An instant after Ryuga delivered his reply, a heavy impact slammed into Hypno’s face.
The villain tumbled backward with a pathetic yelp. As he scrambled to his feet, he saw Ryuga casually rolling his shoulders.
"Wh-what are you doing, Ryuga? I am your father! Would you truly strike your own—!"
"My father is dead. He gave everything to protect me, my family, and countless others. But his soul lives on in my heart and in my sister’s. No matter how perfectly you mimic his voice or his face, my soul screams that you are a fraud."
"Guh...!"
There was no hesitation in Ryuga’s eyes.
Hypno groaned as he stared into those cold, unwavering depths. There was no guilt there, no heartache over striking the image of his parent. As Hypno reeled, Ryuga spoke with chilling indifference.
"Now then... you assumed my father’s form and made a mockery of his soul. Since you’ve chosen to perform such a foolish stunt before me, I assume... you’re prepared for the consequences?"
"Ugh...!"
Impersonating Ryuga's Father had backfired. Facing the boy whose rage was only intensifying, Hypno realized his mistake with every fiber of his being.
Panicked by the sight of Ryuga closing the distance with his katana drawn, Hypno immediately shed Yuji’s appearance. He shifted into another person and shrieked.
"Stop, Brother! Would you really kill me!?"
In Yuji's place, Hypno now wore the face of Ryuga's sister, Yui.
Tears streamed down his face as he wailed, desperately trying to elicit sympathy—but Ryuga didn't even pause. He swung his blade without a moment's thought.
"Agyaaaaaaaaaah!"
"Don’t let such a vile scream escape my sister’s lips. It’s revolting."
"Y-you! Have you no heart!? This is your family! How can you attack with such composure!?"
"You aren't my family; you're a cheap imitation. No matter how much you look like her on the outside, your inner ugliness bleeds through. I feel no conflict at all. In fact, it's precisely because I have a human heart that I feel such mounting fury toward the scoundrel who would dare exploit my family’s faces."
Even taking the form of Yui—a fragile girl and his precious sister—couldn't slow Ryuga down.
Hypno couldn't hide his shock at the boy’s clinical efficiency in attacking both his father and sister. But as he witnessed that chilling answer and the overwhelming aura of bloodlust, his terror reached new heights.
(I-I can't make this boy hesitate! Fine, then... Plan B!)
Accepting that it was impossible to use Ryuga's loved ones to shake him, Hypno decided to attack his mind from a different angle.
He vanished into a mirage for a third time, his form mutating into something massive and malevolent.
"Ha... hahahaha! How about this, Ryuga Renjo? Surely you recognize this dragon!"
"...Yeah. I know it very well."
"Indeed! This is the creature that ruined your life! The Mad Dragon that slaughtered your father!"
A massive, black dragon filled the cramped basement.
Clad in lightning, the beast loomed over Ryuga. Hypno roared from within the monster’s throat.
"Terrifying, isn't it? The horror of that day is coming back to you! Cower! Tremble! Let fear consume you before I tear you apart!"
If pity and sympathy failed, he would rule through terror.
Hypno attempted to break Ryuga’s spirit by manifesting his greatest trauma—the thing he feared most in the world—but then...
"Wait... what?"
The moment he saw Ryuga’s katana flash, blood erupted from his own body.
Hypno stared at the crimson spray in shock, the agonizing pain arriving a second too late. Ryuga looked up at him, a faint, terrifying smile on his lips.
"Thank you. I truly mean that. To be honest, I’ve always wanted to butcher the dragon that killed my father. For various reasons, I never had the chance... but thanks to your transformation, I can finally fulfill that wish."
"Hic...!"
"I'll tell you this upfront: I'm just venting my frustration on you. If you want someone to blame, blame yourself for being stupid enough to take that form in front of me."
"A-gyaaaaaaaaaaah!"
Showing not a hint of dread—but rather a visible sense of elation—Ryuga unleashed a flurry of strikes. He carved into Hypno’s dragon form again and again.
As the pain surged and the tables turned, Hypno found himself being terrorized by the very opponent he had tried to frighten. In that moment of realization, he screamed in his mind.
(I was wrong...! My judgment that this boy was better than Hugo Clay was a mistake...!)
It was true that Hugo was an enigma, a man whose abilities and past were full of uncertain elements.
Hypno had assumed that because Ryuga was a native of this world, he understood everything about him. But as the battle reached its peak, he realized he had overlooked a critical detail.
(This boy... this boy! He is infinitely more ruthless than Hugo Clay!)