Hey, Chango—go check him," Jango ordered, his grin never fading. "We need at least the body to collect the bounty."
"Yeah," Chango grunted, hefting his hammer as he walked toward the shattered wooden house.
Step… step…
A figure emerged from the wreckage.
Kairoz.
"He's alive," Jango muttered, narrowing his eyes.
Blood streamed down Kairoz's forehead, his armor crushed and bent.
"You bastard… no one's ever survived my energy ball before," Jango said with a crooked smile. "Guess a monster like you is an exception. Heheh…"
Step… step…
Kairoz didn't answer—just walked forward and took his stance, blood dripping onto the cobblestones.
"You're in no condition to fight us," Jango sneered.
Still, Kairoz said nothing, his face shadowed beneath the streaks of blood.
"Boys," Jango called out, voice low but eager, "let's claim our prize."
"Yeahhh!" Chango roared, swinging his hammer in a slow circle.
Tango's smile sharpened as he readied his knives.
Jango and Tango vaulted onto opposite rooftops, moving like predators to cut off any escape. Chango stayed on the ground, hammer in hand.
The three closed in, their formation sealing Kairoz inside a deadly triangle.
"Let's get this party started," Jango said, eyes gleaming in the moonlight.
Kairoz exploded forward, twin swords flashing in the moonlight.
Chango roared and swung his hammer in a wide arc—
BOOM! The ground split beneath the impact, shards of stone spraying into the air.
At the last instant, Kairoz leapt high, twisting in midair. One blade came down in a vicious strike aimed at Chango's head.
Chango jerked aside—the blade slammed into the earth where he'd stood, releasing a violent shockwave that rattled the nearby walls.
That could've been fatal, Chango thought, eyes narrowing.
Kairoz didn't give him a heartbeat to recover. He was already moving again, blades blurring as he rained down rapid strikes.
Chango gritted his teeth, meeting each blow with the haft of his hammer.
He's fast… too fast.
Tch… with Chango in the way, I can't hit him with another energy ball, Jango thought. Otherwise, Chango will get caught too.
Then his grin returned. Unless…
Above, Tango's arm snapped forward—
shnk!
A knife cut through the air toward Kairoz.
Kairoz sensed it and hopped backward just as the blade slammed into the ground, vibrating from the impact.
The moment's distraction was all Chango needed. His hammer swung down in a brutal arc.
Kairoz caught the blow on both swords, metal screaming on metal. The impact still sent him sliding back, until his back smashed into a wooden wall.
Boards splintered. He rolled away and pushed himself upright, chest heaving.
Now's the chance, Jango thought. Blue Kendra energy surged into his palm, crackling like a living thing.
"Goodbye."
He thrust his hand forward—
BOOM!
The blast tore through the street, engulfing Kairoz in a shockwave of light and dust.
The dust began to thin, shapes slowly emerging.
"His body should've been shattered," Jango muttered with a smirk—then froze.
"Wait… he's not there—"
A flicker of movement above caught his eye.
Kairoz was on the rooftop, descending in a blur, his sword arcing toward him.
"Shit—! I… I don't have anything to block it!" Jango's voice cracked as he dove to the ground—
SHHK!
The blade tore through him mid-dive.
"Aaaahhh!" Jango's scream split the night as his severed hand spun away, blood spraying in the moonlight.
Both he and Kairoz crashed to the ground, the swordsman rolling to his feet while Jango writhed, clutching his stump.
"B-Big brother!" Tango's voice broke in a furious scream from above.
"Ahhh! Ahhh! Ahhh!" Jango's screams tore through the street. "It hurts! It hurts!"
Kairoz stood over him, eyes cold, looking down at the man like he was nothing more than garbage sprawled in the dirt.
"Bastard!" Chango roared.
He charged, hammer raised high, and brought it down with bone-crushing force.
Kairoz slipped aside at the last second—
CRASH!
The blow demolished the nearest house in a shower of splinters.
Chango swung again.
And again.
Each missed strike shattered walls, splintered beams, and caved in rooftops, the street becoming a ruin under his rage.
Kairoz kept weaving between the slams, his breathing steady, watching the brute destroy everything around him.
Strange… he thought, sliding past another crushing blow. After all this noise, not a single villager has come out to see what's happening.
This guy's gone mad, Kairoz thought as Chango roared and brought his hammer down toward his head.
Kairoz caught the blow with both swords crossed, the force driving his boots deep into the ground. The impact rattled his bones, and blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.
Chango pulled his hammer back for another strike—
SWOOSH!
Kairoz answered with a wide, vicious slash that tore across Chango's stomach.
"Ahhhhhh!" Chango screamed, staggering backward.
Knives flashed from above—Tango again. Kairoz ignored them, even as one buried itself into the armor on his hand. He lunged forward, slashing Chango again.
Chango swung his hammer in desperation, but Kairoz's speed was overwhelming. Steel carved through the air again and again, blood spraying in every direction.
Tango's eyes widened—panic creeping in—before he dropped from the rooftop, charging at Kairoz with his knives spinning in a blur.
Kairoz dodged, but a few blades grazed his arms and side. He's fast, Kairoz admitted, shifting his stance.
Behind him, Chango dropped to one knee, using Kendra energy to desperately seal his bleeding wounds.
"I don't have time for you," Kairoz growled at Tango.
Tango rushed him—
SHHK!
Kairoz unleashed a power slash infused with Kendra. Tango's hand flew from his wrist in a spray of blood.
"AHHHH!" Tango's scream cracked through the night—only to be cut short as Kairoz drove a brutal forward kick into his chest, sending him flying.
"It's time for the big boy," Kairoz said coldly.
Chango's forehead beaded with sweat, his wound still barely stitched together by Kendra energy. He's coming… it's over, he thought.
CLASH!
Jango stepped in, one sword in his single remaining hand, blocking Kairoz's strike. His stump still glowed faintly blue where Kendra energy sealed the severed part, slowing the bleeding.
"You still want to fight?" Kairoz asked, his tone almost mocking.
"I can't… let my little brother die!" Jango roared, his sword flaring bright with Kendra energy as he shoved Kairoz back.
Kairoz slid to a stop, eyes narrowing. He's only got one hand—what's he going to do?
Jango lowered his sword.
Recognition hit Kairoz instantly. Tempest Strike…
"Tempest Strike!" Jango bellowed.
A shockwave erupted from his blade, hurling Kairoz backward toward a ruined house.
Mid-flight, Kairoz twisted his body, landing sideways on the wall like a predator. His feet ignited with Kendra energy—
BOOM!
He launched himself forward like a missile, the roof shattering under the force.
Jango's eyes went wide—too late.
SLASH!
The strike was so fast Jango didn't even realize he'd been cut—until his body split clean in two, collapsing in a spray of blood.
"One down…" Kairoz said, his voice cold as steel. "Now it's your turn—both of you."
"Biiig brother!" Tango screamed, slamming his remaining hand into the dirt. His whole body shook with rage.
Even Chango's face twisted, tears cutting through the blood and grime.
What's with them? Kairoz thought, puzzled at their sudden grief.
"I'll kill you!" Chango bellowed.
"You're finished!" Tango snarled. "I swear to God!"
"Is that so?" Kairoz's lips curved into a thin, dangerous smile. "Then maybe you should pray to God… for my mercy."
Chango roared and slammed the ground, the impact shaking the broken street.
Kairoz launched upward in a sudden leap-
Knives whistled toward him midair, but he twisted his body, singing steel cutting through the air as his swords flashed—SHANG!—knocking the blades aside before he landed.
"I'll take my brother's sword… and even if it kills me, I'm ending him," Tango growled, gripping the hilt tightly.
"Let's go, Chango," he snarled.
Another hammer slam came from Chango, shaking the earth. Tango rushed forward with the sword, fury in his eyes.
"You're wide open," Kairoz said coldly—driving one of his blades straight through Tango's side.
"Ahhh!" Tango roared in pain—but still pushed forward, the sword in his grip arcing toward Kairoz's neck.
What—?! Kairoz's eyes widened. He twisted away at the last instant, but not before the blade grazed him.
"Shit," Kairoz hissed—only to see Chango's hammer already coming for him.
He brought up his sword to block—
CRACK!
The blade shattered under the sheer force. The hammer connected, slamming Kairoz into the dirt hard enough to crater the ground.
"Tango!" Chango shouted.
"Don't… worry about me," Tango gritted out, Kairoz's broken sword still lodged in his side. "Kill that bastard."
Chango's grip tightened on his hammer. "First… I'll destroy both your legs. Then your arms. You'll live like that for the rest of your miserable life."
Kairoz pushed himself up from the rubble, his breathing heavy. His last sword lay in pieces.
His expression hardened—no more words, no more smirks. Only cold, deadly focus.
Chango charged, hammer raised high.
I need that sword from Tango, Kairoz thought, slipping past the first swing. The hammer smashed into the ground, splintering stone.
Kairoz weaved between more attacks, then in a blink—vanished. Kendra energy surged, and he reappeared right in front of Tango.
Tango's eyes went wide. "Bastard—come any closer and I'll kill you!"
Kairoz's hand was inches from the sword when—
"Where do you think you're going?" Chango's voice thundered behind him.
Tch, Kairoz hissed, annoyed.
The hammer came down. WHAM! The impact blasted Kairoz across the ground.
"Don't touch my brother!" Chango roared.
Kairoz slowly rose to his feet, eyes locked on Chango. "Those were the last words of your big brother… and they'll be yours too."
Chango's face twisted with rage. His aura flared, Kendra energy bursting around him. "I'LL KILL YOU!"
"Dark move," Kairoz muttered, raising his hand toward Chango.
A shadow seemed to ripple in the air. "Soul Hook," he said, and black energy coiled around his arm.
"Wha—what the hell is that?" Chango's voice shook.
From Kairoz's palm, a massive hand of pure darkness shot forward. Chango swung his hammer at it—only for the spectral hand to pass straight through the weapon and clamp onto his chest.
The moment it touched—Chango convulsed. "Ahhh—I… I'm choking!"
"Tango! It's his Kendra energy!"
Kairoz's eyes gleamed. With a flick of his wrist, the dark hand lifted higher—Chango's body floated helplessly into the air, legs kicking.
"What's… going… on?" Chango gasped.
"That bastard—stop it!" Tango roared.
Kairoz walked toward them slowly. "It's called Soul Hook. It attacks the soul directly. It doesn't last forever… but it'll last long enough."
With his free hand, he ripped the sword from Tango's grip. "Ahhh—!" Tango grunted, clutching his side.
The dark hand still held Chango suspended. "I… can't… breathe…" Chango wheezed.
"I'm starting to lose control," Kairoz said, tightening his grip on the hilt, "so let's finish this."
He leveled the sword's point toward Chango.
"No! Don't do it!" Tango shouted.
"Goodbye," Kairoz said, yanking Chango forward toward the blade.
For a heartbeat, the world seemed to slow. Kairoz's eyes caught every detail—the panic in Chango's face, the trembling of his arms, the ragged gasp of air. It was as if time itself wanted him to see this, to remember it.
Just like that… another life about to end by my hands. Kairoz's grip tightened. Why does it feel so natural… like I was built for this?
SLASHHH!
The sword cut clean, the motion smooth yet final. The sound of steel through flesh was followed by a hollow, ringing silence.
Then—an echo. The cut's sharp hiss seemed to travel across the ruined village, carried by the wind like a grim announcement.
Blood spilled onto the broken earth. Chango's body went limp in the grip of the Soul Hook.
Tango dropped to his knees, tears streaming down his face. "Chango… please… don't leave me."
Kairoz reached to his side, pulling the knife from his armor—the same blade Tango had struck him with earlier. He studied it for a second, then looked at the grieving brother.
"You all put up a good fight," Kairoz said calmly. "But in the end… you were fighting the next head of the Nox Clan."
Tango's hands clenched, but his shoulders shook. He didn't look up.
"You're going to miss them?" Kairoz asked.
"Of course, you bastard!" Tango snarled through the tears.
Kairoz's arm moved in a blur—
THUNK!
The knife buried itself in the center of Tango's forehead. His eyes went wide for a split second before his body toppled forward onto the dirt.
Then Kairoz collapsed to the ground. "I'm… exhausted," he muttered
Back toward the fountain.
"Hey, Violet. Long time no see," said Dan Finsher, his voice carrying a mix of mockery and familiarity.
Violet's eyes narrowed as she turned toward him. In her hand, the Soulbind Chain coiled and shimmered faintly, as if alive and eager to be unleashed.