Punches were thrown from multiple directions, several body parts gripped onto and a rose carried by boat through the rough tides of the ocean.

The boat rocked even harder, students all around it trying to grab at different parts. Amatsuyu, with little of his sense left in him with the petals left, started to retaliate as he threw punches of his own against the onslaughter of students. As he managed to gain only a few meters of distance between himself and the horde of students, he shouted

"I order you to attack Kaharu Kahari!"

*CLICK*

Kaharu Kahari clicked the button again, and played up the same message as before which made the students turn around quickly to continue their attack. Even though he might not have had the ability to use the students against Amatsuyu properly, but his only strength of using minions had been neutralized. It was most impossible for Amatsuyu to utilize his puppets for an effective attack as long as he had that message.

Amatsuyu realized that as he backed off even more, trying desperately to create some more distance. As one student, braver than the others, jumped against Amatsuyu, his reflexes told him to return a punch.

*Foshaaaa*

*KADON*

His fist landed in the middle of a larger palm, belonging to a very round ghost. Amatsuyu didn't have the time to inspect it properly though as the student who'd attacked to begin with reached Amatsuyu with a fist straight to his shoulder, knocking him several meters behind again. But yet again, he did not have time to rest or even comprehend what was going on as another, even harsher punch landed at his right chin, by a leaping Kaharu.

Leaning against the wall furthest into the hallway, his roughed-up face looking down at the ground with his hair hanging over his eyesight. The last, center part of the rose petals had suddenly fallen to the floor, with the heaviest weight to it. His expression was completely non-intelligible, a brewing and fierce anger started to bubble up within him. A fatigue existed in his head, but that raw emotion burst through his entire body. Like an over-cooking pot, his entire body was boiling. Every single cell, every single fiber of his being was set on fire.

Kaharu stood up with spread-out legs and a smug smirk as he said

" 'Shining rose'? Don't think so highly of yourself!

When you remove all of the petals from a rose,

all you're left with is the stubby, ugly, rotten stalk, aren't you? Like all the rest of us have.

You think you're so special?"

Kaharu started to feel a strange presence, as he hadn't realized yet.

But when a rose was stripped of all its petals,

all that remained were the thorns.

Even more bizarre than the aura the three-boned geezer exerted, and even more menacing than the aura Kosuto's ghost exerted, and rawer than Kaharu's own energy.

The sudden change in the air stunned all people present.

Kaharu suddenly looked back as he saw all of the students lying down on the ground, seemingly unconscious. That cold air that had seemed so persistent before quickly changed into a heated field. Shuffling his hair in suspension, Kaharu got a reflexive premonition to move back several meters. Using his lightning ability as soon as he could, Kaharu stood behind the mountain of students with bent legs. Kosuto looked over at Kaharu and tried to comment

"Kaharu, what are you doi----"

But his attention was also caught by the glowing body of Amatsuyu. A faint red that fizzled out around his silhouette, his whole being seemed to be filled with something strange. As he slowly rose up, his eyes also held that same bright red saturation. Almost like hot air blasting from his body, Kaharu seemed to see gray smoke blow past his legs in an instant.

*KRKK*

Amatsuyu slowly brought his right hand into a fist as he lifted it up, almost like he was testing out his new state. With that action, the students who were seemingly unconscious suddenly started rising up with an even more undead demeanor than before. Kaharu bit his lip as hard as he was capable of without meaning to as a wave of immediate stress ran through his body, he struggled to take the phone out of his pocket.

*CLICK*

With the minions and Amatsuyu slowly starting to approach, Amatsuyu floating slightly over the ground, the message played again through the hallways close to them. But along with the change of lighting, as everything had seemed to get darker except for the light around Amatsuyu and his entourage, there seemed to have been a change in response from that message. Nothing changed at all as they continued to march toward them, Kosuto shooting an estranged look at Kaharu. Kaharu tried to come up with a reason for that sudden change in attitude, as he stumbled upon a reason

"Don't tell me he's…

communicating with them directly…!?"

Like a communications line running straight into the heads of those students, Amatsuyu commanded them on another level. He didn't even have to issue the orders of what to do, they just knew. It was like they were one being, one collective centralized into one center.

The three puzzle-pieces had been thrown out completely, demoted to an obsolete post. There was only one thing guiding Amatsuyu as his pace started to pick up:

Pure, raw, and unfiltered anger.

*BWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO*

Kaharu flew through the entire hallway as he was hit by a loaded punch from Amatsuyu, eventually crash-landing into the floor as he rolled a couple of times. Amatsuyu quickly flew forward to continue his assault as his goons went after Kosuto, who was quickly overwhelmed in his futile attempt to resist the attackers through his punches and kicks. Kaharu quickly got up and ran up to Amatsuyu, summoning the courage to do so, and threw an electricity-loaded punch aimed at the middle of Amatsuyu's torso.

It landed, and managed to knock him back a few meters, which was then followed by a jump-kick that also landed. He didn't want to stop his momentum, as the consequences of doing so would be dire. But Amatsuyu got his act together as he grappled his fists harsher than before and threw another punch at Kaharu.

The sound of a very echoed crack was heard as it landed on Kaharu's shoulder. He gritted his teeth again as he looked up at Amatsuyu, who started to speak

"Stubby, ugly stalk?

That you even dare to speak like that with me…

To even think that you have the nerves to compare me with your pitiful self…

It boils my blood!

It disgusts me!

I despise you…!"

Even if Kaharu's body perhaps wanted to feel fear at that moment, he had no choice but to use a bitter excitement within him to grow stronger mentally. The insults hurled at him, the heated passion behind the anger of Amatsuyu, the desire to win. It all ignited a deep flare within him to keep on struggling, even if desire alone perhaps wouldn't win him the fight.

He'd maybe been mistaken all throughout that campaign to dethrone Amatsuyu. He'd seen that school as temporarily occupied by Amatsuyu. But the place he was in right then was completely different, a truly divine area belonging to Amatsuyu. There was no denying that the place he was in right at that moment belonged to the domain of Amatsuyu, but that realization only brought a stronger desire to topple him. Amatsuyu quickly leaped forward, almost teleporting, as he grabbed Kaharu's school uniform and threw him through a classroom door into the classroom of 1-3. Knocking his head against a couple of desks, Kaharu had a hard time rising up quickly. But as he did, he saw the mark left on his school uniform from that grab, a tainted spot on the upper levels of his jacket. Staring right into the blinding eyes of Amatsuyu, he commented

"Every… Single… Bastard has to touch my school uniform.

Amatsuyu…

I won't even ask why you did all of this shit, right now.

You can tell me later when I've defeated the scum you are."

An even hotter environment was presented as Amatsuyu Kougaku, bursting with more energy, ran forward, getting the same reaction from Kaharu Kahari. They clashed in the middle of their marathon, like a battle between competing Viking factions out in the unreliable seas.

They exchanged blows as each of them both missed and hit their attempts at hurting the other person, but Kaharu noticed quickly that his blows proved lighter than the heavy hits thrown at him. Using his right foot to kick Amatsuyu out of the classroom, Kaharu used his ability to leap forward whilst loading up his arm.

Amatsuyu had a second to react before he was struck by his nose with the heavy electricity-filled punch, boosted by a strong and quick leap forward.

*DON*

But Amatsuyu retaliated with a kick that cast Kaharu backward towards an intersection with another hallway. Whilst in the air, he saw the figure of Amatsuyu approaching him in the air. Without the ability to protect himself in any way, a punch aimed downward led to Kaharu crashing into the floor right in the middle of the intersection.

A quick strategy suddenly came up in his head as he turned to his right, where Kosuto struggled against the horde of students. Seeing his desperate struggle, Kaharu said

"Ey, Kosuto! Now…!"

As Amatsuyu was about to land from his mid-air flight, a ghost suddenly appeared before Kaharu's body. Amatsuyu lifted his arm back as he flung it forward with a powerful punch.

*POKKAAAAAAAA*

The ghost disappeared like a mist lifting from the skies of an early morning, as Kosuto commented

"My ghost…!?"

Facing slight recoil from his blow, Amatsuyu's arm was redacted as he continued to move towards Kaharu. Although he realized his position as he saw a spinning Kaharu in front of him.

"Ravaging… THUNDER!"

The kick he had prepared as the ghost protected him, through using his entire body to spin around with his leg aiming for the side of Amatsuyu's face, landed exactly as planned as the electricity sparked on impact.

*BWOOOOOOO*

Amatsuyu's body flew in a similar manner to how his own did before, eventually crash-landing against the tiled, cold floor with a rough landing.

As Kaharu walked over, with an even greater passion and excitement than before, he figured that the cause behind it maybe laid in an envy. Envy that Amatsuyu was allowed to live out his ideals in being a god, whilst Kaharu had to suffer for his thoughts of being a god. Maybe it was out of care, to prevent Amatsuyu from leading a life full of blissful lies in the ideals he wanted to promote. Maybe as a reminder to himself that he wasn't like Amatsuyu, even though so many things ran true to him, unwanted.

Neither Kaharu nor Amatsuyu cared at that moment. Their bodies approaching each other only carried one intention in the heat of the situation. Like two commanders of Viking ships approaching each other in a battle, they spoke as they walked

"Kaharu, that dumb jacket you have on only helps to worsen your image. Perhaps Gods should be benevolent, but your behavior has proven to be unacceptable, even to the heavens above you. I can't accept you.

You are to become a wandering, lost soul. Not even hell would accept you"

"Amatsuyu, shut up. Let our fists do the speaking, I'm not even sure your own shrine would appreciate the cursed heresy you're attempting."

With their feet off of the tiled floor, the leaped towards each other.

…