Time stopped.
Not literally - the Rating Game dimension didn't have that power. But in my mind, in the space between heartbeats, everything froze.
Riser on his knees. Rias behind me. The announcement still echoing: "Riser Phenex has surrendered."
The game was over.
I knew this. Understood it. The rules were clear. Yield meant victory. Victory meant the engagement ended. Everything we'd fought for - achieved.
My body kept moving.
"He yielded," the Fragment observed. Its voice carried no judgment, no urgency. Simple observation of fact.
I know.
"The game is over."
I know.
"And yet you advance. Interesting."
Light Lance formed in my hand. Not the dim, exhausted version I'd been throwing for the past hour. Something brighter. Sharper. Fed by reserves I didn't know I possessed.
Riser scrambled backward. "The game is over! I yielded! You can't - "
Something cold bloomed in my chest. Something that remembered his smile when he'd spoken of Rias as property. His casual cruelty when he'd burned Kiba. The arrogance of a man who'd never faced consequence.
Kill him.
The thought came from everywhere at once.
[ECHO INTRUSION: MAXIMUM]
Dohnaseek's echo: "He's weak. Finish it. Kill him." (Light Lance origin)
Rias's echo: "Protect what's yours. Eliminate the threat."
Kiba's echo: "Precision. One strike."
Koneko's echo: "End it."
[FRAGMENT OBSERVATION]
"All your Echoes agree. How convenient."
"The question is: do YOU agree?"
"Or are you merely their puppet now?"
[BATTLE SURGE: ACTIVATED]
[Power Level: 75 → 112 (60 seconds)]
"Choose, little thief. But know:"
"Some choices cannot be unmade."
```
The Echoes screamed in harmony.
Dohnaseek's contempt for weakness, carved into the very Light Lance I wielded. He's defeated. Vulnerable. Finish what you start.
Rias's territorial protectiveness, absorbed during every moment together. He threatened what's yours. He'll do it again. Eliminate the threat.
Kiba's precision, honed through a lifetime of swordsmanship. One strike. Clean. Efficient. End it.
Koneko's ruthless simplicity. End it.
All of them agreeing. All of them pushing toward the same conclusion.
And beneath it all, the Fragment watched. Waited. Let me hear every voice except its own.
"This is your choice, little thief."
I remembered.
Riser's hand on Rias's face, possessive and cruel. "My bride." The way she'd flinched. The fear in her eyes that she'd tried so hard to hide.
I remembered.
Kiba screaming as Phoenix fire consumed his chest. The smell of burning flesh. The casual way Riser had dropped him, like discarding trash.
I remembered.
Every dismissive word. Every arrogant smile. Every moment this man had treated people like objects, consequences like abstractions, power like permission to hurt.
The memories fed the Echoes. The Echoes fed the rage.
And somewhere beneath it all, a cold voice whispered: He'll come back. They always come back. Unless you make sure.
Battle Surge activated.
I didn't choose it - not consciously. The power flooded through me like fire through dry kindling, 50% boost transforming my depleted reserves into something overwhelming.
Power Level: 75 → 112.
The Light Lance in my hand blazed brighter. Not the golden spear I'd been throwing all day, but something else entirely. Maximum power. Maximum intent.
Lethal.
Riser's eyes went wide. He saw it forming. Saw what it meant.
"Wait - "
I didn't wait.
Time resumed.
The world snapped back into motion. Colors. Sounds. The weight of consequence bearing down like a physical force.
"Ryder, stop!" Rias's voice, somewhere behind me.
Too late.
My arm drew back. The Lance blazed with power that shouldn't exist - Battle Surge feeding Dohnaseek's technique, every Echo adding strength, the Fragment's ancient knowledge sharpening the edge.
Riser raised his hands. Tried to summon flames. Failed. His regeneration was at 15%, his power exhausted, his immortality nothing but a memory.
"Please - " he managed.
I threw.
The Light Lance flew.
Time stretched again. Not frozen, but elongated. Every detail crystalline.
Riser's face. The fear there - real fear, maybe for the first time in his life. The realization that Phoenix flames couldn't save him. That regeneration had limits. That he might actually die.
His mouth forming words. "No - "
The Lance crossing the space between us. Golden light trailing like a comet's tail.
My own reflection in his terrified eyes. The face of someone I didn't recognize.
And then -
"Interesting choice," the Fragment observed.
The Lance hit.