The Last Standing

The downpour blurred the battlefield.

The thunder cracked the sky.

Two had already fallen.

Only three were left standing in the way.

The fight continued.

Water splashed beneath Kurashi's steps as he surged forward straight for Chie. The moment Kurashi was within range, she struck first. She wouldn't be caught off guard.

Not again

A burst of wind propelled her forward like a bullet, her leg swinging in a vicious side-arc. The kick connected with Kurashi's chest, and the force of the impact sent him back several feet.

He slid across the muddied forest floor before coming to a halt.

But he didn't stay down long, rising with the same impassive expression.

Chie barely had time to breathe before he was on her again.

Her eyes locked onto him, her fist tightening at the sight.

She moved to react—only to find her body locked in place.

It wasn't hesitation.

It wasn't fear.

It was him.

Her cold sweat mixed with the rain as she realized what had happened—telekinesis.

Then, from the right side, a glimmer of ice.

A large spear-like shard of ice cut through the rain, aimed straight for him.

Kurashi caught it at he edge of his vision, ducking beneath without breaking his stride.

His sight was set.

Then the ground buckled beneath him, jagged spikes coming from all directions.

Kurashi was forced to dodge to the side.

A split-second misstep was all Daigo needed. He lunged at Kurashi, who was airborne due to dodging, delivering a three-piece combo.

A right hook to his liver.

A left cross to his stomach.

And a fierce right jab to his jaw.

Kurashi staggered back, his expression unreadable.

But he felt the blows.

He rolled his shoulders, shaking off the impact.

Then, another ice shard hurled toward him. 

Lifting his hand, he flicked his wrist, the shard halting midair.

But the moment his power shifted focus, Chie broke free from his grasp.

The two of them moved in tandem the moment she broke free. Daigo threw a hook that cracked against Kurashi's ribs, sending a shock through his body. Chie followed up, twisting into a spinning wind-propelled back kick that struck his side.

No matter how much dodging or blocking Kurashi attempted, their attacks continued to land. The barrage of strikes rained down like the storm itself, relentless and unyielding.

Then—his fingers twitched.

Daigo's eyes widened as his punch halted just inches from Kurashi.

He raised his katana high, ready to strike down the unmoving target.

Chie swung with a last-ditch strike, a desperate punch aimed right for his temple.

But he saw it.

In one fluid motion, he leaned low and spun, sweeping her legs out from under her. She gasped as her balance vanished, her body launching into the air. 

Then, she froze mid-air; Kurashi's power wrapped around her.

In that instant, Kurashi lowered his hand to the ground, the invisible force slamming her down with a sickening crunch. Pain exploded through her body, the breath leaving her lungs in a choked moan.

Kurashi's gaze flicked back to Daigo, who was now free from his grasp.

Daigo dashed forward and slammed his fist into Kurashi's wrist, the force of the blow knocking the katana from his hand. Without hesitation, Daigo threw another punch. Kurashi's eyes flashed with cold calculation as he leaned to the side, narrowly avoiding the attack. 

He countered

His now-free right hand swung out in a devastating strike. The punch collided with Daigo's jaw with bone-crunching force, sending Daigo's head snapping back.

Kurashi wasn't done.

A left hook.

A right hook.

Then, a left cross straight to the temple, sending Daigo stumbling backward.

Falling to the ground, his legs trembled as he tried to regain his footing.

His body felt like dead weight.

As he barely managed to stand, Kurashi's right fist came down at him once again, stronger and faster than the last.

The impact knocked Daigo out cold.

Kurashi held his right hand out, the blade coming back into his palm. Sheathing it on his back, he looked over his shoulder at a blurred figure.

"It's just you...Only you left—"

Yuki.

Her gaze darted between her fallen friends and the one standing above them.

Her knees buckled. Her hands trembled.

"I can't...I can't—"

Her heart raced. Her lungs burned.

"I-I can't breathe..."

She gasped for air, but the panic overwhelmed her. The weight of the fight crushed her.

She knew.

They all knew.

Kurashi's true intentions.

She saw with her own eyes what he was capable of.

The power he wielded.

How easily he'd defeated her team.

"Chie...Daichi...What do I do? W-What am I supposed to do?"

Kurashi walked toward her with slow steps.

She had no choice but to fight back, her only chance at winning being one final attack.

With Kurashi now out of range from her teammates, Yuki raised her quivering left hand just above her head.

The rain around her shimmered—

Then froze.

A chilling aura spread across the battlefield, thousands of raindrops crystalizing into deadly ice shards, suspended high in the air.

Kurashi kept walking forward, his eyes unmoving from the girl before him.

With the hesitating wave of her hand, the ice shards began to fall—like daggers from the sky.

The shards rained down without mercy, stabbing everything beneath them.

Everything—except the target.

Kurashi moved in closer to Yuki. The descending shards came to an abrupt stop just above him, as if there was something between the ice and him.

Her attack failed.

She tried to summon more of her power, but it was futile.

Her body limped. Her vision blurred.

The panic

The exaughstion

The weight of her failure.

She never would have thought something like this would ever happen.

Her body gave out on her, collapsing to the ground. As she lay on the ground, she could only think of one thing.

"Am I...going to die?"

Her eyes shut.

Her breathing slowed.

And then—he was above her, looking down with lifeless eyes.

Then, Kurashi unsheathed his katana, hovering the blade over her chest. The cold steel of his blade was now just a breath away from ending her life.