The moment Shojiro found the ligament rhythm—
WHAM!
Artaxion's heel drove into his ribs like a meteor, the sound cracking through the arena.
The impact hurled him backward, straight into the oncoming barrage.
BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!
Four arms struck in sync. Each blow was a cannon, each echo a thunderclap. Flesh, bone, and air all screamed at once.
Shojiro's vision blurred. The tower spun. Every hit slammed him into a wall of pulsating meat until he could no longer tell up from down.
For an instant, his lungs refused to work.
"Ghh… hah… haah—"
He spat blood, coughed it out, and smiled through the crimson.
"Alright… you wanna trade, freak? Let's trade."
He pressed his palms against the slick ground—
and everything in his body moved.
Veins flared crimson, then black.
His frame expanded. Not from mere muscle growth — but from deliberate layering. His muscles folded over one another, forming a secondary sheath — each fiber twisting like braided steel cables.
The sound of it was horrible — wet grinding, sinews snapping and reforming, skin bulging and stretching to its limits.
Steam rose from his body as Vythra surged through the reconfiguration channels.
"Outer layer…" he growled, voice deepening,
"Formed."
The ground cracked under his feet as his new mass settled. He was four times larger now — a living wall of motion and pressure, veins glowing like molten wires.
Artaxion's next volley came instantly.
Four fists blurred through the air—
THOOM! THOOM! THOOM! THOOM!
But this time, Shojiro didn't fly.
He absorbed the hits.
The outer muscle layer flexed, folding and rippling under impact, dispersing kinetic force across his body like a living shock absorber.
The floor buckled beneath him — but Shojiro stood his ground, each blow echoing like drums on steel.
"Not… this time!"
He roared, slamming one colossal hand forward, catching two of Artaxion's fists in his palms.
For the first time in the fight —
Artaxion staggered.
Shojiro grinned through his bloodied face. "You're strong, yeah… but between you and me...?"
He shoved forward — every vein, every fiber lighting up.
"I'm stronger!"
He twisted, yanking Artaxion by its arms, pulling it into a close-quarters brawl. The tower shook from the force of his movements.
Artaxion retaliated — its extra arms hammering down from above. Shojiro tanked the blows, each one carving into his overlayer, shredding muscle, but still he advanced.
Step by step.
Each footfall cracked the floor, splattering flesh and bone underfoot.
He closed the distance.
One more hit to the shoulder — one to the jaw — and then Shojiro was face to face with the monster.
He grinned, teeth cracked and red.
"Let's see you handle this—!"
He drove a knee upward, muscles coiling, veins bursting with pressure —
the entire lower half of his body compressed like a cannon chamber.
BOOOOOOM!
The impact landed square into Artaxion's abdomen, shaking the arena, sending shockwaves through the tower's walls.
Artaxion reeled — its body bending backward unnaturally — but instead of breaking, it flowed with the hit. Its ligaments shifted, absorbing the energy through its torso like molten silk.
Shojiro felt the pushback, his own leg trembling from the recoil.
He stumbled a step, eyes narrowing.
"Tch—still no good. You really don't break easy, huh?"
Artaxion's head snapped back into place, its eyes igniting with that eerie orange glow again.
Then came the sound — the bone-deep hum of ligaments tightening, priming for another flurry.
Shojiro spat to the side, cracking his neck. His outer muscle layer steamed, already regenerating micro-tears.
"Heh… guess I'll just have to hit you harder then."
Artaxion lunged again, all four arms crashing down like meteors — but this time Shojiro didn't dodge.
He detonated.
A sound like a collapsing mountain burst from his chest —
BOOOOOOM!
The second muscle layer exploded outward, releasing a shockwave of compressed kinetic energy.
Flesh and bone shredded the air.
Artaxion's body was flung backward, smashing through the tower's fleshy pillars. Its joints twitched, ligaments spasming erratically, as its systems scrambled to stabilize.
For a moment… the great construct stood still, trembling — its movements lagging, eyes flickering in confusion.
That was all Shojiro needed.
"Got you."
He lunged forward, closing the distance in a heartbeat. His hands clamped onto Artaxion's knee sockets — not to grapple, but to crush.
Every muscle in his arms twisted and condensed, flowing like molten steel into his wrists.
Veins bulged. Flesh burned red.
Then—
CRRRAAACKKK!
Artaxion screamed — a raw, mechanical roar of agony that shook the tower's walls. Its lower limbs caved inward, bones splintering through skin, ligaments snapping like overstretched cables.
"Can't run now…" Shojiro growled, voice dripping with satisfaction.
He tossed the crippled creature down like a broken puppet and stepped over it, steam hissing from his shoulders.
Before it could even try to reform, Shojiro grabbed it by the neck — thick fingers sinking deep into the tendons like iron vices.
Artaxion's body convulsed violently, its extra arms flailing in desperation, striking Shojiro's back with cannon-like blows.
Each hit cracked bone, ruptured vessels — his back buckled, his mouth spilling blood.
Still… he didn't let go.
His forearms tightened further, muscles rearranging and reconfiguring under his skin. You could see it happening — the cords of flesh sliding upward, coiling into his grip.
Shojiro's eyes burned with silent fury, lips curling into a faint, gentle smile.
And in that low, mocking whisper—
"Ssshhh… don't worry."
"It'll be over soon."
Artaxion's spasms slowed.
Its claws dug deep into Shojiro's arm, ripping flesh, but Shojiro didn't flinch — he only tightened his grip.
His biceps swelled, bones creaking under their own force, tendons vibrating like drawn bowstrings.
The creature's ligaments twitched erratically — trying to redirect the crushing force — but Shojiro's reconfiguration had already outpaced it. His muscles shifted dynamically, neutralizing every counterflex, locking Artaxion's structure in place.
Then—
SNAP.
The sound echoed through the Tower of Flesh and Bone.
Artaxion's neck twisted 180 degrees — vertebrae splintering through the skin.
Its glowing eyes dimmed instantly, body falling limp in Shojiro's grasp.
He held it there for a second longer, breathing hard — blood dripping from his chin onto its motionless face.
Then he let go.
The corpse hit the ground with a dull, wet thud.
Shojiro staggered back, chest heaving, his entire frame trembling from exhaustion. The tower's organic walls pulsed softly, recognizing the kill.
Steam rose from his body.
He exhaled — half relief, half defiance.
"...Told you," he muttered, looking down at the corpse, "I don't lose twice."