Barrier Fall

Titans

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The beast's hands stretched like elastic whips, lashing toward Raizen. He slipped between each strike effortlessly, his sword loosely in his right hand, always a step ahead.

The monster was ten times faster than when it had fought Nox and Juro, yet against Raizen it looked weaker, pathetic even. Every dodge tore the forest apart, shockwaves carving craters into the earth.

It launched itself at Raizen with terrifying speed. With a slight flick of his wrist, Raizen raised his blade vertically. A single, soft slash carved through the beast's chest.

This wound did not heal. The black mist failed.

The beast's eternal grin shattered. For the first time, it wasn't smiling.

Fear? No, rage masked it, but the truth was there.

Raizen's voice cut through the night.

"Did you enjoy toying with my students? Did you enjoy pummeling them into the dirt?"

Thunder rumbled across a clear sky. Lightning crawled along Raizen's blade, humming with violence. He pointed it forward, voice heavy with fury.

"'Cause I'm going to enjoy doing it to you."

The heavens split. A wave of thunder and lightning crashed, and Raizen's sword drank the storm. He vanished, then reappeared, seizing the beast's face and slamming it into the ground with godlike force.

It broke free, legs stretching like spears, whipping a devastating kick. Raizen ducked just inches low, caught its leg, and yanked it forward.

The monster lunged, claws raised. Raizen tossed his blade into the air, freeing his right hand for a heartbeat.

Crack! His fist collided with the beast's skull, horns shattering like brittle stone. He caught his sword midair with casual precision.

"C'mon, heal. Don't tell me you can't recover from that," Raizen taunted, eyes sharp.

It healed, though slower, and Raizen smiled grimly. Sliding his sword back into its sheath, he whispered, "Guess I won't be needing this."

From the sidelines, Nox and Juro could only stare, barely breathing, unable to comprehend what they were witnessing.

Raizen still gripped the monster's leg, shaking it like prey. With desperation, it sliced its own limb off and bolted skyward at light speed.

But Raizen was already there. His palm halted its escape.

It twisted, trying another direction. Again, Raizen's palm.

Then his fist.

Boom! The blow detonated its head in a sonic burst. It healed, and Raizen did it again. And again. He was toying with it now, turning its arrogance into humiliation.

The beast could no longer run. Broken and exhausted, it stared at him in terror. Raizen walked forward slowly, each step making its chest pound louder.

A heartbeat.

Raizen narrowed his eyes. "Wait. Why do you even have a heart?"

The beast froze, horror etched across its face.

"That," said a voice, smooth and chilling, "would be me."

From the shadows stepped a man cloaked in black, boots tight to the ground, hair pale as milk.

Raizen's aura flared gold for a brief second. He drove his fist into the beast's chest. Iora exploded through it, obliterating its heart. The punch split the earth, carving a jagged crack that stretched right to the stranger's feet.

"And you would be?" Raizen asked coldly.

"The one who created that Dreknar you just toyed with," the man answered.

Dark mist poured from the monster's corpse, seeping into the stranger's body, confirming his claim. His aura surged, suffocating the forest.

Nox and Juro clutched at their throats, barely able to breathe under the crushing pressure.

The man tilted his head slightly, voice calm but cutting.

"Given a little power, it grew cocky, itching for revenge against the one who humiliated it and left it for dead. If it had attacked on the night of the full moon, its power would have been dozens of times greater… though honestly, I doubt the outcome would have changed much."

Raizen's glare sharpened. "Revenge? Dreknars don't feel revenge, they feel nothing. They're slaves. Tools you demons use to do your bidding."

The man's calm tone was like a blade. "And yet, while it fought you, it felt pleasure, surprise, fear. You noticed, didn't you? Thanks to it, I now know what a Kurai in God Mode is capable of."

He smirked.

Raizen glanced back at Nox and Juro, barely conscious, swaying between life and death. Then back at the man. His voice dropped into menace. "Are you sure you don't want to find out yourself?"

"I wouldn't have revealed myself if I didn't," he said, starting toward Raizen. His eyes cracked black. His walk turned to a run, the ground shattering beneath his steps. Raizen met him head on.

Two titans in human form collided.

The impact uprooted trees, blasted the forest into a wasteland. Only a single tree remained standing behind Nox and Juro, shielding them.

The man smirked mid clash. "You still redirected the shockwave to protect them? I'll admit, you're stronger. You'd win if we fought this through. But your students would die in the crossfire as well."

Raizen gritted his teeth, withdrawing. Cracks of glowing Iora faded from his body, replaced by exhaustion and worry as he turned toward Nox and Juro.

The stranger dissolved into black mist, vanishing into the night.

Raizen lifted his battered students gently, carrying them beneath the silver moonlight, back toward his cabin.