The battlefield echoed with steel, explosions, and the cries of warriors refusing to fall.
For the first time since Akira Kagetsu had stepped into Reikosha Academy, she wasn't controlling the pace of the battle anymore.
Reikosha was.
"Don't give her any room!" Shougo commanded.
Yura shot forward like a streak of light, her movements so fast that the broken ground exploded beneath every step. She appeared in front of Akira and unleashed a relentless barrage of punches and kicks, forcing the Aether Reaper to block over and over.
Behind Akira, Kimimaru calmly raised his hand.
"...Astral Lock."
Invisible chains wrapped around Akira's soul once again.
Her movements immediately became slower.
"...Now!"
Kairo's eyes glowed black.
The gigantic Black Monarch towering behind him stepped forward, raising its colossal sword before bringing it down with enough force to shake the entire academy.
BOOOOOOM!!
Akira blocked the attack, but the impact drove her several meters backward, leaving a deep trench beneath her feet.
"She's moving!" Tyouro shouted.
Without hesitation, he fired dozens of compressed spiritual blasts. Griffin followed, firing precise shots that forced Akira to defend from multiple angles instead of focusing on one opponent.
Aoi rushed in from the side, kicking another wave of dust into Akira's vision.
"Yuki!"
"I know!"
Gigantic slabs of stone rose into the air before crashing toward Akira from every direction.
The battlefield had become a perfect combination of teamwork.
Whenever Akira escaped one attack...
Another immediately followed.
Whenever she blocked...
Someone else attacked her blind spot.
Even Shougo smiled slightly.
"...Excellent."
Yura laughed despite the blood running down her forehead.
"She's finally struggling!"
She accelerated again, landing a powerful spinning kick that sent Akira sliding across the shattered courtyard before Kairo's Black Monarch followed with another massive slash.
KRAAAAAAASH!!
Dust exploded everywhere.
The remaining students stared in disbelief.
"...We're actually overwhelming her."
"...She's on the defensive."
"...We can win!"
Akira emerged from the smoke.
Several new cuts had appeared across her sleeves and shoulder.
Her breathing had become slightly heavier.
For the first time...
She looked surrounded.
Yura pointed at her confidently.
"You're not unbeatable anymore."
Akira remained silent.
She simply looked at every student standing before her.
Then...
She closed her eyes.
"...I understand."
Everyone hesitated.
"What?"
The battlefield suddenly became quiet.
Too quiet.
The wind disappeared.
Even the dust stopped moving.
Shougo's smile vanished.
"...Everyone..."
His instincts screamed.
"GET BACK!"
Too late.
Akira opened her eyes.
The silver glow around the Aether Reaper expanded across the battlefield.
Without swinging...
Without charging...
Without saying another word...
She disappeared.
"...!!"
Nobody saw where she went.
Not even Yura.
A silver flash crossed the battlefield.
SHING!
Yura's eyes widened.
Blood sprayed across the ground.
A deep slash stretched across her shoulder before the force launched her into a ruined building.
"YURA!"
Another flash.
Kimimaru barely raised the Zweihander before a violent impact sent him crashing through three collapsed walls. His Astral Lock shattered instantly as blood ran down his arm.
"KIMIMARU!"
Another.
The Black Monarch raised its sword—
But Akira appeared above it.
One slash.
The giant guardian split apart from shoulder to waist before dissolving into countless black particles.
Kairo felt the backlash immediately.
He coughed blood and fell to one knee.
"My... Yami..."
Another silver flash.
Griffin fired instinctively.
BANG!
The bullet never reached her.
His flintlock shattered into pieces, and a slash tore across his chest, throwing him across the courtyard.
Aoi rushed toward Yuki.
"No—!"
Akira passed between them faster than either could react.
Both girls collapsed almost instantly, blood staining the broken ground.
Daiki's illusion disappeared.
Tyouro's spiritual blasts scattered into nothing.
Both were struck before they even understood what had happened.
One by one...
Every student fell.
The battlefield that had been filled with coordinated attacks only seconds earlier became frighteningly silent.
Shougo activated his intangibility the instant Akira appeared before him.
Their eyes met.
Akira swung.
The Aether Reaper bypassed his intangibility once again.
BOOOOOOM!!
Shougo was launched across the academy, crashing into what remained of the main building.
The wall collapsed on top of him.
Silence.
Dust slowly settled across the battlefield.
Yura struggled to lift herself from the rubble.
"...Everyone..."
Kimimaru tried standing.
His legs gave out.
Kairo looked around while holding his bleeding side.
The Black Monarch was gone.
Griffin's broken flintlock lay beside him.
Aoi.
Yuki.
Daiki.
Tyouro.
Oko.
The remaining students...
All seriously injured.
In less than ten seconds...
Everything they had gained...
Had disappeared.
Akira quietly stood in the center of the ruined academy.
Not a single trace of panic could be seen on her face.
She slowly lowered the Aether Reaper.
"...Teamwork."
She looked at the wounded students surrounding her.
"...Impressive."
Her silver eyes shifted toward the rubble where Shougo had fallen.
"But..."
A faint silver aura surrounded her once more.
"...it still isn't enough."
High above the battlefield, dark clouds gathered again.
The hope that had filled Reikosha Academy only moments ago...
Was beginning to disappear.