Kaito froze abruptly.
His gaze swept across the devastated hall, until it stopped on a figure among the rubble.
"—That…" His teeth clenched.
"—That's Chizuro's son."
His body stiffened against his will.
Reiji stared at him in silence, his sister still in his arms.
Then, with glacial calm, he bent down and laid Kagura against the wall.
"My compliments," he said, slowly removing his black jacket.
Déjà vu…
In that gesture, Kaito saw Chizuro's exact movements mirrored.
"You wiped out the elite squad…" Reiji continued, rolling up his white sleeves.
"Your companion incapacitated my sister…"
He paused, his gaze sharper than a blade.
"And above all, you got rid of my mother.
The collapse of the tower… that was your doing too."
In a sudden burst, he lunged toward Kaito.
Only a few meters separated them now.
"You give me too much credit," Kaito replied coldly.
"I see that, despite your pitiful condition, you're not begging for mercy," Reiji shot back with a faint smile.
"Tell me… after all this, what do you expect me to do?"
"I assume you want to kill me…" Kaito began.
"But at the same time, you want to get your family out of here."
Another violent tremor shook the tower.
"That's true," Reiji confirmed without hesitation.
"However… it takes very little for me to finish my mother's battle."
Kaito's eyes widened. Before he could even form a thought, his body reacted on its own—he stepped back instinctively, increasing the distance.
At Reiji's feet, the shadow stirred.
"Come forth… Amatsugi."
Behind Reiji, the floor cracked open.
Three massive chains erupted from the ground, slamming into place with a dull clang.
Bound to them was a barely perceptible figure: a translucent silhouette, devoid of detail, save for two completely blue eyes, pupil-less and hollow.
"Kūdan."
The air trembled.
It folded in on itself, taking the shape of invisible blades.
An instant later, the weapons of air shot toward Kaito at a speed that warped the very space around them.
The Shadow Knight intercepted their path, deflecting them.
The collision with the rubble unleashed shockwaves of compressed force.
Reiji moved again.
With every step he took, the chains around Amatsugi tightened.
So it's just as I thought, Kaito realized.
The Shadow Knight's blade met the advance of Fuyumi—Reiji blocked it without yielding an inch, his arm wrapped in vortices of compressed wind.
"You're nothing but a puppet."
He opened his hand.
Another explosion of pressure tore through the air.
The Shadow's body trembled… then split open.
A massive hole pierced it from the left leg up to the neck, as if its form had been drilled through by an invisible strike.
He destroyed it…
Kaito raised his blades defensively.
Reiji's fist struck them an instant later.
"Your body's a mess," he commented, holding the blades back with a single arm.
"Let's see if you can still endure this."
He pulled his hand back…
and opened his palm.
A blast of pressure slammed into Kaito, sweeping away rubble and debris as if they were paper.
When the air finally settled, the boy was crushed beneath a heap of concrete and broken beams, breath ragged, half his face smeared with blood.
Reiji approached with slow, deliberate steps.
"You're barely breathing," he observed, tilting his head. "It's already a miracle you're still alive."
"Tell me…"
Kaito's voice was broken, unsteady.
"You're… a Contractless Possessor… right…?"
A pause.
"One of those who bend spirits… against their will."
Reiji's gaze flicked briefly toward the chains behind him.
"The chains give it away," Reiji replied.
"I'm surprised someone like you knows about Possessors without contracts."
"On the brink of death, and you're still making deductions? What an idiot."
He narrowed his eyes coldly.
"I suppose you hoped that information would be useful for some kind of strategy. But look at you."
He nudged a slab of debris with his foot.
"You're completely immobilized."
Kaito held back a painful breath.
"You… are not a Fuyumi."
The statement made Reiji tense.
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"Kagura has a spirit…" Kaito murmured, coughing up blood.
"So does Chizuro… That means your sister inherited it from her father…"
He lifted his gaze just enough to cut like a blade.
"So… you're not a Fuyumi."
Reiji hesitated for a fraction of a second, but his expression remained impassive.
"That's right. I'm not a biological child of the Fuyumi," he admitted without wavering.
"I too… was nothing but merchandise. But Reijirō Fuyumi, the former head of the family, took me in."
He slowly brought his hands to his face, unfastening the mask.
It fell to the ground with a dull thud.
The lower half of Reiji's face was completely burned.
"When he discovered what my buyer was doing to me… he saved me."
His voice deepened, icy.
"I'll be indebted to him forever. That's why… I'll get Chizuro and Kagura out of here."
He straightened, his gaze hard as stone.
"We've talked long enough. Kūdan."
The sword materialized in his hand.
"With this… my mother's battle will finally end."
The blade descended toward Kaito.
"Now, Enzo!!"
Reiji leapt back.
A storm of ash slammed violently into the ground.
"Still you…" he snarled, turning toward the shattered entrance of the White Place.
The Reikeitai had arrived.
"But that… that's Akizame…" Kaito whispered with the little breath he had left.
"What do you two want?" Reiji demanded irritably.
Tetsuya stepped forward with steady confidence.
"Surrender. You Fuyumi have harmed too many people. The Reikeitai administers justice. We won't allow you to take them away."
Reiji looked at his sister—dimly glowing restraints bound her wrists.
"I…"
A voice cut him off.
"Return to the origin!"
Chunks of collapsed ceiling began to rise into the air, suspended.
"That voice…" Kaito recognized it instantly.
Yume had created the perfect diversion. In a flash, she reached Kaito.
Her again… Akizame spotted her immediately.
"Yume… what are you doing here?" Kaito murmured, exhausted.
She looked at him, anxiety written all over her face.
"What kind of question is that? Just look at you."
"I don't have enough energy to heal you completely… but you'll recover."
Spiritual energy flowed from her hands, enveloping him.
Within moments, the wounds vanished. Even the severed arm reformed in its place.
"Done!" she said, as the suspended debris crashed violently back to the ground.
"Thank you, Yume."
Kaito immediately grabbed his blades and reactivated Pressure Mode, pulling Yume out of the falling rubble's path.
She healed him… Reiji couldn't help but be impressed.
Kaito assessed the situation in an instant.
"Yume, we can't fight both the Fuyumi and the Reikeitai at the same time."
His eyes locked onto Akizame.
"Especially him."
"S-so… what do we do?" Yume asked, struggling to stay upright.
"Tsk… I don't know yet. Stay close to me."
She wrapped her legs around his waist, clinging to his neck.
The clash between Kaito, Yume, Reiji, Tetsuya, and Akizame was now inevitable.
At the moment the tower would collapse, three minutes and forty-three seconds remained.