The woman’s arm shone with a blinding golden light.
«I’ve concentrated all my spiritual energy into this strike!» she shouted, as the ceiling collapsed behind her.
«You said the Tenshō Tower would fall in less than ten minutes,» he taunted. «Ten minutes will be more than enough.»
Kaito turned to the shadow beside him. «Shadow... from now on you’ll be my arm. For this fight.»
The knight planted his feet, his voice low and muffled: «Acknowledged.»
— I don’t have enough energy to use Pressure Mode... but... — The boy tightened his grip on the blades, his expression resolute. — She herself gave me the solution. —
«Spirit Slayer: Incomplete Pressure Mode!»
Spiritual energy condensed around the blades, forming an unstable, throbbing aura.
— That technique failed against Akizame... but this time it might work. — he swallowed nervously.
The tower shook once again, harder than before.
When the tremor ceased, the silence lasted only an instant.
Then the battle resumed.
In a flash, the three combatants clashed again: Kaito’s blades and the knight’s sword struck Chizuro’s golden arm.
The impact made the entire hall vibrate.
The blows were evenly matched.
— Shit... — Kaito could barely withstand the pressure of the combined attacks.
«Tell me!» Chizuro screamed, her voice cracked with rage and strain.
«You said everything I did was a mistake! But in your place... what would you have done?!»
She kept driving the golden arm forward, the ground beneath them crumbling.
«If you’d been given the chance to see those you lost again... what would you have done, Kaito?!»
The boy staggered.
— What would I have done... — Chizuro’s words pierced him more than any blow.
— If I could see Reika again... or my master... —
«You judge me, you lecture me, you say I was wrong!» the woman yelled, her eyes bloodshot with tears and fury.
«But everyone, everyone in my place would have done the same!»
«I already told you!» she repeated, as if trying to convince herself. «I know I’m right!»
Her strike was about to overwhelm them both.
When, suddenly, Kaito put his feet in even deeper. The ground cracked beneath his boots, but he did not yield.
«Then tell me one thing!» The boy’s eyes were hidden by his hair, but his voice came out steady, cutting.
«You said your husband made sure the merchandise stayed intact...» He raised his head, meeting her gaze.
«But you... who never did that... are you sure that’s what he would have really wanted!?»
Chizuro froze for a moment, breathless.
The three lights — her golden one, the Shadow’s black, and Kaito’s blue — exploded together, merging into a vortex that shook the entire tower.
Chizuro’s body was thrown into the air, hurled by the explosion of light and debris.
— he doesn’t... know what he’s talking about... — he thought, as time seemed to slow.
The fall stretched into infinity.
A memory resurfaced.
Before her, the golden glow of a sunset reflected on the sea.
«Chizuro.» A familiar voice called her, warm and gentle.
She turned.
A young man with Red hair smiled at her.
His face, however, seemed to blur slowly, as if fading over time.
«You look lost... Are you all right?» he asked.
«Sorry, what were we talking about?» she answered, confused.
He sighed, running a hand through his hair. «You didn’t hear me, huh? Do you have any idea how much it cost me to tell you that?»
Chizuro lowered her gaze. «I’m sorry... can you repeat it?»
The man was silent for a moment, then spoke softly, staring at the horizon.
«I don’t have much time left...»
The words pierced her.
«If everything goes well... I’ve got four years left.» His smile faded as the sunset light wrapped around him.
Chizuro felt her chest tighten.
«Take care of our children...» he continued. «And please, be happy. Promise me you’ll move on... don’t stay stuck now.»
His words echoed, growing more distant, while the memory shattered like glass.
Another moment from her life became clearer.
Rain fell hard, pounding the wet grass.
A silent crowd watched on, wrapped in the steady sound of the drops.
Chizuro stared at the wooden coffin before her, motionless.
Her children stood beside her.
— I remember... that moment — she thought. — That’s when he died. —
She relived every detail: the cold, the scent of wet wood, the emptiness. — Shortly after... I would meet them. —
The image shifted.
It was a summer day.
Sunlight streamed through the stained-glass windows of her office, illuminating papers scattered across the desk.
Before her, a hooded man. Behind him, the guards of the Tenshō Tower lay on the floor, unconscious.
«Do you understand me?» he asked, voice calm and razor-sharp.
Chizuro stared at him, incredulous. «Are you messing with me? You’re telling me I could... see my husband again?»
«I’m not joking.» he replied, a hint of a smile under the hood. «We of the Mugentamashii possess powers far beyond human limits.»
Those words wrapped around her, seeding themselves deep inside. — It was then... — she thought. — From that moment, the Fuyumi family was bound to them. —
Her thoughts returned to the present as time seemed to slow even more.
She watched, during the fall, what surrounded her.
— Ōgon, Kagura… Reiji… forgive me. The Tenshō Tower will fall, and with it the Fuyumi. —
The roar was deafening. Her body slammed into the ground with force. A deep gash ran through her torso.
Across the White Place, watching the scene, was Kaito.
Beside him, the Shadow still stood.
The boy’s body was covered in wounds; his breath came short.
«I… won?» he murmured, eyes wide.
With seven minutes remaining until the tower’s collapse, Kaito had defeated the family head. Chizuro Fuyumi was unconscious.
«I have to… go…» he muttered, turning toward the exit.
He began to walk when his gaze fell on the opponent lying on the ground.
He took a few steps toward her.
— I said I would kill you... — he recalled his own words.
— But I can’t shake the thought that, in your place, I would have done the same... —
With that thought, time kept moving.
«Don’t touch her!!»
A voice stopped him.
From the shattered partitions of the White Place, a figure emerged.
Reiji Fuyumi had arrived.
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