I had made a decision.
A decision that no human had ever made.
A decision that, according to everything I knew...
should have been impossible.
For a billion years, no one had separated Kaijunoo from his host.
Not one person.
Not one monster.
Not even the strongest Monster Kings.
But I was about to try.
I placed my hand against my chest.
Yamato stared at me.
"Kyoren..."
I didn't answer.
I focused.
Then—
I forced Kaijunoo out.
A blinding green light erupted around me.
The ground shook.
The air became heavy.
Even Yamato took a step backward.
And then...
Someone emerged.
Kaijunoo.
He stood tall in front of me.
He didn't look like an ordinary monster.
He looked like a king.
His presence alone made the entire battlefield feel smaller.
Dark markings covered his face, giving him an almost unnatural appearance.
It looked like Sukuna's tattoos from JJK.
And his eyes...
They were blue.
Completely different from my green eyes.
He looked at Yamato.
Then at me.
"So..."
I didn't give him time to finish.
I charged.
BOOM!
My fist collided with his.
The shockwave ripped across the battlefield.
Kaijunoo slid backward.
I charged again.
He disappeared.
I turned.
He was already behind me.
I blocked his strike.
He kicked me away.
I landed, recovered, and immediately attacked again.
The battle continued.
Minutes passed.
Then more.
Neither of us stopped.
Kaijunoo was stronger.
Faster.
More experienced.
He was everything the stories said a Monster King should be.
But I knew something he didn't.
My blood.
I let a small amount of my Fogo blood fall toward him.
Kaijunoo noticed.
"What are you—"
Too late.
The blood reacted.
The green glow spread across the battlefield.
Kaijunoo staggered.
"You cheated."
I smiled.
"Yeah."
I charged.
The final clash shook the ground.
And when it was over...
Kaijunoo fell.
Silence.
I stood there, exhausted.
I had defeated the Monster King.
But I knew the truth.
I hadn't beaten him fairly.
I had used the one thing he couldn't completely defend against.
My blood.
And in that fight, I grew strong by my raw power.
Kaijunoo looked up at me.
For the first time...
He wasn't angry.
He smiled.
"So..."
"You finally did it."
His body began dissolving into light.
"Don't waste my power."
The light rushed toward me.
I felt something change.
My eyes burned.
The green in my eyes slowly shifted to blue.
Dark markings appeared across my face.
And suddenly...
I could feel it.
The power.
Kaijunoo's power.
I looked at my hands.
Then toward Yamato.
Yamato stood completely still.
He had watched everything.
"Kyoren..."
I raised my head.
The new power surged through me.
I smiled.
"Now..."
I stepped forward.
"...we finish this."
Yamato tightened his fists.
The two of us stared at each other across the ruined battlefield.
Teacher.
Student.
Hunter.
Enemy.
And this time...
I wasn't the same Kyoren he had trained.
Kaijunoo's power was mine.