The sky above Dragonbone Ridge twisted like it couldn't hold what was happening anymore. The distortion they tried to stop in the last moment didn't fully collapse it lingered, unstable, flickering like a broken law of reality.
Then something changed.
Yoshiro didn't raise his hand this time.
He inhaled.
And the energy around him shifted.
Kairo felt it immediately. His eyes widened slightly as the pressure didn't just grow it refined. What was once chaotic erasure now became something cleaner, sharper… controlled.
"…Reikou?" Yura whispered, her voice low but tense.
A faint glow wrapped around Yoshiro's body. It wasn't overwhelming like Kairo's earlier attempts. It was quiet. Efficient. Perfectly balanced.
Strength.
Speed.
Stamina.
Everything aligned.
Yoshiro took a step forward.
And vanished.
"Too fast-!"
Kairo barely managed to turn his head before the impact landed. His body was thrown sideways, crashing across the broken terrain, rolling before forcing himself to stop. His vision blurred for a second, his chest tightening as he pushed himself back up.
That wasn't just speed.
That was control.
"Stay focused!" Yura shouted, already moving.
But even she felt it.
Her control tightened instinctively, trying to grasp his movement but it slipped. Not fully gone, but reduced. Like trying to hold water that refused to stay still.
Tyouro stepped forward anyway, flames igniting again around his arms, but now there was strain in them. His breathing was heavier, sweat running down his face, but his grin didn't fade.
"So you finally decided to fight properly, huh?" he said, raising his arms. "Good. I was getting bored."
Yoshiro appeared in front of him.
No build-up.
No warning.
Just presence.
Tyouro's instincts screamed. He swung immediately, fire bursting forward in a concentrated blast meant to overwhelm at close range.
Yoshiro didn't dodge.
He walked through it.
The flames split around him, parts of it erased, parts of it slipping past his body as if he no longer fully existed in the same space.
Tyouro's eyes widened.
"…what-"
Yoshiro raised his hand.
And made a simple motion.
The world didn't explode.
It didn't shake.
It just… removed something.
Tyouro's body jerked violently.
For a split second, nothing registered.
Then
Pain.
Not normal pain.
Absence.
His right arm
Gone.
His left arm
Half gone.
No blood explosion. No dramatic cut.
Just erased.
Like it had never been there.
"…ah…"
His knees buckled.
For the first time since the fight began
Tyouro didn't look confident.
He looked confused.
Kairo's heart dropped.
"TYOURO!"
Yura's control snapped instantly, the air around Yoshiro compressing as hard as she could manage. It didn't stop him but it slowed him just enough.
Kairo forced his body forward despite the damage, despite the exhaustion burning through his muscles. Reikou energy flickered around him again, unstable but present.
"You're not touching him again!"
He threw himself into range, driving a punch straight toward Yoshiro's head.
Yoshiro blocked it this time.
Easily.
His hand caught Kairo's fist mid-motion.
The impact didn't shake him.
Instead, Kairo felt the force die in his own arm.
"…you're improving," Yoshiro said quietly, his voice almost calm again.
Then he moved.
A knee to Kairo's stomach.
Kairo's breath vanished instantly as his body folded, the force sending him skidding backward across the ground.
Kimimaru stepped in.
This time, there was no hesitation in his eyes.
He extended his hand again, but deeper than before.
"Astral Lock."
The space around Yoshiro didn't just tighten it layered. One restraint over another, stacking pressure on his movement, his activation, even his perception.
For a moment
Yoshiro slowed.
Actually slowed.
That moment mattered.
Hero stepped forward, his movements no longer playful. His face was pale, sweat running down his jaw, but his focus was sharp.
"…don't waste this."
He threw two cards at once.
Heart.
Club.
A contract snapped into place something invisible binding the field itself.
No lethal outcome.
No instant erasure.
Not absolute but enough to interfere.
At the same time, reversal triggered.
Not reflecting damage.
Reflecting intent.
Yoshiro's next motion stuttered.
For the first time
His flow broke.
Yura didn't hesitate.
She stepped forward, both hands raised, her control pushing harder than before. Veins faintly showed along her arms as she forced more output.
"Move him!"
The ground beneath Yoshiro twisted, shifting his position sideways not far, not enough to throw him, but enough to break alignment.
Kairo saw it.
Even through the pain.
Even through the exhaustion.
He stood up again.
His body didn't feel right anymore. Everything hurt. His energy was unstable, flickering in and out like it might collapse at any second.
But he stepped forward anyway.
"I'm not letting this end here…"
He pulled his fist back again, Reikou energy gathering rough, incomplete, but stronger than before.
Yoshiro looked at him.
Then
He moved again.
This time, faster.
He broke through Kimimaru's layered restraint, forcing his way out instead of bypassing it. The pressure cracked around him, not shattered but overpowered.
Hero's cards trembled mid-air.
"…he's adapting…"
Yura's control slipped slightly.
And that was enough.
Yoshiro appeared in front of Kairo.
Up close.
Closer than before.
Kairo didn't stop.
He punched anyway.
Yoshiro didn't erase it.
He met it.
Their fists collided.
The impact sent a shockwave outward, splitting the ground again, but this time both of them held their ground.
For a split second
They were equal.
Then Yoshiro's Reikou surged.
Kairo's arm shook violently as the force overwhelmed him, his stance breaking.
Yoshiro's other hand lifted slightly
Aiming again.
Kairo saw it.
He couldn't dodge.
His body was too slow.
Too tired.
"…move…"
Nothing happened.
Then
The space shifted.
Yura.
She forced Kairo's body sideways at the last possible moment.
The erasure passed by his shoulder, taking a piece of his jacket and the space behind him out of existence.
Kairo dropped to one knee, breathing hard, his vision shaking.
"…thanks…"
Yura didn't respond.
She was breathing just as hard.
Tyouro was still standing.
Barely.
His body trembled, his arms… gone or broken beyond use.
But he laughed.
"…you really… hate fire that much, huh…"
Yoshiro glanced at him.
For just a second.
"…it reminds me of something I won't forgive."
Tyouro smiled through the pain.
"Good… then don't look away."
His body ignited again.
Not from his arms.
From his core.
Flames burst outward not controlled, not refined, but burning with raw will.
Kairo looked up.
"…he's still fighting…"
Hero exhaled slowly, another card appearing in his hand, his fingers shaking.
"…yeah…"
Kimimaru stepped forward again, quieter this time, but more dangerous.
"…we're all out of energy…"
Yura tightened her stance, forcing her breathing to stabilize.
"…then we stop thinking about limits."
Kairo pushed himself up again, even as his legs almost gave out.
"…we don't stop here."
Yoshiro looked at all of them.
Five broken fighters.
Still moving.
Still standing.
"…why?" he asked quietly.
Kairo met his eyes.
Not angry.
Not scared.
Just steady.
"Because we're not alone."
For the first time
Yoshiro didn't move immediately.
The battlefield stood on the edge of collapse, every fighter pushed past their limits, every movement costing more than it should.
But none of them stepped back.
And that was the moment the fight truly changed.
Not because they got stronger.
But because they refused to fall.