This time, the captain didn’t single out Watari.

  He had them all attack at once.

  It made more sense, right? A full group attack.

  This time, Watari didn’t hold back.

  Ikazuchi.

  The air shuddered. My instincts screamed. Lightning itself filled the space.

  I didn’t even have to be on the battlefield, and I could feel it in my bones.

  The captain smirked.

  This time, he moved.

  Both hands on his Reibaku.

  Watari dashed in.

  The captain simply met his bde.

  Watari ducked. Sliced low.

  The captain was already gone.

  Reappeared behind him.

  Swept his leg.

  Watari hit the ground.

  And then—

  The hilt of the captain’s Reibaku smmed into his gut.

  BOOM.

  Out. Cold.

  ?

  Kaito was next.

  His sword cshed with the captain’s.

  The captain redirected it.

  Stepped on it.

  Spun back.

  Kicked Kaito in the chest.

  Kaito slid, recovered—ran back in.

  The captain disappeared.

  Kaito swung at air.

  Then—

  The captain reappeared.

  Bde to his gut.

  Out. Cold.

  ?

  Yumi.

  Her Reibaku fred with fmes.

  The captain met her bde, smirking.

  “Oh… you have potential.”

  Yumi’s eyes sharpened. “Yeah. I’ve been told that before.”

  She shoved forward. Pushed the captain back.

  “Unlike the rest, I really like fire.”

  The fmes surged.

  “Come forth, Kiyohime.”

  For a brief moment, the air itself changed.

  The fire wrapped around her bde, pulsing with something deeper.

  And then—

  “No, Kiyohime… I need more.”

  For a second, they were there—

  Wings. Spectral like wings formed on her back.

  They flickered.

  And then—

  Gone.

  The captain chuckled.

  “Potential indeed.”

  And then he moved.

  A blur.

  Swing—Yumi blocked.

  Another swing—blocked.

  Another—too fast.

  The hilt of the sword smmed into her gut.

  BOOM.

  Out. Cold.

  ?

  After Yumi fell, Masaki’s gaze drifted toward the final fighter.

  The man with no crest.

  The captain’s eyes narrowed slightly. “I see no crest on that Shinsei-Gai.” His voice was calm but sharp. “Who do you belong to?”

  Akira smirked, resting his Reibaku against his shoulder. “You could say I’m a freencer. A free agent, if you will.”

  Masaki exhaled through his nose. “Is deception your primary fighting style, then?”

  Akira tilted his head slightly. “Deception?”

  Masaki’s smirk was barely noticeable. “Never mind. Come forth, boy.”

  Akira wasted no time.

  He was smooth—his footwork sharp, light, deliberate.

  His Reibaku cshed against Masaki’s in a sharp burst of sparks.

  Then—Akira swept low, his leg cutting through the air toward Masaki’s ankles.

  The captain jumped over it effortlessly.

  Akira used the momentum, twisting mid-air—Spirit Arm surging forward—aimed straight at Masaki’s chest.

  Masaki’s form vanished.

  Before Akira could react, the captain reappeared behind him.

  “That’s the deception I mean.”

  Akira exhaled, turning back toward him. “Oh, so you can see it?” He grinned. “Truly a captain of the Chūkan.”

  Masaki’s smirk didn’t waver.

  Then—he ran forward.

  Akira met his bde.

  Masaki jumped back and exhaled sharply.

  “Sakura Style.”

  The atmosphere shifted.

  Masaki’s swordpy changed.

  His bde moved strangely—erratically—almost like it was dancing.

  Akira tried to match it, but—

  His movements weren’t lining up.

  His timing was off.

  His instincts told him to match the rhythm—but Masaki’s rhythm kept changing.

  Akira gritted his teeth, trying to push through—

  Masaki’s bde slipped past his defenses.

  His Reibaku was knocked from his hand.

  Akira clenched his fist, throwing his Spirit Arm out one more time.

  Masaki vanished.

  Then—

  BOOM.

  Hilt to the gut.

  Akira was out.

  ———

  Masaki looked at Ren and Ryuko.

  “You two. I assume you haven’t forgotten the basics.”

  Ren stepped forward, rolling his shoulders. “Of course not, Captain Masaki.”

  Ryuko scoffed. “Who do you think I am?”

  The captain smirked.

  “Let’s see if you’re better than you were those years ago.”

  They attacked together.

  This time—

  The captain fought back.

  Bde cshing, footsteps echoing. A real battle. Not a one-sided dispy.

  And then—

  In one coordinated strike—

  Ren and Ryuko’s Reibaku knocked away the captain’s bde.

  Pointed at his neck.

  The captain smiled.

  “You two truly have learned well.”

  Then—his gaze flicked to Ryuko.

  “But you… I heard you lost to that boy over there.”

  Ryuko scoffed, rolling his neck. “That bde’s just too fast.”

  Masaki closed his eyes.

  “It simply seems fast.”

  He exhaled.

  “It’s lightning, yes. But if you swing just as fast as lightning—”

  A pause.

  ”—then isn’t it just two forces meeting?”

  Ryuko stilled.

  He didn’t answer.

  But I could tell—

  He was thinking about it.