The room was quiet.
Too quiet.
Soft light flickered from above, illuminating the sterile white walls of the rest chamber inside the HIA headquarters. The distant echoes of battle—muted, filtered through layers of reinforced barriers—felt like a storm happening in another world.
Hina's fingers twitched.
Her eyelids trembled.
"…ngh…"
Her vision slowly returned.
Blurred at first.
Then shapes.
Then clarity.
"…where…"
She pushed herself up slightly—
Only to feel a sharp pain shoot through her body.
"…ah—!"
"Hina."
A familiar voice.
Calm.
She turned her head.
Shin sat nearby, leaning against the wall, his body wrapped in bandages. His usual composed expression remained—but his condition told another story.
Next to him—
Aoi.
Sitting quietly.
Her bow resting beside her.
Her eyes soft, but worried.
"…Shin… Aoi…"
Hina whispered.
"What happened… to us?"
A moment of silence.
Then Shin answered.
"…we lost."
Hina's eyes widened slightly.
"…what?"
"If you faint inside the arena," Shin continued, his tone steady, "you're automatically removed from the battle."
Hina clenched her fist.
"…so that means…"
Her voice trembled slightly.
"…we're out?"
Aoi nodded gently.
"…yes."
Hina lowered her gaze.
"…then…"
Her voice tightened.
"…what about the battle…?"
She looked up again.
"…what about Asuka?"
Shin didn't answer immediately.
Instead—
He tilted his head toward the large screen mounted on the wall.
"…look."
Hina followed his gaze.
And what she saw—
Made her breath stop.
The Arena
The battlefield had become chaos incarnate.
BANG!!!
A beam of light shot across the ground.
Asuka twisted mid-motion—
Barely dodging.
Another shot—
BANG!!! BANG!!!
Faster.
Sharper.
Relentless.
"…!"
Then—
A door appeared behind him.
Silent.
Sudden.
And from it—
Sakurai.
She emerged instantly—
Blade already in motion.
SLASH!!!
Asuka reacted—
Spinning—
Blocking—
CLANG!!!
But the force pushed him back.
"…tch—"
Before he could stabilize—
The door vanished.
Sakura disappeared again.
"…that technique…"
Asuka muttered.
"…a hereditary ability…"
"…Asakura's faction."
He barely had time to breathe—
Because—
CRACK!!!
Ice erupted beneath his feet.
Sharp.
Violent.
Forcing him to leap back.
Lui stood in the distance—
Greatsword raised.
"…don't lose focus."
Then—
A presence behind him again.
Shino.
Still slightly injured.
But standing.
"…you're persistent," Asuka said coldly.
He moved instantly—
WHOOSH!!!
Closing the distance—
His blade aimed for Shino—
But—
BOOOOM!!!
A massive force struck him from the side.
"…!!"
Lui.
His greatsword slammed into Asuka's body.
The impact sent him flying—
Crashing across the battlefield.
THUD!!!
Dust rose.
Silence—
For a moment.
Then—
Asuka stood again.
Breathing heavier now.
"…this fight…"
He muttered.
"…isn't in my favor."
His eyes scanned the battlefield.
Four enemies.
Coordinated.
Relentless.
"…I need distance…"
"…until my Recharge is complete."
From afar—
Asakura watched.
His eyes sharp.
Focused.
"…you're cornered now…"
He murmured.
"…Asuka."
His hand slowly lifted.
"…I'll end this."
At the same time—
Lui stepped forward.
Something changed.
The air—
Became heavier.
Denser.
Even Asuka felt it.
"…this pressure…"
He narrowed his eyes.
"…Yin energy…"
Both—
Asakura.
And Lui.
Were increasing their output.
Simultaneously.
"…they're serious now…"
Then—
Asuka realized.
"…no…"
His eyes widened slightly.
"…they're not attacking…"
"…they're trapping me."
From the rest room—
Shin's expression hardened.
"…they're going to sandwich him."
Hina leaned forward.
"…what do you mean?"
"…two Meta Fields…"
Shin said quietly.
"…from both sides."
Hina's eyes widened.
"…that's…"
"…impossible to escape…"
Aoi whispered.
Main Arena
Asakura spoke.
"Meta Fields…"
Lui followed.
"…activate."
BOOOOOOM!!!
Two domains expanded—
At the same time.
From one side—
A dark, cursed landscape—
Filled with floating weapons.
Cursed Weapon.
From the other—
An endless frozen world.
Ice Trap.
And at the center—
Asuka.
The space between them—
Shrinking.
Closing.
Like jaws.
"…if I stay here…"
Asuka thought.
"…I'll be crushed between them."
From the observation room—
Tokugawa Yasu smiled slightly.
"…it's over."
Rui crossed her arms.
"…he's done."
But—
Akane remained calm.
"…don't be so sure."
Back in the battlefield—
Asuka exhaled slowly.
"…then…"
He looked up.
The sky above—
Still open.
"…I just won't stay here."
Then—
ZAAAAAAAAAP!!!
A bolt of crimson lightning descended from the sky.
Striking—
Him.
BOOOOM!!!
His body vanished—
Then reappeared—
High above.
Floating.
Suspended in the air.
Lightning wrapping around him like wings.
"…what—?!"
Asakura's eyes widened.
"…he escaped upward?!"
Lui clenched his teeth.
"…damn it!"
Asuka looked down.
Calm.
Cold.
"…I'll end this."
The lightning intensified.
Violent.
Unstable.
"…right here."
He raised his katana.
"Recharge…"
The sky darkened.
Thunder roared.
"…Drago Lightning Strikes.**"
Then—
He descended.
Like a falling star.
No—
Like a dragon.
A massive crimson lightning dragon formed around him—
Roaring silently—
Its body twisting through the sky.
"…no way…"
Asakura whispered.
"…that's his one-strike…"
Lui's eyes widened.
"…we're not ready—"
Too late.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!
The dragon crashed.
Directly into the space between the two Meta Fields.
The explosion—
Was absolute.
Blinding light.
Deafening thunder.
The ground shattered.
The domains trembled.
Lightning spread in all directions—
Destroying everything in its path.
Even outside the battlefield—
People felt it.
The sky itself—
Cracked.
Then—
Silence.
Smoke rose slowly.
The battlefield—
Gone.
Only ruins remained.
And at the center—
A figure stood.
Barely visible through the fading lightning.
Still holding his katana.
Still standing.
Seiichi Asuka.
The storm—
Had not ended.
It had only just begun.
To be continued…