The sky above the Blackstone Highlands thundered.
Lady Chõko's quiet words had barely faded—
"...Now this... is getting interesting."
Raizen's laughter answered immediately.
"Hahaha!"
"Then stop talking!"
He exploded forward.
The Dimensional Sword carved through the air with terrifying speed, its crimson edge tearing apart the clouds above.
Lady Chõko slipped sideways.
The blade missed her face—
But Hiroshi's spear was already waiting.
She twisted.
Ayame appeared beneath her.
A kick shot toward her ribs.
Yurota folded space.
Her escape route disappeared.
Haruto's synchronized aura pulsed again.
Kaizen calmly watched from below.
"...Pressure maintained."
"Don't let her recover."
The formation tightened.
There was no opening.
No hesitation.
Only relentless attacks flowing one after another.
Lady Chõko blocked Hiroshi's spear with her forearm.
Raizen's sword instantly followed.
She raised her other arm—
"...Stone Skin."
A rough gray texture spread across her forearm in an instant.
CLAAAAANG!!
Raizen's blade struck.
Instead of flesh—
It collided against stone.
Fragments of rock burst into the air as Lady Chõko was thrown backward, smashing through another mountain peak before disappearing into a storm of debris.
Raizen's grin widened.
"So that's your answer?"
From within the dust...
Lady Chõko walked out, gently dusting stone fragments from her sleeve.
The gray layer on her arm slowly crumbled away.
"...My sleeves keep getting ruined."
Ayame smiled.
"You should buy stronger clothes."
"I've been thinking about it."
"YAYAYAYAYA!"
Her laughter echoed once again.
Without warning—
She dashed forward.
The mountain beneath her feet collapsed from the force of her step.
She appeared before Hiroshi first.
Her palm struck toward his chest.
Hiroshi crossed his bronze shield.
BOOOOM!!
The shield rang like a giant bell, the shockwave rippling across the battlefield and flattening the remains of a nearby forest.
Hiroshi slid backward hundreds of meters, carving a deep trench through solid stone.
Before Lady Chõko could continue—
Raizen descended from above.
"Eyes on me!"
The Dimensional Sword crashed down.
Lady Chõko raised both arms.
"...Stone Skin."
This time, both forearms transformed into dark stone.
KRAAAAAANG!!
The impact shattered the rocky coating into countless fragments.
Even so...
The force drove her straight through the mountain beneath them.
The summit exploded apart.
The two fighters burst from the opposite side still exchanging blows, each collision creating shockwaves that rolled across the region.
Far away...
The sea along the nation's eastern coast began rising unnaturally.
Massive waves crashed against the shoreline.
People looked toward the distant horizon.
No one knew why the earth continued shaking.
Back on the battlefield...
Kaizen never looked away.
"...Her defense increased."
"But only where she hardens."
Haruto understood immediately.
"So the rest of her body stays vulnerable."
"Correct."
Kaizen raised one finger.
"Force her to defend."
"Rotate targets."
The six responded instantly.
Ayame attacked her legs.
Hiroshi aimed high.
Raizen pressured the center.
Yurota twisted space around every escape.
Haruto maintained flawless synchronization.
Lady Chõko found herself defending faster than ever before.
Stone covered one shoulder.
Then vanished.
It spread across one leg just before Hiroshi's chain struck.
Another layer formed around her side to absorb Ayame's kick.
She couldn't maintain it everywhere at once.
"...Interesting."
Raizen laughed.
"So it has limits!"
Lady Chõko smiled despite the pressure.
"Everything does."
"Except my ego!"
Raizen roared with laughter.
"Hahahaha!"
He launched himself again, swinging with enough force to split another ridgeline from end to end.
Lady Chõko blocked.
Stone exploded from her arm.
She countered.
Ayame intercepted.
Yurota bent space.
Hiroshi's relics closed in.
The six never stopped moving.
The battle climbed higher into the sky once more.
Each clash sent rings of compressed air across the clouds.
Lightning flashed through the broken heavens.
The atmosphere trembled beneath the violence.
Lady Chõko inhaled slowly.
"...YAYAYAYAYA..."
"I haven't had this much fun in years."
Yet behind that cheerful laugh...
A single thought crossed her mind.
Kaizen.
Not Raizen's overwhelming strength.
Not Hiroshi's relics.
Not Ayame's impossible movements.
It was Kaizen.
Every time she found a solution...
He had already calculated it.
Every time she adapted...
He changed the formation.
For the first time in many years...
Lady Chõko realized something.
If Kaizen remained untouched...
This battle would only become harder.
Her eyes quietly shifted toward the man standing at the rear of the formation.
Kaizen noticed.
Their eyes met across the battlefield.
He calmly adjusted his glasses.
"...You finally figured it out."
Lady Chõko's smile slowly returned.
"...YAYAYAYAYA."
"So you're the chef behind this recipe."
Kaizen answered without emotion.
"No."
"I'm merely the one arranging the table."
The wind suddenly fell silent.
Lady Chõko lowered her stance ever so slightly.
For the first time...
Her target...
Was no longer Raizen.