The battlefield was scorched and trembling.
Tetsuya Saito lay wounded; his lightning katana dim beside him.
Momo Yokoyama stood tall, her Blood Scythe dripping with crimson energy, her Zone still active and pulsing with deathly power.
But before she could finish Tetsuya.
A beam of radiant light sliced through the air.
Riku Masusa landed between them, his dual light daggers drawn, his aura blazing with Tengu brilliance.
His wings flared wide, casting shimmering shadows across the crater.
"You've done enough Momo," Riku said, his voice calm but edged with fury, "If you want to take anyone else here… you'll have to go through me or Paulo."
Momo's eyes narrowed, "Another commander. Another sacrifice."
Riku did not respond. He activated his Zone.
His body erupted in pure light, his power surging to its peak.
The ground beneath him glowed, and his daggers pulsed with divine energy.
For five minutes, he would be unstoppable.
He dashed forward, faster than a blink, his daggers slashing in a radiant cross.
Momo blocked with her scythe, but the force of the impact sent her skidding backward.
Riku pressed the attack, unleashing his Dual Light Slash, sending twin arcs of energy that tore through the air.
Momo spun her scythe, deflecting one, but the second grazed her shoulder, searing through her armour.
She hissed, "You're faster than I expected."
Riku did not slow down.
He launched into a spinning kick, channelling his Light Dragon Kick, his leg transformed into a glowing dragon-shaped construct that slammed into Momo's chest, sending her flying into a crater wall.
The impact shook the base.
Rajin and Yuki watched from above, stunned, "He's pushing her back," Rajin muttered.
Yuki nodded, "He's using every second of the Zone."
Momo rose slowly, blood dripping from her mouth. Her scythe trembled in her grip. "You think light can defeat death?"
Riku's eyes blazed, "Light does not defeat death. It exposes it."
He dashed again, his daggers spinning in a flurry of strikes.
Momo tried to counter, but Riku's speed was overwhelming.
Each blow landed with precision, forcing her to retreat, her Zone flickering under the pressure.
She summoned a wave of blood magic, but Riku sliced through it, his daggers parting the crimson tide like blades of dawn.
Momo growled, her aura flaring, "You're not Paulo."
Riku's wings shimmered, "No. I am the one who trained beside him. And I am not done yet."
The battle raged on, light against death, speed against power.
And for the first time, Momo Yokoyama found herself on the defensive.
***
The battlefield trembled beneath the weight of two titans.
Riku Masusa stood tall, his light daggers pulsing with radiant energy, his wings spread wide like a Tengu guardian.
Across from him, Momo Yokoyama, the Monarch of Death, hovered in a vortex of crimson mist, her Blood Scythe spinning slowly in her hand like a pendulum of fate.
Both warriors locked eyes, neither blinking, neither breathing.
Then, in perfect unison, they activated their Zones.
The world exploded in light and shadow.
Riku's aura erupted into a blinding sphere of pure illumination, casting golden rays across the crater.
His power surged to its absolute peak, every cell in his body ignited with divine energy.
His daggers became extensions of starlight, and his speed transcended time itself.
Momo's Zone flared in contrast, a dome of blood-red energy that pulsed like a living heart.
Her scythe elongated, its blade dripping with condensed death magic.
Her presence became suffocating, her power eclipsing the sky in a veil of dread.
The two Zones collided.
The shockwave shattered the ground between them, sending debris flying in every direction.
Lightning cracked across the sky, and the very air screamed under the pressure of their unleashed might.
Riku moved first.
He vanished in a flash of light, reappearing behind Momo with a cross-slash of his daggers.
She spun, blocking with her scythe, but the force of the blow sent her skidding backward.
Before she could recover, Riku was already above her, delivering a spinning Light Dragon Kick that struck her shoulder and sent her crashing into the ground.
Momo rose slowly, blood trailing from her lips. "You're faster than before."
Riku's voice was steady, "And you're slower than death."
She snarled and retaliated, swinging her scythe in a wide arc that unleashed a wave of blood magic.
Riku countered with a radiant barrier, then dashed forward, his daggers carving through the crimson tide.
They clashed again, blade to blade, light to blood.
Each strike sent shockwaves across the battlefield. Craters formed beneath their feet.
The sky above flickered between day and night as their Zones warped reality itself.
But even as Momo unleashed her full fury, summoning blood serpents, death pulses, and scythe storms, Riku matched her blow for blow.
His Zone-enhanced reflexes allowed him to dodge, deflect, and counter with surgical precision.
The tide was shifting.
Rajin Mori watched from the edge, eyes wide. "He's holding his own… against Momo."
Yuki nodded, her claws clenched. "He is not just holding. He is pushing her back."
Momo's breathing grew heavier. Her attacks became more erratic, more desperate. Riku, by contrast, remained composed, his movements fluid, his strikes deliberate.
Then, with a burst of speed, Riku appeared behind her once more.
He whispered, "This ends now."
And unleashed a full-powered Dual Light Slash, the twin arcs of energy forming a radiant X that struck Momo square in the back, detonating in a blinding explosion.
Momo screamed, her Zone flickering.
She crashed to the ground, her scythe skidding away, her aura dimming.
Riku landed softly, his daggers still glowing, his Zone beginning to fade.
The battlefield fell silent.
But the war was not yet over.