Whispers of Shikiban:The king walks among us-Chapter 61 --

The Shikiban roared.

Not with breath—but pressure. Weight. A low-frequency quake that buzzed in the teeth and cracked the stones beneath them. Its stone-carved chest heaved, veins of glowing red pulsing beneath its cracked armor. The damage Yeaga inflicted had opened something inside it—rage, deeper than words.

Daigo staggered to his feet, blood trailing from a gash on his temple. His limbs screamed protest, but he pushed forward anyway, boots dragging through broken gravel. The earth still trembled beneath them—magma still pulsed in the rift behind Ishigo. They had seconds, maybe less, before the monster regained full control.

Yeaga spun both chainsaws and crouched low. "That got his attention."

Ishigo wiped blood from his lip. His scythe crackled softly, flickers of blue trying to relight along the blade. His voice was cold. Hollow.

"We're ending this."

The Shikiban didn't wait. It lunged.

Not with clumsy, brute force—but terrifying speed. A blur of stone and fury.

Yeaga barely ducked under the first swing. A chunk of mountain shattered behind him. He didn't stop moving—he darted forward, chainsaws shrieking to life, slicing low.

The teeth bit into stone. Sparks erupted.

But the Shikiban twisted, faster than before.

Its elbow drove into Yeaga's side. A blunt, armored spike. He was flung sideways like a sack of bones, crashing through shattered rock, coughing blood.

"YEAGA!" Daigo's voice cracked.

He launched forward, instinct taking the reins.

Stone spiraled around his arms, raw and jagged. Not sculpted—summoned. Pure earth magic channeled through desperation.

"Stonebind Hammer!"

He swung wide—an improvised weapon of stone slamming into the Shikiban's knee. The impact echoed.

The giant buckled, one leg sagging.

Daigo didn't stop—he spun and struck again, now both fists wrapped in rock, forming twin gauntlets.

Again. And again.

Crack. Crack. Crack.

The creature roared, this time with real pain. But pain wasn't weakness in a monster like this—it was fuel.

The Shikiban's foot slammed down. A shockwave pulsed outward.

Daigo was blown backward, landing in a heap, rock shattering off his arms.

Smoke and dust curled around the battlefield like breath.

Ishigo emerged from it—silent, scythe lowered. His steps were slow, deliberate. Controlled.

The scythe scraped the ground behind him, leaving a glowing trail.

"You said my fire was weak."

The Shikiban turned, its helm creaking.

"But that was a flicker," Ishigo muttered, his veins lighting up again—deeper blue, hotter. The blade responded with a dull hum, waking.

"You haven't seen the storm."

He swung once.

Air split.

"Blue Flame: Azwa Wind—SECOND FORM!"

The scythe ignited—no longer a clean flame, but a violent spiral of energy. The wind around it pulled inward, like a vortex feeding on the world.

Ishigo disappeared.

He shot forward in a blur of blue and silver.

The first slash tore across the Shikiban's chest—sparks and steam erupted.

The second hit the helm—cracking it clean down the center.

The third—drove the scythe straight into its ribcage.

Blue flame burst outward from the wound, scorching the air.

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The Shikiban howled.

But it didn't fall.

It caught Ishigo mid-spin and hurled him across the battlefield like a comet.

He slammed into a cliff wall, carving a trench through it before dropping, motionless.

Daigo groaned. "Ishigo!"

But the shout was lost—because the Shikiban raised both arms now, stone plates shifting along its spine.

It began to glow.

Runes ignited across its chest and arms—red and orange and deep obsidian.

Yeaga, blood dripping from his lip, forced himself to his feet, leaning on one blade.

"Guys... that's a full charge."

Daigo coughed, tasting iron.

"What kind?"

Yeaga didn't look away. His chainsaw blades twitched in his grip, engines starting again with that hungry grind.

"The kind that ends mountains."

The Shikiban slammed both fists into the ground.

"Crimson Ruin: FINAL SEVERANCE."

The world tore apart.

Rifts opened like lightning strikes across the valley. Magma exploded from them in jagged pillars. The sky itself seemed to fracture under the weight of heat and rage.

Yeaga didn't hesitate.

He charged into the hellstorm, both blades spinning, fire and oil singing.

"YOU WANNA END A MOUNTAIN?" he screamed, leaping high—blades whirling.

"I'LL SHOW YOU HOW TO BREAK A DAMN CONTINENT!"

He struck—

One chainsaw dug into the Shikiban's shoulder. The other—under the arm.

He locked in.

"DAIGO! NOW!!"

Daigo felt it. Not heard. Felt. Like something ancient inside him opened its eyes.

Stone rose beneath him.

Pillars. Platforms. A staircase of battle instinct.

He launched himself forward, hands glowing gold with raw earth energy.

He roared, fists outstretched.

"STONEFENG—CATACLYSM STRIKE!"

He hit the Shikiban mid-chest.

The chainsaws bit deeper.The scythe still burned within the ribcage.Daigo's fists drove through.

And then—

It happened.

The runes across the Shikiban's chest stuttered.

Flickered.

Failed.

A single heartbeat of silence passed.

Then—

BOOM.

The Shikiban exploded inward.

Not like a bomb—like a collapsing star.

The force dragged everything down—stone, air, ash. A gravitational implosion followed by a deafening burst that launched flame and debris sky-high.

The dust took minutes to settle.

And when it did—

Only wreckage remained.

A crater smoldered where the battlefield had been. Cracks webbed out from it in every direction.

Daigo stood at its center, bleeding, coughing, but alive.

Yeaga was on one knee, his jacket in tatters, one blade still sparking.

Ishigo crawled from the rocks, scythe over his shoulder, eyes burning with vengeance.

For a moment, no one spoke.

Then Yeaga wheezed.

"Tell me that was the last form. Please."

Daigo looked around. No rumble. No glow. Just silence.

He nodded.

"It's dead."

Ishigo dropped into a sitting position, groaning. "About time."

Yeaga flopped onto his back, arms spread wide, staring at the gray sky.

"Yo. That better count as a boss fight."

Daigo chuckled, despite the pain. "If it didn't, I'm quitting."

Yeaga laughed weakly. "You can't quit. You're the main character."

Ishigo tossed a stone at him.

"I'm the main character, dumbass."

They sat there in silence, bloodied and bruised, but breathing.

Together.

For now.