"My turn, Leon."
He releases all restraints and presses forward with reckless determination, no longer holding anything back.
Whatever the price may be.
Even if his own life becomes the wager.
"Limbo..."
He bends his arm and draws it slightly backward, preparing a straight thrust.
"...I will use it—"
The muscles throughout his body tighten.
"—to bury the body of my brother, whose soul left long ago."
The two close the distance between them.
Jiza's charge instantly transforms into a thrust launched straight forward—
KSTCWLAAAAAAASHH!
A slash from Leon tears across Jiza's entire body, carving a deep, long wound from the lower left abdomen to the upper right shoulder.
"EHMPH?!"
Jiza grits his teeth and glares at him, disbelief filling his face at Leon's sudden movement.
"DAMN—"
Jiza is pressured again.
Leon has already swung his arm backward and is about to swing it forward—
SKWAAAAAAAHHSHH!
—but Jiza evades it, moving ahead of the attack.
The strike cuts through empty air.
"Bastard," Jiza hisses irritably, furrowing his brows.
He immediately presses forward.
Bending his arm, he draws it slightly backward before thrusting straight ahead—
CTKWRHAAAAHHMNN!
The attack lands squarely on Leon's spleen.
Leon grimaces as his body is briefly blasted into the air.
"You feel that?!" Jiza asks with a cynical grin.
"Hmm?"
Jiza murmurs.
While airborne, Leon swings one arm backward again, preparing to strike forward.
He intends to keep pressing him, again and again.
KSTCWLAAAAAAASHH!
Another slash tears across Jiza's body, opening a long wound from his upper left shoulder down to his lower right abdomen.
"BLUARK!"
Blood bursts from Jiza's mouth beneath the bandages covering his face.
"EKHHH—"
He hisses through clenched teeth, lowering his gaze to his own body.
His bandages are already soaked red.
Blood continues to seep from the wounds, staining the cloth a dark crimson.
Yet—
CKPTHAAAAHMNHNG!
Leon suddenly leaps far backward, widening the distance between them.
"W-What the hell?!"
Jiza mutters, his face filled with confusion at both Leon's actions and his own condition.
HSHHHSH!
Steam begins to rise from his body as he hunches forward.
Beneath the bandages, the wounds begin closing.
Above him, the invisible aura erupts once more with overwhelming intensity.
Jiza furrows his brow.
"So this is the price of the soul that will replace mine..."
"Hmpmmn!"
He lets out a brief chuckle.
"...Limbo? This is quite interesting."
Slowly, he raises his head and stares sharply at Leon.
"I've made you afraid again, haven't I?!"
He watches Leon's expression carefully as it changes once more in response to what is happening to him.
KRKK!
Leon keeps both fists tightly clenched.
His jaw remains locked as he suppresses his fear.
PKCTHAAAAAAHMNHH!
Leon charges instantly—
Jiza assumes a defensive stance.
SSHHHH!
His right foot drives forward while his left arm bends and draws back.
And he prepares to press forward again and again, repeatedly bending his arm, drawing it back slightly, and thrusting straight ahead.
The two reach one another—
PCTKLAAAAAAHMNHH!
—Jiza strikes first.
The attack crashes directly into Leon's chest.
Leon glares with his pupil-less eyes and furrows his brow—
"BLUARK—"
Dark red blood bursts from his mouth.
Jiza furrows his brows.
"Hmm?!"
He watches the blood running down Leon's chin.
In the next instant—
Leon moves to press forward again.
Jiza finds himself pressured repeatedly once more.
Without realizing it, while still airborne—
Leon has already swung his arm back, preparing to strike forward—
SCTKWAAAAAAHSHHH!
Jiza evades it. The attack slices through empty air.
"Ehmph?" Jiza mutters as his vision begins to blur once more.
He reacts—not by his own will, but because his body moves on its own.
CPTKAAAAAAHMMM!
Leon instantly leaps far away from him.
"Damn it..." Jiza hisses under his breath.
Leon continues to be caught off guard by the rapid shifts in the battle. Again and again, he freezes, grows uneasy, and is left stunned by reactions that adapt within mere moments.
Jiza lowers his head and reflects for a brief moment.
"...My consciousness is being taken away again," he murmurs quietly.
His fear now begins to return.
Yet he keeps suppressing it.
And Leon will continue to pressure Jiza—again, again, and again.
STCKHWAAAAHMMHH!
Leon immediately charges forward at high speed.
He leaps while spinning his body, his arm swinging backward before smashing forward—
SPCKWLAAAAAHSHHH!
Dodged completely.
His attack once again cuts through empty air.
Leon stares sharply ahead.
Frustration gradually consumes his fear and unease.
He presses on.
Again.
And again.
His arm draws back once more before immediately swinging forward—
SCPKWLAAAAAHSHHH!
Dodged again.
Without a single opening.
So fast—
—In an instant, Jiza bends his arm, pulls it slightly back, then thrusts it straight forward—
PKTKHAAAAHHMNMN!
A direct hit to the ribs.
Leon's body trembles.
He winces, gritting his teeth.
Jiza continues pressing forward.
His arm draws back again before firing straight ahead—
SCTKHAAAHM—PKCTHAAAAAHMNHH!
It lands squarely in Leon's chest.
Leon's body lifts briefly from the ground.
His brows furrow.
He bites his lip until it splits, suppressing the agony surging through him.
Jiza gives him no room.
He bends his arm once more, drawing it slightly back, ready to drive it forward again.
However—
SKCWLAAAAAAAHSHH!
A long slash suddenly opens across Jiza's entire body.
Blood bursts forth.
His eyes immediately widen toward the sky.
His teeth grind together as he endures the sensation of wounds that have suddenly begun to hurt again.
Leon presses on.
Again.
And again.
His arm draws back, ready to swing forward—
But—
DAGG—DUGGG!!!
"AAAAARKGHKHT!"
Jiza screams loudly.
His body jolts violently.
"IT'S-COMING—BACK?!"