Innocence

Hanzo's smoke billowed, a disorienting shroud that clung to Brakus's vision, blurring his senses like the unfocused gaze of a newborn. The smoke itself seemed to writhe with malevolent intent, its touch like phantom embers searing his skin. Yet, Brakus swung wildly, a desperate dance against an unseen predator. Hanzo was a phantom lion, a fleeting shadow just beyond the edge of perception, toying with his prey.

"Why can't you grasp the profound purpose of death, a truth that dwarfs your futile struggles—" Hanzo's voice, laced with cruel amusement, seemed to slither from the very air around Brakus.

"Daniel… he didn't deserve to be butchered like that—" Brakus choked, the words tearing from his throat, thick with grief and rage. "His life… it held more worth than anything you've ever done… or ever will!"

"Ironwell, the supposed bastion of peace you cling to, is a gilded cage built on hypocrisy," Hanzo spat back, his form momentarily solidifying within the smoke, eyes burning like crimson coals. "What benevolent nation erects walls that claw at the sky, granting sanctuary only to the favored? Ironwell discards the likes of us, lets us rot for nothing! It deserves to be reduced to ash!"

"And in its inferno, millions of innocents will be consumed!" Brakus roared, unleashing a furious wave of energy that ripped through the smoke, momentarily clearing the air in a violent expulsion.

"The Shadow Company will herald their sacrifice as necessary. Would you have them die meaninglessly?" A venomous hiss, close and chilling, brushed against the back of Brakus's neck.

Brakus reacted on instinct, a lightning-fast backwards kick slamming into Hanzo's chest with a sharp crack. He spun, a whirlwind of motion, his hands clamping onto Hanzo's shoulders in a vise-like grip.

"I'll tear you apart, you monster!" Brakus's muscles corded, his fingers digging into Hanzo's flesh as if trying to crush a flimsy tin can. "My Dad… he would have eradicated filth like you! He was a true hero, a beacon!"

A flicker of dark amusement twisted Hanzo's features. "Hmm, and this 'beacon'… who might he be?"

Brakus's gaze burned into Hanzo's eyes, unwavering. "…. Diamond Bronze…."

A low, guttural chuckle rumbled in Hanzo's chest. "That pathetic excuse for a man, Diamond, is your father? This… this just became infinitely more gratifying—" Hanzo dissolved into a swirl of crimson mist, slipping through Brakus's grasp like smoke through fingers. "—Tsk! A hero? Don't insult me. Diamond Bronze was a traitor, a stain on this world. My only regret is that I didn't get to extinguish his light myself."

With a sickeningly swift movement, Hanzo's blade materialized, a silver flash piercing Brakus's side. A look of perverse delight spread across Hanzo's face as the steel slid through flesh and bone with effortless ease. "And now, your insignificant existence reaches its predictable end… Go join your 'hero' in the abyss." He twisted the blade with a cruel flourish before yanking it free, the wet sound echoing in the sudden silence as Brakus crumpled to the cold earth beside Daniel's lifeless form.

"Hardly a challenge," Hanzo muttered, a tremor in his voice betraying a deeper injury as he limped away, his shoulders slumped, his breath coming in ragged gasps.

[Just now: Haru's point of view]

"The sounds of their brutal dance have ceased," Matthew whispered, his voice tight with apprehension as Haru scanned the perimeter, his senses straining for any lingering threat from behind the gnarled trunk of an ancient tree.

"And they vanished without a trace on the ground—" Haru inhaled deeply, his nostrils flaring. "—The air is thick with the metallic tang of blood, and the oppressive weight of this smoke… we're sickeningly close."

Haru paused, the rasp of a match striking breaking the tense silence as he lit a cigarette, the cherry glowing like a malevolent eye in the gloom. "Daniel's recklessness… that headstrong boy shouldn't have bolted off. A cold dread settles deep in these old bones."

They moved with cautious steps towards the heart of the swirling smoke. After what felt like an eternity, a malevolent red glow pulsed within the smoky depths, an unholy beacon marking the source of the conflict.

As they pushed through the suffocating mist, the redness intensified, painting the swirling vapors in shades of blood and fire. Suddenly, Matthew burst into a small clearing, Haru close behind. The sight that greeted them was a brutal tableau: Hanzo limping away, his movements labored, from two still figures lying broken in the blood-soaked dirt.

Haru stumbled, the reality of the scene crashing into him with the force of a physical blow. A strangled gasp escaped his lips as recognition dawned. Grief, raw and primal, clawed at his throat, forcing him to his knees. He buried his face in his trembling hands, a guttural scream tearing from his chest, the sound of a man who had endured too much loss.

"Is that—" Matthew stammered, his eyes wide with horrified disbelief, words failing him before a primal rage ignited within him. With a guttural cry, he mindlessly sprinted towards Hanzo, his weapon a blur in his hand. He unleashed a volley of shots, each crack of the firearm echoing in the clearing. Every shot went wide, a testament to his fury-blinded aim, except for the final one, which tore through Hanzo's hip with a sickening rip, sending his deadly blade skittering across the bloodied earth.

Haru saw the fleeting opportunity. Without hesitation, he lunged, his worn boot connecting with Hanzo's disarmed weapon with a solid thunk, sending it spinning away. In the same fluid motion, his own sword flashed, the cold steel pressing against Hanzo's neck.

Hanzo ignored the lethal edge against his skin, his gaze locking onto Haru's with a chillingly cold smile. "Why this hesitation, old man? Even after witnessing my handiwork? Perhaps a sliver of understanding flickers within you… or would it be easier to accept if I told you they perished because of your failures?"

With a sudden, brutal sweep of his leg, Hanzo's foot connected with Haru's ankle with a sickening crack! As Haru stumbled, Hanzo's knee slammed into his chest, a forceful expulsion of air leaving him gasping. The sword clattered away. Hanzo then moved with predatory grace towards the struggling Matthew, whose wild shots now phased harmlessly through Hanzo before clattering to the ground.

Matthew, realizing his weapon was useless, roared and charged, a desperate flurry of punches and kicks aimed at Hanzo, each blow landing with impotent force against an unyielding defense. Hanzo sighed, a sound of bored dismissal, and delivered a single, brutal punch to Matthew's ribs, the sickening crunch sending him collapsing to the ground. He dusted off his hands and turned back to Haru. "Now, where were we…"

"Do you possess even a fraction of understanding about the true nature of this conflict?" Hanzo's voice dripped with condescension as he stalked towards Haru, who gripped his fallen sword, his eyes darting frantically, searching for any semblance of an advantage. "You place blind faith in your vaunted government, while soldiers are left to bleed and die, pawns in a game played by those in gilded towers. Surely, even you can see the inherent corruption."

Suddenly, a suffocating darkness began to engulf the clearing, a tangible void that seemed to swallow the very light. The ancient trees groaned and twisted as if crushed by unseen colossal hands, the ground beneath Hanzo's feet turning to a crumbling, black dust. Brakus's body, lying still moments before, began to convulse violently, his form contorting into something grotesque, as if ravaged by years of decay in mere seconds.

"You should be dead! What unholy abomination is this?!" Hanzo stumbled backward, a look of utter terror replacing his arrogance as he scrambled away. Haru watched in stunned disbelief, a primal fear gripping his heart as the oppressive aura intensified.

Brakus's ravaged body began to levitate, rising slowly above the twisted trees as the darkness recoiled, drawn inexorably towards him. The aura slammed into Brakus, erupting in a maelstrom of pitch-black flames that licked and scorched his decaying flesh, leaving behind a skeletal figure wreathed in shadow. The skeleton unleashed a chilling, demonic wail that pierced the very air. Beneath the screech, Haru could discern distorted words: "You won't lay another hand on Gramps… you'll pay for what you did, you monster!"

A wide, relieved smile stretched across Haru's weathered face. "So, the boy still has fight in him." He chuckled, watching Hanzo frozen in horrified awe. "Looks like you poked the wrong bear, son. Never seen anything like this in all my years."

With unnatural speed, muscle and flesh began to writhe and reform around Brakus's skeletal frame, the black flames receding, leaving behind a darkly twisted, impossibly strong version of the boy.

He exploded into the clearing, a black blur slamming into Hanzo with earth-shattering force. Debris and shattered earth erupted outwards, sending Haru and Matthew sprawling. Matthew, surprisingly, was tinkering with something small and metallic behind a rock, oblivious to the chaos. "What in the blazes are you doing?" Haru yelled over the din.

Without looking up, Matthew replied, "Earlier… I managed to tag him with a little something special. Experimental micro-bots. Probably wasn't the smartest idea…"

"Micro-bots? For what?!"

"They should be infiltrating his bloodstream as we speak, leaving behind tiny… surprises. His resilience makes no sense otherwise. Maybe the issue isn't that he can't die, but how he's being 'killed'."

"So?" Haru asked, a puzzled frown creasing his brow.

Matthew finally looked up, a manic grin spreading across his face as he revealed a small controller with a flickering screen and a tiny antenna. "So… maybe we just need a more… internal approach." The screen displayed a chaotic network of red lines.

"What's that image?" Haru asked, his amusement tinged with disbelief.

"Oh," Matthew chirped, his eyes glued to the screen. "That's the inside of Hanzo's bloodstream."

[In a nearby field: Brakus and Hanzo's POV]

"So, the darkness clings to you too, little whelp? Too bad you lack the spine to truly embrace it. Your precious innocence… it's a pathetic shackle." Hanzo taunted, his voice dripping with scorn.

Brakus just let out a guttural chuckle, a sound devoid of mirth, and charged. He moved with terrifying speed, a relentless barrage of blows that ripped through Hanzo's flesh as if his fists were made of sharpened steel. He danced around Hanzo, a whirlwind of brutal grace, each strike a perfectly timed laceration. He seized Hanzo's arm, dragging him across the jagged field until the limb tore from its socket with a sickening snap and a spray of blood.

Hanzo screamed, a raw, animalistic sound, before his severed limb began to writhe and regenerate, new flesh knitting together with unnatural speed. He stretched his new arm, the joints cracking audibly. "I… I retract my earlier assessment. You possess a remarkable tenacity. If your brother shares even a fraction of your spirit, we shall be an unstoppable force!"

Brakus lunged, his hand clamping around Hanzo's throat with crushing force, slamming him into the ground. The back of Hanzo's head grated against the rough earth.

"Why did you speak of my brother?! What have you done to him?! Where is Brock?!" Brakus roared, each word punctuated by a brutal punch to Hanzo's face. "If you've laid a single finger on him… there won't be enough left of you to scrape off my boot!"

Hanzo dissolved into a swirling vortex of crimson mist, slipping from Brakus's grasp. He rematerialized nearby with a mocking whistle. Moments later, his blade, a silver arc against the darkening sky, hurtled towards him, embedding itself perfectly in his outstretched hand. "Mwahahaha… I haven't touched the little whelp… yet. But you won't be seeing him for a very, very long time—" Hanzo twirled his sword with a flourish, a predatory grin splitting his face. "Deaths Dream…. It was… fleetingly interesting knowing you, Brakus Bronze."

The red mist intensified, swirling around his blade, deepening into a viscous burgundy. The sword itself seemed to transform, the silver steel bleeding into an all-consuming red, droplets of what looked like thick blood dripping from its edge. Hanzo lifted the blade, admiring its gruesome beauty.

"Now, witness the true apex of my power! Surrender to the sweet embrace of oblivion! Beautiful, isn't it?—" Hanzo's smile widened, revealing teeth that had elongated into sharp fangs, a crimson mist now emanating from his very breath. "—Your precious innocence… it will wither and die along with your life force!"

[Haru and Matthews POV]

Haru stood hunched over Matthew's shoulder, the cherry of his cigarette glowing in the encroaching darkness as Matthew's fingers danced across the control pad of his device, his brow furrowed in intense concentration. He was guiding the microscopic machines within Hanzo's body.

"Once the bots reach the primary target zones – brain, heart, and lungs – I'll initiate the sequence. Twenty-second countdown until activation, followed by a ten-second window for detonation. They're experimental, so… fingers crossed," Matthew muttered, his eyes glued to the chaotic display on the small screen.

"Right. I'm going to check on Daniel…" Haru's voice was heavy with grief. "Hope he… isn't too far gone." He stumbled towards his fallen comrade.

The ground around Daniel was eerily barren, the earth dried and cracked, as if life had been leached from it. He lay still, his eyes closed, a semblance of peace on his young face that belied the brutal reality. Haru recoiled, a single tear tracing a path down his weathered cheek.

"You didn't deserve this, lad… so young… so much life stolen…" Haru's voice cracked, the weight of his grief overwhelming him. He choked on a sob as he gently lifted Daniel's lifeless body into his arms.

"I swear to you, we'll take care of the boy… and Matthew. This… this won't go unpunished. You held onto your innocence until the very end." He whispered, his steps heavy with sorrow.

[Hanzo and Brakus Pov]

Hanzo's blood-red blade clashed against Brakus's hardened fists in a brutal, ringing impact. The sword pulsed with an inner crimson light, but Brakus ignored the searing pain, pushing through the magical assault. The shockwaves of their collision blasted outwards, throwing them apart. Their eyes locked across the ravaged field, a grim understanding passing between them. A flicker of something akin to a smile touched both their lips before they launched themselves back into the deadly fray.

Brakus landed a devastating kick, the force cracking bone, followed by a relentless barrage of blows that pierced through Hanzo's stomach and chest with sickening precision. He moved like a dark whirlwind, hopping and flipping around Hanzo, each strike a perfectly placed cut that drew crimson lines across his flesh. He grabbed Hanzo's regenerating arm, dragging him across the bloodied earth in a shower of sparks and torn flesh.

(To be continued… The cataclysmic battle reaches its climax in the next chapter!!)