Corruption of the End

  ?As the final words left his mouth, Blade and Yuki wasted no more time. Freezing Aru’s legs as Blade withdrew his sword fully and cut off his tendons before landing behind him. Afterwards, turning around to finish the job, he was pushed back by an earth wall that erupted towards him.

  ?It was quickly frozen and shattered by Yuki, though, as she caught up. She was forced back as Aru lunged at her, only to be blocked by Blade, who kicked him away.

  ?“So even when dismembered, you're fine. Do I have to cut you completely or what?”

  ?“Sorry, is my presence intruding? Well, don't worry, I’ll make sure you won't have to bear it much longer.”

  Rushing at him as the earth distorted at his feet, Aru asked his question with glee. If it were not for Yuki freezing the ground, he could have been swallowed whole.

  ?Jumping in the air to lessen his advantage, Blade blocked the first attack that Aru aimed at his face before he was kicked to the ground.

  ?“You know, I like this body quite a bit more than the previous one.”

  ?Aru said, chasing him down to the ground, trying to pummel him, only to be deflected and have his arm slashed by Blade.

  ?“Why? Enjoy being weaker?”

  ?Aru turned around to slam his other fist in his face, only to have his first arm shattered to pieces, as Yuki froze and shattered the arm Blade had cut. Yet even so, the remnants of the arm were glued back together by the same black liquid that oozed from him.

  ?Grabbing Yuki by the arm and slamming her down, Aru was again stopped as Blade caught her in his arms, sliding across the ground as he slashed Aru through his torso. Since punching did not work, Aru tried stomping down on both of them while they were down. To save them, Yuki created icicles that erupted to pierce him, forcing Aru to jump in the air.

  Staying in the air, Aru looked down as the ground began filling with pillars that exploded outwards, causing earthquakes in the nearby vicinity.

  ?Creating a platform of ice on top of the roof of the ruins, Blade settled Yuki down there as Aru drifted down to their level.

  ?“The reason I like this body is only because of all the regrets in it. The deliciousness is otherworldly. All these pent-up feelings, all these pent-up emotions, all for me.”

  ?Blade could only look at him with a blank face, not able to connect with whatever he was talking about. It was beyond him.

  ?“When we fought, I could sense all his feelings, his anger, his burning revenge. It was all so taunting, creeping up my senses.”

  ?“What joy do you get from this?”

  ?Yuki asked him. For her, causing pain for pleasure was something she had seen but never understood.

  ?“Why? What else would I get from this pathetic planet? Watch it grow? Observe your evolution? Your suffering is the only worthy thing that can come from this pathetic speck of dirt in this miserable galaxy. So continue to suffer. Continue being the lacking failure of an underdeveloped species you truly are.”

  A sadistic smile played on his face, as Aru uttered those words, before looking down at them, as his face was tearing up.

  ?“Revel in the fact your own lack of perfection is what led you here, and regret the day you ever crossed me.”

  ?Aru said as his face tore in two. The black liquid forming spikes that shot out after them.

  ?Blade and Yuki split up, trying to avoid them, only to figure out that the spikes followed them through the air. They moved after them expertly, avoiding everything in the pursuit of the two of them. And it did not help that Aru only continued to create more from the cracks forming on his face.

  ?The only other sound than the flowing darkness and running was the laughing that rose from Aru's mangled body, laughing at their desperation.

  ?Yuki was the first to try and stop the spikes. Using ice constructs in an attempt to make them explode, only for the spikes to accurately avoid each of her attempts, without losing speed. That was also when she realized the spikes could have impaled them by now. Their speed was adjusting to where it was just barely being outpaced. He did not want to kill them yet, he wanted them to feel the most fear at their death.

  ?Noticing this too, Blade decided it was better to face them head on, turning around to catch the spikes while they turned as he met them in a clash. It ended in an explosion, though, as the spikes were nothing but containers for the true explosion within.

  The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  ?Yet as the explosion cleared, Blade did not find himself on the ground, but in the grasp of Aru, as he was held by his neck. Aru's body was stretching from the darkness. Now taller, yet with skin tearing from the unnaturally expanding muscles. Vessels of blood were popping, unleashing more liquid darkness, and his nerves were both corroding and creating more paths simultaneously.

  ?“That fighting style of yours, it feels familiar.”

  ?Aru said while crushing Blade’s neck, pressing his windpipe, enjoying the failing struggle of Blade.

  ?“What about… my father?”

  ?Blade wheezed out. He knew he was wasting air by talking, but he wanted to hear whatever he had to tell, if he truly knew Ryuma.

  ?“Your father? Oh yeah, now I remember. You're Blade, the adopted child of the [Sword Saint]."

  ?Yuki, who had gotten impaled, struggled getting up as she leaned into the wall of the ruins. Her once pure white fur had been stained red by her own blood. Yet she stood, needing to hear what he had to say.

  ?“Your father was an ant crawling under my skin.”

  ?“What’s that supposed to mean?”

  ?Blade asked out of genuine curiosity.

  ?“He has always disturbed me. From the moment he first killed the sword god. I have waited. Waited for a chance to rip him apart. Yet the chance never came, or at least I thought. But there was this one day. To strengthen the devotion the people in a village had in their guardian deity, I used some of the power I had garnered to temporarily manifest in the vicinity, then have the guardian deity defeat me. Yet someone else came in the way.”

  ?Aru face was a mix of a smirk and a sneer, yet Blade quickly realized what he was talking about, thinking back to how Ryuma had been killed.

  ?“Seems like a memory of yours awoke. Your father… was a plague. I had let myself go a bit loose, to maximize the fear that could fester there. Little would I have known an ant would come running. He tried fighting me, yet an ant would never defeat a god.”

  ?“Seems like he was quite memorable… for an ant crawling through your skin.”

  ?Blade retaliated.

  ?“Truly so. An ant I crushed like never before. Yet his most infuriating thing was how he held no regrets. Tell me, did he simply not love his child?”

  ?He said, bringing Blade closer to his face, to stare him dead in the eyes. Wanting the truth on how pathetic, spare-parts-made species produced someone who didn’t regret anything.

  ?“Had no regrets…”

  ?Blade had never known what to think of Ryuma’s death up until now. But after hearing this, it was like something in his mind finally became clear. Ryuma held no regrets. It was a welcoming feeling, even in the predicament he found himself in. Blade believed Ryuma had loved him, even if he still was unsure what that truly meant, and so he voiced the only thing he truly could say for sure.

  ?“Why should I answer? Shouldn't you know?”

  ?At his words, Blade was slammed into the ground. Then a spike flew from Aru’s arm, making it finally collapse in on itself as they crawled out of all the openings his arms held. The spike pierced through Blade’s chest before dragging him through the ground and into a mountain side.

  ?“Now the both of you have felt what it means to crawl under a god’s skin.”

  ?Aru said angrily. Blade's words had utterly pushed him over the line, truly irritating him.

  ?Yet Blade’s was not the only bug present. Blocking Yuki's attempted strike at his body, Aru swatted away the ice aimed at him. Only for a sound to catch his attention. the gleam of metal hurtling towards him. Butt he got no time to see, as Yuki grabbed his arm, letting herself be pierced by the darkness which began mutilating her, but she persevered, slowly freezing his chest and managing to get his neck too. By then, she was thrown off as her arms and legs had been utterly deformed. The adrenaline was helping her persevere through even as the pain exploded through her, but it was enough.

  ?The gleam of metal struck its target. As a sword, the darkest black, severed Aru’s head.

  ?The face present was not surprise, no that would be an imperfection. But so was the contradiction happening in front of him. Something not even his darkness could fix, his head falling to the ground, and the sword landing behind Yuki.

  ?In the last moment of consciousness, Aru could simply wonder how. Only to realize where the sword came from. Blade. As he had been dragged and used to rip apart the earth, Blade had thrown his sword with all his might towards Aru, and with the momentary distraction Yuki provided, it had been enough.

  ?Meanwhile, Blade was bleeding to death. Trying and failing to close his wounds. He used his mana, trying to form it into something, anything that could help him. And then it happened. The near-death experience allowed him to create a needle with a string attached. It was not special, was not magical, but it was just enough to bring him on the right side of the string of death.

  ?He took a while, but he managed to close up the major wounds, yet when the needle broke, he did not feel the strength to create a new one. He barely even noticed he had created one at first, due to the toll.

  ?He managed to push himself from the crater he had been forced into. Crawling to the nearest tree, it felt like stones were embedded inside his arms and legs, scraping and scarring him for each movement he made.

  ?When he reached the tree, he found the sturdiest branch laying on the ground and using it to slowly stand up. Walking towards Yuki. It took time, especially due to the fact he had to go around the devastated earth to make it easier on his body, but eventually they were together again.

  Finding Yuki, he saw her with frozen limbs, yet when he asked, she revealed she did it to herself to lessen the immense pain creeping up on her.

  ?Her face was stained by blood, and her eyes were shedding brittle tears. Yet she was relieved, knowing that Blade too was alive.

  ?After some struggle, Blade managed to help her up so she could at least sit. Having her seated, he gathered all the remaining healing items they had and used them on the two of them, though prioritizing Yuki who was in a worse condition.

  ?By the time it all was empty, Blade could move decently with the branch, and minimally without it. While Yuki could at least move her limbs, even if they felt numb and simultaneously caused her pain.

  ?Blade also picked up his sword, before noticing how the dark blood ran from Aru’s body. Unsure of what to do with it, he turned to ask Yuki, though what caught his eye wasn't her, but the rubble blocking the ruins. They were… leaking?

  ?Yuki looked similarly confused when she followed Blade’s sight. Yet when the liquid’s color was revealed, they both realized that the horror wasn't over.