Chapter 48 – The Final Blow
The monster roared, a guttural, earth-shaking sound that rattled the air like thunder tearing through the sky. Its massive frame lunged forward with a violent headbutt, the sheer force of its charge causing the ground beneath its feet to splinter. Aoi and Mirko reacted instantly, their bodies springing into motion. At the very last heartbeat, they leapt aside, narrowly avoiding the impact.
The creature struck the ground with terrifying might. The earth cracked open, a crater nearly eight meters wide ripping across the battlefield, dust and shattered rock blasting outward in a violent storm.
Aoi landed on the fractured soil with Mirko at his side, his chest heaving. A grin tugged at his lips despite the intensity of the moment.
— Good thing I dodged. Even if I can heal, I'm no masochist. No point in taking hits when I can just avoid them.
Mirko flexed her hands and cracked her knuckles, her golden eyes never leaving the monster as it slowly clawed its way out of the crater. Its grotesque body oozed power, muscles tightening as if eager for more destruction.
— Got a plan, genius? — she asked, her tone sharp but playful.
Aoi tilted his head, rolling his neck until it popped. His expression hardened, voice firm.
— The only thing we can do is end this thing. And since it's not human… I don't have to hold back.
That was enough to make Mirko's feral grin widen. Her ears twitched with excitement.
— That's what I like to hear.
She launched herself like a bullet. In an instant she closed the distance, her knee driving into the beast's abdomen with explosive force. The impact sank the ground further, shockwaves tearing through the surrounding forest. Yet the creature reacted with startling speed for its size. Its massive fist swung down, connecting squarely with Mirko. The strike detonated like a cannon blast, hurling her across the field and sending her crashing through stone and dirt.
— Mirko! — Aoi's voice thundered across the battlefield.
Summoning the flames that coiled within him, he propelled himself into the air. Blue fire surged from his body as he shot forward, faster than the eye could follow. He appeared right in front of the monster's face, twisting midair. With a sharp spin, he unleashed a blazing kick into its jaw. The cold fire erupted on impact, and the beast's massive head snapped upward as its body lifted off the ground, hurled into the sky.
Mirko, already bruised but far from defeated, pushed herself to her feet with a growl. Her muscles coiled like springs as she sprinted back toward Aoi.
— Why don't you just keep pressing it with your speed?! — she demanded, frustration cutting through her tone.
Aoi's eyes narrowed. He tilted his gaze upward, following the monster's body as it soared. The wounds left by his flames were already knitting back together, the flesh sealing as if time itself bent to its will.
— Just as I suspected… it can regenerate. — His eyes glowed brighter, engulfed in azure fire. — Which means there's only one way to finish this.
Mirko raised an eyebrow, curiosity sparking even through the adrenaline rushing in her veins.
— And what's that?
Aoi clenched his fists, his resolve solid as steel.
— Destroy it completely. Leave nothing behind.
Mirko's grin returned, wilder than ever, fangs flashing in the ghostly glow of the flames.
— Now that's my kind of plan!
Together they charged again. Their combined assault shook the battlefield like a storm unleashed. Every strike was a thunderclap. Every collision erupted in shockwaves that ripped trees from their roots and sent boulders rolling into the sea. The island itself seemed to groan under the weight of their fury.
But Aoi could feel it—this couldn't go on much longer. If the fight dragged out, the island would be reduced to rubble. He had to end it now.
Seizing the moment while Mirko pinned the monster down with a flurry of rapid kicks, Aoi gathered his strength. The flames inside him roared like a living beast, responding to his call. Blue fire engulfed his body, brighter and stranger than ever before. The air shimmered and twisted, not from heat, but from an unnatural distortion, as though reality itself bent around his burning form. This was no ordinary flame—it radiated no warmth, yet carried the weight of annihilation.
With a burst, he rocketed upward, faster than the sound of his own motion. His leg slammed into the monster's torso, the impact cracking bones like breaking stone. The creature shot into the sky, its enormous frame nothing more than prey for Aoi's wrath.
Without hesitation, he followed. His body tore through the atmosphere, breaking the sound barrier with a deafening boom. Another crushing strike connected, sending the monster tumbling even higher, blood spraying through the air in a crimson arc.
— There won't be a third chance! — Aoi roared, his voice carrying across the heavens.
He surged forward again, breaking the sound barrier a second time. The world split with the force of his speed. He overtook the monster, rising above it, now towering in the sky.
Suspended in the heavens, he burned. His entire being was a radiant sun of blue fire, his aura blazing so fiercely it cast shadows across the island far below. And yet, no warmth reached the earth—only a chilling, oppressive presence that smothered the air with raw energy.
— It's over!
With every ounce of his strength, Aoi dove. Gravity and power fused into one devastating descent. His leg blazed brighter, flames sharpening into the image of a colossal blade, a ghostly axe of fire. He pushed himself beyond limits, four times faster than sound, his body howling through the atmosphere like a comet tearing the sky apart.
The moment of impact was apocalyptic. His strike collided with the monster, crushing it downward. The ocean below erupted as if the world itself had split. A sonic explosion rippled outward, shaking the island to its core. The monster's body hit the sea with cataclysmic force, a wall of water towering into the sky before crashing down in a tidal wave that swallowed the shoreline.
The earth trembled. The winds screamed. And then silence.
Hovering above, Aoi breathed heavily, flames still flickering faintly around him. His eyes remained locked on the churning sea where the monster had vanished. His thoughts cut like blades.
"From that height… not even the ocean can save it. That thing is finished."
The cold fire faded, leaving only the human form of its wielder. With one last glance at the raging waters, Aoi turned, his feet of blue flame carrying him back toward the shattered island below.