Reon and Genzō burst out of the room and into the corridor, where the air was already thick with heat and smoke.

The wooden ceiling creaked above their heads, slowly bending beneath the advance of the fire.

«March!» He thrust his fingers forward.

Genzō moved sharply between the wooden columns, using the structure as cover.

— There are too many obstacles... he can’t hit me easily. —

Reon gave the slightest nod.

Shingan vanished.

Genzō remained motionless, hidden behind a column.

— I’m in bad shape... —

His breath caught in his throat.

— I only have enough spiritual energy left to summon Kokuen one last time, then... —

He did not have time to finish the thought.

Shingan appeared a few centimeters from him.

The blow came in a flash.

Genzō was lifted off the ground and hurled into the air.

«No!»

Instinctively, he stretched out his arm and managed to grab a ledge on the lower floor.

His body hung in the void for one endless moment, while the flames rose behind his back.

«Red Mark!»

— Damn it! —

The technique hit him again.

Once more, Genzō’s eye changed.

His hand lost strength.

His fingers opened.

He crashed heavily onto the lower floor.

Reon let out a small sigh, as if everything was finally going according to plan.

«Did you really think this would end any other way?» he said, walking toward him.

«Honestly, I find it pathetic...»

He began forming another mark.

«That woman sacrificed herself for you.»

His hand ignited with an increasingly intense black glow.

«And you, instead of escaping, decided to come back...» «...just to get yourself killed.»

He shook his head slightly.

«Genzō, you have nothing in common with your brother.»

The attack was unleashed.

Genzō was engulfed by the impact and hurled against the wall.

The breath left his chest in a broken gasp.

Reon wrapped his arm in spiritual energy and began to approach.

— Right now...? —

Genzō slowly raised his head toward him.

He saw himself again.

— Aoi... would it be so wrong to join you...? —

He tried to stand, but his body was trembling.

«What the hell is he doing...» Reon muttered, watching him with annoyance.

— I just want to rest by your side... —

Her image became clearer in his mind.

— Why am I only thinking about this now... I’ll never see her again... —

He leaned against the wall.

Then, with tremendous effort, he got back to his feet.

— I’ll never hear her voice again... I won’t eat her cooking again... —

Pain slowly gave way to something else.

Rage.

A deep, dark rage.

He closed his eyes.

Then he wrapped his face with her scarf.

«Reon...» he said in a low, icy voice. «I’ll enjoy killing you.»

He lunged forward.

«You’re just an idiot, Genzō!!»

The two collided in a furious exchange of blows.

Reon went for the finishing strike, but missed.

«Spiritual Block!!»

The opponent’s abdomen twisted under the force.

His expression turned savage.

Genzō leapt into the air, concentrating spiritual energy in his legs.

He struck him from above with all the power he had gathered.

Reon’s body smashed through the wooden boards and crashed down to the floor below.

The boy’s eyes widened.

Genzō was on top of him, one foot planted on his chest, pinning him to the floor.

«Shingan!»

He called out.

No response.

«Don’t worry...» Genzō said coldly.

He leaned over him.

«I’ve blocked your spiritual flow.» «You won’t be able to use your power for a while.»

«What the hell are you talking about!» he snapped.

«You only hit one of them!»

Genzō stared at him without emotion.

«You’re wrong...»

«In our first clash... in every time I managed to hit you...»

His gaze went hollow.

Filled with hatred.

«I hit all of your flows.»

«W-What?!» he faltered.

«What is it? Has the smoke finally clouded your vision?» he taunted.

Reon trembled.

«It’s time to end this...» Genzō said in a flat voice.

«Goodbye... Reon.»

«WAIT!!»

Genzō’s fist crashed into his face.

Then another.

And another.

And another.

He did not stop.

He kept striking, harder and harder, more and more furiously, until the fight no longer looked like a fight at all.

It was no longer a clash.

It was an outburst.

Meanwhile, the flames continued to devour the monastery.

In the White Place, one figure waited.

Kanzō was waiting.

«I suppose it’s my turn now...» he said, lifting his gaze.

The two brothers stood face to face.

— He went to the armory. —

He understood it in an instant.

Genzō had several daggers at his belt; his torso was covered by a black cloak, while his neck was wrapped in the scarf.

Silence fell between them.

The only sound was the distant crackling of flames.

«Do you want to ask me something... before I have to kill you?» his older brother asked.

«Why... why all this?» Genzō asked.

«I should be asking you that.» Kanzō’s voice wavered. «The two of us are brothers, but you... you betrayed me.»

For a moment, he lost his calm.

«You turned your back on your family for a commodity!»

Genzō stiffened.

«I turned my back on the family?!» he repeated, grinding his teeth.

«If I became an assassin, the fault lies in my devotion to it!»

He took a step forward, his eyes burning with rage.

«If Aoi died, it was because of this family! If I’ll never be able to see her again, that’s because of it too!»

Kanzō was taken aback.

«Genzō... little brother...» he murmured, his gaze suddenly turning sad.

«This family was everything we had.»

A surge of spiritual energy rose from him.

His shadow stretched across the floor.

— My son inherited my spirit... so this is nothing more than a distant Echo. —

«Appear, Benibane.»

From Kanzō’s shadow, a spirit took shape, resembling a crimson butterfly.

Genzō stared at his brother’s spirit.

— So here it is at last... Aoi... give me the strength to end this fight... —

He grasped two daggers from his belt.

— I have very little spiritual energy left. Kokuen, if things go badly, we’ll have to try that... —

He spoke to his spirit.

— As you wish... — it replied.

«Wind Fire!»

A wave of flame spread from Kanzō.

His brother instinctively shielded himself with the cloak.

The fire engulfed him completely.

— This cloth is soaked in spiritual energy... —

He rose slightly as the technique faded.

— But it wasn’t enough to withstand those flames... —

His arm had turned completely red, and his clothes were burned in several places.

A fist charged with energy struck him a few centimeters away.

Genzō crossed the two daggers between himself and the blow.

They snapped on impact.

«What?!»

The force sent him crashing into the chairs in the room, shattering them.

Genzō hit the floor.

His face twisted in pain as he tried to get back up.

Then he noticed something shining beside him.

«!!»

It was a small butterfly.

It exploded instantly.

The blast sent him tumbling toward the wall.

His gaze lifted for a moment to the ceiling.

A shadow fell over him.

With a swift movement, Genzō rolled toward the stage.

Kanzō’s leg slammed into the floor, cracking the tiles.

Without hesitation, he pressed forward again.

The two brothers, both masters of martial arts, exchanged a lightning-fast barrage of blows.

«Spiritual Block!»

A few centimeters from the opposing flow, Genzō’s arm was deflected.

A straight punch to the chest sent him flying backward.

«I’m not going to let myself be hit by your Spiritual Block.»

He stopped for only an instant.

Genzō said nothing. He immediately returned to his stance.

At that very moment, the flames reached the White Place.