Extermination order

A thunderous explosion rocked the house.

Reika Tenshiro's hands trembled as she steadied herself against the kitchen counter. The force of the blast had rattled the walls, sending dishes clattering onto the floor. But it wasn't the noise that sent chills down her spine—it was the suffocating aura that followed.

Something was out there. Something beyond comprehension.

Then she heard the voice.

Low, guttural, and intelligent.

Her heart clenched.

Her body moved on instinct. She ran.

The moment she stepped outside, her breath hitched. The backyard—the place where just moments ago, her husband had been training Kaito—was now a battlefield.

Shinzo stood at the center, arms scorched, his breathing slightly heavy, but his posture remained unshaken. His presence, even injured, was that of an immovable titan.

And before him…

A nightmare made flesh.

It was humanoid, but only just. Towering and lean, its sinewy body pulsed with dark, writhing essence energy. Its elongated fingers twitched with unnatural sharpness, and glowing crimson eyes burned through the night.

Then, the creature spoke again.

"Ah… the mother arrives. How fortunate. This makes things more… personal."

Reika's stomach twisted. She forced her voice to be steady. "Kaito! Get inside! Now!"

But Kaito didn't move. His body was rigid, frozen in terror.

The creature tilted its head slightly before its lips curled into a grin. "That boy… belongs to us."

Shinzo's expression didn't change.

But something in his presence did.

The weight of his killing intent spread through the air like a thick mist, suffocating, overwhelming. His lips curled into something Reika hadn't seen in years.

A grin.

Not one of arrogance.

Not one of defiance.

But pure, unshackled exhilaration.

"You think you can just come here and take my son?" His voice was low, steady, carrying the weight of a man who had faced death and laughed in its face countless times.

The creature's eyes flickered with something akin to curiosity. "You don't seem afraid, Dark Blade."

Shinzo's grin widened. "Afraid? I haven't felt this alive in years."

Then it moved.

The creature blurred forward with terrifying speed, aiming straight for Kaito.

But Shinzo was already there.

His arm snapped up, catching the beast's wrist mid-air. The sheer force of its momentum sent cracks through the ground beneath them, but Shinzo didn't budge.

The creature's grin faltered for the first time.

"You're fast," Shinzo mused, his grip tightening. "But not fast enough."

And then, with a monstrous twist of his body, he hurled the creature across the yard.

The beast crashed through a tree, the trunk splitting like paper.

Kaito barely had time to process what he had just seen. His father—his injured father—had just overpowered that thing like it was nothing.

The creature rose from the debris, shaking off the impact. Then, for the first time, it did something unexpected.

It chuckled.

"I see. You're still a monster yourself, Shinzo Tenshiro."

Shinzo cracked his neck, rolling his shoulders. He could still feel the burning ache in his arms, but it didn't matter. Pain was nothing new.

This feeling… this battle…

It made him feel alive again.

He settled into a stance, his blood singing in his veins.

"Enough talk." His grin sharpened. "Show me what you've got."

A gust of wind roared through the backyard as Shinzo Tenshiro lunged forward, his movements fluid like a predator closing in on its prey. His battered arms burned with pain, but his grin was wider than ever—this was a battle that ignited something deep within him, a fire he thought had long since faded.

Malakai responded in kind, his twisted humanoid form shifting with unnatural speed. The Eldritch Beast moved like a specter, its body flickering in and out of existence for mere milliseconds before reappearing in unpredictable angles. Shinzo barely evaded a razor-sharp claw swipe aimed at his throat, feeling the wind pressure slice a strand of his hair.

Clash.

Shinzo countered, driving his reinforced fist forward, the sheer force of his Essence energy distorting the air. Malakai crossed his arms to block, but the impact sent a shockwave through the ground, cracking the very earth beneath them. Malakai skidded back, digging his feet into the dirt to regain balance. His crimson eyes gleamed with something sinister—admiration.

"Even in that state," Malakai mused, flexing his arms, "your strength is terrifying. No wonder you were feared, Dark Blade."

Shinzo cracked his knuckles. "Heh. You're not bad either."

With an explosive burst, Malakai vanished—only to reappear behind Shinzo in an instant, twisting his body mid-air to deliver a devastating axe kick. Shinzo barely had time to brace before the impact sent a crater rippling through the ground. Dust exploded outward, swallowing both warriors.

But before Malakai could press the advantage, Shinzo's form flickered—a feint.

From above.

Shinzo came down like a meteor, Essence surging around his fist. "Impact Breaker!" he roared, slamming his punch into Malakai's back. A blinding shockwave erupted, splitting the ground open and sending Malakai crashing into the dirt like a meteor strike.

Kaito and Reika, watching from the sidelines, shielded their eyes from the debris. Kaito had never seen his father like this before. He wasn't just strong—he was overwhelming.

But Shinzo wasn't done. He raised his foot and stomped downward, sending another shockwave into the ground where Malakai lay. But in that instant, Malakai blinked out of existence, reappearing several feet away with a sinister chuckle.

"You are quite the warrior," Malakai admitted, stretching his arms. "But I wonder—how long can that broken body of yours keep up?"

Shinzo rolled his shoulders, exhaling slowly. His entire body ached, his arms nearly numb, but the exhilaration of battle drowned out the pain.

"Long enough to kill you," he grinned.

Malakai's Essence energy surged—dark, swirling tendrils of malice twisting in the air around him. Shinzo's aura flared in response, golden streaks of Essence radiating from his body, illuminating the night like a rising sun.

The two warriors clashed once more, their movements a blur of raw power and refined technique. Essence energy crackled with each strike, lighting up the battlefield like a storm in the dead of night.

This was no longer a fight.

This was a war.

Kaito's breath hitched as he watched the battle unfold before him. His father—no, the warrior known as the Dark Blade—moved with grace and brutality, his every strike carrying enough force to shatter the earth itself. The night sky flashed with streaks of golden and abyssal energy, the sheer impact of their battle sending tremors through the ground.

Yet, as Kaito's wide eyes tracked their movements, he began to notice something.

Father's movements… they're getting slower.

At first, it was barely noticeable—just a slight delay in his dodges, a fraction of a second where his parries lacked the same explosive force. But Kaito's instincts sharpened as he watched, and suddenly, the truth was clear.

Shinzo was deteriorating.

His battered arms, still scorched from the earlier blast, were beginning to stiffen. His breathing, once steady, had deepened into heavy exhales. His footwork, though still precise, lacked its former fluidity.

Malakai saw it too.

The Eldritch Beast grinned, its crimson eyes glowing with predatory excitement. It had tested Shinzo, played its hand carefully, and now?

Now it knew.

"You're starting to fade, Dark Blade," Malakai mused, dodging another one of Shinzo's blows with ease. "Even your legendary endurance has limits. Tell me… how does it feel? Knowing your body is failing you?"

Shinzo's grin didn't waver. "Tch. Annoying."

Kaito clenched his fists, his heart pounding. His father had taken on a monster that wielded Essence energy like an Exterminator, and yet, even now, he wasn't backing down. Even now, he grinned like he was enjoying this.

The next exchange was brutal.

Malakai blurred forward, faster than before, his body weaving through the air like a serpent. His claws tore through the battlefield in rapid, unpredictable arcs, forcing Shinzo into a desperate series of dodges and counters.

But it was clear now—he was losing ground.

Slash!

Blood sprayed into the air as Malakai's claws carved a deep gash into Shinzo's side.

Kaito's heart dropped.

But before Malakai could capitalize, Shinzo twisted mid-motion, using the momentum of the wound to spin—his fist crashing into Malakai's ribs like a cannonball. The beast's body crumpled from the impact, hurling backward in a spiral.

Kaito felt his stomach turn. His father was still fighting through it. But at what cost?

Shinzo staggered, pressing a hand to his side as blood seeped through his robes. His vision blurred for a split second. His body was barely holding together now. He had underestimated this thing—not just its power, but its resilience.

Malakai, however, looked… rejuvenated.

The wounds Shinzo inflicted were healing—flesh stitching together as if his pain fueled his strength. Malakai exhaled slowly, flexing his fingers as his Essence energy pulsed stronger than before.

"This is exhilarating," Malakai laughed. "The longer I fight you, the more I evolve. I've never had the pleasure of fighting a warrior of your caliber. If this continues—"

Shinzo exhaled.

Enough.

The air shifted.

Kaito felt it before he saw it—the sheer weight of his father's will pressing down on the battlefield like an avalanche. His father straightened his back, rolling his shoulders, ignoring the pain wracking his body.

Malakai's grin faltered. "...What are you doing?"

Kaito's eyes widened as golden symbols began glowing across his father's arms and legs, pulsing with raw energy.

"Hah… it's been a while since I had to use this," Shinzo muttered. His grin widened. "Time to remind you why they called me the Dark Blade."

Then—

The world exploded.

Shinzo vanished.

Not moved. Vanished.

A golden blur tore through the battlefield, and suddenly—Malakai was airborne, a devastating blow slamming into his torso before he could even react.

"Birthmark: Dark step– Phantom Drive."

Malakai's body twisted mid-air, but before he could counter—

Boom!

A second strike.

A third.

A fourth.

Kaito could barely comprehend what was happening—his father was moving so fast, so violently, that Malakai had no time to react. Shinzo blinked in and out of existence, each reappearance accompanied by an impact that sent shockwaves through the air.

This wasn't just speed.

This was warfare.

Malakai crashed into the ground, his body bouncing violently across the battlefield. But before he could recover—

Shinzo was already there.

His golden aura roared around him like a living storm, his Essence Technique fully unleashed.

"Let's finish this."