"Ragnarok... round 4... the gods have 2 wins, and humanity has one. And now we've reached a turning point in the opening rounds!!!" The announcer screamed into his microphone before the arena was revealed.
Many spectators stared at the arena while murmuring to themselves, before a man with six eyes stared at the stage with a katana near his waist.
"Wow, it's huge."
"It's the biggest stage so far."
"This round is being shown on monitors? There's an entire city inside the arena? How are they gonna fight there?!"
Multiple spectators started to murmur to themselves before the man with the six eyes just glared at the scene with disgust.
"What you see here is a recreation of the Shibuya, Sengoku Era in Japan! Humanity's champion requested this setting... and the god's champion, in his benevolence... has agreed to it!" The announcer roared into the microphone, getting the crowd really hyped up as some of them started punching their fists in the air.
"So for the first time ever, we'll have a street fight between a god and a human!!!" The announcer yelled throughout the arena as multiple spectators looked at each other.
"So the champion of the gods agreed to give humanity the homefield advantage? Why?" one of the human spectators whispered to another.
"Screw it. Give him all the advantage he wants!" One of the gods' spectators yelled into the arena.
Göll and Brunhilde looked over the arena before Göll had a worried look on her face.
"It's one thing for the guy to make this request, but why would Heracles agree to it?" Göll questioned, as Brunhilde had a smirk on her face.
"I knew my kind brother... would acquiesce." Brunhilde thought in her mind before smoke started to appear, while fire started to dance inside the smoke.
"Now that he has the setting he wants, let's see... what kind of fight Humanity's champion will put up. Here he is..." The announcer yelled as the smoke started to fill the walkway, and someone could be seen doing some sort of dancing.
"In the Sengoku era, 500 years ago... in a thick fog, a monster appeared out of nowhere. What was he trying to rend with his sharp blade? The life of the demon king that ran amok in his world? No! Society itself? No! In the blink of an eye, demons feared him; the greatest demon king in his era was plunged into horror by the strongest of the strongest. Harbouring the greatest light in his soul... he is... Humanity's most infamous... demon slayer! The demon himself..." The announcer roared out as a sword blitzed out of the smoke, revealing a tall man with a lean, muscular build, shoulder-length white hair that he keeps up in a bun, violet color eyes.
"TETSUYA... AKIO!!!" Tetsuya stormed out of the smoke while standing there with a completely emotionless face.
The people in the stands started to cheer as many placed their hands on their heads.
"Tetsuya Akio?! What? Is that actually him? The one whose brother turned into a demon? Why is a demon sider like him... representing humanity?!" Many spectators started to panic as Tetsuya just stood still, adjusting his gloves.
"What is the value of a life to you?" Tetsuya glared at the audience, making them shut up. "Life... is not something you can make fun of..."
"And now... taking on the difficult task... of redeeming the gods' humiliating loss to humanity... by providing an overwhelming victory... is none other than... the man who defeated the Nemean Lion and Cerberus, watchdog of the underworld... with just his bare hands! The man who ascended to demigood-hood! The messenger of justice... bringer of all-revealing light... to both the Earth and the Heavens!" Heracles rode on a chariot as the announcer yelled while Tetsuya sheathed his blade.
"A man of unparalleled bravery!!! Heracles!!!" Heracles smashed his club on the ground before Tetsuya slowly turned towards him with a stern expression.
Multiple audiences started to yell for Heracles.
"LORD HERACLES!!! HE'S SO COOL! LORD HERACLES, DON'T LOSE TO THAT DEMON SIDER!!! YOU'LL ALWAYS BE OUR HERO! WE'RE ROOTING FOR YOU!"
"Justice vs Demon, Demon vs Justice! Has there ever... been a more clear-cut matchup?" The announcer yelled as Tetsuya and Heracles stepped onto the field.
-Ragnarok: Round 4, Begin!!!-
"The personification of justice, who transcended his humanity to become a god... will go toe-to-toe with... the demon of the Sengoku Era! This is truly a fight of Justice vs Demon! There's no guessing how this match will unfold!" Heracles gritted his teeth before glaring at the monitor.
In the spectator stands
The young man with puffy hair stared down at the arena and started to observe the screen before the boy with a mysterious gaze looked and grinned at the young man.
"Wow, it looks to me like Heracles is very angry at who he's being paired against." The boy smirked before the young man just crossed his legs and stared at the screen, intriguingly.
Back in the arena.
"The previous champions, Lu Bu, Adam, and Sasaki Kojiro, were all... worthy representatives of Humanity... so much so that their fighting spirits actually inspired the gods! So why...? Why is my opponent this guy?! The demon sider... who allowed his older brother to turn into a demon?!" Heracles kept on gritting his teeth before veins appeared on his face.
"Why? DON'T MESS WITH ME, BRUNHILDE!!!" Heracles yelled to the sky as multiple spectators started to wonder amongst themselves.
"A demon sider representing humanity? I don't know what side to root for!" Multiple spectators murmured as the boy with a mysterious glance smirked at the young man with puffy hair.
"Hey, who's Tetsuya Akio anyway?"
"Tetsuya Akio... the strongest demon slayer in history, it is said that his presence was the only reason why demons went into hiding. Only because... he was born with the mark... he was also the sole reason... why the demon king was forced into hiding for 300 years." The guy with puffy hair replied.
Heracles glared at Tetsuya with an angry expression before gripping his club.
"I'll make this easy for you, bow your head and concede now! If you do, I will personally ask Lord Zeus to spare you from Niflhel, the complete destruction of the soul. Because, unlike you... I WILL NEVER SIDE WITH A DEMON!!!" Heracles declared before Tetsuya sighed and groaned.
"Shut up... you stupid gods... what? You think because you're gods, you get to be superior?" Tetsuya groaned before gripping his katana and aiming it at Heracles.
"Gods like you... who preach about justice and demons... makes me want to puke." Tetsuya gripped his sword so hard that he slashed through the pillar. "Come on, disgusting god, let's see if you can come kill this demon."
Heracles gritted his teeth before pointing at himself, "Fine, if that's how you want it, I'll be happy to... respond in kind!" Heracles readied his club before Tetsuya readied his katana.
Tetsuya suddenly rushed towards Heracles, who blocked his attack with his club. Heracles pushed back Tetsuya, who jumped back and landed on his feet before sighing.
"Tell me, Heracles... what is life to you?" Tetsuya questioned Heracles, who just huffed in response, making Tetsuya sigh again.
"I see... you're the same... all of you... disgusts me..." Tetsuya rushed towards Heracles and appeared in front of him before swinging his sword down.
"Sun breathing, First form: Dance!!" Heracles barely blocked the attack and attempted to kick Tetsuya before Tetsuya leaned back and dodged the attack. Tetsuya flipped backwards before Heracles swung another club at him.
"Begone." Heracles swung his club at Tetsuya before Tetsuya swung his sword in a circle and deflected the blow, just barely.
"Sun Breathing, Fourth Form: Burning Bones, Summer Sun." Tetsuya barely blocked Heracles' blow before rushing in for another attack. Tetsuya's eyes glowed as he took a wide slash at Heracles with his sword in a 360-degree motion by twisting his entire upper body.
"Sun Breathing, Second Form: Clear Blue Sky." Tetsuya's katana was able to give Heracles a small scratch before Heracles glared at him. Heracles glared at him before hopping back and glancing at his katana.
In the spectator stands.
"Eh~ breathing? What is that? I wanna know, I wanna know." The boy with red eyes gleamed at Tetsuya's techniques before playing with his strings.
"Breathing styles, they are swordsmanship styles that utilise total Concentration Breathing, which are practised and taught by Demon Slayers. All known Breathing Styles currently taught within the Demon Slayer Corps are derived from Sun Breathing, the first one ever created. So that means... Tetsuya Akio... is the one who created the first breathing style." The boy with puffy hair's eyes started to glow before analysing Tetsuya's techniques.
"Eh~ that sounds so cool. I wanna learn breathing styles too!!!" The boy with red eyes jumped before flowers appeared in his eyes. "I wanna fight too, this sounds so interesting if there are people like that fighting here."
In the arena.
Heracles clashed his club against Tetsuya's sword before Tetsuya took a breath, before he let his sword drop.
"Huh? He's letting my strength shatter his sword?" Heracles thought in his head before Tetsuya turned his blade so that the back of the blade faced against Heracles' club.
"Sun Breathing, Tenth form: Fire Wheel." Tetsuya swung his sword into the ground and escaped Heracles' swing.
"T-T-The Demon of the Sengoku Era was able to escape Heracles' rushing attacks!!!" The announcer yelled into the microphone before Tetsuya wiped his mouth.
"It's over already. You cannot outmatch me in strength." Heracles gripped his club before Tetsuya started to breathe, and Heracles readied to swing his club down on him.
"Breathe... Sun Breathing Third Form: Raging Sun!" Tetsuya slashed his sword up, barely able to roll and deflect the attack away before standing up and aiming his sword at Heracles.
"B-B-Being in a desperate situation before, Akio Tetsuya was somehow able to deflect Heracles' attack and barely move out of the way!!!" The announcer kept on yelling before Tetsuya aimed his sword at Heracles, before a mark appeared on the side of his head.
"What's the matter, God? I asked what life means to you... If you don't think life means anything to you, then be prepared to die a horrible death. Disgusting gods." Tetsuya declared as Heracles' eyes widened at those words before Tetsuya readied another stance.
"My Völund... is my katana. If you destroy my sword, then, as a swordsman, I would lose here. I will use all of the techniques to strike you down without a second thought, god. I am... a demon slayer." Everyone in the crowd started to cheer as the man with six eyes kept glaring at the screen.
In the stands.
"Hehe, we finally might be able to get another win, what do you think? But, I do wonder why Humanity has decided to choose Akio-San to fight the gods." The boy with red eyes snickered while the boy with puffy hair crossed his legs.
"The one thing that humanity has over the gods... is malice... the bottomless well of humanity's hatred goes deeper than the benevolence of the greatest god. Currently, Tetsuya's malice... is directed towards that god. His anger... cannot be measured even past a solemn face." The boy with puffy hair sighed before the red-eyed boy snickered again.
Back at the arena.
"What's wrong, Divine Hero? Did you not want to kill me?" Tetuya covered half of his face with his blade as he glared at Heracles.
"Now... let's see you tremble and die." Tetsuya declared before Heracles growled at him.