The week that passed since Shiroyama Raidou's appearance changed "Tenran." The atmosphere of blind terror gave way to wary hope. A legend, a living relic, now walked among them, and his word became law.
Raidou wasted no time. He conducted a "diagnostic" of the academy's defensive barriers, finding weaknesses everywhere. He generously shared knowledge of ancient Kokuro techniques, making even Kaede and Ryūnosuke look at him with reverent awe. His proposals were flawless, his power undeniable.
It was he who proposed the plan to neutralize the "Kureina" threat.
"'Kureina' is not a creature, but a phenomenon," he explained at an emergency Council meeting in the temporary hall. Akira, as a "strategic asset," was present in the corner, a silent shadow. "It cannot be killed, but it can be isolated. Imprisoned in a vessel that its own nature cannot consume."
"And what is this vessel?" Director Fujibayashi asked.
"The Crystal Ark," Raidou answered, and the air breathed with the icy breath of antiquity. "An artifact forged from the Scar of primordial ice, older than time itself. Its structure is absolutely static. It has no history to absorb, no Scars to devour. 'Kureina' will be locked in the eternal darkness of non-being."
Everyone froze in admiration. Genius. Simple and genius.
"The ritual will require significant energy," Raidou continued. "And coordination. I will lead the ceremony. Morohashi-kun, your 'Iron Vow' is perfect for stabilizing the Ark's structure. Himeji-san, your 'Crimson Loop' can guide 'Kureina' into the trap by rewriting its trajectory. Fujibayashi-san, your archival knowledge will help maintain the connection to the artifact."
He did not look at Akira. He was not included in the plan. He was superfluous.
The ritual was scheduled for midnight in the Forbidden Grove, a place of power on the academy's outskirts where ancient stones held the Scars of forgotten vows. Raidou explained that this place possessed a "natural resilience" to interference.
Akira watched from the sidelines, leaning against the trunk of an old cedar. He saw Ryūnosuke, Kaede, and Shiori take their places at the vertices of a triangle drawn on the ground with shining runes of frost, drawn by Raidou. In the center, on an altar, lay the Crystal Ark itself—a perfectly transparent cube, inside which a dull light pulsed.
Shiori met his gaze. In her eyes was anxiety, not for the ritual, but for him. She alone had heard his warnings.
"Don't interfere, Mushiro," Ryūnosuke hissed, noticing his gaze. "If your void disrupts our concentration, everything will go to hell."
"Concentration is not what will be disrupted," Akira replied quietly, but no one heard him.
Raidou raised his hands. The temperature dropped instantly. The air congealed, frost dusted the grass and leaves, turning the grove into the Snow Queen's crystal palace.
"We begin!" his voice rang out like a gong strike.
Kokuro energy flooded the space. Ryūnosuke, his face twisted with effort, stabilized the Ark—metallic veins shimmered within the ice. Kaede, eyes closed, her crimson kimono a spot of blood on a white canvas, wove a web of cause-and-effect, creating a "corridor" for the bait.
The bait used was a powerful but inert Scar of an ancient volcanic eruption, extracted from the archives.
And it worked.
At the edge of the grove, space thinned and tore. From the black rift crawled the familiar void. "Kureina." It was larger, denser. In its center pulsed dozens of stolen Scars, like sick stars.
«...HUNGER...»
"Now!" Raidou commanded. "Guide it!"
Kaede altered the reality before "Kureina," creating the only logical path for it—straight into the Ark's open gates. The monster, driven by instinct, surged forward.
And at that moment, Akira saw it. The true Scar. Not on "Kureina," and not on the ritual. It was on Raidou himself.
At the moment of highest tension, when the energy of the three masters was directed into the Ark, and "Kureina" was already half-absorbed by it, the Scar on Raidou's back manifested. It was not a Scar of technique. It was a Scar of servitude. The thinnest, almost invisible thread of pure ice, leading away to nowhere, to some transcendent dimension. And energy flowed along this thread. Not "Kureina's" energy, but the energy of Ryūnosuke, Kaede, and Shiori. The ritual was not a trap for the monster. It was a pump.
Raidou was not trying to lock away "Kureina." He was using the power of three geniuses to forcibly merge the artificial Void with the scattered soul of Magoro, contained within the Ark!
"He's not locking it away!" Akira shouted, breaking into a run. "He's waking it up! Stop the ritual!"
But it was too late.
Raidou turned his head toward him, and triumphant fury blazed in his icy eyes.
"Too late, Void. It is time for my master to gain flesh!"
He severed the connection with the Ark. But he did not stop the pump. The power siphoned from the three masters struck "Kureina," which was now half-trapped. The artificial Void met the greatest Scar of all time... The soul of Akatsuki Magoro.
A flash occurred that was not light. It was a flash of darkness. A sound that was silence.
"Kureina" vanished, absorbed, ground into nothingness by a will immeasurably surpassing its own.
The Crystal Ark cracked. From the crack poured a stream of absolute darkness, which did not dissipate, but contracted, forming a new body.
Ryūnosuke and Kaede collapsed to their knees, exhausted, their faces pale from horror and energy loss. Shiori, weeping, stared at the center of the clearing, where the darkness was taking shape.
And only Raidou stood kneeling, bowing his head in respectful homage.
"Master..." he whispered. "Welcome back."
The darkness contracted into a human figure. Tall, powerful. It had not yet gained features, but its presence already pressed upon the world with such force that stones cracked and trees bent. The air rang with tension, and the sky above the grove darkened, swallowing the stars.
Akatsuki Magoro had begun his incarnation.
Akira stood, clenching his fists. His warnings had been ignored. Now the price of that mistake was before everyone's eyes. And he, the only one who could see the lie, found himself the only one left standing before the awakening god-demon.
The war had just entered its final, apocalyptic phase.