The ground still trembled from the last impact.

Each clash of our weapons echoed like the heartbeat of a giant— a drum that made the entire mountain shake. Breath ragged, I took a step back, my fingers tightening around the staff. Lyseria pulsed with every breath I took, its surface almost alive— breathing, shifting, ready to answer my will.

In front of me, Garrum stood, twisted by his own power. His skin rippled and hardened with every surge of anger, shifting from metal to stone, then to crystal before turning back into flesh. There was nothing human left in him— nothing of the "comrade" I once knew. Only a creature mimicking life, refusing to die.

I turned instinctively, scanning for the others.

Behind me, far in the distance, the camp's torches flickered in the wind. Reina led the troops, cold and unshakable, while Sylvara, Miyu, and Ayame—along with the other heroes and students—fought at the front, repelling dragons diving onto the Pact's defenses. Lower down, I saw Hikari, her aura merged with those of the healers. They fought. They held their ground. And at that moment, I wanted to scream for them to run— but I knew it would be useless.

Farther away, two colossal bursts of power clashed— the Headmistress and the Princess against the Elder. Their silhouettes lit up the heavens at every impact, and even from here, their roars tore through my chest. Beyond them, another presence— older, vaster— the Primordial Oratius had brought back. And amid that storm of energy, I felt a fourth aura. Familiar. Cold as death. Reinhardt. And with him, three more signatures… powerful, inhuman— standing at the same point as the Primordial.

Everything that mattered was happening elsewhere.

Here, only two remained: me, and the monster wearing the face of a fallen hero.

I exhaled slowly, tasting blood on my tongue.

I couldn't stay here. If I kept fighting near the camp, a single burst of mana could annihilate those I had sworn to protect. I had to move him away. Put distance between us. And I couldn't afford to use Oblivion here— not now. If, after everything I'd learned, that final card still failed against him, it would mean the end. Not just for me, but for everyone behind me.

No. I had to rely on what I truly mastered— to keep my mana reserves intact as long as possible: Genesis, my science, my flesh… and Lyseria.

My gaze drifted back to the girls in the distance— Ayame, Reina, Miyu, Hikari. Four souls who had stood by me in this world and the one before.

I whispered, barely audible:

— "Stay alive. I'll be back."

Then I drove Lyseria into the ground.

The staff vibrated, growled— and suddenly, the earth began to boil. I leapt, my heels digging deep into the soil, and in the same motion, ordered Lyseria to grow. The sacred wood twisted, stretched, turning into a pillar of light that erupted from the ground like a colossal trunk. I kicked off its base, launched myself forward, and crashed into Garrum, my heels burying into his chest. The impact cracked like dry thunder.

— "Get the hell out of here!" I roared.

The shockwave swallowed us both.

Air whipped my face, speed crushed my bones. Behind us, the forest shattered with each impact. Every time Lyseria extended, its tip slammed into the ground, detonating everything around us— roots torn out, trunks pulverized, stones shattered into dust. Garrum endured it, each meter ripping his flesh apart, yet his body adapted instantly, rebuilding itself into armor of scales, steel, quartz, and shadow.

We tore through an entire valley in a scream of wind and fire. Even the sky seemed to tilt with us. Then suddenly, resistance gave way. Lyseria whistled through the air, retracting violently at my command. I was hurled forward, crashing hard against the ground, knees bent, arms shaking. Dust blinded me, the taste of iron filled my mouth. Behind me, a wet, heavy crack— Garrum had landed.

I raised my head slowly. His body was nothing but a shifting field of scars. Molten metal still dripped across his skin before solidifying again. His breathing came in harsh, whistling bursts that made the ground tremble. And yet— he smiled.

— "Still standing, huh, Kaito?" he rasped, his voice distorted.

I clenched my teeth. My heart was racing too fast, my arm burned up to the shoulder, and Lyseria whimpered in my grasp under the strain of mana. I knew I couldn't win by endurance— not against something that evolved with every hit.

So I rose slowly, bringing Lyseria back to her original form— slender, elegant, light in my hand. I drew a deep breath, fixing my gaze on him. The wind still carried the faint scent of the camp— distant, of ash and blood.

I remembered what Ayame once told me: "Courage is just knowing which sacrifice is still worth making."And tonight, I had my answer.

I spun Lyseria in my grip, the wood singing through the air as energy condensed at its tip. The air quivered. Leaves lifted off the ground.

Garrum took a step forward.

— "Come on then," I whispered.

Our eyes met— a single, suspended moment, too calm before the storm. Then, in one motion, I lunged.

I charged.

Lyseria cut a wide arc, whistling through the air before striking his side. The blow burst in a flash of sparks and shards of blackened matter. Garrum barely flinched, but I saw the cracks spreading beneath his skin like burning veins. He countered, his arm morphing into a crude blade, but I pivoted on one foot, brought the staff across his guard, and struck again— upward, with a sharp, snapping sound. The ground quaked beneath the force.

The fight resumed— faster, sharper.

Our silhouettes merged within the flashes of light— two figures lost in a maelstrom of energy. Each time I struck, Lyseria extended by a breath— one meter, two— then retracted, like it was breathing through me. I made her spin, leap, slide— a seamless motion, a dance my body knew better than my mind. The staff cracked like a whip, thrummed like a blade, and every impact echoed through my chest.

Garrum kept up.

His fists slammed against the wood with the sound of hammers on anvils, and with each block, the shock climbed up my arms to my shoulders. He moved too fast— far too fast for such a grotesque form. His torso split and sealed, his arms dividing to spawn new masses of steel, spikes, fangs, blades. A moving nightmare— but I had found his rhythm, and I wasn't letting go.

— "Second Movement…"

My voice drowned in the roar of the wind. Mana surged up my spine, condensing into my hands.

— "Emergence of the First Ray."

Lyseria flared crimson. I twisted my body, unleashing everything in a sweeping strike as she extended once more. The blow ripped through the forest for dozens of meters, a blazing wave erupting from the staff, slicing through trunks, blasting dust high into the air. Garrum took it full force, crossing his arms in defense, but the explosion hurled him off the ground. I saw him vanish into the haze, swallowed by the blast.

I seized the moment.

Genesis.

A burst of mana flared above us— a sphere of pure light that turned the world white. Garrum emerged from the mist, blinded, faltering. He raised his arm to shield his eyes— that was all I needed. I rushed him. The staff spun in my hands, striking his knee, then his flank, then his shoulder in near-perfect succession. Each blow shattered part of his body, releasing plumes of steam and black blood.

Victory was at my fingertips.

I dominated him. My breath matched the rhythm of the staff, my movements no longer deliberate— pure instinct, total harmony between my flesh and the weapon that pulsed like an extension of my will. I drove him back, cornering him against the remnants of a cliffside. Every hit pushed him further, every strike broke more of his living armor. He snarled, eyes narrowing with hate.

— "Come on… stay down, bastard…"

I leapt, spun Lyseria above me, and brought it down with all my might. The ground split open under the impact. Dust exploded in a column, trees collapsed around us, torn apart by the blast. Garrum fell to one knee, chest cracked open.

I raised the staff again, ready to strike once more—

And that's when he moved.

A flash.

I didn't even have time to understand.

His fist came from below— a motion terrifyingly smooth, precise, deliberate. I barely saw his arm turn to metal before his punch buried itself in my stomach.

Pain. Absolute.

Everything clenched— my throat, my lungs, my vision.

It felt like the earth itself slammed into me. My back hit a root, then another, then hard ground. I rolled for meters, every impact knocking more air out of me. When I finally stopped, I just lay there, gasping, blood pounding in my skull.

I spat a red spray onto the scorched dirt, wiped my mouth with a trembling hand— and let out a hoarse laugh.

— "Damn… that strength…"

Every breath made my ribs crack, the pain tearing through my gut— but worse than that was the feeling that he was changing again. Growing denser. Sharper. More aware.

Garrum was walking toward me, slow and heavy, like a newborn god. His features melted and reformed, yet his eyes stayed clear— almost human— burning with a cold fury.

— "Is that all you've got, Kaito?" he said, voice distorted.

He stopped a few meters away, gaze locked onto mine.

— "So this is the humanity you bragged about? That's all it's worth?"

I stayed still for a moment, gasping, my hand clenched tight around Lyseria's handle. Then I lifted my head slowly, a crooked smile tugging at my lips, blood still fresh on my tongue.

No. That wasn't all.

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