The clang of steel, the echo of gunfire, and the ragged gasps of dying men filled the den. The floor was slick with gore, bodies stacked like broken dolls. Yet Luv and Ayu still stood—bleeding, scarred, but unbroken.
A hush fell suddenly.
The Black Dragon soldiers, those still alive, backed away like a tide receding. Their eyes were no longer on Luv or Ayu. They turned toward the throne.
Ryuga was rising.
The white suit gleamed untouched by blood, tailored like armor for a king. His long hair framed sharp, beautiful features, but his smile was inhuman—a crescent moon carved in arrogance.
He descended the steps with measured grace, every step echoing like a war drum. His men bowed their heads as though a god walked among them.
"Impressive," Ryuga's voice carried, smooth as silk, venom beneath. "You've danced through my horde like wolves in a slaughterhouse. But a pack of wolves is still just prey when the dragon awakens."
He slid off his blazer in one fluid motion, draping it over the arm of his throne. Beneath, his body was lean, sculpted, marked with inked dragons coiled along his arms and chest.
Ayu's throat tightened. Instinct screamed danger louder than any scream she had heard in the chaos. She gripped her blades harder, blood dripping down her arm from the shotgun wound. "Luv… this isn't like the others."
Luv's eyes locked on Ryuga. Calm. Cold. Black fire in his gaze. "I know."
Ryuga stepped into the blood-soaked circle, loosening his wrists like a predator limbering before the hunt.
He raised his hand, beckoning. "Come then, little shadow. Let me test your silence against my roar."
Luv didn't wait. He launched forward, fists like bullets. His strikes were precise, aimed to kill.
Ryuga blocked with one hand. Effortless. His palm absorbed the force, his other hand lashing out in a blur. Luv's ribs cracked beneath the strike, sending him stumbling back.
Ayu leapt in, blades flashing, her movements feral. She slashed across Ryuga's chest—
Steel screeched against flesh. The blades barely grazed, drawing the faintest line of red.
Ryuga's grin widened. "Oh, delightful."
His hand clamped around her throat before she could react, lifting her off the ground as if she weighed nothing. Her legs kicked, blades clattering.
"Such spirit," he purred. "Such fire. I'll enjoy breaking you."
Luv roared—a sound raw, primal, unlike his usual cold silence. He slammed into Ryuga, forcing him to drop Ayu. The two titans clashed, fists, elbows, knees, every strike like thunder.
The floor cracked beneath them. Blood sprayed with every hit. Luv's face was split, his knuckles shattered, but he didn't stop. He couldn't.
Ryuga laughed through it all. Not untouched, but unshaken. His strength was monstrous, his speed almost unreal.
Finally, Ryuga's knee drove into Luv's gut, folding him in half. His elbow came down on the back of Luv's skull, sending him crashing to the ground in a spray of blood.
Ayu screamed his name, crawling to his side, her own body broken.
Ryuga stood above them, casting a shadow that swallowed their light.
"Is this all the silence of the black-eyed boy amounts to?" he sneered. "How disappointing."
But his eyes gleamed. "No… perhaps this is only the beginning."
And as his men watched, chanting his name like worship, Ryuga raised his hand for the killing blow.