"Elemental Triggers" (055)

Outside their hideout, the Spiritual Hoaxers gathered to speak and wait for Genpaku's arrival.

Finally, Genpaku made his way to the front of every Spiritual Hoaxer.

"Welcome! Please accept my warmest greetings, my dear companions! I, Genpaku, your most receptive commander, am going to introduce you to a new ally! Please, Yujiro Sagayama... dare I say, step forward."

Genpaku and his three Spiritual Hoaxers lieutenants stepped aside, and Yujiro walked up the stairs, hands in pockets, with a menacing smile on his face.

"You're telling me these morons are known as the Spiritual Hoaxers? They're just like young folks without their goddamn house... no wonder they're wasting their time trying to help you!"

Yujiro's wicked blood continued to pour through his veins. "I could break every limb with a flick of my finger!"

"Hey! What the hell is this guy's name? He feels he's so much more important than us, and it's only been a few hours since he became one of us!" Hoaxers shouted, enraged.

On the other hand, Genpaku smiled. "However, he is..."

The Hoaxers were taken aback and grew terrified. "W-What?! Y-You're just going to put up with him instead of us? W-What exactly is the issue? We've been with you for a long time! He doesn't deserve to have so much freedom!"

"But, Yujiro, he could beat you in one move, right?" Genpaku smiled and laughed as he looked at him. "Oh, my gosh... I'm honored to have someone so "important" place such a high level of faith in me... my sole purpose in assisting you is to murder those filthy creatures that don't know how to live!"

"Let me tell you something... You'll have to accept me, but first I'm going to take on each and every one of you by myself! It's only fair that if you land a single blow on me, I'll recover as a weaker opponent!"

While he was beaming, Yujiro's eyes were filled with blue fire.

"Is he making a joke about us? If that's what you're looking for! Attempt to outsmart all 500 of us!" They were all pointing their fingers forward, intent on putting Yujiro out of his misery.

"You may argue that 500 is insignificant... I could take on ten thousand of you and still win!" Everyone was irritated after Yujiro said so.

"Sir, please grant us permission to take him on!" One of the Spiritual Hoaxers exclaimed.

"Go ahead and take a chance... but don't cry if you die..."

"Hoaxers! Let's beat the living daylights out of him! It's time for him to see our strength, so strike!" Everyone raced over to Yujiro, who stood on the podium.

"That's exactly what I'm referring to! I only want you to be in pain! So that's what you're going to receive!" Yujiro raised his arm far above his head, his right eye emitting longer and greater fire, and he chuckled by controlling his smile.

"Attain me! Yes! I'm a sucker for blood, and I can't wait to witness your melting body!" Our attacker opened his palm with a loud chuckle, and a roar of blazing flames erupted.

He rose and stretched his right leg well over his ground by jumping incredibly high in the air, and the final spark of blue color was seen.

Spiritual Hoaxers waited for him to fall, but the shock caused them to freeze.

"It's time to say goodbye to your sweet-cheeks!" It happened because he jumped right in the heart of the Spiritual Hoaxer's blistering leg, where his burning eye grew tougher, hotter, and he enhanced it with his own pressure... by striking the floor.

His sole dug into the floor, creating lengthy cracks that moved beneath Spiritual Hoaxers' legs, and with it, a gigantic inferno erupted from the gaps, spreading all over the place and engulfing practically every single Spiritual Hoaxer.

The flames blew individuals back with ease, burning their garments, ripping them apart, murdering the majority of them, and even splitting them in half.

The pressure proved to be too much for the hoaxers, and when a great explosion of flames happened, victims began to throw through the air, high in the sky, and their shouts and cries echoed.

When all of a sudden, one Spiritual Hoaxer stood in the midst of mass graves. "This can't be real... g-guys... t-this can't be real. Y-You're all dead, aren't you? N-No... by... a single person?"

But the Hoaxer knew the instant he caught a glimpse of Yujiro's grin. "N-No! W-Wait! Keep your distance!"

Yujiro smiled, leaned forward, and blue flames erupted from his entire body, flickering into the unknown and appearing in front of the person in an instant.

"I allowed you to live for this particular moment!"

"You lucky, guy, huh."

The Hoaxer shouted, and Yujiro's body whirled and twisted in unison as he felt heat grip his face.

He ripped the Spiritual Hoaxer's face off, turned to reposition himself, and landed on the ground. That caused him to take a stride forward and twirl, after which he hurled his head high into the air, triggering a gigantic explosion that burned the sky.

When only a few more Spiritual Hoxaers waited in the distance, horrified after seeing a scary figure, every single Spiritual Hoaxer was dead, massacred in one strike.

"He's a human, right? That's not a human, that's not even a creature... that guy is a monster! We're all going to die if we don't listen!" Others found themselves in a state of hopelessness.

"So, what are your thoughts? Did I put up a decent performance for you? Do you see what I mean? I'm up for a fight with 10,000 of you! No! And there's more! There's so much more, so much more! Grahahahahahahahaha!"

"G-Genpaku, do you really think that guy is safe to have around? J-Look at him, he's completely insane..."

Kunio and Shijo were both taken aback when Ayana spoke up. "Don't worry... with him on our side, no one will be able to stop us... not even the Holy Light herself."

Our Heroes had been approaching closer while identifying Yujiro's location on the opposite side, all the way away from the Spiritual Hoaxers' stronghold.

"H-He's moving... He's, he's still alive!" Elliot spoke, and he had a whirling smile on his face. "Alive? But how? We watched him get hollowed out, so this has to be some kind of trick!" Yumi claimed, her gaze falling on Elliot's Zero Watch.

"Probably another one of that moron's deceits... Maybe he's done something to help him get better..." Added Alpha, while she was quite serious about it.

"He must have exploited the infection and extracted the second person from Timoshi's body..." Tomomi stated calmly but gave them an idea.

"R-right, you don't mean... Yujiro?" Kiyoshi, who was trailing Elliot, added. "It's his only option... right... he's been pleading for Yujiro's help the whole time..."

"I'm very sure this is the only option... Isn't it true that we've all heard his speech?" Shion, who had been leading the pack, exclaimed. "Damn it! If we want to get rid of these ridiculous Hoaxer cows, or whatever they're called, we need to get them back!" Yumi screamed, her voice filled with a slew of complaints.

"Well... in actuality, Tim is a formidable foe... as for Yujiro, I'm not sure... I've never seen him fight..."

"He nearly killed me... when I battled him... that wasn't Tim, it was Yujiro... this is why he was acting so strangely... none of you remember this, but-"

"Elliot, I recall! You were a chicken when it came to losing to him! You didn't even hit the target!" Nina, who was being carried on his shoulders, grumbled. "I-I.... ugh, forget about it..."

"So... why are you carrying her?" Looking at Elliot, Tomomi was perplexed. "It's because she can't move as quickly as we can, and she can't fight as we can..."

Nina was immediately ashamed. "I can run... but not at this speed..."

"Anyway, he's currently residing in Rukaze City... So, that's where they've been hiding?" Kiyoshi was surprised enough to inquire.

"After they arrived to help us, Tim destroyed their refuge... the church... I'm guessing they've grown stronger and more formidable since the last time..."

Everyone looked at Alpha, trying to figure out how to get in touch with them. "... they most likely boosted their number significantly after losing a number of people... there's no doubt about it..." They all agreed with Shigeru's comments and accelerated.

Back at their dorm, however.

Ayuka and Codey were exchanging visual fragrances.

"A-Ayuka... why you... Why are you my opponent, when it should be... Nobuhiko?"

Ayuka's eyes were shut by her arms, which were pushed beneath her chest.

"For your sake, I'm doing this... We are in desperate need of Reality's strength... I'll be a better opponent than he is... after all, I'm on par with you... in this case, I'll dominate you..."

"You didn't have to attack me with words *that* hard... I understand that I am inferior to you due to this inexplicable ability... but I will strengthen and defeat you..."

"Reality... is akin to Divinity... in the sense that the only way you'll get stronger is to fight me, but..." A white aura slowly began to blaze about her as she spoke, and when her eyes opened, the silver flash was visible, shocking Codey.

"In your Semi-Goddess stage, you're going to fight me?! Are you mad?! There's no way I'm going to be able to compete with that!"

"Isn't it true that you're the Demon God of the future? Then you'll have to start competing with my strength... But don't worry, we won't be using our weapons... after all, we're not here to murder each other... so it'll just be fists and feet..."

"However, you're a martial arts master!"

"You must combat supremacy to get stronger... moreover, it's not like I'll be around for much longer."

Codey's eyes shook with terror as soon as she whispered those words. "W-Wha... can you tell me what you're talking about? N-Not around? M-Much longer? W-Why?!"

Without saying anything further, Ayuka relaxed her body and ran for Codey at breakneck speed.

"Whoa! Hey! Hold your horses!"

After leaping in front of him, Ayuka kicked from the side forward, only to have her kick blocked by Codey. However, as the immense strength was released, the sound of the hit echoed.

Codey prepared by stepping back in the hopes of avoiding, but Ayuka immediately tossed her body around and swung her other leg, kicking Codey as he blocked it.

He felt pain the minute he felt fractures in his arms, only to notice that Ayuka had already sat in front of him and fisted him in the stomach with a quick hit.

He was thrown forward, as Ayuka swooped down from behind in a flash of white light, kicking Codey in the back and hurling him forward.

But, just as he was about to tumble to the ground, she appeared in front of him (again) and sharpened her right knee, striking Codey in the middle of the stomach.

She then proceeded to the following step by causing him to cough up saliva.

When Codey rapidly whirled and attempted to call his ability, she grabbed his arm and hurled him through the air.

She waited, and as soon as she noticed Codey, she began to ready the same spear.

His arm was already hurting, but the added pressure made it worse, so he hurled the spear straight towards Ayuka's sparkling eyes. She squatted forward, dove, and launched directly into the spear, aura barricading her skin before gripping the spear.

Her body was forced back by the strain, but she used the pressure from her feet to propel herself forward and strike the spear into Codey's chest by whirling in front of him.

Codey's body was hurled through the steam as a great explosion of scarlet color happened. Not only that, but Ayuka beamed her body through the same steam and swiftly caught up to Codey.

When she landed on the floor and regained her footing, she grabbed his neck and began choking him.

She dragged Codey through the air and then ran ahead, stomping the ground, stopping, and launching Codey into the air, his body already weakened.

Codey instantly recovered and extended his arms and legs to come to a halt in the air.

Once Ayuka ducked, he vanished in a flash of silver electricity.

Codey's body sped up behind her, and she instantly recognized him, sending her elbow behind her. But, just as Ayuka was about to kick him in the face, Codey deflected, took the hit, and vanished behind her.

She then kneeled Codey in the stomach and vanished in blinding light to the floor, guarding it with her arm.

Ayuka noticed a clap of thunder coming from the air at her at breakneck speed and immediately rolled forward as the thunder erupted behind her.

Codey's hair and eyes were both shining silver, with red effects, and he carried a silver spear made from electricity in his palm.

He swiftly buffed his fist and spread both of his arms while the silver illumination continued to glow around him.

He thrust his palm forward and unleashed a searing flame as the orange flames continued to blaze.

Ayuka dashed beneath it, looking for Codey, who vanished in a flash of silver lightning.

Ayuka slid and rose her hand next to her face, after being caught in surprise.

She whirled around and launched a white orb at Codey. However, he stamped the ground by accident, and the dirt began to form a giant rock wall as a result.

The bomb detonated and demolished it, but Codey escaped a direct strike.

"... Wind, Lightning, Fire, and now Earth... he's swiftly adapting..."

Ayuka stepped up straight, closed her eyes, and clapped both fists in front of her chest at that same moment.

While a glowing blade came rushing from behind her, her tremendous blazing aura continued to roast.

She thrust her hand forward, releasing the sharp, bright-white blade, which she nuked forward.

Codey responded immediately and shifted to the side. He darted to the side and sped away from the strike. The sword erupted into a big bubble of steam upon contact.

Codey slid forward and slammed his fist into the ground at that same moment.

Ayuka shifted her gaze to the side, where she noticed rising stones. "Earth... once again..." With a swing of her left arm forward, she produced ice spikes, which collided with Codey's stone spikes, bringing both strikes to a halt.

But that wasn't all; Ayuka came behind Codey, her leg elevated, her white aura released.

Codey's eyes shook, and when he glanced around, he saw her leg thrust forward.

His vision got black after that.

To be continued...