Chapter LXIV: The last breath

Act: 64

*Alright! I know you've all been waiting for the final match to commence, Team Omega vs Team Consume. Bring them out here!!!*

Both teams walk out on the field, standing on opposite ends of one another. Oddly, Shizu seemed lifeless overall, and even Han Chul-Moo noticed something off about him. Taku continued giving Shizu the side eye. Still pissed about everything that had happened.

The announcer pressed the microphone against his mouth, excitedly shouting his final words and keeping the crowd entertained.

*Now that they're all here! We shall get this final round over and let the fight begin!!*

Without any hesitation, Shizu went straight for Hano. Dust kicked beneath his foot when he sprinted at full speed; he made haste, dashing across the entire arena. Aikawa patiently observed him, and when the opportunity arose, she placed her hands on the ground, chains shot up, and in response, Shizu leaped out of the way, averting to the left. Each time his foot touched the ground, one more chain would pop out. When landing this time, he immediately put his hand on the ground as leverage to dodge the incoming chain and move away; as he thought it was safe, petals spiraled upwards, catching him off-guard. Trying to avoid getting swept, he attempted to hold onto the ground, but his nails only scratched the dirt, and from the legs, he got sucked up in the typhoon of cherry blossoms.

 Daichi and Taku couldn't sit and watch, so they advanced. Taku fired his ice at Chisaka, and Daichi aimed for Hano. Shizu kept his guard up, shielding himself from serious injuries. After a few seconds, the swarm started to weaken. Now that her focus was on Taku, he took the chance to force himself out and broke free from the swarm. However, a wall of petals reinforced with Aikawa chains blew past him in front of Taku and Daichi, keeping them from getting closer. This battle became one-sided, a three-on-one, Shizu versus the council. 

His facial expressions and eyes were much more crossed. Enraged, Shizu shouted.

"Hano! You're next!"

Running head-on at the three of them, he jumped as Aikawa was about to place her hands on the ground again. Hano stopped her, allowing Shizu to show off his capabilities. Soaring above, he slammed down, causing a small hole, but the three jumped back. Shizu immediately looked to his left where Hano was. Dashing, swinging, punching left and right- although Hano effortlessly stepped back. This was too much for him; Hano couldn't stop smiling until he let out an obscure laugh.

Catching Shizu's punches and twisting his wrist, he pulled Shizu closer to him, partly unsheathing his sword to hit him in the abdomen, followed by a knee to his jaw when Shizu crunched from the jab at his stomach. Hano would end it with a roundhouse kick that sent him flying. Giving the girls a signal, they proceeded to hop in. Aikawa's chains slapped him back and forth until, pulling him by the waist so that he'd be tossed over to Chisaka, who punched him across the face, though this would deliver much more pain because her hands were clasped in her chary blossoms. Lastly, he was flung back to Hano and struck across the jaw once more. They all laughed at him for not being able to do anything. Shizu spit a bit of blood, and as he tried to break free, Hano spun around and elbowed his skull, knocking him into a daze that made him hear a faint ringing.

"Aikawa, get rid of that thing. It's pathetic."

While the chains still wrapped around Shizu, she listened to what he desired, and the beatdown ended. Building momentum, she threw him past the petal wall. Shizu's body swung toward Taku, and with him acting fast, he summoned his wand and created a wall of ice that Shizu crashed into; even more blood spat out of his mouth upon impact. After dropping, Shizu stood up and left a massive dent in the ice.

"What the fuck was that for Taku! You, urgh, piece of shit!"

Now that the wall had dropped, Taku ran forward, not paying Shizu any mind. As he was running, he summoned another wall of ice that went forward, creating a bridge he ran, towering over Shizu. Taku's intentions were clear: He wanted to take out Hano first, even if it meant using Shizu.

They watched as the bridge formed on the other side. Aikawa bent over and placed her hands on the ground again, and Chisaka prepared her star. However, Shizu underneath jumped up and smashed the ice, destroying the structure Taku had been running on, which caused him to stumble and turn his focus off them and onto the ice that flew his way, which made him fall.

"Oh no, you don't! Hano is mine. Sit back and watch!"

Shizu saw Taku's body falling and grabbed him by the ankle. With all his might, he threw Taku straight for the ground; Daichi, acting fast, went in to catch him so that his body wouldn't endure pointless damage. Blood slowly started to drip from his forehead, and a frown worse than before was stuck on his face.

"You worthless fuck! Ice Pillar!"

Taku shouted, lifting his wand at Shizu. Ice instantly shot from underneath, hitting him in the chest and sending him back into the air. Then, another ice pillar came from the ground, curved, and trapped Shizu midair. Both pillars pressed together, smashing Shizu. Although he had both elbows out, legs dangling, and resisted from being squished. The impact was much heavier on his back. A third pillar, quicker than the other two, curved up and slammed over Shizu's head, which directly led him to the ground, locking his body in place.

*Woah... Crowd. Would you look at this, it seems..? The teams are turning against one another!! *

Shizu shifted upon impact and had his hands over his head, protecting himself as he slowly got off one knee, resisting the pillar from crushing him. As he forced the pillar up, he sprinted, rolled out, freeing himself, and immediately targeted Taku, going straight for a punch. However, Daichi spun around, igniting his arm with flames and increasing the heat output. The normal reddish-orange became blue, and instead, he backhanded Shizu in the jaw, launching his body back to the center of the arena.

Shizu stood on his feet once more, and now a badly burnt cheek, skin hanging, dead gray where the burn had penetrated deep. Peeling away in ragged strips, revealing moist, glistening muscle and blood slowly dripping. Daichi spoke calmly to the ragged Shizu.

"Shizu. Don't touch Taku. You're the one who's in the wrong here; it was his little sister; come on. Don't act like you're some victim now. You're at fault here. There's no need for you to take it out on him! Maybe you are a failure; I can't believe you'd snoop that low bruises around her chest and face... I thought better of you. No, I had higher hopes for you."

Shizu's eyes shot open. He dropped his head, sweat dripping, and his body felt warm, sweating all over. Han Chul-Moo kept moving in his seat, irritated by what he witnessed, and the crowd became somewhat quiet. They all quietly muttered about how Shizu started attacking his teammates, calling him a rampage, monster, beast, even the ones they see from the portals.

*What a monster. Why would he, A failure, look at him, shameful, disgusting, someone's little sister? Fucking pervert. It's live TV; why would he? Bad image for the school. *

*Ba-dum, Ba-dum*

Hano started chuckling.

"Look, Shizu, I. Your team. The crowd. You are one amazing defect. How can you be so good at it? I told you. You're not meant to be here. Look around you; soak in the scene you've created. And I mean."

"You."

"See, I haven't lied to you once! The whole world is calling you a failure. In your face and behind screens."

*Ba-dum, Ba-dum*

Shizu felt utterly tiny. Everyone around him became so loud, his thoughts amplified, unfathomably loud, much louder than usual. Everyone was laughing at him. He's a mess. Everyone looked like a monster to him. 

'They all. I can hear them. Stop. Please stop. Please stop! Stop! Stop! Stop!!! Stop it all! I'm a failure. I'm a failure. Mother and Father, You're right; I am a failure. It's all my fault! I'm a failure; that's all I ever am!'

He grabbed his hair with both hands and dropped to his knees.

*Ba-dum, Ba-dum*

'That fucking noise! This beating, it's so loud, go away!'

'GO AWAY!'

The heartbeat.

Stopped.

Shizu's eyes opened, and everything went pitched back. He looked around, standing on nothing, and he could see nothing. Shizu took one step, and mist-like smoke started to clear from his steps.

"Where am I?"

He angrily expressed.

*Grew*

A deep growl. The sound sent shivers throughout his entire body.

*Look at you, Shizu, the hatred your heart carries. Why do you blame yourself?*

Shizu heard its voice all around him. A voice to which it sounded like nothing anyone could comprehend.

"Where are you?! Answer me!"

*You shouldn't show them mercy. Allow the hatred to be vivid.*

"I said answer me!"

*I am everywhere; I'm watching you. I always have. I am merely awake.*

"Huh? What do you mean..."

An evil pair of gold-colored eyes appeared underneath where Shizu was standing; it watched and disappeared. Shizu ran forward. He continued to endlessly run in the darkness.

*You can't keep running.*

His body stopped as he felt like he was going to fall off the edge of a cliff.

Its voice sounded eager.

*Stop keeping the hatred submerged. Allow it to run free. Shizu, I know you better than anyone else. Why should you be kind? They're all betraying you. No one loves you; they all used you and threw you away. Treated you like trash, tossed you around like what your kind would call a "toy." *

"I'm... No. Yes! I am Angry. I hate it all. I hate them all!"

*Yes, we are the only ones. When the time comes, you and I are the savior of this rotten-filled world. Accept me. Allow me in your heart.*

"Can I trust you..."

*I will never leave you. Not like them. I shall always be with you.*

Shizu felt light and dropped. Falling into nothing, and his eyes slowly started to close. His body drifted further and further away from the light.

Falling deeper and deeper, sinking into the mist. The light was gone, and so was Shizu.

The crowd went silent, mocking Shizu for his pathetic performance. Chul-Moo stood in his row, flipping off everyone around him and shouting in response to their nasty words. 

His head raised, and he slowly opened his eyes. His right eye changed from purple, slightly flickering to a gold color, back to purple, and then back to gold. A small horn popped out from the right side of his head, which wasn't visible to anyone else because of his hair. Shizu grinned. His teeth looked much sharper than previously, becoming fang-like; however, it was only on the right side of his mouth.

Shizu began to chuckle with the same evil demonic laughter as the voice he heard in that realm of nothing, and he sounded in sync with that evil. The two tones overlapped, but then they stopped. He remained frozen in place, silent.

"GET OUT OF MY HEAD!!"

A shockwave burst the moment he shouted, and everyone stared in silence. With his middle finger in front of some random guy, Chul-Moo stopped to glance back at Shizu.

"I WILL KILL THEM all! NO! WE WILL KILL THEM!!"

His body vanished. The only thing that remained was an afterimage of him and a trail of dust.