The night hung like a shroud over the buried airport. Smoke and dust filled the air, thick enough to choke, carrying the stench of blood and burning metal. The ruins were silent, but the stillness felt wrong—as though the earth itself held its breath. Among the wreckage, four figures moved with deliberate caution: Yuto, Sousuke, Akari, and Tatsusuke. Each was battered, bleeding, and exhausted, yet their eyes burned with unbroken resolve.
They had done the impossible: destroyed the four hearts of the Prime 10. But the victory was hollow. Beneath the cracked ground, a subtle vibration pulsed—a living, malevolent presence that made the hunters' teeth grind.
Tatsusuke crouched, fingers brushing the fissured asphalt. "The darkness… it's still moving. Alive beneath us."
Yuto's hands tightened around his katana, veins standing out on his forearms. "He's not dead. He's watching. Waiting."
Akari's voice was quiet, almost afraid, yet firm. "Then why hasn't he struck?"
A whisper drifted across the broken runway, fragile but clear:
"Because I wanted to remember…"
The voice came from behind them.
The Prime 10 emerged, impossibly standing. His body was a canvas of burns, shredded flesh, and blackened blood where his hearts had been. Scythes in hand, cracked and bent, he moved slowly, yet each step carried the weight of inevitability.
Sousuke stepped forward, electricity arcing along his armor. "You can't even die properly, can you?"
The devil's eyes glimmered with a strange, human light. "Maybe I was never meant to."
Yuto's jaw tightened. "Then we'll make sure you are."
The devil tilted his head, amusement flickering through his ruined features. "You destroyed my hearts, but my life… my life is tied to something else. Something deeper."
Tatsusuke's eyes narrowed. "The core."
The devil laughed softly, a sound that shook the dust from the rafters. "Not quite. My hearts were my strength… but my life lives above them."
Akari froze, realization dawning. "Above them?"
The devil's smirk widened, too late realizing he had revealed too much.
Sousuke's eyes widened. "Your head…"
The Prime 10's eyes flickered with fear, an expression almost human. "I see… I've spoken too much."
In an instant, he lunged. Faster than any of them could react. Yuto's chest crumpled under the force of a punch, sending him crashing through the remains of an airplane. Akari barely blocked a swinging scythe with her spear, the impact knocking her into a pile of twisted metal. Tatsusuke's fog surged, but the devil's shadow tore through it, slamming him into the ground.
Only Sousuke remained standing. Blood ran down his face, hair singed, armor scorched. His chest heaved. His eyes locked onto the Prime 10.
"Looks like it's just us," he said, voice low but steady.
The devil's eyes softened, almost human, tinged with sorrow. "Why fight? You cannot win."
Sousuke raised his weapon. "Because someone has to try."
---
The Emotional Flashbacks
The devil's chest heaved as memories flooded him. The battlefield fell away.
He saw a small village, smoke rising as devils tore through homes. A boy clutched his sister; an old man fell to the ground, screaming. He ran, wielding nothing but a farming scythe, saving as many as he could—but it was never enough.
He saw his betrayal: comrades abandoning him, leaving him to die. Akuma Ikari had come, offering strength in exchange for his soul. He had accepted, desperate, broken, thinking he could protect the innocent.
But the darkness had consumed him. He had killed the very people he had once sworn to defend. Faces haunted him every night, screaming, pleading, accusing him. And now… he faced Sousuke. Another child, another chance to see himself reflected.
Tears, long forgotten, welled in his scarred eyes. "I… I wanted to save them… I wanted…" His voice broke. Rage, despair, and regret collided in a single scream that shook the terminal walls.
---
The Final Clash
Sousuke's fingers gripped the Thunderbolt weapon until the knuckles whitened. Electricity coiled over him like a living armor. "I'm ending this. For them. For everyone you failed."
The devil raised his scythe, shadow and blood dripping from the weapon. "Then try. Strike me. See if you can truly kill despair."
Lightning erupted from Sousuke, surging across the cracked ground, igniting debris, setting shadows ablaze. He moved faster than thought, each swing of his weapon a bolt of raw energy. The devil countered, every block sending sparks and splinters flying, tearing chunks of concrete from the ground.
Their clash carved deep gouges into the steel and stone. Each impact sent shockwaves that bent metal and fractured bone. Sousuke screamed, pushing himself beyond exhaustion. Pain seared through every limb, but he forced himself forward, driven by anger, grief, and the faces of those who had died.
The devil faltered for a moment, scarred eyes glimmering with recognition. "You… fight like I once did…"
Sousuke paused, muscles trembling. "You… once did?"
"I had a life," the Prime 10 whispered, voice ragged. "A village. Children. I swore to protect them. But I was weak. I begged for power. And I lost everything."
Sousuke's chest tightened. "Then you understand why I can't let you live."
A shadow of a smile crossed the devil's lips. "Perhaps… that's why I admire you."
---
The End
Sousuke surged forward, weapon glowing white-hot. He struck with every ounce of strength left in his body. Electricity tore through the devil's chest, cleaving through shadow and broken flesh. The Prime 10's body screamed in pain, then crumpled, finally still.
For a heartbeat, his eyes were human. Gentle. Full of sorrow and regret. "Thank… you…"
His body dissolved into black dust, carried away by the wind as dawn broke over the ruined airport.
Sousuke fell to his knees, chest heaving, armor scorched, weapon shattered beside him. Yuto limped over, clutching his ribs. Akari knelt, tears streaking the grime from her cheeks. Tatsusuke wiped blood from his face, eyes scanning the horizon.
The Prime 10 was gone, but the war was far from over. From deep beneath the earth, a low, hollow laughter echoed—Akuma Ikari, unseen, his nine remaining lieutenants stirring from their slumber.
Yuto clenched his fist. "Next time… we end this."
The wind carried their resolve across the battlefield, across the burning dawn. Their story had reached its first conclusion—but the storm was only beginning.