—Did I buy myself a few minutes?— he wondered, lifting his gaze toward the hole in the ceiling where a faint light filtered through.

The sound of footsteps distracted him.

«Kaito!»

Yume ran toward him, jumping down from the shattered stage. She knelt beside him, hands trembling.

«Are you okay!?» her voice full of worry.

«Yeah… more or less.» He tried to smile, even though pain still ran through him from head to toe.

Yume stared at him, then shook her head.

«I’ll regenerate your arm now. Stay still.» she murmured, placing a hand on his shoulder.

«Don’t!» he grabbed her wrist.

«What are you doing?» she asked in a tense voice.

Kaito looked at her for a moment, then shook his head.

«Keep the little energy you have left… save it to carry them out.»

He looked her in the eyes, serious. «There are still several enemies, and I… I can’t come with you.»

«You can’t come? What are you saying?»

Kaito raised his head slowly, teeth clenched. «It isn’t over yet.»

«If I don’t put her out of the fight, she’ll chase us. Then no one will truly be safe.»

Suddenly, a golden light began to pour through the opening above them. A subtle vibration ran through the air, growing stronger.

Yume’s eyes widened. «Are you telling me she’s still conscious?!»

«Yume, go. Take them all with you.»

Kaito watched the group of terrified people, huddled together.

The girl clenched her fists. «I trusted you before… and I’ll do it again.» She fixed him with a steady look. «Remember—you said you’d survive.»

Then she spun on her heel and ran toward the prisoners.

«Move! This way!» she shouted, pointing at the exit between the ruined stands.

The crowd began to move, disorderly, flowing past Kaito like a swollen river.

The boy lowered his head, watching his blades.

For an instant everything else seemed to fall silent: only the beat of his heart and a golden glow that, little by little, swelled above him.

The air trembled.

Something was about to return.

Yume, amid the fleeing crowd, slowed her steps. Her gaze fell on Kagura’s unconscious body, lying among the rubble. Without a word she bent down and lifted her into her arms.

Kaito saw her do it and said nothing. He understood her choice, and didn’t stop her.

When all the prisoners were already far away, Yume turned back one last time.

—Good luck.—

Kaito remained still. His breathing slowed. Now he was alone.

From above, a figure descended slowly through the rift in the ceiling, wrapped in golden light.

Chizuro had returned.

«So… that was your ace up your sleeve, huh?» Kaito said in a hoarse voice, his eyes fixed on his opponent.

The woman didn’t answer. The aura surrounding her was so intense it warped the air. Her skin gave off an almost blinding radiance.

To defeat Kaito, Chizuro had done the unthinkable: she had transmigrated her very body into gold.

Kaito rose to his feet.

—Spirit Slayer: Pressure Mode—

His aura flared again.

«Even after what I’m showing you, you still insist on using that technique?» Chizuro’s tone was haughty.

«This is my best.» He smiled tightly, daring her.

«I’ll wipe that smile off your face!»

Two golden whips sprang from her hands, while golden tentacles rose slowly behind her, ready to strike.

The calm lasted only a few seconds.

Kaito moved, and a violent gust of wind marked his attack.

—I can’t fight as usual… not with only one arm.—

His mind raced, looking for a strategy as the golden tentacles drove into the ground, trying to strike him.

With a sudden leap the boy sliced through the air and struck Chizuro’s stomach with his blade before collapsing heavily to the floor.

The slash failed to pierce the golden skin.

«Is that all?» the woman’s voice cut the silence, and in an instant golden filaments wrapped around Kaito’s leg.

—No!—

His body was lifted from the ground, trapped like a marionette.

With almost manic precision, Chizuro hurled him against the walls of the White Place, over and over.

«So, now you’re not laughing anymore?!» she taunted.

Kaito gritted his teeth.

«Spirit Slayer!»

The attack ripped through the golden threads.

Freed, his body fell among the debris.

No sooner had he raised his head than Chizuro was already upon him. She struck his chest with brutal force.

«Khff!» Blood filled his mouth, staining her golden arm.

«Disgusting!» she snarled, continuing to pummel him.

A barrage of fast, powerful blows rained down on Kaito, who couldn’t even manage to react. Each impact made the floor tremble, and the sound of metal against flesh echoed through the ruined White Place.

Then—silence.

Kaito lay still for a moment, breath shallow. His blades were still with him: one gripped in his hand, the other clenched between his teeth.

He swayed, but did not let go.

Chizuro raised her hand calmly. «We’re done now.»

The golden tentacles crashed down on him, crushing him. The impact reverberated through the room.

Chizuro remained motionless.

A strange sensation crawled along her spine.

Suddenly, a dark, dense energy like smoke formed behind her.

A figure wrapped in a cloak of shadow materialized, a helmet of the same dark substance masking its face.

When it turned, the silhouette seemed to solidify in the blinding light of the White Place.

«A… knight?!» she murmured, taking a step back.

The figure didn’t answer.

It began to advance toward her with measured steps.

A muffled sound emanated from it, growing clearer little by little.

«I… will not let you… kill my King…»

A surge of spiritual energy coursed through the knight. From his right hand, a shadow blade rose.