The silence inside the ruined pyramid lasted only a few seconds, but neither Hero nor Kanzaki wasted those seconds. They were no longer looking at each other's weapons with curiosity. They were looking for the smallest mistake, the smallest hesitation, the smallest movement that could tell them what the other intended to do next. Hero slowly spread several cards between his fingers while Kanzaki lowered his hand toward the two dice resting against his palm. The dust around them continued to settle, and the moonlight entering through the broken ceiling illuminated the battlefield between them like a strange arena that neither fighter had chosen, yet both had already accepted.
Hero tilted his head and gave a faint smile. "You've been playing defensively this whole time, haven't you? You've broken my cards, avoided my traps, and tested how I use Diamond, but you haven't actually shown me what happens when those dice of yours are pushed beyond simple tricks. I was starting to think you were saving something."
Kanzaki looked at him without changing his expression, although the faint smile appearing at the corner of his mouth made it obvious that Hero had finally said what he wanted to hear. "You noticed." He rolled the two dice across his knuckles before closing his hand around them. "Then I suppose there's no reason to keep pretending this is still a warm-up."
The dice left his fingers.
They struck the stone floor.
One bounced against a broken pillar before rolling across the ground.
The other struck the wall, changed direction, and landed beside the first.
Two.
Five.
Hero's eyes narrowed.
Kanzaki didn't explain.
He didn't need to.
The air around him suddenly changed.
His body became lighter, his movements sharper, and the distance between every step seemed to collapse. At the same time, something subtle appeared around his hands and dice, almost like invisible pressure gathering around every possible point of impact. His breathing remained completely steady, but his eyes were different now. They were no longer simply observing Hero.
They were calculating where the next hit would hurt the most.
Hero slowly lowered his cards.
"So that's your serious mode."
Kanzaki disappeared.
Hero's eyes widened.
He immediately threw three Diamonds.
The cards scattered through the chamber, creating multiple points that Hero could use for movement, but Kanzaki had already crossed the distance between them. Hero barely raised a Club before Kanzaki's fist struck the card.
CRACK!
The Club didn't simply block the impact.
The entire card shattered.
Hero was thrown backward.
He twisted in midair, caught himself against the side of a stone wall, and immediately kicked away before Kanzaki could follow.
A Spade flew from his hand.
Then another.
Then another.
The cards crossed through the air like blades, but Kanzaki moved between them with terrifying precision. His body shifted left, then right, then suddenly forward again, every movement faster than the one before. Hero threw another Diamond beneath himself and vanished through it, appearing above Kanzaki.
"Got you!"
Hero released five Spades at once.
Kanzaki looked upward.
Instead of retreating, he moved directly toward them.
The first card passed beside his shoulder.
The second missed his face by inches.
The third came toward his chest.
Kanzaki rotated his body and allowed the card to pass.
The fourth was already behind him.
He ducked.
The fifth was waiting where he would land.
Kanzaki's eyes sharpened.
His foot touched the ground.
He twisted.
The card missed.
Hero's expression changed.
"You predicted that?"
Kanzaki looked toward him.
"No. I predicted you."
Hero's smile returned.
"Same thing."
He flicked a Diamond forward.
Kanzaki immediately moved.
But the Diamond wasn't aimed at him.
It struck the floor.
Hero vanished.
Kanzaki's eyes moved upward.
Hero appeared directly above him, already throwing a Spade downward.
Kanzaki raised his arm.
The card struck.
For a moment, the two remained frozen.
Then the Spade suddenly fractured.
Hero's eyes widened.
Kanzaki's hand was already around the card.
"You keep relying on the same assumption."
He crushed the Spade between his fingers.
"You think I have to avoid your cards."
Kanzaki stepped forward.
"I don't."
He threw the broken card aside.
"I only have to survive them."
Hero immediately threw an entire fan of cards.
Dozens of them filled the chamber.
Kanzaki ran straight through the formation.
Cards passed around him.
Some struck the ground.
Some cut through stone.
Some nearly reached his body.
But every time Hero thought one of them had finally caught him, Kanzaki changed direction at the last possible instant.
Hero began throwing cards faster.
Spades.
Clubs.
Diamonds.
Hearts.
The battlefield became a storm of symbols.
Kanzaki continued moving through it.
Then Hero noticed something.
Every time Kanzaki attacked, he aimed for the same general areas.
Shoulder.
Ribs.
Leg.
Wrist.
Not because those were necessarily the easiest targets.
Because he was looking for something.
Hero's expression became serious.
"You're testing my reactions."
Kanzaki stopped for half a second.
Hero immediately understood.
"You're trying to find out which side I favor when I'm forced to teleport."
Kanzaki smiled.
"Finally."
Hero threw a Diamond directly at his own feet.
Kanzaki rushed forward.
Hero disappeared.
Kanzaki turned.
Nothing.
Then a Spade flew from behind him.
He leaned forward.
The card passed over his back.
Another came from the left.
He jumped.
Another came from above.
He twisted.
Then Hero appeared beside him.
The card in Hero's hand was already touching Kanzaki's shoulder.
"Found you."
Kanzaki's eyes widened.
Hero activated the Spade.
The impact launched Kanzaki through a stone pillar.
BOOOOM!
The pillar collapsed.
Dust erupted across the chamber.
Hero stood in the middle of the battlefield, breathing heavily while his cards slowly floated around him.
For a moment, there was no movement.
Then two dice rolled out from the dust.
They bounced across the ground.
Kanzaki stepped through the debris.
His coat was torn.
There was dust across his face.
But he was smiling.
Hero stared at him.
"You enjoyed that?"
Kanzaki picked up the dice.
"I did."
He wiped the dust from his cheek.
"Because now I know something about you."
Hero's smile disappeared.
Kanzaki raised one of the dice.
"You don't fight randomly either."
He threw it upward.
Hero watched the die rotate.
Kanzaki caught it.
"You're just better at hiding your pattern."
Hero's eyes narrowed.
"Then maybe I should stop hiding it."
He reached into his coat and pulled out an entire stack of cards.
Kanzaki's smile widened.
"That's more like it."
Hero threw the entire stack.
The cards exploded outward.
Spades surrounded Kanzaki from multiple directions while Clubs moved behind them, ready to alter their trajectories. Diamonds appeared across the battlefield, creating teleportation points that allowed Hero to jump from one location to another without warning.
Hero vanished.
Reappeared.
Vanished again.
Reappeared from another Diamond.
Every appearance was followed by another card.
Kanzaki was suddenly surrounded.
He moved forward.
A Spade came from his left.
He ducked.
A Club changed direction behind him.
He turned.
A Diamond appeared in front of him.
Hero emerged.
Kanzaki blocked.
Hero disappeared again.
A Heart appeared.
Kanzaki struck it.
The card burst apart.
Hero appeared behind him.
"Too slow."
Kanzaki turned.
Hero threw a Spade directly toward his chest.
Kanzaki didn't dodge.
Instead, he stepped forward.
The Spade passed behind him.
Hero froze.
Kanzaki had intentionally moved into the attack.
His hand grabbed Hero's wrist.
"You're not the only one who can manipulate positioning."
Hero tried to pull away.
Kanzaki twisted his arm and threw him across the chamber.
Hero crashed into the ground and rolled several meters before stopping.
He immediately pushed himself up.
Kanzaki was already there.
Hero raised a Club.
Kanzaki struck it.
The impact forced Hero backward.
Hero threw two Spades point-blank.
Kanzaki moved between them.
Hero threw a third.
Kanzaki tilted his head.
The card passed.
Hero followed with a fourth.
Kanzaki caught it.
Hero's eyes widened.
Kanzaki looked down at the card in his hand.
"You're getting desperate."
Hero grinned despite his heavy breathing.
"No."
His fingers moved.
The card in Kanzaki's hand suddenly activated.
Kanzaki released it.
Too late.
The Spade exploded with force.
Kanzaki was thrown backward.
Hero immediately threw a Diamond beneath himself and teleported across the chamber, appearing beside another Diamond near the ceiling.
He looked down at Kanzaki.
"You forgot one thing."
Kanzaki slowly stood.
"What?"
Hero held up a card.
"I don't need to hit you with the card I'm holding."
He threw it.
Kanzaki watched it travel.
Then his eyes widened.
The card wasn't aimed at him.
It was aimed at one of the other Diamonds.
Hero disappeared.
Kanzaki turned.
Hero appeared from the Diamond behind him.
A Spade was already waiting in Hero's hand.
Kanzaki barely raised his arm.
BOOM!
The impact sent both fighters in opposite directions.
Hero landed on one knee.
Kanzaki slid across the stone floor.
For the first time since activating his two-dice combination, Kanzaki looked genuinely serious.
Hero wiped the dust from his mouth.
Neither spoke.
The two looked at each other across the ruined chamber.
Then Kanzaki slowly picked up both dice.
Hero saw the movement.
His eyes narrowed.
"You've still got another roll."
Kanzaki looked down at the dice.
"Of course."
He placed them between his fingers.
"But I'm not showing you everything yet."
Hero smiled.
"Good."
He raised another card.
"Because I'm not showing you everything either."
The dice began rolling across Kanzaki's palm.
The cards began gathering around Hero.
Neither of them attacked.
Not yet.
They had reached the point where the next move wouldn't simply decide who landed a hit.
It would decide whose strategy controlled the rest of the fight.
And somewhere beneath the ancient pyramid, the sound of dice striking stone mixed with the fluttering of hundreds of cards.
The game had finally become a battle.