Klaus's mind raced. Every possible angle, every trick he had—it all ended the same way.
No gap. No opening.
His knuckles tightened… then suddenly, the dome of wind and Ryōki collapsed. The power dispersed in an instant, the air snapping back with a harsh CRACK.
Sofie's eyes widened. "Klaus—?!"
Ryouma's grin spread slow and cruel."Ohhh… what's this? You're that desperate, huh?" His laugh rolled out, low and venomous, shaking with sadistic glee.
Klaus's voice was steady. "I'll give you the tears."
Ryouma's brows rose, and for a heartbeat, there was a flicker of genuine intrigue. "…Ohhh."
He stepped closer, dragging the tip of his blade against the ground with a screech.
"But," Klaus continued, his gaze never wavering, "you wouldn't leave us alone even if I gave them to you. So here's the deal—you can kill me… but you leave her alone."
Sofie froze. The words felt like knives.
"Klaus! No!" she shouted, her voice breaking.
He turned slightly, meeting her tear-filled eyes. Then softly, almost out of place in the blood-soaked air he reached up and patted her head. His lips curved into a warm, gentle smile, the kind he rarely showed.
"Don't worry," he murmured, voice just for her. "All this will be over soon."
Her vision blurred. "You idiot…!"
Ryouma chuckled darkly, pointing his blade straight at Klaus."Alright…" his tone dripped with mock sincerity. "…I'll take the tears. And you—" he jabbed the sword forward, the tip almost brushing Klaus's chest, "—you die here."
Klaus reached into Sofie's satchel, fingers curling around the small glass bottle. Inside, the dragon tear shimmered—an opalescent swirl of pale rose and silver light, the essence of their brutal victory still humming inside it.
He stepped forward, every movement deliberate, and extended his hand.
Ryouma's smirk deepened as his fingers closed around the bottle.
But in that exact heartbeat—BOOM!
A violent burst of wind and lightning erupted point-blank from Klaus's palm, detonating in a blinding flare. The blast hurled Ryouma backward, his laughter twisting into a startled snarl as the shockwave ripped the ground apart in jagged streaks of scorched stone.
The smell of ozone burned in the air.
Ryouma staggered, blinded, his boots skidding over shattered rock. "Tch—KLAUS!"
Klaus didn't waste the moment—he surged forward, boots pounding against the ground, Ryōki flaring around him in a violent aura. Lightning crackled over his arms, the wind howling in his wake as he slammed into Ryouma, driving him back with raw force.
Steel clashed, the air alive with the sound of blades ringing and thunder cracking. Klaus's strikes came relentless—each one a fusion of slicing wind and bone-jarring electric bursts meant to keep Ryouma on the defensive.
Behind them, Sofie stood frozen for a moment, her chest tight as she watched the two tear into each other, the bottle now lying shattered between them, its last traces of shimmering liquid seeping into the broken ground.
Ryouma, still grinning despite the burns across his arm, pushed back against Klaus's blade with brutal force."You really think that trick will save you?" he growled. "You'll have to do better, Klausy boy."
Ryouma's blade locked with Klaus's for one last clang before he abruptly kicked him back, sending Klaus skidding across the torn ground.
The grin on Ryouma's face faded into something sharper—hungrier."Hmph… I thought I could take my time… savor tearing you apart piece by piece…" His voice was low, rumbling like a predator about to strike. "…but I guess I'm done playing."
Without warning, he leapt high into the air, the force of his jump cracking the ground beneath him.
Up there—silhouetted against the burning sky—Ryouma's entire body became a vortex of seething red energy. His Ryōki burst outward like an inferno made flesh, the sheer pressure distorting the air. Black silhouettes of writhing tendrils formed around him, and his eyes glowed with a molten, inhuman crimson—piercing, unblinking, merciless.
The shockwave from his unleashed power slammed into the battlefield, flattening what remained of the terrain. Sofie was thrown to her knees, one arm shielding her eyes as her body trembled from the crushing spiritual pressure.
Klaus gritted his teeth, holding his stance against the wave of heat and malevolence.
His own lightning sputtered erratically around him, reacting violently to the oppressive energy.
Above them, Ryouma's voice roared like a demonic verdict—"LET'S END THIS, KLAUS!"
The ground beneath Klaus's boots cracked again under the sheer force of Ryouma's killing intent.
---
The clash in the sky was blinding—lightning tearing across the heavens, wind howling like a living beast.
Klaus and Ryouma vanished and reappeared in bursts of speed, each movement sharp enough to rip the air apart.
Their blades met again and again, sparks exploding outward like miniature suns.
Far below, Sofie's eyes never left the swirling storm of steel and energy. Her hands clenched so tightly her knuckles turned white, lips trembling in a silent prayer.
Klaus drove himself harder, faster—wind wrapping around his body, lightning exploding from his blade in vicious arcs.
But Ryouma… Ryouma was faster still, cutting through every attempt, his movements a blur of predatory precision.
Then, without warning, Ryouma's body shimmered, splitting into an afterimage.Klaus lunged forward, lightning crackling in his strike only to cut through empty air.
The real Ryouma was already behind him.
Klaus's instincts screamed, but it was too late. A sharp, cold pressure slid between his ribs. His breath caught, a metallic tang blooming in his mouth. His fingers brushed his lips—then came the hot rush of blood, spilling past his teeth in a violent cough.
He looked down.
The gleam of Ryouma's blade jutted through his chest.
"This…" Ryouma's voice was low, dripping with satisfaction, "…is the end, Klausy boy."
The blade slid free in a single, sickening motion. Klaus's body crumpled, gravity dragging him from the sky. He hit the ground with a deafening crash, the arena fracturing beneath the impact.
Sofie's scream tore through the chaos.
"KLAUS!"
Her legs moved before she could think, but her eyes—her horrified, disbelieving eyes—were fixed on the still form sprawled across the battlefield.
Ryouma landed with a predator's grace, brushing a fleck of blood from his blade. His expression was unreadable for a moment—then curved into that same cruel smile.
"It's a waste, really…" he said almost lazily, though his voice carried across the battlefield. "…I thought he'd entertain me a little longer."
Then his gaze slid to her. The smile widened.
"It's…" he took one deliberate step toward her, "…over…" another, his voice savoring each word, "…kid."
He stopped just a few feet away, tilting his head slightly, his glowing eyes never blinking."Your boyfriend… is dead."
The words landed like a knife. The air itself seemed to grow heavier, and yet—behind the blood and the dust—a faint flicker of electricity whispered from where Klaus lay.
Her trembling hands pressed against his chest, desperate, frantic.
"Klaus…! Hey—hey, stay with me!" Her voice cracked, choking on tears as she leaned down, trying to force air into his lungs. She pumped at his chest again, again, counting under her breath in ragged sobs.
Nothing.
"Klaus, please—" Her tears dripped onto his face, smearing into the streaks of blood."Don't you dare… don't you dare leave me!"
She tried again, her hands slipping against the blood-soaked fabric. No breath. No heartbeat.
It hit her like a blade to the gut.
He's… he's not breathing anymore.
Her movements slowed, then stopped entirely, her shaking hands still pressed against his unmoving chest. Her lips quivered as the truth dug in, hollowing her from the inside.
He's… dead.
Her vision blurred, the world narrowing to just the still, pale face before her. "No… no no no no…" she whispered, clutching his shirt, burying her face into him as if holding him tight enough could pull him back.
Footsteps crunched on the ground.
Ryouma's shadow fell over them, blotting out what little light remained."Well, well…" he murmured, his tone dripping with mock pity. "…Looks like your hero wasn't much of one after all."
Sofie didn't look up. She couldn't. Her body shook as she clung to Klaus's corpse.
"You know…" Ryouma crouched slightly, tilting his head so she'd have to hear every word, "…it's almost poetic. All that lightning, all that pride… and in the end?"
He let out a low, dark chuckle. "Nothing. Just another corpse in the dirt."
Her grip tightened around Klaus's body.
"Oh, but don't let me interrupt your little grieving moment," Ryouma continued, standing and pacing slowly around her. "Cry all you want. Scream. Beg. It won't change a thing."
He stopped in front of her, leaning down so his glowing eyes bored into hers when she finally glanced up."Face it, kid… you're alone now."
Sofie slowly lifted her head from Klaus's chest, strands of hair clinging to her tear-streaked face. Her eyes, once glassy with grief, now burned—not with sorrow, but with something far sharper.
Rage.
Ryouma froze for half a second, then grinned, as if savoring the change.
"Oho… there it is," he chuckled, his voice low and venomous. "That look. That glare. I was wondering when you'd stop crying and start hating."
He stepped closer, deliberately dragging his blade across the ground so the metal screeched."Go on… show me," he taunted, tilting his head. "Show me you've got more than pathetic tears."
Sofie didn't answer. Her hands shook—not from fear now, but from the heat building under her skin. She rose slowly to her feet, every muscle trembling, not with weakness, but with coiled fury.
"You think this is a game?" she whispered, her voice low and shaking.
Ryouma laughed outright, throwing his head back. "A game? Oh no, sweetheart… this is sport. And right now, you're my next target."
But something about her stillness made his smirk twitch—just slightly. The air around her shimmered faintly, heat distorting the space like ripples over fire.
Sofie's fists clenched, nails digging into her palms until they drew blood. Her breath came slow, steady. And when she finally spoke again, it was with a voice like steel.
"You're going to regret every word you just said."