Until now, Kaze had always sought strength above all else.

He prided herself on fearlessly challenging any formidable foe who crossed his path. Yet this time felt different - an unfamiliar dread gripped his soul. He couldn't pinpoint its source with any certainty, but his feet felt paralyzed all the same. The ancient figure before him waited impassively, showing no intention of making the first move.

It was an emotion almost foreign to him. Having bested every rival back home, he had ventured to Tokyo seeking worthier challenges. The only one who left any impression was a seemingly unremarkable high schooler named Kurono.

His allies fought on, but this foe was merely one of many. Kaze knew he must defeat the enemy himself, lest the others face even greater burdens. For the cherished young man's sake - for Takeshi's sake - he forced a mocking grin and taunted the old man, declaring him unworthy prey.

He responded by tilting his head slightly. "Hoh? Afraid, are we?"

Without hesitation, Kaze unleashed a furious volley of punches. He could feel the solid impacts against his weathered cheek, yet took no comfort in it. Reaffirming the flow of his techniques, Kaze rained down blow after blow, punctuating each strike with a guttural shout.

"Hohoho."

Despite his lack of speed, the old man deftly weaved around his kicks, catching his right fist in an open palm. Undaunted, Kaze launched a middle kick that blasted him away with overwhelming force - his innate strength amplified even further by the augmented suit.

There was no way he could withstand such an onslaught. Yet the old man, Nurarihyon simply rose again, staggering momentarily before plunging his tattered hands into his own abdomen.

"Hohohohohoh!"

He laughed uproariously while dragging out his organs, simultaneously regenerating the wounds Kaze had inflicted in the blink of an eye.

Picturing Takeshi's face one last time, Kaze charged forward once more.

***

Lucario understood his duty extended beyond mere hatred.

"Fufufu..."

He alone could keep pace with this fiend's unnatural speed, ensuring no further harm befell his comrades. Though battered and missing an eye and arm, Lucario vowed to fight on - from the time he became champion alongside Shirona, to her tragic demise, through his arrival in this strange new world.

His steadfast ability accelerating his movements with every wound sustained, Lucario harnessed his rising fury into blistering acceleration. The enemy's blurred form remained visible through distorted afterimages he seamlessly tracked, slamming a pawstrike squarely into the female Nurarihyon's face.

The impact staggered her, drawing blood - yet Lucario instantly disengaged before any retaliation, narrowly evading her blade-transformed limbs that could rend any defense asunder. A single solid hit was insufficient; her regenerative capabilities far outstripped Gastrodon's. Exploiting a critical opening to unleash overwhelming force was his only path to victory. But Lucario knew delivering that decisive blow was not his role to play.

The female's head erupted in a spray of gore as Garchomp's jaws clamped down. Even her Giga Impact failed to keep the fiend down, though her recovery seemed markedly slower than before - perceptibly delayed in a manner unlike her previous regenerations.

This, then, was the vital key. Bracing his stance with his remaining arm, Lucario focused his aura to unbearable intensity.

…

"Hyohyohyo."

The enemy now perched atop his sword, having effortlessly weaved through his flurry of thrusts meant to leave no openings, brushing off the intended finisher like it was nothing.

Retreating, Oka realized this foe eclipsed any other alien threats they had faced. And there were three of them here - all had to be defeated, or this would never end.

The middle-aged Nurarihyon froze in midair as the young man named Sakurai declared, "I've immobilized him!"

His powers had clearly been altered, amplified to an extraordinary degree. The immobilized fiend's skull collapsed inward, crushed by some unseen force even as Oka hacked away at his body. Any severed portions simply reknit before his eyes.

One of the regenerated fingers pointed at Oka, forming a sphere of ice that shattered before it could be launched.

Roserade spat out a viscous purple mass that exploded against Nurarihyon, finally staggering him as the apparent toxin took effect.

"Burst!"

Blood streaming from his eyes, Sakurai clenched his fist - the fiend's brain detonating once more.

Inwardly, Oka clicked his tongue. This wasn't enough. Their combined efforts would inevitably be worn down before the fiend was stopped for good. Somewhere, there had to be an exploitable weakness. Even regenerative foes had vulnerabilities governing their restorative capabilities - crippling that should negate their advantage.

Yet Nurarihyon betrayed no such frailty, nor any subconscious tells to give it away. He fought with utter disregard, as if truly immortal.

Before Oka could react, the gigantic Nurarihyon's fist sent him hurtling away. His suit absorbed the brunt of the impact, letting him narrowly avoid plummeting into the river below as the elderly fiend shoved Kaze aside with mocking laughter. The slant-eyed female extended her bladed limbs towards Oka's ally, only for Garchomp to intercept the strike at the last moment.

Clearly, their divided efforts were only complicating matters. Perhaps some means of isolating the foes could tip the scales in their favor. Yet Oka knew they would never allow that, and fragmenting their own forces risked leaving the remainder overwhelmed.

Oka’s gaze momentarily met the swiftly moving Garchomp's. She seemed to understand as well.

***

The bespectacled man was crying pathetically. Even as the battle raged on at the tragic scene, he could barely stand to watch. He was afraid to discern who had the upper hand, the terror overwhelming him.

"Shirona...I'm so sorry, Shirona..."

He berated himself relentlessly. There must have been another way. He should have assessed the situation more carefully before resorting to the balls. Because he had carelessly relied on them, everyone was killed.

"I'm asking you one more time," Kyukon appeared outwardly calm, though surely that was merely a front. She kept furtively glancing at the Nurarihyon fighting on the bridge, a flicker of fear in her eyes.

"Give me permission. To tamper with Milord's head. If I can remove the bomb seed, we can escape. We'll flee together. I normally live disguised as a human, so it'll be fine."

"No, I can't..." The bespectacled man glared at her through tear-blurred eyes. "If you had just cooperated with us...no one would have died! Why did you have to protect me? If not for me, everyone else could have..."

"Don't know nothing about that," Oniteng groaned, the blood pouring from his gut not stopping. Still, he remained stationed around his master. "We're here to protect your life. Don't know or care 'bout anythin' else."

Kyukon gazed down at the bespectacled man with seemingly sincere, beautiful eyes. On the surface, she appeared utterly serious.

But the man found it unbelievable. Just a little while ago, they had been trying to kill them all. Their cruelty was undeniable. This had to be some form of brainwashing - the two were simply being deluded by the power of the balls. Their professed loyalty was a lie.

His headache worsening, and he cried out louder. "Then I order you! Cooperate with us. Help everyone. Together, we'll defeat them!"

Oniteng let out a roar first before climbing up onto the bridge. Despite his grievous wounds, his movements remained swift.

A stabbing pain lanced through the bespectacled man’s chest. They were merely tools, sacrificing their own lives to carry out orders. As the one who had compelled them to this, he could not bear to watch directly.

Kyukon sidled up closer. At that moment, her beauty held no sway over him. She studied him with a placid expression. "I won't move. I'll stay by masters’s side."

He started to tell her that those feelings were artificial constructs. But his attention was drawn instead to the unfolding battle.

The burly man Kaze drove his fist towards the enemy, only for Oniteng to pulverize the attack.

The situation was shifting.

The bespectacled man felt pathetic. His embattled allies were incredible, performing feats beyond imagination. Against this seemingly hopeless foe, they attacked without the slightest hesitation. As terrifying as it was, he could not tear his gaze away.

"Strike their blind spots!" Oka's voice boomed, the man seeming to grasp some realization.

"They regenerate slower from wounds outside their sphere of perception! We can overwhelm them!"

And yet, even attacking from behind proved ineffective. Observing from the outside, he could feel it more keenly than anyone.

The Nurarihyons' coordination was perfect. No matter which angle they struck from, the others would undoubtedly respond in kind. It was as if they shared a hive mind, their visual inputs interlinked - that much was clear.

Which meant... A grim realization set in.

To decisively defeat them would require a simultaneous, overwhelming assault from multiple blind angles. It was an unreasonable prospect - utterly impossible. Such an attack simply did not exist.

Or alternatively, they could try separating the Nurarihyons. But the enemies would never allow that easily. And on their end, dividing their own forces would leave each fragment vulnerable to being picked off.

However, it seemed his allies had devised another strategy.

"Now! Finish it!" Sakurai roared, blood spraying from his mouth.

In that instant, the middle-aged Nurarihyon's eyeballs burst while Garchomp's jaws clamped around the female's face. Finally, Oniteng's fist obliterated the elderly fiend's skull.

They had aimed to cripple the foes' shared sight alone, disrupting their synchronized perception long enough to create an opening - no matter how briefly.

With that, they scattered in separate trajectories.

Oka was snatched up by Garchomp and flung from the bridge as Lucario sprinted off at blinding speeds. Kaze and Sakurai plunged into the river below.

Only then did the bespectacled man realize the one angle their enemies would never anticipate - from above.

Colossal boulders levitated overhead, their pale forms suffused with incredible energy that grew brighter by the second, all aimed squarely at the Nurarihyons.

Even they seemed to sense the impending danger. The elderly one tried to flee, only to be seized by an enormous hand.

His energy beams lashed out, shearing away half of Oniteng's face - yet the tengu held fast with a guttural roar, pinning his former master in an unbreakable grip despite horrific wounds exposing muscle and bone.

For an instant, the bespectacled man nearly called out for him to stop. Then he remembered that until recently, these beings had been their sworn enemies as well. There was no obligation compelling such self-sacrifice.

Yet Oniteng persisted with clear resolve, restraining the one Nurarihyon as the other two strained against Roserade's binding toxin lashes. Garchomp met her gaze and gave a solemn nod.

"...Draco Meteor."

At Oka's command, Garchomp unleashed a deafening roar. The Nurarihyons had no chance to flee the apocalyptic barrage that hammered down upon them.

The bespectacled man could only cower against the tremors, sheltered by Kyukon's embrace as he wept, praying this nightmarish ordeal would finally end.

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