Yamato's eyes never left the battlefield.
Even while the clash raged violently before him, his true focus wasn't on the attacks themselves.
It was on the shifts.
The flow of power.
The instability hidden beneath overwhelming strength.
Beside him, Ichiha tracked Rujer carefully. The longer he watched, the clearer it became.
Rujer wasn't flawless.
Every movement carried openings.
Tiny weaknesses buried beneath monstrous magic and brute force.
Lumei and Chella observed in silence, studying reactions and patterns.
Meanwhile, Sora's gaze stayed fixed on Ozaki.
Every step.
Every shift in balance.
Every deflection.
Every counter.
She engraved it all into memory.
The cave trembled under the pressure of battle.
Sharp winds screamed each time Ozaki's scythe cut through the air.
Above them, the gigantic shadow bird tore violently through the cavern skies.
Left.
Right.
Upward.
Its wings sliced the air like enormous blades, each flap unleashing showers of black feathers.
SSSSSS—
The feather-blades struck the cave walls and floor.
Stone melted instantly.
The ground ruptured wherever they landed, debris exploding upward in violent bursts.
Yet beneath the chaos—
Ozaki remained perfectly still.
His knees bent slightly.
His scythe rested in both hands.
Waiting.
Bruises stained parts of his body while silver aura drifted around him like cold smoke.
His calm eyes tracked the bird without blinking once.
"Hmph…"
Ozaki shifted one foot slightly as another feather exploded beside him.
"It's fast."
The feather buried itself into the ground beside him, immediately liquefying stone.
Ozaki's eyes narrowed.
So he can't freely fire acidic Ink directly…
Above him—
PREEEEW!
The shadow bird shrieked violently. It circled faster.
Far faster than ordinary eyes could follow.
But Ozaki never lost sight of it.
Not once.
If I cut it carelessly…
His grip tightened slightly.
The blood may erupt as acid.
His expression remained calm.
I can't risk that.
Behind him, Yamato understood immediately.
Not through magic.
Not through instinct.
Through posture.
Through balance.
Through hesitation.
"Master Ozaki!"
Ozaki's eyes shifted slightly.
"You can cut it!"
Yamato clenched his fists.
"You don't need to worry about the acid!"
A confident grin formed across his face.
"I'll handle the rest!"
For the first time since the battle began, a faint smile touched Ozaki's lips.
If Yamato had been my classmate…
For a brief moment, his thoughts drifted elsewhere.
Would fate have changed?
Behind them, Lumei crouched low.
His sharp eyes locked onto the floor.
"Look carefully," he whispered.
He pointed toward the Ink spread across the cave.
"It's moving."
The others focused instantly.
The black Ink crawling across the ground was slowly gathering toward a single point.
Sora leaned closer.
Chella touched the fractured stone lightly.
Yamato narrowed his eyes before nodding.
"He's right."
His voice sharpened.
"If Master Ozaki cuts him now…"
His gaze lifted toward the bird.
"…Rujer will regenerate from the gathered Ink."
A pause.
"That's why he keeps flying."
Yamato's eyes hardened.
"He's distracting Master Ozaki while secretly building a regeneration point."
Then he turned toward the others.
His expression became serious.
"Listen carefully."
Everyone focused immediately.
"Sora."
Yamato pointed left.
"Move around the battlefield and fire Water Arrows into the Ink."
His eyes sharpened further.
"And stop using your limiter."
Sora blinked slightly.
"Push enough water pressure to loosen the Ink's density."
She nodded firmly.
"Got it."
"Chella. Ichiha."
Both turned immediately.
"You two go right."
Yamato pointed toward the spreading Ink.
"Chella, break the ground apart and turn it into sand."
Her brow lifted slightly.
"The sand will absorb the loosened Ink and destabilize his landing points."
Then Yamato looked toward Ichiha.
"You, use Calamity Shock directly on the Ink."
Ichiha frowned immediately.
"But his magic output is higher."
His jaw tightened.
"It'll just become acidic again."
Yamato sighed.
"Then stop using the limiter."
Silence.
Ichiha's expression stiffened.
Fear flickered briefly across his face.
One mistake, one wrong touch, and he could lose his arms, again.
Chella smirked faintly.
"Breaking an entire cave floor into sand instantly isn't exactly easy either."
Yamato ignored the complaints.
Instead, he slowly straightened and looked upward toward the shadow bird.
"I'll go up."
Everyone turned toward him.
"I'll strike the bird directly."
His eyes narrowed sharply.
"Just enough to force it lower."
A pause.
"So Master Ozaki can cut through both the heart and head in one swing."
Lumei blinked.
"What about me?"
Yamato smiled faintly before patting his shoulder.
"You've been studying Rujer's Ink control this whole time."
Lumei froze slightly.
"That means you understand it."
Yamato's voice lowered.
"The water will loosen the density."
His eyes sharpened.
"So do something with it."
Another pause.
"You can control it."
Yamato smiled slightly.
"I trust you."
Lumei stared at him for a moment before slowly clenching his fists.
"…Alright."
Determination hardened in his eyes.
"I'll do it."
At the center of the battlefield, Ozaki exhaled cold steam.
"I need to sever both the heart and head simultaneously…"
His silver eyes shifted briefly toward the gathering Ink.
"But that pooled Ink is still a problem."
Far across the cave, near the entrance, bones cracked.
Muscles stitched together.
Something regenerated.
A new body slowly stood upright.
Rujer.
This version appeared leaner.
Black streaks of Ink crawled across his skin while his fingers flexed experimentally.
As though he were learning how to move inside a new body.
A faint smile touched his lips.
Yamato noticed instantly.
But his focus never shifted.
His master's teachings echoed in his mind.
Remove the current enemies before the new ones.
—
Far away within the dense forest—
Kaku suddenly rose from his chair.
Excitement spread across his face.
"He created three separate versions of himself…"
His eyes widened slightly.
"That means he's burning even more magic."
His thoughts sharpened rapidly.
"But how is he maintaining three existences simultaneously?"
A pause.
"…Or was Ozaki holding back against me?"
He immediately dismissed the thought.
"No."
His smile widened again.
"More importantly…"
His fingers rested against his jaw.
"My flesh inside him should finally have room to regenerate."
Another pause.
"But he still needs to burn more magic."
—
Back inside the cave, the newly regenerated Rujer stood silently near the entrance.
His glowing eyes narrowed slightly.
Then he whispered softly—
"ACID INK…"
A pause.
"UNION."
Nothing happened.
At least, that's what it looked like.
The gathered Ink continued flowing quietly toward the regeneration point.
Then suddenly, the darkness pulsed.
Thin tendrils rose from the ground like black steam.
Bubbling.
Hissing.
Alive.
At that exact moment—
Yamato launched upward.
BOOM!
His body spun through the air toward the shadow bird.
The creature reacted instantly, twisting toward him, but Yamato didn't stop.
He gritted his teeth and slammed his fist directly into its wing.
SSSSSS
Acid immediately began melting his arm.
Flesh dissolved rapidly.
Without hesitation, Yamato tore his own arm off at the elbow.
The others froze.
Then, bones extended instantly.
Muscles wrapped around them.
Veins formed.
Skin followed.
A brand-new arm regenerated completely.
Ozaki's eyes narrowed sharply.
Did his arm just regenerate… without magic?
Even Ozaki looked genuinely surprised.
PREEEEEEW!
The bird shrieked violently.
Black feathers erupted wildly from its body, but it dropped lower.
Exactly as planned.
Below—
Sora dashed left.
Water spiraled around her arm, forming a rotating bow and arrow.
She fired instantly.
The arrow twisted through the air before exploding directly into the gathered Ink.
SPLASH!
Water scattered everywhere.
The black Ink hissed violently as its density loosened into thinner streams.
Yet even then—
it continued crawling toward the regeneration point.
RRRRRHH!
Chella slammed both fists into the ground.
The cave floor shattered instantly as massive sections of earth rose upward and crumbled into sand.
The flowing Ink immediately lost balance.
At the same moment—
Ichiha rushed forward.
Energy crackled violently around both arms.
He slammed his palms directly into the moving Ink.
The flow stopped.
Only briefly.
But it stopped.
Ichiha immediately leaped backward toward Lumei.
His eyes widened slightly.
"It didn't melt me."
He stared at his palms.
"My hands are still intact."
Meanwhile, Lumei stood silently at the center of the battlefield.
Eyes closed.
Breathing steady.
Both hands slowly rose.
His thoughts replayed everything.
Rujer's finger movements.
The Ink's reactions.
Its flow.
Its control.
He copied it.
The Ink suddenly stopped moving toward Rujer.
Then—
slowly—
it began changing direction.
Toward Lumei.
Ozaki noticed instantly.
The lowered bird.
The redirected Ink.
The opening.
"NOW!" Yamato roared.
BOOM!
Ozaki exploded upward.
He shot higher than the bird itself.
His scythe spun once overhead—
then descended.
A single slash.
Clean.
Perfect.
The blade cut from the bird's head—
straight through its heart.
Black blood erupted into the air as the creature screamed violently.
Its body split apart midair—
then began falling.
Far away—
Rujer's eyes widened.
Because the silver slash didn't stop at the bird.
The energy wave continued downward—
through the redirected Ink itself.
The entire Ink trail exploded outward.
A violent ripple of silver force surged through it—
straight toward Rujer.
BOOOOM!
The impact smashed him into the cave wall.
Cracks exploded across the ceiling as the wall shattered apart completely.
Sunlight burst through the broken roof.
Dust and debris rained downward.
Yamato landed beside Ozaki, breathing heavily.
"…Did it work?"
Ozaki stared silently into the smoke.
Then—
a voice echoed from within it.
Deep.
Rough.
"…When did all of you become this clever?"
Rujer slowly stepped out of the dust.
His chest remained torn open.
Black blood dripped from his body.
Yet he smiled.
"I guess…"
His fingers twitched slowly.
"…I really have to stop holding back now."
Lumei stepped forward carefully.
His fingers trembled violently from controlling the Ink.
Using Rujer's own technique against him had strained him heavily.
Behind him, Sora, Chella, and Ichiha moved into formation.
Lumei's chest rose and fell sharply.
"Rujer…"
His voice steadied.
"You're stronger than we expected."
The Ink behind him shifted slightly under his control.
"But we are the hope of this world."
Ozaki slowly raised his scythe again.
Black Ink dripped from the blade.
Across from him, Rujer wiped blood from his mouth before walking slowly toward the cave wall.
Step.
Step.
Step.
Then he gently placed his palm against the stone.
His glowing eyes shifted toward the team.
"I suppose…"
A grin spread across his face.
"…I should finally show you how strong I really am."
Then he removed his hand.
Ozaki immediately shifted his scythe into one hand.
Because his greatest weapon output came through single-handed combat.
Yet—
Rujer never attacked.
Instead—
he flicked a finger.
CLICK.
Silence.
Then—
the entire cave melted away.
Not shattered.
Not destroyed.
Melted. Just like the forest.
The walls dissolved instantly into blackened liquid ash as the entire structure collapsed around them.
Yamato's eyes widened slightly.
"He spread acidic Ink through the entire cave…"
His voice lowered.
"…just by touching the wall."
Sunlight flooded the battlefield as the cave vanished into ruin.
And standing amidst the collapsing world—
Rujer smiled.
The battle had just become far more dangerous.