Fresh air rushed across the battlefield.
The cave was gone.
What remained was a massive scar carved into the earth beneath the evening sky, melted stone still steaming from Rujer's acid. Blackened liquid dripped through cracks in the ground while smoke curled upward into the wind.
Yet despite the cool air, the tension only became heavier.
Ozaki stepped forward slowly.
His silver eyes scanned the battlefield with quiet precision. Not searching for fear. Not searching for openings.
The environment.
The terrain.
The smallest shifts in movement.
Cold mist drifted from his body while his scythe rested firmly in one hand.
Behind him, Lumei stood silently with strands of tampered Ink twisting between his fingers like dark threads. His expression remained serious.
Focused.
Watching everything.
Yamato's gaze suddenly shifted away from the battlefield.
His instincts sharpened instantly.
Another presence.
Hidden nearby.
Different from Rujer.
Sora and Chella moved closer toward Lumei without needing to be told. Ichiha followed behind them, one hand pressed against his injured side while the other tightened into a fist.
Then, movement.
A blur tore across the battlefield.
Fast.
But visible.
Rujer.
This version looked different.
Balanced.
The flow of magic around him felt cleaner now. Refined.
His height, muscle distribution, even the rhythm of his movements, complete.
Ozaki's eyes followed him carefully.
Then, he stopped walking.
Chella frowned immediately.
"Why'd he stop?"
Ichiha scanned the area sharply.
Nothing.
No traps.
No hidden attacks.
Meanwhile, Lumei quietly pulled the strands of Ink inward before sealing them into his own shadow construct.
WOOP.
Ozaki twirled his scythe once.
"What's your game now, Rujer?"
His voice remained calm.
"The Ink pools?"
A pause.
"The black-hole spheres?"
His blade tilted slightly.
"Or are you planning to become another beast?"
Cold mist escaped his lips.
"Because I already know how to get past all of them."
But internally, his thoughts were entirely different.
He needs physical contact for at least ten seconds before full activation.
His eyes stayed locked forward.
As long as they avoid prolonged contact… they can survive him.
Then suddenly.
HAHA.
Ozaki froze slightly.
The others noticed immediately.
HAHAHAHAHAHA!
Rujer laughed loudly while staring directly at him.
"Ozaki…"
His grin widened slowly.
"Earlier, I called you PLUS ONE."
A pause.
"But I can't call you that anymore."
Ozaki's brows narrowed slightly.
Rujer continued walking forward.
"I was called PLUS ONE…"
"…because I was the extra person."
"The unwanted one."
"The one used only to fill empty space."
His glowing eyes locked onto Ozaki.
"But now I understand something."
A wider grin spread across his face.
"You were never extra."
"You were chosen from the start."
"You've always had the upper hand."
The moment those words landed Ozaki's expression changed.
"Even the upper hand makes mistakes, you fool!"
His voice exploded across the battlefield.
But beneath the anger, there was pain.
Real pain.
Everyone felt it instantly.
Rujer's smile remained.
"And with that upper hand…"
Ozaki's voice sharpened violently.
"…I still got them all killed."
Silence.
His eyes widened slightly.
"…Seventy-eight dead."
The words felt heavy enough to crush the air itself.
"And one left barely alive…"
His jaw tightened.
"…when I could've prevented it."
POOOOOOOOM!
A monstrous wave of aura exploded outward.
Dust storms erupted across the battlefield as sand blasted violently into the air.
Pure rage.
Yamato narrowed his eyes immediately.
Lumei lowered his head slightly.
The others instinctively did the same.
Something was wrong.
Very wrong.
Lumei swallowed slowly.
"…Something terrible is about to happen."
Chella looked toward him quickly.
"What do you mean?"
Sora stepped closer.
"What's about to happen?"
Ichiha answered first.
"Master Ozaki is enraged."
His glowing fingertips trembled faintly.
"That means he'll stop fighting to prevent death…"
His expression darkened.
"…and start fighting to cause one."
Silence fell over the group.
Then Yamato spoke calmly.
"We protect Lumei."
Everyone looked toward him.
"Lumei has something planned."
His eyes sharpened.
"And whatever it is…"
"…we need him alive long enough to do it."
Sora looked confused. Chella frowned slightly. Even Ichiha looked uncertain.
Only Lumei asked directly.
"But you're stronger than all of us."
He stared at Yamato.
"Wouldn't you protect me better?"
Yamato smiled faintly. Dust swirled around them from Ozaki's aura.
"There's another presence here."
The group froze.
Ichiha's muscles tightened instantly.
"What's wrong with the presence?"
Yamato's eyes narrowed into the distance.
"Someone else is watching this fight."
No one questioned him.
Not anymore.
Ichiha's fingertips crackled brighter with energy.
"We'll protect Lumei."
His expression hardened completely.
"You go do your thing."
Back at the center of the battlefield, Ozaki slowly twirled his scythe.
Rujer stood only a few feet away now.
Then Ozaki spoke.
"Let's curse each other."
The curved blade pointed directly toward Rujer's face.
His knees bent lower. Cold mist escaped from his lips.
"Let today be your last."
---
Far away, inside Regns' Realm, silence ruled the arena.
Renji and Daigo still hadn't begun their fight.
Yet something felt wrong.
Regns stood at the center of the arena with his eyes closed and his hands behind his back.
His breathing had changed.
Daigo noticed immediately.
"Headmaster…"
He stepped forward carefully.
"You look worried."
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"Is Master Ozaki not strong enough to defeat this enemy?"
Regns slowly opened his eyes.
"Ozaki?"
A faint chuckle escaped him.
"He's stronger than everyone in this school combined."
Daigo frowned.
"Then why are you worried?"
Regns looked upward silently.
As though sensing something beyond dimensions.
"It's not his strength that concerns me."
His voice became heavier.
"It's his aura."
A pause.
"It changed."
Silence filled the arena.
"…Just like it did ten years ago."
Daigo's expression stiffened.
Regns exhaled slowly.
"That rage…"
His eyes darkened.
"…the same rage he carried after all our classmates died."
The others nearby exchanged confused looks.
They didn't understand yet.
But soon, they would.
---
Back on the battlefield.
Ozaki moved first.
SWOOOSH!
His scythe slashed diagonally through the air before even reaching Rujer.
Rujer leaned backward instantly.
Ozaki reversed the swing immediately and brought the blade crashing downward.
Rujer kicked the scythe mid-motion and launched himself upward using both hands.
Still airborne, he smirked.
"Starting fast, huh?"
CHING.
The scythe handle extended.
Rujer's eyes widened slightly.
CHING.
Longer.
CHING.
Longer again.
The weapon stretched until the blade reached Rujer's airborne height.
"…Fascinating."
The scythe swung in a massive arc.
Rujer twisted sideways midair while his fingers moved rapidly.
His fingertips brushed against the blade.
CLICK.
Instantly, the entire scythe melted apart.
Rujer laughed lightly while landing.
"Do I really need to flick my fingers anymore?"
"Nah."
His grin widened.
"I should stop that bad habit."
The moment his feet touched the ground, another scythe appeared instantly in Ozaki's palm.
Ozaki attacked again.
Rujer dodged while rapidly closing the distance.
Left slash.
Right slash.
Another left.
The speed became monstrous.
Only S-Ranks and above could even properly perceive the exchange.
Yet escaping it remained nearly impossible.
Rujer suddenly slipped directly into Ozaki's range.
Ozaki shoved the scythe hilt toward him.
Rujer leaped over it, his fingers barely grazing Ozaki's headband.
The fabric melted instantly.
"Next time…"
Rujer smiled.
"…I'll touch you instead."
POOOOOOOOM!
Another burst of rage exploded from Ozaki.
The battlefield shook violently.
Then.
SHING!
Swords surfaced from thin air.
SHING!
Axes followed.
Dozens of them.
Floating behind Ozaki like an execution field.
"How dare you…"
His voice trembled violently.
"How dare you spoil it…"
Rage distorted his expression.
"How dare you ruin her present?!"
Though it wasn't the real band, his mind had already accepted it as real.
Team Ozaki stared at the floating arsenal.
Sora's expression darkened instantly.
"That's bad."
Chella touched the ground as stone wrapped around her fists like gauntlets.
Lumei looked genuinely worried now.
But he forced himself calm.
Ichiha prepared silently.
Meanwhile.
Yamato grinned.
"I was wondering when you'd finally give us weapons."
He glanced toward Chella.
"You know how to use a sword?"
Chella nodded once.
"…Yeah."
Ozaki vanished forward.
The floating weapons followed behind him like predators.
Rujer dodged the first sword.
Then the second.
He touched an incoming axe, and it melted instantly.
But.
SHING!
Blood burst from his mouth.
The sword he dodged curved backward and stabbed through his back.
Slowing him down.
Ozaki immediately thrust his scythe into Rujer's ribs.
Rujer touched the weapon.
It melted.
But the wound remained.
Ozaki dragged another blade through the air while multiple floating weapons attacked simultaneously.
Rujer slipped through all of them.
Touch.
Melt.
Dodge.
Touch.
Melt.
Then.
BOOM!
Rujer kicked Ozaki directly in the chest.
He had just slipped through and melted three hundred and seventy-two weapons while fighting at point-blank range.
Ozaki's eyes burned brighter with rage.
Rujer landed lightly.
Then noticed something.
Behind Ozaki, three swords were missing.
Yamato had already taken them.
CRACK.
Rujer rolled his neck slowly.
"You've attacked enough."
His grin widened.
"Now it's my turn."
He dashed forward instantly.
Ozaki summoned more blades.
Only swords this time.
They shot toward Rujer from every angle while Ozaki redirected trajectories mid-flight.
Rujer's hands moved rapidly.
Touch.
Melt.
Touch.
Melt.
Ozaki slashed toward Rujer's neck.
Rujer leaned backward slightly.
But that slight movement forced Ozaki's balance arm forward.
Rujer smiled instantly.
"Got you."
Ozaki realized too late.
Rujer's palm shot toward the exposed arm.
At the exact same instant.
SLASH!
Ozaki cut off his own arm before contact fully landed.
The severed limb dropped directly into Rujer's grasp.
Melting instantly.
Rujer's eyes widened slightly.
Then, he smiled internally.
Jackpot.
Ozaki's chest remained exposed.
Rujer thrust his other hand forward.
But.
SHING.
A scythe materialized instantly between them.
Frozen midair.
Ozaki shoved the weapon toward his own chest.
Rujer's palm touched the blade.
It melted immediately.
But the interception bought enough time.
And Ozaki, was faster.
He reversed the motion instantly.
SLAAASH!
The scythe tore through Rujer's neck completely.
CRACK!
Bone shattered apart.
Rujer's head flew from his shoulders.
Yamato's eyes widened instantly.
"NO!"
He rushed forward.
"Go for the torso!"
Ozaki's eyes shifted.
Yamato shouted desperately,
"As he burns more magic, the thing inside him needs outside energy to kill him!"
Ozaki immediately forced the blade downward toward Rujer's torso.
And in that moment, one truth became painfully clear.
This battle had never been fair.
Ozaki the strongest man alive, was fighting someone who had never trained a single day in his life.
A man who had awakened magic only six days ago.
The battle was ending.
…Or perhaps something far worse was only beginning.