Kazuki’s fingers clenched mid-air. Dozens—hundreds—of clones burst from thin air, surrounding Kairyuuha like a flood of wrathful phantoms.

  Each wore Kazuki’s deadpan expression. Silent. Determined. Fast.

  The earth trembled as they forged forward, dashing, leaping, diving from all angles.

  But Kairyuuha... didn’t flinch.

  His voice was low. Cold. Almost mournful.

  > “The Self Multiplication spell… Still so crude.”

  He stood alone, hands relaxed, eyes dull. The wind whipped his jacket and hair, but he did not move.

  > “If only you had lived twelve thousand more years... if only you'd burned with my pain. If only you'd drowned in the weight of memory... in the screams of realities I wiped clean—just to start again.”

  A clone lunged forward. Kairyuuha didn’t even look. His palm slammed down, flattening the clone into pure dust.

  Another one—fist raised.

  He twisted, grabbed the clone’s leg, and spun it like a whip—decapitating two more with the force. He then hurled the body like a cannonball, smashing three more apart.

  > “I’ve killed you so many times, little brother,” he whispered, dodging an incoming strike and driving his knee into its skull, caving it in. “Again and again... until nothing remained.”

  He raised his head to the sky—eyes closed.

  > “Cosmic Glory: Eyes of Pure Will.”

  When his eyes opened, they had changed—drastically.

  One was glowing blue, its pupil now a shimmering cross, cutting through space.

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  The other—black with jagged blue stripes, radiating raw, calculated violence.

  And then the real slaughter began.

  He struck one clone’s throat with two fingers—it exploded from within, chest first.

  Another charged—he grabbed its arm mid-swing, ripped it off, and used it to stab straight through another’s neck.

  He dodged to the side, grabbed a clone’s leg in midair, slammed it through the ground like a hammer, dragging its body to obliterate a group of five in a single swing.

  A flurry of clones surrounded him—he spun, a cyclone of fists and knees—then backflipped, twisting in midair to crush skulls with his boots.

  Still more came.

  He crouched low, swirling energy around his hands.

  > “Tornado Cleave.”

  He launched skyward, rotating mid-air like a spiral saw, turning into a deadly blue-black whirlwind. The clones in his radius were torn apart, flung across the battlefield like shredded leaves.

  Even then, Kazuki’s reinforcements came from all sides.

  Kairyuuha’s arms spread.

  > “Dark Lancer: Omnidirectional Descent.”

  Hundreds of black lances surged from his body in all 360 degrees, piercing the horde with surgical precision. Screams and splashes of mana filled the air like rain.

  The bloodlust was absolute.

  Still they came.

  Kairyuuha exhaled. One last breath.

  > “Aura Manipulation: 4th Form... Dead Kon.”

  Boom—

  From beneath his feet, pillars of radiant light erupted, each one shattering the earth, igniting skybound beams, and turning the battlefield into a scorched, white oblivion.

  A brilliant flash swallowed everything.

  ---

  Scene Transition: Flashback Begins

  The light fades into a sunlit forest.

  Birds chirped. Leaves rustled gently.

  Team Emberlight walked the narrow dirt trail, with Kazuki and Kairyuuha trailing behind.

  Mei led the group with her usual light smile. Kael scribbled theories as they walked. Tora dragged his gauntlet against a tree, itching for action. Yuno did flips ahead using wind bursts, while Reiya walked silently, as always, near Kairyuuha’s shoulder.

  > “So… exterminating horned wolves,” Kazuki said, glancing to Mei.

  > “Yeah,” Mei nodded. “They use lightning magic. Super annoying.”

  Kairyuuha tilted his head. “What’s lightning magic?”

  Tora grinned. “You’ll see.”

  They reached the clearing.

  Suddenly—crackling sounds echoed from the distance.

  Horned wolves emerged, sleek black fur rippling, electric arcs crackling across their horns.

  > “Showtime,” Yuno grinned, blasting wind under his feet and rocketing forward.

  He spun mid-air, delivering a scything kick to the first wolf. Tora followed, punching the ground and sending a shockwave of lightning rippling forward. One wolf was launched back.

  Kael shouted tactics, drawing a path for them on the fly. Mei cast a binding circle to keep one in place.

  Reiya struck cleanly with her blade, paralyzing pressure points with calm grace.

  But it was when a wolf charged at Kairyuuha, sparking violently, that things shifted.

  He didn’t move. The bolt of lightning struck him full-force—arcs dancing across his body.

  He stood still. Absorbing it.

  Kazuki’s eyes widened. “Kairyuuha?!”

  Smoke drifted off his form. Kairyuuha looked at his own hand, flexed his fingers.

  > “So that’s it… if I invert my mana flow into a negative conduit...”

  He took a step forward, his hand now glowing with redirected electricity.

  The wolf growled and leapt.

  Kairyuuha dashed beneath it, slashed across its side, then pressed his palm to its body.

  > Zzzzzzzzrrrraakk!

  A directed jolt surged from his palm—the wolf howled as its own lightning surged back into it, short-circuiting from within.

  The team stared.

  > “You’re insane,” Tora said.

  Kairyuuha just smiled faintly. “Now I understand.”