The flames around Tyouro suddenly changed.
They were no longer flickering wildly.
They became brighter.
Cleaner.
More intense.
Tyouro slowly raised his head.
His hair began lifting upward, surrounded by flames that moved like they were part of his body.
Kimimaru watched silently.
Tyouro's presence had changed completely.
The heat around him intensified until the broken ground beneath his feet began glowing.
Kairo covered his face from the heat.
"He's getting stronger..."
Yura stared at Tyouro.
"His speed too."
Tyouro disappeared.
BOOM!
Kimimaru barely raised his arm in time.
The impact pushed him backward.
Tyouro appeared again.
Then again.
His movements became faster with every attack, leaving trails of fire behind him.
"YOU!"
BOOM!
"THINK!"
BOOM!
"YOU!"
BOOM!
"CAN!"
BOOM!
"JUST!"
BOOM!
"FORGET!"
Kimimaru suddenly vanished.
The battlefield became silent.
Tyouro looked around.
"...Where?"
Kimimaru appeared behind him.
His eyes remained completely calm.
"Astral Trapping."
A strange energy wrapped around Tyouro.
His movement stopped.
His body remained standing, but his soul was being restrained.
Tyouro gritted his teeth.
Kimimaru walked toward him.
"You're letting your anger control you."
Tyouro struggled against the trap.
"You don't..."
His flames began growing.
"...get to tell me..."
The energy around him started cracking.
"...what I feel!"
CRACK.
Kimimaru's eyes narrowed.
Another crack appeared.
Tyouro's entire body erupted with heat.
"GET OUT!"
BOOOOOOM!
The Astral Trapping shattered.
Kimimaru's eyes widened.
Tyouro disappeared.
A fist slammed into Kimimaru's chest.
BOOM!
Kimimaru was sent flying across the battlefield.
He crashed through several broken structures before stopping.
His shirt was burning.
Kimimaru looked down.
The fabric was already being consumed by Tyouro's flames.
He calmly grabbed the burning shirt and pulled it away.
The flames disappeared from his body.
Kimimaru stood back up.
He removed the rest of the damaged shirt and dropped it onto the ground.
His expression had completely changed.
The calmness was still there...
But his eyes were different.
Serious.
Cold.
Focused.
This wasn't Kimimaru trying to calm Tyouro anymore.
He had accepted the fight.
Tyouro stared at him.
Kimimaru lowered his stance.
"Then I'll stop you."
Tyouro's flames surged around him.
"Try."
Kimimaru disappeared.
Tyouro's eyes followed.
SHING!
An invisible slash tore across the battlefield.
Tyouro dodged.
Kimimaru appeared beside him.
Another slash.
Tyouro blocked it with his flames.
The impact pushed him backward.
Kimimaru didn't stop.
He moved again.
His movement looked like teleportation as he appeared from different directions, each attack arriving without warning.
Tyouro's speed continued increasing.
He dodged.
Countered.
Accelerated.
Their attacks collided again and again.
Neither was backing down.
Outside the barrier, Kairo watched in disbelief.
"They're actually trying to kill each other..."
Yura lowered her eyes.
"They've gone too far."
Inside the barrier, Tyouro shouted:
"IF YOU'RE SERIOUS ABOUT THIS—"
His flames exploded around his body.
"THEN I'LL BE SERIOUS TOO!"
Kimimaru's eyes became sharper.
"Good."
He raised his hand.
Astral energy gathered around him.
"Because I'm not stopping."
The two stood several meters apart.
Fire against astral energy.
Heat against silence.
Anger against cold determination.
Neither of them said another word.
Then—
They disappeared toward each other.
BOOOOOOOOOOM!
And high above the Earth...
the Sun burned brighter.