Hiroshi Vs Kurumi Part-II : The Jester's Awakening

Kurumi’s voice dropped into a low, unsettling whisper.

“If you really are Rorark… then I will have to use my Final Form.”

Hiroshi frowned, confused as Kurumi suddenly closed his eyes.

For a moment, the battlefield went eerily quiet.

Then—

CLAP!

Kurumi slammed his palms together. A shockwave burst outward. Winds spiraled violently. Pebbles lifted from the ground as an intense, pulsating aura wrapped around him like a cocoon of unstable power.

His voice trembled with manic pride.

“Now… you must prepare… for I, Kurumi… the Jester Tyrant… have evolved to my Final Form.”

A towering pink–purple sphere exploded around him. Only his silhouette could be seen inside, warping and stretching as his body grew. The sphere expanded, glowing like a miniature sun.

His shadow stretched taller—wider—twisted. A jester-like hat formed first, sharp and curved. His limbs thickened, armor bulged, clothes warped into exaggerated clown-like patterns.

When he reached a monstrous size—easily ten times Hiroshi’s height—the sphere collapsed inward and vanished.

Kurumi stepped forward.

His skin was white, painted like a jester’s mask. His grin was huge, carved across his face. He crouched down, bringing that massive, nightmarish head level with Hiroshi’s.

His laugh boomed like thunder.

Fwahahahaha!

“Look at you! So tiny! Did I really get that big?”

He stretched out a hand. A massive hammer materialized—much larger than before, the head big enough to crush a house.

Kurumi spun it once.

“HAMMER STRIKE—BARRAGE!”

He lifted the hammer high and slammed it down.

Then again.

And again.

Each strike shook the entire district.

Hiroshi dashed desperately, fire trailing behind him as he dodged the colossal impacts.

One strike smashed into the library.

The ancient structure shattered in a single blow, crumbling into dust.

The ground split open, huge cracks forming as Kurumi kept swinging.

Then—

A hammer descended directly toward Hiroshi’s skull.

He crossed his arms, flames bursting as he tried to block it.

For a moment—he held it.

But only for a moment.

The overwhelming force crushed down and Hiroshi was slammed into the earth, knocked unconscious instantly.

Kurumi tilted his head, amused.

“Tch tch tch… what a pathetic creature. Defeated by just one of my moves. I wanted to play longer… but I guess my little toy is broken.”

Far away, Shinzo stood trembling, staring at the destroyed library.

“The book… did it survive…?”

Kurumi noticed him. His eyes widened with excitement.

“Aha! A new playtoy! And you look so fragile! Let’s see… what should I do with you first?”

He tapped his chin, thinking.

Suddenly his eyes lit up.

“I know! I’ll start by making pores all over your body!”

He raised a finger.

“NEEDLE STRIKES!”

A storm of giant needles formed behind him—thousands of them—and launched forward at murderous speed.

Shinzo’s eyes widened.

But before the needles could reach him— A figure leaped in front of him.

Hiroshi.

His body, battered and staggering, still moved on instinct.

Most needles missed.

But one—one needle shot straight through his left lung.

Hiroshi gasped, blood spraying from his mouth as he clutched the wound, struggling to breathe.

Shinzo shouted in horror as Hiroshi fell to one knee, choking on air—and pain.

Hiroshi hit the ground hard, the impact knocking the air from his lungs. Dust rose around him as his vision blurred.

“Hiroshi!!” Shinzo’s voice cracked with panic. He rushed to his side, eyes wide with fear. “Are you okay?”

Hiroshi groaned, clutching his chest. “Do I look okay…?”

Shinzo glanced around desperately, searching for something—anything—that could help. But before he could act, Kurumi’s gaze drifted toward them, amused by the sight of their bond.

“Aww… are you two brothers?” he said playfully. “Really cute! But I don’t have time for all this. So let’s finish this quickly.”

Shinzo’s face hardened with anger. He grabbed one of Hiroshi’s daggers and stepped in front of him.

“What do you want, you stupid clown!” he shouted. “Why don’t you just stop! Why are you all Varkonians like this!?”

The single word 'clown' made Kurumi’s smile vanish. Fury rippled through him. Without replying, he swung his massive hammer toward Shinzo.

Hiroshi reacted instantly. Even with a punctured lung, he threw himself between them, raising his trembling hands. The hammer struck—yet this time, instead of crushing him, Hiroshi managed to deflect it aside. The shockwave cracked the ground beneath them.

“Huh?! What the hell?!” Kurumi stumbled back, stunned.

A faint red glow now pulsed around Hiroshi’s body. His eyes, burning with sheer rage, sharpened on Kurumi. It was as if the pain, the grief, and the fury had fused into raw power.

Then he spotted it—the small pouch hanging from Kurumi’s belt, glowing faint yellow.

“INFERNAL SLASHES!” Hiroshi roared.

Flaming waves tore through the air and struck the pouch, ripping it open. The yellow cube tumbled out.

“Shinzo! Catch it!”

Shinzo darted forward just as Kurumi bellowed, “HAMMER HIT!”

The hammer swung toward him, but Hiroshi launched another burst of flaming slashes. The weapon shattered into pieces mid-air.

Shinzo scooped the cube into his hands. “Caught it!”

“WHY YOU?!” Kurumi’s frustrated scream shook the ground as the hammer began regenerating, rebuilding itself from flaming fragments.

Hiroshi forced himself to stand, the red glow faded away. “Shinzo. Quickly—make a portal and teleport to the Third Ring. Take my dagger with you, and destroy the heart. I’ll stop him somehow. Okay?”

Shinzo nodded sharply. “Alright!”

Hiroshi tossed the dagger and Shinzo grabbed it effortlessly. With a nod, he used the cube.

Kurumi’s hammer reformed just as Shinzo opened the portal.

“HAMMER HIT!” Kurumi lunged—

—but Shinzo slipped into the portal and vanished.

Kurumi froze, staring at the empty space where Shinzo had been. A twitch of despair crossed his huge face… then slowly, he turned toward Hiroshi.

“Well, it’s just us now,” he said, voice heavy with delight. “This fight will be fun while it lasts. Before your friend finds my heart, I will KILL YOU!” He lifted his hammer high.

“HAMMER STRIKE BARRAGE!”

The ground erupted as Kurumi’s hammer smashed down again and again, creating shockwaves strong enough to tear open the battlefield. But Hiroshi blurred out of each blow’s path, his Lightning Speed ability activating in desperate bursts, leaving streaks of flame as he dodged through the wreckage.

[At the Third Ring]

Shinzo emerged from the portal and found himself standing before a colossal structure. A massive triangular tower stretched into the sky—built entirely from gigantic playing cards stacked like a giant card house. The sight made his eyes widen.

“What the hell?! A Card House?!” he muttered, staring up at the absurd monument.

A faint red beam pulsed from the highest point, along with a soft, rhythmic lub-dub. The echo of a beating heart.

“The heart must be up there… I must climb it somehow…” Shinzo whispered, determination tightening in his voice.

He approached one of the enormous cards and pressed a finger against its surface. His finger slipped instantly.

“It’s so slippery… how am I supposed to climb it?!”

Then he spotted Hiroshi’s dagger in his hand, and an idea sparked.

“Let’s try this.”

Shinzo stabbed the dagger into the glossy card, the blade sinking deep enough to hold his weight. He pulled himself up, then jumped and stabbed higher, inching up the card wall.

“I can climb using this trick!” He breathed out, already panting slightly. “I hope Hiroshi can hold Kurumi for long…”

[At Indonesia]

Back in the ruined battlefield, Hiroshi dashed through falling debris, dodging every earth-shattering swing Kurumi unleashed. The ground had become a wasteland of craters and rubble.

“I only have one dagger…” Hiroshi thought urgently. “I can only use moves that require one-hand force…”

“INFERNAL SLASHES!” he shouted.

Flaming slash waves shot forward, fewer in number than usual because only one dagger remained. Still, they cut through the air with blazing speed.

Kurumi laughed wildly. “HAMMER STRIKE!”

The massive hammer crashed down, shaking the entire land. Hiroshi leaped high into the air, flames trailing behind him.

“Majuro… he taught me new ways to use my moves…” Hiroshi recalled. “Fire cannot be bounded…” Yes! That’s the key!”

“FLAMING SLASH ’N DASH, SUPER SPEED!”

Hiroshi burst forward in a fiery flash, using a newly adapted version of his move. He landed on top of the hammer’s head mid-swing, dashed across it, then sprinted up the hammer’s long handle like it was a burning pathway.

In a blur, he reached Kurumi’s head and unleashed a rapid onslaught of slashes—cutting across Kurumi’s face at incredible speed, sparks and flame scattering everywhere.

Kurumi groaned, choking on his own anger. “YOU BRAT!”

He swung a massive hand to smack Hiroshi off, but Hiroshi leaped away at the last second—causing Kurumi to strike his own face. Kurumi staggered, groaning in frustration.

Hiroshi landed atop Kurumi’s oversized jester hat.

“Take this!”

He slid off Kurumi’s hat and down his back, dragging the dagger with him. As he slid, he stabbed the blade into Kurumi’s spine—carving downward all the way to the base. Blood sprayed, steam rising from the wound.

Kurumi roared in agony, collapsing to one knee as his back shuddered.

“Ooh…! That would take a lot of time to regenerate,” Hiroshi muttered, panting heavily. “I hope Shinzo is doing good there.”

[At the Third Ring]

Shinzo was almost at the summit. His fingers trembled as he pulled himself up the final ledge, using the dagger to hook into the card for support.

One last jump—barely enough—and he hauled himself onto the top.

There it was.

A heart, glowing a deep crimson, pulsed atop a black pedestal. Each beat echoed through the chamber like a muffled drum—lub-dub… lub-dub…—alive, eerie, and unnervingly mesmerizing.

Shinzo’s face twisted between awe and disgust.

Fascinating… and absolutely gross.

But he had no time to hesitate.

“This is my moment,” he whispered, gripping the dagger tighter as he approached the unnatural organ.

[Back in Indonesia]

Kurumi’s voice cracked with fury.

“You… must… DIE!”

His right hand rose toward the heavens as pink-purple energy surged around it. A knife materialized—small, razor-thin, deadly. Then it split into two. Four. Eight. Sixteen. The multiplication became exponential until the entire sky was swallowed by a storm of hovering blades, forming a massive sheet that blotted out the sun.

Kurumi’s shriek tore across the battlefield.

“Prepare for my wrath!”

Hiroshi froze. The dagger slipped from his fingers. His eyes widened at the descending knives shaped into a massive fist of death. They barreled toward him, unstoppable.

He shut his eyes.

“So… this is the end?”

But the impact never came.

The world remained silent.

Hiroshi opened his eyes—and gasped.

Shinzo stood between him and death, emerging from a swirling portal with Kurumi’s blood dripping from the dagger in his hand. Around them, the countless knives crumbled into dust, disintegrating mid-air.

Kurumi let out a scream that didn’t sound human as his body melted apart, revealing a charred, sizzling, deformed body beneath. The tyrant collapsed, defeated.

Shinzo flashed a triumphant grin.

“I did it! And… I made it just in time, right?”

Hiroshi walked toward him, stunned relief flooding his chest before he pulled Shinzo into a tight embrace.

“Perfectly on time,” he said softly. “Thank you, Shinzo.”

“No worries,” Shinzo replied, fishing something out from his pocket. “And hey—look what came out of the pedestal when I stabbed the heart.”

An ember glowed in his palm, bright and fiery orange.

Hiroshi took it carefully.

“the Orange Blaze Ember” he murmured as the ember sank into his chest. His veins burned orange for a moment before fading.

“This gives Rock solid body. My skin is now immune to piercing.”

And then suddenly—

BOOM!

A sudden thunderous boom shook the ground beneath them.

Both Hiroshi and Shinzo spun around, eyes wide.

“What was that?!” Hiroshi shouted.

“Don’t tell me… Another tyrant?!” Shinzo blurted out.

The air grew heavy.

Something bad was going to happen.

To Be Continued...