The four warriors charged through the enormous wave of white energy as the Citadel continued shaking around them, their bodies already exhausted from everything Yoshiro had thrown at them, but none of them slowed down because they knew that if they stopped even for a moment, Yoshiro would take advantage of it and erase them one by one. Reji moved first, sending countless chains toward Yoshiro from different directions while Seiyan stayed farther behind, rebuilding his energy network across the battlefield, and Dracula disappeared into the blinding light, moving so fast that even the collapsing buildings seemed frozen around him. Judas remained in the center, her hands glowing with restoration energy as she watched every movement carefully, ready to bring them back the moment something went wrong.
Yoshiro stood calmly in the middle of the destruction.
"Again?"
He raised his hand.
The chains surrounding him suddenly disappeared.
Reji's eyes widened.
"Already?!"
Yoshiro looked toward him.
"I told you."
He slowly closed his fingers.
"I've learned your techniques."
A wave of erasure spread outward.
Reji jumped backward as the ground beneath him vanished, but Dracula suddenly appeared beside him and grabbed his shoulder, pulling him away before the erasure could reach his body.
"You're getting predictable," Dracula said.
Yoshiro turned.
"Am I?"
Dracula's smile disappeared.
Yoshiro was already behind him.
Dracula barely turned before Yoshiro struck him across the chest, sending him flying through several layers of broken stone.
"DRACULA!"
Judas immediately raised her hand.
The damage disappeared from Dracula's body before he even landed properly.
Dracula coughed and stood again.
"...Thanks."
"Don't thank me yet," Judas replied, her expression becoming serious. "He's getting faster."
Seiyan fired several energy shots from behind.
Yoshiro erased every one.
Then another.
Then another.
Yoshiro didn't even bother moving anymore.
Seiyan narrowed his eyes.
"He's not dodging..."
Reji looked at him.
"What?"
"He's confident he can erase everything we throw at him."
Yoshiro smiled.
"Correct."
He suddenly spread both arms.
The entire Citadel became covered in white light.
Every remaining building began disappearing.
Every road.
Every wall.
Every piece of rubble.
Everything around them began being erased at once.
Judas stared in disbelief.
"He's not targeting us..."
Seiyan's eyes widened.
"He's erasing the entire battlefield."
Reji immediately created hundreds of chains and wrapped them around the remaining structures, trying to anchor themselves to something that still existed.
"Judas!"
"I know!"
Judas slammed both hands together.
Restoration energy erupted across the battlefield, rebuilding the structures as quickly as Yoshiro erased them.
For several seconds, the two abilities collided.
Creation.
Erasure.
Restoration.
Destruction.
The Citadel constantly rebuilt itself only to disappear again.
Yoshiro laughed.
"You can't restore an entire world!"
Judas gritted her teeth.
"I'm not trying to restore the world!"
She looked toward Reji, Seiyan, and Dracula.
"I'm restoring them!"
The three immediately understood.
Judas wasn't fighting to preserve the Citadel.
She was preserving the people inside it.
Yoshiro's expression darkened.
"Then I'll start with them."
He vanished.
Reji felt something behind him.
He turned.
Yoshiro's hand was already touching his shoulder.
"Reji."
White energy spread across his body.
Reji's eyes widened.
"JUDAS!"
Judas immediately activated her restoration.
Reji's body disappeared.
Then returned.
Yoshiro erased him again.
Judas restored him again.
Again.
Again.
Yoshiro stared at her.
"You really won't let him disappear."
Judas' breathing became heavier.
"No."
Yoshiro smiled.
"Then let's see how long you can keep doing that."
He turned toward Dracula.
Dracula immediately rushed forward.
"Don't you dare!"
Yoshiro raised his hand.
Dracula's movement suddenly stopped.
His eyes widened.
"...What?"
Yoshiro had erased the space directly in front of him, leaving Dracula with nowhere to move.
Seiyan fired.
The attack disappeared.
Reji's chains came from behind.
They disappeared.
Judas attempted to restore them.
Yoshiro erased the restored chains immediately.
For the first time, all four realized something terrifying.
They weren't forcing Yoshiro to struggle anymore.
He was controlling the entire battlefield.
Yoshiro slowly walked toward them.
"You've fought well."
His voice became quieter.
"But you're still trying to win a fight..."
He raised his hand.
"...against someone who doesn't need to fight."
White energy gathered around his palm.
"I'm simply deciding what remains."
Seiyan clenched his fist.
"Then we'll make sure something remains."
He activated the last fragments of Horizon Breaker.
Energy lines appeared throughout the Citadel once again.
Yoshiro looked up.
"...Again?"
Seiyan smiled despite his exhaustion.
"Until you finally run out of things to erase."
Yoshiro stared at him for a moment.
Then...
He laughed.
"That's impossible."
The white energy exploded.
The four warriors were swallowed by the light.
And somewhere inside the destruction, Judas continued restoring them again and again, refusing to allow even one of her students to disappear.
But neither she nor the others realized...
Yoshiro had finally decided to stop playing with them.
The next attack...
Would not be aimed at their bodies.
It would be aimed at their existence itself.