—"If I survived that… then here, I'm invincible…"
Ryouji descended explosively, overtaking his shadows.
—"You'll die here, Hinokami…"
he said, his face filled with absolute determination.
Akira's expression was that of someone trying to remain calm—but his strained breaths of fatigue cut through that effort.
Ryouji raised his left dagger toward Akira.
Akira tilted his head in the opposite direction—
—and his fist rose toward Ryouji's back.
Ryouji dropped to the ground and twisted mid-descent, both daggers rising to block the powerful blow—
The impact shattered part of the ground.
From behind Akira, Ignis descended rapidly, his greatsword aiming for his shoulder.
Akira summoned his card—
It blocked the blade without him even looking back.
In that moment of tension and stillness—
He struck Ryouji's face with force.
The three shadows tried to react immediately—
But around Akira, walls of fire erupted.
Uncontrolled fire.
It shifted violently, expanding, pressing outward as if alive.
And so, Akira kept striking Ryouji with rage.
Ryouji tried to break free—
But Akira gave no opening.
In fact, he himself seemed not to breathe.
The flames were suffocating.
Without his shadows aiding him, Ryouji was alone.
Hinokami's fists kept crashing down—stronger each time.
Ryouji deliberately spat blood—
It splattered across Akira's face, breaking his concentration for a brief moment.
Ryouji seized that instant.
Both hands shot to Akira's neck—
tightening.
—"Ignis, help me!"
His voice was desperate.
He tried to squeeze harder, even as his own body resisted.
Through the flames, Ignis pushed forward without hesitation.
His greatsword struck Akira's shoulder—
—but before the attack could go further, Akira rose, his card clinging to his fist—
—and struck Ignis.
The moment it connected—
The card exploded.
Akira's blazing flames detonated in front of Ignis—
Launching him into the nearby building wall.
The explosion was massive.
The structure itself threatened to collapse.
Akira turned immediately.
Ryouji was already rising—
His daggers aimed straight for Akira's heart.
Akira caught them with one hand—
His other fist aimed for Ryouji's face.
The necromancer shifted aside, a low sound of restrained fury escaping him.
His foot rose—
Striking Akira's shoulder.
Akira stepped back.
The surrounding flames began to fade, though some still clung to the environment.
The smell of burning lingered.
Ryouji couldn't stop coughing.
Akira didn't hesitate.
He surged forward with a strained burst of force.
He summoned a card—
Dropped it beneath Ryouji—
and detonated it.
Ryouji took the hit directly—
and was launched into the sky.
Akira followed.
His next strike hit even harder.
Ryouji cried out in pain—
but forced himself to speak:
—"Ignis, Gorath, Haru!!! Go help her…!"
He spat blood.
Speaking under such crushing blows was far from ideal.
With effort, Ryouji summoned an ether dagger in his free hand—
and drove it into Akira's stomach.
Akira let out a pained sound.
Ryouji struck him downward.
The impact on the ground exploded with force.
Without a second to pause, Ryouji screamed on instinct as he descended—
aiming to end it.
When he landed—
another explosion thundered.
Smoke engulfed them.
The sky opened.
Rain fell—
heavier and heavier—
a storm of lightning and thunder.
Ryouji let out faint, exhausted breaths as he moved his daggers desperately.
Akira couldn't fully control his movements.
His vision blurred.
He dodged the daggers' advance while trying to strike back—
an endless clash to any observer.
Akira drove his feet into the ground—
Summoning a card beneath him.
It exploded into thousands of flames, surrounding the battlefield.
Buildings began to catch fire.
Ryouji spun his daggers between his fingers.
—"…You're too strong…" he murmured, raising his blades despite his fatigue.
Akira stood before him, bleeding from multiple points—his stomach, his shoulder.
His face was marked with blood.
His eyes—completely crimson.
As if they themselves were bleeding.
—"…I don't know if I should say the same about you…"
As they moved to clash again—
an explosion marked the beginning.
On the ground—
She rose between pillars, lifting her sword.
Lightning fell from the sky.
Amaya showed no mercy at this point.
Rain struck Kaede's face as she ran between the descending bolts.
When the strongest one approached—
she tried to block it.
—"Keep running!"
A worn voice called from behind her.
Shiro stepped forward, summoning Alma Rigel's card.
Now stronger—
it completely deflected the lightning strike.
Kaede nodded with a faint smile—
and kept running toward Amaya.
She pushed through rubble, fallen pillars, shattered glass—
hundreds of lightning strikes crashing around her.
Shiro watched, his face filled with desperation, his heart pounding wildly.
—"Alma Rigel… please… let me use it…"
he murmured to himself, raising both hands randomly—
And then—
Multiple green flame cards appeared—
blocking every lightning strike.
Beside them—
a distraction drew all three of their attention.
An explosive crash echoed.
The towering building above swayed slightly—
From below, it looked fatal.
Before they could react—
The building began to fall beside them—
crushing another structure—
tilting violently.
A breathtaking sight.
Amaya sensed something—
something she needed to confirm.
The fight no longer mattered.
She began running toward the falling building—
entering its descent.
Kaede, with restrained anger, ran after her.
—"Hey… we're still fighting!"
Shiro raised his arm, about to tell her to stop—
but a knot in his throat stopped him.
Then—
Alma Rigel's card appeared beside him.
—"Shiro… follow them. If you don't, it'll be worse."
The card disappeared shortly after.
Shiro, filled with fear and adrenaline, began running—
Using his ring to propel himself inside.
Inside—
Kaede and Amaya moved differently, but both destroyed everything in their path as they advanced rapidly.
Kaede reached her—
She tried to strike—
But Amaya was faster.
She dodged—
and kept running.
At the edge—
Amaya smiled faintly.
—"You're naive…" she murmured.
—"…Huh?"
From the sky—
A lightning bolt descended—
Striking the building instantly—
Splitting it apart.
Part of it collapsed rapidly.
Amaya followed Kaede—
—and her blade pierced her chest.
Kaede staggered.
Blood loss was immediate.
Her vision blurred more and more.
The blade had gone deep—
and was withdrawn just as quickly.
It hadn't struck anything vital—
It had hit her card…
The building lost all structure.
Kaede began to fall among the collapsing foundations.
Among them, Shiro clung to a pillar—
Alma Rigel's card protecting him freely.
When Shiro saw Kaede falling—
He launched the thread from his ring toward her.
Fear was written across his face.
His legs were ready to throw himself after her.
The thread reached her—
It caught her—
But the force was immense.
Shiro nearly fell.
He clung to the pillar—
struggling to hold her.
—"Kaede…! Kaede…!"
he shouted, trying to wake her, trying to make her respond—
trying to make her cooperate.
From above—
Amaya's sinister gaze lingered—
before she turned away indifferently.
—"Kaede… Kaede…!"
—"Kaede."
The tone changed abruptly.
It wasn't Shiro.
It sounded like an adult woman.
As she opened her eyes—
she saw a woman.
Smooth, shining blue hair.
Blue eyes to match.
Pale, flawless skin.
—"My daughter, are you alright…? You remind me of your grandmother—my mother. She always looked worried, even when she was happy."
The woman spoke of things Kaede didn't remember—
They didn't even feel familiar.
She couldn't connect to any of it.
"Where… am I?"