Meanwhile, Momoshi and Yamero remained frozen, still face-to-face after the lightning attack that had marked their last exchange. Dust still hung in the air, the debris of collapsed buildings slowly fell to the ground, and a heavy silence preceded the storm.
Momoshi broke the calm, his eyes burning with icy determination:
"Impressive... I thought that after depriving you of your regenerative ability and sealing your flow of alchemical energy, your morale would be at its lowest."
Yamero wiped the blood from the corner of his lips, holding his aching neck. His voice was hoarse but firm:
"I've seen many horrors in my life, Momoshi. I've come close to death, time and time again. Just like me... you've witnessed this kind of hell, haven't you?"
Momoshi looked away for a moment, as if caught in a distant memory. Then he retorted harshly:
"Thailand experienced years of civil war. I saw children die, cities collapse. And I myself... I almost lost my life more than once. But life has taught me one very important thing..."
Yamero, intrigued, frowned:
"What is it?"
A dark smile crossed Momoshi's face.
"That you must kill... before you are killed."
Without waiting, Momoshi assumed a relentless combat stance: one fist extended forward, the other drawn back, his body leaning forward like a predator ready to pounce.
Yamero, a carnivorous grin playing on his lips, mirrored his response. His fingers raised in a martial sign, his other hand clenched into a fist at his lower back.
"A universal lesson, eh? So let's see which of us can apply it best."
In a split second, they vanished from their position. The air imploded, forming a devastating shockwave that shattered the windows of the surrounding buildings. Cars were thrown into the air, and the road cracked under the force of their acceleration.
Their fists clashed at an inhuman speed, creating a shower of sparks and successive detonations. It was impossible for a normal human to follow the fight: all that remained was a ghostly ballet of silhouettes colliding at a frantic pace. Each exchange released a shockwave so violent that it tore craters in the asphalt and reduced structures to dust.
The entire city seemed to tremble under the impact of two wills ready to do anything to survive.
Momoshi leaped forward with a bestial burst, his knee thrusting like a spear toward Yamero's lower back. But Yamero, in a cold and calculated reflex, blocked the attack with a firm hand, his muscles vibrating under the pressure. At the same time, he cocked his other arm and launched a devastating punch.
Momoshi, with a sharp, brutal movement, deflected the fist with a simple slap, the deflection cracking through the air like a whip. Taking advantage of the opening, he pivoted his body and launched a sharp, clean right kick, aimed directly at Yamero's face.
But Yamero deliberately crashed to the ground, leaning back like a slippery shadow, dodging the strike with icy ease. At the same time, he raised his two fingers toward Momoshi, and a violent glow concentrated there. A blast of plasma erupted, erupting with a deafening roar.
The impact hit Momoshi hard. A wave of heat and energy coursed through his body, tearing him from the ground like a disjointed doll. Propelled at phenomenal speed, he tore through a building, pulverizing the floors in his path, before crashing violently into the basement, raising a cloud of dust and rubble.
The foundations shook, metal beams collapsed, and darkness engulfed Momoshi, buried beneath the debris.
Yamero teleported into the rubble where Momoshi had been buried, the dust still floating in the air, heavy and suffocating. His eyes scanned the shadows, his voice echoing through the silent chaos.
"Hey... I hope you didn't break anything."
The echo of his taunt ricocheted off the cracked walls, creating an icy atmosphere.
Suddenly, the space vibrated with a distortion, and Momoshi leaped out from behind him, like a vengeful specter. His fist sliced through the air with savage brutality. Yamero spun around, narrowly dodging, but Momoshi had anticipated it. His fist struck the ground with cataclysmic violence: the slab cracked like glass, and the floor collapsed beneath Yamero's feet, throwing him off balance.
Taking advantage of the opening, Momoshi lunged forward like a wild beast. His first elbow struck Yamero's abdomen, a dull crack echoing through the air. The second shot up to his chin, snapping his head back with a brutal impact.
And before Yamero could even catch his breath, Momoshi cocked his fist, enveloping it in a fiery, all-consuming flame. With a roar, he unleashed all his rage in a monumental strike. The impact exploded like a cannon shot, sending Yamero flying through the wreckage of the gutted building.
Yamero's body flew through the air like a burning projectile, before crashing violently onto the roof of a nearby radio studio. The shock made the entire structure shake, antennas collapsed with a metallic roar, while a wave of heat still ran through the building.
Yamero slowly stood up, his bloodied hands gripping the twisted metal pillars surrounding him. He sat panting amidst the smoking wreckage of the radio studio. The din of the outside world filtered into his ears: panicked screams from employees, firefighter and police sirens wailing from all sides, a chaotic symphony that bore witness to the city descending into hell.
The air heated up abruptly. Momoshi had just appeared, descending slowly from the heavens, wreathed in blazing wings. Each beat ignited the winds, transforming him into a terrifying, divine figure, a phoenix facing its prey.
"So, Yamero?" he asked, his voice cold but tinged with cruel amusement. You're well, I hope...
Yamero spat out a trickle of blood, but a hoarse laugh escaped his throat. His eyes, far from being extinguished, shone with a rebellious flame.
"Not bad, indeed... You're impressive, Momoshi."
Suddenly, he propelled himself with all the strength he had left, his body tearing through the air with an explosive roar. His figure charged straight toward Momoshi, fist cocked to break his guard. But halfway through, a searing pain pierced his torso and limbs. His muscles stiffened, his body screamed at him to stop. His momentum slowed, his speed broken.
"Tch... those flames..." he thought, his face contorted.
Momoshi gave a carnivorous smile. He raised his hand to the sky, and with a silent incantation, summoned a gigantic pillar of fire. The air vibrated with the infernal heat.
"Die, Yamero!"
The pillar crashed down with cataclysmic force, hitting Yamero full on. The impact shook the ground like an earthquake. The already weakened studio cracked everywhere. Yamero was thrown violently against the concrete, his body crashing like a comet.
A gigantic crater formed, swallowing part of the building, engulfing tons of metal and rubble. A shock wave swept through the surrounding area, shattering windows across several city blocks.
In the center of the crater, Yamero lay smoking, his body bruised but his eyes open, fixed on his enemy.
On the roof of a gutted building, Daru and Maki watched in silence, breathless. From up there, they saw Momoshi's flames ignite the night and Yamero's silhouette crash once again into a gaping crater.
Daru, his fists clenched, finally said in a deep voice:
"I don't understand, Yamero... Why does he insist on going head-on? He knows he should be more defensive, especially with the enormous handicap Momoshi has inflicted on him..."
Maki, her eyes moist, followed Yamero's every move with concern.
"Totally... and what's more, these flames... they're eating away at his body, I can see it from here. At this rate, he won't last long. Daru, we have to intervene, we have to help him!"
Daru shook his head, his gaze shining with a mixture of anger and respect. —Even though I'd like to come to his aid... I mustn't.
Maki turned abruptly toward him, her voice trembling:
—Why not?! You want to watch him get smashed to pieces?!
A heavy silence fell before Daru, her jaw clenched, replied:
—Because Yamero is proud. Too proud. If we interfere in this fight, he'll reject us, maybe even hate us. And...
He paused, staring intently at Yamero's figure struggling to get up in the smoking crater.
—And anyway, if Yamero were to lose this fight... I'd feel it, I'd know it. But right now... even if it doesn't look like it... he knows what he's doing. So wait. Trust him.
Maki bit her lower lip, shaken by fear and helplessness. She sighed, almost sobbing.
"But Daru... I..."
He placed a firm hand on her shoulder, his gaze never leaving the battlefield.
"Don't worry. If Yamero can't continue, then I'll be the next to challenge Momoshi. And this time... it will be up to me to give it my all."
Maki stared at him, overwhelmed, before looking away at Yamero. Her heart was pounding, torn between hope and despair.
Momoshi is still floating in the air just a few meters from Yamero.
Momoshi says, in a tone both proud and almost condescending:
"You fought well, Yamero... be proud. At least, against you, I had to use my mythical powers. But one unshakable reality remains... and until now, no one has ever been able to break it."
Yamero, breathing heavily, his voice broken but laden with irony, replies:
"What reality..." he says, lying on the ground, his gaze burning despite the pain.
Momoshi cries out, with a burst of defiance in his voice:
"No one has ever managed to completely defeat me! Even when I was just a mere human, even in clandestine fights, I always held my own. So it's not now, with this colossal power, that things are going to change!"
Yamero, a bitter sneer tugging at the corners of his lips, mockingly said despite the pain:
_ Tch…
Momoshi reached out his hand towards Yamero. A suffocating heat immediately rose, and several flames surrounded the spot where Yamero had crashed.
Momoshi, his voice as heavy and cold as a verdict, said:
_ The reason you weren't able to complete your attack just now… is because my flames have an effect that eats away at your body and mind.
Yamero, sitting up slowly, gritting his teeth in pain, wiped the blood from his mouth before replying, his voice weak but determined:
_ That… I've felt it before.
Momoshi continued, a faint, cruel smile tugging at his lips:
_ The second peculiarity of my flames… is that every time I strike my opponent with them, their body temperature increases. Your organs burn from the inside out, slowly, inevitably... until you collapse.
Then, reaching his left hand toward the sky, he conjured a gigantic fireball, its extreme heat distorting the surrounding air. It looked like a meteorite about to crash: cars began to melt, passersby screamed and fled, buildings liquefied under the intensity.
With a single gesture, he sent the giant fireball flying. But to his surprise, the explosion didn't cause the expected damage. Yamero, panting, his muscles tense with exertion, managed to teleport a few meters from the impact. He stood, staring at Momoshi, a defiant flame still burning in his eyes despite the pain ravaging his body.
Momoshi was stunned, his eyes wide, breathless with incomprehension.
"How... is this possible?!"
In the distance, Daru and Maki were still watching the scene, perched on the roof of a building.
Maki, her voice trembling, said, "The city really had a close call... if that giant ball had had even five times the power it displayed, everything would have been pulverized."
Daru replied gravely, her eyes fixed on Yamero.
"Actually, Momoshi's attack already possessed enough power to completely level the city. But the joker who foiled that... was Yamero."
Maki, incredulous, asked, "How come...?"
Daru continued, clenching his fists with a glimmer of admiration:
"I don't know exactly how he did it... but he managed to reduce the power of the attack. He literally drained some of the energy to prevent the city from disappearing."
Maki, unable to contain his emotion, shouted at the top of his lungs:
"Yamero! Go ahead, you're the best!"
Yamero, despite his injuries, turned his head briefly. He gave a sincere smile and raised his hand to signal them not to worry. Then, his gaze becoming serious again, he turned back to Momoshi.
"Normally... your attack would have been more than enough to reduce this city to dust," Yamero explained calmly, wiping away another trickle of blood. "But I deliberately reduced the amount of energy it contained... Making it much less destructive than initially."
Momoshi gritted his teeth, rage rising within him. He lunged forward, charging toward Yamero in a trail of flames.
Yamero leaped with agile steps, pivoted to the side, and with a precise movement, delivered a lightning kick that sent Momoshi flying against the wall of an already half-collapsed building. The impact shook the entire structure.
Momoshi emerged from the rubble, panting, his eyes burning with anger. Yamero gave him no respite. He raised his two fingers toward him, concentrating an unstable light before releasing a beam of plasma energy.
Momoshi dodged with blinding speed and accelerated straight toward Yamero, ready to strike him. But suddenly, a surprise froze his momentum: the plasma beam he had dodged reappeared behind him, as if it had been redirected. The explosion hit him full force.
Taking advantage of the opening, Yamero appeared and landed a brutal knee strike on Momoshi's ribs. The breath was knocked from him as he was thrown further away, crashing violently against the asphalt.
Momoshi, trembling, managed to get up. His eyes reflected a fierce will, but a strange sensation betrayed him. His body was becoming heavy, extremely heavy, as if invisible chains were crushing him. His legs refused to move forward, his breath ragged.
"Wh... what the...?!" he thought through clenched teeth, unable to move anymore.
Yamero advanced slowly, his gaze blazing with confidence despite his injuries. His voice resonated with a firm, almost mocking tone:
"Haven't I told you yet? My power doesn't stop at plasma energy. When I hit someone, I can also alter their mass. I can increase it to the point of pinning them to the ground, incapable of the slightest movement... or, on the contrary, make them so light that they become as fragile as a leaf blown by the wind.
Momoshi, his face contorted with exertion, felt his own body transform into a prison. His muscles refused to obey, his breathing became heavy, every movement seemed impossible. His eyes widened in shock and frustration.
Yamero teleported right in front of him, his face marked by a mixture of anger and contempt. He grabbed Momoshi by the collar of his t-shirt, lifting him effortlessly as if he weighed nothing.
_And now…
With a roar, Yamero hurled him with titanic force. Momoshi's body tore through the air like a comet, successively shattering three entire buildings in its path. The structures collapsed with a deafening roar, raising clouds of dust and rubble.
Windows shattered in a cascade, and the streets filled with screams and panic. The impact was so violent that the ground shook for several city blocks.
Yamero remained rooted to the ground amidst the smoking rubble, wiping the blood from his mouth with the back of his hand. His eyes stared at the horizon where Momoshi had just disappeared, waiting to see if he would rise again.