Chapter 312: Kouhei Faction Vs. Souichiro Faction, Part 7
Nagisa’s vision was swimming in red and black.
Her breath rattled in her chest, tasting of blood and grit.
Dust choked the air, mixing with the iron scent pouring from the cuts on her face and arms.
Every muscle screamed with her every heartbeat thudded painfully against her cracked ribs.
But even through the haze of pain there was something stubborn flickered deep inside.
She felt the pull of despair, dragging her down like thick mud.
Yuzuha’s shadow loomed above her, massive and hateful like she was ready to end this once and for all.
But even as her arms trembled under her own weight, Nagisa felt it.
It was a warmth, buried under the bruises and broken bones. A warmth that wasn’t hers alone.
The memory of him flashed before her eyes. Kouhei’s stubborn grin, that infuriating calm, the warmth of his hand. The others, too, like the looks they’d shared, the fights they’d survived side by side.
Nagisa’s breath caught. Tears stung the corners of her eyes, mixing with blood and sweat on her cheeks.
“I… won’t…” she rasped, barely more than a whisper.
Her hand trembled against the ground, dust slipping between her cracked nails.
Yuzuha tilted her head, that cruel smirk never leaving her face. “What?”
Nagisa sucked in a ragged gasp, forcing burning lungs to fill. Her heart pounded louder, beating against her ribs like a war drum.
Slowly, shakily, she planted one foot under her. Her knee wobbled, muscles screaming in agony. Stones scraped underfoot. But she pushed. She pushed.
Yuzuha’s smirk twisted into annoyance. “You fucking cockroach…!”
Nagisa’s other foot planted beside the first. Her back curved under the pain, but the fire in her chest grew hotter and brighter.
THUMP-THUMP… THUMP-THUMP…
Memories flickered faster now .
Kouhei standing beside her, the warmth of the faction, laughter that felt so far away now. Their shared fights as well as the quiet nights. Their hope.
“I… won’t fucking… fall…” Nagisa spat, blood dribbling from her lip. Her voice grew louder and stronger. “…not to you!”
Yuzuha snarled and stepped forward, arm drawing back, muscles bulging. “Then fucking die standing, you worthless freak!”
Nagisa’s body screamed to run. Her knees buckled, vision dimmed, but still, she forced her shaking legs to hold. Her heart roared now, echoing in her ears like thunder.
The connection they had forged.
Yuzuha’s fist blurred forward. The wind howled around it, force shaking the broken ground beneath them.
Nagisa’s eyes widened. Her own roar ripped from raw lungs, shredding her throat.
“I… WON’T… FUCKING… LOSE—!!”
And at that last second, it happened.
Something inside her chest burst like a dam breaking. A heat so intense it felt like her blood itself was catching fire rushed out from her heart. The world seemed to shudder.
For an instant, she saw Kouhei’s face in her mind. His face which was calm and strong. She felt the others, too, like a tapestry of stubborn wills, pain, love, hope, and it was all intertwined in that single burning moment.
The Love Link exploded out of her. It was not gentle warmth anymore, but a blazing, roaring inferno. Crimson light flared around her, swirling like a living thing. The broken ground cracked deeper under her feet, stones floating up as if gravity itself shook.
Yuzuha’s fist slammed into the shimmering aura instead of Nagisa.
The air itself splintered around the clash, shockwaves blasting out in all directions. Dust, stone, and blood whirled into a furious storm.
Nagisa’s eyes glowed, wild and bright, hair whipping around her face like living fire.
Her heart hammered like a thousand drums.
Even if her body still ached, her will felt like iron.
“I… won’t lose… not anymore…” she whispered, voice low but steady.
And as the light surged, the tide of battle finally began to turn.
Yuzuha’s fist crashed into the blazing aura around Nagisa — CRRRAAACK! — sparks and energy bursting outward like a bomb.
The ground around them shattered into spiderweb cracks, and dust mushroomed into the air, swirling in a red-tinged cyclone.
Nagisa’s eyes burned bright, breath ragged but strong, teeth bared in a snarl.
The pain was still there with the bruises as well as the blood dripping down her temple, but now it felt drowned out by the roaring fire surging through her veins.
Her heart pounded so loud it felt like it shook the air.
Yuzuha stumbled back a half step, surprise flashing across her face, twisted by rage an instant later. “You worthless freak!” she spat, voice cracking under hate.
She launched forward, the crater underfoot deepening as raw power blasted her body ahead. The air behind her rippled from sheer speed.
Yuzuha threw up both arms, blocking just in time.
Nagisa’s punch slammed into her guard, the impact blasting a shockwave that sent broken stones skittering like shrapnel across the battlefield.
Yuzuha grunted, sliding back over the torn earth, boots carving twin grooves into the ground. Dust swirled around her, hair whipping across her face.
Nagisa didn’t stop. She followed, feet pounding into cracked stone.
Left hook, right hook, an upward swing.
Each blow trailing lines of searing crimson energy that hissed and spat sparks.
Yuzuha blocked one, two… but the third slammed into her ribs.
Her eyes widened, a grunt ripping from her throat.
Nagisa spun, hair flaring out like flame, and drove her elbow into Yuzuha’s side.
Yuzuha lashed out with a backhand, catching Nagisa across the cheek. Nagisa’s head snapped sideways, spit and blood flying.
But her feet dug in, stopping her from being thrown back.
Her vision blurred from the hit, but the burning light in her chest flared hotter, the Love Link holding her upright, refusing to let her fall.
“STAY DOWN!” Yuzuha roared, voice hoarse, and brought both fists overhead, slamming them down like a hammer.
Nagisa crossed her arms just in time with the ground under her cratered deep, cracks racing outward like lightning.
Pain shot through her shoulders, bones screaming, but she held. Her boots sank deeper into shattered stone, dust swirling around her legs.
Nagisa’s eyes snapped up, glare locked on Yuzuha’s. “Not until I break you!”
She exploded upward, shoulder smashing into Yuzuha’s gut and Yuzuha wheezed, breath forced out in a ragged gasp.
Nagisa followed with a rising knee, slamming into Yuzuha’s chin, snapping her head back. Spit and blood flew from Yuzuha’s mouth, her eyes wild with fury and shock.
Before she could recover, Nagisa twisted, with her muscles coiling, heart pounding like a war drum, and swung her fist, crackling with blazing red energy.
It crashed into Yuzuha’s side. The force sent the bigger oni stumbling sideways, boots scraping across broken stone, her shoulder slamming into a jagged slab that shattered under impact.
“Hah… hah…” Nagisa panted, blood dripping from her split lip, chest heaving, but eyes still locked on her enemy.
Yuzuha snarled, wiping blood from her mouth with the back of her hand. “You filthy defect… you dare…” Her voice shook, a mix of hate and disbelief.
Nagisa’s knuckles throbbed, every muscle burning, but the warmth in her chest — the Love Link — burned stronger than the pain.
The air around them buzzed, alive with raw energy, sparks dancing across shattered rock.
Nagisa sucked in a breath, tasting dust and iron. “I told you… I won’t fucking fall…!”
The world felt like it shrank to just the two of them: Nagisa and Yuzuha.
Breath steaming in the sulfur-choked air.
Hearts pounding loud enough to drown out everything else.
Nagisa’s chest heaved, lungs burning like molten lead.
Her knuckles were split with them caked with blood. Sweat dripped down her brow that was stinging the cuts on her face.
Yuzuha let out a guttural snarl, face twisted with rage and disbelief, blood trailing from the corner of her mouth. “You fucking… you fucking defect…!”
They charged, stone cracking underfoot from the force of their steps. The ground shook with dust swirling around their legs.
Yuzuha swung first, a wild overhead punch, air whistled around her massive fist.
Nagisa slipped to the side at the last second, with her sweat flicking from her hair as she ducked, and then the fist was slammed into the ground.
A crater exploded outward, rock shards flying like shrapnel.
Nagisa twisted, muscles screaming, and drove her elbow into Yuzuha’s ribs.
Yuzuha staggered, eyes wide. Nagisa didn’t give her time to breathe.
“HAAAH!!” Nagisa roared, the sound tearing raw from her throat.
She spun, fist glowing with crimson heat.
Her punch crashed into Yuzuha’s jaw. The impact echoed like thunder with dust blasting away in a violent ring.
Yuzuha’s head snapped to the side, teeth cracking under the force.
Spit and blood flew in a messy arc.
But Nagisa wasn’t done.
She lunged forward, grabbed Yuzuha by one of her horn and yanked.
Yuzuha’s eyes widened, lips parting in surprise and pain. “Gggh—!”
“FUCKING FALL!!” Nagisa roared, voice hoarse, muscles burning as she dragged Yuzuha’s massive body down.
With a guttural cry, Nagisa smashed her knee up into Yuzuha’s face.
Bone cracked, blood splattering across Nagisa’s thigh.
Yuzuha’s huge frame reeled, legs stumbling with her balance shattering.
Nagisa planted her foot, coiled every muscle left in her battered body and swung a brutal uppercut from her hip.
Her fist connected square under Yuzuha’s chin, the raw power exploding out, red light flashing bright enough to burn shadows across broken stone.
Yuzuha’s massive body lifted off the ground for a heartbeat with her feet no longer touching hell’s scorched earth. Her head whipped back, eyes rolling up.
Then the bigger oni crashed back to the ground with a huge thud, the stone cracking under her weight, dust surging up in a choking cloud.
Nagisa stood over her, chest heaving, blood dripping from her knuckles onto the broken stone below.
Her vision swam with black spots, her breath ragged like torn cloth.
Yuzuha lay sprawled, horn cracked with her face bloodied and slack. The towering monster who had haunted Nagisa’s nightmares reduced to a beaten, fallen figure.
Nagisa’s legs shook. Sweat dripped from her chin, mixing with blood on the ground. Her heart still thundered in her ears.
“That’s… for everything…”