Rain crashed down in sheets, thunder crackling like war drums in the sky as the battlefield turned to a blur of water, light, and destruction.
Gekido stood tall at the center of it all, unmoved by the rain or the four elite warriors before him. He rolled his neck, muscle-bound arms flexing as he cracked his knuckles again, grinning behind his yellow oni mask.
"Four S-Ranks… hmph. This should be easy. I could kill every last one of them with one hand if I wanted to."
And yet—he charged with both.
Zenji Takamura was the first to act. Soundwaves pulsed from his palms in violent concentric rings, aimed straight at Gekido's core. The sheer pressure could shatter buildings, but Gekido slammed through them with brute force, the waves rippling off his skin with only minor distortion.
"Not even close," Gekido muttered as he appeared in front of Zenji in a blink, throwing a thunderous fist. Zenji barely dodged, the punch grazing his ribs and sending him flying into a concrete wall with a sonic boom.
Kuro Emi surged forward next, her body shifting into water mid-motion to avoid Gekido's devastating backhand. She reformed behind him, launching twin spirals of pressurized water like drills into his back—but they barely pierced the skin.
He turned his head slightly, unimpressed.
"You're slippery. That's cute."
Without looking, he stomped backward, the shockwave alone forcing Kuro to retreat and morph into water again just in time to avoid being pulverized.
Arata Nojima unleashed his second beast—a towering falcon-like entity wreathed in lightning. It screeched as it dove, beak and talons glowing with raw power, striking Gekido from above.
That attack made him stagger a step.
"Tch... Summoner, huh?" Gekido flexed, catching the beast by the throat mid-dive. With a roar, he hurled it into a nearby building, then looked toward Arata. "You're next."
But Mikio Dazai was already there, throwing up a massive essence barrier in front of Arata. The wall cracked under Gekido's punch, but it held—for now.
"You're not invincible," Mikio growled, sweat on his brow from the effort.
Gekido looked at him with amused disdain. "No... I'm just inevitable."
Then, faster than expected, Gekido spun and delivered a hammering blow that shattered Mikio's second barrier and sent him skidding across the pavement.
Zenji, recovered, retaliated by amplifying the sound of the thunder overhead, focusing the vibration into a sonic lance that burst from the clouds and struck Gekido directly.
This time, Gekido grunted.
He took a knee.
But only for a second.
With a brutal laugh, he stood back up, steam rising from his body. "There it is... a spark. You're stronger than I gave you credit for."
Still, in his mind, he remained unfazed.
"They're coordinated, smart... but it won't matter. They'll all fall. Eventually, all of them break."
The four S-Rank warriors regrouped, breathing hard, their resolve burning.
They hadn't won. Not even close.
But neither had he.
And that meant one thing.
The fight was far from over.