The Citadel had become a battlefield where the laws of existence themselves were colliding.
Every second, another explosion shook the city.
Every second, another building collapsed.
Crimson lightning flashed across the streets as Dracula continued his relentless assault, moving so unbelievably fast that the battlefield looked frozen whenever he accelerated. His fists hammered into Yoshiro again and again, each strike carrying enough force to split the ground apart. Yet every wound he inflicted healed moments later. Blood spilled, bones cracked, flesh tore apart...
...and then Yoshiro simply restored his stance as though nothing had happened.
"You're impressive," Yoshiro admitted while blocking another punch. "Your speed has surpassed almost everyone I've ever fought."
He smiled.
"But speed isn't enough to kill someone who refuses to disappear."
A wave of white energy erupted from his body.
Dracula instantly retreated as half the street behind him vanished into nothingness.
At the edge of the battlefield, Judas watched everything in silence.
Her hands trembled.
Not from fear.
From frustration.
She looked toward the empty place where Tatsuo had disappeared.
"...I'm sorry."
Those words barely escaped her lips.
She had restored broken bones.
She had restored shattered organs.
She had even restored people whose bodies had nearly vanished.
But Tatsuo...
There had been nothing left.
No body.
No soul.
No existence.
She had failed.
For the first time since becoming a teacher...
She had failed to save one of her own students.
Her eyes slowly closed.
"No..."
"I can't lose anyone else."
She took a deep breath.
The trembling in her hands disappeared.
Her heart became calm.
Yoshiro suddenly stopped fighting Dracula.
His gaze shifted toward Judas.
"...Finally."
"So you've decided to use it."
Reji frowned.
"Use what?"
Judas didn't answer.
Instead, she slowly removed the white gloves covering her hands.
Seiyan's eyes widened.
"...Sensei?"
Even Dracula glanced back for a brief moment.
Neither of them had ever seen Judas remove those gloves.
Beneath them...
Ancient silver markings covered both of her arms, glowing faintly with a light unlike ordinary spiritual energy. The symbols stretched from her fingertips to her shoulders, pulsing as though they were alive.
The surrounding air became strangely peaceful.
Flowers growing between the broken stones began blooming.
Cracked walls slowly repaired themselves.
Shattered roads quietly returned to their original shape.
The battlefield itself...
Was restoring.
Yoshiro's smile slowly faded.
"...I knew it."
"So you've been hiding that all this time."
Judas finally spoke.
"My Restoration was never meant to heal wounds."
"It was created..."
"...to protect existence itself."
The glowing symbols spread farther across her arms.
For the first time...
Yoshiro's expression became serious.
Without warning—
He disappeared.
"Sensei!" Reji shouted.
Yoshiro ignored Dracula completely.
He ignored Seiyan.
Ignored Reji.
Ignored everyone.
His killing intent locked onto one person.
Judas.
"If I erase you..."
"...nothing in this world will oppose me."
He appeared directly in front of her, his hand already glowing with Absolute Erasure.
"Disappear."
His palm sliced across Judas's left arm.
For an instant...
Her entire arm vanished.
Reji's face turned pale.
"NO!"
Before anyone could move—
Silver light exploded from Judas's shoulder.
Countless glowing fragments gathered together.
Muscles.
Bones.
Skin.
Within a single heartbeat...
Her arm had completely regenerated.
Yoshiro's eyes narrowed.
"...Instant restoration."
Judas calmly looked at him.
"You erase."
"I restore."
Yoshiro attacked again.
This time aiming for her chest.
His hand pierced straight through her body.
White light spread across the wound.
Then—
Silver light consumed it.
The hole closed immediately.
Judas stepped back, breathing harder than before.
She had restored herself...
But everyone could see it.
The silver markings on her arms had dimmed slightly.
It wasn't limitless.
Every restoration was costing her something.
Yoshiro noticed as well.
"...So that's the price."
"You can restore yourself..."
"...but not forever."
He smiled once again.
"Then I'll simply keep erasing."
Judas raised both hands.
"I only need..."
"...to outlast you."
The silver markings expanded farther across her body.
The entire battlefield began glowing.
Dracula immediately understood.
"She's buying us time."
Reji clenched his chains tighter.
"Then we make every second count."
Seiyan slowly raised his sword.
His eyes never left Yoshiro.
"If Sensei falls..."
"...this battle ends."
For the first time since the fight began...
The battle was no longer Dracula versus Yoshiro.
It had become something greater.
Existence...
against...
Oblivion.