The red door opened—

  —and Akitsu Shouga was already moving.

  Steel rang.

  Shadow screamed.

  Pain slammed into his ribs before his mind fully caught up.

  “—Shouga?!”

  Rhen Calder’s voice snapped him into focus.

  Akitsu twisted his body instinctively, rolling as a blade of condensed darkness carved through the space where his head had been a heartbeat earlier. He hit the ground hard, skidded across broken stone, and came up on one knee.

  “…Great,” Akitsu muttered. “Mid-fight insertion.”

  The street around them was chaos.

  Shattered lanterns littered the ground. Buildings leaned inward like watching corpses. The night sky pulsed unnaturally, shadows crawling along the walls as if alive.

  And at the center of it—

  Yurei.

  Its form was unstable, flickering between humanoid silhouette and something far worse. Black tendrils leaked from its limbs, evaporating into mist before touching the ground. Its head tilted slightly, as if recognizing Akitsu.

  “You,” Yurei whispered. “Again.”

  Akitsu stood fully now, Joyeuse already in his hand, cloth wrapping torn away from the blade.

  “Yeah,” Akitsu said flatly. “Miss me?”

  Rhen stood a few meters away, Masamune raised defensively, breath heavy but steady. His eyes flicked between Akitsu and Yurei.

  “You dropped in like that on purpose?” Rhen snapped.

  “No,” Akitsu replied. “But we’re not wasting it.”

  Yurei’s shadow stretched.

  “You cannot keep returning,” it said. “Your soul grows thinner each time.”

  Akitsu didn’t answer it.

  Instead, he turned to Rhen.

  “Rhen,” Akitsu said sharply. “Drop the sword.”

  Rhen blinked once. “What?”

  “Now,” Akitsu said. “Use your fists.”

  Yurei’s presence surged, dark pressure flooding the street.

  Rhen didn’t hesitate.

  Masamune hit the ground with a heavy clang.

  “…Alright,” Rhen said, rolling his shoulders. “I trust you.”

  Yurei let out a low, distorted laugh.

  “Discarding a divine blade,” it mocked. “How desperate.”

  Akitsu raised Joyeuse.

  “No,” he said calmly. “How necessary.”

  Yurei lunged.

  The air screamed as shadows tore forward like spears.

  “Ghost!” Rhen barked.

  His body phased instantly, shadows passing harmlessly through his torso. He stepped through Yurei’s attack, reappearing at its flank—but did not strike yet.

  Akitsu moved at the same time.

  “Joyeuse—flare!”

  The blade erupted.

  Light detonated outward.

  Not illumination—obliteration.

  The flash was brighter than the sun, a violent white burst that erased shadow itself for an instant. The street vanished beneath pure radiance.

  Yurei shrieked.

  Its form destabilized violently, shadow peeling away like burning paper.

  But it did not die.

  When the light faded, Yurei staggered back, smoking, its outline jagged and broken.

  “…It resists,” Akitsu muttered.

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  Rhen stared. “That didn’t—”

  “I know,” Akitsu said. “But it felt it.”

  Yurei’s voice was distorted now, layered and uneven.

  “That light—does not belong to this world.”

  Akitsu stepped forward, blade raised. “Neither do you.”

  Yurei lashed out again—faster.

  Rhen phased, dodging effortlessly, but this time Yurei anticipated it.

  A tendril curved around Rhen’s movement, aiming not for his body—

  —but his arm.

  “Rhen!” Akitsu shouted.

  Rhen reacted instantly, phasing his torso deeper—but his fist had already begun to solidify for a strike.

  Too late.

  The tendril grazed his forearm.

  Rhen gasped, stumbling back. “—Tch!”

  Yurei recoiled slightly, as if tasting something.

  “…So close,” it whispered.

  Akitsu was on it immediately.

  Joyeuse flashed again—not full power, but a controlled burst. Light cut through the tendril, severing it mid-air.

  “Don’t let it touch you,” Akitsu snapped. “Even for a second.”

  Rhen clenched his jaw. “Got it.”

  Yurei’s form wavered, anger rippling through its shadow.

  “You adapt,” it hissed. “But you do not learn.”

  Akitsu shifted his stance, keeping distance. “Funny. I was about to say the same.”

  Yurei surged forward, abandoning finesse.

  The street warped as it charged, shadows collapsing inward like a singularity.

  “Rhen—now!”

  Rhen vanished.

  He phased through Yurei’s torso—

  —and reappeared behind it, solidifying his fist at the last possible instant.

  Impact.

  The punch landed deep, cracking through Yurei’s unstable core.

  Yurei howled.

  Akitsu followed up instantly.

  “Joyeuse—full flare!”

  Light exploded again, harsher, tighter, focused directly on Yurei’s center mass.

  The shadows screamed as they burned away.

  Yurei staggered, form collapsing inward.

  But still—

  Not dead.

  Yurei slammed both hands into the ground.

  The street shattered.

  A wave of darkness erupted outward, throwing Akitsu back.

  He hit a wall hard, breath knocked from his lungs.

  Rhen barely phased in time, skidding across the ground as his body flickered.

  Yurei stood at the center of the destruction, breathing unevenly.

  Its form was worse now.

  Cracks of light leaked through its shadow, as if something inside was breaking.

  “You wound me,” it said, voice strained. “Again and again.”

  Akitsu pushed himself up, blood running down his temple.

  “Good,” he said. “That means it’s working.”

  Rhen staggered to his feet beside him. “Shouga… you okay?”

  Akitsu nodded. “Still breathing. That’s enough.”

  Yurei raised its head slowly.

  “But you are late,” it whispered.

  The shadows around them began to move—converging.

  Akitsu’s eyes narrowed.

  “…Rhen,” he said quietly. “We’re not done yet.”

  Rhen cracked his knuckles. “Wouldn’t have it any other way.”

  Yurei’s presence surged once more.

  The night trembled.

  And the real fight began.