The battlefield fell silent.
No one dared to move.
The shattered remains of Reikosha Academy were buried beneath thick clouds of dust while cracks stretched across the ground like giant scars. The students stood together despite their injuries, breathing heavily as they watched Akira Kagetsu. She hadn't taken another step since Shougo's combined Yaki and Yami attack. Instead, she simply stood there, her silver hair dancing gently in the wind, the Aether Reaper resting calmly in her hand.
Shougo narrowed his eyes.
"...She's about to do something."
Akira slowly lifted the Aether Reaper toward the sky.
The moment the blade pointed upward, the entire atmosphere changed.
The wind stopped.
The birds vanished from the sky.
Even the sunlight above Reikosha Academy began fading behind dark clouds that appeared out of nowhere. The temperature suddenly dropped, and an unbearable pressure spread across the battlefield.
Yura felt her heartbeat quicken.
"...Why do I feel like..."
"...we're being watched?"
Kimimaru slowly looked toward the sky.
His pupils shrank.
"...Sensei."
Shougo followed his gaze.
Above the academy...
The sky itself had begun splitting apart.
Countless silver lines appeared across the heavens, stretching from one horizon to the other. They shimmered like thousands of cracks spreading through glass, each one carrying an overwhelming aura that made everyone instinctively step backward.
Akira's calm voice echoed across the ruined academy.
"Last Eclipse."
The silver lines moved.
Not downward.
Not upward.
They came from every direction at once.
"EVERYONE, MOVE!" Shougo shouted.
The sky exploded.
Thousands of invisible slashes descended upon Reikosha Academy like a storm sent from another world. Buildings were sliced apart before anyone could react. Massive trees collapsed in every direction. Towers that had stood for decades split cleanly in half as the earth itself cracked beneath the relentless rain of attacks.
Kairo barely rolled away before a slash carved a deep trench where he had been standing.
"What... is this?!"
Another slash struck beside him, launching him across the broken courtyard.
Yura accelerated at full speed, weaving through the deadly storm. Even with all her speed, several attacks narrowly missed her, tearing apart the ground beneath her feet.
"I can't dodge all of them!"
Kimimaru swung his Zweihander repeatedly, trying to deflect the attacks, but another slash slipped past his guard and hurled him into the remains of a classroom.
"Tch...!"
Griffin fired several shots into the sky, but every bullet was cut apart before reaching its target.
"...You've got to be kidding me."
Aoi rushed toward a group of injured students, pushing them behind a collapsed wall just before another rain of slashes reduced the rubble to dust.
Yuki desperately lifted enormous pieces of stone with her telekinesis, creating shields above the survivors.
For a brief moment...
The shields held.
Then the silver rain reached them.
CRACK!
Every floating boulder shattered into hundreds of pieces.
The shockwave knocked Yuki off her feet.
Daiki rushed to catch her before she struck the ground, but another slash crashed into the earth between them, throwing both of them across the battlefield.
Oko tried shielding other students.
He raised every ounce of spiritual energy he had left.
The barrier appeared.
The first slash struck it.
The second followed.
Then dozens more.
The barrier exploded.
Oko was thrown backward, blood running down his forehead as he crashed against a broken pillar.
Around the battlefield, students fell one after another. Some collapsed from exhaustion while others struggled to protect the injured. Their formation had completely fallen apart.
Kairo slowly stood again.
His breathing was becoming heavier.
He looked around.
"...Everyone..."
The academy had become a disaster.
Everywhere he looked, there were wounded students, shattered buildings, and deep scars stretching across the earth.
And yet...
The storm hadn't ended.
Akira still stood beneath the darkened sky, her arm raised toward the heavens.
The silver lines continued pouring down endlessly.
Shougo clenched his fists.
"If this continues..."
"...there won't be anything left."
He activated his intangibility, moving through the storm as he rushed toward Akira. Slashes passed through his body harmlessly—until one of them suddenly struck him.
BOOM!
Shougo was blasted backward.
He slid across the ruined courtyard before stopping himself.
"...Again."
His intangibility had been bypassed.
Akira lowered her gaze toward him.
"The Aether Reaper does not recognize barriers."
Her emotionless voice echoed through the battlefield.
"It cuts whatever I choose."
Yura forced herself back onto her feet despite the injuries covering her body. She wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth and looked at Akira with unwavering determination.
"...Then..."
She smiled.
"...we'll just keep standing."
Kairo slowly walked beside her.
Kimimaru emerged from the rubble, resting the Zweihander on his shoulder.
Griffin reloaded his flintlock.
Aoi, Yuki, Daiki, Oko, and the remaining students struggled to stand once more despite their wounds.
Shougo looked at every one of them.
Even after witnessing Last Eclipse...
Not a single one had chosen to run.
Akira silently watched them.
For the first time since arriving at Reikosha Academy...
A faint spark of curiosity appeared in her eyes.
"...Interesting."
The Aether Reaper slowly lowered.
The storm above the academy disappeared.
But everyone understood.
That attack...
Had only been a demonstration.
And the true battle...
Had only just begun.