"Lightspeed" (067)

Elliot remained solemn, exuding a powerful aura as he moved his sword in front of him.

Genpaku suddenly appeared from beneath the heaps and landed on the floor. "You fool... Do you really want to die?"

Then he removed his mask, revealing his face for the first time. His black hair had been serious, as had his sad look and dark eyes.

"Do I appear to be on my deathbed? Your Reality, like Yujiro's Holocaust, is no match compared to my Lightspeed. Besides... how can you battle if you never get a good look at your opponent? There's no way I'm faster than your thoughts, even if you sense me."

"First and foremost, never jinx the skills of others... now, I assume you've already terraformed the land to your satisfaction... I suppose you have more control over the speed now than you had before... However, you will not be able to use it! For the sake of the ground!" While Elliot stood still, his blue eye blazing out, Genpaku swiped his arm upward, causing the ground to tremble like waves.

"Say exactly what you want. This, however, will not deter me." Genpaku exchanged glances with Elliot as soon as he pulled his blade, and his aura darkened.

"Despair... Despair, ahahaha! That's exactly what I'm looking for! HA-HA!!"

Yujiro ran forward, dragging his blade behind him, and soon moved toward Elliot.

Elliot swiftly recognized him and swung his left arm to the side, knocking Yujiro's wrist to the side, before kicking him in the stomach and causing him to tumble back and crash on the raised platform.

Elliot vanished and reappeared behind Genpaku at that very moment, but he was slowing down to avoid wasting too much energy and slashed his blade.

"Demonstrate me the despair, how it feels! Please hand it on to me! Gahahaha!" Yujiro was on the ground and punching forward until Elliot moved back and leaped out of the way. Yujiro slammed his fist into the earth, igniting blue flames that exploded into the air.

Elliot and Yujiro, as well as Genpaku, vanished at the same time.

Yujiro quickly kicked forward after emerging in the air, and Elliot instinctively crossed both arms to defend. Meanwhile, Genpaku arrived from behind and slashed his blade in the direction of Elliot.

Both Yujiro and Genpaku were pounded after Elliot appeared on top of Genpaku's shoulder, kicked his back, and spun into the air after ducking and instantly disappearing in yellow light.

Genpaku was unable to control his fighting because he only had one arm, thus the minute that happened, he pointed his arm toward Elliot and fired a red blast, which caused Elliot to vanish.

Elliot had barely landed on the platform where Yujiro had already kicked toward Elliot's head when the blast went flying through the air and into the distant building.

Elliot dived and smacked his wrist into Yujiro's knee, knocking him back, before stabbing forward. Yujiro was smiling, and when he was pierced in the chest, he laughed it out and immediately opened his palm.

Elliot was able to evade the blue flames by vanishing. Those flames dissipated, and Yujiro was kicked in the back, then knocked forward, where Genpaku slashed the sword.

Elliot slashed back, collapsing both blades in defense. Yujiro, on the other hand, rolled around on the floor before reappearing behind Elliot, ready to cut.

Because Elliot was in the middle, he had no choice but to strike Yujiro in the stomach to avoid being stabbed, so he dragged the sword and backed away after succeeding. When red energy exploded into the air, Genpaku's attack slammed into the ground.

Yujiro flipped back, landed in a handstand, and then rolled into the second flip, landing on the elevated platform, before swooping his palm forward and unleashing blue flames.

Elliot didn't want to get hit, so he ran towards it and sliced through it. Suddenly, a wide yellow slice appeared in the air, and Yujiro's chest began to hurt even more.

Elliot then elbowed Yujiro in the face and vanished in the blink of an eye, reappearing behind him, kicking Yujiro in the back and grabbing his leg, whirling and flinging Yujiro's body around.

However, Yujiro's wild face only let out a chuckle, and he twisted his leg, fractured his own ankle, and kicked Elliot in the face at the same time.

Because Elliot was taken aback by Yujiro's landing on his left leg, he rapidly backed away. "Woopsie, I think one of my bones is broken! Hihi, I guess I'll be swaying a little! Just joking!" He twisted his leg back with a loud laugh.

"It's time for round two!" Yujiro dashed forward as quickly as he could.

("What the hell... he's a psychopath!")

Elliot swiftly turned back after seeing Genpaku kick forward, but by ducking, he dodged the kick and felt how Genpaku's massive body shot over and landed behind him, then cut backward.

After evading, Elliot kneeled Genpaku and formed a kick into his jaw, kicking him up in the air and noticing that Genpaku summoned three cards.

He sharpened them and hurled them towards Elliot, who was bouncing across the platforms. However, the cards continued to follow him, and he would have been followed wherever he went.

Elliot cut forward as soon as he realized it, unleashing a high-voltage blast that burned the cards and sensing that someone else had emerged behind him.

Elliot cut back before being hit, and both Yujiro's and Elliot's blades collided, casting metal echoes.

Elliot pushed him to the side and slashed him. Yujiro rolled and slid across the floor before leaping into the air and landing in front of the shattered structure.

"This is fantastic! I'm in desperate need of more suffering! I'm in desperate need! Hahahaha, haha, hahahahahaha!!!

" Yujiro stretched the blade to the side just as he was going to dash again, he froze in the process.

Something snatched his blade, and his gaze was drawn to someone.

"Wh-what the-"

"I'm sorry... but this is something I have to do?" It was Tomomi, and her body inserted itself into the sword, immobilizing Yujiro in an instant.

"What the hell is going on... I-I can't move! Get out of there, you pathetic twerp!"

"No! Yujiro! DAMN IT!" Genpaku screamed, his body trembling.

("There's nothing I can do... my body is immobilized, and I can't even move my arms... what is this chick doing?!")

Elliot, who had been standing still, turned around and exchanged glances with Genpaku.

"...it's time to wrap things up..." Elliot turned around and began walking, instilling fear in Genpaku. "... you piece of scum... you think I'm going to lose just because Yujiro isn't playing?"

"That's it... I can't believe I've never suspected that cute little girl before... I should've guessed she was there for a reason..."

Elliot was about to attack, so Genpaku readied and braced himself.

"Did you think we'd show up unprepared? That's a major hint to look away from... but it's over for you now!" Elliot vanished in a flash of light, and his silhouette appeared in front of Genpaku's face in the air.

Elliot attempted to score a punch by sweeping his leg forward, but by sheer luck, Genpaku crouched and suddenly vanished into the distance, pointing both hands forward.

But that was only after Elliot had been waiting behind him for a while. As a result, Elliot reached his arm and gripped Genpaku's back, unleashing an enormous amount of lightning that just hurled Genpaku's body forward.

He positioned himself on the floor to maintain his balance, then threw his right arm forward from behind his back.

"You'll pay for chopping off one of my arms!"

When Genpaku's body multiplied and there were multiple illusions with just one proper body, a red energy shock soared through the air.

Elliot crouched and grabbed a pebble, then straightened up, moved back and forth, and swung his arm over his head, encircling the rock in electricity. It began to fly like a little meteor, colliding with the blast and exploding on impact, preventing the attack from reaching Elliot.

Elliot immediately stiffened his feet on the ground after all of the illusions pointed their right arm forward and sent forth red blasts that ejected immense pressure.

He vanished in an instant, and the explosions slammed into each other, exploding, and all the illusions were shattered in a single moment. Meanwhile, an unseen figure emerged in front of Genpaku, and his face was smashed when something stabbed through the back of his head.

Genpaku was taken aback as the yellow aura that resembled Elliot vanished, but he also noted that Elliot's form stood behind him, both hands clutching the sword's hilt.

Elliot's eyes began to glow blue in the crouched position, but he held the sword. Genpaku's chest was being pierced from back to front.

"This is unthinkable... I just happened to notice you in front of me..."

"You did because it was my first attack, and the blade in your back is the sixteenth."

"It's what?" His arms gushed blood and his sleeves were entirely torn the instant he asked. The same thing happened to his legs, and he couldn't believe what had just transpired.

"Remember how quickly light travels? That's how quickly I can move."

"... How is it possible for a mere human to move that quickly...? It's not supposed to be feasible! Even for a champion, this isn't the case!"

"That's because I absorbed light cells from the sun, and if I gathered enough, I should be able to move at this speed for at least another minute."

"Before that, I'm going to crush you!" Genpaku flung his arm back but couldn't hold Elliot, so he quickly recognized his body had been punctured from the front and Elliot had vanished.

Only his stomach was pierced by the sword, forcing him to bleed. Elliot then emerged and whirled, sweeping his ankle into Genpaku's face, and then something sharp cut Genpaku's ankle, causing him to collapse on one of his knees.

"... this agony... I never imagined I'd be the one to experience it... it's dreadful, it's excruciating..."

Soon after, Elliot appeared behind him and slammed his elbow into the top of Genpaku's back, slamming him to the ground and causing a yellow shockwave to cycle and explode in the air, scattering dust.

Everything vanished in the next few seconds, and Elliot remained motionless behind Genpaku, who was pinned to the ground and in anguish.

"You can accept it... you'll never be able to overcome me... You've already lost."

When Elliot took a step forward, it felt as if his spirit had left his body, and Genpaku felt the sword being drawn out. Elliot moved at the speed of light once more, the blade poised over his skull.

("... I lost... and then I'm gone... a-all of a sudden? How come I couldn't stand a chance... am I truly about to lose?")

"It's time for you to join the ranks of the damned..."

("N-No... that's not possible...") But, as soon as Elliot swooped his arms down and drove his blade through Genpaku's back, another whirlwind of force erupted through the air, vibrating through the air and earth, while others watching felt the whirlwind.

When they all turned their gaze to Elliot, his hair, aura, and eyes all returned to normal.

"You've been defeated... I am the fastest creature on this planet if I have amassed enough energy..." Elliot spoke up after noticing how delicate Genpaku's body was.

"Y-you say you won? Then there's no point for me to fight back... I've already lost..." His voice grew weaker as he spoke, and he could feel his own blood leaving his body and spilling on the floor under him.

But then everyone started to feel stronger vibrations, and they were taken aback when they realized it was coming from Yujiro.

"You think you're going to get away with it like that? You, as well as the girl in my blade! You'll all be in a state of despair!" When Elliot became stunned, the floor around Yujiro was crumbling.

"Damn it! Don't tell me he's making a breakthrough?! I've expended all of the light that has accumulated within my aura! I'm no longer able to use Lightspeed!"

Yujiro's arms gradually began to move, and he began to break through the aura barrier that had been immobilizing him. "Please have a seat! I'm willing to share your feelings of sorrow!"

He took a step forward, his eyes ablaze, and the blade began to produce tremendous blue flames.

"What now, Elliot?! He's breaking free from his shackles! We won't be able to stop it; we'll have to battle him!" Nina screamed, and everyone else was taken aback.

"I'm not sure! I'm at a loss for what to do! I'm not strong enough to compete with Yujiro's fighting attitude!"

"Despair, that is the last thing I want to feel and see... ha-ha... hahaha, hahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!"

Yujiro drove himself forward as the invisible barrier was breached.

Elliot's eyes were trembling as he took a step back.

("Damn it... he's out... I've gotta fight him...") Shion, Shigeru, Kiyoshi, and Yumi all emerged next to Elliot at that very moment.

"We could be frail! So let's team up and battle him!" Yumi expressed herself.

"That's correct... we'll have the highest chance of winning this way..." Kiyoshi asserted himself.

"This isn't going to be simple... he doesn't appear to be any weaker..."

With the exception of Alpha, who was still asleep, Shigeru declared, and everyone was ready to confront Yujiro.

To be continued...