| The Cyber Ascension| Arc 8 — Ganchio-Sae | Volume 8 | Chapter 80 : The Nightmare which is about to Start |
The barriers trembled, their white glow flickering like a dying heartbeat. Outside, the sky twisted unnaturally—clouds spiraling inward, ash drifting like black snow. Sanji Youta's presence inside Z's body warped the air itself, every breath tasting of blood and fear.
Karasuya's voice cut through the tension—low, cold, absolute.
Karasuya
"If you all agree to this… then I will stop Sanji Youta. Temporarily. Only then can the ritual begin."
The word temporarily echoed like a death sentence.
Jin Yuan didn't hesitate. His grip tightened around his katana, knuckles whitening, scars stretching across his skin.
Jin Yuan
"We agree… with this."
No fear in his voice. Only resolve—the kind born when retreat no longer exists.
Eirien stepped forward, the calm in his eyes cracked but unbroken. He nodded once.
Eirien
"Yeah… we're ready."
Haruko's knees trembled, but she held the barriers tighter, forcing more spherical energy into them. Veins pulsed along her arms as the strain threatened to tear her apart.
Haruko
"…Yeah, Karasuya. It's all up to you now.
You fight Sanji Youta first.
Then… we start."
Kiyoshi swallowed hard, trying to lighten the suffocating air with a shaky grin.
Kiyoshi
"Yeah—Haruko, you actually had a brain too—"
SMACK.
Haruko's hand cracked against his head, sharp and loud.
Haruko
"FOCUS."
Silence fell again—deeper, heavier than before.
Karasuya turned his back to them.
Step.
Step.
Step.
Each footstep toward the edge of the barrier sounded like a funeral drum.
As he passed through the barrier, its light recoiled from him, rippling as if afraid. Smoke parted around his body, revealing the twisted silhouette of Z's form—now corrupted, posture wrong, aura bleeding crimson-black into the world.
Sanji Youta's laughter echoed from Z's mouth—distorted, layered, inhuman.
Sanji Youta (inside Z)
"Heh… another Zenōnuke crawling to die?"
Karasuya stopped.
He didn't draw a weapon.
He didn't raise his guard.
He simply looked at him.
Karasuya
"…You don't belong in that body."
The ground beneath them cracked.
Purple-black pressure exploded outward—not an attack, but intent. The forest screamed as trees bent backward, roots tearing free like exposed veins. Even Sanji Youta's grin twitched.
Behind the barrier, everyone felt it.
This wasn't just another fighter stepping forward.
This was a rogue Zenōnuke—
a man who had abandoned heaven, fate, and fear itself.
Karasuya exhaled slowly.
Karasuya
"I'll pin you down, King of Hell.
But understand this—"
His eyes sharpened, pupils glowing like cursed stars.
Karasuya
"Once I'm done… the ritual will demand blood.
And it won't care whose."
The barrier sealed shut behind him.
The moment Karasuya took his stance—
The world knew.
A true nightmare was about to begin.