They entered the Tower.
The walls were made of scorched obsidian, etched with runes that pulsed with malevolent energy. The air was thick with the smell of burning flesh.
At the center of the vast hall stood Ryouma.
He was nothing like Tatsuya remembered. Taller, more monstrous — horns curling from his head, black flames licking around his armor. His crimson eyes glowed with madness.
"So," Ryouma sneered, his voice echoing. "The storm returns to die."
Tatsuya stepped forward, sword raised.
"You killed her," he said, his voice raw. "You destroyed everything."
Ryouma laughed. "The girl? She was nothing. A mistake that needed cleansing."
Something inside Tatsuya broke.
Lightning exploded from his body in a blinding flash. Ryouma raised a hand, summoning a shield of dark fire — but Tatsuya's blade shattered it like glass.
They clashed.
Lightning against flame. Fury against cruelty.
Misaki, still weak but unyielding, joined the fight, her winds fueling Tatsuya's strikes. Nyxarion unleashed torrents of black fire, his loyalty to his new family stronger than old grudges.
The tower shook with the force of their battle.
Ryouma howled in rage, summoning twisted beasts from the shadows to aid him. But Tatsuya cut them down without mercy.
"You think you can defeat me?" Ryouma spat. "You are nothing but a boy playing at vengeance!"
Tatsuya smiled grimly.
"I'm not here for vengeance," he said. "I'm here for justice."
He raised his sword high.
A vision of Himawari appeared beside him — not broken, but smiling, golden eyes shining with pride.
Tatsuya... I believe in you.
The lightning around him turned pure white.
And he struck.