Yume's gaze reignited the moment she saw her companion again.
"Kaito!" Her voice was full of relief.
"Yume, are you okay!?" he asked, trying to suppress the pain.
"I…" she tried to answer, but stopped as soon as she saw her friend's arm.
"Your arm! What happened?!" The relieved tone from moments before vanished completely, replaced by worry.
"Don't think about that now. You have to get the prisoners out!" Kaito said in a firm voice, even though his breathing trembled.
Yume looked at him, shocked. "What are you talking about? You can't do this like this! Let me help you!" she took a step forward.
"Yume, please listen to me!"
The girl stopped.
"If there are still people in here I won't be able to do what I have in mind." He paused, breathing heavily.
"So please—take the prisoners away and I will kill Chizuro!" His voice, though tired, was charged with determination.
Meanwhile Chizuro had reached her daughter lying on the ground.
"Kagura, can you hear me?"
The girl regained consciousness: her body covered in wounds and bruises, several bones broken.
"Mom…" the voice was almost a whisper.
"We underestimated them…" tears began to streak down her face.
"It's my fault we won't be able to see Dad again…" Then she fell, unconscious.
Chizuro rose from the ground, moving slowly away from her daughter's motionless body.
She began to walk with a calm step toward Kaito and Yume.
Every movement of hers conveyed a restrained fury.
"You two…"
Her voice cut the silence, immediately capturing their attention.
Both turned toward her.
"You ruined the auction…" she said, taking a step forward.
"You destroyed my merchandise…" Her expression twisted.
"And you shattered my only chance to see him again!"
A chilling scream burst from her throat, echoing through the now-devastated hall.
A surge of spiritual energy, woven with golden particles, rose around her like a storm.
Kaito didn't avert his gaze. "Yume… go. Now or never."
The girl hesitated for an instant.
"All right, Kaito…" she finally murmured through clenched teeth.
She turned, ready to re-enter the warehouse to take the prisoners away. She had taken only two steps when she stopped.
"But… don't die, Kaito."
Yume clenched her jaw and ran off.
"Don't worry… I don't intend to." Kaito tightened his grip on both the blade clenched between his teeth and the one in his other arm.
His gaze remained fixed on Chizuro, determined not to give in.
—Here it comes!—
Golden bullets hurled toward him with devastating force.
The boy, gathering the little strength he had left, defended himself with a flurry of quick slashes.
Many blows were repelled; the blades cutting the air left luminous trails.
But Chizuro was too fast.
Some projectiles pierced Kaito's arm and his left leg.
The force of the impact unbalanced him: his body fell from the golden tentacle, crashing to the ground among the rubble of the ceiling.
A series of other tentacles headed toward his prone body.
"Spirit Slayer: Pressure Mode!" Kaito shouted, springing up.
With a swift movement, he crossed his blades in front of him, halting the assault.
Kaito coughed, spitting up blood. The blade he held between his teeth fell to the ground; he sank to his knees, breathing heavily.
—Shit... I'm at my limit...—
He covered his mouth with his hand, but the blood continued to flow copiously between his fingers.
He lifted his gaze toward Chizuro: around her, more golden projectiles were forming, while her spiritual energy still enveloped her.
—I can't… catch my breath…—
Suddenly his vision clouded.
Everything became muffled, distant.
"Is that all?" a voice called to him.
Kaito jerked his head up: his sight sharpened again, but… he was no longer in the White Place.
All around him stretched an infinite expanse of white, devoid of shadows or borders.
Silence was absolute.
"Where am I?" he murmured, looking around.
He rose from the ground and took his first steps: the floor beneath him felt liquid, yet solid enough to support him.
"What place is this...?"
"This is the first time we meet."
The same voice sounded again, calm and distant.
"Who are you? And what is this place?" Kaito asked, confused.
"You don't need to know. In fact, I have no intention of telling you," the voice replied, with an aloof tone.
Kaito ground his teeth. "Then… send me back. I have to finish the fight!"
"Reduced as you are, you couldn't even graze her." There was a short pause.
"Of course… if I used the ability copied from Shirogane, it would be a different story."
Kaito's expression changed, struck by surprise.
"Don't make that face. I know well what your blades can do," the voice continued, almost amused.
"I will help you."
"You'd help me...? And for what reason?" he asked, confused.
He received no answer.
An instant later, his body began to be wrapped in spiritual energy.
Luminous filaments wove around him.
"This is all the energy I can give you," explained the voice, calm but firm.
"You're not a possessor. Overcharging you would do more harm than good."
"What is happening to me…?" Kaito murmured, staggering.
"You are about to regain consciousness. In the real world only a few moments have passed… so don't be afraid."
The light completely enveloped him, and the sound of the voice dissolved into the white.
"Remember, Kaito: you are not a Ryuzen..."
"and above all, you are not Ren Ryuzen."
Kaito opened his eyes with a start.
The golden projectiles of Chizuro were a few meters away from him, closing in at high speed.
"Let's finish this!" she said.
The shots slammed into the ground, raising a cloud of dust. Then silence fell.
The woman's energy began to stabilize.
"It's over." Her gaze changed again. "Now how am I going to deal with the mugentamashii…"
"Chizuro, wait!" Ōgon's voice startled her.
"What is it?" she answered, on guard.
From the cloud of dust in the distance, a silhouette made its way toward them, walking.
"I don't know who that was, but I thank them for that energy," her voice was icy.
Kaito was still alive.
Chizuro looked at her opponent, stunned.
"Ōgon…" she began.
"I want to see him dead…" Chizuro's voice filled with rage, "even at the cost…" she paused, her gaze fierce, "of destroying the Tenshō Tower!"