The talisman's glow illuminated the dark corners of each room Fuyumi passed through. After Maya had lured her into a trap, holding her captive within her own mind for who knew how long, she feared she'd be too late to assist Yakeru.

  Brushing aside a curtain of vines, she spotted in the distance what looked to be a large barrier encasing one of the buildings that made up the other side of the palace. Making her way over, she found Yakeru already facing off against the Fiends leader. Her ally was getting pummeled by quick and precise strikes, bypassing his near-indestructible armor.

  She drew her dagger and struck the barrier with her infused blade but it didn't budge. Firing projectiles didn't do anything but create small ripples in the barrier as well.

  "Yakeru!" She shouted several times to grab his attention but to no avail.

  She hadn't the slightest clue who was responsible for producing the barrier in this vast palace. Searching for them might prove fruitless. She watched helplessly as her comrade was slowly whittled down until his sword had shattered.

  She gasped sharply as Yakeru barely got to his feet. Kane stopped to look down on him and, although the barrier didn't allow sound to pass through it, from his haughty sneer, it was clear he was belittling him. Her knuckles turned white against the barrier, watching Yakeru's form quiver from exhaustion.

  Anger boiled up inside her from how this royal presented himself to the world, using her ally, someone she'd gone on numerous adventures with, as a stepping stool for his ego. Yet despite that, Yakeru was...smiling. He was fighting a losing battle and he was smiling?

  She immediately assumed the worst. If there was one thing she knew about Yakeru, it was that he had an unhealthy tendency to resort to reckless stunts when in a pinch.

  "What are you up to this time?" She murmured to herself, a trace of worry in her voice.

  Yakeru spaced his feet apart and dipped his head in concentration. Kane raised a confused brow, as even he wasn't sure what to make of this.

  Radiance once again encompassed Yakeru's legs as Kane let out an amused chuckle. "It's pointless. You're clearly barely able to stand after your little cheap trick. Why don't you just gi-" He stopped mid-sentence when he noticed his radiance didn't stop at his legs. It was beginning to crawl up his torso as well.

  Rocks and loose debris began levitating at Yakeru's feet. Motes of amber fazed into existence, dancing around him as if bending to his will. His body trembled with overstimulating power, Kane shielding his eyes from the powerful winds exuding from his mere presence.

  Radiance latched onto his hair, turning it a golden hue that blazed atop his head. Amber tendrils coiled around his body, whipping chaotically without the use of a conduit. The brilliant light he emitted dispersed the ruined ballroom's gloomy air.

  Fuyumi looked on in disbelief. The sight reminded her of his battle with the behemoth and once again she was forced to watch from the sidelines as he tore himself apart.

  The Fiend conjurers spectated in shock and astonishment, the barrier flickering as their focus wavered.

  Kane's baffled eyes widened further than before. "Y-You fool! You'll surely rip your body apart at this rate! Are you that desperate?"

  Yakeru groaned through gnashed teeth as his muscles contracted involuntarily and adrenaline flooded his bulging veins, his body desperately trying to keep Yakeru from ripping it apart. His arms moved in jitters hardly having any free range of motion which he knew would come as a hindrance.

  He could feel his reserves rapidly plummeting, leaving no leeway for a drawn-out battle. Looking up, his piercing eyes shone with a luminous intensity that made him appear more deity than human, locking Kane in place.

  "Yes."

  In a single step, his form flashed out of existence, devastating the ground where he once stood. In that instant, a gash sliced open across Kane's frozen face as the wall behind him exploded. He stood there, too fear-stricken to react to the violent bursts of winds whipping his crimson hair back and forth.

  Finally, he forced his stiff neck to look back to see Yakeru painfully crawling out of the debris from the wall he crashed into. It was clear he couldn't control his immense speed in that form. With his radiance coating his already indestructible armor, it was safe to assume he was impervious to physical harm.

  Fear had gripped his throat, restricting his movements as Yakeru's topaz eyes pierced through the smoke, his predatory gaze locking onto him. Amidst his fear, he reminded himself who he was; Kane the Genius. A Royal Prodigy. Leader of the Fiends Clan. To let some mere commoner best him in combat would be an insult to his titles and the Yamato House.

  The strangling grip of fear loosened as he steeled himself, raising his rapier with a trembling hand and driving it into the ground. Once again, a vortex of radiance whirled around him.

  Yakeru struggled to stand, the wall crumbling behind him. Unlike Blitz Step, where he would self-infuse in quick bursts, he left the power running this time. Every fiber of his being screamed, pleaded for him to release his radiance to end the torment, but he knew if he did, the intense backlash wouldn't allow him to return to this form.

  The longer he stayed in this form, the harder it was to move. Unlike his lower half, his top half hadn't gotten accustomed to self-infusion. The waves of pain rippling through his body intensified every passing moment.

  Gazing upon the hurricane of amber that protected its master, he didn't have a chance to strategize. But that was alright. He couldn't bypass Kane's defenses even with Blitz Step, but with his newfound strength, he could simply bulldoze through it.

  His joints seared and his muscles throbbed in protest as he shakily stood up. Taking another step, the world around him stretched as his form slung forward.

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  Kane had poured most of his reserves into his defense. It wouldn't be long until Yakeru exhausted himself. Surely Kane could outlast Yakeru, who had been burning through most of his radiance throughout their match.

  Suddenly, an unknown force ripped a hole in his vortex, whipping past him and excavating a trench in the process. He crossed his arms in front to shield himself as debris began to pummel him. Looking up, his eyes widened further in shock as he was met with Yakeru barely recovering from plowing through his vortex.

  Yakeru's body jittered like a machine that hadn't been oiled as he turned to face Kane from the small crater he'd created. Kane, still stunned by his power, knew he stood no chance. If he were to get hit by one of Yakeru's attacks, it wouldn't end well for him. Fortunately for him, it seemed like Yakeru struggled to tame his new form.

  Steeling himself once again, he pried his blade from the ground and dashed as far away from his opponent as possible. As fast as Yakeru was, even if he couldn't control it, Kane couldn't allow him to land a lucky blow. And a target that was farther away was harder to hit.

  Kane's sneer caught some of the sweat rolling down his face. 'He doesn't have much energy to spare. It's only a matter of time bef-'

  Yakeru's brilliant face appeared a mere foot away from his. Kane's breath got caught in his throat and acting on pure reaction, he infused his rapier and unleashed a flurry of rapid strikes, painting his field of view gold.

  Years of training combined with his natural affinity towards fencing, his unmatched precision with a blade, his unrivaled footwork, all of it was abandoned in a desperate attempt to keep Yakeru at bay.

  A shimmering hand burst through the wall of gold, snatching Kane by his terrified face and launching him across the ballroom. Since Kane's blade was flexible, it couldn't drive it into the ground to stabilize himself. Instead, his body produced small craters as he helplessly skipped along the already broken floor until smashing into a heap of debris.

  Although Yakeru had held back, Kane's tumbling still sent waves of pain throughout his body. Getting to one knee, a warm liquid trickled from his mouth. Dabbing it with his finger, he was horrified to find it red.

  "Th-This isn't possible..." Kane sputtered, both fear and anger twisting his face into a hideous scowl.

  He'd never been hurt before this battle. Even now, he clung to the notion that his injuries were merely a fluke to keep his ego from crumbling.

  The conjurers topside couldn't believe their eyes. Kane spoke so lowly of Yakeru that they truly believed victory was in their grasp. However, he failed to mention the boy's unshakable will.

  Infusing his own body wasn't just a drastic measure, it was the physical manifestation of the boy's palpable determination. Their one and only job was to isolate Yakeru from the rest of his team but watching as the match grew increasingly strenuous for their leader ate away at their confidence.

  They couldn't sit around any longer.

  "If we let this go on, we might lose." A conjurer with a gold staff said.

  "Agreed. Yakeru's strong but he's just one guy." Another with blonde hair spilling from his hood replied.

  "Let's do this." The last conjurer responded, lifting his wand.

  The three conjurers released the barrier and began firing in Yakeru's direction.

  "K-Keep him away! Hit him with everything you've got!" Kane stammered to his men, abandoning his original plan.

  The volley of spells hammered Yakeru's armor of gold, reducing its effectiveness by the second. He could feel his reserves dropping dangerously low with every missile that exploded against his body.

  Just as he thought his reserves would fully deplete, the barrage had suddenly ceased. Looking back, he saw Fuyumi firing projectiles at the conjurers' nest causing them to tumble out of hiding.

  She shot Yakeru a look of reassurance mixed with disapproval before wordlessly darting off to take care of the conjurers before they could recover.

  "No...no," Kane seethed as Yakeru dropped to a stance, preparing for another attack. "You're nothing but a lowly commoner!"

  Kane bolted to his feet, firing missiles of radiance towards Yakeru. Blasting forward, Yakeru couldn't control his direction like he could with Blitz Step. However, his increased speed allowed him to fire himself past most of the projectiles.

  His body screamed in protest as his form flickered, threatening to deactivate at any moment. He gritted his teeth, drawing upon every ounce of focus and willpower just to keep his radiance from dispersing.

  Projectiles began to nick his arms and legs while others slammed into him directly. His radiant armor started to fade and patches of his radiance began to evaporate as a result of his faltering concentration and depleting reserves. Fortunately, his behemoth armor could absorb the brunt.

  As Yakeru rapidly approached, Kane disengaged and leaped off of the debris behind him, causing Yakeru to smash into it with a deafening crash. The small shockwave it produced propelled Kane further into the air than he initially intended.

  Below him, Yakeru squatted and propelled himself into the air in hot pursuit. The closer he approached, the more evident it was Yakeru was running out of time. His pained expression coupled with the expanding holes in his radiant armor made it clear he was losing control.

  Kane's confidence started to return as well as his smug smirk, but his lingering fear made it appear more like a grimace. Yakeru loaded his fist, the numbing pain making him unaware of the radiance dissipating from it.

  Kane, realizing his opponent couldn't hold onto this form much longer, thrust forward, aiming for one of his vulnerable areas. Just as Yakeru released his haymaker, he redirected his hand into the rapier's path to protect himself.

  He howled as the blade skewered his palm, its pointed tip bursting out the other end. The excruciating pain of metal wedged between bone shook his focus, evaporating more of his radiance at a faster rate.

  "Even now, you still can't beat me. You're a fool to think a lowly peasant could climb above me!" Kane heaved with pleasure.

  Yakeru's expression hardened as he siphoned his remaining reserves into his free hand, cladding his forearm in a gauntlet of shimmering gold. With adrenaline surging through him to dampen the pain, he jerked his impaled hand to clear the rapier from his path.

  Terror flashed across Kane's sweaty face before an iron fist crashed into it. A pressurized disk of air exuded from the collision, sending him rocketing into the ground below with an earth-trembling explosion.

  A cacophony of shattering wood and rumbling stone quaked the air. Without the strength to even brace himself, Yakeru crashed into the ground, his behemoth armor absorbing some of the impact.

  The throbbing intensified after his radiance had completely fizzled out, leaving only droplets in his reserves. The blinding soreness that radiated throughout his entire body prevented him from writhing. His consciousness flickered, and the dust cloud shrouding the ballroom seemingly muddled his senses.

  Fuyumi sprinted to her teammate's side, her usual cool expression laced with worry and frustration. Her mouth was moving but he wasn't sure what she was saying—although, he was certain she was spitting insults at him for being reckless.

  After a few minutes, the ringing in his ears had subsided just enough for him to make out the faint sound of footsteps approaching. His eyes glanced to his right as the pain in his neck restricted head movement. Fuyumi stepped over Yakeru and drew her daggers, taking on a defensive stance.

  His blurred gaze landed on a figure staggering out of a crater. When the dust cleared, he could see Kane, his gait wobbly and his eyes half open. He couldn't make it a few feet before his body gave out and he collapsed, unmoving.