The cave breathed with tension.
Cold air drifted through jagged cracks in the stone walls while thick pools of black Ink crawled across the ground like living shadows.
Every sound felt distant.
Every breath felt heavy.
And at the center of it all—
Ozaki stood before Rujer.
Still.
Silent.
Yet the pressure rolling off his body made the cave tremble.
His face remained calm, but his eyes burned with restrained fury. He didn't move.
Didn't blink.
But everyone felt it.
Master Ozaki was enraged.
---
Behind him, Yamato stared at Ozaki's back, his eyes narrowing slightly.
Something about him felt familiar.
Not from school.
Not from training.
But from someone far older in Yamato's memory.
His master.
The first man who ever stood beside him. The one who forged him through endless training. The one who taught him not only the blade—
—but every weapon capable of killing.
And now…
Ozaki felt exactly like him.
Yamato's lips parted slightly.
"Why does Master Ozaki feel like Master…?" he whispered beneath his breath.
Beside him, Sora tightened her grip on Lumei's arm, unable to look away from the battlefield.
Ichiha's eyes gleamed sharply.
His theory had been right.
Rujer truly carried Kaku's power.
But something still bothered him.
The Ink.
Nent we encountered possessed a softer black Ink—dark, but natural.
Rujer's was different.
Thicker.
Heavier.
Almost unreal.
As though darkness itself had been melted down and poured into liquid form.
Chella stood quietly nearby, watching Ozaki with unwavering focus.
The six of them understood one thing.
They were about to witness something far beyond them.
---
Far away, deep within a dense forest, ancient branches swayed beneath the wind.
Dead leaves covered the earth in heavy layers. Fungus clung to damp bark while silence ruled the woods.
Kaku sat calmly upon a wooden chair.
Watching.
No—
Feeling.
Because it was his power that awakened Rujer's innate abilities, a faint connection still lingered between them.
His fingers rested thoughtfully against his jaw.
The others only inherited fragments of my power…
His eyes narrowed.
But Rujer consumed my flesh.
A faint smile touched his lips.
My body possesses regenerative nerves. If exposed to enough of my magic, the flesh should react.
His gaze darkened.
But Rujer's own power is suppressing it.
The smile widened slightly.
And suppression weakens under pressure.
He leaned back slowly.
Ozaki will force him to his limit.
And when that happens…
His fingers tapped lightly against the chair.
The flesh will surface.
---
Back inside the cave, Ozaki's gaze remained fixed on Rujer.
The silence stretched endlessly.
Then Ozaki finally spoke.
"Do you have anything left to say…"
His voice came low and sharp.
"…or shall we begin?"
The words didn't echo.
They sank.
Heavy enough to press against everyone's chest.
Rujer's expression slowly twisted into a grin.
Not hatred.
Not rage.
Excitement.
Dangerous excitement.
Ozaki's hand slid toward the hilt of his still-sheathed blade.
Instantly—
The temperature dropped.
Frost spread across the fungus growing along the cave walls, crystallizing them white.
Ozaki exhaled softly.
Cold steam escaped from the corner of his mouth.
The aura around him shifted completely.
Cold.
Sharp.
Overwhelming.
Behind him, the students stiffened.
Chella rubbed her arms immediately, shivering.
"Master Ozaki… he's… different."
Lumei nodded slowly, feeling the cold settle deep into his bones.
"Yeah," he muttered quietly. "Now I get it."
Chella and Ichiha turned toward him.
Only Yamato kept staring forward.
Unaffected.
Lumei exhaled slowly.
"All this time… whenever Master Ozaki used his God Form…"
His eyes locked onto Ozaki.
"…he was lowering himself to our level."
Silence followed instantly.
"Showing us the strength we might someday reach."
Sora's expression hardened thoughtfully.
The cold continued spreading through the cave.
---
Yamato suddenly chuckled, stretching both arms behind his head.
"Well, I guess I should feel honored."
Sora frowned.
"Hm?"
Yamato grinned lazily.
"Rujer separated me and Master Ozaki from the rest of you first."
He shrugged.
"Guess he knew we were the strongest ones here."
SMACK.
Sora hit the back of his head instantly.
"Shut up, loser."
Yamato rubbed his head with a grin before glancing toward Ichiha.
"And you—don't hold back information during team missions."
Lumei shook his head with a sigh.
"He's got a point."
---
SHING.
The sound sliced through the cave.
Ozaki drew his blade.
Cold steam rolled from the metal as he pointed it directly toward Rujer.
Rujer chuckled softly before raising both hands.
As though surrendering.
Or perhaps mocking him.
"Ozaki…"
His grin widened.
"Here's something interesting about my Ink."
A pause.
"It can be acidic."
The moment the words left his mouth—
Dark Ink exploded from both palms.
Not bullets.
Not blasts.
A flood.
A violent torrent of thick black liquid surged directly toward Ozaki.
Ozaki reacted instantly.
His blade flattened.
Expanded.
Metal widened outward into an octagonal shield covered in strange ancient patterns resembling indecipherable runes.
The flood slammed violently against it.
Ink splashed across the cave floor.
Ozaki's eyes narrowed.
Something felt wrong.
The Ink wasn't melting anything.
His thoughts sharpened instantly.
Why isn't it corrosive?
Was he bluffing?
Behind him, Yamato's eyes narrowed at the exact same moment.
The same conclusion crossed both their minds simultaneously.
He can choose when the Ink becomes acidic.
The realization came—
Too late.
SSSSSS—
The Ink coating the ground suddenly began sizzling violently.
Ozaki's sandal dissolved instantly.
His left pinky toe vanished.
Three toes on his right foot melted away.
Ozaki leaped backward immediately, escaping the spreading pool just before it consumed more flesh.
Rujer burst into laughter.
"Hahahahaha!"
"You figured it out well…"
His grin widened monstrously.
"…but too late."
The cave floor cracked apart as the corrosive Ink devoured the stone itself.
Then the liquid began moving again.
The darkness slithered across the ground toward Rujer before climbing his legs and body like living tar.
His frame expanded.
Muscles swelled.
Bones cracked loudly.
Darkness pulsed beneath his skin.
By the time the transformation ended—
Rujer stood over ten feet tall.
Ink dripped from one arm before gathering into shape.
A scythe formed.
Its black blade curved viciously, thick droplets hanging from the edge.
Not corrosive.
Not yet.
Rujer lifted the weapon onto his shoulder.
"If it's a battle you want, Ozaki…"
His voice thundered throughout the cave.
"…then I'll gladly give you one!"
---
Ozaki didn't react.
Didn't flinch.
He simply walked forward.
Calm.
Steady.
The missing flesh on his feet regenerated slowly as he moved.
Then Ozaki stretched one hand into empty space—
And the arm vanished into darkness.
His personal realm.
Moments later, he pulled something back out.
A platinum scythe.
Elegant.
Deadly.
The sharpened blade gleamed beneath the cave's dim light as Ozaki tightened his grip.
The shield disappeared from his other hand.
He stopped only a few steps away from Rujer.
The two figures stood face-to-face.
One towered in monstrous darkness.
The other radiated divine cold.
Behind them, Team Ozaki shouted desperately.
"Master! You got this!" Sora yelled.
"Destroy him, Master Ozaki!" Ichiha shouted, raising his fists.
Ozaki closed his eyes.
For a brief moment—
His mind drifted elsewhere.
A silent graveyard.
Rows of gravestones beneath endless skies.
His inner yard.
This is an unknown Silver-Type…
The thought echoed quietly.
And I must fight him.
A cold breath escaped his lips.
Sharpen my senses once again.
I have not yet returned to my prime.
His eyes opened.
Locked onto Rujer.
Then Ozaki spoke calmly.
"Let's finish this."
The energy inside the cave exploded violently.
Shadow and Godhood were finally about to collide.