[Chapter Header]
ARC: Back Attack Land
Akos stood frozen, blood leaking from his mouth as Hitomi drove his second spike-like hand deep into Akos's stomach. The world began to fade into a cold blackness as his eyelids grew heavy, flickering for the last time.
In an instant, his eyes snapped open—not with life, but with something ancient. Hitomi froze, a primal terror seizing his chest. Crimson droplets didn't just leak; they streamed from Akos's eyes like weeping wounds, and the air grew thick with a suffocating, gravitational pressure.
"You..." a voice echoed. It wasn't Akos. It was Sakoura, peering through the boy's pupils at the trembling devil.
"How dare you touch my soul?" Sakoura's voice dripped with a cold, lethal authority.
Hitomi's single eye widened until it threatened to tear. "You? What are you doing inside him? You died a thousand years ago... in the Heian Era!"
Sakoura's gaze was pure disgust. "If you utter another word, I will tear you into pieces. Do not even think about killing him."
As quickly as it had appeared, Sakoura's presence vanished. The crushing weight lifted, and Akos collapsed onto a pile of broken chairs, his mind slipping into unconsciousness as the dark aura dissipated.
Hitomi gasped for air, his limbs trembling. He glanced at Baka, who stood nearby, his face pale and his breath hitching from the sheer shock of Sakoura's energy. Driven by a mix of rage and humiliation, Hitomi lunged at the unconscious Akos, catching him by the throat and hoisting him into the air.
"Yugo told me he put a devil inside this brat," Hitomi growled, his teeth grinding in fury. "But he never told me who it was... Damn you, Yugo!"
Hitomi prepared to end it. He activated his "Devil's Eye," aiming to crush Akos's life with a single glance. He raised his massive two-meter arm to pierce the boy's throat, but without warning, Akos's body jerked awake.
His hand moved like a coiled spring, forming a Finger Pistol aimed directly at Hitomi's face. A sphere of black energy materialized at the fingertip and hissed forward, exploding deep inside Hitomi's massive eye.
Hitomi let out a blood-curdling scream of agony, clutching his face as his vision turned to liquid fire. "Damn you! How is this possible?!"
Akos stared at his own hand in horror. His body had moved by instinct, a puppet to a will that wasn't his. He looked toward Riko, his head suddenly feeling as if a white-hot blade was being driven through his skull. Nearby, Baka remained paralyzed, his sweat cold against his skin.
"Impossible..." Baka whispered, his voice shaking. "He used an ABSOLUTE Technique: Deadly. He must die before he remembers the rest of the Infinite Eyes!"
Hitomi roared at Baka to kill Akos before they could escape the FAKE WORLD, cursing Sakoura's hidden agenda. Baka raised his hands to clap and detonate his bomb, but Riko—clinging to life by a thread—lunged forward and delivered a desperate punch to Baka's jaw.
Baka hit the floor, stunned. "No... how can you still be alive?!"
"I know you can get us out!" Riko screamed at Akos, coughing up thick, dark blood. "Go to the 134th floor! The final floor! Fast!"
"Riko! You're still with me?!" Akos shouted, his vision blurring as the pressure in his brain reached a breaking point.
"Go!" Riko yelled. "Scent the energy of Yuzana... and the thing waiting at the top!"
Akos began to climb, every step feeling like he was walking through broken glass.
"Don't worry about me, I'll be fine!" Riko lied, blood pouring from his nose. He had recovered half his memories, but the rest remained chained within the illusions of the Fake World.
"I can't see clearly... you're going to die!" Akos protested, his own eyes weeping blood again.
"Just go! It's our only chance!"
Akos turned, forcing his legs to move toward the final floor. As he reached the 134th level, the environment warped. Sakoura stood before him, and the entire floor was instantly drenched in deep, crimson blood.
"It's over... the end," Sakoura said with a mocking laugh. "Get stronger, boy. Because in the end, I will be the one to kill you."
"Why save me then?" Akos gasped through the searing pain in his temples.
"Because I want to kill you at your peak," Sakoura replied coldly. "I will wait until every technique of your Infinite Eyes returns. For now... I just want entertainment."
Sakoura vanished, and the world returned to its decaying state. Akos stood paralyzed. "Infinite Eyes..." he whispered, before a violent spasm of pain ripped through his skull once more.
His vision shifted. He was suddenly in a blinding white corridor. Standing before him was a figure with no face—only smooth, featureless skin.
"I hope you haven't sustained too much damage," the figure said calmly.
"Where am I? The pain... my wounds... where did they go?" Akos stammered. "Who are you? The one from a few days ago?"
"My name is Ibaraki," the figure replied. "Listen carefully—I don't have much time. The Tasaku Clan is sending agents to extract you. You've only recovered 1% of your memory. Leave this place now; it is crawling with high-level devils."
"Wait! Why am I here? What is this place?"
"No time for explanations," Ibaraki cut him off. "This is the White Void. I tracked your location when you triggered the OPPOSITE PAIN technique at the last second. It's the only reason you aren't a corpse. I brought this for you."
Ibaraki dropped a Katana on the floor.
"Opposite Pain? You're confusing me!" Akos cried.
"Don't be. Focus your will on escaping. Now, GO!"
Ibaraki vanished. Akos was back on the stairs, the Katana vibrating on the floor in front of him. He gripped the handle, feeling a surge of power course through his arm. He kicked the door open and found Yuzana tied up. With a lightning-fast strike, he sliced the bonds.
Yuzana began to scream hysterically, "No, no! I don't want to die!"
Akos silenced him with a hard slap. "Stop screaming! We're getting you out!"
"I was a fool..." Yuzana whimpered. "This organization... it's the darkest thing—"
Before he could finish, Hitomi's spike-like hand whistled through the air toward Akos. Akos dodged by a hair's breadth, pulling Yuzana back.
Hitomi glared at the katana, his remaining eye filled with rage. "Ibaraki was here? How has Yugo not killed that bastard yet?"
The demon lunged. Akos leaped onto Hitomi's arm, avoiding the first strike. The second spike grazed his neck, but Akos didn't flinch. He drove the katana deep into Hitomi's bicep, making the demon howl.
Akos aimed for Hitomi's eye, which had begun to heal, but a sudden BAM echoed through the hall. Dozens of men with dead, white eyes and swords materialized, surrounding them.
Yuzana fainted. Akos looked into their hollow gazes. "They aren't alive... they are puppets."
It all clicked—the fight with Kaito, Reino's warnings. Hitomi was using the dead as toys.
"How can you do this?" Akos screamed. "Using innocent bodies like this?"
Hitomi's gaze was cold and fixed. "This is our world, kid. The strong control everything; the weak serve us, even in death."
Akos squeezed the katana until his knuckles turned white, his resolve hardening into a blade of its own. He was ready to finish this.