The electric bomb exploded between Tatsuo and Yoshiro with a deafening blast. Crimson lightning spread across the ruined streets, forcing Yoshiro to leap backward as smoke and shattered debris filled the air. The brief interruption was all Tatsuo needed. He exhaled deeply, his hands moving with incredible precision as layers upon layers of spatial energy condensed together. Unlike his previous weapons, this one was denser, sharper, and far more stable.
"I won't let you erase him!" Dracula shouted, appearing in front of Tatsuo. Lightning surged across his body as his crimson eyes glowed beneath the dark sky. He thrust both hands forward, releasing countless bolts that rained toward Yoshiro like a storm.
Yoshiro laughed as the white aura surrounding his body expanded.
"Do you really think electricity can stop me?"
He waved his hand once.
The lightning vanished.
Not blocked.
Not reflected.
Simply... erased.
Before Dracula could react, Yoshiro appeared directly in front of him. His palm reached toward Dracula's face, white energy swirling around his fingertips.
"Disappear."
CLANG!
A chain wrapped around Yoshiro's wrist before he could touch him.
Reji grinned from behind.
"Not happening."
With a violent pull, Yoshiro was dragged backward just enough for Seiyan to seize the opportunity. Seiyan dashed forward in complete silence, his blade gleaming beneath the sunlight before slicing across Yoshiro's back.
A streak of blood splashed across the broken pavement.
Yoshiro looked over his shoulder.
"...Again?"
Seiyan landed several meters away without saying a word.
His grip on his sword tightened.
Yoshiro slowly touched the wound before staring at the blood on his fingers.
Then...
He smiled.
"Good..."
"Now you're finally making this fun."
His spiritual pressure exploded.
The streets around them began disappearing piece by piece. Lamp posts, broken vehicles, and even sections of the road vanished into pure white nothingness. The students were forced to retreat as the ground beneath their feet was erased.
"Watch your footing!" Judas shouted.
She slammed both hands together.
Thousands of broken steel beams, shattered railings, and fragments of destroyed buildings rose into the air. They twisted together, forming dozens of enormous steel dragons that roared across the battlefield before charging straight at Yoshiro.
The city itself had become her weapon.
Yoshiro merely smiled.
"So much steel..."
"...Yet none of it matters."
He extended a single finger.
The first dragon vanished.
Then the second.
Then the third.
One after another, the massive constructs disappeared as though they had never existed.
Judas narrowed her eyes.
"So even that isn't enough..."
Yoshiro suddenly disappeared.
"Sensei!!"
Reji shouted.
Too late.
Yoshiro appeared behind Judas, his glowing hand already reaching for her back.
"Let's see if you can restore yourself."
Before his hand could touch her—
A spatial blade burst from beneath the ground.
BOOM!
The attack forced Yoshiro to leap away, narrowly avoiding being split in half.
Tatsuo lowered his hand, breathing heavily.
"I finally finished it..."
Floating beside him was a massive translucent sword covered in shifting spatial patterns. The blade constantly distorted the air around it, making it difficult to even look at directly.
Yoshiro stared at it with genuine interest.
"Oh?"
"That one's different."
Tatsuo smiled.
"I made it while everyone else was buying me time."
"This sword isn't stronger..."
"It's harder to erase."
Yoshiro laughed loudly.
"Then come."
"Let's see which disappears first..."
"...your sword..."
"...or your hope."
The white aura around his body erupted once again, swallowing half the battlefield in blinding light as Reji tightened his chains, Seiyan raised his blade, Dracula gathered another storm of crimson lightning, Judas prepared another wave of steel, and Tatsuo pointed the Spatial Sword directly at the man who sought to erase the world.
The battle for the Citadel had only just begun.