Radamantis rushed at Ikku again, his sword cutting downward in another powerful vertical strike.
But this time, Ikku had already read him.
He shifted his weight just slightly, rotating his body to the side, and drove the heel of his palm directly into Radamantis's wrist.
The stone shattered, exploding into countless fragments that scattered across the floor.
Without lingering, Ikku followed up, spinning into a sharp roundhouse kick that crashed into Radamantis's torso, sending the stone guardian flying across the chamber.
He slammed into the wall, bursting through dust and debris that billowed up in a heavy cloud.
Kenny, Yumé, and Carla watched the scene unfold, stunned and thrilled.
"He didn't even need to use his Brand," Yumé breathed.
"That was smart. Very smart," Kenny replied, eyes narrowed with admiration.
"He used expansion first, to read and anticipate the strike. Then, right at the very last instant, he switched to hardening, just enough to break the wrist.
He swapped between the two perfectly.
His control… was flawless."
"Great job, Ikku!" Carla shouted, her voice bright with encouragement.
But Ikku didn't relax.
He knew it wasn't over.
Then something caught his eye,glinting faintly on the ground.
The ring.
Radamantis's ring.
It must have fallen when the wrist had shattered.
Ikku crouched down and picked it up, holding it open in his palm.
The gem embedded in it pulsed faintly, like a heartbeat.
"The jewel…?" Kenny murmured.
"YESS!!" Yumé yelled, practically jumping. "Ikku did it!!"
"You really did it!" Carla called, joy swelling in her voice. "Come on let's go!"
But at that moment, Radamantis emerged from the rubble.
As if nothing had happened.
He raised his arm and the fragments of his shattered hand began to reform, reassembling piece by piece back into a perfect stone limb.
Ikku didn't flinch.
He simply walked forward.
Calmly.
Deliberately.
Until he stood face to face with Radamantis.
Then, to everyone's shock not just his friends, but the guardian himself Ikku extended his hand.
And offered the ring back.
"Ikku!!!" Kenny shouted, his voice cracking. "What are you doing!? We had what we came for!"
"He's right," Radamantis said quietly.
Carla didn't speak.
She watched.
She understood.
Ikku's voice was steady, sincere:
"I told you. I didn't come here to steal the jewel.
I came to earn it.
To prove myself worthy."
Radamantis stared at him, long and still, before finally taking the ring back into his palm.
"To be worthy…" he repeated softly.
Then he nodded.
"A good answer, Némuri Ikku.
It appears you possess the qualities needed to inherit this ring.
Then this final strike will decide everything.
Give me everything you have—
and defeat me."
Ikku smiled.
Not with arrogance but with certainty.
He stepped back, planting his feet.
Radamantis rose to full height and released all of his spiritual energy.
The air thickened, heavy and electric.
Ikku understood the message.
He breathed in slowly.
His gaze shifted to his black wristband.
Then upward toward an unseen sky far above this underwater tomb.
And in that moment, memories surged through him:
His childhood.
His father's harsh words.
The day he met Jack.
The moment he joined Kenny and the others.
Nexus.
The cold eyes of Kolio.
The warmth of Carla's smile.
Everything he had endured.
Everything he had chosen.
"I've come a long way," he thought.
"This time… I'm finally here. It's been so long since I last said those words…"
His heart grew calm.
Then, in a voice quiet and steady:
— Turbo.
His energy erupted.
Not as a scream.
But as a tidal wave.
Dust spiraled upward.
Wind howled in a chamber where there should have been none.
Yumé, Kenny, and Carla had to shield their faces, pushed back by the sheer force of it.
"Whoa…!" Yumé gasped.
"I didn't know Ikku had gotten this strong…"
"It's natural," Kenny replied.
"Unlike ours, Ikku's Brand boosts his raw physical ability directly.
So the stronger he becomes…
the stronger Turbo makes him.
This power is perfect for him."
Ikku and Radamantis locked eyes one last time.
And they moved.
They clashed in the center of the chamber—
a single impact that thundered like stone cracking the world itself—
And it was Ikku's strike that prevailed.
Radamantis's body burst into fragments, scattering into the air before dissolving into dust.
Ikku let Turbo fade.
His breathing slowed.
His eyes found the ring on the floor.
He picked it up.
Then, a deep voice echoed throughout the room, no body attached, only presence.
"Congratulations, Némuri Ikku.
You acted correctly.
Had you all attacked me together, I would have used the Jewel's power and destroyed you.
By returning the Jewel when you had the chance to take it, you proved your worth."
The voice continued:
"You alone may use its power.
If someone else wishes to use it, you must give it to them willingly.
If the Jewel is stolen, its power will remain sealed.
If you die, its power will lie dormant for ten years.
And know this—
to use the Jewel's power, you must sacrifice a portion of your lifespan.
The choice now belongs to you.
I have fulfilled the will of Leo.
You are now the bearer of the Jewel of the End."
Ikku stood still.
Then his eyes filled with tears.
After everything—
every pain, every loss, every wound, every doubt—
He had done it.
He had obtained a Jewel.