A man with striking yellow hair streaked with red, draped in a bold red jacket that bore a single word on the back: HOPE.
Even in Hajime’s battered state, recognition struck like a lightning bolt. His mind, sluggish and fogged with pain, suddenly remembered everything.truth.
His fingers twitched as he muttered the name— "Ray..."
Daka’s eyes widened. He knew exactly who this man was. Ray Hamamoto.etched into history as the strongest in the entire world.
Sockoo and Emily froze in disbelief. They had only ever heard stories—tales of a man so powerful that even the government feared him.
Izaya turned to Ray, a smirk curling on his lips as he mockingly spread his arms. "So, the government wants to kill me that badly, huh? They sent you?"
Ray didn’t react, didn’t acknowledge Izaya’s words in the way he expected. Instead, he smiled,
"I’m not here to fight,"
The entire battlefield froze.
Even Izaya faltered slightly, his smirk twitching. "What?"
Ray strode forward, stepping over the cracked and burning remnants of the battlefield, but his focus was entirely on Hajime. Without hesitation, he sat down
"I knew you were alive, Hajime."
Hajime barely registered the words, his mind still spinning, his heart pounding.
"But this isn’t where you give up, right?"
Ray continued, his voice steady, unwavering. "I know you. And I know you because..."
His eyes shone with something deeper than mere nostalgia.
"I taught you."
Hajime’s battered body trembled. His flames, which had been flickering, suddenly erupted.
The entire base shook violently.
The ceiling, the walls—all of it incinerated.everything
except the floor beneath them.
Only charred remnantsfloating within an inferno.
The rest of the Music Clubimmensity of Hajime’s power.
Hajime gritted his teeth, his breathing ragged. He could feel it now. The chains that bound him were gone.
Ray simply smiled. "That’s more like it."
Hajime didn’t care anymore. He didn’t care about the consequences.
He would defeat Izaya—
Even if it shattered the very thing that made Hajime who he was.
"So this is what the world has come to?""The legendary Ray Hamamoto, the strongest man alive, left the future in the hands of a mere kid?"
Ray, still sitting casually on the floor with an amused expression, chuckled. "Thanks for the compliment, but I’m not that young.""I’m actually 86."
Izaya’s grin faltered slightly. "What?"
For the first time, a hint of confusion crossed his face as he examined Ray more closely. He didn’t look anything like an old man—no gray hair, no wrinkles, no weakened physique. He was still in peak condition, youthful and unshaken.
Ray only shrugged. "It’s not important. What
important is that I’m not the one you should be worrying about."
Izaya scoffed and crossed his arms. "Hajime isn’t even worth my time."
But before those words could fully leave his mouth—
Hajime’s fistmillisecond away
from Izaya’s face.
BOOM.
A devastating blue-flamedcollidedBlue Flame Magic: Genesis Crush
Hajime’s hand exploded in pain.bleeding heavily.
This was the reason he never used his hands for combat—his fists had already been destroyed in the past.didn’t care anymore.so be it.
Izaya staggered, blinking in momentary shock, but before he could recover—
Hajime’s legwar hammer.
"Blue Flame Magic: Iron Hammer!"
A sickening crack echoed as Izaya was sent reeling.
Hajime didn’t let up, launching a relentless barrage
Each time Izaya tried to counter, he was trapped in a paradox.
- If he stopped Hajime’s legsswitch to his arms.
- If he blocked Hajime’s armslegs
- If he stopped both at the same timeone remaining limbleft or right
- And even iflocked down all fourflexibility
would come into play, allowing him to strike from an unpredictable angle.
- If he blocked Hajime’s armslegs
Izaya gritted his teeth, trying to regain control, but Hajime’s speed and ferocityonslaught.
The blue flames intensified, illuminating the battlefield in a scorching blaze.
Ray watched from the sidelines, grinning. "That’s my student for you."How is this brat overwhelming me?!adaptive.
Hajime didn’t let up for even a second. "Blue Flame Magic: Iron Hammer!"slamming his knee
into Izaya’s stomach with an explosion of blue fire. The impact sent Izaya flying through the burning ruins
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"Damn it…"burningaching
from the repeated strikes.
Hajime, breathing heavily, landedpain.
Izaya exhaled sharply and narrowed his eyes.
Enough.
He vanished.
Hajime’s eyes widened—Izaya’s speed skyrocketed.
CRACK.
A fist sank deep
Hajime coughed violently, blood splattering from his mouth. His body was launched backward at breakneck speed!spiraling through the air
Before he could even hit the ground—
BAM.
Izaya appeared behind himspine.
Hajime crashed face-first
"Tch.""You’re strong, but don’t get cocky, brat."stomped down.
But Hajime rolled awaypanting, his body screaming in pain.
Izaya smirked. "What’s wrong? Where’s that immortal healing of yours?"
Hajime wiped the blood from his mouth, his eyes burning with determination. "Doesn't matter."
Izaya blinked. "What?"
Hajime steadied his stance, ignoring the pain. "Doesn't matter if I heal or not… I'm still going to win."
His blue flamesmeltedpure resolve.
The battle was far from over. Everyone watching the fight was in shock.
Hajime’s hands were a bloody messripped opentorn and crackedhe didn’t stop.splattered bloodhis own with Izaya’s.
The Music Club could barely process what they were seeing.
Bondo clenched his fists. "So that’s why Hajime never uses his hands…"filled with realization.
Amy covered her mouth, feeling uneasy."It’s not that he can’t… It’s that he chooses not to… until he has no other choice."
Daka, his expression serious, nodded. "This… is Hajime’s true nature."
Rizra, however, was the most vocal.continued his assault."This is the real Hajime! His fighting style isn’t about dragging things out—it’s about ending them as efficiently as possible. But if he can’t end it immediately… then he’ll make sure his opponent is completely destroyed."
Ray, sitting on the side with his usual relaxed demeanor, let out a small chuckle. "Man… kid fights just like my grandson."
The moment those words left his mouth, everyone froze.
Sockoo, Daka, and Rizra turned to him, eyes wide.
"…Wait. What did you just say?!"
Ray blinked, confused for a moment, then realized what he had just revealed."Well, I guess the cat’s out of the bag. Hajime is my grandson."
Everyone’s jaws dropped.
Even Izaya, who was mid-fight, paused for a second
before shaking his head. "What a crazy family…"
But Hajime didn’t react.
He didn’t have time to care.
All he cared about… was winning."I will not stop!""This world has to burn! And all of you along with it!"
The members of the Music Club"What is he doing?"final attack
Ray, casually unwrapping a lollipop, glanced at the scene,"Oh, this? He’s gonna kill us all."
Makoto’s eyes widened in panic. "W-Wait! Why aren’t you stopping him?"
Ray raised an eyebrow, looking at Makoto with a gentle, almost pitying smile. "You don’t believe in Hajime?""You should. Because that’s your only hope right now."
Before Makoto could respond, the energy blast
The Music Clubstepped forward.burned in his eyes
He raised his left hand, forming a grasping motion as if pulling something from the air. His voice rang out, slow but full of resolve."DRA-GONNNNN... DRAG-ONNNNN..."
The ground beneath him cracked as blue flames
Finally, with a roar that seemed to shake the heavens, Hajime yelled out, "GUNNNNNNNNNNN!"
A massive beam of blue energy
Hajime’s attack, powered by his unyielding spirit, overwhelmed Izaya’s dark blast. The blue beam surged forward, cutting through the darkness
Izaya was thrown back, his body slamming against the ground with a sickening thud. His body was battered, his power spent. The last flicker of his life force
Hajime stood there, his body swaying with exhaustion, but his eyes burning with a fierce resolve. He had done it.
The Music Club, including the stunned members who had watched the battle unfold, breathed a collective sigh of relief. Izaya was finally defeated.
But the cost had been high. Hajime’s hands, already injured, were now almost unrecognizabledetermination never wavered.
As the dust settledhoarse but resolute.
"This isn’t over. The world’s still broken. And I’ll be the one to fix it."
Izaya, struggling to lift his head, spat out blood
and looked up at Hajime with a weak but unwavering gaze. "Kill me, Hajime."
Hajime’s eyes widened in confusion."What?"
Izaya let out a faint chuckle, despite his pain. "Choose wisely. If you don’t kill me and leave me to the government, I will break out. I will do this again. Whatever it takes to destroy the government, I will make it happen.""But if you do it… you’ll be the evil hero. The one who killed the villain, yes… but still, the one who took a life."
The battlefield fell silent. The Music Club watched in horror.
Dark stepped forward, his usual sharp demeanor shattered.
His eyes, filled with desperation, locked onto Hajime as he pleaded"Don’t do it, Hajime.""Please… you don’t have to. Don’t kill my brother."
That was the first time Hajime had ever seen Dark this vulnerable.
Izaya, still pressuring, coughed, blood dribbling from his lips. "Pick one, Hajime."
Hajime’s mind raced. His hands trembled. His whole life, he had fought and survived—but this was different. This was a decision that no amount of battle experience could prepare him for.
He closed his eyes, gripping Storyshift tightly. The sword hummed faintly in his grasp.
Then, he made his choice.
With a swift, silentdrove Storyshift into Izaya’s heart.
Izaya gasped, his eyes widening for a brief second. Then, his body went limp.
Dark stood there, paralyzed in shock.His brother… was dead.
Hajime pulled his sword out, his face unreadable.
Dark fell to his knees beside Izaya’s body."No… No…!""Izaya… you can’t—wake up!"brokeTears welled up in his eyes, then streamed down his face.
Everyone watched in utter silence.lost everything.
Minutes passed. Dark’s cries filled the ruined battlefield.
Then, after a long pause, he stood up. His face was shadowed, his hands clenched so tightly that his nails dug into his palms.
He turned to Hajime, and for the first time, Hajime saw something terrifying in Dark’s eyes.
Pure, seething hatred.
Dark’s voice came out as a whisper at first, trembling but filled with venom. "You… You killed him."
Hajime didn’t speak.
Dark’s fists trembled, then his voice erupted."You killed my brother, Hajime! MARK MY WORDS—I WILL MAKE YOU SUFFER FOR THIS! YOU WILL FEEL THE SORROW AND PAIN YOU MADE ME FEEL!"
Sockoo and the rest of the Music Club"Hajime didn’t have a choice, Dark!""He made the right call!"
"THE RIGHT CALL?!""SHUT UP! NONE OF YOU UNDERSTAND!"
He didn’t want to hear any more. He ignored their words, his fury only growing.
Without another word, Dark lifted Izaya’s lifeless body into his arms.filled with fury and grief.
Then, he turned his back on them. And walked away.
No one stopped him. No one could.
The battle was over, but something much worse had begun.
Hajime stood frozen in place, his hands shaking slightly. Then, he felt a hand on his shoulder.
Ray.
The older man, still holding his lollipop, spoke in a rare moment of seriousness."There was no good outcome to this, kid.""Don’t blame yourself."
Hajime didn’t respond. He simply looked down at his hands.
They were still covered in blood.mix of relief, exhaustion, and quiet sorrow.
Hajime won—but at what cost?