Krishima's blade still trembled against Kurohiro's chest, but now—it was useless. The ghostly laughter echoing from Kurohiro sent chills down Krishima's spine. The place where his sword had struck… was now covered in armor.
Not just any armor.
A monstrous fusion of every beast Ravihiro had slain for his soul rings.
Krishima took a step back, his eyes narrowing. Something was wrong.
Kurohiro's laughter deepened.
His form began to shift mutate.
"You thought I was merely human?"
Kurohiro's voice distorted, reverberating like multiple beings speaking at once.
"No… I have always been something else."
Krishima lunged forward, hoping to use his speed to take control of the battle. His blade became a silver streak, aiming for Kurohiro's side.
CLANG!
Sparks flew as Kurohiro's legs were suddenly covered in armor.
Not just any armor—armor crackling with raw lightning.
The Thunder Rumbling Bird's speed-enhancing greaves.
Krishima barely had time to react as Kurohiro vanished in a blink. His body twisted unnaturally mid-air, appearing behind Krishima before he even registered the movement.
"Too slow."
BOOM!
A devastating kick sent Krishima plummeting to the ground like a meteor. The battlefield quaked under the force, creating a massive crater.
Krishima coughed up blood, his hands trembling. But he refused to go down.
"I won't lose to a monster."
He wiped the blood from his lips, his eyes burning with determination.
He launched himself back into the sky, slashing at Kurohiro's arms.
But before his blade could make contact
Kurohiro's hands had already transformed.
Dark, curved claws sharp enough to rip through steel.
The claws of the Giant Bull Ape.
Krishima barely dodged as Kurohiro slashed, the air itself screaming from the sheer sharpness of the attack. The sky was torn apart in long, dark rifts marks of the lethal force behind those claws.
Krishima tried to gain distance, but before he could
SHINK!
A scorpion tail erupted from Kurohiro's back, striking toward him like a viper.
The deadly tail of the Ghost Scorpion.
Krishima barely managed to deflect the attack, but the sheer venomous aura radiating from it made his body tremble. If that tail struck him even once it would be over.
Krishima panted, sweat rolling down his face.
"What… are you becoming?"
Kurohiro grinned. His body was now fully armored.
A twisted amalgamation of the strongest monsters he had slain:
Chest – The bone armor of Vritrasur, an unbreakable core that absorbed attacks.
Claws – The razor-sharp hands of the Giant Bull Ape, capable of rending through reality.
Head – A sinister purple gem embedded in his forehead, the mark of the Shadow Demon, pulsing with eerie light.
Back – A venomous, unpredictable scorpion tail, taken from the deadly Ghost Scorpion.
Legs – Boots crackling with lightning, stolen from the Thunder Rumbling Bird, giving him speed rivaling the thunder.
This was no longer Ravihiro.
This was Kurohiro, the beast of all monsters.
The gods watching from above trembled. What had been awakened was no longer a human, a warrior, or even a demon.
It was something that should not exist.
And as Kurohiro vanished again, reappearing in front of Krishima at impossible speed—his blackened, soulless eyes stared into Krishima's very being.
Then he smiled.
"Your nightmare begins now."
To be continued