Amaterasu flames erupted straight from the spot where Lev stood, instantly swallowing him whole.
Two spell cards flashed into Ronin's hands at the same time. One was [Gate] to shut down any escape card Phinks tried to use. The other was [Migration], locked dead on Lev.
Lev never saw it coming. He'd survived Amaterasu once before, but there was no dodging flames that appeared out of thin air. When the black fire touched his manifested armor, a soul-deep terror ripped through him—the same skin-tearing agony he remembered too well. His whole body shuddered.
Before he could even think of a counter, [Migration] slammed into him. Lev shot upward in a screaming beam of light wrapped in black flames and aura, punching straight through the shop roof and vanishing.
Susanoo roared into existence around Ronin.
Feitan's thin sword stabbed into the crimson ribs and stopped cold. It couldn't pierce the construct, let alone reach the man inside. But when Ronin's scarlet eyes flicked toward him, Feitan felt a sudden spike of dread and instinctively hurled himself backward.
More lights rained down outside the ruined shop. The player coalition had finally arrived.
The entire building collapsed under Susanoo's massive frame, but Feitan's retreat suddenly jerked to a halt. It wasn't Amenotokotachi. The moment their eyes met, the Sharingan's genjutsu had already hooked him—Demonic Illusion: Shackling Stake Technique. Huge iron stakes materialized and drove through his limbs. Feitan screamed curses that echoed in the illusion.
None of it was real. In the actual world, Feitan hadn't been touched yet, so his own ability never triggered.
Susanoo vanished. Chidori's electric chirping filled Ronin's hand.
At the exact same instant, another figure blurred in behind him. Phinks swung a fist straight at Ronin's head.
Phinks had known the second Feitan and Lev moved that things were about to go sideways. Their attack had also killed his chance to burn a [Leave] card and bail. He couldn't just abandon them. So he kept spinning his arm, building power while he hunted for an opening.
The black flames made him back off Lev fast—smart move, kept him clear of Amaterasu and closer to Ronin. But then Susanoo showed up and Feitan's full-power thrust bounced off it like nothing. Phinks poured even more aura into his spinning fist.
He never expected Feitan to freeze mid-retreat like that.
Phinks had to move. He flashed in and swung for both Susanoo and Ronin inside it.
His fist never landed. Susanoo disappeared. At the same moment, Phinks' right arm locked in mid-swing, frozen in the air.
Amenotokotachi.
Ronin had prepped Chidori for Feitan's real body, but he hadn't forgotten Phinks. One glance sealed the space around that swinging fist. Phinks had dumped everything into that arm. Even without contact, Ronin could feel the raw danger radiating off it.
Didn't matter. The danger was already fading.
Before Ronin could finish Phinks, Feitan broke free of the genjutsu. Too fast. Something felt wrong, but Ronin's body was already moving. Chidori streaked toward Feitan's chest.
It missed.
Feitan was fast. He accelerated the second the illusion dropped and slipped the strike. The real reason it whiffed was Phinks buying that split second—and Feitan shaking off the genjutsu quicker than Ronin expected.
When Ronin tried to turn back for another pass, the arriving players were already activating spell cards. No movement cards. Every single one was either restrict or steal—lock the two Spiders down so they couldn't burn [Leave], then rip every spell card and specified pocket card out of their books.
Exactly what Ronin wanted. Once he tanked their opening attacks and made the players feel safe, the whole thing turned into a feeding frenzy over whatever the Spiders were holding.
Phinks and Feitan weren't thinking about their card books.
Phinks' arm was free again—Ronin had dropped Amenotokotachi—but all the power he'd built up had nowhere to go. It just sat there, stifled, leaving him with a raw, frustrated rage.
Feitan had yanked his high collar up to hide half his face. Only his narrowed eyes showed, burning with killing intent and something close to madness.
Chrollo had warned them. Eye contact with Ronin could drag you into an illusion. Feitan had prepared for it, which was the only reason he broke free so fast. Otherwise that Chidori would've gone straight through his chest.
He couldn't afford to look above Ronin's nose again. Not even for a second.
The locust swarm of players rushing in for their cards? Feitan didn't give a shit about them.
The only one he was actually worried about was Lev. That guy had been migrated out still covered in black flames. If they didn't put Ronin down fast, even if Lev killed the fire, he probably wouldn't get another shot at collecting [Archangel's Breath].