Ze’s fist smashed against Sen’s face, who was holding Hono’s limp body by her hair, preventing him from slamming her head once more on the soggy ground. The power of his punch, reinforced by Touch, flung Sen away from assaulting Hono any further than he already had.

  Ze grimaced when he looked at his companion’s mutilated face. At times like these, he wished he didn’t have Sight. That way, he wouldn’t need to see the brutal details of Hono’s injuries. A chunk of flesh from the bottom of her eyebrow hung loose, while her nose had been completely smushed flat and broken. Blood obscured her face so much that it was difficult to distinguish which other wounds she had sustained. However, one thing was clear—if he had not stepped in when he did, Hono would be dead—crushed and maimed by a monster in human skin. As he held her body in his arms—shrugging to stand amid the thrashing whirlwinds—he couldn’t help but think his own wounds were minor compared to hers.

  His jaw hung numbly, broken from Sen’s powerful punch just moments ago. The only reason he was still standing was because his body was more powerful and stronger than that of a normal person who had the same senses. He could thank Yami for that.

  And yet... Ze thought to himself, leaping into the forest with Hono in his grasp. And yet... I’m not strong enough against him. All the experimenting that Yami did on me. All that torture, just to be outclassed by a person lucky enough to be accepted by the White Tiger. It doesn’t seem fair.

  He traveled as far as he could through the forest in the time he had and placed Hono’s brutally assaulted body behind a cluster of shrubbery. Then he dashed back toward the clearing, hoping that his attack bought him just enough time to save Hono from further injuries. At least for now.

  No... this mission has nothing to do with me defeating Sen to begin with. I’m letting my emotions get the best of me. I was never meant to hone that power, and now, seeing the extent of it... the destruction that it can cause... maybe it’s for the best that I never did. If I had, I would be forced to live in fear of losing control of myself to that... that monster. I would be a danger to everyone I care about. That doesn’t seem like the life I would want. No... that doesn’t seem like the life anyone would want. To think Master Zero suffered through this all alone four hundred and forty-two times and still pushed forward for a better future—It’s remarkable. My suffering is merely a drop in an ocean compared to his. How foolish of me to even think so selfishly. I can’t let him down. I cannot jeopardize the mission!

  With his jaw still hanging limply, he dashed into the clearing, covering his eyes to block the fierce whirlwinds of energy. His hearing could barely focus on where exactly Sen was hiding from the howling whistle of the gales, and his keen Sight couldn’t even pierce through the tempest that enveloped the clearing.

  My hearing... my sight? Why aren’t they picking up anything in this stupid storm? he asked himself, his eyes flickering with a blue hue as he tried hard to pierce through the winds and make out Sen’s hiding figure. When that didn’t work, he concentrated on his hearing in hopes of somehow drowning out the violent whistles to hear Sen’s footsteps.

  Alas, none of them seemed to be doing anything.

  His Touch, however, strangely worked perfectly when he channeled and activated it—the Sense-Energy reinforcing his muscles and tendons, while his skin tightened as it grew tougher and numb to combat pain. This revelation led him to a conclusion.

  I see... the winds of Sense Energy that Sen is releasing obviously belong to the White Tiger monster, and since I’m also a failed vessel, they are interfering with my ability to hear and see properly. It’s like a computer virus that’s blocking access. It’s the same reason Sen’s ability to drain Sense Energy and freeze a person in place wouldn’t work on me either. Our genetic bond is interfering with each other. This is going to be a little more difficult than I imagined. He attempted to grit his teeth, but only a crack vibrated in his jaw.

  I need to find an opening for him. If only Sen would release these stupid whirlwinds, it would make my life a lot easier. Regardless, Master Zero wanted this to happen. The plan is unfolding just as he foretold, although a heads-up that the whirlwinds would interfere with my powers would have been nice, Ze thought to himself, his eyes darkening. If that’s the case... then our fates have already been decided.

  Swoosh...

  Ze instinctively dodged his head to the right as Sen’s fist barely grazed his left cheek in slow motion from the corner of his eye. Before his brain could process what was happening, he grabbed hold of Sen’s attacking arm and, with as much strength as his Touch was capable of, jerked Sen’s body over his head in an arc and hurled him face-first into the ground.

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  A loud crash exploded, and a crater formed in the earth where Ze had thrown Sen. The sudden redirected attack stunned the monster controlling Sen for a moment as he lay in the small crater, the air knocked out of his lungs from the impact.

  Your little energy gales might have interfered with my hearing and sight, which rely on detecting and perceiving the external world, but you still haven’t taken away my Touch, Ze snarled in his mind.

  He didn’t allow Sen a moment to recover. Ze lunged, his fists raising above his head, ready to smash into Sen’s body. As Ze descended toward him, Sen let out a violent roar. The whirlwind of energy emanating from Sen intensified exponentially, pushing Ze’s plummeting attack backward and sending his body flying into the air.

  In the brief moment of being airborne, Ze saw the entire circular clearing below him, surrounded by a dome of dark, slightly glowing wind conjured by Sen’s outpouring of Sense Energy. It was terrifying to look at, and as Ze plummeted back down, he grimaced at the thought of being trapped inside it once more, where he wouldn’t have the ability to use his other senses.

  Yet he had no choice but to confront the thrashing dome of energy again as he met the ground with a large boom, a small crater forming beneath his landing feet. Luckily, the airstream softened his landing, at least a little.

  Surely he doesn’t have enough Sense Energy to keep this up. Maybe I should have stopped him from consuming all that fear from those contestants, or at least brought less to sacrifice. Was Master Zero wrong about the calculations? Did we bite off more than we can chew?

  Ze felt the air pressure behind him churn and intensify.

  His gut lurched as he swung around and dove his fist directly into Sen’s stomach. Ze grinned in satisfaction.

  Due to the change in air pressure, the wind exuding from Sen’s body had basically warned Ze that he was attacking. If Sen had just stayed in place, I wouldn’t be able to recognize where he was. At least when I make mistakes, I learn from them, he spat to himself. If I had figured out that the air pressure change indicated that Sen was attacking, then my broken jaw would still be intact.

  Perhaps he spoke too soon.

  Ze’s attacking arm wouldn’t move.

  Sen had purposely taken the punch in order to grab hold of his arm. It seemed that humans weren’t the only ones capable of learning from their mistakes. Sen’s face smiled—it didn’t belong to a human or a monster. No... the smile belonged to a devil relishing in its victims’ pain.

  With furious waves of energy exuding from his body, Sen clutched Ze’s arm, feeling the nails digging into his tough skin, reinforced with Touch. That didn’t seem to matter, as Sen’s nails were able to penetrate it, slowly burrowing deeper and deeper, causing blood to spurt like a sprinkler.

  Ze didn’t have a chance to scream; better yet, to form a counterattack before Sen started to swing his body in circles, holding him only by the one arm that Ze had been foolish enough to attack with.

  Sen flung Ze’s body into the air yet again, the wind thrashing against him in all directions. After a few moments of the wind toying with him, he was sent directly into a large boulder almost two times his size. The hard rock crunched against his spine, knocking the air out of Ze’s lungs upon impact, making it even more difficult to breathe aside from his broken jaw.

  Sen fell from the sky, his legs crashing into Ze’s stomach and causing the boulder beneath him to crack in half. Ze found himself facing a flurry of punches raining down on his face, long before he had the chance to draw a breath from the previous assault.

  Smash. Crunch.

  Smash. Crunch.

  Smash. Crunch.

  Over and over again, punches that were equivalent to an elephant’s stomp overwhelmed him. Just minutes ago, he had been doing the same exact thing to Sen, just before the tides had turned. Ze had been expecting a challenging fight... even more, he expected to die. He was warned that he might die.

  So now faced with the gates of death, why did he doubt his decision? Why now, after the damage had been done, was he hearing the sound of regret ring in his ears? Was his resolve so weak that he couldn’t even come to terms with his own choices?

  Master gave me a choice, Ze thought, the world slowed down, and Sen’s attacking figure became awfully blurry.

  “So tell me, Ze... even after everything that I told you. Even after knowing that the possibility of you dying may happen, will you help me change the future of this world?” his master had asked him. “The choice is all up to you. If you deny, I’ll erase your memory of us ever meeting, and you’ll live your life as you want it—that is, until... Sen destroys this world.”

  “That seems like an easy answer to me. If I’m going to die anyway by Sen’s hands, might as well save the world in the process,” Ze told him.

  “Really? Even when you could live a peaceful life for a little while?”

  “...My life has been nothing but a living hell since the day I was born. No amount of years of peace could give back what was stolen from me,” Ze said.

  “I see... but why do you wish to save a world that hurt you so much?” his master asked.

  “I could say the same thing about you.” Ze smiled. “Why do you continue to fight for a better future even after you failed so many times? Sometimes the things we do don’t follow logical sense, do they?”

  His master chuckled. “I suppose you’re right. I could have turned against the world many times, turned it into my utopia, lived a fruitful and peaceful life, and even died, ending the cycle. Yet after four hundred and forty-two times, I still strive to create the perfect world. That doesn’t really seem logical now that I think about it.”

  “We’re quite similar in that regard, then,” Ze mused.

  “Indeed...” His master nodded with a slight smile. “You are my brother after all.”

  .........................