The Citadel had fallen into an uneasy silence.
Yoshiro stood in the middle of the ruined battlefield, staring toward the distant horizon. The white energy surrounding his body had become strangely quiet. His eyes remained fixed in one direction, as though he could somehow see beyond the countless miles separating him from Reikosha Academy.
"...Akira."
The name escaped his mouth almost like a whisper.
For years, he had believed that she was gone. He had carried the memory of her death through every battle, every act of destruction, every moment when he convinced himself that erasing the world was the only way to create a peaceful place for the two of them.
But now...
She was alive.
Yoshiro suddenly turned around.
"I'm leaving."
Reji's chains immediately stretched across the street, blocking his path.
"You're not going anywhere."
Yoshiro stopped.
Dracula appeared beside Reji, crimson lightning still crackling around his body after his battle with Yoshiro.
"You think we're going to let you walk away after what you did to Tatsuo?"
Yoshiro glanced at Dracula.
For once, he didn't look interested in fighting.
"I don't have time for you anymore."
He stepped forward.
Reji pulled his chains tight.
"Then make time."
Yoshiro's eyes narrowed.
"I need to go to Reikosha."
Dracula's expression hardened.
"Why?"
Yoshiro looked toward the distant horizon.
"Because she's there."
Dracula immediately understood.
"...Akira."
Yoshiro didn't answer.
That silence was enough.
Reji's eyes narrowed.
"So she's the reason you've been trying to erase everything?"
Yoshiro's expression became cold.
"You don't understand."
"Then explain it."
"I don't owe you an explanation."
Yoshiro raised his hand.
White energy gathered around his palm.
Reji immediately pulled his chains backward.
"Dracula!"
"I know."
Dracula disappeared.
Yoshiro barely turned before Dracula's fist crashed into his face.
BOOM!
Yoshiro was thrown through the remains of a building.
Dracula landed beside Reji.
"You wanted to leave."
He lowered himself into a fighting stance.
"You're going through us first."
Yoshiro slowly stepped out of the rubble.
Blood ran down his face.
He wiped it away.
His expression had completely changed.
The playful insanity that had filled his eyes earlier was gone.
Now there was only one thing left.
Determination.
"I don't want to fight you."
He raised his hand.
"But if you refuse to move..."
"...I'll erase you."
Reji smiled coldly.
"Try."
His chains exploded across the battlefield.
Dracula vanished at the same instant.
Yoshiro's eyes sharpened.
The next moment, Dracula appeared above him with a devastating kick while Reji's chains attacked from below.
Yoshiro crossed his arms.
BOOOOM!
The impact shattered the ground beneath him.
He was pushed backward, but before Dracula could strike again, Yoshiro released a wave of white energy.
Dracula disappeared just before it reached him.
Reji's chains wrapped around Yoshiro's arm.
"Got you!"
Yoshiro looked at the chain.
Then at Reji.
"...Not for long."
White energy spread through the chain.
Reji immediately released it before the erasure could reach his hands.
Dracula appeared again.
Punch.
Kick.
Elbow.
Another punch.
Yoshiro blocked each attack, but Dracula's speed made every exchange incredibly difficult to follow.
Yet Yoshiro wasn't trying to defeat him.
He was trying to escape.
Every time Dracula forced him backward, Yoshiro immediately searched for another opening.
Every time Reji blocked his path, Yoshiro erased another section of the battlefield to create a new route.
Reji noticed.
"He's not fighting normally."
Dracula landed beside him.
"He's trying to get past us."
"Exactly."
Reji looked toward the distant horizon.
"He's desperate to reach Reikosha."
Yoshiro suddenly stopped.
His eyes became completely serious.
"Move."
Dracula clenched his fists.
"No."
"I won't ask again."
"Neither will I."
For several seconds, the three stood motionless.
Then Yoshiro's white aura exploded.
The entire Citadel shook.
Reji's chains were thrown backward.
Dracula was forced to shield his face from the pressure.
Yoshiro slowly raised his hand.
"If Akira really is alive..."
His voice trembled slightly.
"...then I won't lose her again."
The white energy around him became denser.
"I don't care who stands in my way."
Dracula's crimson lightning erupted.
Reji's chains spread across the streets.
Neither moved.
Neither surrendered.