wings

Wendy's warning struck Ryo with dread. He had known her only briefly, but he understood that she would never say something capable of affecting the battle without thinking it through.

"What are you trying to say?"

Hiro raised his left hand, and a sphere of fire formed above it. The sphere expanded slowly as its heat intensified.

"A moment ago, I thought he was still adapting to his new body, but I was wrong. The monster has already taken control of him. What we're seeing now is only its natural evolution. That fire emerging from his side is his fourth wing, and I don't think it will end there."

"His fourth wing? The third appeared only seconds ago, and now he has a fourth. Are you saying that in another few seconds we'll be facing a five-winged Jinn? That wouldn't be funny even as a joke."

The fireball swelled to an enormous size. Its colour turned white, while black flames adorned its surface.

As Wendy watched Hiro, she noticed something strange.

Those flames are Hiro's original power, strengthened by the monster's ability. But something is wrong. No matter how powerful the attack, if he fires it directly at Ryo, it will return at twice the force. He knows that, yet he's aiming straight at him.

Ryo rushed forward while Wendy enclosed Stella and herself inside her transparent shield.

Hiro launched a massive fireball, blazing crimson streaked with white sparks, and sent it hurtling toward Ryo at a speed too fast for the eye to follow.

The fire roared like a raging beast, tearing the air apart around it, and within moments it was about to strike its target.

Ryo stood firm on the other side, his features set like stone, absolute confidence written across his face. His eyes gleamed with unshaken resolve, as though certain that nothing could touch him.

Then the fireball struck an invisible barrier, the barrier of reversal, a defensive technique beyond comprehension that separated life and death by a single thread.

What happened next was nothing anyone expected.

Instead of rebounding toward Hiro as it should have under the reversal's effect, the fireball began to shudder, then detonated instantly with terrifying force, back toward Ryo himself.

The explosion roared like a scream from the depths of hell. White flames burst outward to an enormous span, radiating a heat that cut straight through bone, and the air itself caught fire as the trees around it vaporized and the ground cracked into ash.

For an instant the forest looked as though a miniature sun had gone off inside it, devouring everything around it without distinction.

The firestorm raged on for seconds that felt like ages before it died out all at once, leaving behind a terrifying stillness.

What remained was a devastating sight: blackened, scorched ground empty of all life, and a vast, deep crater, as though a meteor had fallen from the sky and split the forest in two.

At its center lay Ryo's body, or what was left of it, motionless and silent.

Only his head and chest still remained, covered in hot ash. His eyes were barely open, suspended between life and death, his breathing so faint it made no sound.

But before anyone could grasp what was happening, a silver-blue light flashed from his body. The reversal ability had activated on its own, like a survival instinct. In the blink of an eye his body began rebuilding itself, bone re-forming and flesh knitting back together until his skin returned as pure as before.

Ryo rose slowly, his eyes burning with a silent fury, his power rippling around him like invisible waves of pressure.

Wendy remained beside Stella. Although the shield had protected her, the attack had already done terrible damage. The entire right half of her body was burned, and unlike Ryo, she could do nothing about the wounds. She was already close to death.

Even then, she never stopped thinking about what she could do. She was far from Ryo, and with that monster present, moving was not an option. Ryo was cautious now, trying to understand why reversal had failed.

Wendy shouted as loudly as she could.

"Don't you dare use reversal again! That monster can see everything now!"

At first, Ryo did not understand. Then he sensed something strange in the space around him and realised what had happened.

He rose, took hold of his spear, and his magnificent clothes returned to perfect condition.

"Damn it. I never expected anyone to push me this far. It has been a long time since anything like this happened, so I think it's time I stopped taking this lightly. But I never imagined that bastard's ability could reach this far."

Reversal has no visible form in this world, but that doesn't mean it has no definite shape. It usually takes the form of a barrier, but I'm the only one who can see it. That is what makes it so troublesome for anyone who faces me.

So this is how he overcame it. That wing did more than increase his strength. It raised his ability to an entirely different level. He probably no longer needs to touch something to turn it into his weapon. He only needs to see it. That girl said he could see everything. She meant he could see my barrier of reversal. When he launched the fireball at me, he waited for reversal to double it and send it back. Then he made reversal itself into his weapon and reversed the fireball again, returning it to me with still greater force. That explains what happened.

These are only theories, but if they are true, I cannot use reversal again. If I reverse even a small wound, he could use that reversal to tear me in half. Constant healing is no longer possible. The same applies to the girls. If anything happens to them, I won't be able to help. This gets worse with every passing second.

In the middle of what seemed a hopeless situation, the King of War laughed at the top of his lungs, his face alight with joy and excitement.

"You have done well, monster. I've had enough of defending. Now that I understand what you are, there is no reason to hold back. Come at me, freak. Let's see which burns hotter, the flame of your wing or the blade of my spear."

Hiro sensed the danger Ryo posed. His white flames formed an enormous sword, which he launched at him faster than sound. In a fraction of a second, Ryo turned the attack back. The returning strike dispersed the sword of fire, then reached Hiro's chest before he could react and tore it open.

Hiro prepared to retaliate, but Ryo vanished from his sight. By the time his instincts found him, the spear had already carved across his back. Before Hiro's body struck the ground, he caught sight of Ryo's face, and swords burst from the earth and flew towards him.

Ryo's speed was climbing at a staggering rate. Thousands of swords converged upon him, yet he avoided every one with flawless precision. Even the attacks hidden in the air could not touch him.

He's trying to drive me away so he can heal and answer with an attack across the whole area. I won't even give him time to breathe.

A smile spread across Ryo's face amid the rain of swords that had turned the Pine Forest into a battlefield.

In the blink of an eye, his spear pierced Hiro's heart.

Hiro raised a pillar of fire around Ryo to stop him moving. With one sweep of the spear, Ryo extinguished the raging flames.

"What happened? Can't you keep up with an old man? Young people these days need to improve their fitness. You had better make an effort, or I'll get bored."

Ryo's spear pierced Hiro's head and split him down the middle. Yet Hiro's body no longer depended upon the organs a living body needed to survive. Though he had been cleaved in two, the halves joined again.

Trying to kill him will have no effect now. It buys me time, however, and seems to slow his growth. Less than a minute remains before I can use Aka at full power. Until then, I must keep his heart from beating.

Ryo attacked without pause, denying Hiro any chance to answer. Wendy tried to ease the pain of her burns, but she could not take her eyes off the battle. However desperate her condition, she never stopped drawing information from everything before her.

He is beyond measure. Even without his impenetrable defence or another chance to heal, he shines upon the battlefield, no matter how desperate it becomes. This is the King of War at the height of his strength. Even after losing the means to defend himself, he is drawing closer to victory through force alone.

That spear, combined with its ability to guarantee a hit, gives him many ways to fight. From the moment Ryo takes hold of it, the temperature of its blade rises without pause. Every guaranteed strike raises it by fifty degrees Celsius, while every wound inflicted upon him by an enemy adds a hundred. Considering how many blows have landed and how long this battle has lasted, the spear must have reached around 2,500 degrees. No wonder it is reducing everything nearby to ash. If this continues much longer, the spear will become a small sun.

And the spear grants its bearer a range of enhancements. Against one enemy, they are concentrated in speed, perception and long-range attacks. Against many enemies, they are concentrated in endurance and physical strength, and turn his attacks into enormous explosions. It truly is a weapon made for someone who adores battle.

After several exchanges, Hiro began to match Ryo's speed. Within thirty seconds, he was evading the spear, and his body had begun healing again. Ryo rushed forward to deny him the chance to attack, but Hiro unleashed fire from the ground around himself. It formed a colossal pillar that reached into the clouds and forced Ryo away.

Only twenty seconds remain. I must stop his growth at any cost.

There is only a little longer to endure, yet these seconds feel like hours. This shield cannot protect anything now. If they clash again, Stella and I will certainly die here. I can only pray that nothing happens.

As Ryo and Hiro faced one another, Hiro began to speak.

"King of War, my battle with you has been most entertaining. You are the strongest warrior I have ever faced. I respect the name you earned through your own strength. I believe it is time to end this battle."

Those words dispelled Ryo's unease. He relaxed his shoulders and smiled slyly.

"So you can speak after all. Yet you made no attempt to communicate or reason with us. What an arrogant bastard you are. Very well. Let's end this tedious battle, monster."

Hiro raised his hand and pointed one finger at Ryo. A mass of circles formed before the fingertip. Each held its own orbits, all turning around the centre like a cluster of overlapping atoms.

Then the atoms began to split.

Now he is turning the energy stored within atoms into his weapon. How far can his ability reach? A single blast will erase this forest, and the damage may reach the neighbouring towns. There is no escape now. Even if I shape my power into a shield, it cannot withstand the energy this explosion will release.

Just as Wendy abandoned all hope, a voice called to her.

"I promised you, didn't I? No one will die in this battle. You need only survive the explosion for five seconds. I promise I'll heal you afterwards."

Ryo set his spear aside, and his black horns began to glow a deep red.

He's using Aka. Is he planning to absorb the explosion? Is he a fool? If he does that, he will never win, and there may be no second chance to stop that monster.

"Don't worry. I will win. So trust me, human girl."