Realizing Roxy had become Kagetora's target, both Shin and Seijuro immediately burst forth at top speed, rushing in to relieve their teammate. However, Kagetora's bizarre speed was far too fast. His large, blood-soaked hand tightly grabbed Roxy's fluffy tail.
Roxy flinched, growling softly:
— "Ngh... ahh, why do you human bastards always go for my tail?!"
Kagetora let out a psychotic grin:
— "Got you!"
Without hesitating for even a single second, Kagetora suddenly released her tail, redirected his motion, and lunged out to clamp his hand directly over Roxy's entire face!
Shin roared from behind at the top of his lungs:
— "LET ROXY GO!"
Yet, before Shin and Seijuro could intervene, Kagetora grit his teeth and brutally slammed Roxy onto the ground. He pinned her face hard into the marble floor and dragged it along with horrifying velocity!
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The ground beneath shattered, splitting open into deep fissures as Roxy's body was brutally dragged along. Roxy screamed in agony, her hands clawing desperately at Kagetora's wrists as she released a surging wave of blistering heat that scorched his flesh to force his release. But Kagetora acted as if all his pain receptors had been severed. He paid no mind to the severe burns, brutally increasing his pressure instead, dragging and grinding Roxy's face right out of the Kurohana Kai headquarters and straight onto the bustling street outside!
Seeing his comrade brutally tortured, the flames of rage inside Shin erupted completely:
— "FUCK YOU, YOU PSYCHOPATH! I SAID LET ROXY GOOOOO!"
BOOM!
Shin unleashed maximum speed, his entire body enveloped in a furious storm of Sophion energy. He slammed in like a devastating artillery shell, tackling Kagetora's massive frame!
The horrific collision blasted both of them through a succession of residential buildings in the Central District. Surrounding bystanders screamed in terror, scattering in chaotic panic away from the battle zone. In the split second of Shin's tackle, Kagetora casually hurled Roxy's body away. She tore through the air like a missile, crashing through a wall and collapsing inside a nearby sushi restaurant.
Seijuro immediately redirected his course, darting into the sushi shop to check on Roxy. The restaurant owner and patrons were hiding terrified behind tables and chairs, trembling as they stared at the rubble.
Seijuro knelt down, gently shaking her:
— "Roxy! Are you alright?!"
However, as Seijuro took a clear look at Roxy's condition, he froze completely.
It was a haunting, horrific sight: half of Roxy's face was completely ground away by the stone floor, missing a massive chunk of flesh to reveal raw, crimson jawbones; her left eye was crushed and bulging out of its socket; a corner of her skull at the temple was worn down so severely that the pulsing gray brain tissue inside was clearly visible. One of her beast ears was torn off entirely. Roxy slumped over, coughing up violent mouthfuls of blood mixed with bits of mangled flesh.
Seijuro grit his teeth, cursing under his breath as his hands trembled with fury:
— "Dammit... Hold on, Roxy! I'm here! I'll save you!"
But just as Seijuro prepared to carry Roxy away for treatment—
SIZZLE! BOOM!
Deep crimson-purple flames suddenly erupted violently from the horrific wounds across her body!
Seijuro recoiled in shock:
— "What the?!"
Sensing a lethal danger building up, Seijuro instantly bellowed at the restaurant owner and customers:
— "GET OUT OF HERE IMMEDIATELY!"
BOOM!
No sooner had Seijuro's warning left his lips than an earth-shattering infernal explosion detonated at point-blank range! The furious flames swept outward at wind-tearing speed like a thermobaric warhead. Thanks to his god-tier reflexes, Seijuro escaped outside in a split second, but the restaurant owner and every customer inside who failed to flee were instantly vaporized into black piles of ash by the horrific heat!
From the center of the towering hellfire, a female figure slowly stepped out.
INFERNAL AWAKENING — UNFAINTING HELLHOUND.
Her missing beast ear and every horrific wound across Roxy's face regenerated completely in the blink of an eye. Her furry ears and tail burst into roaring, brilliant flames. Roxy's entire body was enveloped in a dense layer of dark crimson-purple Hellfire, thick and intense like boiling lava.
Seijuro looked in awe as Roxy stepped out from the sea of fire:
— "Are you alright? What form is this?"
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
Roxy didn't answer immediately. Her eyes, glowing bright red like ember-filled lava, stared at Seijuro before she spoke coldly:
— "Where is Kagetora?"
Seijuro collected his surprise, answering:
— "He's fighting Shin!"
Roxy clenched her hellfire-wreathed fist:
— "Then let's go finish him off and back up Shin!"
Out on the main street, Shin and Kagetora were locked in an utterly brutal, blood-soaked duel!
BANG! CRACK! BANG!
A punch for a punch! Both lunged at each other like rabid beasts. Sophion-infused fists clashed repeatedly, generating ear-splitting shockwaves. Every strike Shin delivered deformed Kagetora's face, crushing his chest and scattering fresh blood and mangled organs everywhere. Yet Kagetora was a true psychopath—even with his face smashed to bits, he cackled maniacally, his body constantly regenerating at a dizzying pace!
Ducking a strike, Shin bellowed in exasperation:
— "YOU LUNATIC! WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU MADE OF?!"
Kagetora smashed a nearby wall into powder, roaring in ecstasy:
— "STOP TALKING TRASH AND FIGHT!"
The two traded blows relentlessly. Terrified citizens cowering behind distant buildings watched in horror.
Pivoting smartly, Shin utilized Aikido to dodge one of Kagetora's supersonic punches, concentrating all his strength into a counter uppercut straight into Kagetora's gut!
BOOM!
The punch caved Kagetora's abdomen deep inward, blasting his body through the air to crash hard into a high-rise building, sending smoke and debris erupting everywhere.
Just as Kagetora lunged frantically out of the rubble, an Infernal figure plunged from above like a meteor, driving a heavy kick straight into the center of his face!
BANG!
Kagetora tumbled dozens of times across the ground. By the time he raised his head and stood back up, the Zero Horizon trio stood fully assembled before him.
Shin stared at Roxy's new appearance, his eyes lighting up:
— "WOW, look at that! Roxy is literally on fire!"
Seijuro stood beside her, gripping his Katana tight:
— "Looks like that guy really has gone completely insane!"
Roxy paid no mind to Shin's admiration. Her infernal eyes remained fixed on Kagetora.
Kagetora casually stepped toward the three with a psychotic grin. Every step he took cracked the concrete, sinking the ground and radiating a suffocating pressure:
— "Hoho, the bitch is still alive! I thought you were dead!"
Without wasting words, Roxy narrowed her eyes and burst forward at top speed! Kagetora swung a sweeping wind-tearing punch, but Roxy tilted her body, dodging with extreme fluidity. She countered with a strike from her Infernal claws, leaving a deep, charred, gaping wound across his chest.
Wounded, Kagetora only laughed louder. He burst forth at speeds far exceeding sound, the compressed air generating a shockwave that blew away everything nearby!
But at this point, it was no longer a 1v1. Shin and Seijuro immediately jumped in, forming a brutal 3-on-1 onslaught!
Seijuro swung his Katana relentlessly, unleashing thousands of high-speed sword qi slashes that minced Kagetora's body into shreds. Whenever Kagetora pushed through his injuries to close in on Seijuro, Shin neutralized his attacks with Aikido while concentrating his energy to unleash: SOPHION DEFENSIVE FIST: ABSOLUTE PENETRATION!
BANG! BANG!
Shin's penetrating strikes systematically destroyed all internal organs within Kagetora's body. Seijuro followed up with his ultimate technique, Mugen Kiri: Zetsu (無限斬: 絶 - Infinite Slash: Severance), slashing Kagetora's body to ribbons.
But Kagetora's regeneration speed was beyond absurd! To suppress that healing capability, Roxy stepped forward, executing her ultimate technique:
— "Infernal Claws: Continental Fissure!"
Harnessing her monstrous Hellhound speed, Roxy rocketed forward and slammed both hands, bursting with Hellfire, deep into the earth! The violent clawing transmitted shockwaves and inextinguishable flames through the bedrock, ripping open a massive seismic faultline.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
From the seismic fault, magma and Hellfire erupted into the sky like thousands of volcanoes awakening simultaneously! Kagetora was swept into the molten magma, his flesh and cells incinerated repeatedly in the sea of fire.
Shin and Seijuro watched the terrifying scene, letting out impressed grunts:
— "That move would roast a fish to perfection!" Shin clicked his tongue.
Seijuro narrowed his eyes:
— "Is her true capability still being restricted?"
Yet, from the wildly boiling magma, a charred, blackened frame reduced to raw crimson muscle fibers suddenly rocketed into the air and landed hard on the ground.
CRACK! CRACK!
Right before their eyes, the skin, cells, and bones across that charred frame regenerated once more at a terrifying speed!
Kagetora stood there, cracking his neck as his eyes brimmed with manic thrill:
— "I really love that move of yours! It gets me so pumped!"
While Shin, Seijuro, and Roxy clenched their fists, hyper-focused on the immortal monster before them, a casual, familiar voice echoed from behind, shattering the tense atmosphere:
— "Does this squad need a hand?"
Shin, Seijuro, and Roxy immediately whipped their heads around. Stepping out from the street's swirling dust were the remaining forces of Zero Horizon: Yanagisawa Kento, Ling Mo, Xie Xingchen, Kwon Tae-Joon, and the Mikami brothers, Ren and Rei!
Shin's eyes widened in surprise:
— "Why is everyone here?!"
Kento rested his arms behind his head, smirking:
— "Finished my mission! Yours seems pretty wild, bro. The other two fronts were pathetically weak—nothing fun at all. You're lucky, getting to fight a legit monster!"
Xie Xingchen, his expression somewhat solemn:
— "It appears we miscalculated the power of the guy before you... The initial intelligence data was completely off."
Rei looked at the heavy bloodstains and Kagetora's body actively sprouting fresh flesh, bursting into a boisterous laugh:
— "Haha, that guy sure is stubbornly tough!"
Ren stood beside him, narrowing his eyes:
— "This rate of regeneration... is truly off the charts!"
The sudden arrival of a large group caught Kagetora's attention. Glaring at the crowd casually blabbering before him, his blood-red eyes contracted. Instead of fear, he threw his head back and roared with exhilaration, shattering the stone beneath before rocketing forward like a meteor strike:
— "THE MORE, THE MERRIER!"
BOOM!
Now, Shiraishi Kagetora—the monster of Kurohana Kai—was officially taking on the entire supreme combat force of Zero Horizon all by himself!
Kagetora hurled a supersonic compressed-air punch that tore through space aimed dead at Xie Xingchen's head. However, Kento stepped up like lightning. Channeling his maximally enhanced Kyokushin Karate physique, he raised both forearms wrapped in Kinetic energy to take Kagetora's punch head-on!
BOOM!
The physical impact radiated outward, caving in the concrete street, but Kento stood firm as a mountain.
Instantly, Xie Xingchen raised his hand, activating his mini black hole ability (Sloth Sanctuary / Automatic Singularity). A dense cluster of pitch-black gravitational pull points materialized around Kagetora, compressing the air and generating terrifying pulling force that pinned down all four of his limbs!
Ling Mo unleashed his Shadowless Step, his body splitting into dozens of afterimages moving at speeds invisible to the naked eye. Weaving through Kagetora's blind spots, he delivered a rapid succession of assassination strikes targeting fatal pressure points and bone joints across Kagetora's body.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Kwon Tae-Joon backed them up with brutal Muay Thai techniques. Charging in like a beast, he unleashed an upward elbow strike that shattered Kagetora's jaw, following up with a flying knee strike (Khao Loi) that crushed his chest! Seijuro missed no opportunity, swinging his Katana in a streak of galactic light, cleanly severing both of Kagetora's legs, which dropped to the ground with a wet thud!
Recognizing a once-in-a-lifetime window, Shin and Kento exchanged a glance and simultaneously formed hand seals to cast their body-binding technique:
— "TEN DIRECTIONS: FLESH SHACKLE!"
A circular energy array expanded across the perimeter, encompassing the space where Kagetora stood. Every single cell and movement of his was instantly frozen, locking Kagetora into absolute immobility!
Shin didn't stop there. Rapidly weaving hand seals, he followed up with a neural suppression technique:
— "TEN THOUSAND THREADS: SOUL BINDING!"
From Shin's fingertips, tens of thousands of hair-thin Sophion energy threads shot forth, embedding deep into Kagetora's vertebrae, blood vessels, and nervous system. The threads constantly pumped neutralizing energy, completely locking down the flow of Sophion within his body!
Kagetora rolled his eyes frantically. Growling from his throat, he flexed every muscle fiber to break free from the restraint. But he couldn't budge even a single millimeter!
Fully immobilized, Kagetora turned into a living sandbag. The entire Zero Horizon squad unleashed an unending volley of brutal attacks upon his frame. Fresh blood splattered, and mangled flesh and shattered bones flew everywhere in horrifying, gory heaps.
Yet that very helplessness ignited the ultimate flames of madness within the monster!
CRACK! CRACK! BOOM!
A shockwave of dense, primal dark-purple Sophion pressure suddenly exploded from deep within Kagetora's cells! The repulsive blast burst out like a mini nuclear warhead, shattering all binding threads and blasting every member of Zero Horizon back dozens of meters!
Kento landed on the ground, cracking his wrist and gritting his teeth:
— "I think this guy is way stronger than I imagined!"
Seijuro frowned, wiping a streak of blood off his blade:
— "He's been blown to pieces multiple times and still regenerates... This recovery capability far exceeds normal biological laws."
Xie Xingchen adjusted his glasses slightly, speaking in a heavy voice:
— "Looks like we'll have to use the new invention!"
Roxy turned back in surprise:
— "Invention?"
All members shifted their gazes toward Xie Xingchen. Looking at the battle-worn ruins brimming with killing intent, Xie Xingchen analyzed seriously:
— "The current situation has exceeded acceptable parameters. If all of us go all-out, I believe the entire city—no, perhaps even this continent—will be leveled! If that happens, we will severely violate the laws of the New Humanity Central District!"
He pulled a syringe from his pocket filled with a softly glowing, metallic silver liquid:
— "This will be the field test for Loona's new drug!"
Tae-Joon narrowed his eyes in curiosity:
— "What did Loona manufacture?"
Xie Xingchen raised the syringe, his eyes gleaming with calculated intelligence:
— "A cellular inhibitor!"
(To be continued)