The air itself felt unstable, like it couldn't decide whether to exist or not. The ground beneath their feet cracked in slow, uneven pulses, pieces of land flickering at the edges as if something invisible was chewing through reality. Yoshiro stood at the center of it all, head slightly lowered, one hand hanging loosely at his side while the other trembled not from weakness, but from the sheer amount of power gathering around it.
Kairo felt it first.
That pressure again… but heavier this time. Not just something you dodge. Something that decides if you're allowed to stay alive.
"…he's getting faster," Kairo muttered, his voice steady, but his body already adjusting his stance.
"Not just faster," Yura replied quietly, eyes locked on Yoshiro. "He's shortening the gap between thought and activation."
Tyouro let out a slow breath, flames rising around his arms again, but this time they were different more controlled, less explosive, like they were responding to his will instead of just his emotion. "So basically," he said, cracking his neck, "if we mess up once, we're gone."
Hero flicked a card between his fingers, watching Yoshiro carefully. "Yeah… no pressure."
Kimimaru didn't say anything. He stepped forward slightly, his eyes narrowing as if he was reading something deeper than what was visible.
Yoshiro lifted his head.
And moved.
No warning. No signal. Just disappearance.
Kairo reacted instantly, his body shifting to the side on pure instinct. The space where he had been standing collapsed inward, folding like paper before snapping back into nothing. The ground vanished in a perfect sphere.
"Don't stop moving!" Kairo shouted, already stepping forward instead of back.
That was the difference now.
They weren't reacting anymore.
They were pushing.
Tyouro burst forward from the right, flames trailing behind him in a tight spiral instead of spreading wildly. He swung his arm, releasing a compressed wave of fire aimed directly at Yoshiro's position not to hit, but to force a reaction.
Yoshiro raised his hand.
The flames disappeared.
But in that exact moment
"Now," Yura said.
The space around Yoshiro tightened, not crushing, but locking. Not physically, but conceptually his position held in place for just a fraction of a second.
That fraction was enough.
Kairo stepped in, his fist wrapped in Reikou energy that flickered between visible and invisible, like it couldn't decide which state it belonged to. He didn't aim for power.
He aimed for timing.
The punch landed.
Yoshiro's head tilted slightly from the impact not thrown, not broken but moved.
A reaction.
That alone was progress.
Behind them, Hero's eyes sharpened. "Good. Keep stacking pressure."
He threw three cards at once, each one spinning as it moved.
Spade.
Diamond.
Club.
The air shifted again. Kairo felt it immediately his movement became smoother, faster, more precise, like the path he needed was already decided for him. Tyouro's flames tightened even further, burning hotter without spreading. Even Yura's control stabilized.
Yoshiro noticed.
"…you're synchronizing," he said quietly.
Kimimaru moved.
He didn't rush. He didn't charge. He simply stepped into range, his presence almost disappearing as he extended his hand slightly.
"Astral Bind."
This time, it wasn't just a restraint.
It dug deeper.
Something unseen wrapped around Yoshiro not his body, not his energy, but the space where his actions originated.
For a split second
Yoshiro couldn't activate.
That was the opening they had been waiting for.
"Tyouro!"
"On it!"
Tyouro stepped in hard, both hands igniting as he drove a concentrated blast point-blank into Yoshiro's torso. The flames didn't spread outward they drilled forward, focused, controlled, burning through space itself.
Kairo followed immediately, pivoting his body and driving a second strike from the opposite angle, forcing Yoshiro's balance to break.
Yura didn't hesitate. She extended both hands this time, her control snapping tighter as she compressed the space around Yoshiro's limbs, limiting movement even further.
"Hero!"
"Already ahead of you."
Hero smiled slightly, but there was strain in his eyes now. He pulled a fourth card one that felt heavier than the others.
"Don't mess this up."
He threw it.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then
Reality tilted.
Not visibly, not dramatically but enough that everything aligned.
Every movement.
Every attack.
Every timing.
Became perfect.
Kairo felt it. This wasn't just support anymore.
This was control over outcome.
He stepped in one more time, his fist pulling back as Reikou energy surged harder than before.
"I'm ending this exchange."
He punched.
The impact exploded across the battlefield, sending a shockwave that tore through what little ground remained intact. Yoshiro's body was launched backward, crashing through layers of broken terrain before finally stopping at the far end of the ridge.
For a second
Silence.
Real silence.
Tyouro exhaled sharply, lowering his arms slightly. "Did… did we actually-"
"No."
Kimimaru's voice cut through immediately.
Dust shifted in the distance.
Then
A step.
Yoshiro walked out of the smoke.
Blood ran down from his forehead, his clothes slightly torn now, but his posture hadn't changed. If anything, he looked… more awake.
"…so this is what it feels like," he said, almost to himself.
His eyes lifted again.
This time, there was no calm left in them.
Only intent.
"You're forcing me to adjust."
The air around him warped violently, more unstable than before. The distortion spread outward, touching everything ground, air, even the light itself bending slightly.
Hero's smile faded completely. "…yeah, that's not good."
Kairo stepped forward again, despite the pressure pushing against him. His legs felt heavier, his breathing sharper, but he didn't stop.
"We're not done."
Yura moved beside him, her voice quieter but just as firm. "We can still control it."
Tyouro smirked slightly, flames rising again despite the exhaustion creeping into his body. "Yeah… I'm just getting warmed up."
Kimimaru closed his eyes for a brief second, then opened them again, sharper than before. "…next phase."
Yoshiro raised his hand once more.
But this time
He didn't aim at one of them.
He aimed at all of them.
The space above the battlefield twisted into a massive distortion, something far larger than anything he had used before. It didn't feel like a single attack.
It felt like an erasure field.
A zone where existence itself would be denied.
Hero's eyes widened slightly. "…he's trying to wipe the whole area."
Kairo clenched his fists, stepping forward instead of back.
"Then we break it before it activates."
Yura nodded. "All at once."
Tyouro grinned. "Finally."
Kimimaru stepped forward. "No hesitation."
Hero exhaled slowly, pulling another cardbbut this time, his hand shook just a little.
"…don't die."
Kairo looked straight at Yoshiro, his voice steady despite everything.
"We're not the same as before."
The five of them moved.
Not one after another.
Not reacting.
But together.
And for the first time since the fight began
Yoshiro was the one being pressured.
The battlefield shook as five different forces collided against one overwhelming power, and in that moment, it didn't feel like a fight anymore.
It felt like something bigger.
Like the start of a war that would decide who had the right to exist.