Back in the destroyed village, the silence was not empty — it was heavy.
The ruins stretched in every direction. Houses split in half, charred stones, deep scars in the ground, as if the very earth had been torn apart by force. There was no wind. There were no voices. Only the distant echo of what had already happened there.
Ray and Azazel stood at the center of that dead scenery.
Between them floated a small yellow sphere, about the size of a golf ball. It pulsed slowly, emitting a faint… yet constant light. It didn't look like an object. It looked like something alive, breathing in silence.
Ray was the first to break the silence.
— Do you have any idea what happened here?
Azazel didn't answer right away.
He took a few steps forward and threw onto the ground the corpse of the greenish tiger Kevin had created. The body hit the cracked stones with a dull sound. For a few seconds, nothing happened.
Then the tiger began to fall apart.
The flesh turned to dust. The bones fragmented. In moments, nothing remained but a pile of powder scattered across the ground.
Azazel spoke, his voice firm:
— They must be in another dimension.
Ray frowned.
— Another dimension?
Azazel crossed his arms, staring at the floating sphere.
— Leonardo's dimension. Every time that kid uses the Anagarete, he ends up getting pulled there.
He took a deep breath.
— That's how I know… Kevin is inside that dimension right now.
Ray fell silent for a moment.
— There… — he murmured. — Leonardo is practically a god.
The yellow sphere pulsed a little stronger.
— I see… — Ray sighed. — But he's still weak because of the rings.
He turned to Azazel.
— I think we should help.
Azazel answered only with a look.
— Leave it to me.
— Stay here. Watch the area.
Before Ray could say anything, Azazel's body began to change.
His skin lost its opacity, becoming translucent. His blue hair started to lose its color, dissolving into the air like smoke carried by the wind.
In a matter of seconds…
Azazel simply vanished.
---
Inside Leonardo's dimension, everything felt wrong.
The air seemed to be on fire.
But the fire didn't burn.
It floated.
Tongues of flame suspended in space distorted the reality around them, bending the air, leaving everything unstable. The walls, once white, were now stained a dark orange, pulsing slowly — as if they were made of living flesh.
Kevin breathed heavily.
Sweat ran down his face, mixing with dried blood.
— How can you have neutral aura… while being a demon? — he asked, his voice strained, hoarse.
Leonardo smirked.
— The boy's body is turning my demonic aura into neutral aura.
He tilted his head slightly.
— Why? — he provoked. — Does that bother you?
Kevin stared at him with hatred.
The next second, he spat blood.
A lot of blood.
Leonardo watched the scene with satisfaction.
— Ah… of course — he said, almost laughing. — Neutral aura is nearly immune to other auras.
He took a step forward.
— My attacks are definitely messing up that hyper-advanced regeneration of yours.
Kevin wiped his mouth with his forearm, took a deep breath… and straightened his posture.
— No. Relax.
He stepped forward.
— I'm fine.
Another step.
— We can keep going.
Kevin narrowed his eyes.
— But what about you? — he provoked. — The barriers of this dimension are acting kinda strange.
He smiled faintly.
— Running out of aura, maybe?
Leonardo's smile faltered for an instant.
— Yeah… — he admitted. — I'm still lacking power, kid.
He clenched his fist.
— That only changes once the rest of the rings are in my hands.
Then the fight truly began.
The air of the dimension trembled.
The walls pulsed faster and faster, out of rhythm, like a heart in tachycardia on the verge of failure. The suspended fire began to twist, slowly being pulled toward the center of the battlefield, as if something were sucking everything in.
Kevin took a deep breath.
Each inhale burned his lungs.
Each exhale came loaded with pain.
Leonardo opened his arms slowly, like someone embracing his own kingdom.
— You feel it, don't you? — his voice echoed throughout the entire dimension. — This dimension responds to me.
Kevin didn't answer.
He advanced.
The ground cracked beneath his feet as he launched himself at high speed, fist wrapped in aura.
Leonardo didn't retreat.
He raised his own fist.
Fist against fist.
The impact sounded like a dry thunderclap.
The space around them collapsed. The air warped. Kevin felt the bones in his hand crack, pain climbing up his arm — but he didn't stop.
He twisted his body and landed a kick straight into Leonardo's abdomen.
Leonardo let out a low grunt.
The first sound of pain.
The counter came immediately.
A brutal knee struck Kevin's face, launching him backward like a projectile.
Kevin rolled across the ground, rose in the same motion… and attacked again.
Now mixing everything.
Ray's movements.
Azazel's absurd pressure.
Pure instinct.
Each blow left a trail in the air — green fissures that opened for an instant and exploded seconds later. Every punch landed heavy, reinforced by aura.
Leonardo narrowed his eyes.
— So you learn… by getting beaten.
Kevin landed a clean hit on his jaw.
Blood.
Little.
But real.
Leonardo took a step back.
The dimension trembled.
The walls pulsed out of control. Leonardo touched his own face, looked at the blood on his fingers… and smiled.
— It's been centuries since this happened.
He vanished.
Kevin realized too late.
A brutal impact hit his back, slamming him into the ground. The air was ripped from his lungs. Leonardo held him by the neck with one hand, lifting him as if he weighed nothing.
— But don't confuse evolution… with power.
Kevin forced his arm.
With difficulty, he managed to break free and answered with a frantic sequence of punches to Leonardo's torso.
Each impact made the air explode.
Leonardo was forced to retreat again.
Now he was breathing heavily.
The aura around him flickered, unstable.
— You're… enjoying your transformation — Leonardo murmured. — Even without realizing it.
Kevin spat blood.
— You talking about Prime?
He looked at his own hand, opening and closing his fingers.
— Yeah… — he said, with a crooked half-smile. — This power's actually pretty cool.
Leonardo narrowed his gaze.
— Know that this phase isn't eternal.
— Got it.
The ground split open.
Chains of black aura emerged from space itself, advancing like living serpents, trying to bind Kevin.
He tore some apart.
Others struck him head-on.
Muscles ruptured. The body screamed in pain.
Even so, Kevin kept advancing.
They returned to close combat.
Punch.
Elbow.
Headbutt.
Now, both were bleeding.
Leonardo landed a direct blow to Kevin's chest.
The defense was pierced.
Ribs broke.
Kevin was launched backward.
He gained distance.
Leonardo raised only one hand and said calmly:
— Neo Jutsu: Maten Jūretsu — Goku-En Kōrin.
That single gesture made the sky of the dimension tremble, as if it were being violently pierced.
Ten small holes opened in the sky around his body, perfectly aligned, forming a ritualistic circle.
From those holes, several medium-sized projectiles were fired — dark, wrapped in fire.
Kevin reacted on instinct, raising a small green barrier in front of himself.
The projectiles collided.
Explosions.
Fire everywhere.
The walls of the dimension shook violently.
Kevin (thinking):
I can't die… I promised you two. Ruby, María… we will fight.
Even injured, Kevin managed to stand.
His body was burned.
The ground around him was still on fire.
The walls of the dimension seemed thinner, unstable, as if they could tear apart at any moment.
Leonardo watched everything from afar, standing still, calm.
Kevin (thinking):
I have to endure… but for how long? I say I can do it, but no one asked me to.
Kevin stared at Leonardo.
He was smiling.
— What is it, kid? — he provoked. — Getting scared now?
The wounds on Leonardo's body had already closed.
The fire didn't bother him.
— No — Kevin answered, panting. — Relax… I just took a moment to rest.
Leonardo slightly turned his face to the right, as if something had caught his attention. He observed for a moment.
— Let's finish this, then. — he said. — From now on, may the strongest win.
Kevin smiled faintly, materializing translucent green daggers in his hands.
They trembled.
His hands trembled too.
A figure began to move along the walls of the dimension.
Translucent.
Almost nonexistent.
Azazel.
— I can't help at all… — he murmured. — I'm transparent. It's like I don't exist in this dimension.
He shifted his gaze between Kevin and Leonardo.
— Even from far away, you can feel the pressure… it's irritating. It almost suffocates.
Suddenly—
A scream.
Strong.
Determined.
It was Kevin.
The green aura enveloped his body and began to change. The shapes became more curved. For a few seconds, a faint cloud of white dust formed around him.
Leonardo (thinking):
Now what? I can feel it… his aura increased a little. And it keeps increasing every minute.
But that's not a problem for me.
The smoke dissipated.
Something was different.
Kevin was still standing…
But now, his body was that of a woman.
Leonardo's eyes widened slightly, and he smiled.
— Well, aren't you beautiful… — he commented. — Very pronounced attributes. White, straight hair… and tan too. What a sight.
— Like it? — Kevin replied. — I admit… I get shy like this.
— You're hot. — Leonardo laughed. — Maybe I won't even kill you. I'm thinking of doing other things with you now.
— Don't get your hopes up — Kevin shot back. — I already belong to someone.
Leonardo's smile changed.
It was no longer confidence.
It was concern.
Leonardo (thinking):
Prime is adapting well to this kid…
It evolved.
It's no longer just the sun.
Now there's a planet orbiting it… Mercury.
— Tell me something — Kevin said. — If Prime is the connection to the universe… do you think I can do things no one else can?
Leonardo laughed.
— You're trash. — he said bluntly. — There's nothing special about you.
— Think of it this way: you were blessed by the heavens, gained this power… but you're destined to be weak.
— Weaker than me.
Azazel (thinking):
Why did he change form?
And why is there a small sun… and Mercury above his head?
Is he trying to recreate the solar system now?
— One last strike — Kevin said.
— Just one? — Leonardo smiled. — Fine, girl.
— That's not it.
Kevin concentrated aura in his right hand.
It took the form of a green sphere, wrapped in blue fire.
He charged toward Leonardo, consumed by rage.
By fury.
Leonardo smiled.
— Neo Jutsu: Shin-Gekisatsu.
His arms flexed rapidly.
From them emerged thin, extremely long black threads.
Leonardo controlled them with absurd precision.
Each thread passed by Kevin, missing him by mere centimeters.
As he got closer, the threads accelerated, moving without any pattern.
Kevin dodged.
Jumped.
Advanced.
He prepared to deliver the final blow.
Crack.
Time seemed to stop.
Kevin's determined gaze turned into concern… and pain.
Everything slowed.
He looked down.
A thread pierced his spine, perfectly splitting his body in half, between the legs.
The power vanished.
The sun and Mercury above his head disappeared.
Only the white hair remained.
Kevin (thinking):
It was too fast… I didn't even see it.
My vision is going dark… losing color.
Both halves of the body fell to the ground.
The threads stopped.
— Like you said yourself… — Leonardo spoke. — This battle was decided before it even began.
Azazel watched from afar, in silence.
Leonardo turned his head.
— I know you're there, Azazel.
Azazel (surprised):
Even invisible… he can see me.
In seconds, everything shook.
A blackout.
They were back in what remained of the village.
Ray, who had been waiting while seated, widened his eyes when he saw Kevin's body on the ground.
— Damn, Leonardo… you killed the kid in the most brutal way possible.
— But why does he have white hair?
— He's not dead — Leonardo replied. — I don't have enough aura to finish off his hyper-advanced regeneration.
Azazel approached.
— What if we take what's left of the kid with us? — he suggested. — That way he becomes a witness to what we're capable of destroying.
They all looked at each other, agreeing.
Ray grabbed the upper half of Kevin's body and began dragging it through the ruins, heading to the other side of the village.
Kevin could only see in shades of gray.
He couldn't move.
Nor speak.
The destruction left behind.
The ashes.
His own blood.
That was all he could see.
Kevin (thinking):
I'm sorry, everyone… I couldn't do it.
Still… I keep wondering:
Why did no one come to help?
Did the rest of the villagers not realize what happened here?