Faiz 18

After tormenting Yuka to death, Masato sped off on his bike.

He had a duty to report what happened. 

He failed to kill Yuuji Kiba, but there would be plenty of chances afterward. 

Masato still believed that by defeating Yuuji, Mari would come back to him. No, perhaps Mari’s heart had already fallen back under his grasp. After all, she had learned of Yuuji’s true identity. 

Masato recalled the look on Mari’s face back then and smirked. 

That sorrowful look of hers. 

Don’t worry, Mari. I’ll restore your smile. 

You’ll forget about everything else once you fall into my arms again. 

To Masato, all Orphnochs were the enemy. Orphnochs attack humans. 

Since they could attack Mari at any moment, they had to be the enemy. 

In Masato’s eyes, Mari had belonged to him ever since they were children, and he belonged to her. 

That was why Mari held onto Masato’s hand. 

That was why she stood up for him all those times he got bullied at Ryusei School. 

A peculiar sound reached Masato’s ears as he sped down the road. 

Upon looking at the back mirror, he could see a large black mass approaching him. 

It was Yuuji, transformed as the Horse Orphnoch. 

The Horse Orphnoch had evolved to a much larger form. 

His four legs supported his Greek sculpture-like body and his arms held a sword and shield. 

The horn at his forehead lit up with intense lightning running across it. 

His back legs then heavily kicked the ground, sending him up into the air. 

The giant black creature then landed in front of Masato’s bike. 

Masato stopped his bike and made a fearless smile. 

“So you came to die, Kiba.” 

Masato transformed into Kaixa. 

His body was sent flying by the overwhelming strength of the Horse Orphnoch’s charge. 

As he flew through the air, Kaixa took out the Blaygun from his hip. 

The Horse Orphnoch’s shield deflected the numerous bullets of light that shot towards him. 

After switching the Blaygun to its Blade Mode, Kaixa brandished his sword of light. 

But the Horse Orphnoch’s wicked blade knocked aside that sword and landed another attack upon Kaixa’s body. 

Tottering back, Kaixa equipped the Kaixa Shot onto his fist. 

It was a unit that amplified his punching power. 

Kaixa unleashed a furious barrage, the power of each punch being equivalent to a body tackle. 

But they failed to inflict any damage whatsoever to the Orphnoch’s massive body. 

The equipped Kaixa Shot shattered into pieces. 

“Damn you!” 

Kaixa shouted as he equipped the Pointer to his ankle. The fluid energy Photon Blood gathered at his foot and let out a yellow shine. After jumping high into the sky, Kaixa let out a fighting cry. 

He released his finishing kick that contained every ounce of his strength towards his enemy. 

The Horse Orphnoch thrust out his shield, and the two forces clashed together. 

But the one that got sent flying back was Kaixa. His body caved into the rocks and his vision grew blurry. 

He immediately realized that he wasn’t going to win this fight.

Kaixa began to call Takumi. 

Like hell I’m dying… I’ll do whatever it takes… 

If I die here, then what did I even live for? 

It wasn’t until the once-bullied Masato obtained his belt that he experienced the joy of living for the very first time.

Never before was he ever able to trust in his own strength. 

He believed that if he had the power of Kaixa, nothing would be out of his reach.

With the belt in his hands, Masato’s life finally began to shine. 

But this is just the beginning. 

That was what Masato told himself. 

My life’s just barely gotten started. I haven’t obtained a single thing yet. 

After tossing aside his sword and shield, the Horse Orphnoch grabbed onto Kaixa’s neck. He lifted it high above his head.  

As if he was offering a sacrifice to a god. 

The Horse Orphnoch gripped the belt at Kaixa’s waist and crushed it. 

Kaixa’s body reverted to his form as Masato. He cried out from the intense pain that ran through his clutched neck.  

However, his crushed throat denied him of his voice. 

Who am I?  

Masato thought to himself. 

This isn’t me. There’s no way this is me. 

The Horse Orphnoch tore off Masato’s right leg. 

He didn’t feel any pain. 

This isn’t me. 

Masato began convulsing from within his chest. His asthma that was supposed to have been cured had made a relapse. 

But with his throat crushed, he was unable to even cough. 

The Horse Orphnoch tore off Masato’s lower jaw. 

Blood poured down like drool.

Masato felt himself rapidly degrading back into his child self. 

Back when he was bullied at Ryusei School, back when he was always crying helplessly. 

Masato had returned to being that very same child. 

“Kusaka!” 

Mari’s voice could be heard. 

Takumi and Mari had arrived on their bikes. 

A sense of relief washed over Masato upon seeing Mari. 

It’ll be all right now. Mari’s going to save me. 

She’ll hold my hand like always and rescue me from my grief. 

Masato stretched out his hand towards Mari. 

The Horse Orphnoch then tore off that hand without any hesitation whatsoever and crushed it. 

Mari’s cry caused the Horse Orphnoch to immediately turn around. 

“You’re… Kiba!” shouted Takumi. 

Neither Takumi nor Mari could believe what they were seeing. 

The Horse Orphnoch tossed Masato’s remains off the roadside cliff as he was throwing away a piece of trash.  

“Kusaka!” 

But the very next moment, Takumi and Mari’s bodies had flown into the air. 

The Horse Orphnoch had lifted its front legs and attacked them. 

Mari slammed onto the ground, her numbed legs rendering her immobile. 

The Horse Orphnoch approached. 

“Stop, Kiba… Kiba…!” 

But Mari’s words didn’t reach him. 

Buried in darkness, Yuuji couldn’t hear or see a single thing.

Takumi came rushing in to protect Mari. He then put on his belt and transformed. 

“Henshin!” 

The Horse Orphnoch lifted his front legs and aimed for Faiz. 

He chased after Faiz who rolled over the ground in escape, swinging his sharp hooves down at him again and again. 

Each strike would cause deep cracks to form in the ground. 

Upon Faiz quickly getting back up, he instantly brandished his sword and faced off against the Horse Orphnoch. 

But the Horse Orphnoch far surpassed Faiz’s ability. 

Both the sword of light and the punches from the Faiz Shot proved ineffective as they bounced off the enemy’s body. 

Faiz released his finishing kick, the Crimson Smash. 

The horn at the Horse Orphnoch’s forehead then stretched out and easily knocked aside Faiz’s finishing attack.  

He grabbed Faiz’s neck and lifted it high above his head. 

“Takumi!” 

Mari shouted out. 

What happened with Kaixa was about to repeat itself. 

The Horse Orphnoch gripped the belt at Faiz’s waist and crushed it. 

With the transformation disengaged, Faiz returned to his form as Takumi. 

“Takumi!” 

Once again, Mari shouted out. 

The horrifying image of Takumi’s body being ripped apart surfaced into her head. 

A gust of wind from below the cliff sent dirt flying into the air. 

The huge clouds of dust that formed caused Mari to reflexively turn her face away. 

Takumi had disappeared. 

It wasn’t Takumi that the Horse Orphnoch was holding up. It was an Orphnoch he had never seen before, the Wolf Orphnoch. 

The Wolf Orphnoch used his sharp fangs to escape from the Horse Orphnoch’s grasp. 

Mari watched as the two Orphnochs roared and aimed at each other’s vitals. 

The Horse Orphnoch couldn’t keep up with the Wolf Orphnoch’s nimble movements. 

The Wolf Orphnoch then sank his teeth into the back of his opponent’s neck. 

The Horse Orphnoch violently shook his neck while letting out a cry. 

But the Wolf Orphnoch would not let go. 

After shaking his neck with even further force, the Horse Orphnoch sent the Wolf Orphnoch slamming onto the rocks. 

An intense shockwave ran through the Wolf Orphnoch’s entire body. 

He tumbled along the ground, with the meat he ripped off from the neck still in his mouth.

The Horse Orphnoch’s horn proceeded to stretch out like a spear. 

The Wolf Orphnoch moved quickly to pick up the sword that had fallen. 

It was the Horse Orphnoch’s wicked blade. 

The Wolf Orphnoch attacked with lightning speed and impaled the enormous wicked blade into the Horse Orphnoch’s heart. 

The blade sank deep into the enemy’s body. 

It tore through the heart and pierced straight through the massive body’s back. 

Yuuji watched the blue flames. 

The flames erupting from his body covered his field of vision. 

His eyelids burned off, preventing him from even closing his eyes. 

Yuuji felt himself turning into ash. 

There was no pain, no despair. 

As he embraced his body turning into ash, he felt something heavy that had been on his shoulders slowly getting lighter and lighter. 

He felt that if that weight were to completely disappear, he would possibly become free. 

Light would once again shine into his soul to save him from the darkness. 

Yuuji’s body continued to grow lighter. 

Yes… This is for the best… 

Yuuji slowly rose into the air. 

Having turned to ash, Yuuji’s body was taken by the wind, traveling far off into the sky in seemingly single-minded earnestness. 

 

Takumi carried Mari on his back and began walking.  

With her entire body numb, she couldn’t even stand up. 

Even the core of her head felt numb. 

It felt like everything that happened was a dream. 

For the first time ever she felt like she detested her life. 

But she didn’t even have the energy to do the detesting. 

She wanted to return to nothingness. 

She wanted to cut off her five senses. 

That way she wouldn’t have to feel anything anymore. 

She wouldn’t have to think about anything anymore. 

But as Mari buried her face in Takumi’s back, she felt a faint heartbeat against her cheek. 

It was Takumi’s heartbeat. 

It was extremely nostalgic, the same one as the heartbeat she felt ages ago. 

Mari recalled that young boy. 

The mysterious boy that had saved Mari from the fire that took away her parents. 

Back then as well, Mari had listened to a heartbeat while being carried on that boy’s back. 

It was the exact same gentle heartbeat that Mari was currently feeling against her cheek

Oh… So it was Takumi… 

Mari drifted into the past as her consciousness faded away. 

Takumi had turned back into a child as he carried the young Mari. 

Mari felt the young boy’s heartbeat stop amidst the fire and smoke. 

The heartbeat stopped and the boy carrying Mari on his back stopped moving. 

Now I remember… Takumi’s been dead this whole time… 

He died to save me a long time ago…

 

<- Previous Chapter | Next Chapter ->