The two locked eyes, the tension between them thick enough to cut with a knife. They shifted through several stances, sizing up the other. To anyone else, they might've appeared evenly matched. But Akuma knew better. He could sense that he was barely keeping pace. To make matters worse, the acrid smell of charred concrete and twisted metal only made his mind race further. Like a hypnotic zone of overthinking.

  (Damn. If only I could use my arms. Without them, my center of gravity's all wack. And it'll take some time to adjust.)

  A cold sweat trailed down his cheek as a haunting thought bounced through his mind, the salty droplet reaching his lips with a bitter taste of fear.

  (Would the use of my arms even matter?)

  Images of Alice, Paul, and the trapped civilians flashed before his eyes. If he failed here, then the only fate that awaited them… was death.

  “Hey, Alice…” he called out without breaking his gaze from the monster. “You still want to help, right?”

  “Of course–!” Her voice cracked as pain shot through her injured ankle.

  She winced a bit but steadied herself.

  “T-This is nothing... Please, just let me help!”

  Akuma's lips curled into a surprised smile.

  “And here I thought you knew me. You really think I'm gonna let you slack off just because you're injured?”

  His tone softened, almost imperceptibly.

  “Thought I told you... People just ain't that nice.”

  Her expression lit up with renewed purpose, along with that familiar fire returning to her glare.

  “I need you to rescue everyone trapped under this debris…” he instructed. “Start with the men since they can help with the others. Make sure to explain the situation before removing the rubble, so they don't panic and run. Got that?”

  “Yes!”

  “A-And what about me?”

  The question came from the civilian Alice had helped moments earlier. Paul, I think his name was. He stood awkwardly behind Alice, his fists clenched with a nervous air.

  Akuma blinked, momentarily thrown off his game. He'd even broken eye contact with the monster.

  “Um... Who the hell are you? Wait, were you standing there this whole time?”

  Alice seemed equally surprised the man hadn't run away.

  “I-I'm not surprised you forgot about me.” The man answered, his voice shaky but growing steadier as he spoke. “Ever since I was a kid, I've always blended into the background... But I want to change that! I can't see the monster you're all talking about, but if it means helping others, then I'm in!”

  Akuma returned his focus to the looming creature. He'd planned to dismiss this stranger outright, maybe even warn him to run. But Alice's words echoed in his mind, challenging his ideals.

  “Wh… What's your name?”

  The question felt foreign on his tongue.

  “Huh? Oh, it's Paul.”

  “Alright, Paul…”

  Akuma exhaled slowly.

  “Normally, I'd be against dragging civilians into something like this, but Alice could really use the help.”

  The awkward silence that followed hung heavily in the air.

  “Is that it?” Alice teased, noticing Akuma's cheeks getting red. “Don't you have something else you want to say to this nice man?”

  His face reddened further, and he clicked his tongue in irritation.

  “Tha... Thank you… Thank you for the help.”

  Paul's eyes widened with unexpected joy.

  “You're very welcome!”

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  As Alice and Paul hurried off, Akuma settled deeper into his stance, his eyes narrowed and focused on the battle to come.

  No, that wasn't quite right.

  In truth, the battle had already taken place a dozen times over. And each one ended in Akuma's defeat.

  The weight of everything at stake pressed against his chest, constricting his breathing. This wasn’t like any other fight where he could just jump in, not caring about his own safety. If he fell here, Alice, Paul, and everyone else in this decimated restaurant would follow.

  “Shit… It's like I'm fighting a volcano with a brain. Any move I make just ends up getting blasted away by that damn breath attack…”

  His mouth had gone dry, the copper taste of fear mixing with the intense heat emanating from the beast before him.

  “Aw hell. I don't even care anymore.”

  Taking a deep breath, he centered himself, feeling the energy floating around him and gathering it into his gut, before releasing it in a controlled exhale.

  With deliberate ferocity, he planted his feet firmly on the debris-strewn ground and charged forward.

  Just as he guessed, the creature unleashed a beam of searing light. The air crackled and popped as molecules superheated, the scent of ozone burning his nostrils. But Akuma neither hesitated nor dodged it… At least, not in any conventional sense of the word.

  The moment the attack connected, his form shimmered like a desert mirage, the beam cutting through empty air and obliterating the ground behind where he should have been.

  Confusion flickered across the creature’s features as it struggled to comprehend what had happened. It braced, waiting for Akuma to enter striking range before unleashing a devastating punch that sent shockwaves rippling through the air.

  Yet again, the blow phased through its target.

  Except this time, Akuma's form disintegrated entirely after impact.

  “Aegis Kata...”

  The words drifted from somewhere in its flank.

  The monster twisted with inhuman speed, delivering a vicious backhand. But it met with nothing but air. It was then that the truth finally dawned on the creature. Akuma hadn't phased through the attacks like some ghost…

  He was never there to begin with.

  The ability to gather the energy generated by his soul—starlites—and project them into a deceptive motion. Combined with the “Constellation Arts”, the power of shapes. That is Aegis Kata.

  With a flourish, Akuma's right foot traced a perfect circle in the air before him.

  “First Planet Series...”

  As his right foot completed its arc, the drawn circle seemed to leap at the creature, ensnaring it in an unbreakable grip.

  “...MERCURY DRILL!”

  Akuma's right knee was drilled into it's right liver with devastating accuracy, sending it hurtling through the air and crashing into a distant building. The backlash of the impact rattled through Akuma's bones, agitating his damaged arms. But the satisfaction of landing the attack briefly masked the searing pain.

  “The first shape is circle…” Akuma explained, approaching the creature with surprising calm. “It disrupts an opponent's sense of time, making attacks appear as if they suddenly just happened. Though I've gotta say, I didn't think it'd be that hard drawing with my foot.”

  The monster's eyes twitched erratically, its teeth grinding together as its fingers curled like writhing snakes.

  “No. No. No.”

  Its voice was a guttural whisper that somehow carried across the distance between them.

  “This can't be. To not only see beyond the layer but to attack beyond the layer.”

  Crimson light enveloped the creature, burning even the air around it.

  “No mere human, you are. No mere blessed either. How intriguing...”

  It released a heat wave so intense it reduced the entire building to ash in seconds. Then its lips curled into a knowing, sinister grin.

  “So you are the AntiGod.”

  A blast of concentrated crimson light gathered between its jaws before firing toward Akuma with unstoppable force.

  “The second shape is the ringed planet…” Akuma muttered, his concentration palpable. “It distorts the space around me, allowing me to...”

  With his right foot, he traced the shape of a ringed planet, his movements fluid despite his injuries.

  “Sixth Planet Series...”

  In one fluid motion, he twirled, the blast of light curving with him as if bound by the ring he created.

  “...Saturn Dependence!”

  The redirected blast scorched the air as it slung back to its origin, exploding on impact. The monster barely managed to shield its head as the energy seared its form.

  “What is this power...?” The creature's voice trembled with something between rage and awe. “How is he affecting reality so?!”

  A smirk played across Akuma's lips, this one laced with cockiness.

  “Aegis Kata. It's a martial art that combines feints, shapes, and the soul... Well, according to my old man, anyway. Truth be told, I have no idea what I’m doing. I’m just copying his moves.”

  The creature paused for a moment, then erupted into hysterical laughter that echoed across the ruined landscape.

  “The martial arts of the spirits… So you know Kata, do you? ...How absolutely intriguing. I'd intended to capture you, but I suppose... I'll have to be a little rough.”

  In that instant, the atmosphere shifted. The temperature rose so suddenly that Akuma's swear evaporated before his eyes. A pressure descended like the depths of the ocean, crushing against his eardrums until they threatened to burst. The very air itself seemed to bend away from the creature, as if reality itself feared what was about to be unleashed.

  (What's with this pressure? ...It's like facing a completely different entity. Wait... This whole time... Was it... going easy on me?)

  The creature's form blurred, its outline seeming to fracture and multiply as if the physical realm itself couldn't properly contain it anymore.

  A sound like tearing fabric filled the air as space distorted around its limbs.

  Before Akuma could complete his thoughts, a fist suddenly appeared inches from his face.

  Having trained for years, sometimes to the point of near death, his techniques were burned into his muscle memory. So much so that even without fully understanding the deeper principles of his martial art, his body could use it reflexively. Which is why his arms moved to draw a defensive diamond, a shape with the power to absorb incoming damage and release it back into the world…

  Except his arms staggered, betrayed by the boiling wounds that still ravaged his flesh. It was just a fraction of a second, but in a battle such as this one, it might as well have been an eternity.

  The fist connected with devastating force, launching him through the nearby building and shattering it as if it were made of cheap glass. He crashed onto the street beyond, blood erupting from his throat in a desperate bid for escape. The impact reverberated through every bone in his body, the crunch of breaking ribs a symphony of agony that drowned out all other sensation.

  As his consciousness began to slip away, his thoughts weren't of himself or even the pain, but of Alice and Paul.

  Of the people trapped beneath the rubble.

  Of all the times he'd walked away from someone in need, hiding his desire to save them.

  The frustration boiled within him to the point that his scorched arms felt cold in comparison. He had only one desire.

  (Sorry Donte. But I just can't help myself... I want to be a hero.)