The tension from the brutal match dissipated, leaving Kenta a mummified figure swathed in bandages. He lay on the astral ground, letting out a theatrical, pained groan.
"A curse upon all teachers!" he lamented, his voice muffled by the wrappings. "To be blessed with such heartless, ruthless students! My entire body is a symphony of pain! You showed no mercy to your poor, old sensei!" A single, bandaged hand rose to clutch at his chest in dramatic despair.
The act faded as quickly as it began. His hand dropped, and his tone shifted, becoming grim and serious. "Don't misunderstand me," he muttered, staring at the infinite whiteness above. "My desire to see Fernando dead burns as brightly as yours. I curse my ancestors for that blind, foolish promise that chained me to a monster." He turned his head slightly, his gaze finding Sayuri and Daiki. "Just... pray that Nero succeeds where I failed."
Match 6: Ilena & Rei vs. Whity & The Devil Brothers
As we know, Whity had just made a cataclysmic entrance to save Keisuke and Yoshito. Now, his attention turned to his own assigned battle.
Before the confrontation could properly begin, Rei, Ayumi's brother and a prince fueled by righteous fury, lunged at Whity. "For Aryavarta!" he shouted.
"Rei, NO!" Ilena's warning came a second too late.
Whity didn't even turn. A flick of his wrist, a subtle manipulation of space, and Rei was hurled away like a leaf in a gale, tumbling end over end into the distant void.
"Brothers," Whity said calmly, addressing the two hulking Devil Brothers. "Keep him occupied. Don't let him interrupt."
The Devils nodded, moving to intercept a dazed and furious Rei. This left Whity and Ilena facing each other.
Ilena:
Title: Guild Master. The Great Mage.
Power: Mastery over the four core elements – Earth, Wind, Water, Fire. She could weave them together effortlessly, a symphony of destructive and protective magic.
Whity:
Title: Twin of the Gate User.
Power: A perfect, albeit lesser, mirror of Nero's vast arsenal. He could utilize nearly all of Nero's techniques, though the truly universe-shattering ones remained beyond his capacity. His true strength lay in his brilliant, analytical mind.
"You cannot win," Whity stated, his voice not mocking, but matter-of-fact. "I know you possess a strong will. That is admirable. Will can bridge a small gap in power. But this?" He gestured between them. "This is a chasm. Your willpower is a rope, not a bridge."
Ilena said nothing, her jaw tight. She knew he was right. The aura radiating from him was on a completely different level.
"I am not asking you to abandon your pride," Whity continued, his golden eyes holding hers. "I am asking you to make a smart choice. A better future awaits beyond this conflict. Stand down."
Ilena's shoulders slumped slightly. The fight drained out of her. After a long moment, she gave a slow, reluctant nod. "I... accept."
The moment the words left her lips, her body convulsed. A dark, viscous energy erupted from within her, swallowing her whole. Her eyes widened in shock and agony. "Wh-what's happening?! HELP ME!" she screamed, her form distorting before she was utterly consumed and vanished.
From the space where she stood, a new entity coalesced – a figure of swirling, seductive darkness and chaotic desire. The Chaos Temptress.
Whity's eyes narrowed, one glowing with intense golden light as he activated his Soul Library, analyzing the terrifying energy before him.
"YOU BASTARD!" Rei roared from a distance, struggling against the Devil Brothers' hold. "WHAT DID YOU DO TO ILENA?!"
'Brothers,' Whity's voice echoed in the Devils' minds via telepathy. 'Barrier. Now. Do not emerge until I say.'
The Devil Brothers immediately complied, erecting a powerful shimmering dome that sealed themselves and a frantic Rei inside.
"Young Lord, please, listen!" one of the brothers pleaded, holding Rei back. "Your father, Fernando... he is the architect of all this horror!" They projected the unvarnished truth of Fernando's deeds into Rei's mind.
Rei, a genuinely good-hearted prince who truly desired his people's welfare, was shattered. Rage, clean and pure, replaced his confusion. "Let me out! I have to stop him!"
"We cannot!" the other brother said, his voice grave. "The entity that consumed Ilena... it radiates pure Karmic Energy. The 'Temptation of Greed' itself. Our mortal souls cannot withstand its direct influence. To leave this barrier is to have our souls instantly corrupted. We would become mindless, greedy monsters, just like it."
Whity observed the Temptress, his Soul Library feeding him data. "An impressive concentration of Karmic Energy," he mused aloud. "Chaos Temptress. Why return to this realm after so long?"
Karmic Energy: A unique power source, drawn directly from the deepest desires of living beings. Like a Gate User's power, it has no hard upper limit. Its strength scales infinitely with the host's – or victim's – greed, anger, and ambition. It is power fueled by raw, unchecked desire.
The Temptress laughed, a sound that promised everything and granted nothing. "Ah! A little 'Gate-Rat'. Your kind has always been so... annoying. Where is your Master? The loyal puppy himself?"
Whity settled into a combat stance, golden energy flaring around him. "There is no need for my Lord to trouble himself with the likes of you. As long as my teeth are sharp enough to bite, I will handle this."
BOOOOOOM!
The battle erupted, a clash of golden order against chaotic desire. As they exchanged world-shattering blows, Whity's mind raced, connecting the dots.
'So this,' he thought, a grim understanding dawning, 'is what Queen Eri was trying to warn us about. Their true motives... are still unclear to me.'
The fight for the soul of Ilena, and the very nature of desire, had begun.