The wastelands shook as Kojin and Sorata clashed, their battle unleashing catastrophic bursts of destructive energy that tore apart the land around them.
Sorata, overflowing with an overwhelming aura, laughed menacingly as he hurled a punch cloaked in destructive power. The blow detonated in a massive explosion, erasing mountains in its wake.
Kojin staggered, forcing himself back to his feet. But as he looked up, he froze in shock.
Before him stood Sorata—no, Saito—his body engulfed in burning purple flames of destructive energy, his power spiraling violently across the skies.
Kojin's eyes hardened.
"What did you do to Sōn? You didn't kill him, did you? If you did, I'll be more than disappointed in you. SAITO!"
Floating above the shattered wasteland, Saito grinned wildly as his aura erupted across the air and land.
"Disappointed? Really? Like you haven't been disappointed in me from the start. But Sōn's fine. Gotta say, he's fierce—though I expected that from him. Now it's my turn to ask—what happened to Mom?!"
Kojin's face fell. A shadow of grief passed through his eyes as he replied:
"She… Suzuha... died. It was a mental condition. One I caused. After you left, she broke down. She couldn't stand me anymore. She… died six months later. It was all my fault."
Sorata's purple flames raged higher. He laughed like a demon.
"So it's your fault, huh? You old man!"
With a roar of pure rage, Sorata launched himself at full speed, his destructive aura ripping the air apart. Kojin met him head-on, his own body burning with black destructive energy that was releasing a great deal of power. Their fists collided—an impact so violent it unleashed another explosion that leveled the wasteland.
The two ascended, flying at impossible speeds as their clash painted the sky with destruction. Sorata hurled giant orbs of energy in rapid succession, laughing manically. Kojin dodged as quickly as he could while the mountains around him were being obliterated into nothing. But then....
A massive fist of destructive energy descended from above.
Kojin countered, manifesting enormous claws of black destructive energy and slashing them forward. The two forces collided, struggling, but Sorata's power tore through.
The explosion blasted Kojin back, his body trembling as he braced himself against the storm of energy.
He gritted his teeth, thinking:
"He has more power than me. But… his energy output is lower. Every time he pushes himself, his body burns from the strain of destructive energy. Still… even with that drawback, his speed, stamina, and durability surpass mine. Olivia..... she must've taught him how to fight me. That stupid bitch I once called a friend. She really crossed the line this time—teaching my son the tricks to defeat me."
Sorata surged forward again, conjuring a giant blade of destructive energy so fierce it incinerated mountains simply by flying past them.
Kojin countered with a titanic wolf-shaped blast of his own energy. The wolf collided with Sorata's blade, their clash spawning a raging tornado of destructive energy that tore open the skies, summoning a massive thunderstorm that blasted powerful amounts of lightning downwards.
Kojin realized then—there was only one way to end this. His ultimate move: Beast of Destruction.
He called out desperately:
"Saito!! Stop this! I know it's my fault—I know I'm the reason you turned out this way. But please… I don't want to kill my own son! Please, stop!"
Sorata only laughed harder, his body burning brighter, more monstrous.
"Interesting! You of all people shouldn't be saying that! You mistreated me as a child! And now you're begging me to stop?!"
He hurled another devastating blast, striking Kojin and sending him crashing through mountains.
"You made a mistake, so deal with it! I am your mistake!" Sorata roared, his voice like a beast sent from the depths of hell, an inferno of rage and pain. "SO QUIT YOUR BULLSHIT AND FIGHT ME! AFTER ALL— YOU'RE THE ONE WHO TAUGHT ME BEING WEAK MAKES A MAN USELESS! RIGHT?! SPEAK UP, DAD!!". Sorata's yell of anger sent huge waves of destructive energy at Kojin.
His monstrous voice echoed across the wastelands, the air trembling with each word.
Kojin struggled under the relentless onslaught, slammed into the ground by Sorata's waves of power. Through the haze, he saw a vision—Saito as a child, trying to impress him with his growing strength.
"Yeah… that's my boy", he thought. "You've truly surpassed me. There's nothing I can do but watch you. But still—I will stop you. No matter what."
With his body trembling under Sorata's storm, Kojin summoned everything he had left. Destructive energy swirled, forming the outline of a massive tiger. Kojin had a deranged smile on his face as hid destructive energy resembling black flames and black lightning covered his body, including his face. This made Kojin look more of a beast than he had ever looked.
Meanwhile, on the island, Kirihai and Raquel were locked in a ferocious sword clash. Raquel crystallized her arms into blades, striking against Kirihai's dark energy sword.
Kirihai soared into the sky, her blade brimming with shadowy energy, before diving down at full speed.
At that moment, Serena and Sukuna appeared at Raquel's side.
"I hate to break it to you, it's now or never!" Raquel shouted. "Let's do this, or we're dead!"
Serena and Sukuna nodded "YEAH!", they exclaimed, channeling immense energy—electricity and plasma—merging it into a single devastating attack.
Back in the wastelands, Kojin roared as he wrestled against Sorata's immense barrage.
He thought of them all—Serena, Sukuna, Raquel, Deo, Runo, Veronica, Tomoa, Levi, Kinto… every comrade who had fought by his side.
And then… he saw Sōn.
"I'm sorry, kid. This might be it for me. I've got to atone for my sins and harsh behaviors. As for Alex and Kazuki… I leave the rest to you both. THE CITY OF KAGAHARA HELL'S DUO"
Kojin's aura erupted in an overwhelming surge. His body flared with destructive energy as he bellowed:
"Beast of Destruction!!!"
The wasteland trembled as a colossal tiger of pure destructive energy materialized around him, its roar shaking the heavens and trembling the grounds of the world.
End of Chapter 27