Silence.
The battlefield had forgotten the sound of victory.
The shattered remains of Reikosha Academy stood beneath a gray sky while smoke drifted between broken buildings. Every student lay wounded, barely able to move. Blood stained the academy they had sworn to protect.
Only two people remained standing.
Shougo Takahano.
Akira Kagetsu.
The wind gently blew across the battlefield.
Shougo's breathing had become slow.
Heavy.
Every part of his body screamed in pain, yet his calm expression never changed. He simply adjusted his torn glove one last time and smiled.
Akira quietly watched him.
"...You're reaching your limit."
Shougo chuckled.
"I've known that... for a long time."
Neither of them moved.
Neither of them needed to.
Both already understood.
This battle...
Would end now.
Akira slowly walked forward.
"So this is the teacher..."
"...who carried the future."
Shougo smiled.
"No."
"I simply carried..."
"...my students."
Golden Hikari slowly faded around him.
Yami disappeared into the wind.
The battlefield became completely quiet.
Behind him...
Yura struggled to stand.
"Sensei..."
Kairo gripped the Black Spartan until his hands bled.
"...Don't."
Kimimaru remained silent.
His fists tightened.
Griffin lowered his head.
Nobody could move.
Nobody could help.
Shougo looked over his shoulder one final time.
His students.
His family.
His reason for fighting.
A warm smile appeared on his face.
"I've watched all of you grow."
"Yura..."
"You've always run ahead of everyone."
"But remember..."
"A true warrior doesn't run because she's fast."
"She runs so nobody gets left behind."
Yura lowered her head.
Her shoulders trembled.
"Kairo..."
"You still doubt yourself."
"But one day..."
"The darkness you carry..."
"...will become the light that protects others."
Kairo bit his lip so hard it began to bleed.
"...Sensei..."
"Kimimaru."
Shougo looked directly at him.
"You've always carried every burden alone."
"You don't have to."
"There will always be someone willing to fight beside you."
Kimimaru remained perfectly still.
Not a single tear escaped his eyes.
But his hands...
Would not stop shaking.
Shougo continued looking at every wounded student.
"Griffin."
"Aoi."
"Yuki."
"Daiki."
"Tyouro."
"Oko."
"And every student of Reikosha..."
"...I'm proud of all of you."
He slowly faced Akira again.
Then...
He closed his eyes.
"My final wish..."
"...is not for you to avenge me."
"It's not to become stronger than me."
"It's not even to become heroes."
He smiled peacefully.
"I want you..."
"...to become warriors..."
"...who finally find the courage..."
"...to end this endless war."
Silence answered him.
Even Akira remained motionless.
For the first time...
She lowered the Aether Reaper.
"...Those are..."
"...beautiful final words."
Shougo opened his eyes.
"I know."
Akira disappeared.
A silver flash crossed the battlefield.
SHING.
The Aether Reaper pierced straight through Shougo's chest.
Blood slowly fell onto the broken ground.
Yura screamed.
"SENSEI!!"
Kairo tried to move.
His body refused.
Kimimaru stood frozen.
Everything became silent.
Shougo looked down at the blade passing through his body.
Then...
He smiled.
"...Got you."
Akira frowned for the first time.
"...What?"
Shougo gently placed one hand on the Aether Reaper.
The other...
Touched Akira's shoulder.
Golden symbols spread across both of them.
The battlefield shook.
Akira's eyes widened.
"...Impossible."
Shougo quietly whispered.
"Automatic..."
"...Win."
Time itself seemed to stop.
Then—
A blinding light erupted from Shougo's body.
Akira immediately tried to pull away.
She couldn't.
The golden symbols wrapped around her existence itself.
For the very first time...
Fear appeared in her eyes.
"...What... is this?"
Shougo smiled one last time.
"No matter..."
"...how powerful you become..."
"No matter..."
"...whether your opponent is human..."
"...or something far beyond humanity..."
"If Automatic Win is fulfilled..."
"...the result..."
"...can never change."
A deep crack spread across Akira's body.
Then another.
Then hundreds.
Her silver eyes trembled.
"...So..."
"...this..."
"...was your victory..."
Shougo quietly closed his eyes.
"...No."
"It's..."
"...theirs."
Akira's body shattered into countless fragments of silver light.
The explosion illuminated the entire sky above Reikosha Academy.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!
A pillar of golden light pierced the heavens.
The shockwave spread across the world itself.
Far away...
Mr. Fushi quietly watched the sky from Ember Isles.
His coffee cup gently trembled in his hand.
He slowly smiled.
"...So..."
"...he finally used it."
The old man looked toward the distant horizon.
His voice became the narration carried by the wind.
"Automatic Win..."
"There is no technique like it."
"It cannot be overpowered."
"It cannot be resisted."
"It cannot be rewritten."
"It does not ask whether its opponent is stronger."
"It does not care whether the enemy is mortal..."
"...immortal..."
"...or even a being worshipped as a god."
"The moment its condition is fulfilled..."
"...victory itself becomes absolute."
"It is not fate."
"It is not probability."
"It is not destiny."
"It is simply..."
"...the answer."
Back at Reikosha Academy...
The golden light slowly disappeared.
The Aether Reaper fell to the ground.
Shougo remained standing for a few seconds longer.
A gentle smile rested on his face.
Then...
His body slowly collapsed.
Kimimaru caught him before he touched the ground.
He didn't cry.
Not a single tear fell.
He simply held his teacher in complete silence.
His hands trembled.
His breathing broke.
But his eyes remained dry.
Around them...
Every student lowered their head.
The war had claimed another life.
Not just a warrior.
Not just a teacher.
But the man...
Who believed every one of them could build a world where no child would ever have to fight again.
And for the first time...
Reikosha Academy...
Fell completely silent.
"You were never my weapons... You were always my children." - Shougo
"Thank you... for letting me become your teacher." - Shougo
"The strongest warrior isn't the one who survives... It's the one who leaves behind hope."
"Kimimaru... it's okay to cry... but if you can't... then keep walking. That's enough for me."
"My journey ends here... Yours is only beginning. Don't stop walking... even if I'm no longer beside you."