Erika took a few steps back, her hands trembling, her eyes barely believing what she was seeing.
Flames danced on the horizon, ruins burned, smoke suffocated hope...
But the most terrifying thing of all... was him.
Reichi.
Standing amid the debris, his glasses shattered, his eyes filled with rage... and lines of black lightning tracing threads across his body with every pulse of mana exploding from within him.
Erika said in a choked voice:
"Reichi...?"
He didn't answer.
He took a step forward.
The sound of fire whispered around him, but Mana's voice was louder... closer to muffled thunder.
A second step.
His veins glowed darkly. Black lightning danced on his fingertips.
Then... he appeared.
The masked man.
Standing atop the rubble of the cafeteria, as if what he had done meant nothing, his voice saturated with sarcasm and coldness:
"Nice look in your eyes, boy... but what can the owner of the Mana Hesh Center do?"
Reichi stopped, his head bowed, his fist trembling... Then he whispered in a voice as calm as embers under ashes:
"...I will not forgive you."
He raised his head, his eyes filled with tears and anger.
"I swear... I will not forgive you."
The masked man laughed mockingly, but he did not finish his laugh.
Reichi... disappeared.
In the blink of an eye, he appeared directly in front of the masked man's face, his body exploding with energy that no Mana device had ever recorded before.
His eyes blazing with black lightning, his fist burning with the glow of anger...
Then...
Boom!!
A direct punch.
A blow that carried with it the pain, anger, and cries of everyone who had been hurt that day.
The masked man flew like an exploding rocket, rushing backward as if crushed by a wall of strong winds, crashing into the rubble behind him before coming to a stop inside the burning cafeteria.
But...
Amidst the flames, he emerged from the smoke.
The masked man, protecting himself with his arms, breathed slowly, dust covering his body, his mask cracked at the edge.
"Huh... It seems you're not as weak as I thought..."
But his voice was not sarcastic this time.
Reiichi didn't move. Standing, bare-shouldered, lightning still jumping around him like a wild snake searching for its prey.
Amidst the debris, between the tongues of flame...
Erica stood stunned. Her trembling eyes still didn't understand... Who was this?
Was this the Ryoichi she knew? This black lightning... those fiery eyes?!
She muttered, almost in disbelief:
"What... happened to you, Ryoichi?"
Her voice didn't reach him.
All he could see now was his enemy... the masked man.
That bastard who messed with the students' lives, destroyed the cafeteria, and stopped his heart for a moment when he felt that Aura... had been shattered.
**
The masked man, despite Riichi's previous blow, had not finished his show.
He advanced with steady steps.
Then...
He disappeared.
In an instant, in a flash, he appeared in front of Riichi...
Boom!
A direct punch to the face.
Riichi's head spun violently, and his body flew backward like an arrow, before crashing into one of the nearby auditorium walls, piercing part of the wall with his back, dust scattering around him.
Silence.
Then... the rustle of shoes on the rubble.
Reichi slowly got up. His face was bloody, his breathing rapid, but he was smiling.
"Is that all you've got?"
His voice was thunderous, and his eyes were still burning with black lightning.
His feet took off with force!
He lunges at the masked man like a cannonball.
A punch... The masked man dodges it with a sideways slide.
A second punch... He moves as if time has slowed down for him.
An upward kick... He ducks under it, as if the wind doesn't touch him.
Ryuichi fights with passion, with obsession.
But... every attack fails.
The masked man does not retaliate, but only watches him, dodging precisely... with eyes flashing danger.
Finally, he said in a calm voice, unlike his previous sarcastic tone:
"You've become really interesting... but you're not ready yet."
The roar of silence was broken...
Reichi did not retreat.
Instead... his speed increased, his steps became flashes, and his body was like a ghost of lightning.
He attacked once... twice... dozens of times!
The masked man, who had previously seemed superior, froze for a moment.
His gaze wavered... A whisper escaped his lips:
"What...?"
Boom!
A sudden blow struck his shoulder, and he took two steps back!
He tried to dodge the next one, but he barely managed to block it... and then a third, a fourth...
He began to respond, and each of his responses was aimed at vital points on Riichi's body:
A blow to the left side of his chest, where his heart was.
A swift slap to the neck.
A low punch to the kidneys.
But... Riichi did not fall.
**
The masked man exhaled heavily.
He stretched out his hand, and the dark red mana began to wrap around his fingers.
He spoke in a low voice, but the ground shook beneath him:
"Lethe Fang — Fang of Oblivion!"
He lunged forward like an arrow and stabbed his mana-filled fist directly into Riichi's chest.
Boom!!!
A dark red spark exploded!
Reichi flew backward, his body crashing into the ground, dragging him across the rubble, until he came to a stop a few meters in front of Erica.
"Reichi!!" Erica screamed as she rushed toward him.
But before she could reach him...
He got up.
Yes... he got up!
His arm was shaking, his eye was bleeding, but he got up.
His face... holy rage.
He whispered, as if swearing:
"I won't forgive you..."
And he lunged forward.
This time it wasn't an attack... it was a hurricane of blows.
The two bodies collided in the middle, the masked man and Riichi.
The ground exploded beneath their feet with every punch!
Black lightning erupted from every move Riichi made, and every time he hit the masked man, black marks appeared on the walls, on the ground, on the shattered iron structures.
In an instant, the ground beneath them explodes from a swift blow from Riwichi, and debris rises into the sky.
The students watch from a distance... some scream, some are stunned...
The clash intensified.
Kicks, punches, and manic waves pounded the college surroundings, and the air itself began to tremble from the intensity of the energy emitted from the battle.
The masked man, who thought he was in control, began to see what could not be seen.
**
"Is this speed? Or... imagination?!"
He said as he turned his head quickly, trying to follow Reichi's movements.
But the mirage intensified.
Dozens of faint copies of Reichi appeared, fading and reappearing, moving like ghostly specters of dark lightning.
"How?! That's impossible!" shouted the masked man.
But his voice was lost amid the whistling of the wind caused by the extreme speed.
**
Erica watched from afar, her eyes wide, her hand on her heart:
"He's... disappearing and reappearing everywhere... Is this really human speed?"
**
"Is that all you've got?" Riichi's voice suddenly boomed behind the masked man.
And when he turned around...
Boom!!
A direct hit to the jaw.
The masked man flew upward, rolling through the air, while Riichi jumped after him and swooped down from above with his foot.
"Get down!"
A fiery kick saturated with black lightning struck the masked man's body, sending him tumbling toward the shattered cafeteria.
Boom!!!
An earthy explosion, dust rising, windows shattering... Reiichi fell with him, standing in front of his opponent, his chest rising and falling, black lightning flying from his body.
**
At that moment...
Miko and Natsumi arrive.
Miko sees Erika on the ground, barely standing, her eyes wide.
She runs to her:
"Erika! What happened?! Where's Ruiichi?!"
Erika points slowly, her trembling finger pointing toward the destroyed cafeteria.
Her voice comes out as a whisper:
"There... inside... he's... fighting."
Amidst the ruins of the cafeteria, as dust fills the air and smoke rises like ghosts from dying flames,
Ryuichi slowly opens his eyes... then freezes in place.
Ryuichi's eyes trembled...
Before his eyes, amid the burning rubble, lay the motionless bodies of the students... Their faces were familiar... Smiling faces he had seen only hours ago, now reduced to ashes on the ground.
"No..."
The sound came out of him low, as if from the depths of hell.
Then his tone rose as he clenched his fist until it bled:
"I will crush you..."
**
The masked man rose from the rubble.
But... his mask rolled away from him, falling to the ground.
As the flames receded, Riichi saw the blurred outline of his face... his real face... but the fog and flames prevented him from seeing clearly.
The masked man picked up his mask and calmly put it back on his face.
In a calm voice, full of defiance:
"Show me what you've got... you weakling."
**
Outside.
Miko, Natsumi, Erika.
Anxiety dominates their features.
Erika holds Miko's hand.
"We have to go in, Riichi is there!"
Natsumi steps forward, her hands burning with dimensional energy.
But Miko grabs her arm tightly.
"Stop!"
"But... he'll die!"
And in the next moment...
BOOM!!!
A strange flash explodes from the center of the cafeteria.
Black and silver. Lightning bursts from the center of the void.
The world stops for a moment.
The flames... fade away.
The rubble... evaporates.
The corpses... disappear... evaporate.
And the ground clears... to reveal them...
Ryuichi and the masked man, in the middle of a circular void.
Everything around them is destroyed, silent, and still...
Except for their fists.
Boom!!!
The fists collide.
Black mana mixes with lightning and emptiness.
Then...
The real battle begins.
**
Every movement they make tears through the air.
Every blow carves a hole in the ground.
The speed... is invisible.
Everything moves too fast to comprehend.
**
"Enough silence!"
Ryuichi shouted, and struck a side blow.
The masked man blocked it, but the floor exploded beneath his feet.
**
"Damn you!"
The masked man responded, striking with a reverse fist, but it passed through a mirage!
Ryuichi appeared behind him,
Boom!
A blow to the back.
The masked man spun around and responded with
a blow to the face.
**
Miko, Erika, and Natsumi witnessed a legendary scene.
The sky darkened... The ground cracked...
Amidst all this, Miko's voice whispered:
"Reiichi... who the hell are you?"
As Reiichi's fist collided with the masked man's,
the mana exploded like a time bomb!
Boom!!!
A field of energy formed between them,
and shock waves swept through the surrounding trees, walls, and windows...
The air itself cracked, as if the laws of physics had been torn apart.
Everything... evaporated.
**
Ashes... smoke... rubble...
Everything vanished in that terrifying moment.
But Reiichi... didn't stop.
**
Amidst the silence,
Reiichi's shadow appeared, rushing from the left side at lightning speed!
A deceptive camouflage.
The masked man twisted to block him—
But... it was too late.
Boom!!
A direct hit to the masked man's chest.
Black mana flowed like a storm.
**
The masked man retreated.
But Reichi didn't give him a chance!
A blow to the chin!
A blow to the side!
A blow from top to bottom!
The masked man bounced backward,
his body colliding with one of the walls of the stands, which shattered from the force of the impact.
[Boom!]
Fragments of the wall flew everywhere, but Riichi had caught up with him.
**
Without stopping... without mercy...
Ryuichi rains down blows.
Black lightning illuminates each punch...
— "Haahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
[Punch]
[Punch]
[Punch]
Each punch carried weight, carrying the memory of the corpses...
Carrying the pain of losing Ora... And the cries of his classmates...
The masked man's face trembled under the mask, each movement becoming weaker.
**
"I will not forgive you!!"
Ryuichi shouted at her as if making a bloody oath.
— "This is for every student who was killed!"
[Punch]
— "For every soul that disappeared because of you!"
[Double punch]
— "For Aura!"
[Punch above the head!]
**
The earth shook...
The walls cracked...
A black flash rose like a flame toward the sky.
And behind...
Miko, Natsumi, Erika...
They were witnessing madness... inhuman madness.
Reiichi stood, his chest rising and falling, black lightning still dancing around his body.
From behind the smoke, a voice tinged with confusion:
> Erika (shocked):
"Impossible... How could a human with such a fragile mana center... emit such terrifying energy?! Are... Are we dreaming?"
**
[Visual shot: The masked man kneels amid the rubble, his hand on the ground, panting, his chest rising with difficulty.]
Then... he raises his head, his voice whispering but sharp as a sword:
> The masked man (laughing sarcastically as he suffers):
"You... can't even create a small fireball, and yet... you flood the place with a deluge of mana."
(He looks at him.)
"Where does all this come from?"
**
Reichi (advancing slowly, his eyes boiling with black lightning, his expressions rigid):
> "You know..."
"Mana isn't just energy generated from your center... It's a flame generated by your soul."
>
> "I don't have a perfect body... Nor do I have a burning mana center..."
"But I have something greater than all of that."
>
> The Convict (his voice trembling despite his pride):
"And what is greater than power?"
>
Reichi (stopping in front of him, in a cinematic shot with black lightning swirling around him like a storm):
> "Greater than power... is knowing why you fight."
"To stand... despite the pain."
"To rise... despite the fall."
"To fight... not just for victory, but because you... defend."
>
> "All the power in the world... is nothing against an unbreakable will."
**
[A deep silence fills the room, even the air stops.]
>
The Masked Man (lowers his head... then says in a mysterious voice):
> "Your words are beautiful... but they won't save the world."
"You will see, Riichi... that will alone is not enough."
"And I will be the one to show you that truth... with your blood."
"Dumdum!"
[The sound of Riichi's heartbeat echoes in the void...]
The world... stops.
Time... freezes.
The air itself... stops breathing.
---
[Close-up of Riichi's wide eyes, pupils shaking.]
Riichi (inner voice, feeling a tremendous tearing in his chest):
> "What... is this pain...? My body... no... my heart..."
---
[Suddenly: Black lightning begins to rebel from his body, chaotic, dancing, like a restrained beast losing control.]
[Reichi screams with a voice mixed with pain and internal burning:]
> "Aaaah——!!!"
---
The Masked Man (standing, watching, then laughing slowly, a cold, merciless laugh):
> "Hahahaha... It seems you've reached your limit, heir to the illusion."
(He advances toward him, his steps like stabs in time)
"How unfortunate... I wanted to enjoy myself more, but it's okay."
> (He looks at him with contempt.)
"I'll show you the truth..."
"With your blood."
---
[A powerful kick pierces the noise — the masked man kicks Riichi in the stomach!]
[Reiichi flies two meters backward, slamming violently into the ground and rolling.]
But the masked man doesn't wait...
[In a flash of light — he disappears, reappears in front of Reiichi while he's still on the ground, and rains down a barrage of punches...]
"Bam!"
"Dun!"
"Fosh!"
[Punches with his fingertips, to his ribs, neck, stomach, jaw, chest... too fast to see.]
The masked man (whispering in his ear as he hits him):
> "Where is your will now?"
"Where is that black lightning?"
"Where have your grand words gone?"
> (laughs again)
"You... are just a breathing trick."
---
[Blood bursts from Riichi's mouth, his eyes barely open, every limb trembling.]
At that moment... it seemed like everything was over.
---
[But... a flashback appears. Sera—his mother—smiling at him, singing that song she sang yesterday morning.]
> "I won't forgive you... I swear I won't forgive you..."
It echoes in his mind.
---
[The masked man raises his fist, preparing to deliver the final blow.]
The masked man (in a cold, deadly voice, as if uttering a prophecy):
> "You will have no story left... and no ending will be written for you."
"Sleep now, heir to the mirage—"
[But he doesn't finish.]
Suddenly...
[The air is torn apart with a sound as if time itself has screamed!]
"Gggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
Its body writhes like a mixture of ink and broken glass.
Its wings look like torn pages from a forbidden book, each flap producing whispers in a language no one understands.
Eyes... many, countless, unblinking, merciless.
Each eye stares... at the masked man alone.
---
The masked man (taking a step back, for the first time... looking stunned):
"W-what is this? A creature? No..."
---
[In an unseen moment... the beast moves.]
[A long arm with no clear shape reaches out and grabs the masked man by the chest...]
"Boom!!"
[One blow, and it sends him flying like a tiny ant... He crashes into one of the college walls, and half of it is destroyed by the explosion.]
---
[Complete silence... The ancient tongues of fire extinguish themselves, as if the monster itself is consuming the light.]
---
Reichi, still on the ground, looked with trembling eyes...
> (In a worn-out inner voice)
"What is this creature...?"
---
[He looked at the beast, which was now standing beside him... It didn't speak, didn't move, just... stared.]