Isa's entire body disbanded into a pool of lava, racing across the hallway in the direction of Itama. "Let's see if you're truly strong enough to take me down!" his voice exclaimed, resurrecting his body with the lava that had come straight from it and jumping straight into Itama's face. He drew his swords, ready for the starting attack.
---
With just a single swing of his blade, Itama created a massive wind current that nearly blew Isa away. "He's capable of all that!?" Isa thought to himself. Although he knew he was going to get stronger once he had taken the scarf off his shoulder, he had lower expectations of Itama's strength. "Xavier, don't interfere with the fight for the time being!" Itama called out, pointing straight at Isa. "He's mine, not yours!"
Before Isa could even lift his body off of the ground, Itama had already made it across the hallway to his side, his sword propped up right against his neck. "I've never felt this free in years!" Itama exclaimed, smiling for one of the first times in battle. He noticed even more lava racing across the hallway straight towards him, but with just a single light swing, he sent it right back to Isa. Xavier had no time to process how Itama had appeared right before Isa in that small time frame - after he blinked just once, his sword was already close to his chest. "Itama Style - Blade of Withering!" he exclaimed, perfectly landing a significantly deep cut right on Isa's hand. "What the hell happened to my right hand!?" Isa screamed, hearing his ears ring as he noticed the blood from the cut slowly dripping onto the ground and creating a small puddle. He turned his head straight up towards his hand, which was slowly withering away along with the wind. "Who the hell is this guy!?"
"Itama Style - I've been trying to use it for years, but it was just now that I was able to release the power I've been storing up ever since that day!" Isa launched himself blindly right towards Itama yet again, but his decaying hand had nothing but little effect on him - in fact, it had gone right through him.
To stack right on the pain Itama had provided Isa with, he swung his blade through the thin air yet again, this time aimed at his left hand. "Itama Style - Blade of Explosions!" Less than a second passed, and Isa's left hand flew straight off of his body onto the ground from an explosion. "What a wide variety of attacks!" Xavier continued to observe, covering his eyes from the dust that blew in his direction. "So this is Kawasaki's true potential…"
Volume 13, Chapter 16 - My True Potential
Blood from Isa's left arm created a giant puddle across the floor, and all that could be heard was the intense beating of his heart. "He took both of my limbs!?" he screamed inside his mind, staring straight at his half-withered arm. His heart skipped a beat just as Itama lifted his foot off of the ground, but he now could only shoot lava straight from his mouth. "For the past sixteen years, I've been brainstorming countless Itama Style attacks I could use when I had enough power available - you should be honored you're the first one to see them in battle!" Itama was drained out by Isa's multiplying heartbeat, which had come to an eerie halt after his loud scream. "I WON'T LET YOU MAKE ME LOOK WEAK!" he continued, exhaling even more unfathomable amounts of lava than he had when he had first mutated. "I can't… LOSE TO SOMEONE LIKE YOU!"
"I don't care if anyone's personal opinions don't align with mine - but I swear I'm going to make our dreams come true, step by step!" he declared, looking back at the scarf that was now in the hands of Xavier. Without hesitation, Itama scanned the incoming lava that was to burn him alive - he quickly adjusted his blade, then leaped straight towards Isa in the molten-covered tunnel. "This… is my full potential in action!" Itama linked heads with Isa, his sword just about an inch away from impaling his chest (which would happen in less than a millisecond with the momentum Itama currently wielded.) Time seemed to freeze, and Itama's head filled with sorrowful memories Isa held in his head since his childhood. "It's like that time me and Champion took down Saharos…" he observed, listening to the voice of the small, desperate child. "I just know that the Realm God is going to come and save everyone, including me!" young Isa said to a few people (most likely cult members) that surrounded him. Instead of acknowledging his statement, he was beaten to the ground and kidnapped by multiple men that had different variants of the tattoo his original form possessed. With just three memories, Itama learned all about how Isa had been culturally assimilated as a child - which was how he ended up in the position he was in now. A tear came right from Itama's eye, dropping right on Isa's neck and sliding down his white, ragged shirt. "Itama Style - Blade of Peaceful Resolution," Itama said under his breath, closing his eyes and returning back to the present. Behind him was Isa, who was slowly fading away into the air. "You didn't… give me a painful death?" he asked, his heartbeat slowing.
Sliding his blade back into his case, Itama looked back in the direction of Isa and Xavier. "I brainstormed this attack after hearing of the very religion you practiced as a child."
Isa's eyes widened. "You saw my memories?"
Itama nodded his head, turning his entire body back in the same direction he was looking. "Yes," he answered. "I believe that when you have substituted the severity of your sins with careful resolution, you will be able to spiritually return to the world of entities and try again."
Isa noticed his head was now fading into the air, but all he could do now was smile and cry. "Itama Kawasaki…" he spat out with his weak voice, "even in the afterlife, I will remember you as the person who mentally rescued me."
With that, he disappeared from the battlefield. All that Itama could see was the burnt hallways and the shocked expression of Xavier, who showed interest in Itama's power at the same time. "I apologize for barely giving you a chance to shine in this fight," Itama told Xavier, placing his hand over his shoulder and placing his hand over Trhama's vibrant scarf. "Until Pyron is defeated, I want you to keep this scarf safe - then, I can continue to travel across countries with Trhama." Wiping tears from his eyes, Xavier immediately nodded. "I'll be sure to keep this safe," he promised.