With the corridor reduced to ruin, shattered stone and warped light hanging in the air, the four fighters took their stances.

  Power pressed down on the space like a storm about to break.

  Reito: Trish, cover me!

  Mrs. Zinc: Yeah. Let’s keep this mess away from the students if we can.

  Sera glanced toward the fractured hallway, her expression tight.

  Sera: Franklin, are you sure about this? If anyone sees us—

  Franklin: I know. That’s why we end it fast.

  Mrs. Zinc moved first.

  She exhaled sharply, releasing a massive cloud of ash and smoke that exploded outward, swallowing the battlefield in choking gray. Visibility vanished in an instant.

  Reito didn’t hesitate.

  He surged through the smoke, boots skidding over rubble, arm cocked back as he drove a full-force right hook straight toward Franklin’s head.

  Franklin caught it effortlessly.

  Franklin: Come now, Reito. Is that really all you’ve got?

  Golden light crawled up Franklin’s arm, the same resonant hum filling the air as before.

  Franklin: Divine Ripple.

  A radiant shockwave detonated outward.

  Reito was blasted off his feet, sent skidding across the broken corridor. He twisted mid-slide, slamming his palm down as ice erupted beneath him, forming a jagged wall that caught his momentum.

  Reito: Ice IV—Absolute Zero Coffin!

  He snapped his fingers.

  A cubic prison of black-blue ice formed instantly around Franklin, sealing shut with a sound like reality snapping closed. The temperature plunged so violently that even sound seemed to die within the structure.

  Reito: Any movement triggers internal ice spikes. Try escaping, and it’ll shred you from the inside.

  Inside the coffin, Franklin calmly dragged his glowing fingers along the frozen walls, examining the structure with open interest.

  Franklin: I’ll admit… this is impressive.

  The ice began to vibrate.

  Franklin: But it won’t be enough.

  Franklin: Golden Art—Wings of Dominion!

  The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

  The coffin detonated in a blinding burst of light.

  Ice disintegrated into vapor as radiant energy flooded the corridor. When the glare faded, Franklin stood unharmed, massive angelic wings of gold light unfurled behind him.

  Reito: Damn it!

  Franklin turned his head slightly.

  Franklin: Sera. How’s it going on your end?

  On the other side of the battlefield—

  Mrs. Zinc and Sera clashed amid swirling smoke and collapsing debris.

  Sera: Just fine, dear—though I’ll admit, she's more troublesome than expected.

  Mrs. Zinc: Phantom Veil!

  Her body dissolved into smoke, splitting into multiple false silhouettes that moved independently, circling Sera from every angle.

  Sera clicked her tongue.

  Sera: Tch. How irritating.

  Sera: Golden Art—Seraphic Lances!

  She raised her hand.

  From above, spears of condensed golden light rained down like divine artillery, each lance curving mid-descent, tracking hostile intent rather than physical position.

  The illusions scattered.

  One by one, the clones were obliterated.

  Mrs. Zinc twisted aside—but one lance tore through her arm, blood spraying as she staggered back.

  Sera: Hmph. Guess you’re not all that special.

  Mrs. Zinc gripped her bleeding arm, teeth bared.

  Mrs. Zinc: Don’t count me out yet.

  Mrs. Zinc: Obscured Horizon!

  The battlefield flooded with layered smoke, light bending unnaturally, sound warping and folding in on itself.

  Sera: Damn it! Another smoke screen?!

  Mrs. Zinc: This one’s different.

  Mrs. Zinc: Lung-Eater Swarm!

  Hundreds of smoke tendrils shot forward, invading Sera’s mouth, nose, and wounds.

  Mrs. Zinc: They react to panic. The more you struggle, the faster they suffocate you.

  Sera collapsed to one knee, coughing violently, gasping as the smoke invaded her lungs.

  Mrs. Zinc walked forward and drove a brutal kick into Sera’s stomach, sending her skidding across the floor.

  Mrs. Zinc: Stay down.

  Sera trembled, vision dimming—but forced out a final command.

  Sera: Golden Art—Halo of Absolute Edict!

  Light exploded outward.

  A radiant halo formed above Sera’s head, expanding violently and purging the smoke from the battlefield—and her lungs.

  She rose slowly, eyes blazing.

  Sera: I was holding back before.

  Sera: Now I’ll end you.

  Mrs. Zinc cracked her neck, smirking despite the blood.

  Mrs. Zinc: Heh. Sounds like fun.

  Back at the center—

  Reito and Franklin exchanged blows, fists colliding with thunderous force before both leapt back.

  Reito thought grimly.

  Reito (thinking): His strikes are heavier… that blessing amplifies everything. I’ve heard what blessed fighters can do—but seeing it firsthand…

  Snow began to fall.

  Franklin: Lost in thought already?

  Franklin: Golden Art—Choir of Judgment!

  A chorus of unseen voices echoed across the ruins.

  Golden notes manifested as beams of sound-light, piercing straight through barriers.

  One slammed into Reito’s chest.

  Reito screamed, collapsing to one knee.

  Reito: Agh—this pain… it’s not physical!

  Franklin: These beams are special they strike both the body and the soul.

  Reito forced himself upright.

  Reito: Don’t get cocky.

  The battlefield fell silent.

  Reito exhaled slowly.

  Snow thickened.

  Reito: White Silence Sever.

  A razor-thin, invisible line of cold split the air.

  A heartbeat later, Franklin’s chest froze—then shattered.

  Blood spilled as he dropped to one knee.

  Franklin: …Interesting.

  Franklin: To wound me at all—you truly are Reito Aukusti.

  Reito: I told you. I’m not letting you leave.

  Reito: Your plan is too dangerous.

  Franklin rose, golden light intensifying.

  Franklin: Dangerous?

  Franklin: That tells me you still don’t understand what I’m trying to achieve.

  His voice hardened.

  Franklin: But out of respect—for everything we lost—I’ll use my full strength.

  The ground cracked as Franklin ascended, light engulfing him.

  Franklin: Golden Art—Gilded Aegis!

  Living plates of golden light wrapped around his body, forming angelic armor etched with glowing runes.

  Reito stared upward, frost swirling around him.

  Reito: Heh… guess I don’t have a choice then.

  Reito: Ice IV—Black Ice Ascension!

  Obsidian-black ice surged over his body, forming armor that radiated lethal cold.

  Franklin descended.

  The two former friends faced one another—neither willing to yield.

  Neither willing to fall.

  End Chapter