Until your soul shatters

Toji's smile widened, an animalistic glint burning in his eyes.

"Now..."

He spun the chain, and the metallic sound echoed through the space, a cold and cruel announcement that the real fight was about to begin.

"I'm quite interested in killing you."

The clinking of metal against the ground resonated like a funeral knell, a sound laden with murderous intent.

Ryan took a deep breath, feeling his own blood heat up in anticipation. Then, with a natural sneer, he raised an eyebrow and replied:

"Honestly? Get in line... There's already a hot girl pink-haired who's been trying for a while."

Toji showed no reaction beyond continuing to spin the chain above his head, his gaze fixed on Ryan.

"In the beginning..." he began, his casual tone carrying a lethal weight. "My goal was to end that girl's life."

Riko shuddered and shrank behind Geto upon hearing this, clenching her fists tightly. Her heart raced, the threat of death sounding even more real coming from Toji's mouth. But he didn't even look in her direction.

"...I also wanted to take down that show-off with the Six Eyes."

Toji's smile grew, his voice laced with an almost amused sadism.

"Someone blessed like him, massacred by a primate like me... Hilarious, don't you think?"

Ryan watched attentively. Toji spoke as if recounting a trivial anecdote, but his hands worked the chains with surgical precision. Every small movement was a preparation, a millimeter adjustment before the attack.

And then came the real reason for his excitement.

"But now..." Toji tilted his head, as if genuinely intrigued. "You've really caught my attention... You're giving me more trouble than that cocky kid!"

Ryan shrugged, a lazy smile on his lips.

"I'd almost thank you for the compliment... But you focusing so much on me now..." He let out a theatrical sigh. "It's going to be tiring, don't you think?"

Toji's eyes gleamed with a murderous intensity.

He planted his foot on the ground.

The chain was hurled like a bloodthirsty serpent, cutting through the air with a sound like metallic thunder. The blow was too fast.

Ryan didn't even have time to react.

The metal wrapped around his body and tore him mercilessly.

His body split in two.

But before his consciousness faded...

Time folded in on itself.

The scene dissolved into a blur and was rewritten.

Toji once again planted his foot on the ground, preparing the attack.

But this time, Ryan was already moving.

Divine energy coursed through his body in an invisible flash, strengthening his muscles and accelerating his reflexes. He already knew where the chain would come from.

With a jump, he dodged by centimeters, the cutting wind ruffling his hair as the steel whizzed past where his body would have been seconds ago.

He ran to his sword, fallen a few meters ahead.

With a precise kick, he launched the blade into the air and grabbed it, spinning at the same instant to continue advancing amidst Toji's chains.

"Agile, kid!" Toji growled, pulling the chain back in a treacherous arc.

The chains spread around Ryan like a nest of snakes, writhing to encircle him.

But Ryan didn't stop.

"That arm of yours... It's hurting, isn't it?" He taunted as he shot towards the assassin.

The wound on Toji's arm, burned by divine energy, slightly limited his mobility. Ryan knew this.

And he would bet everything on it.

He approached, ready to tear Toji's arm off completely.

But the assassin was relentless.

With a fluid movement, Toji launched the chain, ensnaring Ryan's fist and halting his advance.

His smile widened.

"Very good..." His voice was a satisfied growl. "But still slow!"

From the corner of his eye, Ryan noticed.

The Inverted Spear of Heaven advanced towards him.

"Shit."

Before the blade hit him—

Time twisted again.

Space broke, seconds erased and rewritten.

This time, Ryan reacted the instant he felt the chain approach.

He threw himself to the ground in a sudden sweep.

Toji wasn't expecting that move.

The assassin hesitated for half a second.

Enough time for Ryan to slide under him and spin his body, delivering a quick blow against his legs.

The blade scratched flesh before Toji jumped back, immediately distancing himself.

At the same instant, he violently pulled the chains.

The sound of steel approaching made Ryan's heart race.

"Miserable!"

Once again, time reversed.

Ryan's blade again struck Toji's legs, but now, he already knew the chain would come next.

As soon as he felt the impact of the blow, he propelled his body upwards, jumping into the air.

In the next instant, the chain tore through the ground where he would have been.

Ryan landed, sliding on his feet. His gaze met Toji's, who was now analyzing him with a mixture of fascination and fury.

A wild smile bloomed on the assassin's face.

"You really are an aberration, kid."

He spun the chain beside his body, his muscles tensing.

"You even seem to know my next move!"

Ryan's chest rose and fell heavily, sweat dripping down the side of his face as his eyes remained fixed on the figure before him. His body was already beginning to feel the effects of the fight, but he showed no weakness. With a tired smile, he ran a hand over his face, pushing some strands of hair from his forehead, before finally responding, his voice drawn out:

"It's just that I've always been good at fighting..."

On the other side of the battlefield, Riko took advantage of the momentary pause to speak up. She leaned forward, clenching her fist with excitement, her eyes shining as if she were watching a great hero at the height of his glory.

"It's your end, you bandit! Ryan can see the future! There's no way you can catch him off guard!" she shouted, full of confidence.

The sound of her voice echoed through the cave.

Ryan froze for a second.

Then, slowly, he brought his hand to his face, sliding it across his skin in a gesture of deep exasperation before muttering, almost in a lament:

"Damn it, Riko, it's not smart to say my ability out loud!"

Riko quickly put her hands over her mouth, as if she had realized she had said too much.

Beside her, Geto tilting his head slightly as he gestured in an almost didactic manner.

"Actually, revealing your technique would only make it stronger-"

"Don't come at me with that!" Ryan immediately pointed at him, interrupting him with an indignant tone. "That makes no sense at all! It sounds like lazy anime logic just to explain the characters' powers!"

While the three argued, the metallic sound of chains dragging across the ground filled the environment. Toji smiled, his narrow eyes gleaming with a predatory fascination.

"Is the chit-chat over?" his voice came laden with boredom, but with a lethal coldness. He spun the chain slowly, testing the weight, preparing himself. "I don't know if you've noticed, but my goal here is to kill you... and then give that girl the same fate."

The smile disappeared from Ryan's face.

In the next instant, Toji attacked.

The chain cut through the air, making an anomalous arc, as if it had a life of its own. Ryan's eyes widened. He had already memorized Toji's attack pattern, but this trajectory was new. He was adjusting his attack pattern.

"Shit!"

The damned chain wasn't the only problem.

Toji advanced at the same time, closing the distance with insane speed, his right fist raised for a direct blow against Ryan's skull. A coordinated attack, with no room for error.

Ryan ordered divine energy to course through his body. His own reflexes accelerated, and he managed to take a side step at the last instant, Toji's punch passing close to his face, displacing the air with violence. But there was still the chain.

It was coming again.

Ryan sensed the danger. There was no room to dodge normally.

Without hesitation, he threw all his energy into his legs and shot upwards. His feet left the ground, and in an instant, he launched himself towards the cave ceiling. The chain passed just below him, wrapping in an irregular formation before being pulled back by Toji.

Only Toji didn't stop.

He jumped after him, propelling himself with brutal force.

The two cut through the air like blurs, exchanging blows in mid-ascent. The noise of metal against flesh resounded, the cave lit only by the flashes of their exchanged attacks.

From below, Geto and Riko watched the scene with contrasting expressions.

Geto's eyes were wide, his pupils moving rapidly to try and keep up with the absurd pace of the fight. He kept his body tense, his fists clenched. Riko... well, Riko couldn't even see what was happening.

She blinked repeatedly, shaking her head from side to side, trying to understand anything beyond the dull thuds that reverberated throughout the cave.

Confused, she tugged at Geto's sleeve, forcing him to divert his attention from the battle.

"H-hey, Geto... is my Ryan winning?"

Geto blinked and looked at her, raising an eyebrow. "Your Ryan?"

Riko pouted. "Is he winning or not, geez?!"

Geto sighed. His gaze returned to the combat blurs, analyzing every detail. Ryan was starting to keep up with Toji. In the beginning, the assassin simply crushed him in speed and strength. But now...

"He's... getting faster," he murmured, almost surprised. "That's incredible. In the beginning, he seemed much slower than Toji."

Riko broke into a ear-to-ear smile.

"So he's winning?"

Geto remained silent for a few seconds, his sharp gaze still glued to the battle. He saw Ryan dodge another blow by a hair's breadth and retaliate with a cut that, this time, hit Toji. Even if it was superficial, he hit him.

Before he could answer, he felt Riko tug his sleeve again.

"Hey, Geto? He's winning, isn't he? HE'S GOING TO WIN, RIGHT-"

Geto closed his eyes and placed his hand on her face, pushing her back slightly.

"I don't know!" he grumbled, visibly annoyed.

Meanwhile, high in the cave, the two combatants landed on opposite sides of a high rock. Ryan wiped the corner of his mouth, tasting the metallic taste of his own blood. His gaze fixed on the assassin in front of him.

Toji lightly touched the superficial cut on his arm, raising an eyebrow in surprise before smiling.

"Hah... it's not often that someone manages to hit me."

Ryan spun the blade in his hand and chuckled.

"First time for everything, right?"

The air trembled with the intensity of the confrontation. Each blow exchanged between Ryan and Toji made the environment shudder, debris flew as the two lunged at each other, like beasts vying for supremacy.

Ryan felt his body heavy, but he couldn't stop. His muscles burned as his predatory gaze fixed on the enemy. Toji, on the other hand, displayed a wild smile, the insane gleam of someone who not only fights to win, but to savor every moment of combat.

"I need to end this once and for all!" Ryan thought, gritting his teeth as he advanced in a swift leap, his sword gleaming with energy.

Toji already foresaw the attack. His mind worked fast, cold and calculating. "Fighting someone who can foresee the future is challenging... but this certainly has a limit." His eyes followed Ryan's every move, waiting for the right moment to deliver the fatal blow. "This motherfucker is going to get tired at some point, and that's when I'm going to rip his head off!"

Toji's blade cut through the air with deadly precision, aiming for Ryan's neck.

A flash.

The cut went through flesh and bone. Blood spurted into the air.

But in the next instant, the scene reversed. Ryan breathed heavily, his body drenched in sweat, his eyes wide as time folded in on itself.

"Damn it... that was close."

He forced energy into his torso, recoiling millimeters in the exact time for Toji's blade to miss the fatal blow, sliding just enough to superficially cut his neck. The pain was real, but victory was within reach.

With his eyes burning with determination, Ryan propelled his body forward, his hand shooting out with absurd speed, his sword pointed directly at Toji's chest, aiming to impale him once and for all.

Then—

BAM!

Pain exploded in his body. A crushing impact launched him backwards like a rag doll, knocking the air out of his lungs.

He fell among the rubble, feeling every muscle protest against the insane effort. Toji, in turn, slid back, flexing his fingers with a predatory smile. The two were reaching their limit.

It was then that her voice echoed in his mind.

"Sensei..." Arona sounded worried, something unusual for her.

Ryan gasped, trying to get up as he murmured, "What is it...?"

"Your energy is almost gone."

His heart leaped.

"What...? What do you mean 'almost gone'?" He tried to laugh, but his own exhaustion betrayed him. His breathing was irregular, his body trembled. "The damn energy is running out, Arona?"

"You're going back in time too many times, Sensei!" She replied urgently.

Ryan wiped the sweat from his forehead and raised his eyes. Toji was already recovering, the chains clinking in his hands as he prepared for another attack.

"Relax, I'm not going to die." His voice still carried confidence, but this time, there was a thread of hesitation.

Arona, however, spoke firmly, for the first time sounding truly serious. "Sensei... you really won't die. But your energy... If it runs out, two scenarios could happen."

Ryan spun the sword between his fingers, preparing for Toji's imminent advance. "So?"

"The first... you will be incapacitated. You will be unconscious for an indefinite time, and when you wake up, your divine energy will be drained. You won't have enough strength to go back to this moment in time. And the more time passes, the harder it will be to return. It's like the theory of a rocket: the more fuel it need to go up, the heavier it becomes. Consumption only increases, until there's no way to advance anymore, or in your case back to this moment."

Ryan clenched his fists. "And the second...?"

There was a brief silence.

"If Toji will be dedicated to killing you." Arona hesitated. "And without enough energy, you will be trapped in a death loop. Your consciousness will return for milliseconds, but not enough to react. You will die repeatedly. Forever. Until your soul shatters."

Ryan tightened his grip on the sword hilt, his eyes gaining a murderous intensity.

Toji smiled.

Ryan also smiled.

"So... The next attack has to be the last."

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