CHAPTER 20: BLOODBATH AND ILLUSIONS
Ryuden takes a step back, slamming his left hand onto the control panel on his bicep. A thick, dark crimson fluid pumps directly into his veins. The suit's AI system chimes in with a dry, mechanical voice: "[WARNING] Injecting Kaiju No. 8 blood: 50%. Warning: Load exceeds safe thresholds. Critical risk of severe internal organ damage." Black veins bulge violently across Ryuden's face and neck. His eyes ignite with blood-red streaks. He exhales a breath of scalding air, the asphalt beneath his boots cracking under the sheer, oppressive pressure.
Without waiting for a signal, both Ryuden and the Juggernaut roar, colliding like two falling meteors. A brutal, bone-crushing melee erupts. The sweeping arcs of Ryuden's ax clash against the Juggernaut's steel-like fists. But fueled by the 50% blood of No. 8, Ryuden is completely overwhelming. His speed and slashing power skyrocket, relentlessly carving into flesh, leaving a series of deep, gaping trenches across the giant's granite-gray skin.
Seizing a fatal opening as the Juggernaut overextends its swing, Ryuden pivots, channeling every ounce of his strength into his right arm. Riding the momentum of his spin, the smoking ax blade cleanly cleaves through the air in a breathtaking horizontal arc. SLASH! Black blood erupts like a geyser. The Juggernaut's massive head flies into the sky, tumbling violently down the highway. Ryuden leans heavily on his ax, panting. He wipes a streak of blood from his chin and smirks. "Is that all?"
But his smile vanishes instantly. The colossal, headless body of the Juggernaut does not fall. It remains towering, its massive muscle fibers twitching and writhing in a grotesque, sickening display.
The battlefield shifts to Yuho's flank. He aggressively strums the strings of his guitar—Weapon No. 4, "Requiem." A colossal, tangible wave of sound shatters the very fabric of space, sweeping directly toward No. 14. The surrounding V.G.U. guards scream in panic, "Maximum noise-canceling, now!" Even with their dampeners active, they are forced to their knees, desperately clutching their ears against the earth-shattering tremors. Amidst the sonic hurricane, No. 14 twists its slender body, gracefully gliding through the devastating waves. It suddenly snaps its alloy fan wide open. Bizarre, hypnotic patterns painted on the ribs of the fan begin to violently spin. Inadvertently, Yuho's eyes lock onto those spiraling designs.
BOOM! Every sound on the chaotic battlefield is instantly extinguished. Yuho blinks. He finds himself standing in an ink-black void—empty, freezing, and utterly silent. He reaches up to strike a chord, only to realize that Weapon No. 4 has completely vanished from his grasp. Tap... tap... tap... Countless footsteps echo from the darkness. From all eight directions, the sound of shoes splashing against invisible water surrounds him.
Suddenly, from the pitch-black abyss behind him, No. 14 materializes, swinging the razor-sharp edge of its fan straight for Yuho's throat. With flawless reflexes, Yuho leans back. The blade misses decapitating him, only slicing a long, bleeding gash across his cheek. He instantly pivots, launching a fierce counter-kick, but No. 14 has already dissolved back into the void.
Hundreds of footsteps echo once more, chaotic and deafening. Yet, Yuho remains unnervingly calm. Reaching into his coat pocket, he retrieves a specialized tactical earpiece, slips it on, and closes his eyes. Sound wave reflection... 0.02-second delay... They're all fake, his mind calculates with cold precision. Suddenly, the earpiece picks up a microscopic vibrational frequency just to his left. Yuho's eyes snap open. He twists his hips, driving a perfectly executed, full-power punch into the empty air. "Here's a gift for you!"
The punch connects. It smashes squarely into No. 14's face. But with a soft POOF, the body of No. 14 turns into a wisp of smoke and dissipates. Yuho's fist has only struck a phantom.
"You are wrong," a chilling voice whispers directly into Yuho's ear. SLASH! The fan's blade bites deep into his right arm. Blood sprays into the dark. No. 14's shrill, mocking laughter echoes throughout the pitch-black space. "Hahaha! You are trapped inside my illusion. You will absolutely die here, and you won't even know what killed you!"
The void returns to its eerie, suffocating silence, save for the rhythmic dripping of blood from Yuho's arm. Contrary to the Kaiju's arrogant triumph, Yuho's eyes are ice-cold, devoid of a single trace of fear. He raises his hand, casually wiping the blood from his slashed cheek, and forms a razor-sharp, chilling smile.
"Is that so? I'll die here? Don't even dream about it."
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