"What are you waiting for? Come and attack me... unless you're afraid," Diavolo gave an obvious taunt.

This could be a problem, was what the man subconsciously thought. The boy was supposed to be dead. That injury was not something one can just stand up from.

But he was right there, not just revived, but much stronger. His leap was so great that it didn't seem like his lack of experience with Raze was going to slow him down one bit. This really was troublesome.

But more importantly, "Afraid? Me? Of this kid?!" a nerve struck.

He was angry, not because of the taunt, but because he was correct. From every corner of his body, his instincts were screaming to run away.

However humans were creatures that evolved beyond acting by only instinct. Some think of it as a blessing, since acting by feelings all the time could cause numerous opportunities to slip away. Although, this was not such a moment.

Not following his instincts right now was about to be a mistake this man would pay for with his life.

"DON'T GET COCKY, SQUIRT! AAAAAHHHHHH!!!" he dove within the pillar and attacked.

But it was easily blocked and parried with Diavolo's Raze induced sword. And it was not just regular Pure Raze, but his Material Raze.

Yes, the sword no longer rejected him. They had fully synchronized and were finally one.

The clash resounded with a gong. It was amazing how something like the combined mass of the leader and his weapon was easily blocked by someone as lean as Diavolo. He merely had to extend one leg backwards to hold his ground now.

"Urgh!" he grunted as instead of sending Diavolo flying, he himself was being pushed back, "What the fuck?!"

He swung his sword, causing a deep cut and burn in his assailant's shoulder; and reverse-kicked him a few steps back.

"Oh, crap! I forgot about it!" Diavolo clicked his tongue.

He had instinctively enveloped his legs with fire when he kicked. It completely slipped his mind that he couldn't control the flames yet. Now he needed to suffer those burns again. What a pain.

But surprisingly, that's not what happened. His legs definitely were still on fire, but as soon as he felt like it was going to burn him, the flames were automatically absorbed by the sword.

Once the absorption was done, it gleamed and shimmered.

Diavolo took a moment to interpret what this meant. Letting out a faint giggle, he realized that even if he couldn't control his powers yet, the excess flames would simply be absorbed by his weapon and make it stronger. He basically had nothing to worry about anymore!

The villain in this battle also noticed that his sword became slightly stronger. Prolonging the fight would probably make things worse. Instead of killing his target, he's only making him stronger. How humiliating.

And so, he decided to use his trump card; and clicked a button on his wristwatch.

Without a delay, his already bulky body further pumped up and his energy was gushing out. Similarly, that axe-thing glowed and vibrated, signalling a great increase in power.

"Diavolo-kun, be careful! He's using 'Forced Synchronization'!!" Suzume shouted in peril.

"HAHAA!! I'll give you credit for making me unleash my full power! But this will be the last time you get to see it! NOW DIE!!!"

This man was indeed much stronger than before. Frighteningly stronger. But there was something off.

Although his weapon was shining with power, it was emitting a sort of 'shrill' that would just about sting one's ear.

"Is that weapon… crying?"

It was a ridiculous thought. Something like an inanimate object crying was a fairytale kind of thing. But the sharp sound Diavolo heard induced a faint sorrow in him.

He wasn't sure if it was really the weapon crying or it was something like the sound playing tricks on his brain. But looking at that weapon, he felt pity.

"Don't worry… I'll end everything quickly…" he said in a calm, reassuring voice.

At that time, it was unknown whether he said that to Suzume or the weapon, but it did not matter. He simply had to do one single task.

"GAAAHAHAHAHA!!! You're right! This WILL end quickly!!"

"SHUT UP! We'll decide this with one single attack!" and Diavolo raised his sword.

Immediately, the entire fire pillar condensed and gathered around it, making it more and more powerful.

"I COULDN'T AGREE MORE, KID! LET'S DO THIS!!!" he let out an even greater burst of energy. His weapon too, gleamed brighter and brighter.

It took a few seconds, but the fire pillar had finally been completely absorbed by the sword; and the result: it glowed red hot!

"So this is what it's like to be properly synched with your weapon, huh? Interesting! The old man was right! Leaving the village really was a great decision!" Diavolo smiled.

He smiled, but his 'aura of rage' did not diminish. It was fully concentrated into his being. Right now, he looked like a little demon ready to stab its pitchfork into its pitiful target.

Both of them took their stances, and finally… charged.

『☆ Anti-Unit Decimation Technique; Variant Voyd: Steam』

"TAKE THIS!! 『GEYSER VORTEX』!!!"

And at the same time,

『☆ Anti-Unit Scorching Technique; Material Raze: Plasma』

"『Beastial Talon Lance』!!!"

From both ends, the attacks approached each other.

Geyser Vortex was an upgraded version of X Geyser. Instead of simply gushing out boiling hot water, it added rotation to it, making it more destructive. And also, instead of being a ranged attack, it was melee where it carried the user along with it, thus adding mass. It was an attack that became more destructive the heavier the user was.

Beastial Talon Lance was a name Diavolo came up with from the feeling he got from the sword. Charging forward, he pictured the attack to be that of a sharp, superheated claw of a wild beast. Naturally, he added more and more energy and flames into the attack as he accelerated ahead.

The attacks clashed head on.

"AAAAAHHHHH!!!"

"HAAAAAHHHHHH!!!"

The tip of Diavolo's sword grinded against the rapidly spinning axe-weapon. It was not that he was spinning it with his fingers, but it was spinning on its own this time. The man was simply pushing on it with his aura.

Immense steam and sparks were being given off from between the attacks. Before long, the ground began to crack.

"YOU THINK YOUR SWORD CAN HOLD ON?! WON'T BE LONG BEFORE IT STARTS BREAKING!!" he tried discouraging Diavolo.

But without any worry, "Think again!" he replied.

'Forced Synchronization' didn't sound like a good thing to begin with. Thus, as if Diavolo thought it was the most obvious outcome, bits and pieces of the weapon started to scatter everywhere.

"H-HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?!"

He started to panic. If he stopped the attack, Diavolo's was simply going to pierce into him. He wouldn't be able to dodge that at such a distance. But if he continued like this, his weapon would continue to slowly chip away until it couldn't hold on anymore.

So there was only one option. He decided to add further force and spin. He needed to end things quickly. If it was going to break anyway, he might as well give it his all and hope for the small chance that Diavolo's attack burnt out first instead.

Sadly, it didn't turn out how he hoped for. His weapon had already reached its limit. And Diavolo's sword broke through.

Clang! Tccchhh! Krrrr!

The sounds of flesh tearing and bones cracking were very distinct as the sword made its way through and along his arm. And finally, it pierced into his chest.

"You were right. This really was the last time I'd see your full power," Diavolo spoke out, "Glad I won't ever have to. Farewell…" and he twisted his sword 90 degrees.

『Scorching Execution』

A huge fire burst in the shape of a cross came out through the man's shoulders and waist as the sword released all the heat it had absorbed in. This man was never going to return. He was cooked, no, utterly roasted from the inside.

The battle was over and his flames (other than his stomach) died out. His eyes returned to normal.

Letting out a deep breath, he turned to Suzume. Her crying, happy face gave him relief that she was indeed fine. Just to let her know things turned out okay, he gave her a smile and a thumbs up.

"OY, DIAVOLO!" he heard a very familiar voice call out to him.

Turning towards the source, he confirmed his thoughts as he saw Yukio's head popping out from the window of a known vehicle.

"You guys! Why are you here? What about your weapons?"

"What do you mean why we're here?" he said as they got out of the car, "We saw a huuuuuge fire pillar and came as fast as we could! Just what happened?!"

"H-hey! What is that scary wound?! You're burning!" Hannah shrieked at the sight of his belly.

The moment she mentioned it, the flames dimmed and Diavolo started to feel light headed.

"Oh, no… this… is just…" and it went out; and so did his consciousness.

All of them panicked. "Diavolo!" "Hey, Diavolo!" "Diavolo-kun!!!" "OI DIAV!!!"

That was how this assault ended. Of course, the silver haired boy, Diavolo Signore, was taken to be treated after this.

In a distant place, reports quickly came in.

"Quit screwing with me!!! What's the meaning of this!!!"

["Now, now, calm down, Hisao~!"]

"Calm down, my ass!!! How dare you send amateurs to me??!!!"

["Hey, now that's just mean~! I'm pretty sure they were well experienced, no?"]

"SHUT IT!!!"

["Haha, sorry sorry! But is that really how you should speak to me? I'm aiding you financially too, aren't I?"]

"You're not getting ANY respect until you send me proper reinforcements!!!"

[Sigh… "I must say, you really are greedy. Okay, fine. I'll send in just one man. He's my top subordinate, so I hope you'll have absolutely no qualms, right?]

"He better be the top…"

["Not even a shred of gratitude. You won't make any friends like this, you know?"]

"I DON'T WANT ANY 'FRIENDS'!!!"

[Beep. Beep. Beep.] but the other end had already cut the call.

"I don't… need any friends…"