The arena fell into a strange kind of silence not the calm kind, but the kind that comes before something decisive. Even the air felt heavier, like it was waiting.
Tyouro and Dracula stood across from each other, both breathing harder now, both carrying damage but neither backing down.
This was it.
Not just another exchange.
The end.
From the stands, every student leaned forward, eyes locked on the battlefield. Even the teachers didn't speak. They could feel it.
The shift.
The moment where a fight becomes real.
Dracula exhaled slowly, lifting his hand as electricity began to gather again this time, not wild or scattered, but controlled. It wrapped around his arms, then spread across his body in thin, glowing lines, like veins of lightning flowing beneath his skin.
As a user of electric energy, Dracula doesn't just attack with lightning. He becomes part of it. Electricity grants him speed beyond natural limits but more importantly, efficiency. Unlike explosive power, it doesn't demand constant output. It flows. It sustains. It refines.
The ground beneath him crackled.
With control, he can move at high velocity without exhausting himself. His attacks are precise, layered, and continuous.
Dracula's stance lowered slightly, his eyes sharp.
"I can keep going," he said calmly.
Tyouro smirked.
"…Good."
For a second, nothing happened.
Then-
Dracula vanished.
A flash of lightning cut across the arena, his movement faster than before, cleaner. He didn't waste motion. His body flowed from one step to another like current through a wire.
He appeared at Tyouro's side instantly.
His arm moved.
A blade of electricity formed mid-swing.
Tyouro reacted but barely.
He raised his arm just in time, a burst of blast energy colliding with the strike. The impact sent sparks and heat exploding outward, but Dracula didn't stop there.
He moved again.
And again.
Each step, each attack came from a different angle front, side, above forcing Tyouro to block, turn, react constantly.
The pressure was overwhelming.
"You can't keep up," Dracula said mid-motion, his voice calm even as he attacked.
Tyouro gritted his teeth, sliding back from another hit.
He was fast.
Too fast.
"…Then I won't chase you."
Tyouro planted his feet.
And stopped moving.
Dracula's next strike came in instantly but this time, Tyouro didn't dodge.
He endured it.
The electric blade cut across his shoulder, sparks bursting on contact but at the same moment-
Tyouro grabbed his arm.
Dracula's eyes widened slightly.
"Got you."
A pulse of blast energy surged from Tyouro's body at point-blank range.
BOOM!
The explosion threw Dracula backward, his body skidding across the ground before he flipped and landed, electricity flickering more violently now.
He stood still for a second.
Then smiled.
"…So that's your answer."
Tyouro rolled his shoulder, wincing slightly from the cut but his expression didn't change.
"Yeah."
He exhaled.
And something changed.
At first, it was subtle.
A faint glow.
Then-
Heat.
The air around Tyouro began to distort, like the space itself was bending from rising temperature. His energy didn't just gather anymore.
It surrounded him.
Burned with him.
Blast Energy, steady and clear, is not just explosive force. At higher levels, it evolves. It becomes something closer to combustion energy that builds, circulates, and enhances the body itself.
Flames-like energy flickered around Tyouro's arms, his shoulders, his back.
By maintaining constant output, the user creates a state where power feeds into motion, and motion feeds into power. Strength increases. Speed rises. The body moves beyond its normal limits.
Tyouro clenched his fist.
"Drawback high strain. The longer it's active, the more it consumes."
He looked up.
But he was smiling.
"…Worth it."
Dracula watched him carefully now.
"…So you've reached that point."
Electricity surged around him again, sharper this time.
"Then I won't hold back either."
Both of them moved.
At the same time.
The distance between them vanished instantly, their clash erupting in the center of the arena. Electricity and blast energy collided again but now it was different.
Faster.
Heavier.
Tyouro's punches carried more weight, each one forcing Dracula to adjust his defense instead of simply avoiding it. The fire-like energy around him enhanced every movement, every step more aggressive than before.
Dracula responded with speed, his body weaving between attacks, countering with precise strikes that aimed for weak points.
But something was changing.
Tyouro wasn't just reacting anymore.
He was reading.
Anticipating.
"Too slow," Tyouro said under his breath as he shifted his body just enough to avoid a direct hit, then countered with a punch that forced Dracula back.
Dracula slid, his feet sparking against the ground.
"…You adapted again."
Tyouro didn't answer.
He stepped forward.
Again.
And again.
Each step heavier than the last.
Each strike stronger.
Dracula blocked, dodged, countered but now, he was the one adjusting more.
The pressure had shifted.
A clash of fists sent a shockwave through the arena. This time, Dracula's arm trembled slightly from the impact.
He noticed.
"…So this is your peak," he muttered.
Tyouro exhaled sharply. "Not yet."
He surged forward again, his energy flaring brighter. The heat around him intensified, the ground beneath his feet cracking slightly from the force.
Dracula tried to move-
But for the first time...
He was late.
Tyouro's fist connected.
A direct hit to his side.
The blast didn't explode wildly it detonated inward, forcing all the force into a single point.
Dracula's body bent slightly from the impact, his breath leaving him instantly.
Then he was launched backward.
He hit the ground hard, rolling once before stopping, electricity flickering unevenly now.
The arena went silent.
Dracula slowly pushed himself up.
His body wasn't broken but the damage was clear.
"…I see," he said quietly.
Tyouro stood there, breathing heavily, the fire-like energy around him beginning to flicker.
Dracula looked at him for a moment.
Then smiled.
"…You win."
The words were simple.
But they carried no bitterness.
Only acknowledgment.
"You're stronger," Dracula continued, straightening slightly despite the pain. "Not just in power… but in growth."
Tyouro blinked for a second.
"…Huh."
The fire around his body slowly faded.
"…Yeah," he said, scratching the back of his head. "I guess I am."
The crowd erupted.
Cheers filled the arena, the tension finally breaking as the result settled in.
From the stands, Kairo grinned widely. "HE DID IT!"
Hero smirked. "Not bad for a walking explosion."
Yura crossed her arms, but there was a faint approval in her eyes.
Kimimaru simply nodded once.
In the arena, Tyouro turned slightly, looking at Dracula.
"…You were strong," he said.
Dracula exhaled, electricity finally fading completely.
"So were you."
For a moment, there was no hostility.
Just two fighters who had pushed each other to the edge.
Then the moment passed.
And the next fight...
Was waiting.