"Calm yourself, Ritsuka," Koko said quickly and firmly.
"Your cousin is most likely still alive. Keep saying anything into the phone—draw them into responding."
Ritsuka immediately grabbed the phone and was about to speak. But before a single word could leave his mouth, the call was already disconnected. The screen went dark. Ritsuka's anger surged instantly.
Suddenly, he heard the sound of his apartment door opening.
Ritsuka reflexively ran toward his bedroom door and peeked through the narrow gap. His heart pounded violently as he saw six people wearing black suits and white gloves enter his apartment.
Without hesitation, he quickly closed and locked his bedroom door.
From the floating mass of water, Koko's voice sounded anxious.
"Ritsuka, hey! What's going on? Why are you suddenly silent?"
"They're here…" Ritsuka said in a restrained voice.
"The people who kidnapped my cousin earlier… they're now in my apartment. This is probably another group of theirs."
"Huh? Are you sure?" Koko said in disbelief.
"Yes," Ritsuka replied quickly.
"Their clothing exactly matches the description Rikka gave earlier."
"Does your family have any illegal businesses?" L asked coldly.
"Or any connections with the mafia or cartels?"
"No," Ritsuka answered firmly.
"I'm certain my family is clean. I don't have parents, and Rikka's parents are just ordinary office workers. We have no ties to people like that."
Suddenly—
BAM!
Ritsuka's bedroom door was forced open by those people.
"Damn… looks like this is as far as I go," Ritsuka muttered bitterly.
From the water mass, Kagaya's voice sounded calm and reassuring.
"Ritsuka, don't worry. We'll help you from here. If you're captured, stay calm. We're still with you."
Ritsuka clenched his fists, took a deep breath, and prepared himself for whatever would happen.
Ritsuka gave a faint smile as he looked at the six men. In his heart, he had already prepared himself to surrender. One of them stepped forward swiftly, intending to knock Ritsuka unconscious.
But suddenly—
a flash of unfamiliar memories surfaced in his mind.
A figure who looked extremely similar to him stood within that memory. It felt like an old memory—so close, yet completely unreachable. Ritsuka couldn't remember who that figure was, but the emotion accompanying it was overwhelming.
Then he heard himself speaking.
"My name is Ritsuka Fujimaru. Many people have helped me… and now I stand here, replacing them… as the Master of Chal—"
The words cut off.
Lines of light suddenly appeared across his skin, spreading like glowing cracks. Ritsuka staggered as a torrent of foreign energy surged through his entire body.
Just as one of the kidnappers was about to touch him, the man's eyes suddenly widened.
"Th–that's impossible… circuits—"
His words were cut short.
BAM!
Before he could finish speaking, Ritsuka's fist slammed violently into the man's solar plexus. The man's body lifted into the air, flew past his companions, and crashed heavily onto the floor.
However, the moment the punch landed, Ritsuka felt excruciating pain surge from his hand throughout his entire body.
At the same time, foreign memories assaulted his mind once more.
"I'll do my very best to help you, Senpai!"
That voice echoed clearly.
In a fleeting vision, a girl with a massive shield and eggplant-colored purple hair appeared, standing beside him.
"Ritsuka, what happened?! We heard a loud impact!" Koko's panicked voice came from the water mass.
The response was not words—but a scream.
Ritsuka screamed in agony. His entire body felt as if it were being burned from the inside, pierced, and shattered all at once.
Amid the pain, another memory surfaced.
"But you truly are a genuine Master. This time, you've done enough."
A white-haired woman with golden-yellow eyes appeared in the vision. She smiled gently at Ritsuka—a smile filled with acknowledgment, and farewell.
"Ritsuka! What's happening?!" Kagaya's voice rang out anxiously.
"Are they torturing you?!"
Zelretch said nothing.
But his expression changed.
He recognized that scream perfectly. It wasn't the scream of someone being beaten—
it was the scream of someone whose magic circuits were awakening.
L said nothing either.
"Magic circuits!" one of them shouted in panic.
Ritsuka collapsed onto the floor, his body convulsing as his screams continued to echo.
"It looks like he awakened them accidentally," one of the kidnappers said tensely.
"Magic circuits?" Koko repeated from the water mass, clearly shocked.
"What should we do?" another asked, growing restless.
Their leader stepped forward half a pace, cold eyes observing Ritsuka.
"We wait," he said firmly.
"Let the process finish. After that, he'll weaken and lose consciousness. Then we take him."
Amid the unbearable pain, yet another foreign memory emerged.
Ritsuka saw himself—but somehow different.
"They're all dead. And I'm the reason.
Don't look at me with pity like that—I don't need it.
This is my duty, the only thing I can do.
But that doesn't erase the fact that I'm a destroyer of worlds, and the murderer of billions of innocent lives."
After that final memory passed, Ritsuka's screams gradually faded. His body stopped convulsing, and his breathing steadied.
"It seems it's over," their leader said.
"Now, take him."
But before any of them could step closer, a heavy, unfamiliar sound echoed.
Clunk.
They all froze.
"What was that sound?" one of them muttered.
They exchanged glances, then looked around. There was nothing. The room remained silent.
But when their eyes finally moved above Ritsuka's head… they froze.
"Th–that's a D–Dharma Wheel…" one of them whispered with a trembling voice.
The moment those words were spoken, they realized that Ritsuka was no longer there.
BOOM!
One of them was blasted out of the apartment, his body smashing into the exterior wall with a deafening explosion.
Their eyes widened.
Ritsuka now stood in the center of the room, magic circuits blazing brightly across his hands and legs. Without hesitation, he struck the man with his elbow.
"That's… Bajiquan—" one of them cried out.
The sentence was cut short.
Thud!
Ritsuka's kick slammed into the man's body, sending him flying out after the others. The apartment wall cracked, leaving a massive hole. Debris scattered everywhere, dust filling the air.
Only three people remained standing in the room. They stood frozen, bodies tense.
Their leader stared at Ritsuka with a stiff expression.
Before them, Ritsuka stood firmly in a fighting stance, his breathing steady.
He was ready to fight.
"All units, prepare," their leader commanded loudly.
"Engage him as a combat magus. Do not hesitate."
As soon as the order ended, magic circuits ignited one by one on their bodies, emitting faint light.
Ritsuka looked at them without fear.
"That's for the best," he said softly.
"I don't know why… but right now, I feel like I can do anything."
He stepped forward, then leapt toward their leader.
BOOM!
Ritsuka's kick was stopped just in time. The leader blocked it with both arms, the floor beneath him cracking.
"This place is too cramped," the leader said coldly.
With a rough motion, he threw Ritsuka outward.
Ritsuka's body was hurled through the air, flung out of the apartment. The wind slammed into his face—
Before he could adjust his posture, the two men beside the leader rushed toward him.
They launched a mid-air combination attack, bombarding Ritsuka with punches and kicks while he was still falling. Ritsuka took all of it without being able to retaliate.
BOOM!
Thick smoke billowed as his body slammed into the street below.
The leader landed first in front of the smoke cloud. He advanced carefully.
BOOM!
One of his men who had attacked moments earlier was suddenly flung sideways, his body slamming into a wall and sticking there before collapsing limply.
The leader halted. He heard the voice of his remaining subordinate.
"L–leader… a–are you sure our target is really just a civilian…?" the man stammered.
The sentence was never finished.
His body collapsed, unconscious.
From within the smoke came impact after impact—small explosions born from fists and kicks colliding.
Boom.
Then came one final explosion, far louder than the rest.
The leader fell silent. He waited… until the smoke slowly thinned.
What he saw stole his breath.
Ritsuka stood there. His breathing was heavy, his shoulders rising and falling, but his body remained upright. At his feet lay his subordinates, unconscious.
Ritsuka stared straight at him—his gaze showing not the slightest hint of surrender. He briefly glanced at his ruined apartment.
"You'll have to pay for my apartment after this," Ritsuka said flatly.
The leader gave a thin smile, clenching his fists.
"If I lose… then later," he replied.
They stared at each other. They stepped forward, the distance shrinking until they stopped several meters apart. The air grew heavy, tense.
Then—
Boom!
Ritsuka made the first move. His fist shot forward. The leader blocked it. Ritsuka's other hand followed—blocked again. The leader counterattacked, but Ritsuka dodged.
They fought head-on—no interference, no openings.
Amid the exchange of blows, Ritsuka asked,
"Why did you kidnap me?"
"Secret," the leader replied, evading a punch.
"What's your objective?"
"Secret."
"How many victims have you kidnapped?"
"Secret."
"What will you do to them?"
"Secret."
"Where is your base?"
"Secret."
Question after question was thrown out—none answered.
When one of the leader's punches missed, Ritsuka spun and delivered a kick to the head. The leader's body slammed to the ground—the kick struck the back of his head.
But it wasn't enough. He got back up.
Ritsuka didn't give him time. A punch slammed into the leader's solar plexus, lifting his body into the air.
The leader was launched upward.
Ritsuka jumped after him, unleashing a barrage of punches to his chest.
Boom.
Boom.
Boom.
His stamina began to wane. In mid-air, Ritsuka grabbed the leader by the collar, twisting his body downward. Ritsuka's knee lined up perfectly with his opponent's chest.
"You have to endure this," Ritsuka said firmly.
"I don't want to become a murderer."
BOOM!
Both of them crashed violently into the ground. Thick smoke rose.
Moments later, Ritsuka emerged from the smoke, carrying the leader's unconscious body over his shoulder.
As he walked, he murmured softly,
"What was that feeling earlier…?"
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"That… was really fun."
Behind him, the floating mass of water followed. Every member of the group had heard every explosion of the battle.
But elsewhere—
Zelretch stood in his workshop, brow furrowed, irritation on his face.
"What the hell was that…" he muttered.
"Why are there two Ritsuka Fujimarus?"
A childish voice sounded nearby.
"You want to know? Why not use the Second Magic?"
"Don't joke around," Zelretch replied.
"I don't want to mess up that world again."
"Relax," the light child said lightly.
"I'll make sure you don't ruin Ritsuka's timeline."
"You sure?" Zelretch asked suspiciously.
"Trust me."
Moments later, the workshop filled with loud laughter.
"Hahahaha! This is truly fascinating," Zelretch exclaimed with delight.
"You've created something genuinely shocking."
"Well? Satisfied now?" the light child asked.
"Hahaha, very satisfied!" Zelretch replied.
"I thought he was merely a candidate for the Last Master of Humanity…"
His smile widened.
"But it turns out—he's a former Last Master of Humanity."