The air in the shattered bunker crackled with raw energy, but now it wasn't just from their blows—it was the weight of the battle's imminent conclusion.
Akuma Kurogane staggered, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, his breath heavy and ragged. His once untouchable confidence now flickered like a dying flame.
Riku pressed forward relentlessly, his every strike a symphony of controlled fury and precision.
With a thunderous roar, Riku launched a devastating right hook that shattered Akuma's jaw, sending him sprawling backward against a cracked pillar.
The titan of destruction gasped, struggling to rise.
"You brat," Akuma growled, wiping the blood from his lips, eyes blazing with stubborn defiance. "I've destroyed planets. I've crushed your father beneath my heel. What makes you think you're any different?"
Riku's gaze hardened, unflinching.
"What makes me different," he said, stepping forward with deliberate calm, "is that when I stepped in where your real dad failed, I became your father."
His voice was steady, unwavering—a challenge and a declaration all at once.
Akuma's expression twisted in rage and disbelief.
Riku lunged forward then, moving faster than thought.
A precise uppercut cracked against Akuma's chin, snapping his head back.
Before the giant could recover, Riku's fist slammed into Akuma's chest with the force of a meteor strike.
The impact shattered ribs and sent shockwaves through the bunker's broken walls.
Akuma fell to his knees, coughing blood, his massive form trembling.
Riku grabbed him by the collar, pulling him close.
"So much wasted potential," Riku said quietly, voice heavy with a mixture of regret and finality. "All eleven of you could have been sparring partners. Even EX-Rank Essence Warriors. But in the end... the world has to balance good and evil."
Akuma's eyes, burning with defiance, flickered with something else—a shadow of fear.
"I'll be back," Akuma spat, voice thick with venom and promise, "one day... to kill you."
Riku tightened his grip.
"But not today," he replied.
With a final, devastating blow—a strike aimed not to maim, but to end—Riku's fist connected with Akuma's temple.
A deafening crack echoed through the shattered bunker.
Akuma's massive body went limp, collapsing onto the rubble-strewn floor.
Silence fell, broken only by the distant rumble of the collapsing ceiling.
Riku stepped back, breathing steady but heavy.
He looked down at the fallen titan and whispered, "Rest now."
The fight was over.
For now.
But the balance of the world had shifted—and the shadows would always return.