| The Cyber Ascension| Arc 7 — The Bloodlines and Carnage| Volume 7 | Chapter 75 : Z's Fall |
The battlefield no longer looked like the Second Heaven.
It looked like a grave that hadn't finished swallowing its dead.
The sky burned.
The earth cracked open, glowing from within like exposed organs.
Every breath tasted like ash and blood.
Z stood at the center of it all.
Barely.
His knees trembled. Blood ran down his chin, dripping onto the shattered ground. His katana shook in his grip—not from fear, but from exhaustion so deep it felt like his bones were rotting from the inside.
Sanji Youta rolled his neck slowly.
Crack.
Crack.
His armor was chipped. His skin torn in places—but his aura?
Still monstrous.
He laughed softly.
Not loud.
Not wild.
A low, pleased sound, like a predator enjoying a long hunt.
Sanji Youta
"…You're amazing, Z."
He stepped forward.
Each step crushed the ground, leaving burning footprints behind.
Sanji Youta
"A human who cuts meteors.
A bloodline that refuses to die.
A vessel that screams perfect."
Z forced himself upright, coughing violently.
Z
"…Shut… up…"
His vision doubled. Then tripled. Purple light flickered in his eyes—unstable, cracking, threatening to go dark.
Sanji Youta raised his massive katana.
The blade hummed.
The air around it bled.
Sanji Youta
"But now—"
He vanished.
Not speed.
Erasure.
Z's instincts screamed.
He barely turned—
—too late.
The katana struck.
The impact didn't cut.
It ended things.
Z was sent flying, his body smashing through stone, trees, and scorched earth before crashing hard into the ground. A shockwave erupted outward, flattening what little remained of the forest.
Z tried to move.
His fingers twitched.
Nothing else responded.
Sanji Youta appeared above him, blade already raised again.
Sanji Youta
"Nouraishino."
The strike came down like judgment.
Z crossed his katana with shaking arms.
CRACK.
The sound was wrong.
Metal screamed.
Z's katana shattered—fracturing into pieces of purple-lit steel that scattered like dying stars.
The force slammed into his body.
His ribs collapsed inward.
Blood sprayed.
Z's eyes widened—and then slowly lost focus.
His body hit the ground.
Hard.
Once.
Twice.
Then… stillness.
---
Silence.
Haruko's barriers trembled violently.
Haruko
"…Z…?"
Eirien took a step forward.
Stopped.
For the first time—his calm expression broke.
Kiyoshi's grin vanished completely.
His eyes were wide.
Empty.
Sanji Youta looked down at Z's unmoving body.
No smile.
Just satisfaction.
He placed a boot on Z's chest.
Pressed lightly.
Sanji Youta
"Unconscious already?"
He tilted his head.
Sanji Youta
"…Good."
Z didn't respond.
Didn't breathe properly.
Didn't move.
The Tenshoudhā light in his eyes flickered—
—and went dark.
Sanji Youta lifted his gaze toward the others.
Sanji Youta
"Now."
His aura exploded outward, drowning the battlefield in red-black pressure.
Sanji Youta
"Who wants to try saving him?"
---
Z had fallen.
The King of Hell was still standing.