"Crush me?"
Hearing those words, Hayashi's interest was instantly piqued.
A glint flashed through his eyes.
He could feel it — the White Reaper standing before him was different from before.
Even though Arima had already said he would fight seriously, the pressure now was on an entirely different level.
It felt as though a boundless darkness loomed behind him, swallowing everything.
"That's right," Arima said calmly, giving him a cold glance. "I will crush you with everything I have."
Finding enjoyment in battle?
That idea was foreign to him.
Until now, Arima had fought countless ghouls. Whether they were strong or weak made no difference.
And because of that, countless souls had fallen beneath his blade, forging the name White Reaper.
But to him, it had always been nothing more than work — monotonous, tedious work.
Yet now, for the first time,he felt a trace of enjoyment while fighting a human.
A faint pleasure born from relentless, life-or-death combat.
Even his long-numb body seemed to stir with excitement.
As that thought crossed his mind,the icy coldness in Arima's gaze subtly softened.
"Until now, I treated you as nothing more than a test," he said quietly. "But perhaps that was a mistake."
"So now, I've decided to treat you as a true opponent."
The instant his words fell,a void-like darkness engulfed the entire battlefield.
Within it, only hollowness and freezing cold could be felt.
Everything felt immobilized — as if the body itself had been frozen solid, surrounded by endless fear.
But after only a moment, Hayashi broke free from that sensation.
What he had experienced was nothing more than an illusion — a sensory pressure brought on by overwhelming strength.
"From this moment on," Arima said, gripping Narukami while slightly raising the knight's lance,
"the rules change. This is now a death match."
The next second, his figure vanished.
All that remained was a single afterimage—so fast it was nearly imperceptible.
"Asura—Kannon!"
Hayashi tightened his grip on Asuramaru and retreated rapidly.
Several blood-red blades manifested behind him, thrusting toward the rapidly approaching afterimage.
But instead of tearing flesh, they passed straight through it.
Again and again, the attacks failed — and the distance between them continued to shrink.
With the roar of thunder, countless lightning-charged orbs came crashing down.
Hayashi blocked and evaded simultaneously, while forcibly closing the distance between them.
The moment their figures overlapped—
BOOM—
A deafening explosion echoed as the surrounding air seemed to tear apart.
Both figures vanished completely, leaving behind only two violently colliding blurs.
In the span of a single instant, they exchanged dozens of blows.
The speed was so extreme that the naked eye couldn't track it.
The air itself shredded apart, while cracks and slash marks appeared across the ground and walls as if carved by invisible blades.
"So this…was Arima's true power?"
As clashes continued, Hayashi felt genuine surprise.
He was already using at least sixty to seventy percent of his strength.
Yet Arima wasn't losing ground at all.
And according to the setting of this world, Arima's body was already on the verge of collapse.
His eyesight should have been deteriorating. His movements should have been slowing.
And yet — even in this state, he was still this terrifying.
If this were his prime…it was unimaginable.
This level of power was no longer human.
Perhaps that was precisely whyhe was called the Reaper.
"No wonder they call you the White Reaper," Hayashi said, lifting his head slightly with a faint smile. "Your strength is truly impressive."
Arima merely glanced at him coldly.
He didn't slow down —instead, his attacks became faster. Sharper.
"You have courage," Arima said calmly. "To dare challenge me."
After evading a wide sweep from Narukami, Hayashi leapt backward and landed against the ceiling.
"You've already shown me everything you've got."
"So now…" he continued softly, resting Asuramaru against his neck, "…it's my turn."
A violent gleam flashed through his blood-red eyes.
"Now let me show you—my full power!"
The instant his words fell,a crimson mist erupted, completely engulfing his body.
Within the haze, only glowing red eyes and a faint, rising smile could be seen.
The next second—
The mist vanished.
No — it didn't dissipate.
It disappeared entirely, without a trace.
Arima had no time to react.
He instinctively swung the knight's lance behind him to block—
ZZZZT—
A violent collision erupted, sparks flying everywhere.
So fast!
Arima frowned slightly as he resisted the overwhelming force.
Crack—
A sharp sound rang out as countless fractures spread across the lance—and it shattered completely.
The Thousand Demon Daggers, wrapped in dark-purple energy, swept past.
Arima raised the broken shaft in reflex.
At the moment of impact, the blade fragments exploded outward.
With no time to evade, Arima crossed his arms in front of his chest.
The shards pierced through his arms and shoulders,blood surging forth, staining his black combat suit even darker.
"…I'm bleeding?"
Standing upright, blood trickled from the corner of Arima's mouth.
How long had it been?
How many years had passed since the White Reaper last bled?
Now, he felt it again — pain, and the warmth of flowing blood.
"You dodged that too?" Hayashi muttered, gripping both blades, clearly surprised.
That strike had been meant to sever Arima's arms entirely.
Yet even within less than half a second, Arima had narrowly avoided fatal damage.
Still…
That was all.
The once-feared White Reaper was already nearing the end of his life.
The next instant, the twin blades wrapped in crimson blood aura and dark-purple demonic energy fused as one.
This strike surpassed light itself.
It surpassed everything.
Arima instinctively raised his arms, lifting the broken lance—
But it disintegrated into dust upon contact.
Crimson and dark-purple energy engulfed his body completely.
In that instant,his tall, imposing figure began to fade away.
"…Defeat?"
Arima lifted his head,a trace of acceptance passing through his cold eyes.
"So this is…
…what defeat feels like?"
Facing death, he felt neither fear nor despair.
Only relief.
A sense of release.
It was a shame that his plan with Eto would never come to fruition.
But perhaps… this young man before him could accomplish it instead.
Blood spilled continuously from Arima's mouth as he gazed at the white-haired youth.
His expression was calm — as though he had long been prepared.
He was too strong.Unreasonably strong.
Perhaps he truly would shatter this broken world.
With that thought,Arima slowly closed his eyes.
And then—
A lazy, youthful voice echoed beside his ear.
"Since you've already seen my full strength…"
"Then now—let me see yours at its peak."
Golden light erupted, enveloping Arima's crumbling body.
Watching the scene unfold,a faint smile curved across Hayashi's lips.
"Show me," he said softly. "The CCG's trump card—the strongest White Reaper."