Chapter 8
He began to retreat.
His movements, once arrogant, were now defensive.
He had realized something crucial:
If he kept going like this… he would lose.
Tessa noticed. She wasn't going to let him escape.
—Not this time! —she shouted, launching a punch straight at his head.
But Kan ducked at the last second, dodging the blow with superhuman agility.
He placed both hands on the ground.
—Blood... awaken! —he muttered in a deep voice.
Immediately, the floor trembled.
Walls of crystallized blood violently emerged, as if they were the very bones of the building.
They rose at high speed, separating Tessa and Adán with surgical precision.
—Adán! —shouted Tessa, striking the wall with chakra, but unable to break it immediately.
Adán struck his side with cursed energy, but the hardened blood was more resistant than it looked.
---
J was left alone.
Combat systems online, but without her allies nearby.
—Where's the target? —she murmured.
A voice whispered in her electronic ear:
—I'm behind you...
J turned instantly.
But she wasn't fast enough.
BAM!
A side kick hit her metallic side, throwing her violently against the blood wall.
Before she could reconfigure herself to fire...
SLASH!
A blood sword emerged from the darkness and stabbed her in the left arm.
Internal systems vibrated.
A spark burst from the wound.
J analyzed the situation in microseconds.
> —Localized damage. Integrity: 71%.
—Priority threat: Kan.
—Containment mode... activated.
Her eyes shone with a different intensity.
Tessa didn't hesitate.
With a roar of chakra, she broke through the blood wall by force, her body wrapped in red energy.
As she emerged on the other side, the first thing she saw was J...
...being pierced through.
Kan was sinking his bloody arm into the android's chest, as if piercing more than metal.
J went still.
Sparks jumped from her back. Her left eye flickered erratically.
Tessa screamed with all her strength:
—J! J!!! J!!!!
But there was no response.
J's body fell to the ground, lifeless.
The figure that had protected them so many times… now lay among puddles of oil and cursed blood.
Tessa froze for a fraction of a second.
She looked at Kan.
She expected to see hatred. Sadism. Arrogance.
But for an instant, what she saw in those white eyes was something else.
Pity?
—This only happened because you two rejected my lord's offer —said Kan in a low voice, without triumph—.
—But even so... my lord remains interested in you.
Tessa clenched her teeth.
Her body began to tremble, not from fear, but from rage.
Her chakra ignited—denser, darker.
Her eyes glowed with a deeper red.
A second tomoe spun within each Sharingan.
—You'll regret that... —she whispered, her voice breaking with fury.
Her gaze now cut sharper than any blade.
Poor children...
So strong... and yet, so fragile.
For a moment, the battlefield disappeared for Kan.
The smoke, the blood, the anger... all faded away.
And he was back there.
A medical room. Cold. White. Sterile.
He was sitting on a stretcher.
Tubes hung from the ceiling.
The heart monitor marked a slow rhythm.
A voice thundered from the doorway:
—Mr. Kan...
—We have the results.
He smiled nervously.
He knew something wasn't right, but he still had hope.
—What do I have, doctor? Something mild, right?
The doctor didn't respond immediately.
He only lowered his gaze.
—It's cancer, Mr. Kan.
—And... it's terminal.
The world stopped.
Kan felt the air escape from his chest.
His legs gave out, and he fell to the floor, strengthless.
—No... no...
—NO! That's not possible!
—I'm a doctor too. I know what that means! There has to be a mistake!!
—I'm sorry... —said the doctor—.
—There's no time left.
Kan didn't scream anymore.
He just cried silently, hugging his knees.
Like a child.
Like someone who no longer had a reason to keep fighting… until someone offered him a new way to live.
Tessa charged.
Kan, still processing the evolution in her eyes, quickly extended his hand.
—Blood... Fragmented!
Seven blood knives shot out like lethal projectiles toward Tessa.
But she didn't blink.
With calculated movements, she caught the knives one by one in midair, without missing a beat.
Not a trace of doubt. Not a drop of fear.
Her eyes—the two-tomoe Sharingan—were locked on Kan, as if she already knew every action before it happened.
Kan took a step back, astonished.
—How...?
Tessa didn't respond.
When she reached him, she returned the knives one by one, stabbing them into his abdomen, arms, shoulder, and thighs with surgical precision.
Slash! Slash! Slash!
Kan screamed, retreating, trying to shield himself with a blood barrier.
But it was useless.
Tessa was no longer just strong. She was precise. Unstoppable.
Kan threw a punch to her face.
Tessa ducked before his arm even moved completely.
He tried a spinning kick.
She dodged without even looking.
He unleashed a blood spear from his back.
Tessa was already on the other side.
It was as if... she could see the future.
—You're... seeing beyond... —Kan gasped—. What the hell... are you now?!
Tessa clenched her fists. Her eyes burned.
—The one who's going to end this.
---
Meanwhile…
Adán, still on the other side of the blood wall, placed his hand on its reddish surface.
—That's enough.
His finger glowed with cursed energy.
—Dismantle.
The wall vibrated... and then split in two from within, as if cut by an invisible blade.
The wall collapsed with a dry roar, dust and blood falling like rain.
Adán emerged from the smoke.
His Sharingan eye gleamed.
And his cursed energy crackled, as if something inside him wanted to break free.
—Tessa... you're leaving him without options —he said, not smiling. Just watching.
Tessa didn't respond.
She only advanced.
Kan had no more options.
Tessa had surpassed him. Adán was getting closer. His body was broken, and his blood, scarce. But he still had one last resort.
—Blood Explosion! —he roared.
BOOM.
A crimson blast engulfed the hall. The air turned thick, viscous, hot like a pressure cooker.
Tessa was blown back by the force of the impact, crashing violently against the wall. Her body lay motionless on the ground.
Kan gasped. Blood poured from every pore, every wound.
He was on the verge of collapsing... but he didn't stop.
He crawled toward Tessa's unconscious body.
His eyes trembled. His voice was a broken whisper.
—They didn't force me into this... I gave you both a chance...
He placed his hand on Tessa's chest, and his arm turned into an organic needle.
The tip pulsed, vibrating with black blood.
—With this… I'll turn you into something... eternal.
The needle pierced her chest.
Kan began injecting demonic blood directly into Tessa's heart. Her veins darkened instantly.
But just as he prepared to release the final dose...
Slash!
His arm was cleanly severed by a wave of cursed energy.
Adán had arrived.
Kan staggered back, knowing he couldn't continue.
And without a word, he fled. His figure dissolved into shadows and evaporating blood.
---
Adán fell to his knees beside Tessa.
—Tessa! TESSA!
She convulsed. Her body vibrated between light and shadow.
The veins on her neck stood out like dark roots.
Her chakra and life energy clashed against the demonic blood trying to change her from within.
—No! No, no, no!
Adán held her face, his hands trembling.
—Tessa... can you hear me... it's me. It's me!
His Sharingan burned.
Without realizing it, his left eye spun once more.
The third tomoe appeared.
He only cried, gritting his teeth.
—Don't die, Tessa...