Chapter 104: Prove It
The tension that had settled over the Masquerade stretched tighter and tighter, until it felt as though the world itself had stopped breathing.
Then—
KRAK-KOOOOOOM!!
A blinding bolt of lightning tore through the heavens.
It wasn't natural.
It didn't descend from the clouds.
It ripped across the sky itself like a blade, splitting the darkness apart before crashing directly into the center of the circus.
The explosion swallowed everything.
White light engulfed the grounds, reducing the colorful tents, carnival rides, and decorations to nothing more than fading silhouettes. Speakers burst apart with violent pops, windows exploded into glittering showers of glass, and the shockwave hurled debris through the air.
"UAAAHH!"
"OH NO A STORM!"
"MY CAR!"
People screamed, some fell to the ground, others ran without even knowing where they were going.
Then...
FWOOSH!
Smoke.
A dense gray curtain rolled across the battlefield, swallowing the destruction whole. For several long seconds, nothing could be seen, and nothing could be heard.
Only silence, just not peaceful silence.
The kind that always came before something far worse.
THUD!
THUD!
A pair of footsteps echoed from within the smoke.
Slow, heavy and unhurried.
Each step carried enough weight to make the ground tremble beneath it.
Then two silhouettes emerged.
One walked.
The other dangled helplessly from his hand.
"...Where is he?"
The voice was low and cold.
Every word carried enough rage to make the surrounding air vibrate.
"...Where's the bastard that ran away?"
The smoke slowly drifted aside.
Everyone's eyes widened.
The person hanging from the stranger's grip was covered in blood.
His face was swollen beyond recognition.
His clothes had been shredded by countless attacks, and every breath he managed to take sounded painfully labored.
Ragnarock.
One of the most terrifying men alive...reduced to this. But the figure holding him was even more terrifying.
Electricity crawled across his body like living veins of blue-white light.
CRACK... SNAP... CRACKLE...
Every spark danced across his skin before leaping into the air, scorching the ground wherever it landed.
The pressure pouring from him dwarfed everything else on the battlefield.
"...No way..."
Daito's voice was barely audible.
Wei-Wan stared in complete disbelief.
"...You've got to be kidding me..."
Aerin's eyes immediately darted toward Daito.
Her expression shifted from shock to panic.
"...DAITO!"
The stranger's head slowly turned.
His glowing eyes settled upon Daito.
"...Daito...?"
The name rolled off his tongue as though it belonged to a distant memory.
Something unfinished.
Something personal.
Without saying a word, Daito reached up and removed the mask covering his face.
CLANK!
The moment it fell away, everything changed.
Monday Valhalla's fingers loosened.
Ragnarock crashed onto the ground with a heavy—
THUD!
He coughed violently, struggling to breathe as he rolled onto his side.
Alive but barely.
The lightning surrounding Monday flickered wildly. For the first time since arriving...his attention wasn't on Ragnarock anymore.
It was entirely fixed on Daito.
"...So..."
His voice became quieter, more focused.
"...It really is you."
Behind Daito, every member of the team instinctively shifted into a fighting stance.
Weapons were readied, aura quietly gathered.
The tension became unbearable.
Then Daito spoke.
"Everyone..."
He never looked away from Monday.
"...Leave."
Brandon frowned.
"...We're not leaving you."
"...GO."
The single word exploded from Daito with unquestionable authority.
No hesitation, no room for argument.
Since it wasn't a request, it was an order.
Silence followed.
Champagne was the first to move.
FWOOSH!
He let out a long sigh before grabbing Nyx firmly by the wrist.
"...He's right."
He began pulling her away.
"...This isn't our fight."
Nyx resisted, planting her feet.
Her eyes never left Daito.
"...You're seriously leaving him?"
Champagne finally looked back.
His expression had become unusually serious.
"...If we stay..."
He paused.
"...We die."
No one challenged him after that.
Wei-Wan clicked his tongue in frustration before turning away.
"...Damn it..."
Wasabi quietly followed.
Brandon clenched his fists so tightly that his knuckles turned white, but even he understood.
Aerin lingered the longest her eyes remained fixed on Daito.
"...Please..."
Her voice was barely a whisper.
"...Come back."
Daito never answered.
He simply continued staring at Monday.
Eventually...She turned away.
* * *
One by one, the team disappeared into the chaos as civilians flooded the streets, fleeing the ruined Masquerade.
Within moments...only three figures remained.
Daito.
Monday.
And Ragnarock...Barely conscious between them.
A gentle breeze drifted through the empty battlefield.
Neither man moved and neither looked away.
Daito finally stepped forward his breathing remained calm and measured.
"...Looks like..."
He drew a slow breath.
"...We were always meant to meet again."
Monday smiled.
There was no warmth in it.
No humanity only madness.
"...Do you remember what I told you?"
Electricity exploded around him.
KRAAAAKK—!!
The earth beneath his feet shattered into a web of cracks as arcs of lightning spread across the ground.
"...The next time we met..."
He took a single step forward.
The pressure instantly multiplied.
"...Would be your last."
Daito remained perfectly still, not a single muscle flinched.
His eyes never left Monday's.
"...Then stop talking."
A brief pause.
"...And prove it."
For a heartbeat...the world froze.
Then Monday vanished.
No flash, no warning.
One instant he stood dozens of meters away.
The next he was already in front of Daito.
His fist had completed half its swing before anyone could have perceived his movement.
BOOOOOOOOOOM!!
The punch landed squarely against Daito's abdomen, the force folded his body around the impact.
The surrounding air detonated.
A massive shockwave erupted in every direction, ripping apart the earth beneath them.
Daito became a lightning blur.
His body shot across Ash-En-Town like a cannon shell.
CRAAAAASH!!
He tore through the wall of the first house.
Without slowing—
BOOM!!
The second.
KRAASH!!
The third.
Stone walls exploded.
Wooden beams splintered.
Roofs collapsed into clouds of dust as his body continued carving a straight path through the town.
Only after destroying several buildings did his momentum finally end.
BAAAAAAAAAAM!!
He slammed into the far edge of Ash-En-Town with enough force to bury himself beneath an avalanche of shattered stone and broken timber.
Dust rose high into the sky.
Silence returned.
Monday slowly lowered his fist, and his breathing hadn't changed.
His expression hadn't changed.
It was as though he had merely swatted away an insect.
"...Good."
Blue lightning danced across his shoulders once more.
"...Don't die too fast."
Far across the ruined town...Beneath a mountain of rubble...a stone shifted.
Then another.
A blood-covered hand pushed upward through the debris.
RUMBLE...
Broken beams rolled aside.
Chunks of concrete crashed to the ground.
Daito slowly rose to his feet.
Blood streamed from a cut running down the side of his forehead, tracing crimson lines across his face before dripping onto the shattered earth below.
He wiped none of it away.
His breathing remained controlled, his gaze remained unwavering.
His eyes...were still sharp.
Still alive, still calculating.
The second round.....had begun.
To be Continued...