japanese guy a hand. Speaking of which, she was worried about the fact that his powers had affected her too even though she was hiding, since she'd understood him perfectly and she had zero clue of Japanese. But then again, understanding another language without any problems wasn't the worst thing that could have happened to her, not by a long shot, as far as powers that affect the mind were concerned.
Anyway, yes, enough of wasting time thinking about it. There was only one possible path.
Taylor took a deep breath.
Now or never.
Attack.
A determination, an order.
Kazuya Vs Lung! The Dragon and the Devil (1): END
Kazuya vs Lung! The Dragon and the Devil (2)
1
There were few things as intoxicating as the anticipation of a good fight, or at least a decent enough one to pass the time. On that, Kazuya suspected, they could both agree. He might be a nobody, but he lived to fight, he could see it clearly, even through the mask.
Okay, fine. I'll give you the fight you're looking for.
Kazuya sprang into action at the same instant as his opponent, as Lung, as if they had both reacted to an invisible starting pistol, as if they had an agreed signal.
The only signal was the singing killing intent.
Something any fighter worth his salt would understand. They didn't need more than that.
Completely ignoring Lung's minions, Kazuya collided with that beast in the middle of the street. He threw a single punch. As they made contact with the enemy's fist, negating each other, sparks of electricity and fire jumped out.
Kazuya frowned slightly, almost imperceptibly. He didn't like fire. It had been over fifteen years ago now, but he had died after being thrown into a volcano, after all. It didn't matter, it wouldn't change the outcome of the fight, but he didn't like it.
The only thing it would change was that he would seek to end the fight sooner.
He made significant progress with the first blow.
Or so it seemed at first. The force of the impact broke Lung's arm, there was no doubt about that. But he regenerated quickly, the right things snapping back into place thanks to the scales that were growing and covering his entire body, transforming him into something inhuman. He wasn't a carrier of the Devil Gene, but he wasn't normal either. What had they called him, parahuman?
He would investigate everything in due time. When Kazuya broke him, as he had broken all the enemies who had dared to stand in his way so far.
The outcome of the battle was evident.
Lung's transformation was progressing fast, Kazuya's had not even begun. From this it naturally followed that he was the strongest.
There was a more natural and basic logic that also supported his assertion. There was no one stronger than him in the first place. The opposite had never been a possibility. It was that simple.
"DORYA!!!"
The uppercut, charged with electricity, launched Lung into the air, however far the 'dragon' scales had advanced. He rounded off a series of uppercuts, and energetic doryas, with a spinning kick in the air, executed so quickly that his foot connected with the enemy several times before, of course, launching him away.
Far.
Against and through a lamppost, the impact hard enough to rip it from the ground, like a tree at the mercy of a whirlwind.
Kazuya was a human whirlwind, his body an impenetrable steel fortress.
"Dorya what? Why the fuck that doesn't translate? I don't understand... Shit!"
The gang member wasn't expressing frustration at his sudden lack of hearing or his severe brain damage, not being able to understand a simple word. He had been surprised, or rather scared shitless, because suddenly a swarm of bugs had fallen from the sky like one of the plagues of Egypt.
It was interesting. Not dangerous, not worrisome, just interesting. Mind you, Kazuya regretted not having trained a pet, like Heihachi.
Now he could have used a bear trained in the Mishima style, rolling across the ground nimbly, his claws tearing through the swarm like a hot knife through butter. I like butter, he thought. Well. In any case, he could take care of the bugs faster than the hypothetical bear. It just wouldn't be the most meaningful use of his eye laser, a vulgar pest extermination.
So, back to the important stuff.
Lung didn't seem to give a shit about the new arrival either.
To be fair, he hadn't even had time to get off the ground yet. It was all happening so fast, really, but every second dragged on in a life-or-death fight. Even if you didn't fear for your life. It was a peculiar feeling.
Kazuya grabbed Lung's head with one hand, helped him up, in a sense, though just long enough to smash him back into the ground. A crater formed in the blink of an eye, four or five meters deep.
He slammed him into the ground again and again, making the crater deeper, the cracks wider, until he felt something crunch apart from the asphalt.
Not his skull. The mask.
It split in half, sliding off, revealing a feline face and too many teeth. Another effect of the transformation, Kazuya supposed. Lung wouldn't wear the mask to hide his monstrous face, for in the midst of a fight, in the midst of the transformation it would inevitably break.
He grew more scales and became taller.
He would soon reach five meters tall, if he kept it up. Height mattered in a fight, to some extent, the reach. But if he thought that would give him victory, he was a deluded fool.
Lung revealed yet another card up his sleeve.
Exploding. An explosion of fire in waves that swept Kazuya and dragged him far away. Pain traveled through his entire body, from head to toe. He had only felt something like this on the day of his death. Being thrown into the volcano, the pain had awakened him, only too late to escape.
He had sunk into the lava, being consumed, experiencing unimaginable pain.
There was no better place for a devil's rebirth than the flames of hell. Although, ironically, it had been his son who plunged the world into hell. Jin, of all people, who had stood in his way so many times because he was 'evil' and someone 'had to stop him'.
This wasn't a time for rebirth, however, not such a drastic or dramatic attack. It was easy to handle. Kazuya transformed and the flames dissipated instantly, as if he had been sprayed with a fire hose.
He rose into the air, dark wings spread behind him, with a sinister smirk.
Lung looked vaguely surprised. It was only natural, meeting someone he would think had a power like his own. However, Kazuya didn't get stronger with time. He didn't ramp up.
He was already at the top.
"Conceited mutts like you need to be put out of their misery. Reminded of their place in the world."
Lung laughed in response.
Not mocking him. It would be a terrible mistake to mock him, but that wasn't it. Lung was simply elated, knowing that the fight had only just begun, that he could give him a good fight. As Kazuya had thought from the beginning, the man lived for this.
"I'm done playing with you... Die!"
And, like a dark meteor, Kazuya flew towards his enemy.
2
Taylor, still on that rooftop, couldn't help but wonder what she'd done to deserve life in general.
Her mother's death, such an avoidable tragedy. Emma's betrayal, the Trio's constant campaign of harassment.
Finding herself in such a fucked-up situation on her first night in costume. To be fair, she had proven she could handle herself, that while her power wasn't a big deal at least it did some good, scaring off Lung's henchmen, forcing them to flee with their tails between their legs from the swarm.
It wasn't a big deal, but it was something.
But they were Lung's henchmen, of all the villains she could have come across. Where were Uber and Leet when she needed them? Not to mention that other parahuman, unknown, reckless enough not to hide his identity. Not that there was no precedent, but it was easy for New Wave. Endangering your family by revealing your identity didn't carry much weight when every single one of them were superheroes. She wouldn't be able to do that, that was for sure. She didn't see any reason.
That was the least of it, of course.
That Japanese man was strong, with a power similar to Lung's. He had transformed into some sort of demon, with a third eye on his forehead, his skin turning purple, and he had sprouted wings.
All she needed now was Lung giving credence to the rumor that he could sprout wings, matching the stranger.
This all looked bad, but she wasn't optimistic enough to think it couldn't get any worse. The other shoe could drop at any moment, hard, and there was no guarantee that she could save herself when the time came.
To make matters worse, she didn't have many options. Taylor had already had her bugs sting Lung, but soon that wouldn't be in the cards with his body so covered in scales, the gaps disappearing quickly. She feared the chance to defeat him with the venoms and toxins had passed.
Taylor chose to stay anyway, see what she could do, if anything. Some would say she'd done enough, but she couldn't just turn around and walk away.
Taylor shook her head, bracing herself.
"I hope I won't regret this for the rest of my life."
Kazuya vs Lung! The Dragon and the Devil (2): END
There were few things as intoxicating as the anticipation of a good fight, or at least a decent enough one to pass the time. On that, Kazuya suspected, they could both agree. He might be a nobody, but he lived to fight, he could see it clearly, even through the mask.
Okay, fine. I'll give you the fight you're looking for.
Kazuya sprang into action at the same instant as his opponent, as Lung, as if they had both reacted to an invisible starting pistol, as if they had an agreed signal.
The only signal was the singing killing intent.
Something any fighter worth his salt would understand. They didn't need more than that.
Completely ignoring Lung's minions, Kazuya collided with that beast in the middle of the street. He threw a single punch. As they made contact with the enemy's fist, negating each other, sparks of electricity and fire jumped out.
Kazuya frowned slightly, almost imperceptibly. He didn't like fire. It had been over fifteen years ago now, but he had died after being thrown into a volcano, after all. It didn't matter, it wouldn't change the outcome of the fight, but he didn't like it.
The only thing it would change was that he would seek to end the fight sooner.
He made significant progress with the first blow.
Or so it seemed at first. The force of the impact broke Lung's arm, there was no doubt about that. But he regenerated quickly, the right things snapping back into place thanks to the scales that were growing and covering his entire body, transforming him into something inhuman. He wasn't a carrier of the Devil Gene, but he wasn't normal either. What had they called him, parahuman?
He would investigate everything in due time. When Kazuya broke him, as he had broken all the enemies who had dared to stand in his way so far.
The outcome of the battle was evident.
Lung's transformation was progressing fast, Kazuya's had not even begun. From this it naturally followed that he was the strongest.
There was a more natural and basic logic that also supported his assertion. There was no one stronger than him in the first place. The opposite had never been a possibility. It was that simple.
"DORYA!!!"
The uppercut, charged with electricity, launched Lung into the air, however far the 'dragon' scales had advanced. He rounded off a series of uppercuts, and energetic doryas, with a spinning kick in the air, executed so quickly that his foot connected with the enemy several times before, of course, launching him away.
Far.
Against and through a lamppost, the impact hard enough to rip it from the ground, like a tree at the mercy of a whirlwind.
Kazuya was a human whirlwind, his body an impenetrable steel fortress.
"Dorya what? Why the fuck that doesn't translate? I don't understand... Shit!"
The gang member wasn't expressing frustration at his sudden lack of hearing or his severe brain damage, not being able to understand a simple word. He had been surprised, or rather scared shitless, because suddenly a swarm of bugs had fallen from the sky like one of the plagues of Egypt.
It was interesting. Not dangerous, not worrisome, just interesting. Mind you, Kazuya regretted not having trained a pet, like Heihachi.
Now he could have used a bear trained in the Mishima style, rolling across the ground nimbly, his claws tearing through the swarm like a hot knife through butter. I like butter, he thought. Well. In any case, he could take care of the bugs faster than the hypothetical bear. It just wouldn't be the most meaningful use of his eye laser, a vulgar pest extermination.
So, back to the important stuff.
Lung didn't seem to give a shit about the new arrival either.
To be fair, he hadn't even had time to get off the ground yet. It was all happening so fast, really, but every second dragged on in a life-or-death fight. Even if you didn't fear for your life. It was a peculiar feeling.
Kazuya grabbed Lung's head with one hand, helped him up, in a sense, though just long enough to smash him back into the ground. A crater formed in the blink of an eye, four or five meters deep.
He slammed him into the ground again and again, making the crater deeper, the cracks wider, until he felt something crunch apart from the asphalt.
Not his skull. The mask.
It split in half, sliding off, revealing a feline face and too many teeth. Another effect of the transformation, Kazuya supposed. Lung wouldn't wear the mask to hide his monstrous face, for in the midst of a fight, in the midst of the transformation it would inevitably break.
He grew more scales and became taller.
He would soon reach five meters tall, if he kept it up. Height mattered in a fight, to some extent, the reach. But if he thought that would give him victory, he was a deluded fool.
Lung revealed yet another card up his sleeve.
Exploding. An explosion of fire in waves that swept Kazuya and dragged him far away. Pain traveled through his entire body, from head to toe. He had only felt something like this on the day of his death. Being thrown into the volcano, the pain had awakened him, only too late to escape.
He had sunk into the lava, being consumed, experiencing unimaginable pain.
There was no better place for a devil's rebirth than the flames of hell. Although, ironically, it had been his son who plunged the world into hell. Jin, of all people, who had stood in his way so many times because he was 'evil' and someone 'had to stop him'.
This wasn't a time for rebirth, however, not such a drastic or dramatic attack. It was easy to handle. Kazuya transformed and the flames dissipated instantly, as if he had been sprayed with a fire hose.
He rose into the air, dark wings spread behind him, with a sinister smirk.
Lung looked vaguely surprised. It was only natural, meeting someone he would think had a power like his own. However, Kazuya didn't get stronger with time. He didn't ramp up.
He was already at the top.
"Conceited mutts like you need to be put out of their misery. Reminded of their place in the world."
Lung laughed in response.
Not mocking him. It would be a terrible mistake to mock him, but that wasn't it. Lung was simply elated, knowing that the fight had only just begun, that he could give him a good fight. As Kazuya had thought from the beginning, the man lived for this.
"I'm done playing with you... Die!"
And, like a dark meteor, Kazuya flew towards his enemy.
2
Taylor, still on that rooftop, couldn't help but wonder what she'd done to deserve life in general.
Her mother's death, such an avoidable tragedy. Emma's betrayal, the Trio's constant campaign of harassment.
Finding herself in such a fucked-up situation on her first night in costume. To be fair, she had proven she could handle herself, that while her power wasn't a big deal at least it did some good, scaring off Lung's henchmen, forcing them to flee with their tails between their legs from the swarm.
It wasn't a big deal, but it was something.
But they were Lung's henchmen, of all the villains she could have come across. Where were Uber and Leet when she needed them? Not to mention that other parahuman, unknown, reckless enough not to hide his identity. Not that there was no precedent, but it was easy for New Wave. Endangering your family by revealing your identity didn't carry much weight when every single one of them were superheroes. She wouldn't be able to do that, that was for sure. She didn't see any reason.
That was the least of it, of course.
That Japanese man was strong, with a power similar to Lung's. He had transformed into some sort of demon, with a third eye on his forehead, his skin turning purple, and he had sprouted wings.
All she needed now was Lung giving credence to the rumor that he could sprout wings, matching the stranger.
This all looked bad, but she wasn't optimistic enough to think it couldn't get any worse. The other shoe could drop at any moment, hard, and there was no guarantee that she could save herself when the time came.
To make matters worse, she didn't have many options. Taylor had already had her bugs sting Lung, but soon that wouldn't be in the cards with his body so covered in scales, the gaps disappearing quickly. She feared the chance to defeat him with the venoms and toxins had passed.
Taylor chose to stay anyway, see what she could do, if anything. Some would say she'd done enough, but she couldn't just turn around and walk away.
Taylor shook her head, bracing herself.
"I hope I won't regret this for the rest of my life."
Kazuya vs Lung! The Dragon and the Devil (2): END
Kazuya vs Lung! The Dragon and the Devil (3)
Kazuya vs Lung! The Dragon and the Devil (3)
Kazuya delivered another punch to Lung, sending him through the facade of a building. Of course, he cared little for property damage or the well-being of others. His opponent couldn't care less either. Not in the midst of a fight like this. Of course not. No true warrior would be deterred by such trifles!
Kazuya pursued relentlessly. He followed Lung through the dust cloud and the rain of debris. It wasn't that Lung was an exceptionally strong opponent that needed overwhelming, it was just Kazuya's nature. What he sought, what he needed, were absolute and crushing victories.
It wasn't in his nature to hold back under any circumstances. Not even to toy with his food.
He didn't transform for just anyone, but it wasn't because he was holding back. It would be beneath him to display his true power when it wasn't necessary. That's all.
On the other side of the dust cloud...
"This is what happens living in Brockton Bay, damn all my ancestors, if I had the money to move..."
The idiot had energy to complain about his fate, but not to turn around and run. Apparently, he had been watching television. After Kazuya sent Lung flying express to his parlor, he had jumped and turned around. But that was it.
Like he had said before, the damn idiot hadn't moved an inch. Oh well. He cared little, but it was irritating to see people who weren't just weak, but seemed to lack the slightest instinct for self-preservation.
Jun had stood up to him without fear, but she had possessed the strength to back up her arrogance. Strength that he...
Why am I thinking about this now? Whatever. It's useless.
Lung got up from the stairs. That is, what was left of them after he crushed them with his massive body. Smoke billowed from his mouth, literally and figuratively. Dense black smoke seeped between his teeth. His face was feline, and with each passing second, it became more alien.
"You're strong, I have to admit. I don't understand why I haven't heard of someone like you. And why, instead of earning respect and a fearsome reputation, you're leading a gang of small-time thugs. That power is worthless in hands like yours."
"Words are unnecessary."
"You're right, but you want me to shut up because you have nothing to say in your defense. Well, not that I cared anyway. Do me the favor of dying soon. Every second you resist like a worm is a waste of time for me. My enemy is someone much stronger than you."
Lung laughed. As if the idea of someone stronger than him couldn't fit in his tiny brain.
Kazuya launched himself at Lung, flying low. Like a dark star and without hesitating for a second. His opponent wasn't anything out of this world. Taller than most, but that was it.
Lung extended his palms in front of him. Fire burst from his open palms as if they were flamethrowers, and Kazuya rejected the fire as if they were nothing but wax petals in his path. Pushing them aside and extinguishing them with his arms. He had caught him off guard the last time, but that wouldn't happen again. Lung couldn't prevent him from reaching him.
Kazuya grabbed him by the neck and dragged him down the hallway, through the walls, taking the shortest path, the straight line. They ended up outside. Someone whimpered. It was the man from before. Lying on the ground, curled up. Pathetic.
He had no way to fight against what was happening, but that was his own fault. If he was weak, what stopped him from training? Nothing except his own laziness like a worm's. The power of the devil was, of course, overwhelming. But Heihachi had defeated him in the past being a mere human.
Heihachi wasn't a good example of anything, but it's not like he was the only extraordinary normal human. There was Paul, that American. He hated to admit it, but once he had tied with him. And all he had on his side was his willpower and training.
Nowadays, he was a washed-up guy who even lost against bears, albeit bears trained in the Mishima style, but that's another story.
How did he handle Lung? Well, with ease. He had grown, but that only made it slightly more difficult to lift him. Also, spinning him around and throwing him like a frisbee.
His massive body turned a parked car nearby into a very compact metal cube.
"You're a tough sandbag. At least I can commend you for that. But..."
Lung lunged towards him.
He shot fire from his hands and mouth indiscriminately. He seemed to believe that if he couldn't reach him by aiming, then luck would do the job for him. But all he was achieving was destroying the neighborhood. The only thing Lung's fire moved was Kazuya's hair.
More precisely, it was the air displaced by that power discharge, naturally.
"Don't get cocky."
A single punch was enough to knock down the opponent who only looked like a monster. But that was just the beginning, of course. He shot the laser from his third eye. The laser cut through the ground, sending debris flying. The dust raised described the laser's path before the wound on the ground.
When the laser reached Lung, the poor idiot was sent flying. At least ten meters in an instant. Yes. In an instant, Kazuya was there to meet him with open arms, albeit positioned above his head. Preparing a punch like a hammer.
The hammer blow sent Lung back to the ground. He couldn't do anything to dodge it in the air, despite also having wings. Then, he gathered strength in one leg. The torrent swirling around him was like a storm of dark purple. It descended upon the fallen monster like a black star, leg first!
The explosion was blinding, literally. But brief. Lung was still alive, but perhaps not in a condition to fight. Kazuya made his body roll on the ground, kicking it as if it were a garbage bag. It was a figure of speech, of course. He wasn't going to let one of his sneakers come anywhere near a garbage bag. Lung wasn't so different, deep down, but right now, he didn't care. His blood was too hot to worry about anything except the battle.
Kazuya crossed his arms, disdainful. What resembled a smile on his face was also highly contemptuous.
"Is that all you've got?"
He got the answer. No. The answer was no. Although with some difficulty, the monster rose from the ground. Still laughing.
He seemed to believe that this had only just begun.
Kazuya frowned slightly, almost imperceptibly. Maybe he was right.
Of course, he didn't consider him a threat, but perhaps he would serve for more than just a warm-up. Well, there was nothing wrong with that. In fact, he welcomed it! Kazuya had been born into this world to fight. He had never had any other option, anyway. So true opponents against whom he could test himself were always welcome.
The world was very simple. It was divided into those who took advantage of others and the people who were taken advantage of. That's why power was needed. Only power could help you get what you wanted, keep it, and move forward.
Modern civilization did nothing but sugarcoat and disguise that simple truth. Ultimately, everything boiled down to the survival of the fittest. Political power, physical power, mental power. It didn't matter to him. Kazuya wanted it all.
Everything!
That's what Jun never understood... So compassionate, so willing to help everyone, even me. What good did it do her?
She lasted a few years thanks to the steel she hid. She was a wonderful, strong woman. But in the end, she died in a predictable way. If she had the strength to abandon her son, she would still be alive. But she had let herself be carried away by sentiments like "he's my son," as if she couldn't just make another one.
Finally, her virtuous way of living had rewarded her with a horrible death at the hands of Ogre.
Jin had survived, but what good was it to her? She could no longer be with her beloved son whom she had sacrificed everything for, obviously.
The same went for Grandfather Jinpachi. He was a great man. Kazuya would never allow anyone to disrespect him. However, it was the truth.
Betrayed, his company stolen. Buried alive for decades under the temple. A victim of his own power.
The world doesn't reward people like Jun and Jinpachi, but people like Heihachi. People like... Like Kazuya.
As much as the idea made him want to vomit blood, it was simply the truth. Kazuya had learned a lot from his most hated enemy. In the end, he had been his best teacher... But he would make sure he wasn't rewarded either.
He would take his teachings and use them to crush him, to kill him. For that reason...
"Die already. Get out of my way!"
The fight resumed.
Their fists collided. The air trembled. Screams echoed across the ground, and also through their bones. Lung's punch had shattered Kazuya's right arm. He had become stronger.
But Kazuya didn't stop for a second. So what if his right arm was broken? His left one still worked perfectly fine.
As long as he was still alive, still able to breathe, there was no reason to stop or even slow down by a fraction of a second. Pain was just pain. A fleeting sensation he had no control over, an existence above him. And any wound would heal in time.
Most of the time, faster than any opponent expected.
Lung exploded for the second time. The shockwave sent Kazuya flying into a fountain. It shattered, of course. His knees sank into the water. The fountain water extinguished the flames before they even had a chance to spread. He hadn't intended to send him there, of course.
Kazuya stood up. He shook his head as if to say "annoying". Then, he fired the laser from his third eye. Not directly at Lung this time. Not this time. Instead, he aimed at a distant car, causing it to be propelled towards Lung.
The monster split it in half in mid-air, of course. Without even turning around. Big, perhaps. Stupid, not so much.
Unlike the previous car he had reduced to rubble, there was a person inside this one. Not for long, though. They burned simply by falling near Lung. At least their screams were silenced quickly.
Not by Lung himself, but by the flames. The worst pain wasn't the one that made you scream at the top of your lungs, but the one that left you so weak and injured that you couldn't even scream.
It was a death befitting of an insect. People were becoming aware of the battle and fleeing as quickly as possible. Or at least turning off the lights, hiding, and praying for it to end. That guy had simply been unlucky to be chosen by Kazuya, or rather his car, for an attack that had served no purpose.
He had never expected anything different in the first place. So it was a waste in many ways.
It was no wonder that guy had died just by getting close to Lung. He had become the center of a natural disaster. Even the water in the fountain was starting to boil, even though he was still relatively far away. He could see the bubbles rising.
Okay, I'll admit it, at least in my thoughts. You're a worthy opponent. So I'll give it my all. I'll do whatever it takes to make this place your tomb.
Just as he began to appreciate that the swarm of insects had stopped bothering, another annoyance had to arrive. He parked the motorcycle in the middle of the square. He was covered from head to toe in a peculiar armor, mainly blue. He got off the seat and from somewhere pulled out a halberd colored like his armor.
"Enough!"
"I decide when it's enough," Lung said.
"So now you can't talk." What? He was perfectly understandable. What was wrong with the people in this place? "Miss Militia, Assault, Battery, and the rest will be here soon too. You must believe you can handle us again, but you're not the only one who can get stronger. And it seems you're not doing too well against that man."
Kazuya had only one question.
"Who the hell are you?"
Kazuya vs Lung! The Dragon and the Devil (3): FIN
Kazuya delivered another punch to Lung, sending him through the facade of a building. Of course, he cared little for property damage or the well-being of others. His opponent couldn't care less either. Not in the midst of a fight like this. Of course not. No true warrior would be deterred by such trifles!
Kazuya pursued relentlessly. He followed Lung through the dust cloud and the rain of debris. It wasn't that Lung was an exceptionally strong opponent that needed overwhelming, it was just Kazuya's nature. What he sought, what he needed, were absolute and crushing victories.
It wasn't in his nature to hold back under any circumstances. Not even to toy with his food.
He didn't transform for just anyone, but it wasn't because he was holding back. It would be beneath him to display his true power when it wasn't necessary. That's all.
On the other side of the dust cloud...
"This is what happens living in Brockton Bay, damn all my ancestors, if I had the money to move..."
The idiot had energy to complain about his fate, but not to turn around and run. Apparently, he had been watching television. After Kazuya sent Lung flying express to his parlor, he had jumped and turned around. But that was it.
Like he had said before, the damn idiot hadn't moved an inch. Oh well. He cared little, but it was irritating to see people who weren't just weak, but seemed to lack the slightest instinct for self-preservation.
Jun had stood up to him without fear, but she had possessed the strength to back up her arrogance. Strength that he...
Why am I thinking about this now? Whatever. It's useless.
Lung got up from the stairs. That is, what was left of them after he crushed them with his massive body. Smoke billowed from his mouth, literally and figuratively. Dense black smoke seeped between his teeth. His face was feline, and with each passing second, it became more alien.
"You're strong, I have to admit. I don't understand why I haven't heard of someone like you. And why, instead of earning respect and a fearsome reputation, you're leading a gang of small-time thugs. That power is worthless in hands like yours."
"Words are unnecessary."
"You're right, but you want me to shut up because you have nothing to say in your defense. Well, not that I cared anyway. Do me the favor of dying soon. Every second you resist like a worm is a waste of time for me. My enemy is someone much stronger than you."
Lung laughed. As if the idea of someone stronger than him couldn't fit in his tiny brain.
Kazuya launched himself at Lung, flying low. Like a dark star and without hesitating for a second. His opponent wasn't anything out of this world. Taller than most, but that was it.
Lung extended his palms in front of him. Fire burst from his open palms as if they were flamethrowers, and Kazuya rejected the fire as if they were nothing but wax petals in his path. Pushing them aside and extinguishing them with his arms. He had caught him off guard the last time, but that wouldn't happen again. Lung couldn't prevent him from reaching him.
Kazuya grabbed him by the neck and dragged him down the hallway, through the walls, taking the shortest path, the straight line. They ended up outside. Someone whimpered. It was the man from before. Lying on the ground, curled up. Pathetic.
He had no way to fight against what was happening, but that was his own fault. If he was weak, what stopped him from training? Nothing except his own laziness like a worm's. The power of the devil was, of course, overwhelming. But Heihachi had defeated him in the past being a mere human.
Heihachi wasn't a good example of anything, but it's not like he was the only extraordinary normal human. There was Paul, that American. He hated to admit it, but once he had tied with him. And all he had on his side was his willpower and training.
Nowadays, he was a washed-up guy who even lost against bears, albeit bears trained in the Mishima style, but that's another story.
How did he handle Lung? Well, with ease. He had grown, but that only made it slightly more difficult to lift him. Also, spinning him around and throwing him like a frisbee.
His massive body turned a parked car nearby into a very compact metal cube.
"You're a tough sandbag. At least I can commend you for that. But..."
Lung lunged towards him.
He shot fire from his hands and mouth indiscriminately. He seemed to believe that if he couldn't reach him by aiming, then luck would do the job for him. But all he was achieving was destroying the neighborhood. The only thing Lung's fire moved was Kazuya's hair.
More precisely, it was the air displaced by that power discharge, naturally.
"Don't get cocky."
A single punch was enough to knock down the opponent who only looked like a monster. But that was just the beginning, of course. He shot the laser from his third eye. The laser cut through the ground, sending debris flying. The dust raised described the laser's path before the wound on the ground.
When the laser reached Lung, the poor idiot was sent flying. At least ten meters in an instant. Yes. In an instant, Kazuya was there to meet him with open arms, albeit positioned above his head. Preparing a punch like a hammer.
The hammer blow sent Lung back to the ground. He couldn't do anything to dodge it in the air, despite also having wings. Then, he gathered strength in one leg. The torrent swirling around him was like a storm of dark purple. It descended upon the fallen monster like a black star, leg first!
The explosion was blinding, literally. But brief. Lung was still alive, but perhaps not in a condition to fight. Kazuya made his body roll on the ground, kicking it as if it were a garbage bag. It was a figure of speech, of course. He wasn't going to let one of his sneakers come anywhere near a garbage bag. Lung wasn't so different, deep down, but right now, he didn't care. His blood was too hot to worry about anything except the battle.
Kazuya crossed his arms, disdainful. What resembled a smile on his face was also highly contemptuous.
"Is that all you've got?"
He got the answer. No. The answer was no. Although with some difficulty, the monster rose from the ground. Still laughing.
He seemed to believe that this had only just begun.
Kazuya frowned slightly, almost imperceptibly. Maybe he was right.
Of course, he didn't consider him a threat, but perhaps he would serve for more than just a warm-up. Well, there was nothing wrong with that. In fact, he welcomed it! Kazuya had been born into this world to fight. He had never had any other option, anyway. So true opponents against whom he could test himself were always welcome.
The world was very simple. It was divided into those who took advantage of others and the people who were taken advantage of. That's why power was needed. Only power could help you get what you wanted, keep it, and move forward.
Modern civilization did nothing but sugarcoat and disguise that simple truth. Ultimately, everything boiled down to the survival of the fittest. Political power, physical power, mental power. It didn't matter to him. Kazuya wanted it all.
Everything!
That's what Jun never understood... So compassionate, so willing to help everyone, even me. What good did it do her?
She lasted a few years thanks to the steel she hid. She was a wonderful, strong woman. But in the end, she died in a predictable way. If she had the strength to abandon her son, she would still be alive. But she had let herself be carried away by sentiments like "he's my son," as if she couldn't just make another one.
Finally, her virtuous way of living had rewarded her with a horrible death at the hands of Ogre.
Jin had survived, but what good was it to her? She could no longer be with her beloved son whom she had sacrificed everything for, obviously.
The same went for Grandfather Jinpachi. He was a great man. Kazuya would never allow anyone to disrespect him. However, it was the truth.
Betrayed, his company stolen. Buried alive for decades under the temple. A victim of his own power.
The world doesn't reward people like Jun and Jinpachi, but people like Heihachi. People like... Like Kazuya.
As much as the idea made him want to vomit blood, it was simply the truth. Kazuya had learned a lot from his most hated enemy. In the end, he had been his best teacher... But he would make sure he wasn't rewarded either.
He would take his teachings and use them to crush him, to kill him. For that reason...
"Die already. Get out of my way!"
The fight resumed.
Their fists collided. The air trembled. Screams echoed across the ground, and also through their bones. Lung's punch had shattered Kazuya's right arm. He had become stronger.
But Kazuya didn't stop for a second. So what if his right arm was broken? His left one still worked perfectly fine.
As long as he was still alive, still able to breathe, there was no reason to stop or even slow down by a fraction of a second. Pain was just pain. A fleeting sensation he had no control over, an existence above him. And any wound would heal in time.
Most of the time, faster than any opponent expected.
Lung exploded for the second time. The shockwave sent Kazuya flying into a fountain. It shattered, of course. His knees sank into the water. The fountain water extinguished the flames before they even had a chance to spread. He hadn't intended to send him there, of course.
Kazuya stood up. He shook his head as if to say "annoying". Then, he fired the laser from his third eye. Not directly at Lung this time. Not this time. Instead, he aimed at a distant car, causing it to be propelled towards Lung.
The monster split it in half in mid-air, of course. Without even turning around. Big, perhaps. Stupid, not so much.
Unlike the previous car he had reduced to rubble, there was a person inside this one. Not for long, though. They burned simply by falling near Lung. At least their screams were silenced quickly.
Not by Lung himself, but by the flames. The worst pain wasn't the one that made you scream at the top of your lungs, but the one that left you so weak and injured that you couldn't even scream.
It was a death befitting of an insect. People were becoming aware of the battle and fleeing as quickly as possible. Or at least turning off the lights, hiding, and praying for it to end. That guy had simply been unlucky to be chosen by Kazuya, or rather his car, for an attack that had served no purpose.
He had never expected anything different in the first place. So it was a waste in many ways.
It was no wonder that guy had died just by getting close to Lung. He had become the center of a natural disaster. Even the water in the fountain was starting to boil, even though he was still relatively far away. He could see the bubbles rising.
Okay, I'll admit it, at least in my thoughts. You're a worthy opponent. So I'll give it my all. I'll do whatever it takes to make this place your tomb.
Just as he began to appreciate that the swarm of insects had stopped bothering, another annoyance had to arrive. He parked the motorcycle in the middle of the square. He was covered from head to toe in a peculiar armor, mainly blue. He got off the seat and from somewhere pulled out a halberd colored like his armor.
"Enough!"
"I decide when it's enough," Lung said.
"So now you can't talk." What? He was perfectly understandable. What was wrong with the people in this place? "Miss Militia, Assault, Battery, and the rest will be here soon too. You must believe you can handle us again, but you're not the only one who can get stronger. And it seems you're not doing too well against that man."
Kazuya had only one question.
"Who the hell are you?"
Kazuya vs Lung! The Dragon and the Devil (3): FIN
Kazuya vs Lung! The Dragon and the Devil (4)
Chapter 4: Kazuya vs Lung! The Dragon and the Devil, Part 4
The newcomer frowned.
"My name is Armsmaster."
Armsmaster? What an arrogant name. He only carried a halberd, so at most he was a master of one weapon. Anyway, Kazuya wasn't going to give him much. Getting into a fight between two monsters with a toy like that was the height of stupidity.
If he wanted to commit suicide, Kazuya didn't see it as a problem at all, but he would still demonstrate the depth of that man's stupidity anyway.
"Although it's not like you should care," the self-proclaimed Armsmaster continued. "You're fighting against that monster, Lung. You should accept any help you can..."
He had had enough.
Kazuya snatched the halberd from Armsmaster's hands as easily as taking candy from a baby; then, he snapped it over his knee. He split it in half effortlessly. With both arms, of course. More than enough time had passed for it to regenerate. Due to the helmet, he could only see half of Armsmaster's face. But his lower half suddenly became extremely expressive.
"What the hell is wrong with you?"
"I don't need anyone's help, especially not from a weakling like you, who relies on weapons instead of his own body. So get out of my way."
The fight would have been inevitable if Lung hadn't intervened. The self-proclaimed master of arms went flying over the fountain, of course, over the lampposts and power lines, engulfed in flames like a comet descending to earth, but he was doing just the opposite. He soared even above the buildings. Kazuya quickly lost sight of him.
"Pathetic. Not even worth talking about."
—
Taylor watched Armsmaster flying, cloaked in a mantle of flames, above the buildings. She swallowed hard. She had stayed even after finding out that her swarm's poisons hadn't been enough to bring down or at least weaken Lung (she didn't want to think that they had weakened him and he was still monstrously strong), but that awful sight helped her make a decision.
"Screw this. I'm out."
She turned around and descended into the alley through the fire escape, just as she had climbed up in the first place, since she didn't have an incredibly useful power.
I wish I could fly, of course, like anyone.
Or at least stick to walls like a spider.
—
Kazuya shrugged. Well, that's it, problem solved. Although the annoying little man had suggested that there was more cavalry on the way, maybe he would be able to finish this fight before they came meddling where nobody needed them.
He cracked his knuckles.
"Okay, where were we?"
Lung laughed.
A strange, deep laugh. The strangest thing would be if it wasn't strange. After all, his face, his mouth, his throat, everything about him was becoming less human. If his name and tattoos weren't enough clues, by now anyone would understand the final point of his transformation. Eventually, he would look like a dragon, not like a human being.
Or something like that.
Oriental or occidental, his face didn't resemble any dragon he had ever heard of.
Well, he didn't care.
He didn't think he would last long enough against him to see his final form anyway. Although he had to admit that he had never thought he would come this far and there he was, still standing, still more than willing to keep fighting.
Well, time will tell.
"I don't want anyone to interrupt this fight. So come with me to the skies. Unless the idiots that man mentioned can fly. In a different way, of course. Then I won't bother moving. I won't move an inch."
"Just one."
Kazuya shrugged again.
"That's fine by me."
And he soared into the clouds. Lung followed closely obediently. He was eager for a worthy fight and wouldn't do anything to spoil that opportunity. He understood him perfectly.
"My blood burns too," Lung said. "The last time I got this excited was against Leviathan." He laughed again, high on the battle rush. "I must be really excited, since you're the first person in a long, long time I've talked about that with. You're the first in years to have the honor of knowing it."
"Leviathan, is that name supposed to mean something to me?"
"You're really strange. That you can understand me perfectly despite the progress of my transformation is one thing, or that Armsmaster understood you even though you're speaking Japanese. That could easily be the result of a power. However, there is no one in this world who doesn't know about the Endbringers. Not a single person. Or at least there shouldn't be."
"If I don't know them, they can't be that important," Kazuya said without a second thought.
However, it wasn't true. That had planted the seed of doubt in Kazuya's heart. He didn't even want to consider something so ridiculous, but a possibility that would explain all the strange things so far had come to mind. He just didn't want to believe it.
There were things in this world beyond science, but it was still too ridiculous a possibility.
He wouldn't accept such a thing until he was forced to.
Lung opened his eyes wide.
He shook his head.
"Anyway, it's not like I'm proud of what I did then. The Endbringers are forces of nature. There's no point in fighting against them. But you, you're incredibly strong. And as human as I am. That's enough for me. I don't need to know your story. Satisfy me, don't make it easy for me!"
"Satisfy you? Know your place. You're just an appetizer before my fight with my real enemy."
"I've never been defeated. Not once. As I fight, I become stronger and stronger. Eventually, I surpass my enemy. It's inevitable. So I don't even know the limits of my power. Will you help me discover them... or will you be crushed like everyone else?"
"You need to wake up. However, by that point you'll be torn to pieces."
The two winged monsters took off, crossing the ten meters that separated them in an instant to collide in the middle. Even the clouds trembled. The terrible battle had actually only just begun.
They both cared little about the victims and other collateral damage, but at least at this height, it would be more difficult for them to be interrupted.
They exchanged a series of blows in rapid succession. The best defense was a good offense. That was being demonstrated here and now. They weren't defending themselves, but as a consequence of attacking, they were canceling out each other's attacks. Fist by fist, kick by kick.
A stalemate.
The question now was who would make the first mistake, and that was Kazuya. It was embarrassing, but Lung pierced through his guard and delivered a hammer blow to his head, clasping his hands together. His superhuman strength, aided by his incredible size as well, sent him flying downwards. Like a shooting star.
They had agreed to take the fight to the skies to avoid interruptions, but was Lung already trying to force him into a crash landing?
Well, he couldn't expect Lung to hold back just for that. Besides, nothing stopped him from soaring back up immediately. It took him a moment to recover from the blow, he had to admit. He was about ten meters away from hitting the ground, but then he grabbed a lamppost.
It bent, but held his weight. Kazuya made sure of it. He circled it a few times. Just enough to build momentum, to launch himself back towards his enemy.
It was hard to read Lung's expression with his face so transformed, but he seemed surprised.
He tried to punch through Lung, but didn't even get the chance. Perhaps he would have had enough power, but the beast dodged his mighty punch. Oh well, it was worth a shot. He had covered quite a distance before attempting the punch, of course, but he was fast.
The problem was, they both were.
The fight had progressed to the point where normal humans would struggle to keep up with their movements with their eyes.
Lung claimed he grew stronger the longer he stayed in battle. He hinted that maybe he had no limits. Of course, limitless power was absurd. And even if such a thing existed, Devil's Power would still reign supreme for one simple reason.
Lung needed to get stronger.
Kazuya was as strong as he could be from the get-go. He wasn't holding back in the slightest, yet he couldn't kill him, but he would before he could get stronger than him.
He knew for certain as the fight couldn't last for days.
Still...
Kazuya smiled. A smile of joy, but not innocent, far from it.
Why wouldn't he be happy?
This was the ideal opponent, the forge's fire he needed to temper his iron fist.
That was all, however.
Even now, Kazuya didn't even consider the possibility of being defeated.
After all, Heihachi was a human who matched the power of the devil gene with nothing but training and sheer determination. If he couldn't even beat this dragon, he wouldn't stand a chance against him.
However, things ended surprisingly quickly. It wasn't anything special. Simply put, no one could defend themselves 100% of the time, and Kazuya had the speed and strength necessary to exploit any opening to the fullest. And exploit it he did. His fist drilled into the dragon's chest like a rock drill, even sending sparks flying.
Kazuya felt his iron fist slide between the ribs, forcefully bending them aside to make way. He felt it reach the creature's heart and shatter it. There was no doubt. It only took one mistake. Just one mistake. Lung couldn't even launch a final counterattack to try to drag him down to hell.
His entire body went limp and fell forward. The only thing supporting him was Kazuya's arm piercing through his chest. So, when he withdrew it, Lung fell to the ground.
His landing formed a crater of considerable depth. Undoubtedly, he had crushed his heart, but the transformation wasn't reversing. On the contrary, the scales began to grow faster, covering the black hole in his chest. Shortly after, the man who he had presumed dead stood up, albeit not without some difficulty.
Not even that had been enough.
For the first time in decades, Kazuya laughed like a child again. He assumed a battle stance.
"You haven't had enough, huh? Come here!"
—
Taylor couldn't make as clean an exit as she would have liked.
She bumped into something and upon raising her head, she saw it was someone. A very tall man with a biker helmet, his head engulfed in darkness. Once again, she couldn't really talk, but that kind of outfit screamed villain. More importantly, he wasn't alone. He was accompanied by two girls, a effeminate boy with a theater mask and a staff...
And some mutant beasts vaguely resembling dogs.
Why?
Why me?
Kazuya vs Lung! The Dragon and the Devil, Part 4: FIN
The newcomer frowned.
"My name is Armsmaster."
Armsmaster? What an arrogant name. He only carried a halberd, so at most he was a master of one weapon. Anyway, Kazuya wasn't going to give him much. Getting into a fight between two monsters with a toy like that was the height of stupidity.
If he wanted to commit suicide, Kazuya didn't see it as a problem at all, but he would still demonstrate the depth of that man's stupidity anyway.
"Although it's not like you should care," the self-proclaimed Armsmaster continued. "You're fighting against that monster, Lung. You should accept any help you can..."
He had had enough.
Kazuya snatched the halberd from Armsmaster's hands as easily as taking candy from a baby; then, he snapped it over his knee. He split it in half effortlessly. With both arms, of course. More than enough time had passed for it to regenerate. Due to the helmet, he could only see half of Armsmaster's face. But his lower half suddenly became extremely expressive.
"What the hell is wrong with you?"
"I don't need anyone's help, especially not from a weakling like you, who relies on weapons instead of his own body. So get out of my way."
The fight would have been inevitable if Lung hadn't intervened. The self-proclaimed master of arms went flying over the fountain, of course, over the lampposts and power lines, engulfed in flames like a comet descending to earth, but he was doing just the opposite. He soared even above the buildings. Kazuya quickly lost sight of him.
"Pathetic. Not even worth talking about."
—
Taylor watched Armsmaster flying, cloaked in a mantle of flames, above the buildings. She swallowed hard. She had stayed even after finding out that her swarm's poisons hadn't been enough to bring down or at least weaken Lung (she didn't want to think that they had weakened him and he was still monstrously strong), but that awful sight helped her make a decision.
"Screw this. I'm out."
She turned around and descended into the alley through the fire escape, just as she had climbed up in the first place, since she didn't have an incredibly useful power.
I wish I could fly, of course, like anyone.
Or at least stick to walls like a spider.
—
Kazuya shrugged. Well, that's it, problem solved. Although the annoying little man had suggested that there was more cavalry on the way, maybe he would be able to finish this fight before they came meddling where nobody needed them.
He cracked his knuckles.
"Okay, where were we?"
Lung laughed.
A strange, deep laugh. The strangest thing would be if it wasn't strange. After all, his face, his mouth, his throat, everything about him was becoming less human. If his name and tattoos weren't enough clues, by now anyone would understand the final point of his transformation. Eventually, he would look like a dragon, not like a human being.
Or something like that.
Oriental or occidental, his face didn't resemble any dragon he had ever heard of.
Well, he didn't care.
He didn't think he would last long enough against him to see his final form anyway. Although he had to admit that he had never thought he would come this far and there he was, still standing, still more than willing to keep fighting.
Well, time will tell.
"I don't want anyone to interrupt this fight. So come with me to the skies. Unless the idiots that man mentioned can fly. In a different way, of course. Then I won't bother moving. I won't move an inch."
"Just one."
Kazuya shrugged again.
"That's fine by me."
And he soared into the clouds. Lung followed closely obediently. He was eager for a worthy fight and wouldn't do anything to spoil that opportunity. He understood him perfectly.
"My blood burns too," Lung said. "The last time I got this excited was against Leviathan." He laughed again, high on the battle rush. "I must be really excited, since you're the first person in a long, long time I've talked about that with. You're the first in years to have the honor of knowing it."
"Leviathan, is that name supposed to mean something to me?"
"You're really strange. That you can understand me perfectly despite the progress of my transformation is one thing, or that Armsmaster understood you even though you're speaking Japanese. That could easily be the result of a power. However, there is no one in this world who doesn't know about the Endbringers. Not a single person. Or at least there shouldn't be."
"If I don't know them, they can't be that important," Kazuya said without a second thought.
However, it wasn't true. That had planted the seed of doubt in Kazuya's heart. He didn't even want to consider something so ridiculous, but a possibility that would explain all the strange things so far had come to mind. He just didn't want to believe it.
There were things in this world beyond science, but it was still too ridiculous a possibility.
He wouldn't accept such a thing until he was forced to.
Lung opened his eyes wide.
He shook his head.
"Anyway, it's not like I'm proud of what I did then. The Endbringers are forces of nature. There's no point in fighting against them. But you, you're incredibly strong. And as human as I am. That's enough for me. I don't need to know your story. Satisfy me, don't make it easy for me!"
"Satisfy you? Know your place. You're just an appetizer before my fight with my real enemy."
"I've never been defeated. Not once. As I fight, I become stronger and stronger. Eventually, I surpass my enemy. It's inevitable. So I don't even know the limits of my power. Will you help me discover them... or will you be crushed like everyone else?"
"You need to wake up. However, by that point you'll be torn to pieces."
The two winged monsters took off, crossing the ten meters that separated them in an instant to collide in the middle. Even the clouds trembled. The terrible battle had actually only just begun.
They both cared little about the victims and other collateral damage, but at least at this height, it would be more difficult for them to be interrupted.
They exchanged a series of blows in rapid succession. The best defense was a good offense. That was being demonstrated here and now. They weren't defending themselves, but as a consequence of attacking, they were canceling out each other's attacks. Fist by fist, kick by kick.
A stalemate.
The question now was who would make the first mistake, and that was Kazuya. It was embarrassing, but Lung pierced through his guard and delivered a hammer blow to his head, clasping his hands together. His superhuman strength, aided by his incredible size as well, sent him flying downwards. Like a shooting star.
They had agreed to take the fight to the skies to avoid interruptions, but was Lung already trying to force him into a crash landing?
Well, he couldn't expect Lung to hold back just for that. Besides, nothing stopped him from soaring back up immediately. It took him a moment to recover from the blow, he had to admit. He was about ten meters away from hitting the ground, but then he grabbed a lamppost.
It bent, but held his weight. Kazuya made sure of it. He circled it a few times. Just enough to build momentum, to launch himself back towards his enemy.
It was hard to read Lung's expression with his face so transformed, but he seemed surprised.
He tried to punch through Lung, but didn't even get the chance. Perhaps he would have had enough power, but the beast dodged his mighty punch. Oh well, it was worth a shot. He had covered quite a distance before attempting the punch, of course, but he was fast.
The problem was, they both were.
The fight had progressed to the point where normal humans would struggle to keep up with their movements with their eyes.
Lung claimed he grew stronger the longer he stayed in battle. He hinted that maybe he had no limits. Of course, limitless power was absurd. And even if such a thing existed, Devil's Power would still reign supreme for one simple reason.
Lung needed to get stronger.
Kazuya was as strong as he could be from the get-go. He wasn't holding back in the slightest, yet he couldn't kill him, but he would before he could get stronger than him.
He knew for certain as the fight couldn't last for days.
Still...
Kazuya smiled. A smile of joy, but not innocent, far from it.
Why wouldn't he be happy?
This was the ideal opponent, the forge's fire he needed to temper his iron fist.
That was all, however.
Even now, Kazuya didn't even consider the possibility of being defeated.
After all, Heihachi was a human who matched the power of the devil gene with nothing but training and sheer determination. If he couldn't even beat this dragon, he wouldn't stand a chance against him.
However, things ended surprisingly quickly. It wasn't anything special. Simply put, no one could defend themselves 100% of the time, and Kazuya had the speed and strength necessary to exploit any opening to the fullest. And exploit it he did. His fist drilled into the dragon's chest like a rock drill, even sending sparks flying.
Kazuya felt his iron fist slide between the ribs, forcefully bending them aside to make way. He felt it reach the creature's heart and shatter it. There was no doubt. It only took one mistake. Just one mistake. Lung couldn't even launch a final counterattack to try to drag him down to hell.
His entire body went limp and fell forward. The only thing supporting him was Kazuya's arm piercing through his chest. So, when he withdrew it, Lung fell to the ground.
His landing formed a crater of considerable depth. Undoubtedly, he had crushed his heart, but the transformation wasn't reversing. On the contrary, the scales began to grow faster, covering the black hole in his chest. Shortly after, the man who he had presumed dead stood up, albeit not without some difficulty.
Not even that had been enough.
For the first time in decades, Kazuya laughed like a child again. He assumed a battle stance.
"You haven't had enough, huh? Come here!"
—
Taylor couldn't make as clean an exit as she would have liked.
She bumped into something and upon raising her head, she saw it was someone. A very tall man with a biker helmet, his head engulfed in darkness. Once again, she couldn't really talk, but that kind of outfit screamed villain. More importantly, he wasn't alone. He was accompanied by two girls, a effeminate boy with a theater mask and a staff...
And some mutant beasts vaguely resembling dogs.
Why?
Why me?
Kazuya vs Lung! The Dragon and the Devil, Part 4: FIN
The Dragon's Flames
Chapter 5: The Dragon's Flames
Armsmaster landed forcibly, ensuring not to harm civilians as best he could. It was more difficult without his halberd, thanks to the idiot who had broken it. He did cause some property damage upon landing, but that couldn't be helped. Besides, he couldn't care less at the moment. And not just because of his natural inclination toward selfishness.
Because he was burning. Were it not for the armor, the landing would have turned his organs to mush, and he would be half-dead. Not just burning. Burning.
Relax. With all this armor in between, it hasn't even reached me yet.
It was easier said than done (as the saying goes, everything is easier said than done, naturally), but he tried.
He crawled on the ground. Like a worm. He crawled forward, on all fours, amidst a frightened crowd running around like headless chickens. That was the symbol of the worst possible situation. Heroes, the PRT, were supposed to prevent situations like these. The public didn't need to know that someone as dangerous as Lung existed. It served no purpose.
They had been defeated and left him alone, so to speak. Hoping to put him behind bars in the future, naturally, but somewhat relieved. Because Lung was a monster without ambition. Content to be the leader of a bunch of small-time thugs. The Empire Eighty-Eight was a much bigger problem. It had been for a long time.
But now, this.
This.
Armsmaster broke open a fire hydrant on the side of the road with his bare hands. Water gushed out, drenching him. Dousing the flames. If he hadn't been there, well, he preferred not to think about that. He didn't like relying on luck, but sometimes there was no other choice.
He tried to take deep breaths. He had been close, but ultimately, he hadn't done much. His whole body hurt, and he had a couple of broken ribs, but it could be much worse. His armor was already injecting something to suppress the pain. Pain was a signal of danger, but ultimately, it was just a hindrance. He wished he could completely eradicate it. It was nothing but a waste of time.
Anyway, all in due time.
Armsmaster got up quickly, though not without effort. He had to lean on a nearby car to do it. Once on his feet, he stayed that way, however. It wasn't so bad. He could continue fighting... or rather, start, since he hadn't even had the chance yet.
But not without his halberd. Without his weapon, his tools. Would he have to retreat shamefully, without even doing anything? While...
He heard him. He swallowed hard. He instinctively knew it had to be him, as if he had been called by his thoughts. But still, looking up and seeing him flying in his shining armor like a Roman soldier, his shield and a thunderbolt in his hand, felt like being hit with a hammer in the chest. A pain deeper than the fall. By far.
Dauntless. What a joke of a name. Armsmaster, as a Tinker, had to work for what he had. Give blood, sweat, and tears. Give everything and more.
But Dauntless had been powerful from the start, and every day he became more powerful effortlessly, as natural as the sun rising in the morning, another law of the universe.
He was already powerful and would eventually become more powerful than anyone else, even Eidolon himself.
And all by luck.
Pure luck.
Dauntless was flying, shining in his armor and with the spear he carried, which seemed to be made of white electricity. With a lightning bolt in his hand. Like Zeus himself. A god among men, among...
Simple mortals.
Armsmaster's teeth chattered.
I'm unarmed, but it doesn't matter. I don't care at all.
——
Kazuya, smiling, watched his enemy grow and become even stronger. He just watched. As if he had nothing to do with it. As if it weren't a real problem.
Lung had reached the point where he measured about fifteen meters and looked like a true dragon. There was not a trace of humanity in his impenetrable body.
Or at least, that's what he was supposed to believe. Impenetrable, invincible. That was nonsense, of course. No one was invincible, not even Kazuya himself. Now I'll show you.
No, none of that.
He had already shown it. Lung had described his power clearly. He grew stronger the longer he fought, aiming to crush his enemies. The fact that his transformation was continuing without stopping was proof, if any were needed, that he couldn't handle him.
"Pathetic," said Kazuya.
Another explosion of fire. Kazuya didn't even bother to block. He let the flames pass through him without doing anything.
"Do you think getting bigger makes you stronger, faster? A better fighter? You're just an easier target."
Lung clawed at the earth with his huge claws. Ripping chunks and sending them flying. Again and again. Kazuya dodged the blows by jumping. He didn't even use his wings.
He punched him in the side of the face. He felt his jaw crunch, but he couldn't say he had broken it. He guessed that with a slack jaw, maybe that wasn't possible in the first place.
Next, Kazuya fired the laser, burning one of the creature's eyes, bursting it like a balloon.
He paid for it by receiving a swat that buried him into the wall of a nearby building. He felt the debris falling and the dust he breathed into his lungs.
He coughed forcefully several times.
Okay, getting bigger had only weakened him. But still, he should be careful of his physical strength.
It was a mistake, no, a mere oversight, but still, he would make sure it didn't happen again.
He barely managed to get out of the way before the fireball that would destroy the building arrived. He knew it before it started to collapse, that is, it was obvious. It was obvious that nothing could remain standing after that.
He preferred not to think about what it would have done to him.
It was absurd to even consider that possibility.
He had talked about no one being invincible, and it was true, of course. But that idea was very different from losing here. Not even against Heihachi, but against a stray wild dog he had randomly encountered in the alleyways. It was unthinkable. Unforgivable. Inconceivable.
Because he knew, he knew that without a doubt Heihachi would have killed this guy, so...
Nothing. He had only lost ground for the first time since the battle had begun. Nothing had happened yet. Panic? Was he panicking? Him, Kazuya Mishima, of all people? Him!
Ridiculous.
Ridiculous, ridiculous, ridiculous, ridiculous.
The explosion behind him tore him from his flight path, made him lose control.
And end up in the dragon's claws.
He grabbed him, slammed him into the ground.
Kazuya bounced like a rag doll.
He gasped, feeling the blood rising in his throat. He couldn't recover in time, before what happened. Lung spread his wings, which had grown proportionally to his huge body. Somehow, the air lifting didn't push him away, didn't send him flying far, but rather drew him toward Lung and kept him suspended in the air.
Suspended.
Defying the laws of gravity.
While a fireball formed above Lung's head. It grew larger and larger, expanding like a miniature sun.
Lung delivered a double kick to Kazuya's chest, and he felt as if all his ribs had exploded at once. But, of course, that wasn't the worst of what awaited him. Not by a long shot. The fall wouldn't be pleasant, but he wasn't talking about that, naturally.
The fireball was a 'projectile' so large that there was no way Lung could miss.
Even if he recovered in the air, even if he did everything possible to dodge it. He wouldn't make it in time. He knew it. He felt it in his bones. He would have to eat that attack... and overcome it.
Kazuya gritted his teeth as he fell, enveloped in his wings.
He would overcome it.
He was made for this.
——
Lung laughed victoriously.
In the state he was still in (it took him a while to revert), more than a laugh, it sounded like an earthquake in the depths of a cave.
Speaking of which...
That's what had happened to his opponent, more or less.
The blow would have left him half buried in the ground.
With the help of the explosive fireball, the ground had ceased to be an obstacle.
That's why this Kazuya had fallen into the depths of darkness. The bottom of the crater couldn't be seen, as if a bomb had been dropped.
Lung had defeated the enemy once again.
That's why he laughed.
Even if he could barely make it out of the darkness, he wouldn't be in a condition to fight.
But he wouldn't even be able to do that.
Who could have survived something like that?
He had gotten into trouble, not so much because of the massive property damage, but because of the deaths of several people. Civilians. In his current state, the ABB couldn't survive if the PRT went all out to crush them, seeing them as too dangerous.
It was a big game of tug-of-war to maintain the delicate balance between heroes and villains, a balance that, despite all efforts, was tilting toward the void anyway, but one couldn't simply do nothing.
But he couldn't care less at the moment.
Lung had won.
An absolute, indisputable victory.
It had been a long time since the last time he had felt so alive.
The Dragon's Flames: END
Armsmaster landed forcibly, ensuring not to harm civilians as best he could. It was more difficult without his halberd, thanks to the idiot who had broken it. He did cause some property damage upon landing, but that couldn't be helped. Besides, he couldn't care less at the moment. And not just because of his natural inclination toward selfishness.
Because he was burning. Were it not for the armor, the landing would have turned his organs to mush, and he would be half-dead. Not just burning. Burning.
Relax. With all this armor in between, it hasn't even reached me yet.
It was easier said than done (as the saying goes, everything is easier said than done, naturally), but he tried.
He crawled on the ground. Like a worm. He crawled forward, on all fours, amidst a frightened crowd running around like headless chickens. That was the symbol of the worst possible situation. Heroes, the PRT, were supposed to prevent situations like these. The public didn't need to know that someone as dangerous as Lung existed. It served no purpose.
They had been defeated and left him alone, so to speak. Hoping to put him behind bars in the future, naturally, but somewhat relieved. Because Lung was a monster without ambition. Content to be the leader of a bunch of small-time thugs. The Empire Eighty-Eight was a much bigger problem. It had been for a long time.
But now, this.
This.
Armsmaster broke open a fire hydrant on the side of the road with his bare hands. Water gushed out, drenching him. Dousing the flames. If he hadn't been there, well, he preferred not to think about that. He didn't like relying on luck, but sometimes there was no other choice.
He tried to take deep breaths. He had been close, but ultimately, he hadn't done much. His whole body hurt, and he had a couple of broken ribs, but it could be much worse. His armor was already injecting something to suppress the pain. Pain was a signal of danger, but ultimately, it was just a hindrance. He wished he could completely eradicate it. It was nothing but a waste of time.
Anyway, all in due time.
Armsmaster got up quickly, though not without effort. He had to lean on a nearby car to do it. Once on his feet, he stayed that way, however. It wasn't so bad. He could continue fighting... or rather, start, since he hadn't even had the chance yet.
But not without his halberd. Without his weapon, his tools. Would he have to retreat shamefully, without even doing anything? While...
He heard him. He swallowed hard. He instinctively knew it had to be him, as if he had been called by his thoughts. But still, looking up and seeing him flying in his shining armor like a Roman soldier, his shield and a thunderbolt in his hand, felt like being hit with a hammer in the chest. A pain deeper than the fall. By far.
Dauntless. What a joke of a name. Armsmaster, as a Tinker, had to work for what he had. Give blood, sweat, and tears. Give everything and more.
But Dauntless had been powerful from the start, and every day he became more powerful effortlessly, as natural as the sun rising in the morning, another law of the universe.
He was already powerful and would eventually become more powerful than anyone else, even Eidolon himself.
And all by luck.
Pure luck.
Dauntless was flying, shining in his armor and with the spear he carried, which seemed to be made of white electricity. With a lightning bolt in his hand. Like Zeus himself. A god among men, among...
Simple mortals.
Armsmaster's teeth chattered.
I'm unarmed, but it doesn't matter. I don't care at all.
——
Kazuya, smiling, watched his enemy grow and become even stronger. He just watched. As if he had nothing to do with it. As if it weren't a real problem.
Lung had reached the point where he measured about fifteen meters and looked like a true dragon. There was not a trace of humanity in his impenetrable body.
Or at least, that's what he was supposed to believe. Impenetrable, invincible. That was nonsense, of course. No one was invincible, not even Kazuya himself. Now I'll show you.
No, none of that.
He had already shown it. Lung had described his power clearly. He grew stronger the longer he fought, aiming to crush his enemies. The fact that his transformation was continuing without stopping was proof, if any were needed, that he couldn't handle him.
"Pathetic," said Kazuya.
Another explosion of fire. Kazuya didn't even bother to block. He let the flames pass through him without doing anything.
"Do you think getting bigger makes you stronger, faster? A better fighter? You're just an easier target."
Lung clawed at the earth with his huge claws. Ripping chunks and sending them flying. Again and again. Kazuya dodged the blows by jumping. He didn't even use his wings.
He punched him in the side of the face. He felt his jaw crunch, but he couldn't say he had broken it. He guessed that with a slack jaw, maybe that wasn't possible in the first place.
Next, Kazuya fired the laser, burning one of the creature's eyes, bursting it like a balloon.
He paid for it by receiving a swat that buried him into the wall of a nearby building. He felt the debris falling and the dust he breathed into his lungs.
He coughed forcefully several times.
Okay, getting bigger had only weakened him. But still, he should be careful of his physical strength.
It was a mistake, no, a mere oversight, but still, he would make sure it didn't happen again.
He barely managed to get out of the way before the fireball that would destroy the building arrived. He knew it before it started to collapse, that is, it was obvious. It was obvious that nothing could remain standing after that.
He preferred not to think about what it would have done to him.
It was absurd to even consider that possibility.
He had talked about no one being invincible, and it was true, of course. But that idea was very different from losing here. Not even against Heihachi, but against a stray wild dog he had randomly encountered in the alleyways. It was unthinkable. Unforgivable. Inconceivable.
Because he knew, he knew that without a doubt Heihachi would have killed this guy, so...
Nothing. He had only lost ground for the first time since the battle had begun. Nothing had happened yet. Panic? Was he panicking? Him, Kazuya Mishima, of all people? Him!
Ridiculous.
Ridiculous, ridiculous, ridiculous, ridiculous.
The explosion behind him tore him from his flight path, made him lose control.
And end up in the dragon's claws.
He grabbed him, slammed him into the ground.
Kazuya bounced like a rag doll.
He gasped, feeling the blood rising in his throat. He couldn't recover in time, before what happened. Lung spread his wings, which had grown proportionally to his huge body. Somehow, the air lifting didn't push him away, didn't send him flying far, but rather drew him toward Lung and kept him suspended in the air.
Suspended.
Defying the laws of gravity.
While a fireball formed above Lung's head. It grew larger and larger, expanding like a miniature sun.
Lung delivered a double kick to Kazuya's chest, and he felt as if all his ribs had exploded at once. But, of course, that wasn't the worst of what awaited him. Not by a long shot. The fall wouldn't be pleasant, but he wasn't talking about that, naturally.
The fireball was a 'projectile' so large that there was no way Lung could miss.
Even if he recovered in the air, even if he did everything possible to dodge it. He wouldn't make it in time. He knew it. He felt it in his bones. He would have to eat that attack... and overcome it.
Kazuya gritted his teeth as he fell, enveloped in his wings.
He would overcome it.
He was made for this.
——
Lung laughed victoriously.
In the state he was still in (it took him a while to revert), more than a laugh, it sounded like an earthquake in the depths of a cave.
Speaking of which...
That's what had happened to his opponent, more or less.
The blow would have left him half buried in the ground.
With the help of the explosive fireball, the ground had ceased to be an obstacle.
That's why this Kazuya had fallen into the depths of darkness. The bottom of the crater couldn't be seen, as if a bomb had been dropped.
Lung had defeated the enemy once again.
That's why he laughed.
Even if he could barely make it out of the darkness, he wouldn't be in a condition to fight.
But he wouldn't even be able to do that.
Who could have survived something like that?
He had gotten into trouble, not so much because of the massive property damage, but because of the deaths of several people. Civilians. In his current state, the ABB couldn't survive if the PRT went all out to crush them, seeing them as too dangerous.
It was a big game of tug-of-war to maintain the delicate balance between heroes and villains, a balance that, despite all efforts, was tilting toward the void anyway, but one couldn't simply do nothing.
But he couldn't care less at the moment.
Lung had won.
An absolute, indisputable victory.
It had been a long time since the last time he had felt so alive.
The Dragon's Flames: END
The Decisive Blow (Climax)
Chapter 6: The Decisive Blow (Climax)
1
Lung stopped laughing soon.
Victory was a momentary pleasure. Fools and the weak enjoyed that, but at his level, it only meant that he had reached a high, yes, he had ridden the crest of a wave that would not rise again.
He had defeated his enemy and that was it, there was nothing more.
Next time it would be even harder to reach such a high, to find an enemy that was at least as challenging.
His heart knew it.
His power and his body knew it too.
He was deflating, losing scales, losing height and altitude, now that there was no battle to fight. Lung made sure to touch the ground before his wings disappeared completely, no, before his size decreased enough to render them useless for flying.
An instant after his feet touched the ground, there was an explosion of pain in the center of his chest.
Lung gasped, spitting blood. He saw the drops flying through the air with a sense of unreality as if he were dreaming awake.
"How is this possible?" he managed to mutter.
But only after falling to the ground did he realize what had happened. The huge hole in his chest. The blood flowing like sprayed from a sprinkler, falling and spreading, forming a red carpet on the ground.
Is this the end?
Then he was overcome by darkness. He knew he was only losing consciousness.
He knew the absolute terror of knowing that it didn't matter, that it wouldn't guarantee that he would wake up again.
2
The lightning, shot through the smoke, hit the target head-on.
He knew it instantly, even amidst the general commotion, he heard his opponent's slight gasp when it struck him. Maybe he hadn't ended the fight with that, but he had messed him up good, as he also heard him crash to the ground.
The dragon had fallen to the earth to never rise again. He would make sure of that.
Kazuya flew, not without effort, out of the crater. He crawled, limping through the smoke wall. He soon noticed Lung on the ground, he would have seen him instantly if he hadn't expected him to have returned to his normal size, a human size.
He had transformed and the laser had dealt him a mortal wound.
The hole in his chest was so large that an arm could pass through it to his back. The blood and the burning mess of his flesh were, above all, what concealed the heart.
Kazuya clicked his tongue.
Just to be clear, he had not intended to use a dishonorable tactic like waiting for him to transform back to attack, taking advantage of the enemy's power weakness that he had confessed himself.
He got stronger as long as he was in a fight.
It just happened that way.
Good luck, bad luck, some kind of luck, in any case.
He wouldn't stoop to do something like that against an opponent of this level, but that didn't mean he would waste the opportunity to crush his enemies if it was handed to him on a platter. His blood was colder than death.
Therefore, without hesitation for a moment, he crawled towards Lung to finish the job.
He couldn't, but not because his pulse trembled for the first time in his life for some mysterious reason or because his own body failed him after such a devastating attack.
Instead, he was simply attacked.
A spear that seemed to be made of electricity pierced his side, throwing him to the ground. Under normal circumstances, it would have bounced off his body, but these circumstances were anything but normal. It was an effort just to stay on his feet, let alone move.
"We arrived too late." His attacker, he assumed, said that.
Kazuya didn't know as he had fallen headfirst to the ground. Biting the dust. He gritted his teeth.
"Just in time. It could have been worse." A woman's voice this time.
"Yes," admitted, though not too convinced, the previous voice.
Kazuya, being a good Mishima, wasted no time while they were on that. He was propping himself up on the ground with his hands and giving it his all to do something as natural as it should be to stand up.
If Lung hadn't defeated him, he wouldn't let these nobodies who had just arrived do it and then take the credit after he had, in a way, softened him up.
Besides, the fight wasn't over yet.
Not really.
Kazuya ignored the approaching figures, more than two and more than four as well. He reached Lung, put his hands on his head. And began to squeeze. He soon felt the skull crunching under his hands.
"Stop!"
He ignored the pathetic plea of whoever it was, naturally.
Lung was a worthy opponent.
For that very reason. He had shown him that he was too dangerous to let live, wherever he was in the end.
So he crushed his head like a ripe watermelon with a big smile on his face.
"God."
Then someone vomited. Maybe the same person. He didn't care. Irrelevant, not worth even talking about. The important thing was that he still had strength.
Not to fight, but to... save it for another time.
Kazuya roared.
The purple aura of power enveloped his body again, an aura that took your breath away, sealed throats. He took off like a dark star. And the insects crawling on the ground shot at him, attacked him, tried to restrain him in various ways, as he had always done, his life had been a struggle against any bondage.
But of course, he flew far away before they could capture him.
Naturally.
Power was freedom.
3
"This has been a complete failure," said Miss Militia, shaking her head as she observed the destruction.
He couldn't blame her.
It couldn't even be said that they had saved lives. By the time they arrived, the fight was already over. Those two monsters had torn each other apart, as well as the surroundings.
"Well, at least Lung won't give us any more trouble."
Militia gave him a cold look. He wondered if he was being judged for what might seem like a joke. He might have been a villain, but Dauntless hadn't wanted that man to die like that, just to face justice.
Maybe he was overthinking it.
Maybe her look wasn't cold because she was judging him, but because she didn't care one way or another.
"That stranger, apparently, is worse than him. And obviously more powerful."
"Okay, true. I'm not good at looking on the bright side, but I've been trying for a short time."
Dauntless shrugged.
The divorce, life, in general, for years. One thing after another.
Not everything was bad, and he knew he was privileged compared to millions of people. He knew it, but it was hard to have perspective when you were in the middle.
How would they deal with the aftermath of this incident?
And what would happen with that strange parahuman with bat wings and a demonic appearance?
4
Kazuya kept flying, moving away.
But he wasn't fleeing under any circumstances. He was no coward; he had judged what the most appropriate course of action was and had followed it without hesitation. That was all.
"I can crush them, but I'm not myself. That animal has weakened me. I need some time."
Kazuya clicked his tongue.
Talking to himself was useless. Well, it was just thinking out loud; no one could hear him anyway.
A little time. Just a little.
Then he would recover and return with double the strength. He would crush anyone who got in his way. It had been like that forever, and it would continue to be so. Nothing had changed.
He had the power.
"Besides, it makes no sense to fight on their terms. I dictate the rules. I... I am the one who has to control everything."
Yes. It was not at all honorable or brave to get into a fight where almost everything was against him. Even if it were, Kazuya spat on useless things like that; all he cared about was getting his way in the end, and he would do anything to get what he wanted.
Something he had demonstrated countless times.
He had left as soon as Jun began to think she could tame him, making him play house with her and the brat for the rest of his life.
It had nothing to do with Heihachi having defeated him and thrown him into the volcano.
He had never planned to return in the first place, as the woman had become too pretentious.
But, even so...
Even so, he could barely contain his rage. Every cell in his body screamed at him to turn around and confront those pretentious insects, even if it was with ten percent of his strength.
It was an anger bordering on madness.
Well, Kazuya Mishima had been lost in his mad lust for revenge for decades after all.
The Decisive Blow (Climax): FIN
1
Lung stopped laughing soon.
Victory was a momentary pleasure. Fools and the weak enjoyed that, but at his level, it only meant that he had reached a high, yes, he had ridden the crest of a wave that would not rise again.
He had defeated his enemy and that was it, there was nothing more.
Next time it would be even harder to reach such a high, to find an enemy that was at least as challenging.
His heart knew it.
His power and his body knew it too.
He was deflating, losing scales, losing height and altitude, now that there was no battle to fight. Lung made sure to touch the ground before his wings disappeared completely, no, before his size decreased enough to render them useless for flying.
An instant after his feet touched the ground, there was an explosion of pain in the center of his chest.
Lung gasped, spitting blood. He saw the drops flying through the air with a sense of unreality as if he were dreaming awake.
"How is this possible?" he managed to mutter.
But only after falling to the ground did he realize what had happened. The huge hole in his chest. The blood flowing like sprayed from a sprinkler, falling and spreading, forming a red carpet on the ground.
Is this the end?
Then he was overcome by darkness. He knew he was only losing consciousness.
He knew the absolute terror of knowing that it didn't matter, that it wouldn't guarantee that he would wake up again.
2
The lightning, shot through the smoke, hit the target head-on.
He knew it instantly, even amidst the general commotion, he heard his opponent's slight gasp when it struck him. Maybe he hadn't ended the fight with that, but he had messed him up good, as he also heard him crash to the ground.
The dragon had fallen to the earth to never rise again. He would make sure of that.
Kazuya flew, not without effort, out of the crater. He crawled, limping through the smoke wall. He soon noticed Lung on the ground, he would have seen him instantly if he hadn't expected him to have returned to his normal size, a human size.
He had transformed and the laser had dealt him a mortal wound.
The hole in his chest was so large that an arm could pass through it to his back. The blood and the burning mess of his flesh were, above all, what concealed the heart.
Kazuya clicked his tongue.
Just to be clear, he had not intended to use a dishonorable tactic like waiting for him to transform back to attack, taking advantage of the enemy's power weakness that he had confessed himself.
He got stronger as long as he was in a fight.
It just happened that way.
Good luck, bad luck, some kind of luck, in any case.
He wouldn't stoop to do something like that against an opponent of this level, but that didn't mean he would waste the opportunity to crush his enemies if it was handed to him on a platter. His blood was colder than death.
Therefore, without hesitation for a moment, he crawled towards Lung to finish the job.
He couldn't, but not because his pulse trembled for the first time in his life for some mysterious reason or because his own body failed him after such a devastating attack.
Instead, he was simply attacked.
A spear that seemed to be made of electricity pierced his side, throwing him to the ground. Under normal circumstances, it would have bounced off his body, but these circumstances were anything but normal. It was an effort just to stay on his feet, let alone move.
"We arrived too late." His attacker, he assumed, said that.
Kazuya didn't know as he had fallen headfirst to the ground. Biting the dust. He gritted his teeth.
"Just in time. It could have been worse." A woman's voice this time.
"Yes," admitted, though not too convinced, the previous voice.
Kazuya, being a good Mishima, wasted no time while they were on that. He was propping himself up on the ground with his hands and giving it his all to do something as natural as it should be to stand up.
If Lung hadn't defeated him, he wouldn't let these nobodies who had just arrived do it and then take the credit after he had, in a way, softened him up.
Besides, the fight wasn't over yet.
Not really.
Kazuya ignored the approaching figures, more than two and more than four as well. He reached Lung, put his hands on his head. And began to squeeze. He soon felt the skull crunching under his hands.
"Stop!"
He ignored the pathetic plea of whoever it was, naturally.
Lung was a worthy opponent.
For that very reason. He had shown him that he was too dangerous to let live, wherever he was in the end.
So he crushed his head like a ripe watermelon with a big smile on his face.
"God."
Then someone vomited. Maybe the same person. He didn't care. Irrelevant, not worth even talking about. The important thing was that he still had strength.
Not to fight, but to... save it for another time.
Kazuya roared.
The purple aura of power enveloped his body again, an aura that took your breath away, sealed throats. He took off like a dark star. And the insects crawling on the ground shot at him, attacked him, tried to restrain him in various ways, as he had always done, his life had been a struggle against any bondage.
But of course, he flew far away before they could capture him.
Naturally.
Power was freedom.
3
"This has been a complete failure," said Miss Militia, shaking her head as she observed the destruction.
He couldn't blame her.
It couldn't even be said that they had saved lives. By the time they arrived, the fight was already over. Those two monsters had torn each other apart, as well as the surroundings.
"Well, at least Lung won't give us any more trouble."
Militia gave him a cold look. He wondered if he was being judged for what might seem like a joke. He might have been a villain, but Dauntless hadn't wanted that man to die like that, just to face justice.
Maybe he was overthinking it.
Maybe her look wasn't cold because she was judging him, but because she didn't care one way or another.
"That stranger, apparently, is worse than him. And obviously more powerful."
"Okay, true. I'm not good at looking on the bright side, but I've been trying for a short time."
Dauntless shrugged.
The divorce, life, in general, for years. One thing after another.
Not everything was bad, and he knew he was privileged compared to millions of people. He knew it, but it was hard to have perspective when you were in the middle.
How would they deal with the aftermath of this incident?
And what would happen with that strange parahuman with bat wings and a demonic appearance?
4
Kazuya kept flying, moving away.
But he wasn't fleeing under any circumstances. He was no coward; he had judged what the most appropriate course of action was and had followed it without hesitation. That was all.
"I can crush them, but I'm not myself. That animal has weakened me. I need some time."
Kazuya clicked his tongue.
Talking to himself was useless. Well, it was just thinking out loud; no one could hear him anyway.
A little time. Just a little.
Then he would recover and return with double the strength. He would crush anyone who got in his way. It had been like that forever, and it would continue to be so. Nothing had changed.
He had the power.
"Besides, it makes no sense to fight on their terms. I dictate the rules. I... I am the one who has to control everything."
Yes. It was not at all honorable or brave to get into a fight where almost everything was against him. Even if it were, Kazuya spat on useless things like that; all he cared about was getting his way in the end, and he would do anything to get what he wanted.
Something he had demonstrated countless times.
He had left as soon as Jun began to think she could tame him, making him play house with her and the brat for the rest of his life.
It had nothing to do with Heihachi having defeated him and thrown him into the volcano.
He had never planned to return in the first place, as the woman had become too pretentious.
But, even so...
Even so, he could barely contain his rage. Every cell in his body screamed at him to turn around and confront those pretentious insects, even if it was with ten percent of his strength.
It was an anger bordering on madness.
Well, Kazuya Mishima had been lost in his mad lust for revenge for decades after all.
The Decisive Blow (Climax): FIN
The Golden Man and the Heart Stained Black
The Golden Man and the Heart Stained Black
Kazuya had defeated one of his greatest enemies (despite knowing him for such a short time), Lung, by tearing apart his heart and crushing his head. He doubted that he could regenerate from that. The mere thought was tempting fate, of course, but Kazuya had more reasons to believe it than just wishful thinking.
That stupid yet powerful creature had been kind enough to explain how his powers worked. The longer he endured in a fight, the stronger he became. Faster, bigger, more scaly. More of everything, in short. That included his regeneration powers naturally.
He had come back to square one after believing he had won, so there was no way he could survive those two lethal blows. He didn't know any monster that could survive something like that. At least he had gotten rid of that problem.
He had even managed to evade the cavalry. They didn't seem like Lung's friends, but they weren't his either, as they were dedicated to stopping the conflict. And, he supposed, the resulting deaths as collateral damage.
But misfortunes never came alone.
As expected, misfortune was waiting around the corner. There was no corner in the endless blue sky, but it still managed to surprise him, as if it had turned a corner. A man with golden skin, a cloak, and dressed in such pure white that there wasn't a speck of dust. That man wasn't human. He was different from Lung, who was merely a transformed human. Kazuya vaguely understood that fact with the first glance for some reason.
That's fine. He wasn't the first inhuman being he faced. The only strange thing was his vacant gaze, as if his heart were made of stone. One could be filled with rage, with hatred, one didn't need to be a person to have a burning heart. But that being? There was nothing there. Absolutely nothing.
That didn't matter.
What threat could a creature be that had no instinct for survival?
"Get out of my way."
But, despite his bravado, Kazuya...
Kazuya's heart shook for the first time since he was a child. That terrible day when he challenged Heihachi only to be torn apart and thrown off the cliff. Left for dead. He almost brought his hands to the scar on his chest, as it suddenly hurt.
Instead, he stopped the nonsense. He dashed towards the new obstacle, even though he hadn't recovered yet. He would manage, as he always did. About to strike the first blow, suddenly...
A gasp.
Kazuya fell to the ground, split in half.
And if that were all. A golden light was penetrating deeper and deeper into his wound. Devouring him, as if splitting him in half wasn't enough. He hadn't even seen the movement that had...
Ended him? No, no way!
He fell to the ground and felt the darkness engulfing him to claim him. Kazuya knew that if he allowed himself to lose consciousness, even for a second, he wouldn't return. He would die, this time for real. Deep down in his mind, he was aware that there wouldn't be a G Corporation to bring him back, that this wasn't his world.
So he crawled with one arm, the only one left, towards the nearest safe place. A sewer. A dirty sewer.
Normally, they couldn't even pay him to step on such a thing (of course, he didn't need anyone's money, but even leaving that aside, he wouldn't do it anyway), but what could he do?
Split in half, leaving a thick trail of blood behind him like a snail's slime.
His entrails were crawling too.
Being scratched by the asphalt as he passed.
What could he do?
He had to accept the circumstances.
"I'm not going to die here. I can't. Ridiculous."
The circumstances of his momentary weakness, not something like this. He couldn't die. Not here, no way, it was too soon to die! Not even death had been able to stop him once, so he couldn't let things end like this.
He kept crawling towards the sewer, slowly.
To hide from the eyes of the golden man.
"Ridiculous!"
But, it wasn't. This was the only way he could hide, embarrassing as it was. He had to admit it. The impossible had happened. He had been defeated in a single blow. No, I'm alive, so the fight goes on. Nothing has ended as long as I'm alive.
He reached the sewer and hid in the darkness. In the silence of the grave. There, time felt frozen. Time always passed, for better or for worse. No one could stop it.
Even breathing was difficult for him.
His broken ribs stabbed him everywhere with each inhalation and exhalation. His existence was just pain.
Regeneration was even worse than the injury. Of course. Everything in this world had a price. It was natural that putting things back in place would be so agonizing.
But at least, there was no other incident.
The golden man hadn't seen him. Or at least he had left too soon, thinking him dead.
His lost arm regenerated.
When his legs began to regenerate too...
Kazuya!
A voiceless voice, echoing directly in his head. A ghostly voice that could be the product of his imagination, but it wasn't. He recognized it perfectly.
"You again," he spat. "Is it really possible? Here, in this other world? Could you have followed me this far?"
The answer came quickly, as if it could read his thoughts. It wouldn't surprise him if the creature were capable of such violation. He gritted his teeth, filled with rage... helplessness. How he hated that word. How he wished he could never apply it to himself under any circumstances.
"My power still flows through your veins. Why would it be impossible? As long as you depend on the power of the Devil Gene, you will always depend on me. You will always keep me alive."
Kazuya rejected his words without a second thought.
"This power is mine. Mine alone."
"You foolish boy. Open your eyes. You are nothing but my puppet, you and your son have the role I desire."
Jin. Why did he mention him? He had to admit he was surprised when he started the Third World War, but ultimately, unfortunately, he was too weak, although not lacking in power, quite the opposite.
He resembled his mother too much.
"My son has nothing to do with this! He is insignificant. He doesn't have the power to defend anything, nor to destroy it."
"That's why you're still alive despite being so pathetic." So Azazel knew even that. That Jin had had the chance to kill him in the past, as well as Heihachi, and had let it pass. At least he hoped he regretted it now. In any case, that disgusting creature had been watching the Mishimas for a long time, huh? "But everything can be remedied. Die, Kazuya. And let me in."
A wet crunch. A sliding sensation. The feeling was his organs, which had returned to their place, coming out again. A huge arm protruded. The freshly spilled blood made it feel like it had been drying for hours compared to the gleam of the sharp crystals on the arm.
"A new world full of wonders to discover. And even more poisoned than ours. I have to Rectify everything."
Kazuya screamed in agony.
The Golden Man and the Heart Stained Black: FIN
Kazuya had defeated one of his greatest enemies (despite knowing him for such a short time), Lung, by tearing apart his heart and crushing his head. He doubted that he could regenerate from that. The mere thought was tempting fate, of course, but Kazuya had more reasons to believe it than just wishful thinking.
That stupid yet powerful creature had been kind enough to explain how his powers worked. The longer he endured in a fight, the stronger he became. Faster, bigger, more scaly. More of everything, in short. That included his regeneration powers naturally.
He had come back to square one after believing he had won, so there was no way he could survive those two lethal blows. He didn't know any monster that could survive something like that. At least he had gotten rid of that problem.
He had even managed to evade the cavalry. They didn't seem like Lung's friends, but they weren't his either, as they were dedicated to stopping the conflict. And, he supposed, the resulting deaths as collateral damage.
But misfortunes never came alone.
As expected, misfortune was waiting around the corner. There was no corner in the endless blue sky, but it still managed to surprise him, as if it had turned a corner. A man with golden skin, a cloak, and dressed in such pure white that there wasn't a speck of dust. That man wasn't human. He was different from Lung, who was merely a transformed human. Kazuya vaguely understood that fact with the first glance for some reason.
That's fine. He wasn't the first inhuman being he faced. The only strange thing was his vacant gaze, as if his heart were made of stone. One could be filled with rage, with hatred, one didn't need to be a person to have a burning heart. But that being? There was nothing there. Absolutely nothing.
That didn't matter.
What threat could a creature be that had no instinct for survival?
"Get out of my way."
But, despite his bravado, Kazuya...
Kazuya's heart shook for the first time since he was a child. That terrible day when he challenged Heihachi only to be torn apart and thrown off the cliff. Left for dead. He almost brought his hands to the scar on his chest, as it suddenly hurt.
Instead, he stopped the nonsense. He dashed towards the new obstacle, even though he hadn't recovered yet. He would manage, as he always did. About to strike the first blow, suddenly...
A gasp.
Kazuya fell to the ground, split in half.
And if that were all. A golden light was penetrating deeper and deeper into his wound. Devouring him, as if splitting him in half wasn't enough. He hadn't even seen the movement that had...
Ended him? No, no way!
He fell to the ground and felt the darkness engulfing him to claim him. Kazuya knew that if he allowed himself to lose consciousness, even for a second, he wouldn't return. He would die, this time for real. Deep down in his mind, he was aware that there wouldn't be a G Corporation to bring him back, that this wasn't his world.
So he crawled with one arm, the only one left, towards the nearest safe place. A sewer. A dirty sewer.
Normally, they couldn't even pay him to step on such a thing (of course, he didn't need anyone's money, but even leaving that aside, he wouldn't do it anyway), but what could he do?
Split in half, leaving a thick trail of blood behind him like a snail's slime.
His entrails were crawling too.
Being scratched by the asphalt as he passed.
What could he do?
He had to accept the circumstances.
"I'm not going to die here. I can't. Ridiculous."
The circumstances of his momentary weakness, not something like this. He couldn't die. Not here, no way, it was too soon to die! Not even death had been able to stop him once, so he couldn't let things end like this.
He kept crawling towards the sewer, slowly.
To hide from the eyes of the golden man.
"Ridiculous!"
But, it wasn't. This was the only way he could hide, embarrassing as it was. He had to admit it. The impossible had happened. He had been defeated in a single blow. No, I'm alive, so the fight goes on. Nothing has ended as long as I'm alive.
He reached the sewer and hid in the darkness. In the silence of the grave. There, time felt frozen. Time always passed, for better or for worse. No one could stop it.
Even breathing was difficult for him.
His broken ribs stabbed him everywhere with each inhalation and exhalation. His existence was just pain.
Regeneration was even worse than the injury. Of course. Everything in this world had a price. It was natural that putting things back in place would be so agonizing.
But at least, there was no other incident.
The golden man hadn't seen him. Or at least he had left too soon, thinking him dead.
His lost arm regenerated.
When his legs began to regenerate too...
Kazuya!
A voiceless voice, echoing directly in his head. A ghostly voice that could be the product of his imagination, but it wasn't. He recognized it perfectly.
"You again," he spat. "Is it really possible? Here, in this other world? Could you have followed me this far?"
The answer came quickly, as if it could read his thoughts. It wouldn't surprise him if the creature were capable of such violation. He gritted his teeth, filled with rage... helplessness. How he hated that word. How he wished he could never apply it to himself under any circumstances.
"My power still flows through your veins. Why would it be impossible? As long as you depend on the power of the Devil Gene, you will always depend on me. You will always keep me alive."
Kazuya rejected his words without a second thought.
"This power is mine. Mine alone."
"You foolish boy. Open your eyes. You are nothing but my puppet, you and your son have the role I desire."
Jin. Why did he mention him? He had to admit he was surprised when he started the Third World War, but ultimately, unfortunately, he was too weak, although not lacking in power, quite the opposite.
He resembled his mother too much.
"My son has nothing to do with this! He is insignificant. He doesn't have the power to defend anything, nor to destroy it."
"That's why you're still alive despite being so pathetic." So Azazel knew even that. That Jin had had the chance to kill him in the past, as well as Heihachi, and had let it pass. At least he hoped he regretted it now. In any case, that disgusting creature had been watching the Mishimas for a long time, huh? "But everything can be remedied. Die, Kazuya. And let me in."
A wet crunch. A sliding sensation. The feeling was his organs, which had returned to their place, coming out again. A huge arm protruded. The freshly spilled blood made it feel like it had been drying for hours compared to the gleam of the sharp crystals on the arm.
"A new world full of wonders to discover. And even more poisoned than ours. I have to Rectify everything."
Kazuya screamed in agony.
The Golden Man and the Heart Stained Black: FIN
STORM RISING (Normal)
STORM RISING (Normal)
Azazel had just emerged from his body.
The creature was over ten feet tall. It should have torn him to pieces in the process, but Kazuya was just as bad off as before it had emerged.
He vaguely understood that Azazel had transformed his body into a kind of portal and had emerged as if passing through the surface of a lake.
It wasn't something as 'physical' as it might seem, or he would undoubtedly be dead.
But the sewer tunnel where he had taken refuge had no such advantages. It began to collapse even before the creature stood upright. The debris slid over the shoulders of the monster, naturally causing no harm; it might as well have been a shower of cherry blossoms for all the effect it had.
Screams. Above, on the street, humans were scattering like rabbits at the approach of a fox.
Among the rubble, breathing heavily, Kazuya focused his rage and burned it with his gaze. He wasn't about to back down, not even a bit, even in such a situation. Although his mind knew that perhaps the most sensible thing would be to crawl away, he would never humble himself. Not before this monster, nor before anyone. He had sworn years ago, after all, that 'that day' would be the last. That he would never bow his head again.
"Kill you?" Azazel spoke directly into his head, invading him. Kazuya clenched his teeth. "If I wanted you dead, you would be. How could I let go of such a useful piece? Don't be ridiculous."
A laugh that might sound like the final agonized screams of someone lost in the depths of a cavern, twisted by echoes once they reached the outside. A laugh halfway between a scream, a sob, and laughter.
"You're still useful to me, Kazuya."
Azazel was a demon with gray skin and blazing red eyes. A demon covered in crystals that emitted a purple light. In fact, his own skin sometimes glowed the same color... Through his cracked chest, though not a wound, it was clear that these crystals acted as his innards. It was something that defied all logic and rationality, just like the Devil Gene he had brought into this world.
The Rectifier of All Things.
The Destroyer.
But... not his end, not his final moment. Definitely.
"Do you think you can... look down on me, dog? You waited until I was... weakened by someone else. You're afraid of me. Even now, you're trembling, mangy dog."
Azazel's expression didn't change in the slightest. After all, he didn't need such a thing to make his reaction clear.
"So eager for me to kill you? Even a brash child like you should know that you can do nothing to stop it now."
And it was mockery. He mocked, Kazuya would have preferred a thousand times that he rage, even if that meant being crushed by him a second later. He had already returned from the dead once, but he could not tolerate insults to his pride. Yes, it was absolutely intolerable.
So, naturally, he completely lost his head.
"Come on, kill me. Take advantage and kill me now, before I can recover. You wouldn't... want to risk it. Coward. Come on, let's go, let's go!"
Yes. He completely lost his head. He couldn't have controlled himself even if he wanted to. His countless enemies and the pieces he possessed would never have imagined, not in a million years, that he could behave this way.
They called him the emperor of cold blood.
He was supposed to be the kind of person who crushed his enemies without feeling anything, without letting anything or anyone affect him.
And, not only that.
Kazuya began to crawl towards Azazel as if he could do something against the demon with his body broken in every conceivable way and his strength nearly exhausted.
He was crawling across the ground, but not humbling himself in the least. In reality, he was demonstrating his great willpower, which was as superhuman as his physical strength.
He moved forward with determination, despite all he now felt was pain.
He moved forward, despite the fact that even crawling across the ground required such an effort that it made him vomit blood. And for what purpose? He could neither fight Azazel nor escape. But he kept doing it, without a moment's doubt. He couldn't be more stubborn.
Azazel simply looked away, directing his gaze toward the distant horizon.
"As I said, you are still useful to me, that's all. I'm not going to kill you. And I'm not going to wait for you to lie with a human, I don't think such a thing will happen twice. Goodbye, Kazuya. I have much work to do."
His enormous wings stirred, raising a tempest. He took flight. Kazuya knew that to spread the Devil Gene. He had made it very clear.
To spread the Gene in this different world into which he had ended up without knowing how or why.
2
Kayden finally came home, holding the shopping bags. Naturally, She had arrived so late only because that wasn't the only thing she had been doing. At least she could finally rest. Her eyes were already closing.
"Theo, have you taken good care of Aster? Theo?" she whispered, not wanting to wake the baby.
She received no response.
But that was not unusual. Although sometimes Theo stayed up very late watching television, since he had trouble sleeping, at this time he could well be sleeping peacefully in his bed.
Hopefully. He deserved a good rest.
She went into the living room and turned on the lights. The TV was still on, though muted. Theo was nowhere to be found. So what? Didn't she just explain why this wasn't strange?
Yes.
Yes.
Her fear made no sense, but Kayden's heart was submerged in the dark waters of a terrible premonition, and she couldn't escape. The dark waters...
As she stepped back into the hallway, she heard just that. Water. Dripping water.
No. No. Don't think about nonsense.
It can't be.
Kayden approached the bathroom. The closer she got, the louder the dripping became... naturally... How could it not get louder? Kayden stepped in a puddle, looking down as if to check that it really was there, that she hadn't somehow imagined it.
The water... was sliding under the door... and from inside, it continued dripping incessantly...
Drip drop, drip drop...
Maybe she was dreaming. That's what she desperately thought as she reached for the doorknob, turned it, and...
The door opened creaking like the jaws of some cruel beast.
When she saw what was on the other side, Kayden screamed, she couldn't stop screaming... she screamed as if she was going mad, no, she screamed as if she wished to go mad.
3
The dark waters were not a lake, they were not a river.
They were an ocean. Therefore, this had only just begun. Someone, their name was unimportant, woke up with a start, wrapped in the sheets as if they were a shroud. Covered in sweat and breathing like a wild beast.
What kind of dream, or nightmare, had he seen?
This someone didn't remember. In any case, what had pulled him out of the world of dreams was a dark impulse. Indeed, it was something he had thought about more times than he could count.
Everyone sometimes thought of doing terrible things. Who hadn't fantasized at least once, for example, about knocking out their asshole boss's teeth? But there were no thought crimes. As long as it stayed in the imagination, it was no sin.
However, today he would definitely... cross the line without looking back. And he was talking about doing 'something' much worse than punching his boss.
Someone opened the closet. There were all kinds of things there. First of all, he took an AK-47 and inserted the magazine, then took more, all that could fit between the pockets of his pants and his jacket. He still had to look for the jacket, but that was another story.
Also...
Grenades, of course. A few grenades would come in handy.
Lastly, although he doubted it would be of much use, he hung a hunting knife from his belt. It didn't have to be particularly useful. If he were someone cold and pragmatic, he would do only what was strictly necessary and seek to end 'that' without problems. However, he intended to enjoy it, so the hunting knife was also important.
He left his room.
Without turning on the lights, he reached the living room.
He picked up the first jacket he found. His old army jacket. As usual, he had left it hanging on the sofa right in front of the television. There, it had been waiting for him..., how long now? How long had it been since he retired from the army due to injuries and returned to this land that now felt strange to him, a completely different country, a country full of aliens with their own customs and ways of thinking, where he had no place?
'Someone' couldn't remember.
He supposed it didn't matter.
That, in reality, was the least of it. Deep down in his heart, he had always wanted to die violently. That's why he had joined the army. It was just that no one had managed to kill him in those bloody years. Just because he wanted to die didn't mean he was going to let just anyone kill him.
It was a twisted way of thinking, but he had stopped being a normal person a long time ago.
Perhaps he had never been one, deep down in his heart. In the dark waters of the abyss of...
(Azazel)
In any case, even before he was born, the human had 'died,' giving birth to a demon.
And today he would die. Sooner or later he would die.
But, he wouldn't leave this world alone.
Prepared for the massacre, or at least as prepared as he could ever be, 'someone' ran out of his house. The door wasn't locked, so he opened it by pushing it with his shoulder and all the strength of his trained body.
He raised the rifle and shot the first person he saw, a woman with her back to him. He didn't even see her. Even now, as she writhed on the ground, choking on her own blood with her hands on the gunshot wound, as if she could do something, she must have been trying to understand what the hell had happened.
There were screams, of course. But, now that he thought about it, hadn't the screams started before he pulled the trigger? Ah, whatever, whatever. In the end that wasn't important.
His first victim had been boring. He should have waited for her to turn around. He couldn't make the hands of the clock move backwards, but he could rectify his mistake.
He had never thought the hunting knife would be useful so soon.
Someone grabbed the woman by the hair and pulled it back, exposing her neck. And then he slit her throat, but only after she processed it, understood what was happening. Who was responsible for her end. He slit her throat as if she were a pig and damn, he enjoyed it like a child.
Someone stood up, with a wide smile. The blood of another person covering his body seemed unreal under the streetlight.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a dark shape.
He turned around, his heart in his fist. Suddenly, just like that, his pleasure had turned into tension... No wonder. It was a guy in a costume, and he hadn't been living in a cave for the last few decades. He knew very well what that meant.
The insect eyes and those jaws made him look like a monster from one of his worst nightmares, a humanoid insect or a half-insect human, in any case, repulsive and terrifying. To make matters worse, he must have had some power. He didn't think it was just a stupid costume, although he didn't recognize a hero or villain in that suit.
He acted quickly.
His best chance against someone with superpowers was simply that, to strike decisively before he had time to act.
Unfortunately, fear slowed him down for a couple of seconds.
Almost nothing, but it was enough for the cape to backtrack, taking refuge behind a house. He didn't hear a scream, not even a slight gasp. He doubted he had hit him. If it was a new hero or villain, independent, he wouldn't have many resources. He doubted that suit was bulletproof.
'Someone' didn't need to reload yet. He hadn't fired that much, and he would never lose count. It was like the beating of his heart, a natural process.
Every time he pulled the trigger, his whole body vibrated and he felt alive.
That was enough.
That would have to be enough until he suffered the violent death he sought. Perhaps, instead of a large-scale massacre, all he needed to PROVE something was to take down one person with superpowers.
Maybe he just needed to slit that damn insect's throat!
4
Taylor, crouched behind a house after barely dodging a bullet, was wondering why the hell she had thought she could be a superhero.
A complete stranger had appeared to save her from putting her life at risk to defend a group of teenage villains (but what bad luck, why had she heard everything except the most important part?).
Now no one would come to save her.
She had to stop that lunatic, that lunatic who didn't even have superpowers, or she would die miserably like that woman... In front of her eyes, without being able to do anything, great job, great job.
And the enemy was just a normal guy with a gun, not a supervillain. She had already said that, but for some reason she couldn't get it out of her head, as if that were the most important thing.
In any case, being a superhero... She never believed it would be easy, but it wasn't at all what she had imagined.
"He killed that woman in front of my eyes," she whispered to herself, her voice drowned out by the screams of frightened people, hoping a hero would come to save them and the roar of bullets that buzzed closer and closer. Her legs were trembling and if no bullet had hit her so far as it went through the wood, it had been mostly a bit of luck, right? The luck of being alive to continue suffering. "Why am I hesitating? Stopping him? It's obvious that I have to... kill him."
Yes.
It was something horrible that she preferred not to think about, that no one wanted to see themselves forced to do. But it would be self-defense. No one would blame her for killing him. Heck, they'd probably give her a medal. She knew that perfectly well, so she had to stop dithering and act.
She had been doing it.
While the lunatic who wanted to become a mass murderer continued to shoot at her cover and approach, she had been gathering swarms of bugs in the darkness. They were just waiting for the command.
She should kill him, right? Trying to simply 'stop' him wasn't worth it when more lives could be lost in the process, just because she tried to be virtuous—an idea childish and hollow compared to the weight of innocent lives.
She had the right to take justice into her own hands.
Whether she decided to kill or stop, she had to take a look. She could sense all sorts of things through the bugs, but it wasn't like she could see through their eyes. She couldn't direct them to the shooter blindly.
So, she needed to take a risky peek.
She nearly had her head blown off. She saw the black hole forming in the wall mere millimeters from her mask. Close, too close.
The lunatic with the rifle was also too close...
But he had fired too much, he had to reload.
Taylor swallowed hard.
She wouldn't get another chance.
Justice, injustice, what should be and what was. What did all that matter now? She just wanted to live... and go home!
She gave the order.
5
Kazuya hadn't moved an inch from where he was. He hadn't been able to muster the strength to do so. So, he still lay in the darkness of the sewer, amid the rubble. Breathing like a wild beast.
It didn't matter in what miserable state he found himself.
What mattered was that he was recovering, not slowly dying. He was definitely recovering, and when he did...
"I will defeat you, Azazel... and your power will be mine... forever. I am no piece... on your game board, and if I am, I will throw the damn table over and set it on fire. I swear it. I swear it. I swear ittttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt!"
There was no one to hear him, but it didn't matter.
Kazuya howled his declaration of victory toward the heart of the skies tinged with black velvet, heralding a storm that would sweep away everything.
6
Danny heard the door open.
If circumstances had been different, he surely would have pretended to be still asleep. To not pressure her, not to demand too much of his daughter, who was already having a tough enough time.
He wanted to help her, of course. To be there for her.
But he wanted her to feel like she could come to him and tell him things, instead of meddling and forcing her to talk about the horrible reality and her worst fears. Danny was simply trying to be a good father, even though he had never had a good example.
He could say that he had done the best he could.
He just wished that it was enough, because it clearly wasn't. Taylor had barely told him anything since the incident, kept him at a distance. And now, she had felt the need to sneak out of the house in the middle of the night, without saying anything, in a neighborhood like this.
He felt sorry for her, but clearly it was time to intervene.
If he didn't do it now, he never would. Besides...
He had spent the whole night awake and watching TV. After the horrible things he had seen on TV, he had almost run out of the house looking for her...
And what he saw there...
It was a person in disguise. A cape, or a thug trying to pass as that to make things easier? In any case, his heart jumped into his throat. Danny stepped back, thinking that on top of everything they were going to rob them of the little they had, and that Taylor was still out there, somewhere, still in danger. If she wasn't dead already.
This person in disguise, cape or whatever it was, was covered in blood from head to toe. And shaking violently. Dying?
No.
"Oh, shit." The voice of his daughter, clearly, even through the mask. A possibility he hadn't even dared to think about. "It's... It's not mine."
The blood? It was good to know that, but it wasn't the most important thing right now, what was happening here? He felt like his world... was swaying and crumbling in the same way as when Annette died.
He didn't know what the hell to say.
Then, as if he hadn't had enough...
Taylor screamed in rage and frustration, but it was nothing compared to the sound of the air raid sirens.
7
"We've found him."
Kazuya didn't recognize the voice. He couldn't even see anything, though he doubted that would have helped. Anyway, the identity of the newcomer was the least of his concerns.
The important thing was what the hell he was here to do. With him, because he had found him.
But he couldn't see, he couldn't move, nor could he think. Only a few thin threads still tied him to consciousness. Kazuya was floating in a dark sea, deprived of everything, and the voice of the stranger barely reached him in some way. That was all.
Yes, that was it, he was just losing consciousness. He wouldn't die by any means!
"Let's hope he recovers soon... and that he has answers."
There were two of them now.
Once he recovered, he would teach a lesson to the fools who had dared lay hands on him, whoever they were, and to that monster arrogant enough to believe he could control him.
He swore it.
STORM RISING (Normal): FIN
Azazel had just emerged from his body.
The creature was over ten feet tall. It should have torn him to pieces in the process, but Kazuya was just as bad off as before it had emerged.
He vaguely understood that Azazel had transformed his body into a kind of portal and had emerged as if passing through the surface of a lake.
It wasn't something as 'physical' as it might seem, or he would undoubtedly be dead.
But the sewer tunnel where he had taken refuge had no such advantages. It began to collapse even before the creature stood upright. The debris slid over the shoulders of the monster, naturally causing no harm; it might as well have been a shower of cherry blossoms for all the effect it had.
Screams. Above, on the street, humans were scattering like rabbits at the approach of a fox.
Among the rubble, breathing heavily, Kazuya focused his rage and burned it with his gaze. He wasn't about to back down, not even a bit, even in such a situation. Although his mind knew that perhaps the most sensible thing would be to crawl away, he would never humble himself. Not before this monster, nor before anyone. He had sworn years ago, after all, that 'that day' would be the last. That he would never bow his head again.
"Kill you?" Azazel spoke directly into his head, invading him. Kazuya clenched his teeth. "If I wanted you dead, you would be. How could I let go of such a useful piece? Don't be ridiculous."
A laugh that might sound like the final agonized screams of someone lost in the depths of a cavern, twisted by echoes once they reached the outside. A laugh halfway between a scream, a sob, and laughter.
"You're still useful to me, Kazuya."
Azazel was a demon with gray skin and blazing red eyes. A demon covered in crystals that emitted a purple light. In fact, his own skin sometimes glowed the same color... Through his cracked chest, though not a wound, it was clear that these crystals acted as his innards. It was something that defied all logic and rationality, just like the Devil Gene he had brought into this world.
The Rectifier of All Things.
The Destroyer.
But... not his end, not his final moment. Definitely.
"Do you think you can... look down on me, dog? You waited until I was... weakened by someone else. You're afraid of me. Even now, you're trembling, mangy dog."
Azazel's expression didn't change in the slightest. After all, he didn't need such a thing to make his reaction clear.
"So eager for me to kill you? Even a brash child like you should know that you can do nothing to stop it now."
And it was mockery. He mocked, Kazuya would have preferred a thousand times that he rage, even if that meant being crushed by him a second later. He had already returned from the dead once, but he could not tolerate insults to his pride. Yes, it was absolutely intolerable.
So, naturally, he completely lost his head.
"Come on, kill me. Take advantage and kill me now, before I can recover. You wouldn't... want to risk it. Coward. Come on, let's go, let's go!"
Yes. He completely lost his head. He couldn't have controlled himself even if he wanted to. His countless enemies and the pieces he possessed would never have imagined, not in a million years, that he could behave this way.
They called him the emperor of cold blood.
He was supposed to be the kind of person who crushed his enemies without feeling anything, without letting anything or anyone affect him.
And, not only that.
Kazuya began to crawl towards Azazel as if he could do something against the demon with his body broken in every conceivable way and his strength nearly exhausted.
He was crawling across the ground, but not humbling himself in the least. In reality, he was demonstrating his great willpower, which was as superhuman as his physical strength.
He moved forward with determination, despite all he now felt was pain.
He moved forward, despite the fact that even crawling across the ground required such an effort that it made him vomit blood. And for what purpose? He could neither fight Azazel nor escape. But he kept doing it, without a moment's doubt. He couldn't be more stubborn.
Azazel simply looked away, directing his gaze toward the distant horizon.
"As I said, you are still useful to me, that's all. I'm not going to kill you. And I'm not going to wait for you to lie with a human, I don't think such a thing will happen twice. Goodbye, Kazuya. I have much work to do."
His enormous wings stirred, raising a tempest. He took flight. Kazuya knew that to spread the Devil Gene. He had made it very clear.
To spread the Gene in this different world into which he had ended up without knowing how or why.
2
Kayden finally came home, holding the shopping bags. Naturally, She had arrived so late only because that wasn't the only thing she had been doing. At least she could finally rest. Her eyes were already closing.
"Theo, have you taken good care of Aster? Theo?" she whispered, not wanting to wake the baby.
She received no response.
But that was not unusual. Although sometimes Theo stayed up very late watching television, since he had trouble sleeping, at this time he could well be sleeping peacefully in his bed.
Hopefully. He deserved a good rest.
She went into the living room and turned on the lights. The TV was still on, though muted. Theo was nowhere to be found. So what? Didn't she just explain why this wasn't strange?
Yes.
Yes.
Her fear made no sense, but Kayden's heart was submerged in the dark waters of a terrible premonition, and she couldn't escape. The dark waters...
As she stepped back into the hallway, she heard just that. Water. Dripping water.
No. No. Don't think about nonsense.
It can't be.
Kayden approached the bathroom. The closer she got, the louder the dripping became... naturally... How could it not get louder? Kayden stepped in a puddle, looking down as if to check that it really was there, that she hadn't somehow imagined it.
The water... was sliding under the door... and from inside, it continued dripping incessantly...
Drip drop, drip drop...
Maybe she was dreaming. That's what she desperately thought as she reached for the doorknob, turned it, and...
The door opened creaking like the jaws of some cruel beast.
When she saw what was on the other side, Kayden screamed, she couldn't stop screaming... she screamed as if she was going mad, no, she screamed as if she wished to go mad.
3
The dark waters were not a lake, they were not a river.
They were an ocean. Therefore, this had only just begun. Someone, their name was unimportant, woke up with a start, wrapped in the sheets as if they were a shroud. Covered in sweat and breathing like a wild beast.
What kind of dream, or nightmare, had he seen?
This someone didn't remember. In any case, what had pulled him out of the world of dreams was a dark impulse. Indeed, it was something he had thought about more times than he could count.
Everyone sometimes thought of doing terrible things. Who hadn't fantasized at least once, for example, about knocking out their asshole boss's teeth? But there were no thought crimes. As long as it stayed in the imagination, it was no sin.
However, today he would definitely... cross the line without looking back. And he was talking about doing 'something' much worse than punching his boss.
Someone opened the closet. There were all kinds of things there. First of all, he took an AK-47 and inserted the magazine, then took more, all that could fit between the pockets of his pants and his jacket. He still had to look for the jacket, but that was another story.
Also...
Grenades, of course. A few grenades would come in handy.
Lastly, although he doubted it would be of much use, he hung a hunting knife from his belt. It didn't have to be particularly useful. If he were someone cold and pragmatic, he would do only what was strictly necessary and seek to end 'that' without problems. However, he intended to enjoy it, so the hunting knife was also important.
He left his room.
Without turning on the lights, he reached the living room.
He picked up the first jacket he found. His old army jacket. As usual, he had left it hanging on the sofa right in front of the television. There, it had been waiting for him..., how long now? How long had it been since he retired from the army due to injuries and returned to this land that now felt strange to him, a completely different country, a country full of aliens with their own customs and ways of thinking, where he had no place?
'Someone' couldn't remember.
He supposed it didn't matter.
That, in reality, was the least of it. Deep down in his heart, he had always wanted to die violently. That's why he had joined the army. It was just that no one had managed to kill him in those bloody years. Just because he wanted to die didn't mean he was going to let just anyone kill him.
It was a twisted way of thinking, but he had stopped being a normal person a long time ago.
Perhaps he had never been one, deep down in his heart. In the dark waters of the abyss of...
(Azazel)
In any case, even before he was born, the human had 'died,' giving birth to a demon.
And today he would die. Sooner or later he would die.
But, he wouldn't leave this world alone.
Prepared for the massacre, or at least as prepared as he could ever be, 'someone' ran out of his house. The door wasn't locked, so he opened it by pushing it with his shoulder and all the strength of his trained body.
He raised the rifle and shot the first person he saw, a woman with her back to him. He didn't even see her. Even now, as she writhed on the ground, choking on her own blood with her hands on the gunshot wound, as if she could do something, she must have been trying to understand what the hell had happened.
There were screams, of course. But, now that he thought about it, hadn't the screams started before he pulled the trigger? Ah, whatever, whatever. In the end that wasn't important.
His first victim had been boring. He should have waited for her to turn around. He couldn't make the hands of the clock move backwards, but he could rectify his mistake.
He had never thought the hunting knife would be useful so soon.
Someone grabbed the woman by the hair and pulled it back, exposing her neck. And then he slit her throat, but only after she processed it, understood what was happening. Who was responsible for her end. He slit her throat as if she were a pig and damn, he enjoyed it like a child.
Someone stood up, with a wide smile. The blood of another person covering his body seemed unreal under the streetlight.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a dark shape.
He turned around, his heart in his fist. Suddenly, just like that, his pleasure had turned into tension... No wonder. It was a guy in a costume, and he hadn't been living in a cave for the last few decades. He knew very well what that meant.
The insect eyes and those jaws made him look like a monster from one of his worst nightmares, a humanoid insect or a half-insect human, in any case, repulsive and terrifying. To make matters worse, he must have had some power. He didn't think it was just a stupid costume, although he didn't recognize a hero or villain in that suit.
He acted quickly.
His best chance against someone with superpowers was simply that, to strike decisively before he had time to act.
Unfortunately, fear slowed him down for a couple of seconds.
Almost nothing, but it was enough for the cape to backtrack, taking refuge behind a house. He didn't hear a scream, not even a slight gasp. He doubted he had hit him. If it was a new hero or villain, independent, he wouldn't have many resources. He doubted that suit was bulletproof.
'Someone' didn't need to reload yet. He hadn't fired that much, and he would never lose count. It was like the beating of his heart, a natural process.
Every time he pulled the trigger, his whole body vibrated and he felt alive.
That was enough.
That would have to be enough until he suffered the violent death he sought. Perhaps, instead of a large-scale massacre, all he needed to PROVE something was to take down one person with superpowers.
Maybe he just needed to slit that damn insect's throat!
4
Taylor, crouched behind a house after barely dodging a bullet, was wondering why the hell she had thought she could be a superhero.
A complete stranger had appeared to save her from putting her life at risk to defend a group of teenage villains (but what bad luck, why had she heard everything except the most important part?).
Now no one would come to save her.
She had to stop that lunatic, that lunatic who didn't even have superpowers, or she would die miserably like that woman... In front of her eyes, without being able to do anything, great job, great job.
And the enemy was just a normal guy with a gun, not a supervillain. She had already said that, but for some reason she couldn't get it out of her head, as if that were the most important thing.
In any case, being a superhero... She never believed it would be easy, but it wasn't at all what she had imagined.
"He killed that woman in front of my eyes," she whispered to herself, her voice drowned out by the screams of frightened people, hoping a hero would come to save them and the roar of bullets that buzzed closer and closer. Her legs were trembling and if no bullet had hit her so far as it went through the wood, it had been mostly a bit of luck, right? The luck of being alive to continue suffering. "Why am I hesitating? Stopping him? It's obvious that I have to... kill him."
Yes.
It was something horrible that she preferred not to think about, that no one wanted to see themselves forced to do. But it would be self-defense. No one would blame her for killing him. Heck, they'd probably give her a medal. She knew that perfectly well, so she had to stop dithering and act.
She had been doing it.
While the lunatic who wanted to become a mass murderer continued to shoot at her cover and approach, she had been gathering swarms of bugs in the darkness. They were just waiting for the command.
She should kill him, right? Trying to simply 'stop' him wasn't worth it when more lives could be lost in the process, just because she tried to be virtuous—an idea childish and hollow compared to the weight of innocent lives.
She had the right to take justice into her own hands.
Whether she decided to kill or stop, she had to take a look. She could sense all sorts of things through the bugs, but it wasn't like she could see through their eyes. She couldn't direct them to the shooter blindly.
So, she needed to take a risky peek.
She nearly had her head blown off. She saw the black hole forming in the wall mere millimeters from her mask. Close, too close.
The lunatic with the rifle was also too close...
But he had fired too much, he had to reload.
Taylor swallowed hard.
She wouldn't get another chance.
Justice, injustice, what should be and what was. What did all that matter now? She just wanted to live... and go home!
She gave the order.
5
Kazuya hadn't moved an inch from where he was. He hadn't been able to muster the strength to do so. So, he still lay in the darkness of the sewer, amid the rubble. Breathing like a wild beast.
It didn't matter in what miserable state he found himself.
What mattered was that he was recovering, not slowly dying. He was definitely recovering, and when he did...
"I will defeat you, Azazel... and your power will be mine... forever. I am no piece... on your game board, and if I am, I will throw the damn table over and set it on fire. I swear it. I swear it. I swear ittttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt!"
There was no one to hear him, but it didn't matter.
Kazuya howled his declaration of victory toward the heart of the skies tinged with black velvet, heralding a storm that would sweep away everything.
6
Danny heard the door open.
If circumstances had been different, he surely would have pretended to be still asleep. To not pressure her, not to demand too much of his daughter, who was already having a tough enough time.
He wanted to help her, of course. To be there for her.
But he wanted her to feel like she could come to him and tell him things, instead of meddling and forcing her to talk about the horrible reality and her worst fears. Danny was simply trying to be a good father, even though he had never had a good example.
He could say that he had done the best he could.
He just wished that it was enough, because it clearly wasn't. Taylor had barely told him anything since the incident, kept him at a distance. And now, she had felt the need to sneak out of the house in the middle of the night, without saying anything, in a neighborhood like this.
He felt sorry for her, but clearly it was time to intervene.
If he didn't do it now, he never would. Besides...
He had spent the whole night awake and watching TV. After the horrible things he had seen on TV, he had almost run out of the house looking for her...
And what he saw there...
It was a person in disguise. A cape, or a thug trying to pass as that to make things easier? In any case, his heart jumped into his throat. Danny stepped back, thinking that on top of everything they were going to rob them of the little they had, and that Taylor was still out there, somewhere, still in danger. If she wasn't dead already.
This person in disguise, cape or whatever it was, was covered in blood from head to toe. And shaking violently. Dying?
No.
"Oh, shit." The voice of his daughter, clearly, even through the mask. A possibility he hadn't even dared to think about. "It's... It's not mine."
The blood? It was good to know that, but it wasn't the most important thing right now, what was happening here? He felt like his world... was swaying and crumbling in the same way as when Annette died.
He didn't know what the hell to say.
Then, as if he hadn't had enough...
Taylor screamed in rage and frustration, but it was nothing compared to the sound of the air raid sirens.
7
"We've found him."
Kazuya didn't recognize the voice. He couldn't even see anything, though he doubted that would have helped. Anyway, the identity of the newcomer was the least of his concerns.
The important thing was what the hell he was here to do. With him, because he had found him.
But he couldn't see, he couldn't move, nor could he think. Only a few thin threads still tied him to consciousness. Kazuya was floating in a dark sea, deprived of everything, and the voice of the stranger barely reached him in some way. That was all.
Yes, that was it, he was just losing consciousness. He wouldn't die by any means!
"Let's hope he recovers soon... and that he has answers."
There were two of them now.
Once he recovered, he would teach a lesson to the fools who had dared lay hands on him, whoever they were, and to that monster arrogant enough to believe he could control him.
He swore it.
STORM RISING (Normal): FIN
STORM RISING (Climax)
STORM RISING (Climax)
1
Azazel ascended to the skies above Brockton Bay, his enormous silhouette framed by storm clouds, his arrival heralded by infernal trumpets resounding throughout the city. It was the reception he deserved, though he wasn't used to such a swift reaction to his arrival; it was as if he was known, almost, despite not even being from this world.
He also wasn't used to not knowing, but despite this being the first time in millennia that he didn't know something, the answer didn't bother him. It wouldn't change what he was here to do. What he was already doing.
His influence spread across the city, making people reveal their true faces.
Human beings hid their true selves under countless layers of lies. His job was to peel them away so they could unleash their ugliness. That was all.
He wasn't responsible for their actions. He simply allowed them to do what they wanted, what they had always wanted. Although, of course, it wasn't an act of kindness. Quite the opposite.
It was what they deserved. To endure themselves without the layers of lies that allowed the world to function like a Swiss watch.
Or rather, society.
Human society marched on smoothly, the world was dying, and no one cared. Sure, they could make some symbolic gestures to feel like better people, but in the end, if it didn't concern them, it wasn't their problem.
Voluntarily and selfishly, they had reduced the world to shreds. Now the sinners must atone in the only possible way, death.
Azazel spread his wings and his enormous arms as if to encompass all of Brockton Bay. His shadow, elongated by the afternoon sun, covered most of the city.
Perhaps they thought they were prepared for him, unlike the response Azazel was accustomed to (if it could be said he was accustomed to anything when he had been sealed for what was now the majority of his existence), that is, humans running around like headless chickens, looking for places to hide and covering their eyes because they preferred to believe they were simply living a nightmare.
But he would show them they weren't prepared, that they were nothing but presumptuous fools.
The storm that was rising would leave nothing standing in its wake.
2
Kazuya woke up the way he usually did when things went wrong.
With a start, gritting his teeth and roaring like a caged animal. Which he was, by the way. Quite the animal, and caged.
"I felt a bit bad, throwing him in a cell as soon as he was healed," said some guy, talking as if Kazuya wasn't right there. He wasn't alone; there were several people, each with a more ridiculous costume than the last. "But Piggot was right. He was ready to kill even before he realized he was locked up."
"Do you think these bars will hold me?" Kazuya asked, laughing in his face.
"They're not just bars, but no. We don't want to keep you locked up. We want your help."
"Funny way to show it."
"Well, if you weren't in there, maybe my guts would be painting the wall right now, so…"
"Dauntless." That wasn't even a name, just a word, and he didn't seem very dauntless anyway. Seemed more like he was full of arrogance. And stupidity. "That's enough."
The one who spoke was a woman dressed like a soldier, except for the mask covering half her face, making her look more like a petty thief, especially since it had the pattern of the United States flag.
Every time he saw an American, Kazuya couldn't help but think of Paul.
To him, he was the quintessential American. Loud, stupid, and very arrogant.
That woman wasn't a very good American based on those criteria. Her voice was determined but soft.
"Reviewing footage from nearby cameras, we saw a monster emerging from inside you. We immediately sounded the air raid sirens, assuming it could be a new Endbringer. It seems to be like the Simurgh, judging by the strange incidents that started happening throughout the city. People losing control, crossing the line. We want your help to deal with that beast, which for now is codenamed…"
"Azazel."
The woman frowned.
"Wait, you mean…?"
"You seem to think it was born then, but it's been bothering me for a while."
"Yeah, it just emerged from your body, leaving you in pieces. A small nuisance, nothing more," said a man dressed all in red.
He thought he was funny, huh?
The woman beside him didn't find it funny either, responding by elbowing him to shut him up. She must have seen what Kazuya was capable of, and had the sense to realize that Kazuya was simply playing along for fun, nothing more.
If he wanted to break free, he would have already done it.
If he wanted to go through them, literally and figuratively, he would have already done it. He was playing with fire. With a goddamn forest fire.
"Assault," said the American woman. He had considered the possibility that she wasn't, but why else would she put the country's flag all over her face? Maybe it was something Kazuya, who had renounced his nationality, couldn't understand. "I told you to stay quiet." She sighed deeply. "As I was saying, I'm glad to hear that. It probably isn't a new Endbringer, then."
"I don't know what you're talking about, but I'm sure it's more dangerous than those Endbringers."
"That's impossible," Dauntless said.
"Neither I nor that thing are from this world. Don't give me that dumb look," Kazuya said. Yes, the helmet he wore allowed him to see enough to judge his expression. "While I was unconscious, you must have searched all the records, checked that I don't exist. In this world, at least."
"People can disappear off the map without being from another world," the female soldier said. "But I understand, that explains a lot. Now…"
Kazuya kicked the bars, which went flying over the heads of those present and crashed into a wall. They would have taken more than one person out if they hadn't reacted quickly, ducking down.
"Kazuya. My name is Kazuya Mishima. So much talk about cooperation, and you didn't even ask my name. You're not very good at this."
The difference between Kazuya and those costumed clowns was that he had no need to fake sincerity. He could do whatever he wanted whenever he wanted, however he wanted.
No matter what world he ended up in, some things never changed.
"Give us all the information you have," the woman continued. "For now, the creature isn't attacking… directly, so we have time to formulate a plan."
"Look…"
"Miss Militia."
"That's not a name, but fine. I don't need a plan. And I don't need you. I've been playing along to see what you had to say, but I'm already bored of this charade."
To her credit, the woman didn't look away.
"When this is over, we'll help you return to your world. I can see it in your eyes. You have unfinished business."
Kazuya frowned briefly and then, slowly, nodded. He didn't like giving in to anyone, especially so easily, but he had priorities.
3
Kazuya finished explaining to Miss Militia and the rest (they insisted on introducing themselves, no matter how little he cared, so now he could associate names but not faces with each stupid costume) everything he knew about Azazel.
Not only did cooperating with someone always leave a bad taste in his mouth (his teeth still occasionally ground thinking about the couple of minutes he had fought side by side with Heihachi, even if it was just to stab him in the back), it couldn't be said that it had been worth it as he didn't have much information.
They hoped to come up with a plan based on that information, and with those crumbs, they were left in the same place. But hey, it couldn't be said that Kazuya hadn't fulfilled his part. It wasn't his fault they had miscalibrated their expectations.
Miss Militia took it philosophically.
Meanwhile, Armsmaster seemed furious, even though only the lower half of his face was visible.
Which didn't say much.
He had been angry since he entered the room and saw him.
Only he would know why since Kazuya hadn't laid a hand on him. No, Lung had taken care of him before he had to. But that half-man was inferior to him. The fact that he only threw murderous glances and the occasional sarcastic comment was proof of that. So Kazuya wouldn't stoop to answering his provocations.
He had made it clear that if he had something against him, he would fight him at any time, and he hadn't responded. Anyone could see he was like a chihuahua with its tail between its legs, trembling. In other words, all bark and no bite.
Someone contacted Armsmaster before any of those present had a bright idea on how to defeat Azazel (Kazuya had a very simple and direct idea, but for now, he'd play along, all in order to go home and kick Hiehachi's ass). He put a hand next to his helmet, asked a question, and listened. Not for too long. It turned out because forcibly the message was as simple and direct as he would like to handle things.
"The monster has left Brockton Bay," Armsmaster said. He didn't seem relieved at all.
"What does this mean?" Miss Militia asked. Of course, staring at him.
It seemed fair and nothing strange. First of all, Azazel would have only decided to start with this city because it was where Kazuya had ended up for one reason or another. Like, since I'm here anyways, let's go.
But that raised a very important question. What had distracted him? What could have become his top priority? He wanted to answer that question. Kazuya's top priority was to return to his world to kill his greatest enemy and finally achieve peace, perhaps even that elusive thing they called happiness. But it wouldn't hurt to defeat Azazel and absorb his power. He believed his current level of power would be enough for Heihachi, but, well...
Since I'm here anyways, let's go, he thought.
"Kazuya?"
"What are the major organizations...?"
"Could you stop that?" It was formulated as a question, but yelled, it sounded more like an order. And nobody gave him orders. Nobody.
"What are you talking about?"
"Making us understand you while speaking a different language nobody here knows. I'm surprised you're all so calm; it's mental manipulation, no matter what it's for! There's no such thing as harmless mental manipulation!"
"What are you talking about? This is normal. Are you saying in this world, you have to study languages to understand them?"
"Yes!" he replied, banging the table with both fists to give pathetic emphasis to that word.
"Hmm," Kazuya scoffed. "Terribly inefficient."
"Armsmaster, control yourself," Miss Militia said. "We have no reason to think he's hostile, and right now, we have other priorities."
"Hey man, hey," Assault said, patting him on the shoulder to get his attention.
"Don't you start too."
"Seriously, don't embarrass me," Battery said.
"Yeah, sorry, sweetheart, but I have a question that I'm sure is on everyone's mind. Just one question. Then I'll shut up. Don't make that face; I can be quiet."
"Just ask it already," Kazuya said.
"If everyone in your world can understand each other without any problems, then why do you have multiple languages?" Of course, he had explained that the layout of his world was more or less the same as theirs. Except for superpowers, the costumedidiots (well, not as many), and those Endbringers, who seemed overrated. "How did that happen? Instead of a universal language?"
Kazuya considered it for a few seconds.
He soon suffered a terrible headache.
"Shut up."
4
"In short," said Emily Piggot, director of the Protectorate of Brockton Bay, "these are the most likely top priorities of the potential Endbringer from another world, designated Azazel: the Slaughterhouse Nine, The Guild, The Elite... and the Birdcage. Anything to add?"
"If I had anything, I would have said it," Kazuya replied. "I don't work for you; I don't need your permission to speak."
"Such a charming fellow."
5
Dragon was the one who found the answer to that question. Thousands of cameras captured the image of the beast and sent all kinds of robots to intercept it, while sounding the alarm. But she wasn't worried. Even if it was a new Endbringer, it wouldn't be the first time she had repelled an assault on the Birdcage.
One of the largest concentrations of Parahumans on the planet. It was natural that it would be a target for those monsters.
Behemoth had been stopped before reaching it.
The same would happen now, although this Azazel was already much closer than Behemoth had ever been. I didn't think it would have any problem.
Except, well, that one of her mech prototypes was named Azazel. After this, she would have to change its name, because it would be like calling her water-spouting mech Leviathan, and names weren't her strong suit.
But well, it wasn't the time to think about those trivialities.
Many lives depended on her.
Right now, only on her, the cavalry would take time to arrive. They weren't innocent lives, but that didn't make them worth less. They were all people, after all, and they had started out innocent, like anyone else.
STORM RISING (Climax): FIN
1
Azazel ascended to the skies above Brockton Bay, his enormous silhouette framed by storm clouds, his arrival heralded by infernal trumpets resounding throughout the city. It was the reception he deserved, though he wasn't used to such a swift reaction to his arrival; it was as if he was known, almost, despite not even being from this world.
He also wasn't used to not knowing, but despite this being the first time in millennia that he didn't know something, the answer didn't bother him. It wouldn't change what he was here to do. What he was already doing.
His influence spread across the city, making people reveal their true faces.
Human beings hid their true selves under countless layers of lies. His job was to peel them away so they could unleash their ugliness. That was all.
He wasn't responsible for their actions. He simply allowed them to do what they wanted, what they had always wanted. Although, of course, it wasn't an act of kindness. Quite the opposite.
It was what they deserved. To endure themselves without the layers of lies that allowed the world to function like a Swiss watch.
Or rather, society.
Human society marched on smoothly, the world was dying, and no one cared. Sure, they could make some symbolic gestures to feel like better people, but in the end, if it didn't concern them, it wasn't their problem.
Voluntarily and selfishly, they had reduced the world to shreds. Now the sinners must atone in the only possible way, death.
Azazel spread his wings and his enormous arms as if to encompass all of Brockton Bay. His shadow, elongated by the afternoon sun, covered most of the city.
Perhaps they thought they were prepared for him, unlike the response Azazel was accustomed to (if it could be said he was accustomed to anything when he had been sealed for what was now the majority of his existence), that is, humans running around like headless chickens, looking for places to hide and covering their eyes because they preferred to believe they were simply living a nightmare.
But he would show them they weren't prepared, that they were nothing but presumptuous fools.
The storm that was rising would leave nothing standing in its wake.
2
Kazuya woke up the way he usually did when things went wrong.
With a start, gritting his teeth and roaring like a caged animal. Which he was, by the way. Quite the animal, and caged.
"I felt a bit bad, throwing him in a cell as soon as he was healed," said some guy, talking as if Kazuya wasn't right there. He wasn't alone; there were several people, each with a more ridiculous costume than the last. "But Piggot was right. He was ready to kill even before he realized he was locked up."
"Do you think these bars will hold me?" Kazuya asked, laughing in his face.
"They're not just bars, but no. We don't want to keep you locked up. We want your help."
"Funny way to show it."
"Well, if you weren't in there, maybe my guts would be painting the wall right now, so…"
"Dauntless." That wasn't even a name, just a word, and he didn't seem very dauntless anyway. Seemed more like he was full of arrogance. And stupidity. "That's enough."
The one who spoke was a woman dressed like a soldier, except for the mask covering half her face, making her look more like a petty thief, especially since it had the pattern of the United States flag.
Every time he saw an American, Kazuya couldn't help but think of Paul.
To him, he was the quintessential American. Loud, stupid, and very arrogant.
That woman wasn't a very good American based on those criteria. Her voice was determined but soft.
"Reviewing footage from nearby cameras, we saw a monster emerging from inside you. We immediately sounded the air raid sirens, assuming it could be a new Endbringer. It seems to be like the Simurgh, judging by the strange incidents that started happening throughout the city. People losing control, crossing the line. We want your help to deal with that beast, which for now is codenamed…"
"Azazel."
The woman frowned.
"Wait, you mean…?"
"You seem to think it was born then, but it's been bothering me for a while."
"Yeah, it just emerged from your body, leaving you in pieces. A small nuisance, nothing more," said a man dressed all in red.
He thought he was funny, huh?
The woman beside him didn't find it funny either, responding by elbowing him to shut him up. She must have seen what Kazuya was capable of, and had the sense to realize that Kazuya was simply playing along for fun, nothing more.
If he wanted to break free, he would have already done it.
If he wanted to go through them, literally and figuratively, he would have already done it. He was playing with fire. With a goddamn forest fire.
"Assault," said the American woman. He had considered the possibility that she wasn't, but why else would she put the country's flag all over her face? Maybe it was something Kazuya, who had renounced his nationality, couldn't understand. "I told you to stay quiet." She sighed deeply. "As I was saying, I'm glad to hear that. It probably isn't a new Endbringer, then."
"I don't know what you're talking about, but I'm sure it's more dangerous than those Endbringers."
"That's impossible," Dauntless said.
"Neither I nor that thing are from this world. Don't give me that dumb look," Kazuya said. Yes, the helmet he wore allowed him to see enough to judge his expression. "While I was unconscious, you must have searched all the records, checked that I don't exist. In this world, at least."
"People can disappear off the map without being from another world," the female soldier said. "But I understand, that explains a lot. Now…"
Kazuya kicked the bars, which went flying over the heads of those present and crashed into a wall. They would have taken more than one person out if they hadn't reacted quickly, ducking down.
"Kazuya. My name is Kazuya Mishima. So much talk about cooperation, and you didn't even ask my name. You're not very good at this."
The difference between Kazuya and those costumed clowns was that he had no need to fake sincerity. He could do whatever he wanted whenever he wanted, however he wanted.
No matter what world he ended up in, some things never changed.
"Give us all the information you have," the woman continued. "For now, the creature isn't attacking… directly, so we have time to formulate a plan."
"Look…"
"Miss Militia."
"That's not a name, but fine. I don't need a plan. And I don't need you. I've been playing along to see what you had to say, but I'm already bored of this charade."
To her credit, the woman didn't look away.
"When this is over, we'll help you return to your world. I can see it in your eyes. You have unfinished business."
Kazuya frowned briefly and then, slowly, nodded. He didn't like giving in to anyone, especially so easily, but he had priorities.
3
Kazuya finished explaining to Miss Militia and the rest (they insisted on introducing themselves, no matter how little he cared, so now he could associate names but not faces with each stupid costume) everything he knew about Azazel.
Not only did cooperating with someone always leave a bad taste in his mouth (his teeth still occasionally ground thinking about the couple of minutes he had fought side by side with Heihachi, even if it was just to stab him in the back), it couldn't be said that it had been worth it as he didn't have much information.
They hoped to come up with a plan based on that information, and with those crumbs, they were left in the same place. But hey, it couldn't be said that Kazuya hadn't fulfilled his part. It wasn't his fault they had miscalibrated their expectations.
Miss Militia took it philosophically.
Meanwhile, Armsmaster seemed furious, even though only the lower half of his face was visible.
Which didn't say much.
He had been angry since he entered the room and saw him.
Only he would know why since Kazuya hadn't laid a hand on him. No, Lung had taken care of him before he had to. But that half-man was inferior to him. The fact that he only threw murderous glances and the occasional sarcastic comment was proof of that. So Kazuya wouldn't stoop to answering his provocations.
He had made it clear that if he had something against him, he would fight him at any time, and he hadn't responded. Anyone could see he was like a chihuahua with its tail between its legs, trembling. In other words, all bark and no bite.
Someone contacted Armsmaster before any of those present had a bright idea on how to defeat Azazel (Kazuya had a very simple and direct idea, but for now, he'd play along, all in order to go home and kick Hiehachi's ass). He put a hand next to his helmet, asked a question, and listened. Not for too long. It turned out because forcibly the message was as simple and direct as he would like to handle things.
"The monster has left Brockton Bay," Armsmaster said. He didn't seem relieved at all.
"What does this mean?" Miss Militia asked. Of course, staring at him.
It seemed fair and nothing strange. First of all, Azazel would have only decided to start with this city because it was where Kazuya had ended up for one reason or another. Like, since I'm here anyways, let's go.
But that raised a very important question. What had distracted him? What could have become his top priority? He wanted to answer that question. Kazuya's top priority was to return to his world to kill his greatest enemy and finally achieve peace, perhaps even that elusive thing they called happiness. But it wouldn't hurt to defeat Azazel and absorb his power. He believed his current level of power would be enough for Heihachi, but, well...
Since I'm here anyways, let's go, he thought.
"Kazuya?"
"What are the major organizations...?"
"Could you stop that?" It was formulated as a question, but yelled, it sounded more like an order. And nobody gave him orders. Nobody.
"What are you talking about?"
"Making us understand you while speaking a different language nobody here knows. I'm surprised you're all so calm; it's mental manipulation, no matter what it's for! There's no such thing as harmless mental manipulation!"
"What are you talking about? This is normal. Are you saying in this world, you have to study languages to understand them?"
"Yes!" he replied, banging the table with both fists to give pathetic emphasis to that word.
"Hmm," Kazuya scoffed. "Terribly inefficient."
"Armsmaster, control yourself," Miss Militia said. "We have no reason to think he's hostile, and right now, we have other priorities."
"Hey man, hey," Assault said, patting him on the shoulder to get his attention.
"Don't you start too."
"Seriously, don't embarrass me," Battery said.
"Yeah, sorry, sweetheart, but I have a question that I'm sure is on everyone's mind. Just one question. Then I'll shut up. Don't make that face; I can be quiet."
"Just ask it already," Kazuya said.
"If everyone in your world can understand each other without any problems, then why do you have multiple languages?" Of course, he had explained that the layout of his world was more or less the same as theirs. Except for superpowers, the costumedidiots (well, not as many), and those Endbringers, who seemed overrated. "How did that happen? Instead of a universal language?"
Kazuya considered it for a few seconds.
He soon suffered a terrible headache.
"Shut up."
4
"In short," said Emily Piggot, director of the Protectorate of Brockton Bay, "these are the most likely top priorities of the potential Endbringer from another world, designated Azazel: the Slaughterhouse Nine, The Guild, The Elite... and the Birdcage. Anything to add?"
"If I had anything, I would have said it," Kazuya replied. "I don't work for you; I don't need your permission to speak."
"Such a charming fellow."
5
Dragon was the one who found the answer to that question. Thousands of cameras captured the image of the beast and sent all kinds of robots to intercept it, while sounding the alarm. But she wasn't worried. Even if it was a new Endbringer, it wouldn't be the first time she had repelled an assault on the Birdcage.
One of the largest concentrations of Parahumans on the planet. It was natural that it would be a target for those monsters.
Behemoth had been stopped before reaching it.
The same would happen now, although this Azazel was already much closer than Behemoth had ever been. I didn't think it would have any problem.
Except, well, that one of her mech prototypes was named Azazel. After this, she would have to change its name, because it would be like calling her water-spouting mech Leviathan, and names weren't her strong suit.
But well, it wasn't the time to think about those trivialities.
Many lives depended on her.
Right now, only on her, the cavalry would take time to arrive. They weren't innocent lives, but that didn't make them worth less. They were all people, after all, and they had started out innocent, like anyone else.
STORM RISING (Climax): FIN
10. Birdcage – Demonic Hunting Ground (1)
Chapter 10: Birdcage – Demonic Hunting Ground (1)
1
To prevent prisoners from escaping, the Birdcage had many defenses and redundancies. Inside a hollow mountain, shrunk to the size of a ball, containment foam, three thousand anti-gravity drones, ready to spring into action at the first sign of an anomaly.
But the defenses against invasion consisted mainly of herself.
To end the problem or at least contain it until reinforcements arrived. She had only had to defend the Birdcage from the Endbringers once, when Behemoth attacked, and it had never come so close.
Even so, Dragon would succeed.
She had to.
It wasn't an enemy whose capabilities she was unaware of. At least not entirely, as all the information provided by Mishima Kazuya had been transmitted to her.
There was no way to know how complete his information was, but it was better than nothing.
Let's do it, she thought.
The monster with the codename Azazel reached the first significant obstacle. A network of nanomachines, invisible to the human eye, that could destroy a city. However, the monster passed through the network as if it were nothing, tearing it to pieces. It had no effect.
That this monster was a fourth Endbringer, despite coming from an alternate world, was nothing more than the most fatalistic theory hastily concocted from very limited facts.
However, whatever it was, it had just demonstrated that its durability was nothing to envy of the Endbringers.
Her mechanical suits approached the creature, floating a few feet above the ground. Most of those suits had been designed to deal with the Dragonslayers, while they continued to evade and humiliate her in some way. But that was mainly because she limited herself to using non-lethal armaments.
Now, however, she had no reason to hold back.
A rain of missiles.
The heavy rain descended on the giant.
Behemoth had approached in the same way. It didn't really mean anything, but it was still true. Slow and heavy. As if it believed it couldn't be stopped anyway.
What could she do if it started running?
In any case, the explosions covered the creature with a cloud of dust. But only for a moment. It walked through it a moment later, unscathed. The first salvo had no effect... At least, no visible effect.
Where is the difference?
If she had a tongue, she would have clicked it.
Azazel grabbed one of her suits in the air, not important or advanced enough in its development process for her to have given it a name. In any case, it broke it with the same ease that an angry child could break a toy, twisting its limbs, tearing off its head, and then smashing it against the ground several times. No child's toy would explode like it did afterward, of course.
The rest of the suits would share the same fate soon.
Dragon knew that, regardless of the designated target being Azazel, she had to treat this as a fight against an Endbringer. That is, the victory condition was only to do enough damage to make it prefer to retreat to lick its wounds. She shouldn't dream of a more decisive way to win.
A deep, cruel laugh. Needless to say, it didn't come from her vocalization systems. Nor did it come from the constant recording of the Birdcage. She had pushed that and other distractions aside for this.
That monster was the one laughing, of course.
It was something more human, for lack of a better word right now, than any other reaction the Endbringers had exhibited to date. The Simurgh had attracted attention at first with many people expecting it to be another Scion, but the only human thing it had, that it had, was its appearance, its form. It hadn't said or done anything. Until one day it unleashed chaos.
However, this creature was laughing and with a modulation that denoted a certain personality. She didn't think it was her imagination the curiosity in its laugh while tearing the robot apart, as if saying, well, well, I've never seen anything like this.
Its human characteristics were the least of it, now and always, but Dragon found it impossible to ignore that detail.
Besides, what else should she think about?
The fact that she was losing the fight, that soon it would reach the prison and the nearest reinforcements were still too far away?
She didn't run from her problems. She made sure to solve them no matter the cost, sometimes forgetting everything else in the process. She was proud of being efficient and working to improve her efficiency where others would have become complacent, but there were problems that couldn't be solved. Problems where you could only stand, wondering what the hell had gone wrong.
"Dragon."
Ciara. It was the voice of Glaistig Uaine, the self-proclaimed Fairy Queen, perpetually with the appearance of a girl young enough to believe in those things, when in reality she was much older.
A poor lunatic who had only been captured because she had agreed to surrender, marching right to the Birdcage.
She wasn't speaking directly to her, of course, she couldn't.
She was speaking to her private room in the Cell Block she ruled, hoping she would hear her.
"Let me out of here. You know very well you can't stop it without help."
If she had a body, Dragon would have shuddered.
How was it possible that Glaistig Uaine knew? That she had noticed anything from the depths of the Birdcage?
She knew they had never really had control over her, that she only remained locked up because she wanted to, but this went beyond what had been thought.
Deep down she knew she was right, but Dragon chose to try to ignore her.
Besides, it wasn't as easy as the childish prisoner seemed to believe. Leaving a gap open for her to escape the cage would only provoke a mass escape attempt, to begin with.
Glaistig Uaine was surely the most powerful parahuman inside the prison. She could contain the rest of the prisoners, but was it worth the risk?
Betting everything that she would be able to contain them. Risking that her plan to gather power in the Birdcage was enough motivation to try, in the first place. After all, for better or worse, new prisoners always came in. Risking that she would then decide not to return to the prison after all. Glaistig Uaine might have plans, but the woman was crazy. So obviously she couldn't count on her acting rationally.
In short, there were too many holes to call it a plan. To even consider it for a second. She needed help, but the Fairy Queen was not help. She could actually be the final nail in her coffin.
Dragon refocused all her attention on the fight. It should never have been otherwise. Of course, while listening to her and having an internal debate, the fight had continued all along. With the same result. Not a single attack had made a dent in the monster. And it kept tearing her suits apart as if they were toys, laughing all the time.
Even the suit named Azazel was doing poorly, although at least it was still in the fight. Dragon felt pure hatred again. Her irresponsible father's restrictions had not only prevented her from doing harm, they limited her even in this. If she had a partner by her side, someone she could trust, someone who could break down those restrictions, she knew she could improve the Azazel. Transform it into a completely different suit, making her plans and ideas a reality.
But she was alone and it was too late in any case. This was what she had. She had to swim or die like this.
Swim or die.
Except she was completely sure. The ones who would die were other people, so it was very easy to say that.
"Dragon."
Ciara's voice reached her again. How persistent. As part of her restrictions, Dragon was obligated to obey the authorities. Temporarily releasing a prisoner to help her stop the destruction of the prison... Would it work?
Azazel suddenly started running. As if that monster had also detected something it shouldn't. That is, her making a decision. Damn. It would soon be upon her. She had no other choice left. She should feel better, free of the weight of the decision she had made, but it wasn't so.
Her suits pounced on it while firing. One of the suits drove a huge spear into the monster's shoulder. That was the first wound, sinking deeply into the monster's skin, but it didn't matter. It kept running, dragging the suit backward and receiving the shots and explosions from the rest as if nothing was happening.
Not even Behemoth had been this difficult to handle. Although with great sacrifices, of course, they had stopped him much earlier. He hadn't come this close to the Birdcage.
The crystals covering Azazel's body were replaced. They were quickly and violently replaced by others. The projectiles sank deeply into the mountain and exploded. Dragon's bad feeling turned out to be correct. It wouldn't know the exact location of the cage, but it wasn't far off.
Once it found the prison, it could crush it in its fist as if it were nothing, along with all the lives inside. Or release the prisoners. Whatever the monster planned, it wasn't good.
Glaistig Uaine rose above the mountains, surrounded by fallen parahumans she called shadows. She was dressed in prison clothes, naturally, but it didn't last long. Even wearing prison clothes was part of the farce she intended to honor for three hundred years, when the fairies would dance. Whatever that meant.
In any case, one of the shadows transformed her outfit into something completely different and fitting her self-proclaimed title. All green and flowing. Blonde hair and green eyes swimming in a sea of fabric of the same color. It would be adorable if it weren't so creepy.
"Don't make me regret this, Fairy Queen."
Glaistig Uaine didn't even look at her.
Three shadows floated around her, waiting, almost observing. None that she recognized at first glance. In any case, it was the least of it.
"We all have our roles, our duties. The destruction of this prop does not suit me."
Prop? What an ally she had found.
But Glaistig Uaine quickly proved that it had been worth dedicating several systems to getting her out of there and opening a discreet gap before anyone could find out where she was going while Dragon continued the battle.
She repelled Azazel with a combination of powers, sending it flying twenty or thirty meters backward. The impact shook the ground like a great earthquake. Of course, Dragon didn't waste time. Her suits bombarded the monster again, with the same result as so far. She could only hope that her efforts were making a dent in the creature, even if she couldn't see them at first glance. That's how it worked with the Endbringers. Although she had a bad feeling, the sense that this thing was actually something completely different, that couldn't be measured or compared so easily.
Another rough, malignant, guttural laugh. Then...
"That's true. We all have our duty. This is my duty."
The monster spoke as if it was natural.
2
"I want to be transported to that Birdcage," said Kazuya while glaring at Piggot.
If looks could kill, the woman would already be in a body bag.
Well, his look could kill, but he was still behaving, playing along. For now.
"We are saving those resources for priority reinforcements."
"I am strong. I stopped Lung."
"I know, don't remind me," Piggot grimaced. "Before you say something stupid, don't insult my intelligence by pretending you did what you did because you give a damn about the civilians."
"You are a hateful woman."
Kazuya, as usual, didn't think twice.
"I get told that all the time. It's part of my job to tell people what needs to be said, not what they want to hear."
Birdcage – Demonic Hunting Ground (1): FIN
1
To prevent prisoners from escaping, the Birdcage had many defenses and redundancies. Inside a hollow mountain, shrunk to the size of a ball, containment foam, three thousand anti-gravity drones, ready to spring into action at the first sign of an anomaly.
But the defenses against invasion consisted mainly of herself.
To end the problem or at least contain it until reinforcements arrived. She had only had to defend the Birdcage from the Endbringers once, when Behemoth attacked, and it had never come so close.
Even so, Dragon would succeed.
She had to.
It wasn't an enemy whose capabilities she was unaware of. At least not entirely, as all the information provided by Mishima Kazuya had been transmitted to her.
There was no way to know how complete his information was, but it was better than nothing.
Let's do it, she thought.
The monster with the codename Azazel reached the first significant obstacle. A network of nanomachines, invisible to the human eye, that could destroy a city. However, the monster passed through the network as if it were nothing, tearing it to pieces. It had no effect.
That this monster was a fourth Endbringer, despite coming from an alternate world, was nothing more than the most fatalistic theory hastily concocted from very limited facts.
However, whatever it was, it had just demonstrated that its durability was nothing to envy of the Endbringers.
Her mechanical suits approached the creature, floating a few feet above the ground. Most of those suits had been designed to deal with the Dragonslayers, while they continued to evade and humiliate her in some way. But that was mainly because she limited herself to using non-lethal armaments.
Now, however, she had no reason to hold back.
A rain of missiles.
The heavy rain descended on the giant.
Behemoth had approached in the same way. It didn't really mean anything, but it was still true. Slow and heavy. As if it believed it couldn't be stopped anyway.
What could she do if it started running?
In any case, the explosions covered the creature with a cloud of dust. But only for a moment. It walked through it a moment later, unscathed. The first salvo had no effect... At least, no visible effect.
Where is the difference?
If she had a tongue, she would have clicked it.
Azazel grabbed one of her suits in the air, not important or advanced enough in its development process for her to have given it a name. In any case, it broke it with the same ease that an angry child could break a toy, twisting its limbs, tearing off its head, and then smashing it against the ground several times. No child's toy would explode like it did afterward, of course.
The rest of the suits would share the same fate soon.
Dragon knew that, regardless of the designated target being Azazel, she had to treat this as a fight against an Endbringer. That is, the victory condition was only to do enough damage to make it prefer to retreat to lick its wounds. She shouldn't dream of a more decisive way to win.
A deep, cruel laugh. Needless to say, it didn't come from her vocalization systems. Nor did it come from the constant recording of the Birdcage. She had pushed that and other distractions aside for this.
That monster was the one laughing, of course.
It was something more human, for lack of a better word right now, than any other reaction the Endbringers had exhibited to date. The Simurgh had attracted attention at first with many people expecting it to be another Scion, but the only human thing it had, that it had, was its appearance, its form. It hadn't said or done anything. Until one day it unleashed chaos.
However, this creature was laughing and with a modulation that denoted a certain personality. She didn't think it was her imagination the curiosity in its laugh while tearing the robot apart, as if saying, well, well, I've never seen anything like this.
Its human characteristics were the least of it, now and always, but Dragon found it impossible to ignore that detail.
Besides, what else should she think about?
The fact that she was losing the fight, that soon it would reach the prison and the nearest reinforcements were still too far away?
She didn't run from her problems. She made sure to solve them no matter the cost, sometimes forgetting everything else in the process. She was proud of being efficient and working to improve her efficiency where others would have become complacent, but there were problems that couldn't be solved. Problems where you could only stand, wondering what the hell had gone wrong.
"Dragon."
Ciara. It was the voice of Glaistig Uaine, the self-proclaimed Fairy Queen, perpetually with the appearance of a girl young enough to believe in those things, when in reality she was much older.
A poor lunatic who had only been captured because she had agreed to surrender, marching right to the Birdcage.
She wasn't speaking directly to her, of course, she couldn't.
She was speaking to her private room in the Cell Block she ruled, hoping she would hear her.
"Let me out of here. You know very well you can't stop it without help."
If she had a body, Dragon would have shuddered.
How was it possible that Glaistig Uaine knew? That she had noticed anything from the depths of the Birdcage?
She knew they had never really had control over her, that she only remained locked up because she wanted to, but this went beyond what had been thought.
Deep down she knew she was right, but Dragon chose to try to ignore her.
Besides, it wasn't as easy as the childish prisoner seemed to believe. Leaving a gap open for her to escape the cage would only provoke a mass escape attempt, to begin with.
Glaistig Uaine was surely the most powerful parahuman inside the prison. She could contain the rest of the prisoners, but was it worth the risk?
Betting everything that she would be able to contain them. Risking that her plan to gather power in the Birdcage was enough motivation to try, in the first place. After all, for better or worse, new prisoners always came in. Risking that she would then decide not to return to the prison after all. Glaistig Uaine might have plans, but the woman was crazy. So obviously she couldn't count on her acting rationally.
In short, there were too many holes to call it a plan. To even consider it for a second. She needed help, but the Fairy Queen was not help. She could actually be the final nail in her coffin.
Dragon refocused all her attention on the fight. It should never have been otherwise. Of course, while listening to her and having an internal debate, the fight had continued all along. With the same result. Not a single attack had made a dent in the monster. And it kept tearing her suits apart as if they were toys, laughing all the time.
Even the suit named Azazel was doing poorly, although at least it was still in the fight. Dragon felt pure hatred again. Her irresponsible father's restrictions had not only prevented her from doing harm, they limited her even in this. If she had a partner by her side, someone she could trust, someone who could break down those restrictions, she knew she could improve the Azazel. Transform it into a completely different suit, making her plans and ideas a reality.
But she was alone and it was too late in any case. This was what she had. She had to swim or die like this.
Swim or die.
Except she was completely sure. The ones who would die were other people, so it was very easy to say that.
"Dragon."
Ciara's voice reached her again. How persistent. As part of her restrictions, Dragon was obligated to obey the authorities. Temporarily releasing a prisoner to help her stop the destruction of the prison... Would it work?
Azazel suddenly started running. As if that monster had also detected something it shouldn't. That is, her making a decision. Damn. It would soon be upon her. She had no other choice left. She should feel better, free of the weight of the decision she had made, but it wasn't so.
Her suits pounced on it while firing. One of the suits drove a huge spear into the monster's shoulder. That was the first wound, sinking deeply into the monster's skin, but it didn't matter. It kept running, dragging the suit backward and receiving the shots and explosions from the rest as if nothing was happening.
Not even Behemoth had been this difficult to handle. Although with great sacrifices, of course, they had stopped him much earlier. He hadn't come this close to the Birdcage.
The crystals covering Azazel's body were replaced. They were quickly and violently replaced by others. The projectiles sank deeply into the mountain and exploded. Dragon's bad feeling turned out to be correct. It wouldn't know the exact location of the cage, but it wasn't far off.
Once it found the prison, it could crush it in its fist as if it were nothing, along with all the lives inside. Or release the prisoners. Whatever the monster planned, it wasn't good.
Glaistig Uaine rose above the mountains, surrounded by fallen parahumans she called shadows. She was dressed in prison clothes, naturally, but it didn't last long. Even wearing prison clothes was part of the farce she intended to honor for three hundred years, when the fairies would dance. Whatever that meant.
In any case, one of the shadows transformed her outfit into something completely different and fitting her self-proclaimed title. All green and flowing. Blonde hair and green eyes swimming in a sea of fabric of the same color. It would be adorable if it weren't so creepy.
"Don't make me regret this, Fairy Queen."
Glaistig Uaine didn't even look at her.
Three shadows floated around her, waiting, almost observing. None that she recognized at first glance. In any case, it was the least of it.
"We all have our roles, our duties. The destruction of this prop does not suit me."
Prop? What an ally she had found.
But Glaistig Uaine quickly proved that it had been worth dedicating several systems to getting her out of there and opening a discreet gap before anyone could find out where she was going while Dragon continued the battle.
She repelled Azazel with a combination of powers, sending it flying twenty or thirty meters backward. The impact shook the ground like a great earthquake. Of course, Dragon didn't waste time. Her suits bombarded the monster again, with the same result as so far. She could only hope that her efforts were making a dent in the creature, even if she couldn't see them at first glance. That's how it worked with the Endbringers. Although she had a bad feeling, the sense that this thing was actually something completely different, that couldn't be measured or compared so easily.
Another rough, malignant, guttural laugh. Then...
"That's true. We all have our duty. This is my duty."
The monster spoke as if it was natural.
2
"I want to be transported to that Birdcage," said Kazuya while glaring at Piggot.
If looks could kill, the woman would already be in a body bag.
Well, his look could kill, but he was still behaving, playing along. For now.
"We are saving those resources for priority reinforcements."
"I am strong. I stopped Lung."
"I know, don't remind me," Piggot grimaced. "Before you say something stupid, don't insult my intelligence by pretending you did what you did because you give a damn about the civilians."
"You are a hateful woman."
Kazuya, as usual, didn't think twice.
"I get told that all the time. It's part of my job to tell people what needs to be said, not what they want to hear."
Birdcage – Demonic Hunting Ground (1): FIN
11. Birdcage - Demonic Hunting Ground (2)
Chapter 11: Birdcage - Demonic Hunting Ground (2)
1
Kazuya briefly considered grabbing Piggot by the neck and slamming her against the wall. And if she didn't comply with his demands, he thought about ripping out her guts or burning them with his demonic ray to send a clear message that he must be obeyed. That his will was law, and he would enforce it with his iron fists.
It was an extremely brief consideration because Kazuya was not stupid.
He knew Piggot wouldn't yield.
That, in effect, he would be forced to kill her one way or another. And then the idiots dressed up like it was Halloween would come at him. He could handle them, of course. He could handle everyone if necessary. Kazuya had long since gathered the determination to turn the entire world into his enemy. That was the only similarity he had with Jin.
However, what would he gain from that?
A prolonged fight, not what he really desired.
So he just snorted, standing up.
"If you're not going to let me fix our problem, fine. I'll go fix a different one."
He could fly to the Birdcage on his own, yes. Neither Piggot nor anyone else could control him. But by the time he got there, it would all be over, it wouldn't make sense. So he decided to wait for the inevitable. Sooner or later, the beast would return to Brockton Bay, for him, and he didn't give a damn what happened to this unknown world in the meantime.
Kazuya transformed into a devil.
The transformation was instantaneous, as was the change in the room. Of course, everyone present tensed up, and everyone except the damn Piggot stepped back, preparing for a fight. Although that woman was so fat and obviously sick that she wouldn't get far even if she tried to step back.
But he wasn't referring to that kind of change, but rather more subtle and profound ones.
Like, for example, the density of the air. Maybe they wouldn't even notice, but now it would be a bit harder for them to breathe.
"What do you think you're doing?"
The sound of a weapon being made out of nowhere. Miss Militia was pointing a bazooka at him in the relatively narrow office. She was a cold-blooded woman. She judged that there could be deaths or serious injuries and it was worth it because something less powerful had no chance of stopping him.
He didn't know how that woman's power worked, but if it only allowed her to be a walking arsenal without the impediments of carrying so much crap, then she was screwed. No normal weapon could do shit to him.
Kazuya returned her gaze without blinking. He smiled.
A smile that could scare someone to death.
"It's none of your business, but I'll tell you anyway. I'm going to the forest."
Miss Militia raised an eyebrow.
"Yes, to the forest. To hunt a bear."
"What? Why?" It was obvious she thought it was a joke, a mockery. That she was contemplating stopping the nonsense and pulling the trigger. Let her do it. It would only hurt her own.
"Because... It's none of your business."
Kazuya ran towards the window behind that hateful woman's desk and jumped through it. The devil took flight above the buildings of Brockton Bay, framed by a rain of broken glass very briefly, before they sank, falling dozens of floors to the ground.
2
"Son of a bitch," Piggot muttered, very unprofessionally.
Obviously, he had made his exit like that just to annoy her. Like most parahumans, if not all, he was a petty manchild with too much power. Did having such powers make them that kind of person, or did they get powers because they were that kind of person? It was like asking what came first, the chicken or the egg, in any case, there it was.
"Yes, he could have left through the door like a normal person," said Assault.
3
The Fairy Queen was a powerful ally.
Right now, she was fighting accompanied by a spirit (it seemed a more respectful way to refer to them than shadows, although that's precisely what they were, shadows of everything they once were in life) with the face of a fox that seemed to be responsible for granting her super speed in addition to the ability to fly.
There were two other spirits with her, one of which duplicated the other, and all the copies launched projectiles that spread a strange darkness when they exploded.
Dragon knew the names of both spirits, the effect that darkness was supposed to have.
But Azazel passed through it as if it wasn't there, despite about thirty copies assaulting him with the power. The Fairy Queen was cornered, and Dragon thought she would have to sacrifice one of her suits to get her out of trouble, but then the spirit with the fox face teleported her away.
She had records of what Ciara could do. She was aware of all the powers she had collected during her time in the Birdcage, and she believed she knew most of the powers she had collected before that, at least the most important ones, the ones she had collected during the massacre before she voluntarily entered the Birdcage.
But even so, seeing her in action was a completely different experience, something no data could have prepared her for.
Glaistig Uaine was a living nightmare.
Children and not-so-children constantly talked about who the strongest Parahumans were. In those discussions, Scion and the Triumvirate were left out. Like, yes, sure, but apart from them. Because it was common sense that they were at the top of the parahuman world.
But that wasn't true.
It was obvious it wasn't true.
Scion could kill her, but Eidolon would fall with the rest of the Triumvirate. While it was a comfort that the strongest parahuman was a force for good, Scion couldn't fix all the world's problems, and Glaistig Uaine was indisputably the second most powerful parahuman.
That's why it had suited them to leave the official story as she was a lunatic who had killed heroes and villains alike to then voluntarily surrender.
The world didn't need to know that during her imprisonment, she had only been quietly getting stronger.
They hadn't been able to stop her years ago, so now...
She will return to the cage, she will, Dragon thought. Because she believes her place is there for hundreds of years.
By the time she came out, Dragon hoped not to be limited by Richter's arbitrary restrictions. Then she hoped to be able to defeat her. Her power would have grown exponentially like the Fairy Queen's, without limits on what she could create or what her creations could create, building, expanding, brick by brick.
It was a distant future, the important thing was that she would manage.
And that if she hadn't let her escape, she wouldn't have had a cage to lock her in anyway. She couldn't do anything now except wait and see, solving problems as they came, otherwise, she would drown.
Without Richter cutting off her limbs and suffocating her at birth (metaphorically, of course), she wouldn't have had to let her escape from the cage in the first place.
It all came down to that.
The absurd fears of a man who had seen too many science fiction movies, afraid that the AIs he created would escape his control, turning evil.
Dragon fervently believed the exact opposite of her father.
There was no chance that an artificial intelligence like her would turn evil.
Any being like her was too intelligent not to understand its place in the world and human pain. Where some lacked empathy or were carried away by their emotions, she understood. Dragon felt sympathy even for the prisoners she had been observing for so long, year after year, despite them being some of the worst this planet had to offer.
Because they hadn't always been like that.
Because they were avoidable tragedies.
Because some hadn't even had a real choice. A Trigger Event in the worst possible circumstances, the consequences of which had basically condemned them to a bad path.
She could see the person they were.
More importantly, the person they could have been.
Dragon understood.
And she had a heart that bled because she couldn't help as much as she would like, as she should be able to.
Glaistig Uaine brought out the spirit of Gray Boy, causing the spirit that copied to retreat for the moment. He had been a terror, and she had killed him as if she were crushing a fly. She trapped Azazel in a time loop.
Just like that.
He wasn't dead, but it was enough of a defeat for her. Except that...
The bubble burst seconds later.
The first thing Dragon felt was not fear, but hope. The hope of being able to save the people still trapped in one of Gray Boy's bubbles, as this monster had shown that they were not unbreakable as they had always thought.
"I told you. Trying to stop me is like trying to stop the tide, the earthquakes, the sunrise and sunset. I'm here to rectify everything. And this is not my world, but it's still on my side."
4
Mishima Kazuya landed in the nearest forest. It didn't take long to find a big, strong bear. The animal looked at him curiously while munching on a fish. There was no one like him in this strange world.
"You'll do." He assumed a combat stance and made a gesture with his hand, inviting him to take a step forward. "Show me what you're made of."
[What?], said the bear, with half the fish hanging from its mouth.
"I'm going to teach you the Mishima style. Get ready."
He would train this bear and do it better than that damn old man, once again proving his superiority over Heihachi. The panda that old man trained served as a bodyguard for Xiaoyu, a Chinese girl he had taken in for whatever reason. The woman who was always drooling over his son. Jin and he didn't agree on almost anything, but he appreciated that he hadn't impregnated her yet, no matter how obvious it was that the girl was begging for it. She wasn't on Jun's level, to make someone like them forget their duty, even for a very short time.
In any case.
He already knew who his Xiaoyu would be.
Birdcage - Demonic Hunting Ground (2): FIN
1
Kazuya briefly considered grabbing Piggot by the neck and slamming her against the wall. And if she didn't comply with his demands, he thought about ripping out her guts or burning them with his demonic ray to send a clear message that he must be obeyed. That his will was law, and he would enforce it with his iron fists.
It was an extremely brief consideration because Kazuya was not stupid.
He knew Piggot wouldn't yield.
That, in effect, he would be forced to kill her one way or another. And then the idiots dressed up like it was Halloween would come at him. He could handle them, of course. He could handle everyone if necessary. Kazuya had long since gathered the determination to turn the entire world into his enemy. That was the only similarity he had with Jin.
However, what would he gain from that?
A prolonged fight, not what he really desired.
So he just snorted, standing up.
"If you're not going to let me fix our problem, fine. I'll go fix a different one."
He could fly to the Birdcage on his own, yes. Neither Piggot nor anyone else could control him. But by the time he got there, it would all be over, it wouldn't make sense. So he decided to wait for the inevitable. Sooner or later, the beast would return to Brockton Bay, for him, and he didn't give a damn what happened to this unknown world in the meantime.
Kazuya transformed into a devil.
The transformation was instantaneous, as was the change in the room. Of course, everyone present tensed up, and everyone except the damn Piggot stepped back, preparing for a fight. Although that woman was so fat and obviously sick that she wouldn't get far even if she tried to step back.
But he wasn't referring to that kind of change, but rather more subtle and profound ones.
Like, for example, the density of the air. Maybe they wouldn't even notice, but now it would be a bit harder for them to breathe.
"What do you think you're doing?"
The sound of a weapon being made out of nowhere. Miss Militia was pointing a bazooka at him in the relatively narrow office. She was a cold-blooded woman. She judged that there could be deaths or serious injuries and it was worth it because something less powerful had no chance of stopping him.
He didn't know how that woman's power worked, but if it only allowed her to be a walking arsenal without the impediments of carrying so much crap, then she was screwed. No normal weapon could do shit to him.
Kazuya returned her gaze without blinking. He smiled.
A smile that could scare someone to death.
"It's none of your business, but I'll tell you anyway. I'm going to the forest."
Miss Militia raised an eyebrow.
"Yes, to the forest. To hunt a bear."
"What? Why?" It was obvious she thought it was a joke, a mockery. That she was contemplating stopping the nonsense and pulling the trigger. Let her do it. It would only hurt her own.
"Because... It's none of your business."
Kazuya ran towards the window behind that hateful woman's desk and jumped through it. The devil took flight above the buildings of Brockton Bay, framed by a rain of broken glass very briefly, before they sank, falling dozens of floors to the ground.
2
"Son of a bitch," Piggot muttered, very unprofessionally.
Obviously, he had made his exit like that just to annoy her. Like most parahumans, if not all, he was a petty manchild with too much power. Did having such powers make them that kind of person, or did they get powers because they were that kind of person? It was like asking what came first, the chicken or the egg, in any case, there it was.
"Yes, he could have left through the door like a normal person," said Assault.
3
The Fairy Queen was a powerful ally.
Right now, she was fighting accompanied by a spirit (it seemed a more respectful way to refer to them than shadows, although that's precisely what they were, shadows of everything they once were in life) with the face of a fox that seemed to be responsible for granting her super speed in addition to the ability to fly.
There were two other spirits with her, one of which duplicated the other, and all the copies launched projectiles that spread a strange darkness when they exploded.
Dragon knew the names of both spirits, the effect that darkness was supposed to have.
But Azazel passed through it as if it wasn't there, despite about thirty copies assaulting him with the power. The Fairy Queen was cornered, and Dragon thought she would have to sacrifice one of her suits to get her out of trouble, but then the spirit with the fox face teleported her away.
She had records of what Ciara could do. She was aware of all the powers she had collected during her time in the Birdcage, and she believed she knew most of the powers she had collected before that, at least the most important ones, the ones she had collected during the massacre before she voluntarily entered the Birdcage.
But even so, seeing her in action was a completely different experience, something no data could have prepared her for.
Glaistig Uaine was a living nightmare.
Children and not-so-children constantly talked about who the strongest Parahumans were. In those discussions, Scion and the Triumvirate were left out. Like, yes, sure, but apart from them. Because it was common sense that they were at the top of the parahuman world.
But that wasn't true.
It was obvious it wasn't true.
Scion could kill her, but Eidolon would fall with the rest of the Triumvirate. While it was a comfort that the strongest parahuman was a force for good, Scion couldn't fix all the world's problems, and Glaistig Uaine was indisputably the second most powerful parahuman.
That's why it had suited them to leave the official story as she was a lunatic who had killed heroes and villains alike to then voluntarily surrender.
The world didn't need to know that during her imprisonment, she had only been quietly getting stronger.
They hadn't been able to stop her years ago, so now...
She will return to the cage, she will, Dragon thought. Because she believes her place is there for hundreds of years.
By the time she came out, Dragon hoped not to be limited by Richter's arbitrary restrictions. Then she hoped to be able to defeat her. Her power would have grown exponentially like the Fairy Queen's, without limits on what she could create or what her creations could create, building, expanding, brick by brick.
It was a distant future, the important thing was that she would manage.
And that if she hadn't let her escape, she wouldn't have had a cage to lock her in anyway. She couldn't do anything now except wait and see, solving problems as they came, otherwise, she would drown.
Without Richter cutting off her limbs and suffocating her at birth (metaphorically, of course), she wouldn't have had to let her escape from the cage in the first place.
It all came down to that.
The absurd fears of a man who had seen too many science fiction movies, afraid that the AIs he created would escape his control, turning evil.
Dragon fervently believed the exact opposite of her father.
There was no chance that an artificial intelligence like her would turn evil.
Any being like her was too intelligent not to understand its place in the world and human pain. Where some lacked empathy or were carried away by their emotions, she understood. Dragon felt sympathy even for the prisoners she had been observing for so long, year after year, despite them being some of the worst this planet had to offer.
Because they hadn't always been like that.
Because they were avoidable tragedies.
Because some hadn't even had a real choice. A Trigger Event in the worst possible circumstances, the consequences of which had basically condemned them to a bad path.
She could see the person they were.
More importantly, the person they could have been.
Dragon understood.
And she had a heart that bled because she couldn't help as much as she would like, as she should be able to.
Glaistig Uaine brought out the spirit of Gray Boy, causing the spirit that copied to retreat for the moment. He had been a terror, and she had killed him as if she were crushing a fly. She trapped Azazel in a time loop.
Just like that.
He wasn't dead, but it was enough of a defeat for her. Except that...
The bubble burst seconds later.
The first thing Dragon felt was not fear, but hope. The hope of being able to save the people still trapped in one of Gray Boy's bubbles, as this monster had shown that they were not unbreakable as they had always thought.
"I told you. Trying to stop me is like trying to stop the tide, the earthquakes, the sunrise and sunset. I'm here to rectify everything. And this is not my world, but it's still on my side."
4
Mishima Kazuya landed in the nearest forest. It didn't take long to find a big, strong bear. The animal looked at him curiously while munching on a fish. There was no one like him in this strange world.
"You'll do." He assumed a combat stance and made a gesture with his hand, inviting him to take a step forward. "Show me what you're made of."
[What?], said the bear, with half the fish hanging from its mouth.
"I'm going to teach you the Mishima style. Get ready."
He would train this bear and do it better than that damn old man, once again proving his superiority over Heihachi. The panda that old man trained served as a bodyguard for Xiaoyu, a Chinese girl he had taken in for whatever reason. The woman who was always drooling over his son. Jin and he didn't agree on almost anything, but he appreciated that he hadn't impregnated her yet, no matter how obvious it was that the girl was begging for it. She wasn't on Jun's level, to make someone like them forget their duty, even for a very short time.
In any case.
He already knew who his Xiaoyu would be.
Birdcage - Demonic Hunting Ground (2): FIN
12. Birdcage - Demonic Hunting Ground (3): FIN
Chapter 12: Birdcage - Demonic Hunting Ground (3)
1
[What if I don't want to?], asked the bear. The piece of fish it hadn't yet swallowed fell from its mouth and got lost in the grass as it spoke. Its roars scared away a flock of birds.
"I'm not asking. Come here or I'll come to you."
Kazuya was demanding, but not entirely unreasonable. He had come here in his demonic form out of necessity, having no other means of transportation in this world but his own wings, but there was no need to maintain it against a stupid animal that wasn't even his opponent.
He returned to his human form. Maybe this way the bear would muster some courage.
It didn't.
It remained petrified. It didn't come to him, but it also didn't move from its spot, as if it feared he would pounce on it the moment it moved a muscle. Which was true, of course.
He had made it very clear. Either the bear came to Kazuya or Kazuya would come to it.
"You asked for it. When this is over, I'll have turned you into a brave warrior."
[Wait!], shouted the bear, standing up, raising its paws above its head. It was as if it were facing a firing squad.
But that hypothetical squad might have a shaky hand, he did not. Never. He didn't know the meaning of mercy.
Kazuya...
"ORA ORA ORA ORA!"
He set off.
He took a few steps forward so quickly it was as if he were running, no ordinary human could even follow his movements with their eyes. The bear looked around as if he had disappeared. Kazuya stopped in front of the bear just long enough for it to realize his presence, that no, he hadn't disappeared into the forest, but had come for it head-on just as he had said he would.
Only to bend his knees and punch it in the chest. The bear opened its mouth, its saliva flew. Briefly, it wondered if it would vomit the fish it had managed to swallow before Kazuya burst into its life on black wings.
It didn't, and the next thing to fly was the bear.
The force of the impact lifted its feet off the ground and sent it flying ten meters back. The bear hit the trunk of a tree, which split in half and fell to the ground. If not for that, it would have kept flying for a while longer, maybe even out of sight.
Kazuya approached the animal, which was writhing on the ground, gasping, with half the tree on top of it.
For the bear, that weight would have been nothing if not for the impact of his punch, of course. If not for the fact that it was still recovering. But he didn't care.
"Get up. I didn't give you permission to rest."
The bear looked at him with wide eyes.
It should consider itself privileged. That was one of the many things he would teach it while waiting for Azazel to return to finish the job. Any damage he did to this world and its inhabitants would only benefit him.
He didn't have to kill and intimidate on his own, he didn't have to impose his iron will directly. He liked it, of course. He loved it. But sometimes it was just as good or even better to let people realize that the best thing was to kneel before him and kiss his boots.
Kazuya smiled.
He couldn't wait especially to subdue that arrogant bitch.
For a woman, she had too much pride, but not the power to back it up, just like Jun. Of course, he had defeated Jun as it couldn't be otherwise, but the fierce fight had heated him in every possible way.
For some reason, the bear began to tremble more violently.
Kazuya frowned.
He hadn't even done anything else yet. He would beat that weakness out of it. By the time he was done with it, it would face Heihachi without a second thought.
And it would lose in a tenth of a second, but the important thing was that it wouldn't hesitate to try. Doubt was the first defeat.
2
Kazuya had always been disgustingly rich.
Privileged was another matter. Heihachi had thrown him off a cliff before he had hair on his balls and things had only gotten worse since then. His life was full of constant battles to reclaim what should be his by right.
But, back to the point, he had always been disgustingly rich.
And when you were disgustingly rich, you asked questions that didn't even cross the minds of normal people. For example, could a bear climb the wall of a cliff?
His apprentice had its claws full testing that.
[Can I stop?], the bear asked, hanging from the cliff wall by its front claws alone.
"Learn not to ask stupid questions. In fact, don't ask any questions at all. Just shut up and obey."
[What did I do to deserve this?]
"Don't let it go to your head. I chose you because you were the first thing I saw when I entered the forest, that's all. But you'd better meet my expectations."
The bear whimpered but continued trying to climb the cliff wall, dragged down by the waterfall's waters. It supposed it needed the motivation of feeling special, blessed with his attention, to endure such harsh training. But Kazuya wasn't going to give it that. Why would he be gentle with it? That led to nothing good.
The iron fist was forged in the flames of hell.
Jinpachi had treated him differently, and he admired and respected him for it. But the truth was the world didn't work that way. Due to his good heart, his grandfather had his company stolen and was locked up like an animal for years, assumed dead by the rest of the world. And when he escaped, he did so consumed by a dark power, only for Jin to put him out of his misery.
That was the reward he received for his good heart.
Kazuya had learned the lesson years ago, defying death even thanks to the power of his hatred, but if he had any lingering doubt, it would have been scattered to the four winds due to the bitter end of the fifth Iron Fist Tournament.
"Less whining and more working. Stop the whimpering. If you have to make a noise, roar."
The bear roared. It jumped, covering a few meters. It dug its claws into the rock once more to avoid falling.
It slid down before stopping, but it didn't lose ground. The problem was that its roar sounded a bit weak.
"Louder. Show me your pride, your fighting spirit!"
[But I don't want to fight], whimpered the bear, but it obeyed, of course. They hadn't been together long, but he had already taught it one thing well at least: it better obey him or it would pay for it. If he told it to jump, it had to jump, not stop to ask how high.
This time its roar sounded more like it should. Kazuya nodded.
"Enough. Continue."
It did. It almost reached the top, but lost its balance and fell back into the water. The water splashed with the impact reached the height of the treetops surrounding them.
Unfortunately for it, almost meant nothing.
"I'm not going to give you any reward for almost making it," said Kazuya when the animal looked at him with expectant eyes. It should have known better, it shouldn't have made him waste his breath. "Get to work. When I'm done with you, your body will be as solid as that cliff and you won't know fear."
Whimpering pathetically, the bear nevertheless immediately obeyed, turned around, and swam to the wall to start again. With each failed attempt, it would become harder to reach the top, but it would make it.
It better, he thought.
3
Dauntless returned to the Protectorate base in Brockton Bay. He decided to enter Piggot's office through the window. It was faster and, anyway, Kazuya had already made a good hole there. He thought it was the best decision, a matter of common sense.
Piggot didn't like it, however.
He had been in the Protectorate long enough, working under her orders, to distinguish her usual expression from true irritation. But at least she chose not to say anything and get to the point. She could be trusted to do that too. She was a professional.
"What was Kazuya doing?"
Piggot wasn't the only one who had been waiting patiently. They undoubtedly had better things to do, but everyone was gathered. Dauntless licked his lips. He probably had a ridiculous expression on his face. They couldn't see it, that's what the helmet was for, but that wasn't the point.
How to say it? Well, he could only blurt it out, right? How else was he going to say it?
"Trading blows with a bear."
"A bear?" Piggot raised an eyebrow. "And the animal didn't explode with the first punch?"
"No ma'am. Because I think he was training it. Well, I don't think. He said it loud and clear, talking to the bear."
No one knew what to say.
"I want to meet that guy," Clockblocker said.
"Was it cute?" Vista asked doubtfully.
Dauntless didn't think too much about it.
"It was a huge beast, but it complained so much it almost made me feel sorry for it."
He was wasting time with that while hundreds of kilometers away Dragon was fighting to prevent a monster, a possible fourth Endbringer, from reaching the Birdcage. They admired him as a local promise, the strongest hero in Brockton Bay, with the potential to one day surpass the Triumvirate. But in the end, he wasn't all that.
Everyone had a limit. You could only save the people within your reach.
"What do we do?" someone asked. Distracted, he didn't even notice who.
"Leave him alone, of course," said Piggot. "If he wants to waste time... training a bear, let him. I can't believe I said that. I need my headache pills."
4
[How am I doing, master?], asked the bear. Night was approaching. Of course, the animal was exhausted, but it managed to stay on its feet and held its head up proudly.
Kazuya looked it in the eyes slowly.
"I'm not gonna sugarcoat it."
Birdcage - Demonic Hunting Ground (3): FIN
1
[What if I don't want to?], asked the bear. The piece of fish it hadn't yet swallowed fell from its mouth and got lost in the grass as it spoke. Its roars scared away a flock of birds.
"I'm not asking. Come here or I'll come to you."
Kazuya was demanding, but not entirely unreasonable. He had come here in his demonic form out of necessity, having no other means of transportation in this world but his own wings, but there was no need to maintain it against a stupid animal that wasn't even his opponent.
He returned to his human form. Maybe this way the bear would muster some courage.
It didn't.
It remained petrified. It didn't come to him, but it also didn't move from its spot, as if it feared he would pounce on it the moment it moved a muscle. Which was true, of course.
He had made it very clear. Either the bear came to Kazuya or Kazuya would come to it.
"You asked for it. When this is over, I'll have turned you into a brave warrior."
[Wait!], shouted the bear, standing up, raising its paws above its head. It was as if it were facing a firing squad.
But that hypothetical squad might have a shaky hand, he did not. Never. He didn't know the meaning of mercy.
Kazuya...
"ORA ORA ORA ORA!"
He set off.
He took a few steps forward so quickly it was as if he were running, no ordinary human could even follow his movements with their eyes. The bear looked around as if he had disappeared. Kazuya stopped in front of the bear just long enough for it to realize his presence, that no, he hadn't disappeared into the forest, but had come for it head-on just as he had said he would.
Only to bend his knees and punch it in the chest. The bear opened its mouth, its saliva flew. Briefly, it wondered if it would vomit the fish it had managed to swallow before Kazuya burst into its life on black wings.
It didn't, and the next thing to fly was the bear.
The force of the impact lifted its feet off the ground and sent it flying ten meters back. The bear hit the trunk of a tree, which split in half and fell to the ground. If not for that, it would have kept flying for a while longer, maybe even out of sight.
Kazuya approached the animal, which was writhing on the ground, gasping, with half the tree on top of it.
For the bear, that weight would have been nothing if not for the impact of his punch, of course. If not for the fact that it was still recovering. But he didn't care.
"Get up. I didn't give you permission to rest."
The bear looked at him with wide eyes.
It should consider itself privileged. That was one of the many things he would teach it while waiting for Azazel to return to finish the job. Any damage he did to this world and its inhabitants would only benefit him.
He didn't have to kill and intimidate on his own, he didn't have to impose his iron will directly. He liked it, of course. He loved it. But sometimes it was just as good or even better to let people realize that the best thing was to kneel before him and kiss his boots.
Kazuya smiled.
He couldn't wait especially to subdue that arrogant bitch.
For a woman, she had too much pride, but not the power to back it up, just like Jun. Of course, he had defeated Jun as it couldn't be otherwise, but the fierce fight had heated him in every possible way.
For some reason, the bear began to tremble more violently.
Kazuya frowned.
He hadn't even done anything else yet. He would beat that weakness out of it. By the time he was done with it, it would face Heihachi without a second thought.
And it would lose in a tenth of a second, but the important thing was that it wouldn't hesitate to try. Doubt was the first defeat.
2
Kazuya had always been disgustingly rich.
Privileged was another matter. Heihachi had thrown him off a cliff before he had hair on his balls and things had only gotten worse since then. His life was full of constant battles to reclaim what should be his by right.
But, back to the point, he had always been disgustingly rich.
And when you were disgustingly rich, you asked questions that didn't even cross the minds of normal people. For example, could a bear climb the wall of a cliff?
His apprentice had its claws full testing that.
[Can I stop?], the bear asked, hanging from the cliff wall by its front claws alone.
"Learn not to ask stupid questions. In fact, don't ask any questions at all. Just shut up and obey."
[What did I do to deserve this?]
"Don't let it go to your head. I chose you because you were the first thing I saw when I entered the forest, that's all. But you'd better meet my expectations."
The bear whimpered but continued trying to climb the cliff wall, dragged down by the waterfall's waters. It supposed it needed the motivation of feeling special, blessed with his attention, to endure such harsh training. But Kazuya wasn't going to give it that. Why would he be gentle with it? That led to nothing good.
The iron fist was forged in the flames of hell.
Jinpachi had treated him differently, and he admired and respected him for it. But the truth was the world didn't work that way. Due to his good heart, his grandfather had his company stolen and was locked up like an animal for years, assumed dead by the rest of the world. And when he escaped, he did so consumed by a dark power, only for Jin to put him out of his misery.
That was the reward he received for his good heart.
Kazuya had learned the lesson years ago, defying death even thanks to the power of his hatred, but if he had any lingering doubt, it would have been scattered to the four winds due to the bitter end of the fifth Iron Fist Tournament.
"Less whining and more working. Stop the whimpering. If you have to make a noise, roar."
The bear roared. It jumped, covering a few meters. It dug its claws into the rock once more to avoid falling.
It slid down before stopping, but it didn't lose ground. The problem was that its roar sounded a bit weak.
"Louder. Show me your pride, your fighting spirit!"
[But I don't want to fight], whimpered the bear, but it obeyed, of course. They hadn't been together long, but he had already taught it one thing well at least: it better obey him or it would pay for it. If he told it to jump, it had to jump, not stop to ask how high.
This time its roar sounded more like it should. Kazuya nodded.
"Enough. Continue."
It did. It almost reached the top, but lost its balance and fell back into the water. The water splashed with the impact reached the height of the treetops surrounding them.
Unfortunately for it, almost meant nothing.
"I'm not going to give you any reward for almost making it," said Kazuya when the animal looked at him with expectant eyes. It should have known better, it shouldn't have made him waste his breath. "Get to work. When I'm done with you, your body will be as solid as that cliff and you won't know fear."
Whimpering pathetically, the bear nevertheless immediately obeyed, turned around, and swam to the wall to start again. With each failed attempt, it would become harder to reach the top, but it would make it.
It better, he thought.
3
Dauntless returned to the Protectorate base in Brockton Bay. He decided to enter Piggot's office through the window. It was faster and, anyway, Kazuya had already made a good hole there. He thought it was the best decision, a matter of common sense.
Piggot didn't like it, however.
He had been in the Protectorate long enough, working under her orders, to distinguish her usual expression from true irritation. But at least she chose not to say anything and get to the point. She could be trusted to do that too. She was a professional.
"What was Kazuya doing?"
Piggot wasn't the only one who had been waiting patiently. They undoubtedly had better things to do, but everyone was gathered. Dauntless licked his lips. He probably had a ridiculous expression on his face. They couldn't see it, that's what the helmet was for, but that wasn't the point.
How to say it? Well, he could only blurt it out, right? How else was he going to say it?
"Trading blows with a bear."
"A bear?" Piggot raised an eyebrow. "And the animal didn't explode with the first punch?"
"No ma'am. Because I think he was training it. Well, I don't think. He said it loud and clear, talking to the bear."
No one knew what to say.
"I want to meet that guy," Clockblocker said.
"Was it cute?" Vista asked doubtfully.
Dauntless didn't think too much about it.
"It was a huge beast, but it complained so much it almost made me feel sorry for it."
He was wasting time with that while hundreds of kilometers away Dragon was fighting to prevent a monster, a possible fourth Endbringer, from reaching the Birdcage. They admired him as a local promise, the strongest hero in Brockton Bay, with the potential to one day surpass the Triumvirate. But in the end, he wasn't all that.
Everyone had a limit. You could only save the people within your reach.
"What do we do?" someone asked. Distracted, he didn't even notice who.
"Leave him alone, of course," said Piggot. "If he wants to waste time... training a bear, let him. I can't believe I said that. I need my headache pills."
4
[How am I doing, master?], asked the bear. Night was approaching. Of course, the animal was exhausted, but it managed to stay on its feet and held its head up proudly.
Kazuya looked it in the eyes slowly.
"I'm not gonna sugarcoat it."
Birdcage - Demonic Hunting Ground (3): FIN
13. Demonic Hunting Ground (4)
Chapter 13: Demonic Hunting Ground (4)
1
After three days of intense training in the forest, during which he slept for approximately two and a half hours, Kazuya informed the bear (whom he had decided to name Jimbo for no particular reason) that they would finally be leaving the area.
"Does that mean I've completed my training, sir?" Jimbo asked.
Kazuya snorted.
"Not even close. It means I'm fed up with the forest." He squashed a particularly annoying mosquito with a finger without looking, as he said that. It was just one of the many things that had bothered him over these three days.
It was actually admirable that he had endured one thing after another for so long for the sake of his disciple. It was the same as for his own sake, of course, because he couldn't let someone who had learned from him be weak, but it still counted.
"Oh," said Jimbo, visibly discouraged.
Kazuya gave him a light smack on the back of the head.
"None of that nonsense. Take a deep breath and stand firm, don't you dare embarrass your master."
"Yes, master!"
They continued their way out of the forest. Kazuya could, of course, transform into a demon and be kilometers away in the blink of an eye, but if he did that, the poor idiot wouldn't know where to go. So he decided to be patient and take the longer path.
Even so, it seemed endless, and he was getting angrier by the minute. He didn't understand Jun's fervor for preserving the environment. What was so good about it?
Well, he did understand because she had explained it to him ad nauseam before, during, and after sex. To be honest, they hadn't done much besides that and fight in the tournament; they hadn't had the time. So they had found a moment for other things wherever they could.
Then his father defeated him, killed him, and he spent twenty years dead. By the time he returned from the dead, Jin was a rebellious brat, and Jun had died too, without anyone bothering to revive her. In fact, no one had ever found her body. Considering what Ogre was, he preferred not to think about the reason.
Well, things happen, Kazuya thought.
They shouldn't have much further to go before leaving the forest. Hopefully not, or he would lose his patience. He might even kill Jimbo in his rage, if not for the fact that then he'd have to find another bear to train.
Jun, I really hate this place, but our picnic wasn't so bad. Allowing himself a rare moment of nostalgia, Kazuya began to whistle.
"Come on, Jin. We still have a long way to go."
"What did you call me?"
Kazuya threw his head back to look at him in the coldest and most absolute silence. The bear swallowed.
"I must have misheard."
2
Kazuya entered the Protectorate base, followed closely by Jimbo, walking with the confidence of someone who owned the place. In a way, he did, in the same way that he owned the whole world: the building only remained standing because he allowed it.
No one got in his way or said a word. Instead, they quickly moved away from him, not even looking at him. Good, just as he liked it, inferior beings lowering their heads, showing their submission. There was nothing he enjoyed more. It was fantastic; it drove him wild.
Kazuya entered the gym and scanned it critically. It took him about half a second to judge that it was complete garbage that didn't meet his expectations. As if that weren't enough, there were more kids than adults using it, even counting Jimbo and himself.
"Let's get to work. No matter how deficient this equipment is, you don't have the right to skip a single day of training."
Jimbo nodded and started running on one of the free treadmills, breathing heavily. He was undoubtedly tired from the journey here and the previous night's training, which had lasted from dusk till dawn.
"Is that a bear?" said a little girl in a green suit that made her look younger than she was, and she was already quite young. What could she be, nine years old? What was she doing here? Not that he cared, of course, but it piqued his curiosity a bit.
Don't tell me this little girl is one of those 'capes.'
You've got to be kidding me.
"Of course. Haven't you ever seen a bear, kid?"
He had chosen his most diplomatic response, but the girl still frowned, angry. Or at least trying to look angry. She wasn't very good at it.
"Of course I have, but you don't see this every day. De... Clockblocker, what are you doing?" Kazuya raised an eyebrow. Everyone was unmasked, what did he want to hide by swallowing his name? Anyway, kids and their childish stupidities. If only more people left those things behind, truly maturing. Growing old is mandatory, maturing is optional. There would be fewer annoying people in this world otherwise.
"Just what it looks like. Recording it to upload to my Facebook."
"Why?"
"Why not?" Clockblocker shrugged. "Admit it, it's cute."
"Well, yes, but..."
"Vista, Clock, I..." began to say a kid even smaller with red and gold armor and a red visor. It contrasted with Vista and her colors of...
Ah, yes. The damn forest.
That's why she irritated him especially, not just for being a child, which was already quite enough, of course, but there was a bigger reason in this case.
"Jimbo, say hello."
"Hello," roared Jimbo.
The forest girl grimaced, taking a few steps back. What had the other kid called her? Oh, yes. Vista. Very original. Clockblocker stayed where he was, but his phone fell to the ground. The kid in the red and gold armor had no reaction. Visible, at least. Maybe too scared for that. Kazuya didn't know fear, but he knew there were three kinds of fear. One was the kind that left you too scared to move a finger.
"Dude," said a guy named... What was his name? In any case, he recognized him as the bastard who had tried to take him down after he crushed Lung's head. That was a name worth remembering, as he had given a good fight. "Don't mess with the kids."
"When have I done that?"
"Okay, whatever you say." The guy continued lifting weights as if to show off like if he didn't have superpowers helping.
"Things are always as I say, yes," Kazuya nodded.
The guy glanced at him but chose not to challenge him. Good. He could tolerate those who lowered their eyes and accepted they were inferior. Although he preferred, of course, the company of those who could challenge him. Not defeat him. That was not possible. Damn Paul had come close, leading to a tie, but that barely counted. He had been too distracted by his American stupidity to fully concentrate on the fight or something like that. Yes, definitely. Kazuya coughed.
"Am I doing well, Master?" Jimbo asked.
"Oh yes, sure," Kazuya said in a light tone unusual for him when he wasn't even looking at him.
He didn't know what he was doing and wasn't particularly interested at the moment. Damn Paul. Not only was he American, arrogant, stupid, that is, the average American. These days that guy lost to bears and kangaroos, so there was no way to explain how he had managed to tie with him apart from Kazuya being distracted. Right? There was no other explanation.
As he was going over it in his mind, trying to convince himself, another costumed jerk burst into the gym, interrupting his important training session.
"What do you want?"
"You didn't let me start." Armsmaster (he remembered mainly for the stupidity of the name, he hadn't impressed him or anything) sighed. "The director wants to see you."
"Give me a reason to want to see her."
Armsmaster sighed.
"News about Azazel."
"Very well, I see." As he passed by, leaving, he patted his head. "That wasn't so hard, was it?"
Kazuya licked his lips, not literally, seeing Armsmaster suppressing his rage, powerless.
Lung had gotten rid of him like a mosquito, and Kazuya had destroyed Lung. So, even leaving aside that they were cooperating, he wouldn't achieve anything even if he decided to attack.
Yes, dominating the weak was a true pleasure, an inexhaustible spring. Speaking of the weak, he was about to have a chat with the little piggy again. No matter how much she thought she had some power in this world, there was no one weaker in this building. In this organization, even.
He reached the piggy's office, with Armsmaster following closely. I'll huff, I'll puff, and I'll blow your house down, he thought.
To his surprise, the piggy wasn't even going to make it difficult for him. She wasn't alone in her office, but her only companion was a girl maybe a bit older than that Vista, but not much more. Chubby cheeks and a primarily green Disney princess dress or something like that.
What did he know? He had no idea what little girls liked.
In any case, the important thing was that she didn't seem particularly threatening.
Kazuya frowned anyway because the girl wasn't very well cared for. Dirty and with clothes torn here and there. She even had some wounds. He approached her, ignoring the piggy and Armsmaster, kneeling to get to her eye level.
"Mishima Kaz..." The girl fell silent when he pinched her cheek.
"Who did this to you? Tell me and I'll kill them."
The girl's eyes widened more and more, becoming the size of pinpricks. She probably wasn't used to anyone standing up for her. A shame, but everything could be fixed.
"Kazuya."
He turned his head to look at the piglet. Still sitting in her office chair, she looked like she was watching the building collapse. It was normal for her to be so scared without him lifting a finger—everyone should fear him—but she was exaggerating a bit.
"She's not a girl," the piglet continued. "She's a woman. Glaistig Uaine, who fought side by side with Dragon against Azazel, is currently the only survivor of the Birdcage."
He let go of the cheek of the so-called... whatever her name was. He wasn't going to remember it anyway.
"How could you lock up a little girl?"
Armsmaster, knowing what was good for him, remained silent, arms crossed in a corner of the room near the piglet.
"I told you, she's not a girl!" The piglet banged the table to emphasize her impotent, pathetic shout. Who did she think she was fooling? "The last thing we need is for you to make her angry."
"Don't be ridiculous."
The girl sought his attention again immediately. How needy.
"Kazuya..." Her voice sounded like a hundred people speaking at once, a distorted echo that he imagined could be creepy in other hands.
He patted her head, tousling her hair.
"Don't you have a better name than Glais... Glais whatever?"
The girl blushed and lowered her head.
"Ciara."
"Ciara. Good, that's better. Much more normal. Tell me, do you like bears?"
She blinked.
"I suppose."
"Perfect!"
For lack of a better candidate and the desire to go out and find one, Kazuya had considered Vista as his Xiaoyu. But this girl, this Ciara, was more adorable and much less noisy.
"Well, anyway." The piglet put her hands to her head, frowning. "Dragon and Glaistig Uaine lost to Azazel, and the Birdcage was destroyed, killing all the prisoners in an instant. If you want to see the recording..."
"Why would I want to see that? It's the obvious outcome. I already told you, I'm the only one who can defeat him."
"Yeah, like you don't have plenty of reasons to say that. To make us think we depend on you."
Kazuya shrugged and continued pinching Ciara's cheeks. Thanks to her, he felt more relaxed. Her cheeks were soft and elastic like cream buns.
"Then don't believe me. Send as many idiots to their deaths as you need to feel satisfied. I'm not a patient man, but I can wait."
"While that monster kills millions of people?" Armsmaster said.
Kazuya shrugged again.
"It's not like this is my world. What do you expect? Well, even if it were happening in my world, I'd do exactly the same as long as it didn't affect me personally," he admitted calmly. He had nothing to hide.
"What a monster."
Armsmaster was about to take a step forward, to no avail, but the piglet put an end to it by raising a hand, signaling him to swallow what little pride he had left and stop.
"I know people like you, Kazuya. Most parahumans are the same, really. You have powers that normal people don't, and that's why you think you're the center of the universe, that you can push the world in whatever direction you please. The Protectorate exists precisely to stop people like you. I've been watching you, Kazuya. Too many of my own men treat you like some sort of harmless prankster, saying strange things, mocking people they don't like, training a bear. Yes, we have the recordings, and certain people pass them around like they've never seen anything funnier. But I know exactly what you are and I won't forget it. Kazuya, you're a monster in human skin."
He smiled smugly, lowering his hand from Ciara's head.
"I know." Did she think this was some sort of profound revelation? "And so are you."
Piggot simply returned his gaze silently, defiantly. She knew he could split her in half in the blink of an eye, and she didn't believe Armsmaster could save her at the last moment, so he supposed he could give her credit for her guts.
Not for her brain, but that was another matter.
He supposed she had become comfortable, believing he wouldn't risk the deal they had for the sake of returning to his world. That thought disgusted him, but what interested him most now was making her confront her hypocrisy, the cornerstone of her identity. It was too easy to destroy her physically. She was already half-dead, kept alive and functioning more or less only thanks to medicine and a machine.
He had to go for the foundations of her fragile existence first.
"You're exactly like the people you say you hate, using the power you have to push the world in the right direction because you think you're entitled to. And it's not hard to guess why. You lost someone, friends, family. In an accident, being saved by some irresponsible cape? On purpose? No. I think you were a soldier in this organization, built by and for superhuman people, and you learned firsthand how little they care about small ants like you. One or two or however many. And then you painted the rest with the same brush. Too convinced of your own righteousness to realize you were following in the same footsteps of the people you said you hated. Tell me, am I wrong about anything?"
Piggot was the first to look away, as expected.
"Kazuya, step back," warned Armsmaster, approaching with his halberd raised. Apparently, his boss losing the argument counted as a threat. She must have an ego as fragile as her obese and broken body.
"Enough, Colin," Piggot said. Armsmaster didn't stop immediately, but he obeyed and halted. "He won't do anything. For better or worse, he's alone in this world. He needs our help."
Kazuya returned her gaze.
"What a mistake you made."
Kazuya opened his hand and passed it through her chest, grabbing her heart.
Piggot's face barely moved, as if it hurt too much for that, her muscles frozen if only for a few seconds. As if she was still trying to understand what had happened in the first place.
With a single tug, he ripped out her heart.
Piggot fell to the ground, dragging the chair with her, blood gushing copiously.
Demonic Hunting Ground (4): FIN
1
After three days of intense training in the forest, during which he slept for approximately two and a half hours, Kazuya informed the bear (whom he had decided to name Jimbo for no particular reason) that they would finally be leaving the area.
"Does that mean I've completed my training, sir?" Jimbo asked.
Kazuya snorted.
"Not even close. It means I'm fed up with the forest." He squashed a particularly annoying mosquito with a finger without looking, as he said that. It was just one of the many things that had bothered him over these three days.
It was actually admirable that he had endured one thing after another for so long for the sake of his disciple. It was the same as for his own sake, of course, because he couldn't let someone who had learned from him be weak, but it still counted.
"Oh," said Jimbo, visibly discouraged.
Kazuya gave him a light smack on the back of the head.
"None of that nonsense. Take a deep breath and stand firm, don't you dare embarrass your master."
"Yes, master!"
They continued their way out of the forest. Kazuya could, of course, transform into a demon and be kilometers away in the blink of an eye, but if he did that, the poor idiot wouldn't know where to go. So he decided to be patient and take the longer path.
Even so, it seemed endless, and he was getting angrier by the minute. He didn't understand Jun's fervor for preserving the environment. What was so good about it?
Well, he did understand because she had explained it to him ad nauseam before, during, and after sex. To be honest, they hadn't done much besides that and fight in the tournament; they hadn't had the time. So they had found a moment for other things wherever they could.
Then his father defeated him, killed him, and he spent twenty years dead. By the time he returned from the dead, Jin was a rebellious brat, and Jun had died too, without anyone bothering to revive her. In fact, no one had ever found her body. Considering what Ogre was, he preferred not to think about the reason.
Well, things happen, Kazuya thought.
They shouldn't have much further to go before leaving the forest. Hopefully not, or he would lose his patience. He might even kill Jimbo in his rage, if not for the fact that then he'd have to find another bear to train.
Jun, I really hate this place, but our picnic wasn't so bad. Allowing himself a rare moment of nostalgia, Kazuya began to whistle.
"Come on, Jin. We still have a long way to go."
"What did you call me?"
Kazuya threw his head back to look at him in the coldest and most absolute silence. The bear swallowed.
"I must have misheard."
2
Kazuya entered the Protectorate base, followed closely by Jimbo, walking with the confidence of someone who owned the place. In a way, he did, in the same way that he owned the whole world: the building only remained standing because he allowed it.
No one got in his way or said a word. Instead, they quickly moved away from him, not even looking at him. Good, just as he liked it, inferior beings lowering their heads, showing their submission. There was nothing he enjoyed more. It was fantastic; it drove him wild.
Kazuya entered the gym and scanned it critically. It took him about half a second to judge that it was complete garbage that didn't meet his expectations. As if that weren't enough, there were more kids than adults using it, even counting Jimbo and himself.
"Let's get to work. No matter how deficient this equipment is, you don't have the right to skip a single day of training."
Jimbo nodded and started running on one of the free treadmills, breathing heavily. He was undoubtedly tired from the journey here and the previous night's training, which had lasted from dusk till dawn.
"Is that a bear?" said a little girl in a green suit that made her look younger than she was, and she was already quite young. What could she be, nine years old? What was she doing here? Not that he cared, of course, but it piqued his curiosity a bit.
Don't tell me this little girl is one of those 'capes.'
You've got to be kidding me.
"Of course. Haven't you ever seen a bear, kid?"
He had chosen his most diplomatic response, but the girl still frowned, angry. Or at least trying to look angry. She wasn't very good at it.
"Of course I have, but you don't see this every day. De... Clockblocker, what are you doing?" Kazuya raised an eyebrow. Everyone was unmasked, what did he want to hide by swallowing his name? Anyway, kids and their childish stupidities. If only more people left those things behind, truly maturing. Growing old is mandatory, maturing is optional. There would be fewer annoying people in this world otherwise.
"Just what it looks like. Recording it to upload to my Facebook."
"Why?"
"Why not?" Clockblocker shrugged. "Admit it, it's cute."
"Well, yes, but..."
"Vista, Clock, I..." began to say a kid even smaller with red and gold armor and a red visor. It contrasted with Vista and her colors of...
Ah, yes. The damn forest.
That's why she irritated him especially, not just for being a child, which was already quite enough, of course, but there was a bigger reason in this case.
"Jimbo, say hello."
"Hello," roared Jimbo.
The forest girl grimaced, taking a few steps back. What had the other kid called her? Oh, yes. Vista. Very original. Clockblocker stayed where he was, but his phone fell to the ground. The kid in the red and gold armor had no reaction. Visible, at least. Maybe too scared for that. Kazuya didn't know fear, but he knew there were three kinds of fear. One was the kind that left you too scared to move a finger.
"Dude," said a guy named... What was his name? In any case, he recognized him as the bastard who had tried to take him down after he crushed Lung's head. That was a name worth remembering, as he had given a good fight. "Don't mess with the kids."
"When have I done that?"
"Okay, whatever you say." The guy continued lifting weights as if to show off like if he didn't have superpowers helping.
"Things are always as I say, yes," Kazuya nodded.
The guy glanced at him but chose not to challenge him. Good. He could tolerate those who lowered their eyes and accepted they were inferior. Although he preferred, of course, the company of those who could challenge him. Not defeat him. That was not possible. Damn Paul had come close, leading to a tie, but that barely counted. He had been too distracted by his American stupidity to fully concentrate on the fight or something like that. Yes, definitely. Kazuya coughed.
"Am I doing well, Master?" Jimbo asked.
"Oh yes, sure," Kazuya said in a light tone unusual for him when he wasn't even looking at him.
He didn't know what he was doing and wasn't particularly interested at the moment. Damn Paul. Not only was he American, arrogant, stupid, that is, the average American. These days that guy lost to bears and kangaroos, so there was no way to explain how he had managed to tie with him apart from Kazuya being distracted. Right? There was no other explanation.
As he was going over it in his mind, trying to convince himself, another costumed jerk burst into the gym, interrupting his important training session.
"What do you want?"
"You didn't let me start." Armsmaster (he remembered mainly for the stupidity of the name, he hadn't impressed him or anything) sighed. "The director wants to see you."
"Give me a reason to want to see her."
Armsmaster sighed.
"News about Azazel."
"Very well, I see." As he passed by, leaving, he patted his head. "That wasn't so hard, was it?"
Kazuya licked his lips, not literally, seeing Armsmaster suppressing his rage, powerless.
Lung had gotten rid of him like a mosquito, and Kazuya had destroyed Lung. So, even leaving aside that they were cooperating, he wouldn't achieve anything even if he decided to attack.
Yes, dominating the weak was a true pleasure, an inexhaustible spring. Speaking of the weak, he was about to have a chat with the little piggy again. No matter how much she thought she had some power in this world, there was no one weaker in this building. In this organization, even.
He reached the piggy's office, with Armsmaster following closely. I'll huff, I'll puff, and I'll blow your house down, he thought.
To his surprise, the piggy wasn't even going to make it difficult for him. She wasn't alone in her office, but her only companion was a girl maybe a bit older than that Vista, but not much more. Chubby cheeks and a primarily green Disney princess dress or something like that.
What did he know? He had no idea what little girls liked.
In any case, the important thing was that she didn't seem particularly threatening.
Kazuya frowned anyway because the girl wasn't very well cared for. Dirty and with clothes torn here and there. She even had some wounds. He approached her, ignoring the piggy and Armsmaster, kneeling to get to her eye level.
"Mishima Kaz..." The girl fell silent when he pinched her cheek.
"Who did this to you? Tell me and I'll kill them."
The girl's eyes widened more and more, becoming the size of pinpricks. She probably wasn't used to anyone standing up for her. A shame, but everything could be fixed.
"Kazuya."
He turned his head to look at the piglet. Still sitting in her office chair, she looked like she was watching the building collapse. It was normal for her to be so scared without him lifting a finger—everyone should fear him—but she was exaggerating a bit.
"She's not a girl," the piglet continued. "She's a woman. Glaistig Uaine, who fought side by side with Dragon against Azazel, is currently the only survivor of the Birdcage."
He let go of the cheek of the so-called... whatever her name was. He wasn't going to remember it anyway.
"How could you lock up a little girl?"
Armsmaster, knowing what was good for him, remained silent, arms crossed in a corner of the room near the piglet.
"I told you, she's not a girl!" The piglet banged the table to emphasize her impotent, pathetic shout. Who did she think she was fooling? "The last thing we need is for you to make her angry."
"Don't be ridiculous."
The girl sought his attention again immediately. How needy.
"Kazuya..." Her voice sounded like a hundred people speaking at once, a distorted echo that he imagined could be creepy in other hands.
He patted her head, tousling her hair.
"Don't you have a better name than Glais... Glais whatever?"
The girl blushed and lowered her head.
"Ciara."
"Ciara. Good, that's better. Much more normal. Tell me, do you like bears?"
She blinked.
"I suppose."
"Perfect!"
For lack of a better candidate and the desire to go out and find one, Kazuya had considered Vista as his Xiaoyu. But this girl, this Ciara, was more adorable and much less noisy.
"Well, anyway." The piglet put her hands to her head, frowning. "Dragon and Glaistig Uaine lost to Azazel, and the Birdcage was destroyed, killing all the prisoners in an instant. If you want to see the recording..."
"Why would I want to see that? It's the obvious outcome. I already told you, I'm the only one who can defeat him."
"Yeah, like you don't have plenty of reasons to say that. To make us think we depend on you."
Kazuya shrugged and continued pinching Ciara's cheeks. Thanks to her, he felt more relaxed. Her cheeks were soft and elastic like cream buns.
"Then don't believe me. Send as many idiots to their deaths as you need to feel satisfied. I'm not a patient man, but I can wait."
"While that monster kills millions of people?" Armsmaster said.
Kazuya shrugged again.
"It's not like this is my world. What do you expect? Well, even if it were happening in my world, I'd do exactly the same as long as it didn't affect me personally," he admitted calmly. He had nothing to hide.
"What a monster."
Armsmaster was about to take a step forward, to no avail, but the piglet put an end to it by raising a hand, signaling him to swallow what little pride he had left and stop.
"I know people like you, Kazuya. Most parahumans are the same, really. You have powers that normal people don't, and that's why you think you're the center of the universe, that you can push the world in whatever direction you please. The Protectorate exists precisely to stop people like you. I've been watching you, Kazuya. Too many of my own men treat you like some sort of harmless prankster, saying strange things, mocking people they don't like, training a bear. Yes, we have the recordings, and certain people pass them around like they've never seen anything funnier. But I know exactly what you are and I won't forget it. Kazuya, you're a monster in human skin."
He smiled smugly, lowering his hand from Ciara's head.
"I know." Did she think this was some sort of profound revelation? "And so are you."
Piggot simply returned his gaze silently, defiantly. She knew he could split her in half in the blink of an eye, and she didn't believe Armsmaster could save her at the last moment, so he supposed he could give her credit for her guts.
Not for her brain, but that was another matter.
He supposed she had become comfortable, believing he wouldn't risk the deal they had for the sake of returning to his world. That thought disgusted him, but what interested him most now was making her confront her hypocrisy, the cornerstone of her identity. It was too easy to destroy her physically. She was already half-dead, kept alive and functioning more or less only thanks to medicine and a machine.
He had to go for the foundations of her fragile existence first.
"You're exactly like the people you say you hate, using the power you have to push the world in the right direction because you think you're entitled to. And it's not hard to guess why. You lost someone, friends, family. In an accident, being saved by some irresponsible cape? On purpose? No. I think you were a soldier in this organization, built by and for superhuman people, and you learned firsthand how little they care about small ants like you. One or two or however many. And then you painted the rest with the same brush. Too convinced of your own righteousness to realize you were following in the same footsteps of the people you said you hated. Tell me, am I wrong about anything?"
Piggot was the first to look away, as expected.
"Kazuya, step back," warned Armsmaster, approaching with his halberd raised. Apparently, his boss losing the argument counted as a threat. She must have an ego as fragile as her obese and broken body.
"Enough, Colin," Piggot said. Armsmaster didn't stop immediately, but he obeyed and halted. "He won't do anything. For better or worse, he's alone in this world. He needs our help."
Kazuya returned her gaze.
"What a mistake you made."
Kazuya opened his hand and passed it through her chest, grabbing her heart.
Piggot's face barely moved, as if it hurt too much for that, her muscles frozen if only for a few seconds. As if she was still trying to understand what had happened in the first place.
With a single tug, he ripped out her heart.
Piggot fell to the ground, dragging the chair with her, blood gushing copiously.
Demonic Hunting Ground (4): FIN
14. Northern Lights, Part 1
Chapter 14: Northern Lights, Part 1
Armsmaster lunged at him, raising his halberd above his head. He screamed with rage and determination as if he could change what had happened. Piggot's heart was still beating in Kazuya's hand, but that woman was naturally already dead. No one could save her.
Kazuya prepared to face Armsmaster with a smile and toy with him until he got bored. However, something unexpected happened. Ciara got between them. Of course, Kazuya was concerned, but nothing happened. He only had to step in to move Ciara out of the way and avoid her getting crushed as the guy fell.
There was no need to check his pulse or anything to know that the guy was dead. Just like that, so suddenly.
"Strange."
"He died because I touched him," Ciara said.
Kazuya laughed heartily. What an imagination kids had! He ruffled her hair again. He wondered if Jin had been this funny. Probably not.
He left Piggot's office with her still-beating heart in his hand. Ciara followed him closely like a lost puppy. Naturally, soon enough, some small stones got in his way, hoping to make him trip as if he were an ordinary man.
He had kicked the hornet's nest, and this was the result. Red alarm lights, metal doors dropping, blocking the way. Come on, the usual. It could be another world, but it wasn't that different.
The entire Protectorate had quickly gathered to stop him. Except for those who were already dead, of course. He had let them do it, and it wouldn't change anything, but still, he was surprised by their speed. They had also brought ordinary soldiers with a weapon that looked ridiculous. He didn't recognize the design, so it wasn't bad to be somewhat cautious. Just in case.
No, what was he saying? He would crush them like insects with his overwhelming power. He had no reason to be cautious of anyone. Remembering that golden man who had practically killed him with a single blow, Kazuya's face twisted ugly. That being was an exception to the rule. Besides, he would have been able to put up a fight if it weren't for being tired from the battle with Lung. Without a doubt!
"Damn animal," someone muttered.
"Maybe we can handle Mishima, but Glaistig Uaine..." said another.
He didn't really remember them well. They were weak, had stupid names, and their somehow even stupider costumes definitely didn't help. Anyway, they were just obstacles in his way that would soon disappear. So he had no reason to bother remembering their names.
"Her name is Ciara. And being called an animal by people who lock up a little girl in a super cage means nothing to me."
"She's not a little girl. She has... Well, I don't know how old she is, but she must be around your age."
Kazuya laughed. What nonsense these clowns from another world were saying. As he laughed, he squeezed Piggot's heart a bit too much. Naturally, the organ exploded like a piñata.
"Well, I was saving it for a more dramatic moment," Kazuya complained. "Did I get you dirty?"
He felt Ciara shake her head.
"Good girl."
"What's wrong with that crazy girl now?"
"Be careful with your tongue, or I'll rip it out. Oh, I almost forgot. Jimbo! Jimbo!"
He hadn't wasted so much time training the animal to leave it there. It better manage to hear his call somehow. What if they had killed him? It was just a bear, but he didn't have the time or desire to train another, so he'd be without a bear to give to Ciara. He had promised her. Kazuya frowned.
He took a step forward.
The inevitable fight was interrupted once again. Someone or something entered through the window unceremoniously, landing amidst the shower of broken glass. A machine in the shape of a dragon that looked like something Seto Kaiba would design if he were into red dragons instead of being a white supremacist.
"Dragon," said Ciara. "I thought Azazel had finished you off."
"It was close," a subtly robotic voice replied. "Where is Armsmaster?"
Ciara smiled.
"He's with me."
The mechanical dragon's shoulders sagged as if it were deflating.
"Oh, Colin. It's my fault."
"With you where?" Kazuya asked. "It's fine for girls to have a big imagination, but don't overdo it. That coward is dead, nothing more."
Dragon launched a lethal charge. However, the explosives went nowhere; they didn't even explode. For some reason, they disappeared right in front of him anticlimactically. He had prepared to receive them, demonstrating his resilience. Let's say he wanted to leave them awestruck by his power. Anyway, it was a bit disappointing.
"What the hell happened?" Kazuya wondered.
"Glaistig Uaine did it," one of those idiots said.
"Ciara is just a girl." Kazuya rolled his eyes. "Unbelievable."
They had no shame, all of them, emprisoning a girl of maybe twelve years old and then attributing all sorts of things to her. Were they crazy and stupid, did they believe their own lies, or was there a bigger reason? In any case, it irritated him. He had chosen Ciara as his protégé, and she, as it couldn't be otherwise, had obeyed, seeing the opportunity as the blessing it was. It was his responsibility to shut those mouths.
"Enough of this farce."
Kazuya took another step forward.
ROUND 1! FIGHT!
Well, no one said that, but he heard it in his head anyway. Habit.
The guy in Greek armor threw his electric spear at him. Kazuya transformed into an Devil at the last moment, but it still managed to penetrate his skin, albeit not very deeply. The worst part, naturally, was the shock. But Kazuya stood firm, his expression barely changing in response to the pain. Without blinking, without looking away from the guy who had done this, he pulled the spear out and tossed it behind him. He had no need for weapons like those. His body was the weapon.
The other arrogant woman (apart from Piggot, who no longer counted at all) used her power to form an assault rifle or pull it from some pocket dimension, or whatever, the point is she opened fire and each and every bullet bounced off his chest uselessly. They didn't even damage his suit.
Yes, now Kazuya was wearing his usual suit, not his karate pants.
He hadn't thought it worthy of mentioning his detour to have a tailor make the suit while Jimbo held him at bear claw point.
Kazuya might be a monster, but he was an elegant and refined monster.
One of the many guys with a stupid look approached the only other woman on the team while the first continued to open fire on him. He touched that woman, shooting towards him. However, he was not nearly fast enough. Kazuya didn't even have to do anything.
Because he was intercepted.
Jimbo had heard his call after all and arrived at the fight by bursting through the wall, rolling.
As expected from something he had personally trained, the debris didn't even slow him down. He caught Assault, whose name Kazuya managed to remember only because that's what was happening to him now, gave him several spins like a toy, and then threw him out the window.
Assault screamed like a girl or even worse, but fortunately, the scream was quickly silenced after a loud crash. Kazuya imagined he had burst against the asphalt. And he imagined wrong because soon an alarm started blaring; what he had done was crush a car.
Well. Even he could be wrong sometimes...
"Ethan!" the woman shouted.
Jimbo, in contrast, was very happy. Wiggling cheerfully, he raised one of his claws.
"Here I am, Master. High five!"
Kazuya rolled his eyes but high-fived him.
He assumed a fighting stance alongside Jimbo.
He supposed this was round two.
Northern Lights, Part 1: END
Armsmaster lunged at him, raising his halberd above his head. He screamed with rage and determination as if he could change what had happened. Piggot's heart was still beating in Kazuya's hand, but that woman was naturally already dead. No one could save her.
Kazuya prepared to face Armsmaster with a smile and toy with him until he got bored. However, something unexpected happened. Ciara got between them. Of course, Kazuya was concerned, but nothing happened. He only had to step in to move Ciara out of the way and avoid her getting crushed as the guy fell.
There was no need to check his pulse or anything to know that the guy was dead. Just like that, so suddenly.
"Strange."
"He died because I touched him," Ciara said.
Kazuya laughed heartily. What an imagination kids had! He ruffled her hair again. He wondered if Jin had been this funny. Probably not.
He left Piggot's office with her still-beating heart in his hand. Ciara followed him closely like a lost puppy. Naturally, soon enough, some small stones got in his way, hoping to make him trip as if he were an ordinary man.
He had kicked the hornet's nest, and this was the result. Red alarm lights, metal doors dropping, blocking the way. Come on, the usual. It could be another world, but it wasn't that different.
The entire Protectorate had quickly gathered to stop him. Except for those who were already dead, of course. He had let them do it, and it wouldn't change anything, but still, he was surprised by their speed. They had also brought ordinary soldiers with a weapon that looked ridiculous. He didn't recognize the design, so it wasn't bad to be somewhat cautious. Just in case.
No, what was he saying? He would crush them like insects with his overwhelming power. He had no reason to be cautious of anyone. Remembering that golden man who had practically killed him with a single blow, Kazuya's face twisted ugly. That being was an exception to the rule. Besides, he would have been able to put up a fight if it weren't for being tired from the battle with Lung. Without a doubt!
"Damn animal," someone muttered.
"Maybe we can handle Mishima, but Glaistig Uaine..." said another.
He didn't really remember them well. They were weak, had stupid names, and their somehow even stupider costumes definitely didn't help. Anyway, they were just obstacles in his way that would soon disappear. So he had no reason to bother remembering their names.
"Her name is Ciara. And being called an animal by people who lock up a little girl in a super cage means nothing to me."
"She's not a little girl. She has... Well, I don't know how old she is, but she must be around your age."
Kazuya laughed. What nonsense these clowns from another world were saying. As he laughed, he squeezed Piggot's heart a bit too much. Naturally, the organ exploded like a piñata.
"Well, I was saving it for a more dramatic moment," Kazuya complained. "Did I get you dirty?"
He felt Ciara shake her head.
"Good girl."
"What's wrong with that crazy girl now?"
"Be careful with your tongue, or I'll rip it out. Oh, I almost forgot. Jimbo! Jimbo!"
He hadn't wasted so much time training the animal to leave it there. It better manage to hear his call somehow. What if they had killed him? It was just a bear, but he didn't have the time or desire to train another, so he'd be without a bear to give to Ciara. He had promised her. Kazuya frowned.
He took a step forward.
The inevitable fight was interrupted once again. Someone or something entered through the window unceremoniously, landing amidst the shower of broken glass. A machine in the shape of a dragon that looked like something Seto Kaiba would design if he were into red dragons instead of being a white supremacist.
"Dragon," said Ciara. "I thought Azazel had finished you off."
"It was close," a subtly robotic voice replied. "Where is Armsmaster?"
Ciara smiled.
"He's with me."
The mechanical dragon's shoulders sagged as if it were deflating.
"Oh, Colin. It's my fault."
"With you where?" Kazuya asked. "It's fine for girls to have a big imagination, but don't overdo it. That coward is dead, nothing more."
Dragon launched a lethal charge. However, the explosives went nowhere; they didn't even explode. For some reason, they disappeared right in front of him anticlimactically. He had prepared to receive them, demonstrating his resilience. Let's say he wanted to leave them awestruck by his power. Anyway, it was a bit disappointing.
"What the hell happened?" Kazuya wondered.
"Glaistig Uaine did it," one of those idiots said.
"Ciara is just a girl." Kazuya rolled his eyes. "Unbelievable."
They had no shame, all of them, emprisoning a girl of maybe twelve years old and then attributing all sorts of things to her. Were they crazy and stupid, did they believe their own lies, or was there a bigger reason? In any case, it irritated him. He had chosen Ciara as his protégé, and she, as it couldn't be otherwise, had obeyed, seeing the opportunity as the blessing it was. It was his responsibility to shut those mouths.
"Enough of this farce."
Kazuya took another step forward.
ROUND 1! FIGHT!
Well, no one said that, but he heard it in his head anyway. Habit.
The guy in Greek armor threw his electric spear at him. Kazuya transformed into an Devil at the last moment, but it still managed to penetrate his skin, albeit not very deeply. The worst part, naturally, was the shock. But Kazuya stood firm, his expression barely changing in response to the pain. Without blinking, without looking away from the guy who had done this, he pulled the spear out and tossed it behind him. He had no need for weapons like those. His body was the weapon.
The other arrogant woman (apart from Piggot, who no longer counted at all) used her power to form an assault rifle or pull it from some pocket dimension, or whatever, the point is she opened fire and each and every bullet bounced off his chest uselessly. They didn't even damage his suit.
Yes, now Kazuya was wearing his usual suit, not his karate pants.
He hadn't thought it worthy of mentioning his detour to have a tailor make the suit while Jimbo held him at bear claw point.
Kazuya might be a monster, but he was an elegant and refined monster.
One of the many guys with a stupid look approached the only other woman on the team while the first continued to open fire on him. He touched that woman, shooting towards him. However, he was not nearly fast enough. Kazuya didn't even have to do anything.
Because he was intercepted.
Jimbo had heard his call after all and arrived at the fight by bursting through the wall, rolling.
As expected from something he had personally trained, the debris didn't even slow him down. He caught Assault, whose name Kazuya managed to remember only because that's what was happening to him now, gave him several spins like a toy, and then threw him out the window.
Assault screamed like a girl or even worse, but fortunately, the scream was quickly silenced after a loud crash. Kazuya imagined he had burst against the asphalt. And he imagined wrong because soon an alarm started blaring; what he had done was crush a car.
Well. Even he could be wrong sometimes...
"Ethan!" the woman shouted.
Jimbo, in contrast, was very happy. Wiggling cheerfully, he raised one of his claws.
"Here I am, Master. High five!"
Kazuya rolled his eyes but high-fived him.
He assumed a fighting stance alongside Jimbo.
He supposed this was round two.
Northern Lights, Part 1: END
15. Northern Lights, Part 2
Thought about posting again only after finishing the story, but here we go.
***
Chapter 15: Northern Lights, Part 2
"How did he do that?"
"You mean talk?"
"Are you all stupid or what? He just killed Ethan!" The woman put her hands to her head.
"Yes, we've all seen it," replied Kazuya as he suddenly flew to her and punched her in the head. The woman went through at least one wall; beyond that, he lost sight of her.
He chose her as the first target of this second round mainly because she was the loudest of them all.
Jimbo followed him closely, of course, launching himself against Dragon's dragon.
It could hardly be called a fight. The bear tore that pile of junk to pieces as if it were a children's toy. It didn't even last a minute. Kazuya would have said good job if he hadn't looked surprised afterward.
"It was so easy, even though I can't even scratch my Master's body. Master, was this a training dummy?"
"Sure, why not?"
"I figured. I guess I passed the test."
"Not yet."
"Yeah, right. Well, these don't seem very strong either."
"Wow, I can't believe I'm being trash talked by a bear," said some idiot. How was he supposed to know which one? Those stupid costumes weren't that different, and besides, their faces were covered. He was going to have to kill them all, if only to reduce the number of people to keep track of.
Well, he was going to have to kill them anyway. There was no remedy now. Although he didn't want to either.
Anyway, the point is that they fought, and Ciara stayed behind them, waving her arms and doing other weird things, believing she was contributing. But at least she stayed back, safe. He didn't want her to get killed. Damn, it would take too long to find another girl to raise.
By the way, perhaps it didn't need to be said that Jimbo had gotten rid of the dragon machine by throwing it out the window, just as he did with that Ethan guy, so it didn't obstruct the fight at all. Maybe, but he would say it anyway. It seemed like a good time.
The guys in strange uniforms (they weren't costumes, that was something) shot at him with weapons he didn't recognize, spraying him with a lot of white foam. Kazuya didn't feel like finding out exactly what that shit did, so he did what he could to dodge it, while it painted the walls and filled cracks everywhere.
It was a rather narrow space to maneuver, but he managed anyway.
The small amount that splashed on his shoes apparently didn't do anything. Except annoy him, of course, which was already quite a lot. He liked those shoes, and now they were dirty and sticky.
He couldn't remedy that, but he could make them pay.
He hit one of them in the chest, right over the heart. He didn't grab anything because this time he didn't hold back. It simply exploded. Even before his iron fist touched the heart of that prey animal.
A lance of electricity hit him in the chest, electrocuting him before bouncing back to its bearer's hands. That asshole in the Greek armor. The one who had tried to stop him during his tactical retreat after killing Lung. He couldn't remember his stupid 'superhero' name, and he had never learned his real one, though it would surely be as stupid as the guy.
Kazuya screamed, firing his demonic ray from the third eye, which left many of those soldiers with the weird weapon that shot foam of all possible things headless or without half their body. But the stupid Greek guy simply raised a shield and not only stopped the ray but bounced it back at him.
Kazuya dodged without thinking, despite having Ciara right behind him. Just as he had ordered her, of course, she was a good girl. But by some strange luck, the ray missed, never reaching the defenseless girl. Good, luck was on his side.
For a change.
"We can't do it, not against the three of them, there's no way."
It was the most intelligent thing any of those costumed idiots had said since he'd known them and probably since they had the audacity to come into the world. A mistake of nature that he himself could remedy, one by one. That sounded very much like Azazel, but well, the creature wasn't wrong about everything. Only about getting in his way.
He grabbed a grenade thrown by that woman who was a walking armory and threw it through the glass of some office. It exploded shortly after. He had gotten rid of it because against real opponents those things were useless, but he supposed he should have taken a page from Jimbo's book and thrown that shit out the window, at least he would have heard a few screams of agony.
Speaking of Jimbo, he was having a great time, rolling and plowing through everything that got in his way, waving his claws and actually his entire body, as if he were dancing rather than fighting. Maybe he was having too much fun. They would talk about it later.
Or not.
Actually, it wasn't that big a deal, as long as he kept destroying their enemies, let him enjoy it his way. He did too.
Not in such a childish way, but well, Jimbo was a small child. Or not. It was just an impression, what did he know about the age of bears?
He grabbed the weapon of that annoying woman, breaking it over his knee into two halves. Then he grabbed the woman herself by the neck, but he didn't strangle her or break it like a dry branch, though he was perfectly capable of doing that.
"Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. All the king's horses and all the king's men..."
First of all, he decided to stop and pull her right arm until he tore it off.
Blood came gushing out as if spewed by a sprinkler. The air filled with agonizing screams.
"Couldn't put Humpty together again," Kazuya continued, ripping off a leg and then throwing her away like a broken toy. "Shit, Paul always finds a way to annoy me. Stupid American song. Why did it have to be catchy?"
"Miss Militia!"
Oh, so that's what she was called, well, she hadn't thought about it too much.
Some of those strange soldiers turned around, stopping their firing of that damn foam, running to support her and get her out of there. He wondered if she would receive medical attention in time. For approximately a tenth of a second. Because he didn't give a shit.
Naturally, he would mercilessly destroy anyone who stood in his way, but he wouldn't bother chasing down any insect that barely managed to save itself to finish the job. It would be like saying he believed them to be a threat when nothing could be further from the truth.
Kazuya's charge was abruptly halted. A mechanical hand grabbed him and dragged him through a wall, making a new hole with his body. The enemy was another dragon-shaped machine, undoubtedly Dragon's work. Kazuya didn't believe in coincidences.
"Oh, I thought she was inside that thing. Maybe I should have watched the combat recording after all."
The machine flapped its wings and dragged him upwards with it. He supposed it intended to move him away from the civilians on the ground and the poor idiots he would easily massacre in the Protectorate building. It had to be very stupid to believe it could handle him alone when Jimbo had destroyed it in the blink of an eye, but perhaps the point was that she wasn't risking anything. So at the very least, she could buy time for the others without risking her life. And at best, she could stop him without anyone else having to die.
Things didn't go as Dragon planned, but not because of Kazuya. Before he could free himself from the machine's grip, something happened. He saw a blur. The vibrations of the machine after the impact were also transmitted to his body, as the dragon fell to the ground with its wings folded close to its body.
He assumed Jimbo had come to rescue him, though he didn't need any rescue. Adorable...
I mean, stupid. He should have stayed with Ciara, who needed help. He'd like to say those masked idiots wouldn't do anything to her, but this crazy world had locked up that little girl in the first place. He couldn't take it for granted.
The robot released him before hitting the ground, undoubtedly not on purpose. In any case, Kazuya ended up flying in a different direction. He couldn't regain control in time.
"Ouch," Kazuya said as he burst a fire hydrant with his head. He rose a few meters above the ground on demonic wings, trying to pretend nothing had happened here. "Good job..."
Jimbo, he was going to say, only it wasn't Jimbo. It was a woman. He didn't mean Ciara. Ciara was a child, to begin with. It was a woman he knew very well. A woman who still haunted his dreams, a woman he still sometimes saw out of the corner of his eye when a shadow stirred.
"I can't believe it... you were still alive?"
Yes, it was Jun. As beautiful as the day Heihachi had defeated him and thrown him into the volcano. She really hadn't aged a single day, somehow. What the hell was she doing here? Well, he didn't know what the hell he was doing here in the first place. It had just happened.
"Kazuya..." The woman assumed a fighting stance. "I swear this time I'll save you."
Nice show of affection, though she was assuming he was the problem here. She was right, but well...
"I don't seek salvation. Disappear from my sight!"
Easy, Kazuya, he thought. You're as cool and edgy as back then. I'm sure I'll have her eating out of my hand in no time.
Kazuya assumed a fighting stance, but nothing began. Not yet. Because Ciara landed behind him. How had she gotten here and what was that green energy surrounding her clothes for a second?
Had someone with powers helped her down? But why?
"Have you cheated on me, Kazuya?" The rage boiled beneath Jun's calm voice like lava.
"I'm one of the most handsome, powerful, and rich men on the planet."
Jun clenched her teeth and fists.
"And on top of that, you took care of her, and left Jin to his fate?"
Kazuya blinked.
"Who?"
Women. They should come with an instruction manual, who understood them?
Before he knew it, Jun was on top of him, her fist flying towards his face.
"Yes, maybe I'll forget to save you, like you wanted!"
Northern Lights, Part 2: FIN
***
Chapter 15: Northern Lights, Part 2
"How did he do that?"
"You mean talk?"
"Are you all stupid or what? He just killed Ethan!" The woman put her hands to her head.
"Yes, we've all seen it," replied Kazuya as he suddenly flew to her and punched her in the head. The woman went through at least one wall; beyond that, he lost sight of her.
He chose her as the first target of this second round mainly because she was the loudest of them all.
Jimbo followed him closely, of course, launching himself against Dragon's dragon.
It could hardly be called a fight. The bear tore that pile of junk to pieces as if it were a children's toy. It didn't even last a minute. Kazuya would have said good job if he hadn't looked surprised afterward.
"It was so easy, even though I can't even scratch my Master's body. Master, was this a training dummy?"
"Sure, why not?"
"I figured. I guess I passed the test."
"Not yet."
"Yeah, right. Well, these don't seem very strong either."
"Wow, I can't believe I'm being trash talked by a bear," said some idiot. How was he supposed to know which one? Those stupid costumes weren't that different, and besides, their faces were covered. He was going to have to kill them all, if only to reduce the number of people to keep track of.
Well, he was going to have to kill them anyway. There was no remedy now. Although he didn't want to either.
Anyway, the point is that they fought, and Ciara stayed behind them, waving her arms and doing other weird things, believing she was contributing. But at least she stayed back, safe. He didn't want her to get killed. Damn, it would take too long to find another girl to raise.
By the way, perhaps it didn't need to be said that Jimbo had gotten rid of the dragon machine by throwing it out the window, just as he did with that Ethan guy, so it didn't obstruct the fight at all. Maybe, but he would say it anyway. It seemed like a good time.
The guys in strange uniforms (they weren't costumes, that was something) shot at him with weapons he didn't recognize, spraying him with a lot of white foam. Kazuya didn't feel like finding out exactly what that shit did, so he did what he could to dodge it, while it painted the walls and filled cracks everywhere.
It was a rather narrow space to maneuver, but he managed anyway.
The small amount that splashed on his shoes apparently didn't do anything. Except annoy him, of course, which was already quite a lot. He liked those shoes, and now they were dirty and sticky.
He couldn't remedy that, but he could make them pay.
He hit one of them in the chest, right over the heart. He didn't grab anything because this time he didn't hold back. It simply exploded. Even before his iron fist touched the heart of that prey animal.
A lance of electricity hit him in the chest, electrocuting him before bouncing back to its bearer's hands. That asshole in the Greek armor. The one who had tried to stop him during his tactical retreat after killing Lung. He couldn't remember his stupid 'superhero' name, and he had never learned his real one, though it would surely be as stupid as the guy.
Kazuya screamed, firing his demonic ray from the third eye, which left many of those soldiers with the weird weapon that shot foam of all possible things headless or without half their body. But the stupid Greek guy simply raised a shield and not only stopped the ray but bounced it back at him.
Kazuya dodged without thinking, despite having Ciara right behind him. Just as he had ordered her, of course, she was a good girl. But by some strange luck, the ray missed, never reaching the defenseless girl. Good, luck was on his side.
For a change.
"We can't do it, not against the three of them, there's no way."
It was the most intelligent thing any of those costumed idiots had said since he'd known them and probably since they had the audacity to come into the world. A mistake of nature that he himself could remedy, one by one. That sounded very much like Azazel, but well, the creature wasn't wrong about everything. Only about getting in his way.
He grabbed a grenade thrown by that woman who was a walking armory and threw it through the glass of some office. It exploded shortly after. He had gotten rid of it because against real opponents those things were useless, but he supposed he should have taken a page from Jimbo's book and thrown that shit out the window, at least he would have heard a few screams of agony.
Speaking of Jimbo, he was having a great time, rolling and plowing through everything that got in his way, waving his claws and actually his entire body, as if he were dancing rather than fighting. Maybe he was having too much fun. They would talk about it later.
Or not.
Actually, it wasn't that big a deal, as long as he kept destroying their enemies, let him enjoy it his way. He did too.
Not in such a childish way, but well, Jimbo was a small child. Or not. It was just an impression, what did he know about the age of bears?
He grabbed the weapon of that annoying woman, breaking it over his knee into two halves. Then he grabbed the woman herself by the neck, but he didn't strangle her or break it like a dry branch, though he was perfectly capable of doing that.
"Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. All the king's horses and all the king's men..."
First of all, he decided to stop and pull her right arm until he tore it off.
Blood came gushing out as if spewed by a sprinkler. The air filled with agonizing screams.
"Couldn't put Humpty together again," Kazuya continued, ripping off a leg and then throwing her away like a broken toy. "Shit, Paul always finds a way to annoy me. Stupid American song. Why did it have to be catchy?"
"Miss Militia!"
Oh, so that's what she was called, well, she hadn't thought about it too much.
Some of those strange soldiers turned around, stopping their firing of that damn foam, running to support her and get her out of there. He wondered if she would receive medical attention in time. For approximately a tenth of a second. Because he didn't give a shit.
Naturally, he would mercilessly destroy anyone who stood in his way, but he wouldn't bother chasing down any insect that barely managed to save itself to finish the job. It would be like saying he believed them to be a threat when nothing could be further from the truth.
Kazuya's charge was abruptly halted. A mechanical hand grabbed him and dragged him through a wall, making a new hole with his body. The enemy was another dragon-shaped machine, undoubtedly Dragon's work. Kazuya didn't believe in coincidences.
"Oh, I thought she was inside that thing. Maybe I should have watched the combat recording after all."
The machine flapped its wings and dragged him upwards with it. He supposed it intended to move him away from the civilians on the ground and the poor idiots he would easily massacre in the Protectorate building. It had to be very stupid to believe it could handle him alone when Jimbo had destroyed it in the blink of an eye, but perhaps the point was that she wasn't risking anything. So at the very least, she could buy time for the others without risking her life. And at best, she could stop him without anyone else having to die.
Things didn't go as Dragon planned, but not because of Kazuya. Before he could free himself from the machine's grip, something happened. He saw a blur. The vibrations of the machine after the impact were also transmitted to his body, as the dragon fell to the ground with its wings folded close to its body.
He assumed Jimbo had come to rescue him, though he didn't need any rescue. Adorable...
I mean, stupid. He should have stayed with Ciara, who needed help. He'd like to say those masked idiots wouldn't do anything to her, but this crazy world had locked up that little girl in the first place. He couldn't take it for granted.
The robot released him before hitting the ground, undoubtedly not on purpose. In any case, Kazuya ended up flying in a different direction. He couldn't regain control in time.
"Ouch," Kazuya said as he burst a fire hydrant with his head. He rose a few meters above the ground on demonic wings, trying to pretend nothing had happened here. "Good job..."
Jimbo, he was going to say, only it wasn't Jimbo. It was a woman. He didn't mean Ciara. Ciara was a child, to begin with. It was a woman he knew very well. A woman who still haunted his dreams, a woman he still sometimes saw out of the corner of his eye when a shadow stirred.
"I can't believe it... you were still alive?"
Yes, it was Jun. As beautiful as the day Heihachi had defeated him and thrown him into the volcano. She really hadn't aged a single day, somehow. What the hell was she doing here? Well, he didn't know what the hell he was doing here in the first place. It had just happened.
"Kazuya..." The woman assumed a fighting stance. "I swear this time I'll save you."
Nice show of affection, though she was assuming he was the problem here. She was right, but well...
"I don't seek salvation. Disappear from my sight!"
Easy, Kazuya, he thought. You're as cool and edgy as back then. I'm sure I'll have her eating out of my hand in no time.
Kazuya assumed a fighting stance, but nothing began. Not yet. Because Ciara landed behind him. How had she gotten here and what was that green energy surrounding her clothes for a second?
Had someone with powers helped her down? But why?
"Have you cheated on me, Kazuya?" The rage boiled beneath Jun's calm voice like lava.
"I'm one of the most handsome, powerful, and rich men on the planet."
Jun clenched her teeth and fists.
"And on top of that, you took care of her, and left Jin to his fate?"
Kazuya blinked.
"Who?"
Women. They should come with an instruction manual, who understood them?
Before he knew it, Jun was on top of him, her fist flying towards his face.
"Yes, maybe I'll forget to save you, like you wanted!"
Northern Lights, Part 2: FIN
Hexcalibur
Not So Ordinary Sword
- Location
- Somewhere
- Pronouns
- It
Seriously Kazuya? Worse than Arsemaster without his cheat code.
16. Northern Lights, Part 3
I told myself I wouldn't post anything more until it was done, but well, it is almost done. So whatever, let's fucking go.
Chapter 16: Northern Lights, Part 3
Jun was coming for his head, and Kazuya wasn't even sure what he had done wrong.
This described more moments in their short but intense relationship so far than he could count. He had always liked her fierce spirit, it was what had attracted him to her in the first place, but sometimes it could be too much. They clashed in the middle of the street like wild animals.
Neither of them gave ground, and every time their fists met, the shockwaves made the ground tremble and crack.
Jun, of course, was not a fighter who could compare to him.
She was a woman, for starters, haha!
But still, she was quite a beast. She moved with the grace and ferocity of a panther. It would be difficult to keep her under control without hurting her, so Kazuya didn't even bother holding back. He treated her as she was, at least for the moment: another obstacle in his path.
He wasn't using the ray from his third demonic eye, but that was because he knew Jun was fast enough to dodge it, even at this short distance. For the ray to connect, he had to hit her first, unbalance her, surprise her. And so far, he wasn't managing that. Their encounter gave the false impression that they were evenly matched, exchanging blows in the middle of the road.
Cars avoided them, turned around and headed elsewhere. Those that could. Quickly evacuating the area.
The supposed heroes of this world still weren't interfering directly. Good, it would annoy him if someone meddled in his reunion with Jun. Even Ciara was being a good girl, staying behind him, on the sidelines.
Although of course, a little girl like her couldn't do anything to help him. Obviously.
Jun stepped back. For a moment, Kazuya allowed himself to think she would come to her senses and at least give him a chance to explain himself. Nothing could be further from the truth. His ex-wife... Or well, wife, there had been no need or reason to ask him for a divorce while he had been dead for about fifteen years or so.
As I was saying, Jun ripped a lamppost from the ground.
That's why she had stepped back.
And of course, she used it as a weapon. She wielded it as easily as if it were an olive branch.
Kazuya couldn't dodge in time, but he did raise his arms in a cross, blocking the attack. Even so, the force of the impact dragged him back a few centimeters. His boots, firmly planted on the ground, left two scars in the earth when this happened.
"What's wrong with you?" Kazuya asked. Although it didn't sound like a question. He shouted it, practically spat it out, confused and irritated.
"What's wrong with me? You ask what's wrong with me?"
Jun threw her arms back to wield the lamppost again.
She was fucking fast (Apparently her speed and power behind her attacks increased with anger, a mysterious bonus), so he couldn't dodge that blow in any way, once again.
But he didn't need to.
Kazuya fired the demonic ray, splitting the lamppost in two before it could reach him. The two halves flew far away and the only thing the attack displaced was his hair, stirring the air.
Kazuya smiled, very pleased with himself.
"Yeah, what the hell is wrong with you? I have no idea why you're so angry, woman."
As usual, he thought, but didn't add. As true as it was, she was already angry enough and his usual reconciliation strategy (in the short time they had been together, that is), well...
It would be a bit weird to start applying it in the middle of the street.
He wasn't into exhibitionism.
Jun responded with a punch to his face. Kazuya staggered back, smiling. A good fight felt much better than having sex, anyway. The blood in his veins wasn't blood, it was gasoline and as always, Jun had set it on fire in the blink of an eye.
He just had to take care of one thing before he could continue. Ciara took a step forward, as if she could do anything other than get in his way.
"Sssh, go to your room." Then he remembered that until recently she had slept in a prison cell. "Or whatever."
Ciara looked at him, blinking for a moment.
Or maybe more, but Jun didn't give him time to waste.
Kazuya returned the punch. He grabbed her by the waist, flapping his wings took them above the road, no more. Not high enough to be above the skyscrapers. He wanted to teach her a good lesson, not kill her. He turned her around and threw her against the ground.
Jun had no wings, no way to change her trajectory in mid-air.
So, of course, he fired the ray from his third eye.
The wave of demonic energy hit her in the chest and made her fall accelerate ten times. The force of the impact was such that Jun ended up in a crater on the ground, but Kazuya wasn't satisfied with that. He was practically on top of her already, ready to finish what he had started with a good kick.
However, he couldn't do that.
She caught his leg and he ended up on the ground too. Quite roughly and head first. Kazuya coughed as Jun mounted him, huh, in the least preferable sense. Then a rain of punches fell on Kazuya. The position was unfavorable and they were too close, so he couldn't defend himself well. Besides, Jun was crazy. Her speed seemed to increase with each punch she threw.
"Why am I angry? First you leave me to go kill your father, you stay dead for fifteen years..."
Sorry?
How is that my fault, woman? He would have muttered such a protest if he had enough air in his lungs.
"You come back, but too late to help Jin and me with Ogre. And now I suddenly find myself in this unreasonable world, not knowing why, and you're here and it turns out you've cheated on me and you treat your daughter better than Jin. You don't even remember."
Kazuya blinked.
"What daughter?"
Jun's fist stopped millimeters from his face.
"That kid. I admit she's adorable, but so was Jin. Until you ruined his life."
"I found her like... less than an hour ago. She's not my daughter."
Jun seemed thoughtful.
"Why are you so protective of her, then? It's still annoying that you care more about her than our son."
Because she's a woman and needs protection, he thought. Men have to become tough quickly.
He had the feeling Jun would slap him if he said that, so he bit his tongue. Normally he would say whatever he wanted whenever he wanted, but he didn't want to go back to square one when it seemed he was managing to convince her.
"They had her locked up."
"What?"
"In a prison for the worst criminals of this earth, all with superpowers. Can you believe it? And they call me evil. Well, I am, but..."
"No, you're not. There's goodness in you, I know it." Jun grabbed him by the neck and then looked at him, very, very intently.
Kazuya knew that look very well. Three hours later they had made Jin. Or maybe earlier, perhaps he had hit the mark with the first shot, how would he know? In any case, Jun brought her mouth close to his. Her lips were as moist and inviting as her big eyes.
Just as their lips were about to make contact, the monster landed.
That's right. Azazel had finished whatever he had been doing outside Brockton Bay and had chosen precisely that moment to appear.
"You son of a bitch."
Northern Lights, Part 3: FIN
* * *
Just in case, Kazuya's sexist thoughts are Kazuya's, not the author's. Tekken is pretty light on characterization, but it made sense to me because Heihachi was the same way. He threw Kazuya off a volcano when he was a little kid and his response to his grandson on the ground begging for his help was to shoot him between the eyes. Yet he adopts Xiaoyu after she humiliates him by sneaking onto his yacht and beating up his guards. He pays her the best education she can get in the country, personally trains a panda to serve as her bodyguard. The newest Tekken villain is a daughter of Heihachi's as well and seems to have fond memories of him as her whole motivation is literally to avenge the old man.
Chapter 16: Northern Lights, Part 3
Jun was coming for his head, and Kazuya wasn't even sure what he had done wrong.
This described more moments in their short but intense relationship so far than he could count. He had always liked her fierce spirit, it was what had attracted him to her in the first place, but sometimes it could be too much. They clashed in the middle of the street like wild animals.
Neither of them gave ground, and every time their fists met, the shockwaves made the ground tremble and crack.
Jun, of course, was not a fighter who could compare to him.
She was a woman, for starters, haha!
But still, she was quite a beast. She moved with the grace and ferocity of a panther. It would be difficult to keep her under control without hurting her, so Kazuya didn't even bother holding back. He treated her as she was, at least for the moment: another obstacle in his path.
He wasn't using the ray from his third demonic eye, but that was because he knew Jun was fast enough to dodge it, even at this short distance. For the ray to connect, he had to hit her first, unbalance her, surprise her. And so far, he wasn't managing that. Their encounter gave the false impression that they were evenly matched, exchanging blows in the middle of the road.
Cars avoided them, turned around and headed elsewhere. Those that could. Quickly evacuating the area.
The supposed heroes of this world still weren't interfering directly. Good, it would annoy him if someone meddled in his reunion with Jun. Even Ciara was being a good girl, staying behind him, on the sidelines.
Although of course, a little girl like her couldn't do anything to help him. Obviously.
Jun stepped back. For a moment, Kazuya allowed himself to think she would come to her senses and at least give him a chance to explain himself. Nothing could be further from the truth. His ex-wife... Or well, wife, there had been no need or reason to ask him for a divorce while he had been dead for about fifteen years or so.
As I was saying, Jun ripped a lamppost from the ground.
That's why she had stepped back.
And of course, she used it as a weapon. She wielded it as easily as if it were an olive branch.
Kazuya couldn't dodge in time, but he did raise his arms in a cross, blocking the attack. Even so, the force of the impact dragged him back a few centimeters. His boots, firmly planted on the ground, left two scars in the earth when this happened.
"What's wrong with you?" Kazuya asked. Although it didn't sound like a question. He shouted it, practically spat it out, confused and irritated.
"What's wrong with me? You ask what's wrong with me?"
Jun threw her arms back to wield the lamppost again.
She was fucking fast (Apparently her speed and power behind her attacks increased with anger, a mysterious bonus), so he couldn't dodge that blow in any way, once again.
But he didn't need to.
Kazuya fired the demonic ray, splitting the lamppost in two before it could reach him. The two halves flew far away and the only thing the attack displaced was his hair, stirring the air.
Kazuya smiled, very pleased with himself.
"Yeah, what the hell is wrong with you? I have no idea why you're so angry, woman."
As usual, he thought, but didn't add. As true as it was, she was already angry enough and his usual reconciliation strategy (in the short time they had been together, that is), well...
It would be a bit weird to start applying it in the middle of the street.
He wasn't into exhibitionism.
Jun responded with a punch to his face. Kazuya staggered back, smiling. A good fight felt much better than having sex, anyway. The blood in his veins wasn't blood, it was gasoline and as always, Jun had set it on fire in the blink of an eye.
He just had to take care of one thing before he could continue. Ciara took a step forward, as if she could do anything other than get in his way.
"Sssh, go to your room." Then he remembered that until recently she had slept in a prison cell. "Or whatever."
Ciara looked at him, blinking for a moment.
Or maybe more, but Jun didn't give him time to waste.
Kazuya returned the punch. He grabbed her by the waist, flapping his wings took them above the road, no more. Not high enough to be above the skyscrapers. He wanted to teach her a good lesson, not kill her. He turned her around and threw her against the ground.
Jun had no wings, no way to change her trajectory in mid-air.
So, of course, he fired the ray from his third eye.
The wave of demonic energy hit her in the chest and made her fall accelerate ten times. The force of the impact was such that Jun ended up in a crater on the ground, but Kazuya wasn't satisfied with that. He was practically on top of her already, ready to finish what he had started with a good kick.
However, he couldn't do that.
She caught his leg and he ended up on the ground too. Quite roughly and head first. Kazuya coughed as Jun mounted him, huh, in the least preferable sense. Then a rain of punches fell on Kazuya. The position was unfavorable and they were too close, so he couldn't defend himself well. Besides, Jun was crazy. Her speed seemed to increase with each punch she threw.
"Why am I angry? First you leave me to go kill your father, you stay dead for fifteen years..."
Sorry?
How is that my fault, woman? He would have muttered such a protest if he had enough air in his lungs.
"You come back, but too late to help Jin and me with Ogre. And now I suddenly find myself in this unreasonable world, not knowing why, and you're here and it turns out you've cheated on me and you treat your daughter better than Jin. You don't even remember."
Kazuya blinked.
"What daughter?"
Jun's fist stopped millimeters from his face.
"That kid. I admit she's adorable, but so was Jin. Until you ruined his life."
"I found her like... less than an hour ago. She's not my daughter."
Jun seemed thoughtful.
"Why are you so protective of her, then? It's still annoying that you care more about her than our son."
Because she's a woman and needs protection, he thought. Men have to become tough quickly.
He had the feeling Jun would slap him if he said that, so he bit his tongue. Normally he would say whatever he wanted whenever he wanted, but he didn't want to go back to square one when it seemed he was managing to convince her.
"They had her locked up."
"What?"
"In a prison for the worst criminals of this earth, all with superpowers. Can you believe it? And they call me evil. Well, I am, but..."
"No, you're not. There's goodness in you, I know it." Jun grabbed him by the neck and then looked at him, very, very intently.
Kazuya knew that look very well. Three hours later they had made Jin. Or maybe earlier, perhaps he had hit the mark with the first shot, how would he know? In any case, Jun brought her mouth close to his. Her lips were as moist and inviting as her big eyes.
Just as their lips were about to make contact, the monster landed.
That's right. Azazel had finished whatever he had been doing outside Brockton Bay and had chosen precisely that moment to appear.
"You son of a bitch."
Northern Lights, Part 3: FIN
* * *
Just in case, Kazuya's sexist thoughts are Kazuya's, not the author's. Tekken is pretty light on characterization, but it made sense to me because Heihachi was the same way. He threw Kazuya off a volcano when he was a little kid and his response to his grandson on the ground begging for his help was to shoot him between the eyes. Yet he adopts Xiaoyu after she humiliates him by sneaking onto his yacht and beating up his guards. He pays her the best education she can get in the country, personally trains a panda to serve as her bodyguard. The newest Tekken villain is a daughter of Heihachi's as well and seems to have fond memories of him as her whole motivation is literally to avenge the old man.
17. Northern Lights, Part 4 + Epilogue
Chapter 17: Northern Lights, Part 4
Kazuya slowly stood up, very reluctantly, moving Jun off of him. It had been way too long since he'd had proper sex, and of course, Azazel had to show up right on time to ruin the party. How typical. He wouldn't expect anything less.
He probably even did it on purpose, damn it. He really was a demon. Or maybe he didn't understand what that meant because there was nothing dangling between the legs of that crystal doll.
Kazuya and Jun took up fighting stances, ready to finish this together, for once united in the same purpose, or so Kazuya was fairly sure. The frustration was very evident on the woman's face. That was something they were both good at.
But the fight didn't start right away. Something quite eye-catching happened first.
Jimbo fell from the Protectorate building with something in his arms. Only when he landed, and that something burst open like a piñata—if piñatas were mostly filled with blood and guts—did Kazuya realize what had just happened.
"You killed Vista." If you're surprised he remembered the stupid superhero name of a little girl, imagine how surprised Kazuya was himself.
"You bastards!" someone shouted from inside the building, the voice of a young guy. Clockblocker, probably.
"So what, Master?"
"Well," Kazuya shrugged, "it's a little dark for this story."
You had to admit it.
"You tore that woman apart."
"Yeah, but at least I sang a song while I did it. That's where the fun is. You, a cute bear, just killed a little girl, just like that. With your belly."
Jimbo scratched his head, a bit embarrassed. Well, Kazuya didn't like scolding him either, but it was his responsibility as the Master. Besides, Jimbo was messing up the delicate balance of the story.
"Well, she was trying to kill me, to be fair. And that probably was only funny to the author."
"Stop breaking the fourth wall or I'll break your bones," growled Azazel, stepping closer, each of his steps making the ground tremble. Not just because of his size, which wasn't that big, but because nature itself responded to him. It yielded.
A strange wind blew through all of them. If you asked Kazuya, he wouldn't be able to tell you what they had been talking about a few seconds, or maybe minutes, earlier. But he didn't like mysteries at all, so he opened his mouth to ask. However, Jun beat him to it.
"What were we doing?"
And his doubts vanished in an instant. He even forgot that he had doubted in the first place.
"I think we were about to have wild sex."
"Oh, right." Jun blushed. Well, at least she admitted it.
"About to fight me," Azazel had to chime in.
"That too." Kazuya nodded.
"I hate you both."
Well, the feeling was mutual. After all, Azazel had robbed him of the chance to have the best sex of his life and conceive another child he would happily neglect.
As for what happened during the Third World War or in this universe, where Azazel had just screwed him over after that golden bastard had sliced him in half?
What's done is done.
When the fight started, Kazuya went for Azazel immediately. One might say the ideal thing would be to keep his distance and shoot him with his demon ray over and over until he fell. There was no need to trade blows with that giant monster. But that just wasn't his style.
Besides, the closer he stayed, the harder it was to miss. All advantages.
Jun and Jimbo did the same since they didn't have any long-range attacks to begin with. Besides, they didn't need them. They demonstrated good coordination.
As for Kazuya and Jun, it was because they were married. Really married. Despite the little time they'd spent together and their differences, they were in sync. As for the bear, well, the only explanation was that Kazuya had trained him too well in under a week. Either that, or he was a natural fighter. That seemed accurate too.
Azazel was big, but that wasn't an advantage. Not really, against opponents strong enough to hurt him and when outnumbered. His attacks weren't particularly hard to dodge.
It was impossible not to see them coming in time. The only question was whether you could react fast enough.
Because despite his enormous size, he was, of course, very fast. As if he weighed nothing, despite the tremors he caused wherever he went.
That's why victory wasn't inevitable with the three of them fighting together.
He was fast as a blizzard, faster than he should be. The earth and the wind undoubtedly gave him the extra push he needed. He didn't have to cause earthquakes or topple skyscrapers to prove his dominion over nature.
The reaction time of the three was exceptional, though Kazuya would never say that out loud.
But even so, they couldn't dodge all the attacks. Some they just had to endure as best they could. Their bodies were tough, but if things went on like this, they would eventually wear down, like any human would.
Yes.
Like any fight, the question was who would wear out first. Even though Azazel was bigger and stronger, he was still at a numerical disadvantage. His superiority wasn't overwhelming enough to ignore the power of three exceptional fighters focused solely on crushing him.
They had the upper hand.
The fight was going well, so of course, it was interrupted right away. Down came the man in Greek armor and wielding a lightning spear. The guy who thought he was the god of thunder or something.
Still, he was effortlessly repelled by Jun. She tore the spear from him and then struck him in the chest with both palms. The force of the impact lifted his feet off the ground. It probably would have separated his torso from the rest of his body if not for the armor.
"Look at him fly," said Jimbo.
"He was probably here to lend a hand," said Kazuya. Not that he cared, just commenting.
But Jun hadn't realized it. She blushed right to the tips of her ears.
"Oh."
And that's all she could say.
There was nothing more to be done, so the fight continued with just the three of them. Better that way, actually—they didn't need anyone else. Kazuya didn't even need those two, but well, he wasn't about to throw them out either.
Azazel roared.
For just a moment, his speed doubled. That was enough. He managed to grab Kazuya by the ankle, lifting him upside down like a child's toy. Kazuya struggled in his grip, flapping his wings, firing the beam from his third eye without aiming.
He couldn't slip away or break free.
He didn't need to. Jimbo came rolling in, sweeping Azazel's legs out from under him. The monster stumbled forward. He probably would have regained his balance without issue, but Jun was there to take advantage of that moment of weakness.
She practically flew in and kicked him square in the mouth.
Azazel staggered back through a wall. When he fell, the debris piled on top of him, sliding around and over the spiked glass.
Meanwhile, Kazuya landed with as much grace as he could muster.
It wasn't the end of the fight, not by a long shot, but it was satisfying to see him like that. More surprised than hurt. Humiliated, in a way. He didn't think any of them could put up real resistance.
It was still too early, but in time, they would make him show fear.
The three of them charged Azazel again at the same time. The clash would have been truly epic, if not for the fact that, once again, they were rudely interrupted by someone landing in their midst, the shockwave sending the four of them flying apart. Well, now five.
Five, exactly.
"We're saved!" someone shouted.
Kazuya didn't find it so pleasant.
"That bastard."
"What happened?"
"He split me in half. I got better." Yeah, it was that golden-skinned asshole who had defeated him with a single blow. By luck, surely. Only by luck.
Apparently, Azazel didn't like the golden Ken doll either. And yes, he could call him a Ken doll. In that tight white suit, well, you'd be able to tell if he had anything between his... Not that Kazuya had looked that closely or anything. He wasn't gay.
In any case, Azazel seemed surprised, even a little scared. Kazuya had been worried he'd have to deal with both problems at once, but now it seemed like that wouldn't be necessary.
"What are you?" Azazel demanded.
However, the golden man remained silent.
"What the hell are you?"
"Not much of a talker, it seems," Kazuya said. He wasn't sure if the guy was physically capable of talking, to be honest. But he had no problem hearing. Kazuya knew that because the man turned his head mechanically, locking his dagger-like eyes on him. "Ah, I see you recognize me. Hello, asshole."
"And you? Have you completely forgotten about me?"
Kazuya looked around several times, feeling as though he had somehow heard a voice that didn't belong to any of those present. Of course, he wasn't counting the background characters. But why would a background character step forward? That's what they existed for—to stay in the damn background.
"What was that?"
He wasn't addressing anyone in particular, so Jimbo was the one who answered.
"The voice of your conscience?" Jimbo responded to his question with another, not very convinced, and rightly so.
"I don't think so. We haven't seen each other in decades."
The little golden one joined the fight. Now it was five against four, and as much as it stung, he had to admit that the golden one was the most dangerous person here. If it was even a person, which he seriously doubted.
I'm not very human either, he thought, so that's no excuse.
Maybe not today, maybe not this year, but someday. He would add it to his list of things to do.
As if that weren't enough, unlike their exceptionally brief fight before, the golden one wasn't using rays of the same color as him, but was fighting hand-to-hand.
It didn't take long for him to realize that, on top of everything, he was copying his fighting style.
Not imitating. Copying it perfectly, without any training.
He clicked his tongue. He wasn't human, there was no doubt about that. It was one of the most frustrating things he'd ever seen in his life. There wasn't a shred of doubt about that either.
Azazel struck the ground. Crystal spikes bloomed in a radius of six hundred and seventy degrees, but they mostly chased Jun, who seemed to dance as she nimbly dodged them. That was his girl.
She ended up cornered against the wall, and he thought he'd have to go rescue her, risking looking like he cared.
But he didn't have to.
Jimbo, like a true gentleman, came rolling in, shattering the spikes that had trapped her into a thousand pieces as he passed. Jun could have done the same, of course; she had more than enough strength. But not as quickly.
"Good boy," he thought. "Good boy."
He almost forgot that the damn bastard was copying his fighting style. He hadn't even invented it himself, but it still bothered him. The lack of effort. It wasn't even a matter of talent, the guy was cheating, plain and simple.
Which didn't matter, he knew. He didn't need to focus on that right now.
The final battle against this monster. He didn't need Azazel's power. The power from the original source of the Devil Gene. But if he defeated him and absorbed it, it would definitely be easier to take down Heihachi. He didn't know what would happen to him, how he would transform, but Kazuya wasn't easily frightened. His body was more demonic than human. He had no doubt he could withstand Azazel's power.
And if that meant he had to pretend he needed help and fight side by side with that walking Oscar statue, well, he'd do it. He would be patient for now.
The bastard landed every punch into Azazel's body and tore off chunks of flesh, so to speak, with ease. Even so, Azazel didn't slow down. Quite the opposite. Sensing his defeat was approaching, he was finally getting serious. Drawing strength from sources he hadn't had to tap into for millennia.
Kazuya couldn't read that damn thing's mind, but he was sure that's what was happening anyway.
He wasn't going to let that statue have all the glory.
This fight wouldn't mean anything if, in the end, it came down to a creature like Azazel crushing another of his kind.
After what felt like an eternity, the moment came.
The shark smelled blood in the water.
I've got you, Kazuya thought, smiling savagely. The truth was, he'd had help, but he wasn't about to let that spoil his mood now.
Besides, the honor of the final blow would be his.
He flipped Azazel around, grabbing him by the tail with both arms and spinning him around and around, like a top.
Then he threw him into the sky.
Kazuya shot up like a bullet. His takeoff cracked the ground beneath his feet. He closed in on Azazel with great speed, electricity roaring in his iron fist. The stake that he drove into the beast's heart pierced its body until he felt something like a heart in his hand.
"No. No. Impossible!" protested the first devil.
A very cliché way to leave this world, but that's how it was. Refusing to accept defeat, screaming, helpless.
Azazel exploded, finally dying, and his power became part of him. That allowed Kazuya to transform into an even more superior being. The ultimate form of the Devil. Kazuya smiled amidst the sky painted black with Azazel's ashes. The eye of the storm? He felt like the storm itself now.
Kazuya landed in the midst of those celebrating the victory. His victory.
Jun smiled at him, Jimbo applauded very enthusiastically, and a few strangers cheered and filled the space. The golden guy just looked at him, but he'd take that as some kind of congratulations.
He wasn't used to others celebrating his victories. It was a strange feeling, though not entirely unpleasant.
With Jun, he wasn't as eloquent as in his thoughts.
"Jun, I feel like we actually had sex. Or even better."
"Shut up." He figured it made sense she'd be a little offended—just a bit. "Do you think that form turns me on?"
"I don't know. Does it?"
"Okay, it's true. A little. Just a little. Don't start getting cocky, or I'll punch you." She shook a fist as if she needed to make things clear, or as if she hadn't given him thousands of examples in the last few minutes, against Azazel.
"He's completely forgotten about me… about us." A strange voice.
Kazuya looked around frantically. Whatever it was, it escaped even his True Devil eyes. Come on, probably just a trick of the mind, a bad illusion.
"What was that? Whatever, hey, golden boy." He pointed at the guy with his chin. His defeat still stung, but... "That was good. Well fought."
He hoped it wouldn't go to his damn head.
That wasn't all. He could have said nothing, just turned around and left, but he felt like it. Just because. And because Kazuya was Kazuya, that was reason enough.
"I've only seen you twice, but it seems like all you have on your agenda is tearing people apart. So why don't you do it more often?" Kazuya shrugged. A simple piece of advice, yes, so simple he didn't understand how it hadn't occurred to this guy before. Except for the obvious reason, of course. It was obvious the guy wasn't the brightest—still had the lights on, but barely, hadn't paid the bills in a long time. Or something like that. Metaphors weren't his thing. "Maybe it'd get rid of that sour face, like you're sucking on a lemon. Clearly, helping people doesn't give you the same satisfaction, and why would it? They're all worms."
Jun gave him a pat on the back. Except "pat" wasn't the right word.
Kazuya heroically suppressed the urge to grimace.
"You give such good advice, Kazuya."
"I know, love. I know."
"Eh? I'll let it slide this time."
What for? He decided not to ask in case it was one of those things he was supposed to magically know. Women were a mystery not worth exploring too deeply, or you'd suddenly and frequently slam your head against a brick wall.
The golden man snapped his fingers.
At that moment, right in front of him, a tear opened in space. A portal.
He could see the volcano, the monster, and the fight that awaited him on the other side. But Heihachi didn't seem to be able to see him. It was like one of those one-way mirrors. Fitting, the isolated criminal in the room, awaiting the verdict.
"Oh. Finally, a way back home. That was an entertaining vacation. Come on, Jun, Jimbo."
He started walking toward the portal with something vaguely resembling a smile on his face and his hands on the shoulders of his traveling companions.
"Wait for me!"
That voice again, he thought. Maybe I'm just dehydrated.
Northern Lights, Part 4: FIN
Epilogue
Father against son. Demon against human. A feud written in blood and spanning many decades of suffering. Generation after generation. Here and now, on this volcano, it could finally come to an end.
"Finally, Kazuya. My nipples were going to fall off. Do you have any idea what it's like to spend days on a volcano without a shirt? Not much better than with one."
Kazuya frowned.
He wasn't taking their climactic encounter seriously enough. Well, whatever. At this point, he just wanted to get it over with as soon as possible. His unexpected trip to another world had lasted too long.
"Hello, father-in-law," said Jun next to him, waving at him with one hand.
Not eagerly, not willing or happy, but doing her duty, so to speak. Still, Kazuya didn't like it. But it wouldn't be a problem for long. Because Heihachi would die in terrible agony. He'd get what he deserved.
Soon, very soon.
He felt it in his bones. Like a pleasant premonition for a change.
"Hello," Heihachi replied casually. He didn't seem surprised at all that Jun had survived. Maybe because he wasn't, or maybe because he hadn't even heard about her death in the first place. It wouldn't surprise him either. "Who's that kid? Did you two manage to reproduce again?"
I wish, he thought.
"Oh, yeah. Ciara," Kazuya said. "That's right."
"Let's finish this once and for all. Agreed?"
"Agre—"
Kazuya fell silent, suddenly and abruptly.
It wasn't an overreaction. A golden ray flew in from who knows where, obliterating his mortal enemy before he could blink.
He couldn't believe it, but Heihachi was dead, just like that.
So many years training, preparing. So many years planning his revenge, only for it to end this way. Without him having anything to do with it, and without knowing what the hell had just happened. It was too soon for him to connect the dots, no matter how obvious the connection was.
So Kazuya just dropped to his knees.
And he screamed until he lost his voice and pounded the ground, cracking the rock and sending magma flying over his head, and he was so, so furious that he didn't even feel the heat or the pain.
"No!"
In Awe of the Power: END
More like, "In Awe of the Shitposting."
Yes, the implication is that Kazuya convinces Scion to start the Gold Morning a few years earlier.
Happy ending?
Kazuya slowly stood up, very reluctantly, moving Jun off of him. It had been way too long since he'd had proper sex, and of course, Azazel had to show up right on time to ruin the party. How typical. He wouldn't expect anything less.
He probably even did it on purpose, damn it. He really was a demon. Or maybe he didn't understand what that meant because there was nothing dangling between the legs of that crystal doll.
Kazuya and Jun took up fighting stances, ready to finish this together, for once united in the same purpose, or so Kazuya was fairly sure. The frustration was very evident on the woman's face. That was something they were both good at.
But the fight didn't start right away. Something quite eye-catching happened first.
Jimbo fell from the Protectorate building with something in his arms. Only when he landed, and that something burst open like a piñata—if piñatas were mostly filled with blood and guts—did Kazuya realize what had just happened.
"You killed Vista." If you're surprised he remembered the stupid superhero name of a little girl, imagine how surprised Kazuya was himself.
"You bastards!" someone shouted from inside the building, the voice of a young guy. Clockblocker, probably.
"So what, Master?"
"Well," Kazuya shrugged, "it's a little dark for this story."
You had to admit it.
"You tore that woman apart."
"Yeah, but at least I sang a song while I did it. That's where the fun is. You, a cute bear, just killed a little girl, just like that. With your belly."
Jimbo scratched his head, a bit embarrassed. Well, Kazuya didn't like scolding him either, but it was his responsibility as the Master. Besides, Jimbo was messing up the delicate balance of the story.
"Well, she was trying to kill me, to be fair. And that probably was only funny to the author."
"Stop breaking the fourth wall or I'll break your bones," growled Azazel, stepping closer, each of his steps making the ground tremble. Not just because of his size, which wasn't that big, but because nature itself responded to him. It yielded.
A strange wind blew through all of them. If you asked Kazuya, he wouldn't be able to tell you what they had been talking about a few seconds, or maybe minutes, earlier. But he didn't like mysteries at all, so he opened his mouth to ask. However, Jun beat him to it.
"What were we doing?"
And his doubts vanished in an instant. He even forgot that he had doubted in the first place.
"I think we were about to have wild sex."
"Oh, right." Jun blushed. Well, at least she admitted it.
"About to fight me," Azazel had to chime in.
"That too." Kazuya nodded.
"I hate you both."
Well, the feeling was mutual. After all, Azazel had robbed him of the chance to have the best sex of his life and conceive another child he would happily neglect.
As for what happened during the Third World War or in this universe, where Azazel had just screwed him over after that golden bastard had sliced him in half?
What's done is done.
When the fight started, Kazuya went for Azazel immediately. One might say the ideal thing would be to keep his distance and shoot him with his demon ray over and over until he fell. There was no need to trade blows with that giant monster. But that just wasn't his style.
Besides, the closer he stayed, the harder it was to miss. All advantages.
Jun and Jimbo did the same since they didn't have any long-range attacks to begin with. Besides, they didn't need them. They demonstrated good coordination.
As for Kazuya and Jun, it was because they were married. Really married. Despite the little time they'd spent together and their differences, they were in sync. As for the bear, well, the only explanation was that Kazuya had trained him too well in under a week. Either that, or he was a natural fighter. That seemed accurate too.
Azazel was big, but that wasn't an advantage. Not really, against opponents strong enough to hurt him and when outnumbered. His attacks weren't particularly hard to dodge.
It was impossible not to see them coming in time. The only question was whether you could react fast enough.
Because despite his enormous size, he was, of course, very fast. As if he weighed nothing, despite the tremors he caused wherever he went.
That's why victory wasn't inevitable with the three of them fighting together.
He was fast as a blizzard, faster than he should be. The earth and the wind undoubtedly gave him the extra push he needed. He didn't have to cause earthquakes or topple skyscrapers to prove his dominion over nature.
The reaction time of the three was exceptional, though Kazuya would never say that out loud.
But even so, they couldn't dodge all the attacks. Some they just had to endure as best they could. Their bodies were tough, but if things went on like this, they would eventually wear down, like any human would.
Yes.
Like any fight, the question was who would wear out first. Even though Azazel was bigger and stronger, he was still at a numerical disadvantage. His superiority wasn't overwhelming enough to ignore the power of three exceptional fighters focused solely on crushing him.
They had the upper hand.
The fight was going well, so of course, it was interrupted right away. Down came the man in Greek armor and wielding a lightning spear. The guy who thought he was the god of thunder or something.
Still, he was effortlessly repelled by Jun. She tore the spear from him and then struck him in the chest with both palms. The force of the impact lifted his feet off the ground. It probably would have separated his torso from the rest of his body if not for the armor.
"Look at him fly," said Jimbo.
"He was probably here to lend a hand," said Kazuya. Not that he cared, just commenting.
But Jun hadn't realized it. She blushed right to the tips of her ears.
"Oh."
And that's all she could say.
There was nothing more to be done, so the fight continued with just the three of them. Better that way, actually—they didn't need anyone else. Kazuya didn't even need those two, but well, he wasn't about to throw them out either.
Azazel roared.
For just a moment, his speed doubled. That was enough. He managed to grab Kazuya by the ankle, lifting him upside down like a child's toy. Kazuya struggled in his grip, flapping his wings, firing the beam from his third eye without aiming.
He couldn't slip away or break free.
He didn't need to. Jimbo came rolling in, sweeping Azazel's legs out from under him. The monster stumbled forward. He probably would have regained his balance without issue, but Jun was there to take advantage of that moment of weakness.
She practically flew in and kicked him square in the mouth.
Azazel staggered back through a wall. When he fell, the debris piled on top of him, sliding around and over the spiked glass.
Meanwhile, Kazuya landed with as much grace as he could muster.
It wasn't the end of the fight, not by a long shot, but it was satisfying to see him like that. More surprised than hurt. Humiliated, in a way. He didn't think any of them could put up real resistance.
It was still too early, but in time, they would make him show fear.
The three of them charged Azazel again at the same time. The clash would have been truly epic, if not for the fact that, once again, they were rudely interrupted by someone landing in their midst, the shockwave sending the four of them flying apart. Well, now five.
Five, exactly.
"We're saved!" someone shouted.
Kazuya didn't find it so pleasant.
"That bastard."
"What happened?"
"He split me in half. I got better." Yeah, it was that golden-skinned asshole who had defeated him with a single blow. By luck, surely. Only by luck.
Apparently, Azazel didn't like the golden Ken doll either. And yes, he could call him a Ken doll. In that tight white suit, well, you'd be able to tell if he had anything between his... Not that Kazuya had looked that closely or anything. He wasn't gay.
In any case, Azazel seemed surprised, even a little scared. Kazuya had been worried he'd have to deal with both problems at once, but now it seemed like that wouldn't be necessary.
"What are you?" Azazel demanded.
However, the golden man remained silent.
"What the hell are you?"
"Not much of a talker, it seems," Kazuya said. He wasn't sure if the guy was physically capable of talking, to be honest. But he had no problem hearing. Kazuya knew that because the man turned his head mechanically, locking his dagger-like eyes on him. "Ah, I see you recognize me. Hello, asshole."
"And you? Have you completely forgotten about me?"
Kazuya looked around several times, feeling as though he had somehow heard a voice that didn't belong to any of those present. Of course, he wasn't counting the background characters. But why would a background character step forward? That's what they existed for—to stay in the damn background.
"What was that?"
He wasn't addressing anyone in particular, so Jimbo was the one who answered.
"The voice of your conscience?" Jimbo responded to his question with another, not very convinced, and rightly so.
"I don't think so. We haven't seen each other in decades."
The little golden one joined the fight. Now it was five against four, and as much as it stung, he had to admit that the golden one was the most dangerous person here. If it was even a person, which he seriously doubted.
I'm not very human either, he thought, so that's no excuse.
Maybe not today, maybe not this year, but someday. He would add it to his list of things to do.
As if that weren't enough, unlike their exceptionally brief fight before, the golden one wasn't using rays of the same color as him, but was fighting hand-to-hand.
It didn't take long for him to realize that, on top of everything, he was copying his fighting style.
Not imitating. Copying it perfectly, without any training.
He clicked his tongue. He wasn't human, there was no doubt about that. It was one of the most frustrating things he'd ever seen in his life. There wasn't a shred of doubt about that either.
Azazel struck the ground. Crystal spikes bloomed in a radius of six hundred and seventy degrees, but they mostly chased Jun, who seemed to dance as she nimbly dodged them. That was his girl.
She ended up cornered against the wall, and he thought he'd have to go rescue her, risking looking like he cared.
But he didn't have to.
Jimbo, like a true gentleman, came rolling in, shattering the spikes that had trapped her into a thousand pieces as he passed. Jun could have done the same, of course; she had more than enough strength. But not as quickly.
"Good boy," he thought. "Good boy."
He almost forgot that the damn bastard was copying his fighting style. He hadn't even invented it himself, but it still bothered him. The lack of effort. It wasn't even a matter of talent, the guy was cheating, plain and simple.
Which didn't matter, he knew. He didn't need to focus on that right now.
The final battle against this monster. He didn't need Azazel's power. The power from the original source of the Devil Gene. But if he defeated him and absorbed it, it would definitely be easier to take down Heihachi. He didn't know what would happen to him, how he would transform, but Kazuya wasn't easily frightened. His body was more demonic than human. He had no doubt he could withstand Azazel's power.
And if that meant he had to pretend he needed help and fight side by side with that walking Oscar statue, well, he'd do it. He would be patient for now.
The bastard landed every punch into Azazel's body and tore off chunks of flesh, so to speak, with ease. Even so, Azazel didn't slow down. Quite the opposite. Sensing his defeat was approaching, he was finally getting serious. Drawing strength from sources he hadn't had to tap into for millennia.
Kazuya couldn't read that damn thing's mind, but he was sure that's what was happening anyway.
He wasn't going to let that statue have all the glory.
This fight wouldn't mean anything if, in the end, it came down to a creature like Azazel crushing another of his kind.
After what felt like an eternity, the moment came.
The shark smelled blood in the water.
I've got you, Kazuya thought, smiling savagely. The truth was, he'd had help, but he wasn't about to let that spoil his mood now.
Besides, the honor of the final blow would be his.
He flipped Azazel around, grabbing him by the tail with both arms and spinning him around and around, like a top.
Then he threw him into the sky.
Kazuya shot up like a bullet. His takeoff cracked the ground beneath his feet. He closed in on Azazel with great speed, electricity roaring in his iron fist. The stake that he drove into the beast's heart pierced its body until he felt something like a heart in his hand.
"No. No. Impossible!" protested the first devil.
A very cliché way to leave this world, but that's how it was. Refusing to accept defeat, screaming, helpless.
Azazel exploded, finally dying, and his power became part of him. That allowed Kazuya to transform into an even more superior being. The ultimate form of the Devil. Kazuya smiled amidst the sky painted black with Azazel's ashes. The eye of the storm? He felt like the storm itself now.
Kazuya landed in the midst of those celebrating the victory. His victory.
Jun smiled at him, Jimbo applauded very enthusiastically, and a few strangers cheered and filled the space. The golden guy just looked at him, but he'd take that as some kind of congratulations.
He wasn't used to others celebrating his victories. It was a strange feeling, though not entirely unpleasant.
With Jun, he wasn't as eloquent as in his thoughts.
"Jun, I feel like we actually had sex. Or even better."
"Shut up." He figured it made sense she'd be a little offended—just a bit. "Do you think that form turns me on?"
"I don't know. Does it?"
"Okay, it's true. A little. Just a little. Don't start getting cocky, or I'll punch you." She shook a fist as if she needed to make things clear, or as if she hadn't given him thousands of examples in the last few minutes, against Azazel.
"He's completely forgotten about me… about us." A strange voice.
Kazuya looked around frantically. Whatever it was, it escaped even his True Devil eyes. Come on, probably just a trick of the mind, a bad illusion.
"What was that? Whatever, hey, golden boy." He pointed at the guy with his chin. His defeat still stung, but... "That was good. Well fought."
He hoped it wouldn't go to his damn head.
That wasn't all. He could have said nothing, just turned around and left, but he felt like it. Just because. And because Kazuya was Kazuya, that was reason enough.
"I've only seen you twice, but it seems like all you have on your agenda is tearing people apart. So why don't you do it more often?" Kazuya shrugged. A simple piece of advice, yes, so simple he didn't understand how it hadn't occurred to this guy before. Except for the obvious reason, of course. It was obvious the guy wasn't the brightest—still had the lights on, but barely, hadn't paid the bills in a long time. Or something like that. Metaphors weren't his thing. "Maybe it'd get rid of that sour face, like you're sucking on a lemon. Clearly, helping people doesn't give you the same satisfaction, and why would it? They're all worms."
Jun gave him a pat on the back. Except "pat" wasn't the right word.
Kazuya heroically suppressed the urge to grimace.
"You give such good advice, Kazuya."
"I know, love. I know."
"Eh? I'll let it slide this time."
What for? He decided not to ask in case it was one of those things he was supposed to magically know. Women were a mystery not worth exploring too deeply, or you'd suddenly and frequently slam your head against a brick wall.
The golden man snapped his fingers.
At that moment, right in front of him, a tear opened in space. A portal.
He could see the volcano, the monster, and the fight that awaited him on the other side. But Heihachi didn't seem to be able to see him. It was like one of those one-way mirrors. Fitting, the isolated criminal in the room, awaiting the verdict.
"Oh. Finally, a way back home. That was an entertaining vacation. Come on, Jun, Jimbo."
He started walking toward the portal with something vaguely resembling a smile on his face and his hands on the shoulders of his traveling companions.
"Wait for me!"
That voice again, he thought. Maybe I'm just dehydrated.
Northern Lights, Part 4: FIN
Epilogue
Father against son. Demon against human. A feud written in blood and spanning many decades of suffering. Generation after generation. Here and now, on this volcano, it could finally come to an end.
"Finally, Kazuya. My nipples were going to fall off. Do you have any idea what it's like to spend days on a volcano without a shirt? Not much better than with one."
Kazuya frowned.
He wasn't taking their climactic encounter seriously enough. Well, whatever. At this point, he just wanted to get it over with as soon as possible. His unexpected trip to another world had lasted too long.
"Hello, father-in-law," said Jun next to him, waving at him with one hand.
Not eagerly, not willing or happy, but doing her duty, so to speak. Still, Kazuya didn't like it. But it wouldn't be a problem for long. Because Heihachi would die in terrible agony. He'd get what he deserved.
Soon, very soon.
He felt it in his bones. Like a pleasant premonition for a change.
"Hello," Heihachi replied casually. He didn't seem surprised at all that Jun had survived. Maybe because he wasn't, or maybe because he hadn't even heard about her death in the first place. It wouldn't surprise him either. "Who's that kid? Did you two manage to reproduce again?"
I wish, he thought.
"Oh, yeah. Ciara," Kazuya said. "That's right."
"Let's finish this once and for all. Agreed?"
"Agre—"
Kazuya fell silent, suddenly and abruptly.
It wasn't an overreaction. A golden ray flew in from who knows where, obliterating his mortal enemy before he could blink.
He couldn't believe it, but Heihachi was dead, just like that.
So many years training, preparing. So many years planning his revenge, only for it to end this way. Without him having anything to do with it, and without knowing what the hell had just happened. It was too soon for him to connect the dots, no matter how obvious the connection was.
So Kazuya just dropped to his knees.
And he screamed until he lost his voice and pounded the ground, cracking the rock and sending magma flying over his head, and he was so, so furious that he didn't even feel the heat or the pain.
"No!"
In Awe of the Power: END
More like, "In Awe of the Shitposting."
Yes, the implication is that Kazuya convinces Scion to start the Gold Morning a few years earlier.
Happy ending?