"Man, it's boiling out here—I'm exhausted,"Daigo muttered, dragging his palm across a sweat-soaked forehead as the trio stepped through the rusted gate into Level 4. A wall of heat hit them, thick and violent, like stepping into a furnace.
Yeaga chuckled, dry and sarcastic."Hot enough to melt the ice in your veins."
Ishigo frowned, annoyed. "The hell are you babbling about?"
But Daigo didn't answer. His eyes narrowed on the molten horizon ahead—where ash floated like snowflakes, and scarlet stone twisted up into the sky like claws. Then his voice rose, sharp and unfiltered.
"Oi! You damn Shikibans—get out here! What the hell are you really?!"
His shout echoed off cracked rock and metal, carried by the dry wind.
Above them, lounging on a blistered ledge of scorched stone, two figures stirred.
They weren't startled. They moved like predators disturbed mid-meal. One of them bit into something—something steaming, dark, and vaguely shaped like a human hand—between elegant fingers. He chewed with unsettling grace.
"What the hell are they eating?" Yeaga muttered, half-fascinated, half-revolted.
"Fire," Daigo replied, flat. "Wouldn't surprise me. This is Flame Shikiban territory."
Below the ledge lay the charred corpse of a fallen Kageshiki—burned beyond recognition, bones cracked open, flesh seared into pulp. A grotesque offering.
The Shikibans finally moved. Slowly. Their crimson lips curled into feral, beautiful smiles.
"You smell that?" one of them purred. "Fresh blood."
Yeaga tensed."We just poked the hive."
Steel slid free in response. The air, already heavy with heat, now buzzed with tension—like something ancient had awakened.
And deep within the blistered battlefield, two others stood locked in a far more personal war.
***
Steel screamed as it clashed—blade against blade, sparks flying.
Reika's arms trembled from the impact. "Why, Usui?" she demanded, voice cracked from heat and anger. "Why are you trying to kill me?"
Usui Tobeshi stepped forward, his katana still humming. His gaze was cold, his reply colder.
"To rise."He said it like a fact, not a threat."Nothing personal."
Reika's eyes dropped to the badge on her chest. 08.
Then she saw his. 09.
Her breath caught.
"You're trying to take my rank."
Usui's smirk barely twitched."Exactly. Kill to rise. You know the system."
He gestured with his blade toward her badge. The number pulsed faintly—alive."Defeat another Shikiban, absorb their badge. Boost your resonance. Higher rank, stronger power."He stepped closer. "Hit Rank X or even I, and the world bends for you."
Reika's grip tightened on her hilt. "So we're just stepping stones to each other?"
"You either climb, Reika,"he said, eyes gleaming,"or you burn."
Silence lingered. Then—her voice dropped. Low. Dangerous.
"You're wrong."
Usui raised an eyebrow.
"Killing your enemies is easy," she said. "But killing your own? That grief? That guilt? That's what shatters you—and if you survive the breaking, what's left is stronger than anything."
For a moment, Usui didn't reply.
Then—his smirk returned. Sharper. Hollow."Then die and prove your theory."
The next strike came without warning.
CLANG!
Their blades collided again, and the world shrank—just fire, steel, and breathless fury.
Reika twisted, her body slick with sweat, dodging low. Her muscles burned, her lungs screamed. Heat licked at her face, curling her silver hair. But she didn't falter.
Usui moved like a shadow—precise, clean, emotionless. He wasn't fighting to win. He was erasing her.
She dropped low, slicing across his side.
Blood hissed as it touched the molten ground.
He hissed but didn't retreat. "You cut me. Good." He lunged again, katana a blur.
She blocked—barely.
"You're slow," he mocked, circling."Still soft."
She didn't respond.
Instead, she pivoted, drawing him in. Feint—then a sharp slash to his ribs. Another cut.
He staggered, momentarily surprised. His expression flickered—but he said nothing.
Their swords met again. Over and over. Sparks danced like fireflies.
The world blurred. Molten air. Screams of steel. Blood-slick stone.
Reika's vision trembled.
She couldn't keep this up. Not against someone who fought like the laws of gravity didn't apply. But something inside her refused to yield.
"I'm not here to play games," she thought."I'm here to survive. No—to destroy."
Then—movement.
Out of the smoke, a black spear arced straight toward Usui's back—thrown by a waiting enemy commander who had watched the duel unfold.
"Usui!" she shouted instinctively—too late.
But he didn't need her voice.
Usui spun, his blade moving inhumanly fast. A ribbon of blue-black flame followed his arc.
CRACK!
The spear shattered mid-air. Shards rained like glass.
The commander didn't even scream before Usui was on him—silent, merciless.
One clean stroke.
The enemy crumpled, his body folding like paper, blood steaming against the scorched earth.
Usui stood over the corpse, his glowing blade still pulsing. The battlefield fell silent.
Even the Flame Shikibans watching from above paused—some backing away. Others lowered themselves to the ground in quiet, horrified respect.
He turned to Reika. Eyes unreadable. Emotionless. But something had changed.
Not ambition.
Not rank.
Clarity.
The kind that only comes from killing something you no longer hate—or saving someone you meant to kill.
They stood there in silence. Surrounded by blood, fire, and smoke.
Reika's hand loosened around her blade.
Usui sheathed his sword slowly, as if the weight of it had changed.
"You hesitated,"she said.
He didn't deny it.
"I saw something," he finally replied, voice quiet."You… weren't part of the ladder anymore."
She tilted her head. "Then what am I?"
Usui looked up. His voice cut through the silence like a final verdict.
"The fire that burns it down."
From that moment on, ranks meant nothing. Only power. And the fear of those too slow to change.