Tengoku e no Hangyaku - Rebellion against Heaven (english version)

Chapter 22: The Unchained Beast

Ryususei's blood soaked the floor. His mutilated body trembled, barely breathing. But Aiko wouldn't allow it to fall so easily.

The air around him vibrated with a dark and twisted energy. His eyes, once fierce, were now two wells of unfathomable shadow. The Black Herald's sword absorbed the spilled blood, drinking the agony of his fallen companion.

"You—" he murmured with a terrifying calm. They're not going to get out of here alive.

A burst of dark energy exploded from his body. The ground beneath his feet cracked, and the pressure in the air became unbearable. Kenta, Daichi, and Haru felt as if the entire world was pushing them down, suffocating them.

"Back off!" Daichi shouted, feeling the wave of death approaching.

But it was too late.

Aiko disappeared in the blink of an eye. In the next instant, he was facing Haru. Before he could react, his sword descended in a lethal arc.

Haru's scream pierced the night as his arm was severed with a single slash. Blood gushed out like a fountain, soaking his clothes as he fell to his knees, his eyes wide with shock and pain.

"HARU!" Kenta shouted, lunging at Aiko with her scythes at the ready.

But she was already expecting it.

With inhuman speed, she spun around and buried her knee in Kenta's stomach. The impact was so brutal that it caused him to spit blood as his body shot out, crashing into a wall and collapsing it in the process.

Daichi tried to seize the moment. With his Spear of Judgment, he threw a punch charged with pure energy, seeking to pierce through Aiko's heart.

But she wasn't going to let herself be defeated so easily.

With a maniacal smile, he deflected the spear with the blade of his sword and, in one fluid motion, struck Daichi in the jaw with the handle of his weapon. The impact left him stunned for an instant.

An instant that would cost him dearly.

Aiko swung her sword and stabbed it into Daichi's side, piercing him completely. His blood splattered on the ground.

"GAHHH!" Daichi shouted, feeling the blade pierce his body as if his flesh were nothing more than paper.

Aiko leaned towards him, with a sadistic smile.

"Does it hurt?" Rest assured... This is just the beginning.

Without letting go of his sword, he lifted Daichi's body and threw it into the air, causing it to crash to the ground with a deafening crash.

The carnage was total.

Kenta crawled out of the rubble, coughing up blood. Haru could barely remain conscious, his mutilated arm trembling on the ground. Daichi tried to get up, but his wound made him gasp in pain.

And Ryuusei... He was still on the ground, watching everything with a faint, broken laugh.

"Heh... hehehe... you've grown a lot..." he whispered, seeing the destruction caused by Aiko.

But the battle was not over yet.

With one last effort, Kenta stood up, her eyes full of rage.

"No... You'll get away with it.

The fight was far from over.