| The Cyber Ascension | ARC 8 — Ganchio-Sae | Volume 8 | Chapter 81 : The Terror |
The wind stopped.
No screams.
No flames.
No movement.
Only the sound of two existences colliding without touching.
Sanji Youta stood tall inside Z's body, veins crawling beneath his skin like living scars. His aura warped the air around him, cracking the ground beneath his feet inch by inch. The land itself trembled, unable to endure his presence.
Across from him, Karasuya stood still.
Too still.
Not a single breath disturbed the dust around him.
Sanji Youta's lips curved into a cruel grin.
Sanji Youta:
"Interesting… you're not shaking. Not screaming. Not even pretending to be brave."
He slowly tilted his head.
"Most break before I even move."
Karasuya exhaled quietly.
Karasuya:
"That's because you're loud."
The air shuddered.
A pressure unlike before rolled outward—subtle, heavy, suffocating. The ground beneath Karasuya's feet darkened, cracks spreading in perfect circular patterns as if reality itself was bracing.
Sanji Youta's eyes narrowed.
Sanji Youta:
"…That pressure."
For the first time, he took a step back.
The spectators felt it instantly.
Haruko clenched her chest, gasping.
Eirien's eyes widened in disbelief.
Kiyoshi's knees trembled as if gravity itself had doubled.
Kiyoshi (whispering):
"This… isn't killing intent…"
Eirien:
"…It's suppression."
Karasuya raised his hand slowly. Not to attack. Not yet.
The sky dimmed—
as if someone had lowered the brightness of the world.
Karasuya:
"You're wrong about one thing, King of Hell."
His eyes locked onto Sanji Youta's.
"I'm not here to defeat you."
The ground beneath Sanji Youta suddenly collapsed inward, crushed by invisible pressure. His boots sank several inches into solid stone.
For the first time—
Sanji Youta's smile twitched.
Karasuya:
"I'm here to hold you in place… until the ritual begins."
A pulse erupted outward—
not an explosion, but a command.
The air screamed.
The sky fractured with black fissures like broken glass.
Sanji Youta's body strained, muscles bulging, veins glowing crimson as he tried to move—
—but couldn't.
Sanji Youta (gritting his teeth):
"Tch… you insolent—!"
Karasuya's eyes glowed faint violet.
Karasuya:
"Don't struggle."
Behind them, the wind howled violently as the battlefield trembled.
Far away, the others felt it.
Haruko's barrier cracked again.
Eirien whispered in shock:
Eirien:
"He's… restraining the King of Hell…"
Kiyoshi swallowed hard.
Kiyoshi:
"How long can he hold him…?"
The answer came instantly.
A deep, distorted laugh tore through the air.
Sanji Youta:
"Heh… Hahaha… HAAAAHAHAHA!!"
Cracks spiderwebbed across the ground around him.
Sanji Youta:
"You think this is enough to stop a god?"
A pulse of blood-red energy erupted outward, colliding with Karasuya's pressure—
the sky split open in a deafening thunderclap.
Two forces.
Two monsters.
Neither backing down.
And somewhere beneath it all—
The ritual circle began to glow.
The Ganchio-Sae… had begun to awaken.