The arena had fallen into complete silence.
Not because the fight had ended—
But because no one could keep up anymore.
The wind swept across the shattered training court, carrying loose dust into the air. Broken stone lay scattered everywhere, the result of the exchange between Kairo Kurosawa and Oko Fujiwara.
For a brief moment...
Neither of them moved.
Then—
BOOM!!
The ground exploded beneath their feet.
Both vanished simultaneously.
A deafening shockwave burst across the arena, forcing several students to shield their faces from the violent gust.
"They disappeared again!"
Tyouro rubbed his eyes repeatedly.
"I seriously can't see anything anymore!"
Dracula folded his arms with a grin.
"Heh... now this is getting interesting."
Kimimaru remained expressionless, though his sharp eyes followed every distortion in the air.
"They're moving through each other's blind spots..."
Yura narrowed her gaze.
"...No."
"They're predicting each other's blind spots."
CLANG!!
A burst of sparks illuminated the battlefield as Black Spartan collided against Oko's reinforced gauntlet.
Oko twisted his body with incredible flexibility before driving his knee toward Kairo's stomach.
BOOM!
The impact echoed through the arena.
Kairo slid backward several meters, his boots carving deep lines into the stone floor.
His arms trembled from the force.
"He's stronger..."
"Every strike feels heavier than the last."
Without giving him a chance to recover—
Oko disappeared.
Kairo's pupils contracted.
"Behind."
He instantly spun around.
His sword barely intercepted Oko's descending fist.
BANG!!
Another shockwave erupted, cracking the ground beneath them.
The pressure alone sent fragments of rock flying into the air.
Griffin let out a whistle.
"Oko's really enjoying himself."
Shougo stood quietly with his arms folded beneath his poncho.
His calm expression never changed.
Yet inside...
"Kairo has already surpassed my expectations."
"But Oko..."
"He's still holding back."
Oko suddenly smiled.
"You've improved."
"But..."
"You're thinking too much."
His body blurred.
One became two.
Two became four.
Four became eight.
Dozens of afterimages surrounded Kairo from every direction.
Tyouro's jaw dropped.
"W-What the heck?!"
"Which one's real?!"
Yuki crossed her arms.
"...Only one."
"The rest are movements too fast for ordinary eyes."
Kairo slowly exhaled.
His grip tightened around Black Spartan.
"Calm down..."
"Don't look at the bodies..."
"Look at the ground."
The afterimages fooled the eyes—
But they couldn't hide their footsteps.
Tiny vibrations traveled through the cracked arena.
A pebble rolled.
Dust shifted.
A single footprint pressed deeper than the others.
"Found you."
Without hesitation—
Kairo stepped forward instead of backward.
His sword flashed upward.
SHING!!
Oko's eyes widened slightly.
"So you noticed."
Their weapons collided once again.
Neither gave an inch.
For a heartbeat—
They simply stared at each other.
Then both smiled.
"You're fun."
Oko's grin widened.
"So let's speed things up."
A terrifying pressure exploded from his body.
The air itself became heavier.
The stone beneath his feet shattered into countless fragments.
Even the spectators instinctively stepped backward.
Tyouro swallowed hard.
"...That pressure..."
"I can barely breathe."
Yura silently clenched her fists.
"So this..."
"...is Oko's real strength."
Oko lowered his stance.
"Millions Punch."
He vanished.
The next instant—
Hundreds of fists rained toward Kairo like a relentless storm.
Left.
Right.
Above.
Behind.
Every direction.
Every angle.
Every punch flowed into another with impossible speed.
The sound of impacts echoed endlessly.
BANG!
BANG!
BANG!
Kairo raised Black Spartan desperately, blocking as many attacks as possible.
Still—
Several punches slipped through.
One struck his shoulder.
Another crashed into his ribs.
A third smashed against his jaw.
Blood splattered across the broken ground.
His vision blurred.
His breathing became uneven.
Yet—
He refused to fall.
Shougo watched silently.
"Good."
"Don't rely on strength..."
"Use your head."
Kairo gritted his teeth.
"His punches..."
"They're not random."
"There's a rhythm."
Every fighter—
No matter how powerful—
Had habits.
Even unconscious ones.
Oko's combinations repeated ever so slightly.
A tiny pause.
A shift in his right shoulder.
A change in breathing before every heavy strike.
Tiny details.
Almost impossible to notice.
Almost.
Kairo smiled through the blood dripping from the corner of his mouth.
"I finally understand..."
Suddenly—
He stopped blocking.
Everyone gasped.
"What is he doing?!"
Oko didn't hesitate.
His fists continued pouring forward.
But this time—
Kairo moved differently.
He didn't dodge widely.
He barely moved at all.
A slight tilt.
A small step.
A subtle lean.
Every punch missed him by mere centimeters.
It looked as though the attacks were phasing past him.
Oko's grin slowly faded.
"...Impossible."
"You're reading them?"
Kairo said nothing.
His eyes remained locked onto Oko's shoulders.
His breathing slowed.
The world around him seemed to fade.
Only Oko remained.
Only the next movement mattered.
Now.
Black Spartan cut through the air.
SLASH!!
A clean line appeared across Oko's chest.
Silence.
The entire arena froze.
A single drop of blood fell onto the stone.
Oko looked down.
Touched the wound.
Then—
He laughed.
A loud, genuine laugh.
"Hahahaha!"
"I haven't felt pain like this in years!"
"You really are incredible, Kairo!"
Kairo lowered his sword.
His body shook violently.
His arms felt unbearably heavy.
Every muscle screamed in pain.
But his eyes...
Burned brighter than ever.
"I promised myself..."
"...I'd never run away again."
"...I won't become the old me."
Griffin smiled proudly.
"He finally found confidence."
Shougo quietly nodded.
"...Not confidence."
"Conviction."
For the first time since the battle began—
Oko's playful expression completely disappeared.
His gaze sharpened.
His smile faded.
The air around him became strangely calm.
Too calm.
"...Looks like I've tested you enough."
He slowly cracked his neck.
From his body erupted an overwhelming aura that distorted the very air around him.
The pressure spread across the entire training ground.
The clouds above trembled.
Small rocks began floating from the ground.
Even Black Spartan let out a faint metallic hum in Kairo's hand.
Kairo instinctively tightened his grip.
His heartbeat echoed loudly in his ears.
"This pressure..."
"He's finally serious."
Oko slowly raised one hand and pointed directly at Kairo.
"No more holding back."
"Show me everything you've got..."
"...or this fight ends here."
The wind roared between them.
Neither side moved.
The entire arena held its breath.
Somewhere in the distance...
A single leaf drifted between the two warriors.
The instant it touched the ground—
BOOOOOOOM!!
The battlefield erupted once more as both figures vanished, their collision shaking the entire Reikosha Academy and leaving everyone watching with only one thought—
"This isn't a friendly spar anymore..."