The Blackstone Wasteland fell silent.
The wind that had roared across the cliffs only moments ago seemed to disappear, leaving behind a stillness so heavy that even the drifting dust settled onto the cracked earth.
Lady Chõko and Raizen stood several meters apart.
Neither of them spoke.
Neither of them moved.
Yet everyone present understood that the battle had already begun.
Hiroshi's eyes never left the two figures before him. Every shift of their posture, every subtle change in their breathing, every twitch of a finger was quietly engraved into his memory.
Beside him, Haruto unconsciously held his breath.
"...They're reading each other."
Yurota nodded.
"No wasted movement."
"They're waiting."
Ayame folded her arms, her gaze calm.
"The first person to lose patience..."
"...will lose the rhythm."
Kaizen remained silent.
Millions of possibilities flowed through his mind, branching into countless futures.
One step.
One feint.
One swing.
Every possibility multiplied into another.
Yet...
He still couldn't determine which one would happen.
His eyes narrowed.
"...Interesting."
Across the battlefield, Lady Chõko smiled as if she had all the time in the world.
"So..."
She tilted her head slightly.
"Who's making the first move?"
Raizen let out a quiet laugh.
"You already know."
His hand tightened around the hilt of the Dimensional Sword.
"I've never liked waiting."
The next instant—
CRACK!
The ground beneath his feet shattered as Raizen burst forward.
He wasn't using Dimensional Severance.
He wasn't releasing energy.
It was nothing more than overwhelming physical strength.
In the blink of an eye, he had already crossed the distance between them.
His sword swept horizontally toward Lady Chõko's side.
The blade cut through the air with frightening precision.
Lady Chõko calmly stepped backward.
The sword passed only a few centimeters from her robe.
The force of the swing alone split the ground behind her, sending a trail of shattered stone racing across the wasteland.
Raizen didn't stop.
He immediately twisted his body, changing the direction of his blade before launching a second strike from below.
Lady Chõko gently turned her body.
The edge brushed past her sleeve without touching her skin.
Another slash.
Another dodge.
Another.
Again.
Again.
Again.
The rhythm continued without pause.
Raizen's attacks became faster with every exchange.
His footwork remained solid.
Every swing naturally flowed into the next without hesitation.
From afar, it resembled a relentless storm of steel.
Yet...
Lady Chõko still hadn't attacked.
She simply moved.
One small step.
A slight turn.
The smallest tilt of her shoulders.
Each motion avoided the blade by the narrowest possible margin.
Haruto's eyes widened.
"...She's not escaping."
Hiroshi quietly replied,
"She's conserving movement."
Raizen suddenly changed his grip.
Instead of slashing—
He thrust forward.
The sword shot toward Lady Chõko's chest like a bolt of lightning.
She raised one hand.
Clink.
Her fingertips lightly touched the flat side of the blade.
The thrust drifted just enough to miss.
Raizen's eyes flashed with surprise.
"...You redirected it?"
Lady Chõko smiled.
"You put too much strength into the thrust."
"So I borrowed a little."
Before Raizen could recover, she gave the sword a gentle push.
The unexpected force shifted his balance for only an instant.
Only one.
But against an experienced warrior...
One instant was enough.
Lady Chõko stepped inside his guard.
She gently tapped his shoulder with two fingers.
"...You're open."
Raizen immediately jumped backward, creating distance between them.
Silence returned.
He looked down at the spot she had touched.
"...If that had been a real strike..."
"I know."
Lady Chõko lowered her hand.
"I would've aimed somewhere else."
Raizen slowly smiled.
Then...
He laughed.
A deep, genuine laugh echoed across the wasteland.
"Hahaha!"
"This is fun."
Lady Chõko chuckled.
"I was about to say the same thing."
Behind them, Kaizen quietly observed the exchange.
"...No techniques."
"No energy."
"No abilities."
"And yet..."
He looked at Lady Chõko.
"...She controlled the pace."
Yurota folded his arms.
"She isn't stronger."
"...She's more experienced."
Haruto slowly nodded.
"...Every movement has purpose."
Raizen rolled his shoulders before pointing the Dimensional Sword toward Lady Chõko once more.
"No more testing."
Lady Chõko raised an eyebrow.
"Oh?"
"I've learned enough."
He planted one foot firmly into the fractured ground.
The smile on his face remained.
But the playful look in his eyes had disappeared.
For the first time...
He looked like the warrior who once stood at the pinnacle of the Dimensional Clan.
Lady Chõko noticed immediately.
"...Now we're getting serious."
The wind returned.
Dust spiraled upward between them.
Behind Raizen...
Hiroshi quietly took a single step forward.
His calm eyes reflected the battlefield.
"...Raizen."
Without looking back, Raizen answered.
"I know."
"You've had your turn."
A faint distortion appeared behind Hiroshi.
One...
Then another.
Then another.
Tiny cracks began forming in the air itself.
Lady Chõko's smile remained gentle.
"...Looks like..."
"...the others are finally joining."