Chapter 451: Ohma's Starting Point
Ren Shiroki's mind raced as the memories flickered into focus.
Kiryu Setsuna. Moniker: [THE BEAUTIFUL BEAST].
This man shared a deep, twisted karmic thread with Ohma Tokita.
He hadn't been born as a "person," but rather as a replaceable organ reservoir
for his biological father, raised in the dark underbelly of The Inside's Four
Turtles sector. In short, he was spare parts for his own parent.
He had never known parental love, enduring only abuse from his mother until he
concluded that he was fundamentally unneeded—a sinner who deserved to die.
At age eleven, on the eve of being dissected by a black-market surgeon, his fate
intersected with chaos. The doctor's organization clashed with a feral,
beast-like child named Ohma Tokita. In the crossfire, Ohma inadvertently
slaughtered the organization and rescued Kiryu Setsuna.
To a boy who knew only despair, watching Ohma slaughter his tormentors like a
beast of prey became his salvation. He elevated Ohma from a wild child to a
"God" sent to cleanse his sins.
That emotion transcended normal human bonds, warping into a pathological,
religious fanaticism.
Kiryu's singular ambition became to die by the hands of an Ohma consumed by [THE
ADVANCE]. He spent years tracking him. Yet by the time he finally found him,
Ohma had been adopted by Tokita Niko and was no longer a mindless beast.
Kiryu's twisted obsession convinced him that Tokita Niko had "cursed" his God,
robbing him of his redemption. That obsessive madness made him easy prey for
manipulation, ultimately driving Tokita Niko into a gauntlet of lethal duels
where he met his end.
In the original timeline of the Kengan Annihilation Tournament, Kiryu Setsuna
had mowed through his block to become the representative for Koyo Girls'
Academy. He had crushed his first-round opponent, only to be stopped in the
second round by the [DEVIL LANCE] Kuroki Gensai after a brutal,
sanity-shattering war.
Now, present day.
Following his instincts back to his "Starting Point," Ohma Tokita had stumbled
straight into the man who embodied his past.
Looking at Kiryu Setsuna—who was now stepping forward with eyes dilated and
manic—Ohma let out a heavy sigh. "If I came back here just to follow my
'Instinct,' then my instincts really need a tune-up."
"Though... I can't say I'm surprised to see your face. It's about time we
settled this."
Kiryu's eyes widened, a wave of ecstasy washing over his pale face. "Is that so?
Ohma-kun, you're letting me in? Has the curse of Tokita Niko finally started to
fade?"
"You're finally ready to show me the God of Destruction again?!"
Before Ohma could respond, the local outlaws who had gathered around the area
couldn't hold their tongue. They were used to turf wars and local brawls, but
this effeminate, weeping weirdo was breaking their concentration.
"Hey, pal! The Inaba and Three Wolves sectors are off-limits, but this is Two
Tigers! You think you can just show up and start crying?"
The lead outlaw stepped forward, raising a machete. "I don't know what kind of
sick theater you two are running, but get lost before—"
Zip!
Kiryu Setsuna didn't even turn his head. He flicked his right arm outward,
intersecting with the outlaw's advance.
Squelch!
The outlaw's right bicep spun 360 degrees, the skin tearing and the muscle
fibers internally shredded into mush.
"Gah—?!"
The man dropped his machete, his arm dangling uselessly as he collapsed into the
dirt, screaming in agony.
"Don't interrupt," Kiryu whispered, his gaze never leaving Ohma. "You're
dragging down the sacred atmosphere of our reunion."
Ren Shiroki stepped back, pulling a bewildered Yamashita Kazuo and an eager
Rihito with him. "Leave them be. That's a 1-on-1 that's been overdue for a
decade."
Kiryu's attention remained locked on Ohma.
"Ohma-kun... I'll save you. I'll free you from that man's ghost."
Zip!
Kiryu closed the distance with horrifying speed. His movement wasn't a standard
dash; it was an erratic, undulating glide that made him look like a phantom
drifting across water.
[KUIHINRYU / RAKSHASA'S SOLE]—or more fundamentally, the footwork of the [KUIHIN
STYLE] (Fox Shadow Style).
Ohma didn't flinch. He dropped his weight, his feet anchoring into the dirt.
Clap!
Ohma thrust his left hand forward, intending to intercept Kiryu's collar. But
Kiryu's torso twisted with an unnatural torque, his arm spinning like a
corkscrew as he drove a palm-heel toward Ohma's chest.
[RAKSHASA'S PALM]!
Whish—!
The torque of the strike was so immense it warped the air around it. Had it
connected squarely, it would have twisted Ohma's ribs into a spiral of bone
splinters and ruptured his heart.
At the micro-second of impact, Ohma's muscles hardened into a defensive shell.
[NIKO STYLE: KIMA-KATA - INDESTRUCTIBLE]!
BAM!
The palm hit Ohma's chest. The kinetic torque violently twisted his skin, but
the internal hardening of the [INDESTRUCTIBLE] absorbed the rotational shear,
preventing the ribs from fracturing.
"Hah...!"
Ohma exhaled sharply, sliding back half a meter across the dirt. He looked down
at his chest; his shirt was shredded in a spiral pattern, leaving a raw, red
burn on his skin.
"Not bad," Ohma smirked, his eyes burning with the old, familiar fire. "Your
Rakshasa's Palm hasn't gotten any weaker."
Kiryu's smile widened, tears of manic joy spilling over his cheeks. "Yes... YES!
That's it! That's the durability of the God I worship!!"
[The Edge of the Clearing]
Ren watched the exchange closely, analyzing the frames.
Rakshasa's Palm...
It was a technique that used a high-speed rotational twist of the hand or foot
to induce localized trauma, turning a strike into a human drill. Against a
normal human, it was an instant fatality. Against an [INDESTRUCTIBLE] user, it
was a battle of torque versus density.
"It's a terrifying style," Ren murmured. "If you don't have the structural
integrity to tank it, you get unspooled like thread."
"And Kiryu is completely unhinged," Rihito added, crossing his arms. "He's
fighting like a guy who's trying to commit suicide by cop—except the 'cop' is
Ohma."
In the clearing, the two fighters were accelerating.
Zip-zap!
Kiryu's movements were hypnotic. He attacked with a barrage of Rakshasa's Palms,
his hands spinning like twin augurs. Every strike threatened to tear flesh from
bone.
Ohma parried, ducked, and slipped, his feet utilizing the [PHANTOM PACE] to
dance around the lethal geometry. When he couldn't evade, he engaged
[INDESTRUCTIBLE], taking the glancing blows with hardened muscle.
Bang-bang-thud!
"You're obsessed with the past, Kiryu!" Ohma shouted, dodging a palm-strike that
left a deep gouge in the earth behind him.
"You think Niko ruined me? You think my memories are a curse?"
Ohma twisted his hips, driving a high-torque roundhouse kick toward Kiryu's
head.
[NIKO STYLE: REDIRECTION & FIRE KATA]!
VROOM!
Kiryu ducked under the arc, but the vacuum of the kick whipped his hair around.
He countered with a low sweep, attempting to take Ohma's legs out.
Ohma hopped over the sweep, driving an elbow downward like a spike.
[NIKO STYLE: WATER KATA - JELLYFISH DANCE] into [KIMA-KATA - IRONBREAKER]!
DOOM!
The elbow slammed into Kiryu's shoulder, driving the lithe man into the dirt and
kicking up a cloud of dust.
"Cough...!" Kiryu spat blood, but his smile only grew wider, more deranged.
"Yes! Break me, Ohma-kun! Remind me of my sins!"
Ohma stood over him, breathing heavily. He wasn't smiling anymore. His face was
a mask of cold, heavy resolve.
"I'm not here to save you, Kiryu."
"And I'm not here to play 'God'."
Ohma lowered his stance, his arms forming a fluid, circular guard that combined
the absolute redirection of the [WATER KATA] with the iron density of the
[KIMA-KATA].
"Right here. At our Starting Point."
"Let's put an end to this—once and for all!"
☆☆☆
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