Raiden blocked two quick punches, his arm aching slightly. Kanesaki threw two more with his other arm, connecting with Raiden's chest in rapid succession. Retaliating, Raiden send a forward kick which Kanesaki blocked with his elbow before uppercutting - Raiden leaned back to dodge quickly.
'You're looking kinda rattled, lieutenant... Something wrong?'
Raiden felt a small bead of sweat fall down his forehead as he smiled admittedly.
'I must say, I'm surprised you can still stand, let alone fight back. Although, it's not common for a Chimera undergoing cracking.'
The word had made Kanesaki pause, he remembered hearing it from Oki and 344 back on the last operation, before he killed them. He didn't know what they meant. Clenching his fist, he pointed at Raiden with a concerned but angry look.
'What the hell is that, huh!?'
A chuckle caught Raiden. His eyes locked onto Kanesaki's.
'Cracking: the term for when a Chimera undergoes severe mental instability, leading to a sudden power spike and immense bodily trauma, as well as an insatiable bloodlust. However, you don't seem to possess the latter, instead you just seem pissed off. The term was given the name since it's recognisable by a Chimera's pupils 'cracking' like glass. Chimera that experience cracking are to be killed on sight.'
Staring in confusion, Kanesaki just clenched his fists harder, sighing too.
'That's why they wanted to kill me, huh...'
Looking ahead, Raiden hummed.
'What was that?'
'Nothing... But thanks for the info, bastard.'
Kanesaki stretched his arms behind him, cracking his back in the process before cracking his neck too. Raiden walked past him to retrieve his spear from the truck.
'Alright... Guess it's time for a proper fight then... And I really wanna kill you now, shithead.'
Holding his spear in preparation, Raiden smiled.
'From bastard to shithead. Your insults are pointless besides amusement.'
Pulling the blade from his body, Kanesaki tilted his head to look at the the lieutenant.
'Meh, don't care...'
Nishihara stood, his body slightly recovered with the YNS. He saw the two getting ready to clash again and went to help Kanesaki, but he put a hand out to the officer.
'Nishihara, heal up fully first... I don't know how long I can hold on against him like this, but I'll try to kill him... You shouldn't be the one killing him...'
Nishihara sighed and smiled contentedly.
'Fine... Just survive...'
Nodding grimly, Kanesaki braced himself as Raiden closed the distance with quick, heavy steps. In a flash, Kanesaki dashed forward to meet him, their clash sending a tremor through the ground and blasting a gust of dust outward. Sparks exploded as Kanesaki dragged his blade along Raiden's spear, skimming it all the way to the tip.
Raiden retaliated with a vicious sweep aimed at Kanesaki's midsection, but Kanesaki sidestepped just in time, countering with a sharp thrust toward Raiden's neck. The spear spun upward in a blur, knocking the attack aside. In the same motion, Raiden bent his front leg low and rammed the blunt end of the spear into Kanesaki's chest, knocking the air from his lungs and leaving him wide open.
Recovering quickly, Kanesaki threw up his blade to parry the next swing, blocking a flurry of quick, precise thrusts. Each strike crackled with lightning, Raiden's weapon flashing bright with each empowered blow. A sudden burst of light stunned Kanesaki, his defenses faltering.
Seizing the moment, Raiden lunged forward on one leg and unleashed a powerful, winding kick that slammed into Kanesaki's body, sending him flying backward across the burning battlefield. He crashed into a fallen dropship, rolling over its crumpled surface before slamming to a stop. Kanesaki rolled over the wreckage, dragging blood across the scorched steel. He hacked a mouthful of blood onto the ground, chest heaving, legs quivering as he forced himself back up, swaying but still gripping his sword tightly.
Raiden approached slowly, glancing over to Nishihara before ignoring him again as he called out to Kanesaki atop the ship.
'Chimera! I must say, you did well to defend yourself!'
Hearing the remark, Kanesaki smirked, one eye closed as he reeled from the pain.
'Oh yeah! Guess that means you're not all that eh, shithead!'
Raiden leveled his spear, eyes cutting through the wall of flames to spot Kanesaki charging straight for him. Without hesitation, Raiden sprinted forward too - but just before they collided, he skidded to a halt, whipping his spear into a spinning whirlwind crackling with lightning.
Kanesaki pulled back instinctively, teeth gritted, but Raiden was already pressing the attack. With a sharp upward sweep, the spear carved across Kanesaki's left shoulder. Blood spattered the air - but Kanesaki barely flinched, ignoring the wound as he locked his gaze back on Raiden.
'Neat move, a lighting spin...'
Raiden spun the spear to get a better grip.
'Made it back in the academy. It's useful for reckless opponents.'
Kanesaki laughed, morphing into a cough of blood before he spoke.
'Calling me reckless, shithead?'
Not another word passed between them as they clashed once more. Raiden flowed between swift defense and brutal offense, striking like a storm, while Kanesaki fought just to keep up. His body was already torn in a dozen places, each wound screaming louder with every movement, but he pushed through the mounting pain.
Then - an opening. A sudden, desperate crack in Raiden's guard. Kanesaki ducked low, twisting around a spinning strike, and lunged upward with a wild, blind swing aimed for Raiden's head. An eerie, bloodstained grin split his face.
But as he moved, every wound tore open at once. Blood erupted violently from his body, spraying the ground - and Raiden - with a crimson mist.
Kanesaki dropped to his knees, choking as blood flooded his throat. He could barely breathe. Barely think. And in that moment of weakness, he felt the crackle of Raiden's spear kiss the back of his neck, the blade biting just enough to remind him how close death had come.
'You overworked your body, Chimera. This is your own fault, you don't know your own limitations, especially when cracking.'
Kanesaki choked on his blood as he failed to get even a single word out.
'You're pathetic. I was told that you singlehandedly killed a Yatzul undergoing drastic evolution back in the mining operation. Was that just a lie?'
To cement his words, Raiden pierced Kanesaki's back with the spear as he went on.
'The reports stated that you were the only survivor. Usually, I'd find it surprising that anyone would've survived facing an evolving Yatzul. However, something bothered me, so I ran a few checks.'
The spear was pushed deeper into Kanesaki's back, blood gushing out of the wound as he screamed out, blood pouring like a small waterfall from his mouth.
'The reports stated that an officer had made a call for a transport on a cliff near to the mines, but for some reason, the recovery team found the Yatzul's body within the mines, seemingly killed prior to the call. So, tell me Chimera... Between the time that the Yatzul was killed and the officer made the call, what happened?'
Kanesaki reeled as the spear left his body, the electricity having scorched and cauterised the wound. Raiden stepped back and noticed Nishihara getting up, ready to join the fight again. He scoffed, having to fight his friend yet again bugged him. Grabbing his throat to try and breathe properly, Kanesaki gasped, the blood finally clearing from his throat as he got on one leg, barely able to stay conscious.
'I... I killed them...'
At the words, Raiden's eyes shot down to the weak Chimera.
'Hm?'
'I just said... I killed them... The officer... And the Chimera...'
He stood carefully, his face bloodied as he threw his head back, blood splattering off it onto the ground, his eyes more broken than ever.
'So... You gonna kill me now or what..?'
Raiden's grip tightened around the spear as he raised it high, then swung it down in a brutal arc. Sparks exploded on impact, the ground buckling beneath the sudden force.
Kanesaki was thrown back, crashing onto the shattered floor. He blinked up, dazed - the attack had come too fast, too heavy for him to even process.
A sharp scoff escaped Raiden's lips - but when he looked down, his spear was frozen in place, caught against the broad edge of Nishihara's odachi. The officer stood firm, knees slightly bent, braced against the rubble. One hand gripped the hilt; the other pressed against the blunt side of the blade, holding back the spear's crushing weight.
For a heartbeat, Raiden's eyes narrowed in surprise—his confidence flickering for the first time
'How did you...'
Nishihara pushed back harder, swinging quickly, the slash wounding Raiden's side, leaving a wound by his ribs. Eyes widened, Raiden peered down, registering the pain as blood spilt down his side. He was left speechless. Nishihara took several steps away, staying on guard in case Raiden went for an attack.
"Oi, Kanesaki.'
Kanesaki stood, brushing dust from his trousers as he cracked his neck, the pain was hitting him pretty hard now.
'I've got him, don't worry. Go on, make sure the others are okay, try find that rogue too.'
Weakly nodding, Kanesaki sighed before dashing past the two. Raiden didn't budge, allowing the Chimera to leave, his focus was solely on Nishihara now. The tears of crimson blood flowed from his eyes, pouring out rapidly as he wiped them away. Nishihara's position switched, his shoulders relaxed as his back foot slid up slightly.
'So you've still got it...'
Raiden fixed up his face, staring coldly into Nishihara's eyes. A little amount of blood dropped from his mouth, he didn't wipe it away.
Chapter 22- end