I suddenly pounced at Creature.
I wasn't controlling my body anymore.
Kaijunoo was.
Creature's eyes widened.
As I rushed toward him, ready to tear him apart, he calmly raised his right hand.
A black sphere began forming in his palm.
The air around it seemed to die.
"Death Hand."
The moment I touched the sphere, everything went black.
No heartbeat.
No breath.
No sound.
Nothing.
Was that his Death Hand? I thought.
I couldn't move.
I couldn't feel.
I couldn't even tell if I was alive.
Then suddenly—
I opened my eyes.
And stood up.
As if nothing had happened.
"What?" Creature said, taking a step back.
Kaijunoo laughed from inside me.
"You didn't know, did you?"
Creature's expression darkened.
"I can't be affected by a stupid Death Hand."
"Oh, shit."
For the first time, Creature looked genuinely surprised.
I stepped back.
My hands moved on their own.
A technique began forming.
"Flame Technique!"
A massive blast of fire shot toward Creature.
He dodged it easily.
But he failed to notice the second one.
BOOM!
The flames struck his chest directly.
A hole was blown straight through him.
I smiled.
Then the wound regenerated.
In seconds.
"Come on, baby!" Creature shouted.
"Is that all you've got?!"
I launched another Flame Technique.
He dodged again.
Then he disappeared.
My eyes widened.
Too fast.
Far too fast.
He suddenly appeared right in front of me.
It was probably because of the monsters he had absorbed and defeated.
Every battle had made him stronger.
His fist shot toward my face.
I blocked.
The impact shattered the ground beneath my feet.
I answered with a punch of my own.
Creature caught it.
Then the two of us vanished into a blur.
Punches.
Kicks.
Elbows.
Counters.
The battlefield exploded around us.
Trees snapped.
Rocks shattered.
The earth cracked beneath every step.
Neither of us was holding back.
And neither of us could gain the advantage.
Inside my mind, Kaijunoo grinned.
Inside Creature, something else was smiling too.
This wasn't just a fight between two boys anymore.
It was a fight between the monsters within them.
And it had only just begun.