Chapter 15: Shadows on Main Street

The empty pavement of Shintenseiku Main Street stretched out between us. Across the asphalt, Mordekai stood under the flicker of a buzzing streetlight, a arrogant smirk plastered across his face.

I squinted at him, rubbing my chin as a sudden memory clicked. "Wait a minute... I know this guy. Who are you again?"

Mordekai chuckled, stepping forward with his head held high. "I am Mordekai. I’m just one of the people you encountered in Zion a long time ago."

"Ah, yes. I knew it," I muttered, crossing my arms. "How’ve you been?"

Mordekai’s smile twitched. "I can’t believe you still have the mood to ask that. After all, I’m one of the people that kidnapped Nekojin."

Beside me, Kiyon blinked, throwing a confused look in my direction. "So you two met without me in the picture? Oh man."

"That was when I went back to Zion to look for work," I explained briefly, keeping my eyes locked on Mordekai. "The mayor ended up calling me to track down his missing daughter."

"Oh, is that so? I see," Kiyon nodded, shifting his weight. He looked across the street. "Well anyway... why are you here? And how did you find us?"

"Isn’t it obvious?" Mordekai laughed mockingly. "Other entities from other realities can sense Kyrie whenever he uses a certain amount of his power! You see, I’ve been wanting to capture you alive and take you back ever since."

"So you're still the same bastard you were two years ago," I said flatly.

Mordekai tilted his head, eyeing me up and down. "Honestly, at first I didn’t recognize that it was you. Nice hair."

Kiyon burst out laughing, nudging my shoulder hard. "I told you to cut your hair, man! Now look who’s tripping!"

I shot Kiyon a dry, deadpan look. "Are we going to fight or not?"

"Look, I’m not here to argue," Mordekai said, his tone sharpening as he pointed a finger straight at my chest. "I’m here for one thing: to capture you."

"You could try," I smirked, slipping into a light stance. "But you’ll never succeed."

Kiyon twirled his single baston stick, grinning wildly. "You know what? Let’s just get our hands dirty, shall we?"

"Who says I’m fighting?" Mordekai scoffed. "I never said I was going to fight you two. I have a better plan."

With a sharp snap of his fingers, the air above us ripped open. Two massive Lost Morphs plummeted out of the night sky, slamming into the asphalt with a force that sent tremors through the soles of our boots.

Kiyon didn’t wait. He charged in with his single baston raised, his eyes locked onto the first morph. He swung the stick down hard against the creature’s chest. The impact echoed through the street, but the Lost Morph didn’t even flinch. It snarled, its massive arms swinging at Kiyon like sledgehammers.

Kiyon moved fast, blocking every hit, his baston striking out with precision and skill. Each time the morph lunged, Kiyon was there sidestepping, deflecting, and countering. With one swift dodge, he ducked under the creature’s arm, spinning around to land a powerful elbow strike into its side. His foot followed up, driving into the morph’s knee, forcing it back.

In a flash, Kiyon grabbed hold of the morph’s arm and twisted, ripping it free with a sickening crack. He took a step back, the dismembered arm clutched in his hand like a prize, grinning wildly as he swung it like it weighed nothing.

And then, because it was Kiyon, he raised the arm to his mouth, laughing like a maniac. "Wonder what these things taste like?" he joked, feigning a bite.

I shook my head, half-amused, half-exasperated. "Kiyon, maybe focus on taking the thing down instead of eating it?"

He shot me a wink, still laughing. "Gotta have some fun while we’re at it, right?"

The wounded morph lunged with its remaining arm. I surged forward, launching high off the pavement and driving a heavy jump kick straight into the morph's jaw. As the monster stumbled backward, Kiyon snapped a brutal baston strike across its neck followed by a sweeping sidekick. The morph flew through the air, crashing hard onto the concrete.

The second Lost Morph growled, thrashing its heavy arms as it charged us. I stepped up to take it head-on, catching its massive fists on my forearms as it unleashed a wild barrage. It tried to overpower me, but I clamped my hands around both of its wrists, locking it in place.

The creature roared, struggling against my grip. I offered a brief smirk before driving a lightning-fast combination of straight punches directly into its head until its eyes went blank. As it began to slump forward, Kiyon flashed past my right side, swinging his baston into its temple to send the second beast crashing beside the first.

Kiyon twirled his baston with a flourish, waving the severed morph arm in the air. "Man, these guys are pushovers!"

"Impressive," Mordekai called out, clapping his hands mockingly. "So the legends are true you both really are good at martial arts. But you know... you’re not the only ones who can be called seasoned pros."

I locked eyes with him. "Why don’t you just cut the crap and tell me why you’re doing this, huh?"

Mordekai looked away for a second, then turned back, his gaze cold. "I already told you before. I wasn’t kidding when I said... you are the reason why other worlds continue to suffer!"

I tightened my fist, glancing at Kiyon as Mordekai stepped forward, his crimson eyes locked onto mine.

"And I’m not going to stop," Mordekai said, his voice dripping with menace, "until you drop dead. But..." He smirked, tilting his head. "I was told to bring you back alive. So, that makes you a lucky one."

I matched his smirk, crossing my arms. "You’re making it sound like I’m an easy opponent to beat."

Kiyon joined in with a laugh. "Yeah, good luck with that!"

Mordekai’s smile faded. With a snap of his fingers, three more Lost Morphs materialized, their grotesque forms emerging from the shadows like living nightmares. Their snarls filled the air, glowing red eyes locking onto us as they advanced.

"Eliminate them," Mordekai commanded.

"Great," I muttered, cracking my neck. "More punching bags."

Kiyon spun his baston with a flourish. "Guess we’re just that popular!"

The first morph lunged, claws slashing through the air toward me. I sidestepped and planted a solid roundhouse kick into its torso, sending it skidding back. Before it could recover, I followed up with a rapid one-two combo, my fists colliding with its face like thunder.

To my left, Kiyon was already mid-battle with two morphs at once. He moved like a blur, his baston striking with precision as he danced around their attacks. One morph swung wildly, but Kiyon ducked low, delivering a punishing elbow to its gut before spinning around to sweep its legs out from under it.

"Kyrie!" he called out as he used the downed morph’s body to vault over the second one. "I’ll take these two! You handle the big guy!"

I glanced up just in time to see the largest morph a towering beast twice my size charging straight for me. Its footsteps cracked the asphalt, each step heavier than the last.

"Fine by me!" I shouted back, bracing myself.

The morph lunged, its massive fist aiming straight for my head. I ducked at the last second, feeling the rush of air as the punch missed by inches. Using its momentum against it, I delivered an uppercut to its jaw, forcing it to stumble back.

But it recovered quickly, swinging both arms down in a double hammer strike. I crossed my forearms, absorbing the blow as I slid back a few feet, the ground beneath me cracking from the impact.

"That all you got?" I taunted, shaking off the sting in my arms.

Behind me, I heard Kiyon whooping as he flipped over one morph, striking it in the back of the head with his baston. "You’re too slow!" he shouted, dodging the second morph’s claws effortlessly.

I turned my focus back to the towering morph. It roared, its grotesque maw opening wider than should have been possible. But I didn’t give it a chance. I surged forward, closing the distance in an instant, and delivered a crushing knee strike to its torso. As it doubled over, I grabbed its head and drove it into the pavement with enough force to leave a small crater.

I stepped back, panting slightly as the beast twitched before falling still.

"Done over there?" Kiyon asked, twirling his baston like a showman. He stood atop the two morphs he’d taken down, grinning like he was posing for a magazine cover.

"Yeah," I said, smirking. "Now for the main event."

Mordekai stepped forward, though a brief shadow of irritation crossed his face as he ran out of backup.

"I told you," I called across the street. "If you plan on capturing me alive or killing us both, you gotta do better than that."

"Hmph," Mordekai grunted, his eyes narrowing. "Kyrie... I’d like to challenge you to a 1-on-1 fight. Let’s see how it feels to fight against a C.A.U. champion."

Kiyon threw his hands up. "Wait, what? Only my brother? Come on!"

"I ran out of ideas," Mordekai admitted plainly. "The only thing I’d like to do now is face Kyrie. Only Kyrie."

Kiyon looked at me, raising an eyebrow.

"Fine," Kiyon said, taking a step back.

I stepped forward into the center of the road. "I accept your challenge. You made a mistake challenging me alone." I let out a low laugh, my stance shifting as my knuckles cracked. "I may be laughing right now, but you have no idea how much I want you dead right now."

Mordekai smirked, raising his hands into a sharp, disciplined Wing Chun stance. "We’ll see about that."

No more words. Only action.

He struck first, his hands moving like a blur. A chain punch aimed directly at my face forced me to lean back, dodging the rapid strikes. His movements were precise, calculated.

I ducked under his next blow, stepping into his guard to launch a left hook toward his ribs. He pivoted smoothly, catching my arm and redirecting my momentum. I rode the turn, converting it into a spinning backfist aimed at his temple.

Mordekai raised a forearm to block, countering with a quick palm strike toward my chest. I snapped my wrist up to catch his hand, twisting it while throwing a sharp elbow strike toward his jaw. He tilted his head just enough to evade it, his free hand driving a hard punch into my side.

A sharp jolt flared through my ribs, but I gritted my teeth and drove a knee straight into his midsection. Mordekai staggered back a step, his grin fading.

"Not bad," he muttered, resetting his stance.

"Not done," I shot back, rushing in with a fast combination jab, cross, low kick. Each strike pushed him further back onto the defensive.

Mordekai caught my leg mid-kick, twisting it to throw me off balance. I dropped into a smooth roll, coming back up immediately with a flying knee aimed at his chest. He sidestepped just in time, his elbow grazing my jaw as he countered.

It was relentless punch for punch, kick for kick. At one point, Mordekai trapped my arms in a tight clinch, aiming knees at my torso. I countered by slamming my forehead directly into his, breaking his grip. Taking advantage of the daze, I grabbed his shoulder and delivered a spinning elbow that sent him stumbling.

"You’ve improved," he grunted, wiping blood from his lip.

"I’ve had practice," I replied.

Mordekai lunged forward again, his strikes faster and wilder. As he overextended on a palm strike, I slipped inside his guard, driving my shoulder into his chest to throw off his balance, followed by a sweeping low kick that sent him crashing to the floor.

I pounced immediately, pinning him down and cocking my fist back. "End of the line."

But Mordekai just laughed, a dark, distorted sound. "You think this is over?"

The ground shook. Black, shadowy energy exploded from his body, forcing me to leap backward. The darkness wrapped around him, warping his limbs, extending sharp claws, and lighting his eyes with a crimson glare.

"You really think you’ve won?" his voice echoed, inhuman and deep.

"Doesn’t matter what you turn into," I growled, shaking out my knuckles. "I’m putting you down."

He lunged with terrifying speed. Claws swiped through the air, shattering the asphalt wherever they landed. I ducked and wove through the attacks, landing solid kicks to his legs. He roared, trying to flatten me with a two-handed hammer strike, but I ducked low and drove a powerful uppercut into his jaw.

"Stay still!" he bellowed.

"Not a chance!" I shot back, spinning around his next swipe to drive a sidekick into his midsection.

From the sidewalk, Kiyon waved the severed morph arm. "Need me to tag in, bro?"

"Nah, I’ve got this!" I called back.

Mordekai unleashed a volley of dark energy spikes. I dodged the first two and rolled under the third, though it grazed my shoulder with a sharp burn. As he charged in with claws raised, I timed my counter perfectly deflecting his strike with an elbow block, driving a straight punch into his solar plexus, a knee to his ribs, and slamming my rising knee directly into his face.

To finish it, I spun on my heel and delivered a full-power back kick squarely into his chest. The impact blasted him backward, crashing violently into a metal lamppost. The dark energy dissipated, and he slumped to the pavement in human form, motionless.

The street went dead silent.

Kiyon walked over, tossing the morph arm aside with a grin. "That was one hell of a show."

I rolled my sore shoulders, taking a deep breath. "Just another day, huh?"

He slapped me on the back. "As a Muay Thai guy, you really gotta teach me that knee strike sometime."

Rain began to fall softly from the dark sky. We turned to walk away, but a weak voice called out from behind us.

"That was... a hell of a battle," Mordekai rasped, his eyes fluttering open slightly as he lay bruised against the lamppost. "You really are... a champion..."

His head slumped back, slipping completely unconscious.

Kiyon stopped, looking back at him in the rain. "Is he gonna be okay? We’re just gonna let him go?"

I looked at Kiyon, a slow smirk spreading across my face. "Actually... I got an idea."

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