Asogi vs Yosukez

Kervan had been at the castle for an hour and a half.

The second moon had appeared in the sky, while the other sun was slowly setting. The sky, where orange and purple intertwined, was preparing the stage for the approaching battle. The wind swirled the dust from the stone ground, lifting it into the air.

Asogi and Yosukez stood face to face in the middle of the square.

Yosukez's body resembled that of a war god. His muscles bulged beneath his skin, covering him like a massive suit of armor.

He had pushed his physical enhancement ability beyond its limits, his body reaching nearly four times its normal strength. His shoulders had widened, his neck had thickened, and his arms looked like giant sledgehammers.

All or nothing.

He had to kill this monster—here and now.

Slowly, he lifted his foot and planted it firmly on the ground.

CRACK!

Fine cracks spread across the stone floor. And at that moment—

BOOM!

The ground beneath him shattered as if it had exploded, and Yosukez lunged forward like lightning.

His speed ripped apart the stone pavement. In the blink of an eye, he closed the distance between them, appearing right in front of Asogi.

A familiar, mocking grin spread across Asogi's lips.

"Wow. You're actually fast."

But he wasn't allowed to finish his sentence.

BAM!

Yosukez threw ten punches at an unimaginable speed. Each strike landed like a sledgehammer, the peak of raw power, brute strength, and sheer destruction.

BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM!

With each punch, Asogi's body caved inward—only to immediately swell back out, like a water balloon.

His body was pierced in ten different places, his internal organs exposed. And yet… he was still standing.

That grin hadn't disappeared.

"Since you made the first move, captain, now it's my tur—"

BOOM!

Yosukez didn't hesitate, attacking again.

Fists rained down—again and again.

Arms, legs, chest, head… His strikes tore through skin, crushed muscle, and pulverized bone. Each hit sent shockwaves through the air, cracking the surrounding stone.

Finally, Asogi's body completely fell apart.

His liquefied flesh scattered in all directions. Blood pooled across the stone ground, and the severed limbs seemed to melt into a grotesque sludge.

Yosukez took a deep breath.

"There's no way he could withstand that. Right?" He stared at the spreading pool of blood. But his warrior's instinct refused to let him relax. "No. Something's missing. This was too easy."

And then…

The flesh on the ground began to move.

Shlap, shlap, shlap…

Thin, sinister sounds echoed through the stone square.

From the scattered chunks of flesh, hundreds of needle-like tendrils shot out.

SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!

The needles sliced through the air, impaling Yosukez's body.

"AGGHH!"

His shoulders, legs, chest, back—everywhere.

They pierced his skin but couldn't go any deeper. His muscles were too dense for them to sink fully.

But the pain… the pain was real.

Blood slowly seeped from the wounds.

The guards recoiled in horror.

"Captain!"

They all moved at once, raising their weapons and rushing toward him. But—

Yosukez raised his hand.

With a single motion, he stopped them.

His eyes remained fixed on the battlefield, on the shifting flesh on the ground. He could feel the needles embedded in his body, but he didn't care.

This fight… he would finish it alone.

Asogi's voice echoed from within the scattered flesh.

"Captain… captain… CAPTAINNNNN!"

The needles impaled in the ground suddenly unraveled, turning into small pieces of flesh. Dark red droplets fell silently onto the stone.

The blood on the ground began to flow in reverse.

Asogi's shredded flesh quivered like a swarm of insects, then slid toward itself.

"Shlap… Shlap… Shlap…"

The unsettling sounds echoed through the stones.

Severed limbs defied gravity, rising into the air, twisting, and reconnecting.

Bones clashed together, cracking as they realigned. Muscle fibers writhed like serpents, binding together.

And then, Asogi opened his eyes once more.

That twisted grin was still there.

"Ahh..." He tilted his head, as if experiencing a new sensation. "You didn't let me finish my sentence… That's not fair. This feeling… hmmm..."

His glowing yellow eyes locked onto Yosukez.

"Yes… Anger. I feel angry."

Yosukez didn't waver. He took a deep breath and asked directly:

"Are you… a creature from the Outer World?"

Asogi's head tilted slightly, an eerie uncertainty in his expression.

"Outer World? What's that?"

Yosukez's brows furrowed.

So he doesn't know…

His eyes involuntarily flickered toward Raviene.

Or… is this thing a product of her ability?

But now wasn't the time for questions.

Only one thing mattered: finishing this fight.

I can't defeat him physically. That much is obvious. But every being has a limit.

Either he will wear out first… or I will.

But then, something unexpected happened.

Asogi's previous mocking demeanor was gone.

The air grew cold.

What was happening?

As Yosukez's gaze shifted toward Raviene, something inside Asogi was triggered.

Voices echoed in his head.

"Who is he looking at? Ah… right. He's looking at my father. Why is he looking at him? Is he going to attack him? No… my father is strong. But this feeling… why do I feel this way? I want to tear him apart…"

Yosukez involuntarily took a step back.

The aura emanating from that thing… it wasn't normal.

"Those eyes… How dare you look at my father like that?" Asogi's voice trembled, but not with rage—with twisted admiration.

"Do you want to hurt him? No. No. NO. I should gouge out your eyes.

With my hands? No. No. With my teeth."

Asogi's body trembled. His muscle fibers twisted and tightened, his veins bulged as if they were about to burst. As his scattered flesh reformed and merged, his body took on a grotesque new shape.

Yosukez couldn't even swallow as he watched the horrifying transformation.

CRACK.

His spine stretched, growing longer.

His arms sagged down to his knees.

Bones protruded and then sank back into his shifting flesh, his entire body contorting like a living, writhing mass.

And his face? That was no longer a human face.

His lips split open, tearing all the way down to his throat, his teeth no longer contained within his mouth.

His eyes… had vanished into the depths of their sockets.

Yosukez couldn't stop the trembling in his muscles.

The aura radiating from Asogi made the air feel heavier, pressing against his chest, suffocating him.

"What… is this feeling?" He thought to himself, cold sweat rolling down his forehead.

The presence emanating from that thing… it felt like the breath of a true monster.

I feel like I'm going to vomit everything inside me.

He clenched his teeth, suppressing the overwhelming sensation and keeping his eyes locked on Asogi as he shouted:

"No matter how much you change… I will still destroy you!"

Asogi gave a small hop—like a child skipping rope.

And then… he vanished.

"Where?!" Yosukez's eyes darted around, but he saw nothing.

"I can't track his movement. Just a moment ago, I had adjusted to his speed, but now… he's completely disappeared."

His heartbeat pounded in his ears like a war drum.

"So, you plan to destroy me, little creature?"

The voice came from directly in front of him.

Before Yosukez could react, an unimaginable pressure crashed into his stomach.

BAM!

The force of the impact drove every ounce of air from his lungs.

The sickening sound of bones shattering echoed painfully through the battlefield.

His entire body lifted off the ground, sent flying uncontrollably toward the stone pavement.

"GRAAAAH!"

Yosukez instinctively pulled his arms in to shield his chest, but he couldn't stop himself from tumbling across the battlefield.

His shoulder popped out of its socket, waves of agony surging through his body.

CRASH!

He slammed into the area where his soldiers stood.

When Yosukez finally hit the ground, groaning men surrounded him—some writhing in pain, others completely motionless.

"Ahh… damn it…" He spat blood, the metallic taste coating his tongue.

As he struggled to push himself up onto his knees, his ankles trembled.

"This… this speed… this power… Just moments ago, we were evenly matched. How did this happen…?"

A shadow flickered in front of his eyes.

Yosukez looked up—and his eyes widened in horror.

The moment the soldiers saw Yosukez collapse, they rushed forward.

"Captain!" They shouted, raising their weapons.

But just as they were about to strike—

SWISH!

Something invisible tore through the air.

Yosukez narrowed his eyes.

Before he could comprehend what had happened, one of the soldiers suddenly froze in place.

A thin, black line appeared across his chest.

And then—

SPLAT!

The entire squad was instantly torn apart.

It was as if they had been sliced by a butcher's blade.

Blood sprayed in all directions. Severed limbs and bisected torsos collapsed to the ground like discarded meat.

And in the midst of the carnage—Asogi stood.

His fingertips dripped with fresh blood, his expression empty and unreadable.