A figure knelt in front of one of them.

«Toma!» she exclaimed, recognizing him immediately.

The boy spun around. «Yume... so you’re okay after all!»

He looked behind her. «Wait... is that Kagura? You beat her?» he widened his eyes, incredulous at the idea.

«There’s no time now. We have to get them out, right away.» she said, looking at all the people in the cages.

The prisoners watched them in silence, still shaken by everything they had seen.

«Can’t you use your spirit like before?» the boy asked, hopeful.

Yume shook her head, lowering her gaze. «I wish... but the fight with Kagura drained all my energy.»

Toma sighed, then gave a small smile. «Then let me handle it. Luckily, I found this.»

He lifted a strange weapon: it looked like an axe, but it was fused with a metal glove. Once he slid it on, bands of red light lit up along the handle.

«What’s that?» the girl asked instinctively, staring at the weapon.

Toma smiled faintly as he continued to strike the bars. «You’re not from around here, are you?»

Without waiting for an answer, the axe blade glowed red as the first bars fell to the ground, snapped cleanly.

«These are axes made in Shinkase,» he explained, as the first people began to step out of the cages, trembling.

«They’re designed specifically to cut through the toughest things... and apparently, they still work well.» he finished.

«Then let’s keep going. We have to get them out...»

Suddenly, the room began to shake.

«Mom, I’m scared! Is it an earthquake?!» a child cried, clinging to his mother’s arms.

Yume turned sharply. She knew well where that tremor came from.

She approached the little boy with slow steps and bent down before him.

«Don’t worry... a friend of mine is fixing these shakes,» she said softly, placing a hand in his hair to calm him.

Then she lowered her gaze, clenching her fists. —Please, Kaito... be careful.—

Meanwhile, Kaito had recovered his strength, while Chizuro had summoned her spirit again.

«Chizuro...» Kaito’s voice had changed, calmer, almost compassionate. «Earlier you said you would never see him again. Who were you talking about?»

The woman did not answer. She stifled a sob, clenching her fists.

«There’s no point in hiding it...» she finally whispered. Tears streaked down her face again.

«Four years ago, my husband died from a serious illness...» she paused. «He was... the former head of the Fuyumi family.»

Kaito’s eyes widened. «So... it’s true. The head of the family is gone...» he muttered.

«Wait... then what does all this have to do with the auction or with the Mugentamashii?!» Kaito asked, seeking an answer.

«Before we fought I told you money is the only thing that matters...» Chizuro reminded him. «Do you think I said that without reason?» she added, with a cutting tone.

«My husband was a fool...» her voice cracked on the words. «Unlike his ancestors, he could never sell the goods without scruples.»

Kaito stared at her, incredulous. «What are you talking about?»

«Before every sale he made sure the buyer had no ill intentions...» she explained, clenching her hands until her knuckles whitened.

«Because of that he lost an enormous amount of brish.»

She turned to Kaito.

«Boy... life isn’t fair most of the time. When he got sick... we didn’t have enough money to get him the treatment he needed.»

Then she looked up toward the ceiling, as if she could see beyond it, toward the sky.

«Of all the illnesses in the world... he had to get one of the worst.»

She swallowed, as if to hide the feelings that were rising.

«That’s when I understood...»

Chizuro’s voice hardened, then burst out. «This world is garbage! Those who don’t deserve it die, and the others survive!» she exploded, her anger mixed with pain.

«The only thing that matters is money! Only by having it can you get what you want... and protect who you want!» She took a breath, her breathing broken by emotion.

«By now, the only people I truly care about... are my children.»

Her gaze fell upon her daughter’s motionless body, and for a moment her voice trembled.

«The Mugentamashii are an organization with extraordinary abilities...» she began to explain. «In exchange for compensation... they guarantee me that I can meet him again.»

Tears streamed down her face, but she didn’t even try to wipe them away.

«And you think... they’re sincere?» Kaito’s look was hidden, tense.

«What did you say!?» she snapped.

«You think people like them—people willing to kill an entire family—care anything about you?» Kaito’s tone was stern, as if he knew them well.

«You don’t know what you’re talking about!» she replied.

Kaito shook his head. «Chizuro... even after hearing your story I can’t justify what you’ve done.» He prepared to act.

«I promised I would kill you, and I will.»

«You don’t have to justify me. I know I’m right.»

A golden aura began to spread around her.

«Rain of coins!»

Once again, as at the start of their fight, a storm of brish rained down in the White Place.

—Let’s end this here.—

Kaito advanced.

With Pressure Mode active, he dodged and cleaved through the falling coins as if they were golden blades.

Chizuro’s hand touched the ground. «Transmigration.»

The floor was coated in a golden sheen that spread like a luminous wave.

—Can she use two techniques at once?!— Kaito thought, vaulting away.

He continued to slash through the air, destroying the coins in their fall, but Chizuro had already moved.

In an instant she sprang toward him, passing through the light like lightning.

With a hand saturated in spiritual power, she seized him and slammed him to the ground, shattering what remained of the stage.

A roar echoed through the White Place.

The coins continued to fall as Chizuro held Kaito pinned to the ground.

The boy shifted his gaze, fixing on something behind her. Then he gave a slight smile.

«Want to die with a smile on your face? Fine!»

Chizuro raised her hand to the sky. «Corporeal Transmigration!» she declared.

«I’m sorry, Chizuro... but I can’t waste any more time.»

Pressure Mode disengaged.

«Spirit Slayer!»

A wave of energy burst from the blades, striking Chizuro squarely.

The woman was flung upward, passing through several floors of the tower.

The walls shattered, and a rain of debris fell.

Kaito stood motionless, panting. «Yume... get them out.»

On the threshold of the warehouse, Yume watched him with watery eyes. Behind her, all the prisoners were finally free.