Engulfed in Darkness - Great Encounter Battle Arc

Tomokazu couldn’t stop laughing to himself. He knew that he had overestimated Hiroshi. He had him truly beaten. Now all he had to do was force him to surrender or out of the arena. Tomokazu started to walk over to the devastated Hiroshi, with evil intent in his eyes.

“Give up, Hiroshi! There’s no point in resisting! Do you want to die here?” he yelled in a demeaning manner. Deep down, he was hoping that Hiroshi wouldn’t give up. This game was becoming way too entertaining.

Hiroshi knew he was running out of options. Kuro-Yami had said he had a plan. Whatever it was, Hiroshi knew it was going to be risky. He had to hear Kuro-Yami’s plan, no matter how painful or challenging.

He had to win.

“What’s the game plan, Kuro-Yami?” Hiroshi asked the man residing inside his soul in desperation. Kuro-Yami gave a somber look.

“I didn’t want to do this, but it will work. We can beat Tomokazu. You need to give me full control of your body. It will hurt, a lot, but our plan can be put fully into action, and the Gods will be attracted here.”

Hiroshi wasn’t too surprised at the news. Kuro-Yami had controlled his footing and limbs for more precise sword swings during some of his previous fights, but controlling his whole body was a scary concept to him. Being inside your own body, with no control, like he was the host to a parasite. However, he had one more question for his friend.

“Why would the Gods know of your presence here?” he asked curiously. Kuro-Yami sighed, and Hiroshi knew that his friend wasn’t telling going to tell him the whole truth.

“Just trust me. Can you do that, my friend?”

Hiroshi knew that he was going to suffer during the process. He was scared of how badly it was going to hurt, and how he didn’t totally trust Kuro-Yami.

But he needed answers from the Gods. Even if he couldn’t kill them, he wanted a little reassurance about his role in the world. Maybe he would find out who Kuro-Yami was. Hiroshi took a deep breath.

“Do it.”

Kuro-Yami gasped in shock. He was taken by complete surprise. Never in a million years did he expect Hiroshi to agree to that. But the darkness demon knew that look in Hiroshi’s eyes. The same look he had when he beat General Hiawatha, and when he stood up to Alexander for Jeremy.

The look of determination to complete his goal.

“Please Hiroshi, do not fight it. It will only hurt more. Let the darkness consume you. You can do it,” Kuro-Yami told his friend, proud of him. “Here we go!”

Tomokazu continued walking over to Hiroshi, completely oblivious to the conversation that his opponent was having.

“You’re talking to yourself? You must have gone completely insane! How weak!” he laughed once more. He couldn’t believe how pathetic Hiroshi had turned out to be. Here he was, bigging himself up like he could take on the Gods, and now he…

Tomokazu froze. His spine shivered. It wasn’t cold at all. The feeling of fear was crawling up his spine, and into his very soul. His breathing became heavy and rough. Hiroshi got to his feet slowly, his body looking limp and lifeless.

“W-what did you do?!” Tomokazu yelled at Hiroshi, afraid of what was going to happen next. At that moment, Hiroshi let out a blood-curdling cry. The audience covered their ears in horror. The noise was unbearable, like nails on a chalkboard. Hiroshi clutched his face, still screaming and contorting his body in pain. It must have lasted for ten seconds at least, but it felt like ten years.

Then silence.

Hiroshi’s body went limp once more. Tomokazu’s eyes bulged open, as well as the man with the transmitter from the crowd. This presence was one they knew all too well. Tomokazu fell to the ground, and backed away from Hiroshi, struggling to get up, his feet frantically trying to find its footing.

Hiroshi seemed to be growing more hair. His spikey black hair turned flat, smooth and messy, with bangs, and went past his shoulders. Hiroshi suddenly laughed. His voice had also gotten deeper.

“My my, Tomo, haven’t you grown into a feisty, cocky little prick,” the voice growled. Hiroshi looked up. His eyes were as black as the darkness, and he had gained a massive scar that covered from his forehead, diagonally across his pointed nose, and ran down to the opposite corner of his lip.

Tomokazu was finally on his feet, but he could hardly move. He was stuck in perpetual fear.

“They…they told me they killed you!” he yelped out after a moment of stuttering. Hiroshi grinned to himself.

“Oh, that’s what your father told you? I thought Zetsubo liked me better than that. You know I’m immortal, don’t you? I can’t be killed. Why don’t we talk? I hardly recognized you! Last time I seen you, you were still a baby!”

“You’re the Disowned one…” Tomokazu couldn’t stop stuttering. This presence was unmistakably his!

“Oh, I have a name now! It’s Kuro-Yami,” Kuro-Yami smiled. “And I will have my revenge on you and all the other Gods that chained me up and let me get tortured for years by those bastard villagers.”

The man with the transmitter stood up and tipped up his fedora. The crowd began leaving the arena in a panic. People got trampled on and push in the stampede. Alexander was too frightened to even move a muscle.

Tomokazu regained his stance, preparing to fight Kuro-Yami head on.

“You choose to fight? Extremely unwise. You tried to kill Hiroshi, didn’t you? I don’t care whose son you are, I won’t forgive you so easily.”

The remaining man in the crowd stood up, took off his fedora, and levitated slightly out of his seat. He opened his mouth to speak to himself.

“You escaped…The God of Darkness.”