"May I ask where you were all this time?" Reiji asked.
"According to our agreement, you were supposed to ensure the auction's success!"
He turned toward them, furious.
"Instead, look at this—the Tenshō Tower is about to collapse!"
Zo stared at him for a few seconds.
"Do you really think that agreement means anything to us?" he said in a cold voice.
"What did you say!?" Reiji's expression changed instantly.
"Your mother warned us about the situation… but we don't need you anymore."
"You don't need us anymore!? Are you kidding me?!" He took a step toward the stage.
"Our Commander ordered me to pass along a couple of messages."
Reiji froze at Zo's words.
"First: he thanks you for the funding you've provided so far."
Zo raised his index finger.
"Second: he says he's sorry… but there is no way for you to reunite with the person you lost."
He raised his middle finger as well.
"So it's true…"
A voice broke the silence.
Akizame was the first to turn around.
—She is…—
Chizuro Fuyumi had stood back up, staggering but determined.
"Mom!" Reiji ran to her.
"Are you okay!?"
Chizuro didn't answer. Her eyes were fixed straight on the Mugentamashii, as if no one else existed.
"Reiji… take your sister outside."
Her voice was weak, but firm.
"What are you talking about? We're leaving together, all three of us."
He grabbed her shoulders, worried.
She looked him in the eyes, and that single glance stopped him cold.
"I'm sorry… my son. But I can't."
She took a step forward, then another.
—Mother?—
"Kaito."
The boy flinched.
Hearing his name from her at that moment sent a chill through his blood.
"Chizuro…?" he murmured, incredulous.
She gave him a bitter, almost resigned smile.
"I'm sorry. In the end… you were right."
A golden aura began to rise from her body.
With a sudden burst, Chizuro lunged toward Zo and Kagetsu.
"You'll pay for all of this!"
Her hand was coated in gold.
"Transmigration!!"
She managed to graze Zo with her fingertips.
For an instant, her heart stopped.
—Did I do it…?—
"Return to point zero."
Zo's voice was cold and calm.
Chizuro's golden aura trembled, then vanished. Her Transmigration didn't advance even a millimeter.
"That's impossible…" she whispered in disbelief.
Zo stared at her.
"Chizuro Fuyumi."
"You blame us… but the truth is, the ones at fault are them."
He pointed at the members of the Reikeitai, standing motionless.
"And them as well."
His gaze shifted to Kaito and Yume.
"And finally, the blame is also yours."
A wave of spiritual energy burst from his hand, piercing Chizuro straight through the chest.
Her body was hurled off the stage, rolling among the debris.
Kaito and everyone present widened their eyes.
"MOTHER!!" Reiji screamed.
He rushed to her… but it took only a moment to understand.
Her wrist was cold. Still.
Chizuro Fuyumi, head of the Fuyumi family, was dead.
—This can't be…— Kaito thought, his mind frozen.
Reiji held her under her arms, unable to say a single word.
His face completely empty.
Kaito tightened his grip on his blades, his knuckles white.
—This scene… I remember it well.—
His heart pounded violently.
—The same thing happened to me.—
He raised his gaze, locking onto the Mugentamashii.
There was no hesitation left.
"Pressure mode."
The words came out like a growl.
On the stage, Kagetsu looked at Zo.
"We're done. Can we go?"
"Yes, of course. Now—"
He didn't finish the sentence.
Something slammed into him with brutal force.
Zo snapped his head up.
Kaito was there, a hand's breadth from his face, the two blades blazing with spiritual energy.
"Return to point zero!" Zo repeated, with his usual icy calm.
But this time, it didn't work.
Before his eyes, his spiritual energy was forcibly absorbed.
And one of the blades even managed to cut into his palm.
A drop of blood fell onto the stage.
For the first time, Zo's eyes went wide.
Kaito landed on one of the chunks of rubble scattered across the stage.
Knees bent, muscles tense, blades drawn and vibrating.
"After all this time…" he murmured in a low voice.
"I've finally found you."
He raised his gaze, filled with hatred.
"Mugentamashii!!"
Kagetsu watched Zo, visibly shaken.
—He wounded him…? Zo was wounded?!—
He still couldn't believe it.
"Brat… how dare you."
Kagetsu stepped toward Kaito, adjusting his black gloves menacingly.
"Hahahah!"
A laugh sliced through the tension.
Kagetsu turned. "Zo? What's wrong with you?"
Zo showed the cut on his palm.
"Don't you get it, Kagetsu? He absorbed my spiritual energy."
Zo's eyes shone with twisted excitement.
"Explain."
Zo pointed at Kaito's wakizashi.
"It's one of those series. One of the series the Commander wants."
"Are you messing with me?!" Kagetsu snapped, staring at Kaito again as if he were a living treasure.
The words echoed through the silence.
Everyone heard them.
—They want… those blades.— Akizame clenched his teeth, his expression dark.
Zo raised his voice, impatient.
"Kid, what's your name?"
Kaito trembled with rage.
"So…" he growled. "You don't even know the name of the person you took everything from!"
His eyes darkened like the night.
"Remember it well. And report it to your Commander."
He lunged forward, blades ready to tear through.
"I am the one who will kill you all! My name is Kaito!"
"Perfect!" Zo exclaimed, thrilled.
"You'll soon hand over those wakizashi to me!"
An instant later, a mantle of ash fell from above, exploding outward.
Kaito was overwhelmed and immobilized by the crushing pressure of the ash.
Zo and Kagetsu narrowly avoided it, leaping back.
—What is he doing…?— Tetsuya wondered.
Another figure had joined the stage: Akizame.
"Zo…"
His voice was deep and tense.
"And you too, Kaito… those blades are not yours."
His gaze turned ruthless.
"Their only rightful owner… is Ren Ryuzen."
At those words, Kaito faltered.
—He knows my master!?—
The tower shook even harder.
"What the—" Tetsuya exclaimed.
"It's time," Zo said, watching Chizuro's lifeless body.
"Already!?" Akizame cried out.
Spiritual energy began to pour out of the woman's body.
Kaito, still pinned to the ground, noticed that Yume was slowly regaining consciousness.
"Yume!" he called.
"Kaito… where are we…?"
Her voice was weak, and she too was trapped by the ash.
"Don't worry… we're leaving now."
Then he turned to Akizame.
"Akizame! What's happening?!"
"Don't you know!? When a wielder dies, all the spiritual energy of their spirit is released!"
—Normally it happens gradually… but it must be caused by the severe injuries she had already sustained— he reasoned quickly.
"I take it that this… is not the right moment," Zo said.
Everyone turned toward him.
"We're leaving. Thank you for the information you've provided us…"
He cast one last glance at the blades.
"Where do you think you're going—!" Akizame's voice was drowned out by a roar.
A section of the tower collapsed.
And the Mugentamashii vanished, right before Kaito's eyes.