The air was drawn to Aoi like a living thing. It whirled and vibrated around him, pressure building until cracks formed in the stone beneath his feet. Kazuo staggered back against the force, eyes wide in horror.
Aoi straightened slowly, lightning crawling across his body in endless streams. His skin glowed faintly under the electric sheen, the Arcane veil now a storm made flesh. He raised his head, eyes burning.
"You're the first in a long time to push me this far."
He spread his arms, lightning howling around him.
"Esoteric Art: Raijins Wrath"
The surge that followed was monstrous — his magic amplified beyond anything Kazuo had felt before.
Kazuo tried to move, but Aoi was already gone.
A blow like a hammer slammed into his gut. Blood sprayed from his mouth as his body rocketed backward. Pain lanced through every nerve, but before he could even breathe, Aoi was behind him, a kick snapping across his ribs.
Kazuo crashed hard onto the arena floor. Sparks blinded his vision, his body screaming in pain. He staggered up, every movement slow—then his form blurred.
"Water Magic: Aqua Step"
Water rippled at his feet, and in the next instant he was darting through the air.
Aoi's strike cut through where Kazuo had just been. "So this is how you got behind me earlier."
Kazuo's lungs burned as he reappeared several meters away, sword clutched tight in his trembling hands. His eyes fixed on Aoi, whose body was wreathed in lightning that snapped and howled like a living wolf.
This… this is an Esoteric Art. It's not like fighting a man anymore. It's like facing a beast.
A single drop of sweat slid down Kazuo's cheek and struck the broken floor with a faint tap. The sound was swallowed by the storm, but it told the truth his face tried to hide.
This was bad news.
"This is me," Aoi said, voice heavy and raw. "This is everything I have. My trump card."
He moved again — a blur of lightning — hurling bolts left and right. Kazuo sprang upward, summoning small, translucent platforms of water beneath his boots. Each one appeared for a fraction of a second, bursting apart as soon as he launched from it. Aqua Step carried him in jagged, unpredictable angles, weaving him through the storm.
But even as he dodged, his mind raced. His chest burned, every breath dragging. Because of his Terrain Enforcement earlier, I can't muster enough to flood the arena again… His eyes narrowed at the snarling wolf-shape cloaking Aoi. And besides, my water won't turn his own power against him this time. This lightning… it's different. His Esoteric Art isn't like the spells before. If I try to use it, I'll only be the one electrocuted.
For a moment, it looked like he was untouchable, dancing between lightning strikes on steps only he could see.
But Aoi's eyes sharpened, reading the flow. He thinks he's free in the air… but even this has a pattern.
The next bolt cut perfectly across his path. Sparks exploded against his body, burning his skin and shredding his clothes. Kazuo reeled, He's too fast… I can't even see his movements clearly. And before he could conjure another step, Aoi was already there. His strike slammed into Kazuo midair, hurling him sideways. Another kick, another blow, until Kazuo was ricocheting through the sky like a pinball, blood scattering across the storm-lit arena.
Then the final strike hit. Kazuo's body spun through the air, blood trailing behind him. At the far end of the arena, Aoi planted himself against the cracked wall, chest heaving.
My Esoteric Art is going to fade, Aoi thought. After that I'll lose consciousness. I have to end it now.
Lightning roared around him, molding into the form of a great wolf. It wasn't beside him — it was him. Arcs of current shaped into fangs that bared with every word he spoke, claws of pure electricity stretching from his limbs, his body striped with glowing veins like the marks of a beast. The air itself howled as he moved, the crackle of thunder merging with the growl of the wolf.
Aoi no longer looked human. He stood there as the living embodiment of the storm, a lightning wolf poised to tear everything apart.
"Esoteric Art: Raijin Okami"
Kazuo's body plummeted, every nerve screaming, vision fractured by sparks. The air tore past him, hot and electric, the world a blur of noise and light. Fear clawed at his chest—the sheer weight of Aoi's Esoteric Art pressed down like death itself.
His lips trembled, but his eyes didn't close. They burned through the haze.I understand you, Aoi…
The words barely left his throat, rasping through the storm. It's like you said—we're both forced here, playing a game we never asked for.
For an instant, faces flickered through the chaos—Gramps, smiling beneath the lamplight… Rei, laughing with his usual clumsy grin.
Kazuo's teeth clenched. His eyes hardened.But I also have a reason to win.
He twisted mid-fall, forcing his body upright despite the pain screaming through him. His right arm shot upward, palm open toward the sky, as if grasping for something unseen. Moisture gathered instantly—drawn to his call—swirling into his hand.
"Water Magic—!"
With every last inch of magic he had left, he reached deeper—pulling from his sweat, his breath, even the air itself, dragging every trace of water that remained toward him. Every muscle in his body strained, veins burning with effort, but he didn't stop.
"Water Shuriken!"
The familiar blades spun into form, countless droplets converging, merging, roaring together into a single, colossal spinning shuriken. Its edges shimmered with every ounce of strength, will, and desperation he could still muster.
Kazuo's roar split the air. "I have to break my limits—right here, right now!"
Across the arena, Aoi's lightning wolf form snarled, arcs bursting from his body as the floor beneath him shattered. He launched forward, lightning trailing like fangs through the storm.
Kazuo's eyes locked onto him as he hurled the spinning mass of water with every fiber of his being—his final strike.
The instant they met, the arena erupted. Water and lightning collided in a blinding flash, their elements screaming against each other. The explosion ripped through the arena, tearing apart stone, pulverizing the floor beneath them.
A deafening crack split the sky asa surge of wind blasted outward, sweeping through the stands and flattening banners and debris alike. Arcs of blue and white light spiraled into the air before vanishing, leaving behind a roaring void of mist and fractured silence.
Kazuo's squad gripped the railing, eyes wide. Sora's ears twitched, Tetsu mouth open but speechless.
The captains stood in silence, their gazes sharp. Even they couldn't hide their astonishment.
And above them all, King Cedric finally leaned forward on his throne, golden eyes locked on the storm below. For once, his mask of control slipped, replaced by intrigue.
Everyone knew it: this wasn't just another fight. This was history being carved into the stone of the arena.
When the dust settled, the arena was nothing but ruin — stone shattered, banners torn, smoke curling in the air.
Both figures crashed to the ground, the impact shaking what was left of the arena. Dust and wind swirled around them as they staggered upright, gasping for air.
Kazuo forced himself to stand, one eye squeezed shut against the blood running down his face. His right arm hung limp at his side, throbbing with pain. His blade lay on the ground beside him—his fingers twitched toward it, but they wouldn't close. He was too weak to grip the hilt. Every breath scraped his lungs raw, yet he refused to fall.
Across from him, Aoi was still wreathed faintly in lightning, the arcs flickering and snarling around his battered frame. His body swayed, yet his eyes stayed locked on Kazuo—wild, determined, unyielding.
Kazuo exhaled shakily, a pained grin twisting his lips. "Crap… you really are hard to put down."
Aoi's only answer was silence—the glare of a man who refused to yield, even as everything else was breaking apart.
Then, without a word, he lunged one final time. Lightning flared across his arm, his fist cutting through the smoke and stopping a hair's breadth in front of Kazuo's open eye.
For an instant, time froze. The light seared against Kazuo's face, his breath caught in his throat.
Then the glow shattered.
The lightning flickered out, Aoi's body going slack as his Esoteric Art dissolved into nothing. He collapsed sideways onto the ruined floor, unconscious at last.
Kazuo staggered, forcing his battered legs beneath him. His breaths were ragged, but his eyes stayed locked on Aoi's body lying motionless in the rubble. For an instant, it looked like he had won.
Then his body betrayed him.
The toll of every strike, every bolt he had endured, came crashing down at once. His muscles spasmed violently, sparks flickering across his skin like ghosts of the blows he had taken. The aftershock of lightning still lingering in his nerves ripped through him, tearing the strength from his limbs.
"Aaaargh!"
His body convulsed violently, muscles seizing as the current tore through him. He collapsed beside Aoi, both of them lying in the wreckage, the arena silent but for the hiss of dying sparks.