The blinding flash faded.

  Smoke choked the battlefield, swirling from the force of the last explosion. Silence rang.

  And then—woosh.

  Kairyuuha’s aura surged outward like a pulse, repelling the smoke in a wave of pressure. The sky cracked behind him. His tails were gone, his kitsune form vanished.

  He exhaled slowly and muttered, “Demon Arts: Phase One.”

  Two jagged lines of flame snaked up from his collarbone to the edges of his jaw—glowing red at first, then shifting into a charcoal black. His skin shimmered with a faint demonic heat.

  As the haze parted, Kazuki was revealed kneeling, a heavy breath escaping his lips.

  Kairyuuha tilted his head, voice low. “So this is your limit?”

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  But then—flicker.

  A phantom blur appeared behind Kairyuuha and slammed a kick into his side, launching him like a comet across the sky.

  “Wha—?!” Kairyuuha grunted mid-air, tumbling through clouds. “How... how did he—?”

  Smash.

  He crashed violently into a barren world—a planet of jagged rock and rivers of magma, the skies dim and red.

  As Kairyuuha staggered to his feet, Kazuki rocketed in from the heavens, grabbed him mid-motion and hurled him across the horizon.

  Boom!

  Crack!

  Kazuki shot toward him again, fists and feet a blur.

  A punch to the gut—sent Kairyuuha flying.

  A sweeping kick—bounced him into the air.

  A twisting knee—spiked him downward.

  And then—a spinning tornado kick—blasted him across a volcanic cliff into a distant mountain, the rocks splitting upon impact.

  In the smoldering silence, Kazuki floated high above, his aura flaring wildly.

  His leg was gone, still bleeding, but he stood firm. He glanced at the kneeling version of himself below—the clone.

  “The Self-Multiplication Spell,” Kazuki explained, his voice calm. “I split my mana. Gave one clone enough to make you think it was me.”

  High above, he clenched his fist—energy gathering like a miniature sun. The entire atmosphere distorted from its pressure.

  He rocketed downward, fist forward, screaming toward the shattered mountain where Kairyuuha now lay vertically, embedded in the cliff.

  Just before impact—Kairyuuha opened his eyes. Sharp. Focused.

  Boom.

  He caught the punch.

  The force of the contact released a world-breaking shockwave, splitting the nearby mountains and vaporizing magma pools.

  Flash.

  When the light faded—

  Kazuki and Kairyuuha stood face-to-face, both back on solid ground. Not a word spoken.

  Their auras raged, two titans clashing not just in strength—but in ideology.

  And the war was just beginning.