CHAPTER 21: THE SONIC GAME AND THE IMMORTAL BEAST
The Juggernaut's severed head rolled across the bloodstained asphalt. Ryuden lowered his heavy ax, exhaling a thick cloud of white smoke from his lips. He cast a brief, impatient glance toward the distant vanguard formation. "What the hell is taking that Yuho kid so long?" Turning his back, Ryuden prepared to walk away to provide backup when—WHOOSH... A foul, freezing gust of wind brushed past the nape of his neck.
Ryuden snapped his head back, his eyes widening in sheer disbelief. The headless, colossal body of the Juggernaut bent down, casually picked up its own severed head... and SLAMMED it back onto its neck. Muscle fibers and blackened veins violently intertwined with sickening crunches, seamlessly knitting flesh and bone back together as if it had never been cleanly severed. Rolling its freshly attached neck, the Juggernaut flashed a grotesque, demonic smile. "This is just the warm-up, old man." Gritting his teeth, Ryuden hoisted his ax back into a combat stance. "Stubborn bastard... Fine, this time I'll mince you into a hundred pieces." Internally, a flicker of worry crossed his mind. I just hope Yuho is holding up on his end...
The scene shifted to the pitch-black abyss of the illusion. The frantic footsteps circling Yuho grew increasingly chaotic and rapid. No. 14's voice echoed from the void, dripping with mockery. "Are you planning to play deaf and blind again? Let's see how you defend against this!" From the suffocating darkness, not one, but dozens of illusory clones of No. 14 materialized simultaneously. Wielding their razor-sharp alloy fans, they lunged at Yuho from every conceivable angle, intent on shredding him to ribbons.
Standing at the epicenter of certain death, Yuho's eyes snapped open. The corner of his mouth curled into a triumphant, terrifying smirk. "You stepped right into my trap." Instead of discarding his tactical earpiece, Yuho yanked it off and jammed its ultra-sensitive microphone directly against the device's mini-speaker, intentionally triggering a massive audio feedback loop. Drawing a deep breath into his lungs, he unleashed an ear-splitting roar straight into the rigged system: "SHATTER THEM!!!"
An overwhelming, directional sonic boom swept through the void like a hurricane. Dozens of No. 14 phantoms vaporized into ash instantly. Caught dead center in reality, the real No. 14 was violently blasted in the chest by the shockwave, vomiting black blood as it was hurled backward. The world of absolute darkness shattered like fragile glass, dragging both of them back to the ruined highway. Wiping a bead of sweat from his forehead, Yuho offered a cold, merciless smile. "You are dead meat."
Back on the main battlefield, Ryuden let out a battle cry, lunging toward the Juggernaut. But—SWISH! The giant instantly vanished from his line of sight. The air detonated. Despite its massive, towering size, the Juggernaut materialized right in front of Ryuden, its speed multiplying to terrifying new heights. Ryuden was caught completely off guard, forced entirely onto the defensive. He barely managed to raise the thick shaft of his ax in time. BANG! BANG! BANG! The Juggernaut unleashed an endless, brutal barrage of sledgehammer-like punches, forcing the General back relentlessly, his iron boots gouging deep trenches into the concrete.
"What's the matter?" the Juggernaut taunted, its fists becoming a blur. "Can't keep up? You sure had a lot to say a minute ago!" Slipping past the heavy ax shaft, the beast violently twisted its hips, pouring one hundred percent of its monstrous, inhuman strength into a devastating long hook.
CRASSHHH!!! Ryuden took the catastrophic blow directly to his ribs. The impenetrable Armor No. 8 cracked wide open, fragments of metal exploding outward. The General and his heavy ax were launched dozens of meters through the air, violently crashing into and crumpling the steel median barrier of the highway. He coughed up a massive pool of blood, his vision blurring.
Cracking its knuckles, the Juggernaut slowly advanced toward Ryuden's broken body, raising its massive fist to deliver the final, crushing blow. Suddenly, a cold, authoritative voice—No. 12's voice—echoed from an invisible communication device. It was the exact moment the absolute retreat order was issued.
The Juggernaut stopped dead in its tracks. It clicked its tongue, its monstrous face twisting into a display of sheer disappointment and boredom. "Tch... A retreat order. Just when things were getting fun." It looked down at the bleeding General one last time. "See ya around, old man."
Abandoning Ryuden, the beast sprinted toward No. 14, who was still sprawled on the ground, struggling to breathe after Yuho's sonic blast. The Juggernaut hoisted its blind comrade by the neck like a ragged doll, then leaped straight into a newly opened spatial portal. The dimensional rift snapped shut, leaving absolutely no trace of their existence.
From the distance, Yuho rushed over to provide backup, his makeshift sonic weapon still clutched tightly in his hand. He froze in the middle of the devastated highway, staring at the empty space where the monsters had just been, his face an absolute picture of bewilderment. "...What the hell just happened?"
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