—
The room shook as Reiji's new form took shape—veins of red energy surged through his limbs, and dark tendrils coiled around him like living armor. His eyes, once fierce, were now bottomless voids. The Crimson Syndicate's forbidden ritual had fully taken hold.
Kazuki stumbled back from the shockwave. "That... that's not even human anymore!"
Hoshiro remained still, wind coiling around him. His mask cracked down the middle from the force of Reiji's transformation, revealing half of his face—his glowing blue eye narrowed with resolve.
"You gave in," he whispered. "You really let the darkness consume you."
Reiji levitated slightly, his voice warped and layered with something inhuman. "I didn't give in. I evolved. And now, I'll break this world—and build one where the strong rule without mercy."
The floor shattered as Reiji lunged, moving faster than before. Hoshiro barely raised his arm in time, catching the blow but being launched across the lab. His body slammed into the reinforced wall, cracking it.
"Get up!" Kazuki shouted. "Don't let him win!"
Hoshiro rose slowly, coughing, blood trickling from his lip. "I'm not done yet."
Then—*snap*.His aura exploded outward in a pulse of pure light. Thunder roared, and the ground around him lifted in chunks. His blue eye ignited like a star, and a glowing sigil burned on his back—the mark of the ancient guardians.
The air turned electric.
"Let's settle this, Reiji," he said, stepping forward. "Brother to brother. Mask to monster."
And then they collided once more—light against darkness, thunder against fire, brother against brother.
—