Apocalypse Forecast

Such a long-awaited performance, so exhilarating. I’d hardly felt this way since returning from the Town of Dusk. The chance to play with all my might, to lose myself in the melody.

In this strange land, with a completely different identity, I had changed my appearance and brought my instrument. Facing the audience before me, I was starting over from these streets and alleys…

Just thinking about it is thrilling. I couldn’t help but get excited.

As a result, I was completely oblivious to my opponent’s state. This continued until the Ghost Gold Stick shattered with a wail. Lost in thought, I felt the change in sensation in my hands and finally snapped back to reality.

I looked down at the enemy before me.

It was over.

On the ground, the kneeling Evil Ghost was already drenched in blood. His arms, which had held the Ghost Gold Stick, were shattered and twisted, revealing bones covered in cracks.

After enduring a three-minute barrage, even the hulking Ghost Monk finally met his end.

He had lost consciousness even before the Ghost Gold Stick broke. All that was left was his meaningless corpse.

Thick blood quickly oozed from his mouth, nose, and eyes. His dull, empty eyes lifted to stare at the figure before him. As the flames died down, his face was revealed once more.

With his last bit of strength, his lips parted with difficulty.

”Namu…”

A flash of the blade.

A head, as big as a soccer ball, rolled silently to the ground along with a gushing fountain of blood.

The darkness of the Buried Sacred Place swallowed everything in an instant. Soon, when the darkness dissipated, the remains, filled with Disaster and miracles, had vanished.

Only the Ravens cawed excitedly.

Impure Monk Guo Ying thus attained enlightenment.

Indeed, Namu!

”Phew, that feels a bit more refreshing now,” Miss Huaizhi said as she stepped back and twisted her stiff neck.

After releasing all the accumulated fire of sin within her, the coolness of the night breeze felt invigorating, carrying a faintly sweet scent of blood.

The woman lifted her arm and wiped the sweat from her cheek. As she turned to look back, she gave a sweet yet terrifying smile to the two people in the distance.

”You guys are still here?”

Huai Shi thought for a moment, flicked the blood from his blade, and asked earnestly, ”So… care to dance?”

And so, he issued an invitation to the game.

World Blood Night Worry Ghost froze in place.

He couldn’t help but take a step back and slam on the brakes.

”Barney, let’s go,” he gritted his teeth and said in a low voice. ”We can’t handle that kind of monster…”

But Barney—no, Explosive ZhuWei—remained in place, staring straight at the enemy before him. After a long moment, he withdrew his gaze and looked back at his big bro.

”But she’s so strong, big bro,” Explosive ZhuWei asked. ”Is it really okay to just walk away like this?”

World Blood Night Worry Ghost was stunned.

”Big bro, we’re the Sprint Brothers of the Fire and Electricity Club!” Explosive ZhuWei’s eyes widened. He raised his arm, flexing his bicep. ”Are we going to run away with our tails between our legs just because we see a strong woman? Isn’t the unyielding spirit of the Ghost’s Runaway supposed to kick in now?!”

”...”

World Blood Night Worry Ghost’s expression shifted from astonishment to ferocity and determination. Resolve once again surfaced on his face with its heavy Gothic makeup.

”Hmph, you’ve learned how to talk big, Barney.”

”Heh, all thanks to your teachings, big bro!” Explosive ZhuWei was still grinning foolishly.

World Blood Night Worry Ghost took a deep breath. One hand squeezed the brake, while the other furiously twisted the motorcycle’s throttle, making his beloved machine roar with excitement.

He made up his mind.

”This time I’ll listen to you, Barney! Use that move!” he shouted. ”You’re in charge this time! Don’t disgrace the Sprint Brothers!”

Yes, indeed. Unlike his own hesitant and cowardly self, his brother, who had always been courageous, was the true embodiment of the runaway spirit. Such a grand and imposing opportunity was fitting only for a true man like him.

”Eh? Really? Leave it to me?”

Explosive ZhuWei’s eyes widened in disbelief, then he burst into ecstatic laughter. ”Oh, oh, oh, my Soul is burning! Leave it to me, big bro, leave it to me!!!”

For the first time, he entrusted the initiative, and his very life, to Explosive ZhuWei.

But World Blood Night Worry Ghost felt no unease or dread in his heart; instead, it was filled with determination and trust.

No matter how terrifying the opponent, how unreachable the speed, or how ferocious and fearsome the enemy, he firmly believed that as long as the two brothers were together, they were invincible and feared nothing.

Because the Sprint Brothers of the Fire and Electricity Club were invincible!

World Blood Night Worry Ghost also laughed fearlessly. Amidst the bursting bolts of lightning, his eyes widened as he twisted the throttle all the way:

”——Let’s go, partner!!!”

In that instant, amidst the fearless laughter of the two brothers, the roar of the motorcycle ripped through the night sky. The steel engine roared, gulping down and spewing out thick smoke, echoing the fiercely burning Thunderfire in their chests.

Lock Chains and spiked clubs collided, striking scorching electric sparks.

And thus, they charged toward the enemy before them.

The race began!

It was at that moment that the hurricane hit them in the face.

The quiet of the night was shattered. The wild gallop, like a propeller, churned the stagnant air, forming a turbulent storm, a true maelstrom.

As the two men on the square began their swift race, they created a terrifying difference in air pressure. This caused massive amounts of air to start moving, slowly at first, but then quickly turning into a visible tornado.

It was as if heaven and earth themselves were riding with the two brothers, beginning their rampage!

Huai Shi was dumbfounded, incredulous.

Since the very beginning, he hadn’t been able to keep up with the pace of these two brothers. Hey, are you two really speaking the Yingzhou dialect? What on earth are you talking about? And… these two, one seems clueless and the other’s always brooding, but how can they be so incredibly strong when they team up?!

This was, without a doubt, incredible power.

Two completely different Source Substances merged, their friction sparking wild Thunder. When those two wills fused, it was as if their very Souls ignited.

The terrifying speed pulled the storm winds with it. They rampaged across the square at speeds imperceptible to the naked eye, whipping up sand, dust, and water vapor to form a ferocious tornado. It engulfed Huai Shi and then rapidly contracted! It left him no room to escape.

They were charging forward, never retreating. Whether it was them or Huai Shi himself, all were now compelled by this immense power; there was no way back.

They had to face each other, fight it out!

”Baleful stars above, men of grit below!”

Bathed in lightning and Thunder, the golden-haired man, racing at full tilt, shouted excitedly, ”The very stars sprint beneath our feet!”

”Breaking sacred rules! We ride to die and live to love!” World Blood Night Worry Ghost roared solemnly. ”The Edo Fire and Electricity Society’s unbeaten legend, the Brothers of Night Dew Needy, have arrived!”

”Burn, rampaging Soul!”

The two crazed, fervent voices overlapped, melting into laughter. Their racing figures merged as one, transforming within the hurricane into a near-tangible bolt of lightning, making heaven and earth roar with them:

”——Long Time No See·Night Dew Death Suffering!!!”

Darkness, the night, the square, the alleys, the earth, and the sky… even Huai Shi’s eyes—in that instant, all were illuminated by this brilliant golden light.

This was the blinding radiance of Souls on fire.

Standing his ground, Huai Shi watched the brothers race toward him. He tightened his grip on his weapon and, almost involuntarily, met this Soul-and-life-risking strike with a smile.

This resolve of theirs, to be faster than anyone, freer than anyone, had sublimated from their Souls, manifesting as this very real light of Thunder.

So, he had to give it his all, to repay their ”Offensive”!

The stone slabs under Huai Shi’s feet suddenly cracked.

Because the immense power from the soles of his feet had sunk deep into the earth, anchoring him like iron stakes. Then, raising his hands high once more, he gripped the resonating Grudge.

It was still the Tang Bamboo Type, poised to strike.

From his wounds, trickles of blood slowly seeped out. But they didn’t fall. Instead, they floated impossibly upwards, drop by drop, into the sky.

Under the clash of their Source Substances and Stigmas, even the environment here had begun to subtly warp.

Those two brothers, with their sheer determination, could actually influence the physical laws of the Current Circumstances… Even the slightest influence was equivalent to prying loose a piece of reality.

Just sensing this made Huai Shi’s blood boil with excitement. He was right to come out tonight. Otherwise, he would never have encountered such wondrous opponents, nor enjoyed such a thrilling, satisfying duel.

In that instant, his eyes snapped up, fixing on the approaching light of Thunder— There’s only one chance. I must meet it head-on, with full force! With the strongest strike I can muster right now!

At that moment, the lightning was upon him, already terrifyingly close.

In that illusory instant where time seemed to stop, Huai Shi saw.

Through the frozen hurricane and the spreading Thunder, he glimpsed the two motorcycles, now transformed into blazing light, and upon them, the brothers, united as one.

Laughing boldly, utterly fearless.

They commanded this furious velocity. The Lock Chains gripped in their hands were now covered in dazzling electrical light; disparate Source Substances reacting violently upon them, forging an all-destroying blade.

This terrifying finishing blow, forged by the two brothers, was a technique where neither could succeed without the other. With such an absurd impact and speed, even simple Lock Chains would surpass most weapons in the world. If an entire building stood in their path, it would probably be sliced in half like tofu, wouldn’t it?

Yes, this was the enemy’s attack. The moment of confrontation had arrived.

In the instant they were about to cross paths, the blade in Huai Shi’s hand hummed. The feather-like patterns on its surface shifted wildly, and the flowing blood-red light burst forth.

Grudge slashed down, towards the Thunder, towards the lightning.

And from the distant darkness, a long-awaited bullet streaked forth. Though fired after the brothers’ charge, it appeared abruptly, arriving with impossible speed, aimed at Huai Shi’s eyes, at the brain behind them.

The cross-shaped incision on the bullet’s tip reflected in his eyes.

Already, it was almost upon him!