The ruined courtyard was still filled with dust from Akira's last crossing attack. Broken pieces of the academy covered the ground, while the remaining students kept their distance and watched the woman standing calmly in the middle of the destruction. Yura remained in front of everyone, breathing heavily but refusing to step away. Kimimaru and Tyouro stood beside her, while Kairo tightened his grip on the Black Spartan. Shougo remained slightly behind them, carefully observing Akira's movements and waiting for the right moment to intervene.
Then came the sound of a weapon being loaded.
Click.
Everyone turned.
Griffin slowly raised his arm.
In his hand was an old-fashioned flintlock pistol, its metal barrel reflecting the light above the ruined academy. He adjusted his hat with his other hand and calmly aimed at Akira.
"Well..."
He took a step forward.
"I suppose watching from the back isn't going to work anymore."
Akira looked toward him.
Griffin fired.
BANG!
The bullet crossed the courtyard.
Akira tilted her head.
The projectile passed beside her face.
Before the echo of the gunshot disappeared, Griffin had already moved to another position.
BANG!
Another shot.
Akira turned.
The bullet missed again.
Griffin continued moving around the battlefield, firing from different angles while never remaining in one place for more than a moment. His movements weren't as overwhelming as Yura's, but they were deliberate. Every shot forced Akira to turn her attention away from someone else.
"She's watching me now," Griffin muttered.
"Good."
Aoi stepped forward.
Yuki followed.
Daiki slowly cracked his knuckles before stepping beside them.
Aoi glanced toward the others.
"Let's give her something else to look at."
She suddenly sprinted forward.
Akira raised the Aether Reaper.
Aoi stopped just before reaching her and kicked the ground with everything she had.
WHOOOOSH!
A massive cloud of dust exploded upward.
The entire area around Akira disappeared beneath the brown haze.
Akira's eyes narrowed.
For the first time, her vision was completely obstructed.
Aoi smiled.
"Got you."
She immediately jumped backward.
Griffin fired through the dust.
BANG!
The shot passed through the cloud.
Akira twisted her body just in time, causing the bullet to miss.
Yuki raised both hands.
"Now!"
The ground trembled.
Several enormous pieces of broken stone lifted into the air around her.
Telekinesis pulled them higher and higher until they floated above the battlefield.
Akira emerged from the dust.
Yuki's eyes sharpened.
"Fall!"
The massive rocks crashed toward Akira from multiple directions.
BOOM!
Dust erupted across the courtyard.
For a second...
Nobody moved.
Then a silver flash cut through the cloud.
SHING!
One rock split in half.
Another.
Then another.
Akira emerged from the falling debris, the Aether Reaper moving so quickly that the weapon appeared almost invisible.
The enormous stones shattered into countless fragments before reaching her.
Yuki stared.
"She cut all of them..."
Akira suddenly disappeared.
Yuki's eyes widened.
"Wait—"
Aoi grabbed her arm and pulled her backward.
The Aether Reaper sliced through the space where Yuki had been standing.
"That was close!"
Daiki stepped forward.
"Then my turn."
He closed his eyes.
His body began moving.
One step.
Then another.
His arms flowed through the air with strange precision as his technique activated.
It wasn't simply a dance.
Every movement created a pattern that affected the opponent's perception.
The world around Akira suddenly changed.
The ruined academy disappeared from her vision.
Colors exploded around her.
Red.
Blue.
Green.
Purple.
Gold.
Countless rainbow patterns twisted around her like an endless kaleidoscope.
Akira's eyes widened slightly.
For the first time...
Her movement stopped.
Daiki continued.
His feet moved across the broken ground in perfect rhythm.
"Let's see you react to this."
The rainbow illusion became more complicated.
The colors multiplied.
The battlefield seemed to stretch endlessly.
Akira looked left.
Then right.
Every direction contained another distorted image.
Aoi appeared in one direction.
Yuki in another.
Griffin in another.
Even multiple versions of Daiki seemed to move around her.
Daiki smiled.
"Mind blown yet?"
Akira remained silent.
Her eyes slowly moved across the illusion.
She didn't panic.
She didn't swing randomly.
She simply watched.
Then...
She closed her eyes.
Daiki's smile disappeared.
"...What?"
Akira opened them again.
The rainbow world shattered.
CRACK!
The illusion disappeared completely.
Daiki stumbled backward.
"She broke through it?!"
Akira immediately moved.
Daiki barely raised his arms before the Aether Reaper struck, sending him sliding across the ground.
"DAIKI!"
Yuki launched another massive rock.
Akira turned and sliced it cleanly in half.
Aoi rushed from the side.
Akira ducked.
Griffin fired.
Akira moved.
Yuki pulled another piece of rubble into the air.
Akira cut through it.
The battlefield became a constant exchange of attacks.
Dust filled the courtyard.
Gunshots echoed between the broken buildings.
Rocks flew through the air.
Rainbow illusions flashed and disappeared.
Aoi repeatedly tried to blind Akira with dust while Yuki attacked from range and Daiki attempted to disrupt her perception.
But Akira continued moving through everything.
She was being pressured...
Yet she still hadn't been overwhelmed.
Yura watched from a distance, her eyes narrowing.
"She's starting to get surrounded."
Kairo nodded.
"But she's still controlling the fight."
Shougo's expression remained serious.
"Exactly."
He watched Akira narrowly evade another coordinated attack.
"She's not simply defending herself."
"She's learning every technique they're using."
Yura clenched her fist.
"Then we have to keep changing."
Akira suddenly stopped.
Everyone froze.
She stood in the center of the ruined courtyard, surrounded by dust, broken stone, and scattered weapons.
Her eyes slowly moved across the entire group.
Then she raised the Aether Reaper.
The weapon began emitting a faint silver glow.
Griffin's expression changed.
"...Everyone."
Akira disappeared.
Shougo's eyes widened.
"Move!"
A silver streak crossed the battlefield.
The next attack...
Was coming for all of them.