**BOOM!**
Hajime
**vanished from sight**—a flash of blue and orange tearing through the arena.
He **kicked off a chunk of arena floor**, rocketing into Jessica with a
**flaming uppercut** that collided with her demonic aura.
The ground
shattered beneath them.
The two
clashed, and every impact sent **shockwaves** through the stadium. Sparks.
Flame. Magic pressure ripping the air apart.
Spectators
covered their eyes.
>
**Sockoo (watching, tears building):**
> “Go,
Hajime… Rage it to the very end.”
> **Daka
(barely conscious, whispering):**
> “Go…”
>
**Rizra (bloodied, smirking faintly):**
> “…Win…”
The stadium
didn’t know it yet.
But the
**Raging Devil** was awake. **Hajime slammed into the arena wall**, blood
dripping from his mouth, nose, and arms. His semi-armor flickered—cracks
forming across the burning plating. The **phoenix flame sputtered**. The crowd
gasped as his body **slid down the wall**, leaving behind a streak of crimson.
Jessica
stood at the center of the arena, **demonic flames swirling violently around
her**, hair floating as if underwater. Her voice wasn’t hers anymore—**deeper,
warped**, like a cursed echo.
>
**Jessica (demonic):**
>
“You’re still standing? Even after I took your leg earlier... You just don’t
learn, Onii-chan.”
Hajime
groaned and tried to rise, one hand bracing against the wall, legs trembling.
His missing leg had been cauterized by his own magic just to stop the
bleeding—but the pain was overwhelming.
>
**Hajime (weakly, trying to smile):**
>
“You're… definitely Baku’s daughter. That punch felt like a truck on steroids…”
Jessica’s
smile twitched—**a flicker of recognition or fury**.
Then she
appeared in front of him in an instant—**a burst of speed too fast to
follow**—and slammed her knee into his gut. Hajime **vomited blood**, body
arching.
>
**BOOM!!**
The impact
left a crater behind Hajime’s spine and **blasted him across the arena**,
flipping in the air like a ragdoll before he crashed.
The stadium
went silent.
Even the
Music Strikers were frozen—**Sockoo shaking**, blood-stained and helpless.
>
**Emily (shouting from the stands):**
>
“SOMEBODY STOP THIS! SHE’S GOING TO KILL HIM!”
> **Yu
(gritting teeth):**
> “He
can’t even dodge anymore… His body’s done.”
Jessica
slowly walked toward Hajime’s crumpled body, demonic energy humming around her.
>
**Jessica (cold):**
> “I’ll
end it, brother. You should’ve let me win. Why do you always abandon me…?”
She raised
her hand—**a spear of flame forming** in her palm. She aimed for his heart.
But then—
**Hajime
spoke. Low. Almost like a whisper.**
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
>
**Hajime (smiling through blood):**
>
“You’re crying… Jess.”
She froze.
Her hand trembled.
>
**Hajime (whisper):**
> “I… I
won’t abandon you… I never did…”
Jessica
blinked—and a **single tear** fell from her corrupted eye.
That
moment—
**The
phoenix flame reignited.**
**A
blinding burst of blue-orange light** swallowed Hajime’s body—his semi-armor
cracking off completely.
>
**Phoenix (screaming from within):**
>
“RELEASING LAST LIMIT—RAGING ASCENSION!!”
From the
shattered remnants of his armor, **wings of flame erupted**—massive, celestial,
burning brighter than the sun. Hajime’s body healed slightly, not completely,
but just enough to stand. One leg still gone, yet he stood, fire swirling
around the missing limb like a prosthetic of light.
He looked
**burned**, bloodied, exhausted…
But his
eyes were clear.
>
**Hajime (voice steady):**
> “Jess.
If you want to kill me… fine. But I’m gonna reach you first.”
And with a
single wing-flap—
**He
charged forward one last time.**
**Everything
was fading.**
Hajime
couldn’t see anymore—only vague flashes of color. His ears were ringing. His
body felt like **a melting candle**, legs weak, chest broken, flames
sputtering.
The world
around him spun wildly.
He tried to
raise a hand—**but it didn’t even feel like his.**
>
**Hajime (mind flickering):**
>
*“What’s… happening…? My body… can’t move… My flames… gone?”*
His
thoughts were barely forming.
> *“I’m
gonna die… huh…? …That’s fine. I’m so tired…”*
His
**vision blacked out again**, only small slivers of light poking
through—Jessica’s towering demonic figure… his friends far away… and blood
pooling beneath him.
Then—
> **A
small hand touched his cheek.**
Not real.
Not now. It was from the past.
A memory.
A little
girl’s hand. Warm. Familiar.
>
**Jessica (young, voice echoing in his memory):**
> “Big
bro… don’t give up, okay? You promised you’d always be my hero.”
>
**Young Hajime (from the memory):**
> “Even
if I lose my arms and legs, I’ll still fight. For you.”
His heart
skipped.
The pain
screamed louder. His vision throbbed, his skull ringing—but through the haze,
something… something *ignited.*
A beat.
Then another.
>
**Hajime (in his broken mind):**
>
*“You’re right… Jess. I promised.”*
The blue
flames in his chest sparked once.
**Fwoom.**
> *“Even
if I’m done… even if I can’t feel anything anymore…”*
**Fwoom.**
> *“Even
if I’m not strong enough—”*
**Fwoom.**
> *“I
CAN’T DIE YET.”*
The ground
cracked under him. His body, acting on sheer **will**, dragged itself upright.
His
eyes—white-hot with faint flame—locked onto the demonic Jessica.
>
**Hajime (croaking, barely a whisper):**
> “RA…GE
ON…”
Jessica’s
eyes widened, just for a moment. The words… they hit something inside her.
He could
barely breathe. Barely move. But somehow, with **no fuel left**, Hajime forced
his flaming spirit into one final stance—half-kneeling, one arm dangling, the
other burning again.
Not to win.
Not to
live.
But to
**keep his promise.**
To reach
his sister.
To never
give up.
---**The
battlefield went silent.**
Hajime’s
broken, bloodied figure stood in front of the demonic Jessica—**barely alive**,
barely holding it together. His left hand trembled, the energy condensing in
his palm like a dying star.
>
**Hajime (whispering through clenched teeth):**
>
“...Dra…gon…”
The beam
crackled. A low rumble echoed through the arena as a **spiral of fire and
energy** coiled around his arm, forming a compressed **Dragon Gun**. The force
of it shook the ground beneath him.
Jessica,
possessed by her monstrous aura, charged again—feral and deadly.
But Hajime
didn’t move. He **couldn’t**. His body was at its limit. He could barely
breathe. But the flame in his heart never dimmed.
>
**Hajime (voice cracking, as tears and sweat mixed with blood):**
>
“...GUNNNNN!!!”
**BOOOOMMMM!!!**
A **massive
beam**, shaped like a dragon’s head, erupted from Hajime’s hand—so bright it
turned the entire arena white. The force tore through the air, slamming into
Jessica. Her demonic form screeched and pushed back against it, trying to
resist. Her feet skidded, her aura flared—but Hajime **kept pushing**.
>
**Hajime (screaming through the pain):**
> “I
WON’T LOSE TO YOU, JESS!! I PROMISED I’D PROTECT YOU!!!”
His **left
arm exploded in blood**, muscles tearing, bones cracking—the magic in his arm
was ripping it apart from the inside.
>
**Crowd:**
>
*“STOP! HE’S GOING TO KILL HIMSELF!!”*
>
**Sockoo (shouting):**
>
“HAJIME!!”
But he
didn’t stop. He **couldn’t**.
The beam
grew brighter. Jessica’s form finally cracked—the demonic resolve shattering
under the pure force of Hajime’s will. Her aura exploded outward as she was
blown back, crashing into the far end of the stadium and lying still.
The moment
the blast ended, the wind died.
Hajime’s
arm was **gone**—just scorched, dripping muscle and twitching nerves.
He stood
still, shaking.
Looking up
at the sky…
And then—
>
**Hajime (barely audible):**
>
“...Rage… on…”
His legs
buckled, but his pride refused to let him fall. So he **fainted standing**, his
eyes rolling back, body limp—but never hitting the ground.
Everyone
stared.
>
**Sockoo (in awe, voice trembling):**
>
“...He… stood through it all…”
She didn’t
even realize she was crying.
> *“Even
with his arm destroyed… even with everything breaking… he didn’t fall…”*
The crowd
erupted into cheers. The battlefield was silent no more.
The **Flame
Devil** had won.
And he
never even **collapsed**.
**[INT.
MEDICAL ROOM – MOMENTS LATER]**
The bright
lights buzz faintly above as **Sockoo**, bruised, bloodied, and breathing hard,
**carries Hajime in her arms**—his entire left side soaked in blood, his head
leaning against her shoulder, unconscious but somehow still... warm.
>
**Sockoo (shouting):**
> “OPEN
THE DAMN DOOR! HE’S DYING!”
The medical
team rushes to the door as Sockoo kicks it open with her foot. The doctors and
mages gasp upon seeing the condition of the boy in her arms.
>
**Medic 1:**
> “His
entire left arm is shredded! Muscle tears, complete bone damage—his magic lines
are collapsing!”
>
**Medic 2:**
> “He’s
in *Afterburn Recovery Shock*! Get the stasis crystal—NOW!”
They
scramble into action, but **Sockoo isn’t letting go**. She marches forward,
carefully placing Hajime down on the glowing healing slab—but stays right
beside him, gripping his right hand tightly.
Her
knuckles are bleeding. Her face is scratched. And yet her eyes—**soft,
terrified**—never leave his.
>
**Sockoo (whispering):**
> “You…
you idiot…”
His
breathing is shallow. A monitor glows beside the slab, showing his vitals
dipping in and out.
>
**Medic Mage:**
>
“Stabilizing… pumping restorative magic… activating nerve barrier… come on,
kid…”
>
**Sockoo (quietly, trembling):**
> “You
said ‘whatever happens, don’t die’… but you almost did, Hajime. You almost…”
She leans
down, placing her forehead gently against his.
>
**Sockoo (softly, trying to smile):**
> “I
hate you. I hate how you always try to do it all alone… You could’ve let
someone help. You always think dying is the answer to winning.”
She closes
her eyes, a single tear dropping onto his cheek.
>
**Sockoo:**
> “You
better wake up. Not for the team. Not for the tournament. For me. *Because I’ll
never forgive you if you don’t.*”
The
machines hum louder, magical glyphs pulsing brighter around Hajime's body as
the healing begins to take hold. His breathing steadies—just a bit.
>
**Medic 1:**
> “He’s
stabilizing. It’s a miracle he’s alive… but he won’t wake up for a while. His
body needs time. And probably a miracle or two.”
Sockoo
nods, never letting go of his hand.
>
**Sockoo:**
> “He
doesn’t need a miracle.”
She smiles
faintly and squeezes tighter.
>
**Sockoo (softly):**
> “He
just needs a reason.”
And she was
ready to be it.
---
