Ken stood with his flaming sword in hand, his gray eyes reflecting a hint of hidden anger. In front of him, Nyoro stood ready, prepared for any move Ken might make.
Nyoro (with a mocking smile, tilting his head slightly):
"Oh? Don't tell me you're angry now?"
Ken (calm but confident):
"I'm not angry. I just pity you."
Nyoro raised an eyebrow, but quickly returned to his indifferent expression.
Nyoro:
"Oh really? Because I believe Terrakula cares about me?"
Ken (pulling out a cigarette and lighting it with a small flame):
"The thing you're most attached to… is often the very thing that destroys you."
Nyoro watched Ken slowly inhale, then exhale smoke into the air with deliberate ease. He didn't fully understand what Ken was getting at, but the tone made him uneasy.
Nyoro (irritated):
"So, you're saying I'll destroy myself?"
Ken (twirling the cigarette between his fingers):
"Do you know what's funny about smoking?"
He raised the cigarette in front of his eyes, watching the smoke fade.
Ken:
"It gives you comfort… calms your nerves… makes you think you're okay, despite everything."
Then, calmly, he pressed the cigarette out between his fingers. Ash crumbled and fell.
Ken (coldly):
"But in the end… it burns you up completely until there's nothing left but ash."
Nyoro stared silently. He could feel there was something deeper behind Ken's words—but he didn't want to admit it.
Nyoro (mocking, but more subdued):
"So, I'm just like a man clinging to a cigarette that's slowly destroying him?"
Ken (staring firmly, crushing the cigarette under his foot):
"Yeah. You and I… we're a bit alike, Nyoro."
Nyoro (quiet, but more serious now):
"You're trying to manipulate me, Ken."
Ken (calmly, foot still on the cigarette):
"Manipulate? No. I'm just showing you the truth. You're the one refusing to see it."
Nyoro (turning his face slightly, eyes narrowing):
"Oh, don't start with philosophical lessons. I don't need anyone to tell me what reality is."
Ken (with a faint smirk, raising his sword):
"Fine then. Let's see if your illusions hold up… when they're burning right in front of you."
Suddenly, Ken darted forward with lightning speed! In a blink, he was at Nyoro's right, swinging his flaming sword.
Nyoro (eyes widening, barely blocking with an unstable ice shield):
"What?!"
BOOM!!
Flames and ice clashed violently, but Ken didn't let up. He launched a relentless barrage of attacks—each strike coming with a venomous word meant to shatter Nyoro's focus.
Ken (coldly):
"You know deep down… you're just a puppet."
Nyoro (shouting as he blocks):
"Shut up!!"
But Ken kept pressing, mentally and physically.
Ken (with a cold smirk, swinging hard):
"Terrakula? Just a parasite. She'll use you until you're worthless—then throw you away."
Nyoro (now losing composure, his attacks turning wild):
"You don't know anything! She cares about me! She saved my life—made me strong!"
Ken (voice sharp, low):
"I'm getting bored of your stupidity. So let's end this—now."
Ken saw his chance—Nyoro was off-balance, distracted by emotion. The moment Nyoro raised his hand to attack again, Ken rushed in!
Before Nyoro could react, Ken had broken through his defenses—cut through the ice—grabbed Nyoro's wrist with his right hand, and yanked him forward!
Nyoro (eyes wide, losing balance):
"Wha—?!"
Without hesitation, Ken raised his flaming sword… and stabbed him straight into the left side of his abdomen!
SCHLNK!!
The blade burned through Nyoro's flesh, spreading searing heat from the inside. His eyes widened in shock. His body stiffened, and he let out a strangled cry, trying to shove Ken away.
Nyoro (choking, drenched in sweat):
"D-damn you… Yukaji Ken… you liar…!"
Ken (smirking, cold as ice):
"Oh really? Then tell me—why hasn't Terrakula come to save you? Why is she just standing there? She knows I'm stronger than you by miles. And she doesn't care."
Nyoro's eyes flickered with confusion—even through the pain, he knew Ken was right.
Nyoro (struggling, hands on his wound):
"That's… not… true…"
As blood poured from his side, he lifted his head to look toward Terrakula. She was standing in the distance—calm, silent. No rage. No panic. Not even a shout of his name.
Just… a small, empty smile.
Cold. Mocking. Like she had expected this all along. Then she turned away, as if she no longer cared.
Nyoro froze.
The chill in his chest was worse than the burning wound. That smile… pierced deeper than the blade.
Ken's face remained unchanged. He stared with deadly calm, waiting for it to fully sink in.
Then, he slowly pulled his sword out—inch by inch—ripping another scream from Nyoro's throat.
Nyoro staggered, nearly collapsed—but Ken didn't let him fall. He grabbed Nyoro by the collar and yanked him close. Their eyes met.
Ken (in a cold, cutting whisper):
"No one ever planned to save you. No one gives a damn about you. You were just a puppet in Terrakula's hands…
And now, you're my puppet."
Nyoro (shaking, barely able to breathe):
"I… I'm not… a puppet…!"
Ken gave a faint smile, then suddenly let go of Nyoro's collar and dropped his sword to the ground in a sharp move.
Nyoro stood in front of him, barely holding himself up, clutching his wound. Then—without warning—Ken clenched his left fist tightly and…
BOOM!!
His punch shot forward like lightning, smashing straight into Nyoro's face, snapping his head backward with violent force.
A wave of shock exploded through his skull.
Nyoro (gritting in pain, stumbling but trying to stand):
"Ghh…!!"
But Ken didn't stop. He rushed forward again. This time, the punch wasn't aimed at his face…
BOOM!!
Ken's fist slammed into Nyoro's chest like a flaming hammer, knocking the air out of his lungs in one crushing blow!
Nyoro (eyes wide, body twitching before collapsing to his knees, gasping):
"AAAH…!!"
He felt like his lungs were going to burst, but still didn't fall completely—
Ken wasn't finished. He lifted his leg and—
BOOM!!
Kicked him in the same spot, slamming Nyoro to the ground!
His back hit the stone floor hard. His body trembled, but he couldn't even scream—he didn't have the air for it.
Nyoro raised a shaking hand in a weak attempt to defend himself, but before he could even think—
BOOM!! BOOM!! BOOM!!
The punches came crashing down on him—nonstop!
Ken gave him no room to breathe. Fist after fist landed on his face, chest, stomach, face again—without hesitation, without mercy.
Nyoro's head spun. His vision blurred. The world faded.
But worse than the pain… was the helplessness.
Nyoro (eyes dimming, a tear sliding from one eye, his voice barely audible):
"P…please… stop…"
But Ken didn't care.
He stared at Nyoro's swollen face, the blood gathering at his lips, sweat soaking his forehead…
And those silent tears.
But to Ken… tears meant nothing.
He raised his fist again—this time, it was glowing with a faint flame.
He was ready to end it.
Ken (coldly, eyes sharp and merciless):
"This world has no place for naïve fools who live in fake happiness. Either learn to bleed and survive—or the truth will erase you completely."
Nyoro couldn't feel his body anymore. His chest rose and fell with effort. He tried to lift a hand to block—but nothing moved. He was out of strength.
BOOM!!
Ken's flaming fist slammed straight into his chest.
It wasn't just a physical blow—it shattered what remained of Nyoro's will.
A muffled cry escaped him. His body lifted slightly from the impact, then hit the ground again, limbs limp.
Nyoro (in his mind):
No… this can't be my end…
I… I can't be this… weak…
But his mind could no longer deny the truth.
The proud, defiant eyes he once had… were now empty.
There was only darkness.
Nyoro had lost.
Ken stood over him, gaze cold and unfeeling. He slowly raised his foot and stepped on Nyoro's trembling hand.
CRACK!!
Nyoro gasped faintly, but couldn't even scream.
He had no strength left.
All he could do… was look up at Ken with tear-filled, broken eyes.
Ken (quiet but sharp like a blade):
"Do you get it now? You never stood a chance.
Nothing you believed in was real…
Not your strength, not your pride, not Terrakula's loyalty.
It was all a lie you built to avoid the truth."
Nyoro felt something inside him shatter.
It wasn't the pain that crushed him…
It was those cruel words—cutting into him like glass.
Nyoro (in his mind):
A puppet… I was nothing more than a puppet…
His eyes lost focus.
His consciousness began to fade.
Ken stood silently above him, fist still clenched. But he didn't strike again.
There was no need.
Ken:
"It's over."
He stepped back calmly and lifted his foot off Nyoro's hand.
Then, holding his fire sword in his left hand, he gave it a light swing—extinguishing the flames—and slowly returned it to its sheath.
Ken (firmly, giving Nyoro one last look):
"This is the real world, Nyoro…"
Then he turned and walked away, calm and victorious.
He didn't look back—
But just before he left entirely, he stopped and said one last line without turning around:
Ken:
"If you still have even a shred of pride…
Learn from this.
Don't make yourself a joke again…
Falkhart Nyoro."
And with that, he walked off, leaving Nyoro behind—
bloody, broken, and defeated.
Nyoro had lost a lot of blood, a pool of red forming beneath him.
His face was swollen, and his closed eyes still held traces of tears even after he lost consciousness.
It was the first time he had ever lost complete control and been truly beaten.
There was no sound in the room…
except his shallow, ragged breathing.
Then suddenly—his body twitched slightly.
"Kh… Ggh…"
He coughed hard, spewing more blood from his lips.
His eyes opened halfway, but they didn't focus on anything. Everything was blurred.
Nyoro (weakly):
"Y… Yukaji Ken…
You're truly a heartless monster…"
He tried to raise his trembling hand, but his body wouldn't respond.
It dropped back down.
Another moment passed…
and he lost consciousness again.
But even half-unconscious, he saw only one thing in his mind—
Terrakula's cold, mocking smile as she watched…
doing nothing.
That alone crushed him deeper
than all of Ken's punches combined.
To be continued…