"Enough."
Akizame's voice broke the silence.
"All of you are coming with us."
Ash swirled around him like a storm ready to erupt.
"I agree."
Around Tetsuya, the air suddenly turned icy; the temperature dropped sharply.
"I'll deal with the two of you personally," Reiji declared.
"Kūdan!"
A gust of wind exploded in every direction.
—We're really going to do this— Kaito thought, getting into a defensive stance.
"Yume… I'm sorry."
"Why…?" she whispered, exhausted.
"My plan was to bring down the tower without you or anyone else inside…" Kaito explained, gritting his teeth.
"But I was too weak, and I almost died too."
"Now… I'll do everything to get both of us out of here."
The pressure mode around his body intensified, trembling.
"Come on, reappear… knight."
At his command, the shadow rematerialized behind him.
"This technique…" Yume observed the knight, confused.
"I'll explain later," he reassured her.
She nodded, trusting him.
"Kūdan!!"
Reiji's blades shot forward like bullets, slicing through the air in every direction.
Kaito advanced with swift movements, cutting through the wind.
"High Ice!"
A wall of ice blocked his path, rising in front of him.
"It was you!" Kaito growled, fixing his gaze on who had summoned the technique.
Behind Tetsuya, a spirit with feminine features emerged: a white kimono, short equally white hair, and eyes of the same icy hue.
"Spirit Slayer!"
With a single strike, Kaito shattered the ice mass.
But at the same moment, Tetsuya was already on him.
From just a few centimeters away, an ice spear shot toward Kaito like a deadly dart.
"Shit!"
He twisted midair with lightning speed, cutting the attack in two.
He landed heavily, raising his gaze.
Tetsuya had disappeared.
"Particle Ice!"
The voice came from above.
—There he is!— Kaito instinctively prepared to jump toward him.
But as he tried to push off, his legs gave way.
"Tsk! What…?!"
His body started shaking uncontrollably.
Tetsuya landed softly, as if the ground itself welcomed him.
"Your particles are freezing. You'll lose consciousness soon," he explained in a neutral tone.
"But I don't have that much time."
He charged a direct kick at the boy's face.
"Return to origin!"
Yume shouted the command, and in an instant the spiritual ice dissolved.
Kaito dropped low, narrowly avoiding the attack.
—I thought she had no energy left!—
Tetsuya gritted his teeth but didn't have time to process the thought.
His body was thrown backward by a sudden blow.
"Don't… touch… my king."
Between him and Kaito stood the Knight.
The Shadow, with animal-like momentum, leapt at Tetsuya again.
Its sword descended like a sentence.
"Your movements are predictable."
With a perfect somersault, Tetsuya dodged the thrust.
"Yukihime: Snowstorm!"
The female spirit behind him raised her arms.
A blizzard erupted in the air, hitting the Knight.
The Shadow shattered into pieces of darkness, dissolving into nothingness.
"Good… let's go."
With a powerful push of his legs, Tetsuya prepared to reach Kaito again.
But something grabbed his ankle.
The shadow had reappeared.
An inhuman scream echoed, and Tetsuya was slammed violently to the ground.
Meanwhile, Kaito had already rushed to her.
"Yume, can you hear me?!"
He cupped her face in his hands, his voice trembling.
"Yume!!" he insisted, trying to keep her eyes open.
"Kaito…" she whispered faintly.
A trickle of blood ran from her nose, slowly reaching her chin.
"Why did you do it? You weren't supposed to reuse your technique!"
"I… couldn't leave you in that situation…" she muttered, her voice breaking.
—I have to stay focused… I need to analyze the situation—
Kaito's mind was boiling.
"Hold onto me again and rest."
Yume barely nodded, then struggled to rise, clinging to his neck and letting him support her.
Cough… cough! she began to cough harder.
"Sorry, Kaito… I'm fine…" she tried to reassure him.
But when she lowered her hand, it was completely covered in blood.
—Shit!—
Kaito looked around frantically.
—The Shadow… has almost used up the energy I stole from Shirogane— he noticed her staggering in the void.
—And that ice guy is too strong… and as if that wasn't enough…—
A burst of ash interrupted him.
A gray column rose from the floor just a few meters away.
"You seemed stronger before!"
Reiji tried to provoke Akizame.
"Come on, Enzo."
Filaments of ash shot from the spirit toward Fuyumi's son.
Reiji reacted with lightning speed, taking cover behind a pile of fallen debris from the ceiling.
—I don't have enough time… I can't waste it on them. Not if I want to take my sister… and my mother—
His mind calculated every second.
"Akizame," Enzo called urgently.
"Yes?"
"We need to hurry. The tower isn't stopping its movement."
"I know!" growled the possessor, while ash swirled around him.
Kaito watched the scene helplessly.
—Is this… my limit?—
His gaze vacant, lost.
—I've trained for years… and I can't beat them!—
His hands trembled in front of his eyes.
—I know I'm not at the level of possessors like them… but is the difference really this huge?!—
Then he felt Yume's touch.
Her weak, yet present, grip.
Her breath on his shoulder.
And everything fell silent.
—It doesn't matter if I'm weak… I'll get her out of here.—
"Spirit Slayer!"
His voice cut through the air.
A double strike exploded forward, hitting the battlefield and forcing everyone to halt.
Tetsuya, Reiji, and Akizame turned to face him.
"Enough…"
His aura shifted. His gaze was different.
"Fuyumi, Reikeitai… and then the Mugentamashii."
He inhaled slowly.
"Try to stop me from taking her out of here… and I'll kill every single one of you."
—That look…—
Akizame had seen it before.
The look that resembled a demon.
"Impressive indeed."
A new voice arrived on the battlefield.
Everyone turned toward the destroyed stage.
"Reikeitai, Fuyumi… and the kids."
Two figures emerged from the dust.
Reiji recognized them immediately.
"Zo! Kagetsu! You've arrived!" he exclaimed.
"The… Mugentamashii…" Akizame stiffened instantly.
Hearing those words, Kaito almost jumped.
"The… Mugentamashii…"
After a long search, Kaito finally found himself face to face with those who had caused his revenge.