Chapter 30: Rakshasa's Palm
A jolt of fear shot through Kaito's heart. A terrifying sense of crisis descended upon him in an instant, and the intense stimulation from his nerve endings caused his pupils to constrict violently.
This palm strike… it's fatal!
The absolute certainty of death flooded his senses.
The so-called [Koei Style - Rakshasa's Palm] was another martial art from the world of Kengan. It utilized an explosive, twisting force to instantly shred a target's muscles and even their internal organs. It was an exceptionally deadly killing technique.
As Kaito's pupils contracted, his heart began to pound at a frantic pace, dozens of times faster than normal. This sudden, extreme acceleration caused his entire body to flush red as the powerful pumps of his heart ruptured fine capillaries beneath his skin. At the same time, the massive influx of oxygen sent his brain into a state of slow motion.
A flood of detailed sensory information washed over him. Normally, the human body can't process such a vast amount of data and simply ignores it, but in this moment, Kaito took it all in.
He saw Evans's hand, twisted to its absolute limit, lash out with terrifying force, the palm rotating rapidly in the opposite direction on impact, accelerating and twisting the power of the strike.
This was the [Koei Style - Rakshasa's Palm].
Kaito's muscles swelled, and his frame grew several centimeters in an instant. But he had charged forward using the [Raging Fire] footwork, and his momentum was irreversible. The Rakshasa's Palm was already upon his chest.
In that fraction of a second, Kaito could clearly see Evans's pupils dilate, the corners of his mouth unconsciously curling into a triumphant arc.
Satoshi Suzuki had unleashed his secret technique, and as he'd hoped, Kaito Shirogane was completely unprepared, charging straight into it. His own heart was pounding uncontrollably. In the instant his palm made contact with Kaito's chest, Satoshi was already wondering if he should tell the [Nexus Throne] about the stolen [Card].
BAM!
The terrifying palm strike landed. Its twisting power was unleashed in an instant.
BOOM!
Kaito was sent spiraling through the air, crashing through the basement door and flying into the main hall of the bar. The sound of the doorframe exploding was so violent that the music in the bar cut out instantly.
"AH!"
"What's going on? Did the gas explode?!"
Several people saw Kaito crash into a wall and collapse to the ground. He looked to be in a horrific state. The clothes on his upper body had been completely shredded by the twisting force, and the muscles on his left chest and shoulder were visibly contorted into a grotesque spiral. From the helical pattern of the damage, one could only imagine that the muscle fibers had been completely torn, if not completely severed. The impact of being thrown over ten meters into a wall also left blood streaming from his nose and mouth.
As if he felt nothing, he climbed back to his feet and slowly walked back to the basement entrance.
Chao, who had been howling in pain from his severed Achilles tendon, instinctively fell silent when he saw the blood-soaked Kaito approaching.
"Big… Big Bro Kaito, I… Ah!"
He suddenly felt his body go light. Kaito had grabbed him by the collar with one hand and casually thrown him out of the basement. It was the first time since becoming an adult that Chao had felt so weightless.
"Tell everyone outside the gas exploded," Kaito's voice rumbled. "Tell them all to get the hell away from here."
Chao had been with Katsu for a while and had interacted with Kaito a few times, but he had never seen him in this state. Big Bro Kaito's voice was deep and terrifying. His entire demeanor… it wasn't human.
Chao was frozen on the floor. He saw Kaito look back at him from the basement entrance. Only then did he see it: Kaito's eyes were a blank, solid white.
An icy chill shot up from the soles of his feet. Ignoring the pain in his ankle, Chao began to crawl across the floor, screaming.
"Gas explosion! Everyone get out, the gas is exploding!"
Cries of alarm filled the bar. The crowd scrambled and pushed, desperate to get outside. Not a single person spared a glance for the scene inside the basement.
The look of joy on Satoshi's face gradually faded. He frowned, studying Kaito's current state.
"What is this… some kind of transformation technique?"
The number of abilities in the Infinite Space was countless. Satoshi considered himself well-versed in anime, novels, and movies, but he couldn't identify what power Kaito was currently using. He could see the clear, twisted damage to Kaito's chest; his Rakshasa's Palm had definitely landed.
A newcomer who just entered the Nexus took a direct hit from my Rakshasa's Palm… Shouldn't his heart have been twisted into pulp in an instant…?
How is he even standing? No, not just standing… he looks like he still wants to fight…
Is this some kind of joke?!
"Big Bro Kaito… Big Bro… please, let us go… I'm begging you!" Katsu cried, yanking the tarot card from the back of his hand through sheer force of will. Seeing Kaito revert to his "monster" form brought all his past traumas flooding back. He didn't dare stay here a second longer.
But neither Kaito nor Satoshi paid him any mind. To them, Katsu, Akane, and the two unconscious men on the floor might as well have not existed.
"Round two… Evans."
Kaito suddenly lifted his left leg high into the air. The movement was so exaggerated that it looked nothing like the starting posture for [Niko Style - Fire Kata - Raging Fire]. The Fire Kata was a series of footwork techniques, designed to use the body's explosive power for instantaneous movement. Even so, each move was subtle, designed to prevent the enemy from reading it in advance. Any technique, no matter how powerful, was useless if it was telegraphed. It was the same reason that Satoshi's Rakshasa's Palm, despite its terrifying power, had to be used from an enemy's blind spot; the wind-up from twisting the arm was too obvious. Kaito had been hit because his own clumsy use of [Raging Fire] had been easily read, allowing Satoshi to lie in wait and land a perfect counter.
Satoshi watched Kaito's ridiculously high leg lift, unable to discern his intent. But he could see that the rookie Reincarnator known as Kaito Shirogane was… smiling.
CRACK!
Kaito stomped his foot down. The floor shook violently, then instantly collapsed.
Amidst the piercing screams of Katsu and Akane, Satoshi's heart seized.
It's still the [Niko Style - Fire Kata - Raging Fire]!
He instinctively turned to run, but a fierce wind was already roaring up behind him. The very air in the basement was being churned, as if a small hurricane had been born within it.
As Satoshi's pupils trembled, all he could see was a completely twisted right arm, spinning as it lashed out at him.
He instinctively tried to tense his muscles to use the powerful defensive technique, [Niko Style - Adamantine Kata - Indestructible], but the palm had already struck.
Thwump!
Kaito's palm slammed into Satoshi's side as he was halfway through his turn. Kaito's face was a grim mask of a smile, streaks of crimson blood still staining his lips and teeth.
[Koei Style - Rakshasa's Palm]!