The arena was littered with scorched earth, fractured stone, and the faint smell of ozone from Dawson's Lightning Awakening. Smoke curled from the ground like restless spirits, but the danger was far from over. Chris stood at the far end, chest heaving, eyes locked onto Kira with an intensity that had nothing to do with elemental power.
Ignis had rampaged, tearing through the battlefield, leaving Chris drained and exposed. No fire, no flames—just raw combat skill, body instinct, and sheer willpower. His movements were precise, calculated, and lethal.
"Kira…" Chris muttered, his voice low, almost a growl. "You… said you'd bring me back… let's see if you can keep your promise."
Kira's gaze hardened. He knew Chris wasn't just testing him; he was challenging him, measuring whether Kira had the strength to uphold his word. The Crimson and Sovereignty boys paused, sensing the tension crackling through the air.
"I won't hold back either," Kira replied calmly, stance steady, fingers flexing around the hilt of his sword. "If this ends, it ends here."
The two charged. There was no magical explosion, no elemental force—just pure, unadulterated combat. Chris' fists and kicks cut through the air with lethal precision, each strike aimed at testing Kira's reflexes and resolve. Kira countered, blocking, dodging, and weaving through the attacks with uncanny speed. Every movement felt calculated, almost like a deadly dance.
Chris feinted a strike with his left hand, but Kira anticipated it, spinning around him and landing a glancing blow across Chris' shoulder. Chris staggered slightly but recovered instantly, eyes narrowing.
"Not bad… but you're still predictable," Chris said, his tone almost teasing, though his muscles tensed for the next attack.
Kira didn't respond verbally. Instead, he shifted his weight, flowing like water around Chris' assault, landing a series of rapid strikes to force him back. Each hit wasn't meant to kill—just to test the limits, to find the opening that could end the fight decisively.
But Chris adapted instantly. He read Kira's rhythm, predicting every swing, every step. The two collided, a storm of fists, kicks, and sword strikes, the arena floor cracking beneath their feet. The remaining Crimson boys held their breath, unable to intervene as the two titans clashed without magic, without elemental power—just skill, instinct, and unyielding resolve.
Sweat ran down Chris' face. His body screamed with exhaustion, but he refused to yield. Kira's jaw was set, teeth clenched, eyes focused like lasers. Every block, every strike, every dodge pushed both fighters closer to their absolute limits.
Then came the turning point. Chris feinted a low sweep but, in that split-second hesitation, Kira shifted his weight and launched a technique that drained Chris' combat momentum, a subtle skill mimicking the precision of the Phantom Pulse Sage had used—but restrained, controlled. Chris staggered back, nearly losing balance.
"You… what did you just—" Chris gasped, fury and surprise flashing across his face.
Kira didn't answer. His focus was absolute. He knew this was the only chance to stop Chris before he became a threat to everyone else, even without Ignis.
The arena trembled as Kira pressed his attack, delivering strikes that forced Chris to step back, dodge, and parry like his life depended on it—because it did. The battlefield felt like it was shrinking around them, the space collapsing under their raw speed and martial prowess.
From the sidelines, Yuujin and Jayze observed intently. Yuujin's Eclipse Null pulsed faintly, watching, analyzing, ensuring Kira didn't cross the line of survival yet. Jayze's blood tendrils flexed, coiled and ready, but neither moved.
Chris roared, lunging forward with a final flurry of blows. Kira countered, side-stepping and spinning through, landing a precise strike to Chris' midsection. The impact threw Chris backward, chest heaving, but he wasn't finished. His eyes burned with stubborn fire—the same fire that had once bonded him with Ignis, now channeled purely through his body and resolve.
"You… won't stop me!" Chris shouted, lunging again.
Kira met him head-on, and in that instant, the battlefield froze for a heartbeat—the sheer intensity of two wills clashing without magic, without elemental spirits, was almost unbearable to witness.
From the shadows, Aqua's voice whispered in Kira's mind:
"Your old host defeated Ignis like this. You can too. Trust yourself. End it now before it spirals out of control."
Kira's eyes narrowed. He nodded subtly to himself. Even without Ignis, even without elements, he had the skill, instinct, and strategy to handle Chris.
The two closed the distance, fists colliding, sword arcs crossing, each strike sharper, faster, and more precise than the last. The sound of metal against bone and flesh echoed through the arena, a brutal symphony of pure combat.
And then—just as Chris prepared what would have been the final blow, the scene shifted.
From the edge of the battlefield, Jayze stepped forward, blood tendrils coiling menacingly, ready to intervene.