The white aura surrounding Yoshiro expanded until half of the Citadel was swallowed by its light. Buildings continued disappearing one after another, leaving behind nothing but empty space. There were no explosions, no rubble, and no smoke. Reality itself simply ceased to exist wherever his power touched. The sight alone was enough to make anyone hesitate.
Tatsuo didn't.
With a sharp swing of his arm, the enormous Spatial Sword shot forward, tearing through the air with terrifying speed. The space around the blade distorted violently, creating cracks that rippled through the atmosphere before reaching Yoshiro in an instant.
Yoshiro smiled.
"Let's see..."
He reached out to erase it.
White energy collided with the Spatial Sword.
For the first time...
Nothing happened.
The sword continued moving.
Yoshiro's smile disappeared.
"...Interesting."
He quickly stepped aside as the blade sliced across his shoulder, tearing away part of his coat and leaving a deep wound. Blood splashed onto the ruined street.
Reji's eyes widened.
"It worked!"
Tatsuo clenched his fists.
"I knew it... It can't erase it instantly!"
Yoshiro stared at the blood running down his arm before laughing louder than ever.
"HAHAHAHA!"
"So that's why you've been standing back this whole time."
"You were making a weapon specifically for me."
His spiritual pressure surged again.
"But if I can't erase the weapon immediately..."
"...I'll erase the one controlling it."
He vanished.
"Tatsuo!" Dracula shouted.
Before Yoshiro could reach him, Dracula burst forward in a flash of crimson lightning. His fist crashed into Yoshiro's ribs, sending both of them skidding across the broken pavement. Electricity exploded in every direction, destroying the remains of nearby buildings.
Yoshiro recovered first.
He grabbed Dracula by the throat and lifted him effortlessly.
"You've become annoying."
His glowing hand slowly approached Dracula's chest.
"You should disappear first."
Suddenly—
Chains wrapped around Yoshiro's legs.
Reji pulled with all his strength.
"LET HIM GO!"
Yoshiro stumbled just enough for Seiyan to appear behind him. In one smooth motion, Seiyan's blade cut across Yoshiro's back before he immediately retreated.
Another wound.
Another splash of blood.
Yoshiro's expression slowly darkened.
"...You children..."
"...keep interrupting me."
The air became eerily quiet.
Even Judas frowned.
Something had changed.
Yoshiro slowly raised both hands toward the sky.
"I've been limiting myself."
"I kept thinking..."
"...ordinary Erasure was enough."
White cracks suddenly spread through the sky itself.
The clouds above the Citadel began disappearing.
The sunlight faded.
Even the sound of the wind seemed to vanish.
The students instinctively stepped back.
"What... is he doing?" Reji whispered.
Yoshiro closed his eyes.
"My Erasure doesn't only erase matter."
"It erases concepts."
"It erases distance."
"It erases barriers."
"It erases everything that gives this world its shape."
Judas immediately realized the danger.
"Everyone!"
"Don't let him finish!"
Thousands of steel blades shot toward Yoshiro.
Seiyan charged from the left.
Dracula unleashed another storm of crimson lightning.
Reji's chains burst from every direction.
Tatsuo drove the Spatial Sword straight toward Yoshiro's heart.
Everything struck...
At once.
Yoshiro slowly opened his eyes.
"...Erase."
A blinding wave of white spread across the battlefield.
The chains disappeared.
The lightning vanished.
Most of Judas' steel dissolved into nothing.
Even the Spatial Sword began trembling as pieces of its blade slowly faded away.
Tatsuo's eyes widened.
"No..."
"It's erasing even this...?"
The sword wasn't gone...
But it was disappearing little by little.
Yoshiro smiled.
"You adapted."
"So..."
"I adapted too."
The students could only watch in shock.
The man standing before them wasn't just growing stronger.
He was evolving in the middle of battle.
And that realization was far more terrifying than any attack he had unleashed.