The air cracked.
Yagumi descended like a dark god of death, his Twin Reaper Blades slashing with relentless fury. Sparks flew as Xzavier raised a half-formed golden barrier, infused with the faint aura of Jiyū. The barrier shattered upon impact, sending Xzavier skidding back across the black marble floor, boots scraping, body rattled.
"FIGHT ME, MURDERER!" Yagumi screamed, his voice venomous. "You owe me BLOOD!"
Xzavier barely caught his breath before Yagumi closed the gap again. Each strike was a whirlwind—an executioner's rhythm. Left blade for vengeance, right blade for grief. The tempo was deadly.
Clang!
Slash!
Crack!
Xzavier parried desperately, his own blade materializing in golden flash—a thin, elegant longsword shaped from Jiyū's energy. But it was clear—he was on the backfoot. Every move Yagumi made was fueled by raw, unrelenting hatred. Xzavier's strikes were reactive, defensive, hesitant.
"You didn't hesitate when you drove your sword through Mizuki!" Yagumi snarled, swinging horizontally with bone-shattering force.
The blow cracked Xzavier's side, blood spurting from his ribs as he was flung into a pillar. The column exploded in a cloud of obsidian dust. Xzavier gasped, coughing blood, his vision swimming. Yet his grip on the golden blade never faltered.
"I didn't know... I wasn't me… That version of me—"
"That version of you was still YOU!!" Yagumi interrupted, leaping through the dust and bringing both blades down in a cross strike.
CLANG!!
The golden blade met the Reaper Blades, locking all three in a storm of sparks. For a brief second, their eyes met. Yagumi's were endless oceans of pain and wrath. Xzavier's were trembling with regret.
Then Yagumi roared, and cursed energy erupted from his body like a black hurricane.
Xzavier was blown away.
Mid-air, he twisted and slammed down, skidding across the floor, bloodied and scorched. Jiyū's energy flickered around him, trying to stabilize his shattered focus.
"You're strong…" Xzavier muttered, wiping blood from his lips. "Stronger than I remember. But…"
Golden wings unfurled behind him—spiritual, radiant, divine. Jiyū's presence surged, and Xzavier stood, eyes glowing with sacred light.
"I won't let you fall into the same darkness I did!"
He launched forward, the ground cracking beneath his takeoff.
Their blades met mid-air, energy clashing in a cyclone of light and shadow.
Yagumi's blade left a gash across Xzavier's cheek.
Xzavier's blade cut across Yagumi's shoulder.
Blood sprayed both ways—but neither backed down.
They spun around each other, like twin storms in collision. Each strike was precise, personal. There was no banter now—only breathless hatred and clashing ideals.
Yagumi ducked a thrust, flipped over Xzavier's head, and jammed a blade into his thigh.
"AHH!!" Xzavier roared, spinning with raw instinct and slashing Yagumi's side.
They both hit the ground, rolling apart, bleeding.
"Still standing?!" Yagumi growled, his breath ragged. "You're just a cursed echo of a murderer."
"No," Xzavier said, golden light pulsing behind him. "I'm someone who lives with that pain. And I'll stop you—even if it kills me."
Yagumi laughed bitterly. "Good. Because it will."
He raised both blades to the sky.
"Reaper Style: BLOOD SHADOW VORTEX!!"
The entire room darkened.
A swirling storm of black wind and crimson mist exploded from Yagumi, forming a tornado of blades, shadows, and screaming spirits. The cursed storm chased Xzavier like a predator.
Xzavier gritted his teeth.
"Jiyū…"
Golden energy surged around him, and the wings behind him extended fully.
"Divine Pulse: WINGS OF JUDGEMENT!"
He burst upward, slicing through the cursed vortex with light-infused strikes. Feathers of searing gold cut through the shadows like divine meteors.
BOOM!
The two forces collided mid-air, exploding in a deafening shockwave that shattered the marble floor, cracked the pillars, and threw rubble across the grand hall.
Xzavier and Yagumi crashed on opposite sides of the room, steam rising from their bloodied bodies.
Coughing, panting, Yagumi forced himself up. "Not done. Never done…"
He stumbled forward.
Xzavier did the same.
Their blades dragged across the ground behind them.
They met in the middle, too exhausted to leap, too proud to fall.
Xzavier parried a slash—barely.
Yagumi took the opening to knee him in the stomach—Xzavier spat blood, then elbowed Yagumi's jaw.
The two staggered.
Then—one last exchange.
Yagumi roared and thrust forward.
Xzavier did the same.
SLASH!!
Both blades pierced flesh.
Yagumi's left blade embedded itself in Xzavier's abdomen.
Xzavier's golden blade sank into Yagumi's shoulder.
They locked eyes again—closer than ever.
For a moment, everything was still.
Blood trickled from their wounds, mixing on the ground.
But up above, seated upon his shadow throne, Gimori smirked.
"Perfect…"
His Aku no Eye shimmered.
"They've weakened each other. Now…"
He rose from the throne, shadows coiling around him like living snakes.
"…the harvest begins."
To be continued…