She was thrown from her seat and slammed into the doorframe.

The explosion was so violent that the train’s ceiling ripped like paper, the windows shattered into a rain of glass, and the floor was covered with scraps of metal and crystal.

With her heart hammering in her chest, Yume looked up. Her face betrayed clear astonishment: she couldn't believe what she was seeing.

The cause of that destruction was... Kaito and Shirogane.

Kaito pressed his foot against Shirogane’s body, panting but still on his feet. His body was covered in wounds, but in his eyes shone a fierce determination.

«yaaaaaahhhh!» His cry was not one of pain, but of pure satisfaction.

15 MINUTES EARLIER

On the roof of the train, Kaito and Shirogane faced each other.

The wind was strong, the clamor of the rails deafening.

— I won’t give up.—

Kaito gripped the blade in his hand and lunged forward.

Shirogane raised the shadow sword and rushed at him.

«Kaito!» someone shouted.

Their blades met with a thunderous clang, producing a shockwave that shook the train’s roof.

For an instant they stared into each other’s eyes.

Kaito lowered his body, letting the opponent’s blade continue its arc, and with a fluid motion he charged a strike toward the enemy’s chest.

Shirogane reacted in time. With a vertical slash he forced Kaito to parry, using the momentum of the blow Kaito was building.

The impact bent the roof beneath Kaito’s feet.

—Damn!—

The boy didn’t have time to recover: an unexpected kick struck him in the abdomen, sending him flying backward.

—It’s coming!— Shirogane saw.

Kaito stifled a groan and looked up. Shirogane was lunging at him, charging another strike with his sword.

Kaito raised his blade to block.

Again, the two weapons clashed.

Kaito’s legs, already exhausted from the previous fights, gave way under the shockwave.

Kaito found himself parrying the blow on his knees.

«You’re ridiculous!» exclaimed Shirogane.

The shadow weapon rose high, ready to crash down again.

«Get lost!» his opponent added.

At the moment before the blade struck him, Kaito rolled to the side: the sword plunged into the train’s metal with a sharp clang.

Seizing the moment, Kaito sprang forward, delivering an oblique slash.

Spiritual energy erupted from his blade, hitting Shirogane with tremendous force. The boy was flung from the roof, flying thirty meters before crashing into a boulder beside the tracks.

The roar of the collision echoed through the valley.

Kaito stood still, panting. The wind lashed his face, but he didn’t move. Not yet.

A moment later, a dark silhouette reflected in the boy’s eyes.

—Impossible!—

Shirogane was already on him. In an instant he had covered those thirty meters.

Kaito tried to react, but it was too late.

A violent uppercut struck him in the stomach, launching him into the air.

«You think it’s over?!» Shirogane shouted.

With a cruel grin he raised his shadow sword.

«Kage no Itsuwari Ken: Black Flash!»

A slash of pure dark energy sliced through the air, aimed straight at Kaito as he plummeted into the void.

Suddenly, Kaito’s eyes flew open.

His mind emptied. The world around him seemed to slow.

Clutching his blade, Kaito released every scrap of spiritual energy he had left.

«Spirit Slayer!»

He chose to meet the Black Flash with his most powerful strike.

The two energies collided with unheard-of violence, illuminating the sky with a blinding light.

The train lurched, narrowly avoiding derailment.

When the explosion faded, Kaito had landed back on the train and found himself on his knees, gasping.

—Shit...— he thought.

«Do you give up, Kaito?» Shirogane asked, approaching slowly; his body bore several wounds.

«To block my Black Flash you had to use all the spiritual power of your blade. You’re done.»

Kaito gritted his teeth and, with effort, rose to his feet.

«Shut up.»

Shirogane was taken aback.

Despite all the fights, the wounds, the broken arm… Kaito was still standing.

«Then come at me!» his opponent taunted.

At his voice, Kaito acted.

His blade and the shadow sword met again.

They exchanged a furious series of blows. It seemed neither could gain the upper hand.

However, the spiritual energy radiating from the enemy sword managed to wound Kaito—if only superficially.

Blow after blow, his strength diminished.

—This isn’t good!— he thought, exhausted.

In an instant, Shirogane managed to disarm him: Kaito’s blade was sent sliding off the roof.

«That was fun!» Shirogane yelled.

Kaito had his back against the wall.

— I lost again...—

At the same moment, a devastating slash tore through his chest.

Kaito fell to the ground in a pool of blood.

Silence fell over the valley.

«It’s over,» Shirogane said, turning his back to return to the cabin.

—No… stop... stop...— Kaito tried to get up but his body wouldn’t respond.

His eyes were about to close when a figure of a young man appeared before him, wearing a kimono and with long white hair.

«Didn’t you make a promise?» the mirage asked. «Get up,» he added.

Kaito was stunned to see the man’s face, a face he knew all too well.

«Get up,» he said again.

Kaito gritted his teeth and tried to rise, using his arms as leverage—even the broken one.

«Get up... Kaito!»

When the boy heard his name, he rose with a tremendous roar:

«yaaaaaahhhh!»

Shirogane turned at once.

«You again?» he said, annoyed.

Gasping, Kaito spoke to him: «I told you... I will kill you.»

A moment later, Kaito vanished, reappearing at Shirogane’s side with a blade in his hand, ready to strike his head.

Shirogane immediately summoned his shadow sword to block the blow—and managed to do so.

But once again Kaito vanished, reappearing midair in front of the enemy.

Although he could block every strike, Shirogane couldn’t understand how Kaito managed it.

—How is he doing this? He used all the spiritual power of his blade... how can he still fight?— he thought.

Meanwhile, one of Kaito’s blows rocked him slightly. —I- it’s increasing in strength?!—

Kaito reappeared one last time above Shirogane.

«Go to hell, bastard!» he shouted.

Shirogane raised his weapon in defense.

It seemed he had him under control.

—He won’t defeat me!— he thought.

But an instant later, his sword shattered.

Time seemed to slow for Shirogane. He glanced away for a split second and noticed the blade Kaito had used to absorb his technique had vanished.

Kaito hadn’t only used it to block; he had also used it as a reserve of spiritual energy.

Time returned to normal.

Shirogane’s body broke through the train’s roof, crashing into a cabin. Kaito held him down with a foot, while a cry of pure satisfaction erupted from his throat.