“You did it now! It hurts because I have a physical form! You little…!” Time Patrol's angry roar echoed across the crater, vibrating in the scorched air like a tuning fork struck by a hammer.

  He stood amidst the ruins of his own making, chest heaving, his hand—the hand of the stolen hero—finding the hilt of the sword still embedded in his sternum. It was Rize’s sword. With a wet, sickening SHUCK, he ripped it out. Muscles tore. Bone scraped against metal.

  “Pain… actual pain. How irritating.” The blade was flung aside with a contemptuous flick—purple blood already dripping from the open wound. Drip. Hiss. Drip. Hiss. Every drop that touched the superheated sand released smoke.

  At that moment— The air wavered. Not wind, not spell, breach in the atmospheric pressure. A small shadow burst through the wall of flames that still encircled the crater. It moved faster than thought. Faster than light. Faster than a TP's reaction time. In the next instant, a small, pale fist sank into TP's face. It didn't just hit him—it buried itself. CRACK.

  A dull, heavy sound echoed, not like flesh hitting flesh, but like a hydraulic press crushing a boulder. Space itself distorted around the point of impact, rippling outward in concentric circles. To Yu, watching from the ground through eyes crusted with blood and dust, the world looked as if it were in slow motion.

  “Gah—!?” The air rippled. TP's skin wavered like water, his cheekbone caving in, shattering to powder—the shockwave traveling through his neck, snapping it back at an impossible angle. TP's body was lifted off its feet. Gravity momentarily ceased to apply to him. He was slammed into the ground.

  A dust explosion erupted, blowing away the surrounding smoke, the fire, and the debris. A massive crater—a scar on the face of the island—was born in the earth, centered on TP's broken form.

  "I'll smash you, braaaaat!?" With a roar that sounded more like a dragon than a human, Roa revealed herself from the dust cloud. She stood over him, her fist still smoking. Her eyes were no longer human. They were vertical slits of molten gold, burning with the fury of one who had arrived one second too late.

  ?

  In her eyes, not a fragment of her former calmness remained. The cool, intellectual healer—the woman who sipped tea and read ancient tomes—was gone. In her place was a force of nature driven by pure, unadulterated rage.

  TP stood up swayingly. His regeneration was already working. The caved-in cheek popped back out with a wet snap. The broken neck realigned with a grind. He held his face, staring at the woman before him.

  “…That power… is the Dragon's Law. Why can a human use it? It breaks the rules. It violates the causal parameters of this species!” A wet, bubbling sound that spilled from his mouth along with the purple blood.

  Behind TP, a shadow emerged. Not a shadow cast by the sun—one that devoured it. The air screamed as it was torn apart. Space tore open like wet paper being ripped by invisible hands. From the void, something ancient emerged. The massive, scaled jaw of a black dragon slowly opened. It was colossal. A mountain of obsidian scales that absorbed all color, reflecting nothing. Golden eyes the size of riot shields stared down at the tiny figure of TP. It was the Black Dragon—the true form of Roa's Master.

  “It's a promise with a sworn friend. Do you have a problem?” The Master's voice rang out. It didn't come from a throat; it vibrated in the marrow of everyone's bones. It was the sound of tectonic plates shifting. In the next moment, TP's body was enveloped in darkness. The Black Dragon's jaw closed.

  The sound was horrific. It was the sound of crushing bones, creaking metal, and wet explosions overlapping into a symphony of destruction. There was no scream. There was no time to scream. Just the wet tear of matter being unmade by jaws that could crush diamonds.

  TP's figure was tragic to behold. Like a ragdoll caught in a thresher, his stolen body was mangled, twisted, and broken beyond recognition.

  ?

  Three shadows looked down on the scene from the distant sky. The wind whipped at their clothes, howling in their ears.

  “Roa jumped out ahead. She’s always too fast when she’s mad. She never sticks to the plan.” Naz clicked his tongue, gripping the rough, warm scales of the dragon he was riding.

  “Naz-kun! Don't go ahead, absolutely! I'm bad with heights! Stop leaning over! We’re going to fall!” Hanara cried out in a tearful voice, clinging to Naz’s waist with a death grip. Her face was buried in his back, refusing to look down at the dizzying drop.

  The two were jostling on Agama's back. The Red Dragon’s wings, vast sails of crimson leather, tore through the wind. Whoosh. Whoosh. He circled above the battlefield like a hawk waiting to dive.

  “Aren't you guys going down? Or are you planning to watch from the cheap seats?” Agama's low voice resonated from his chest, vibrating through their seats.

  “Of course we are! Charge, Agama! Dive bomb! Let’s join the party!” Naz clenched his fist and shouted, his grin wide and feral, baring his teeth at the wind. Agama roared. The voice echoed like thunder, shaking the air pressure for miles around. He tucked his wings and dove. Gravity took hold, pulling them down toward the chaos.

  ?

  On the ground, the pile of meat that used to be TP began to move. It shouldn't have moved. It was a pulp, a paste. But it moved. Bubbling, hissing like acid, it gave way to black-purple crystals that erupted from the gore, knitting together bone and sinew with terrifying speed. It creaked like a stone statue being forced to move against its will.

  “Lower life forms... don't get carried away!!” With that scream, the air creaked again. Black-purple light dyed the earth like blood. It spilled from his reforming body, melting the sand into obsidian glass. The heat was intense, smelling of sulfur and rotting magic.

  Yu looked up at the scene, his vision blurring. He was still on the ground, holding Rize's limp body. Her skin was cold. Her mouth hung open. Her eyes were staring at nothing. Useless. Small. The words didn't need thinking—they just settled over him like ash.

  TP's roar shook the space itself. The shattered body was being reconstructed. Broken stones from the ground levitated, connecting to his flesh. Blood flowed backward. It was no longer a "person." Skin hardening to gray armor-plate, eyes igniting with hateful purple fire. It was a “calamity of myth.” A demon god born from the corpse of a hero.

  “…Rize? Can you hear me? Please… answer me…! Don’t leave me!” Yu knelt and touched Rize's cheek. His hands were shaking uncontrollably, smearing blood on her pale skin. Her lips didn't move. Her chest didn't rise. Silence. The silence was louder than the battle.

  Behind him, a shadow landed quietly. One of team Jask—it was Roa.

  “Rize will be fine.” Her rage had settled into a cold, hard focus. A surgical precision.

  “Roa-san…!” Yu looked up, tears streaking the dust on his face. He looked like a lost child.

  Roa nodded. She knelt beside them and held her right hand over Rize's forehead. Soft, golden light overflowed from her palm. It was warm. It smelled of sunlight and fresh linen. It slowly wrapped Rize’s broken body in a cocoon.

  “I will use [Glory Holy] at full power.” Her voice was calm. However, the density of power emitted from her entire body was abnormal. It distorted the air around her like heat haze. The mana pressure was crushing.

  “That light…! You dare defy entropy?” TP saw the light and narrowed his eyes.

  Light dwelled in Roa as well. Right arm: [Glory Holy] — Regeneration from Dragon’s Law. The power to restore what was lost. Left arm: [Holy Glory] — Trait of Healing. The power to mend what is broken.

  Two contradictory skills were deployed simultaneously. They filled and doubled each other's interference area, creating a feedback loop of infinite restoration. It was a “Parallel Activation” considered theoretically impossible for a human brain. It would burn out the neurons of a normal mage in seconds. Roa established it by brute force, using the Dragon's Law as a medium to bypass the limits of humanity. She was rewriting the reality of the wounds.

  “Not just Rize. It's a power to save everyone. I won’t let anyone die today.” As per her words, the light of [Holy Glory] expanded explosively. It enveloped the entire island.

  The cracked ground regenerated, scorched grass sprouted from the ash, blooming in seconds into a lush green carpet. Yu's wounds closed. The pain vanished like a bad dream. His broken ribs knit together. Claval's broken treasured sword, lying in the sand, knit itself back together, the steel singing as it became whole.

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  Eventually— Light returned to Rize's eyes. The black void of death receded, replaced by the warm of her iris.

  “…Yu?” Her chest rose. She took a breath. A ragged, desperate gasp of life. At her weak, confused voice, Yu's expression crumbled.

  “Rize!” His dam broke. He pulled her into his chest, burying his face in her neck, sobbing uncontrollably.

  “Now, it's not over yet. Stand up—Yu. The final round.” Above the two embracing, Roa smiled quietly. She wiped a bead of sweat from her forehead.

  ?

  The wind blew. Tearing through the blue sky, Agama descended like a meteor. THUD. The dragon's landing shook the earth, kicking up a massive cloud of dust and debris. Two shadows jumped off his back before the dust settled.

  Naz landed next to Roa with a monkey-like scream of excitement. He twirled his weapon, grinning like a maniac. Hanara landed with a pathetic shriek, stumbling. The ground shook again as the Master—in his Dragonkin, black scales glinting—landed silently behind them.

  Yu, Rize, Claval, Roa, Naz, Hanara, Agama, and the Master. Everyone stood in line. A wall of defiance against the end of the world. Mana-chan swirled around Yu, regaining her form as a glowing blue avatar, floating above his shoulder.

  Looking up at the sky, the fully regenerated TP was laughing there. He floated above them, a god of destruction, unbothered by their reunion.

  The comment section on Earth was no longer functioning. The text had vanished. The servers couldn't handle the load. Only a torrent of light that couldn't be put into words covered the screens of billions. A billion souls screaming in unison, cheering, praying.

  The CEO watching from his office in the Middle East, dropped his wine glass. Crash. It shattered on the marble floor, staining it red, but he didn't notice.

  “Look at them. They are… heroes. Real heroes. They are strong.” He leaned forward, pressing his hands against the screen. He muttered, awe in his voice.

  “Let's go!” Yu shouted again, glaring at Time Patrol. His sword of mana ignited in his hand, burning blue.

  ?

  Black-purple lightning ran through the cloudless afternoon sky.

  TP, standing in the center of the storm, no longer had a human shape. The patterns covering his whole body smoldered, emitting black flames that evaporated the sand at his feet into nothingness. He was a hole in the world. A walking singularity.

  “Everyone's finally here... Welcome, rebels. I’ll make sure to bury you all in the same grave.” Every time his voice resonated low, space itself distorted. Colors inverted. Sounds were muffled.

  The EWS app screamed. On the earth people all over the world were simply staring at the spectacle on screen, unable to look away.

  Yu readied the sword forged from mana. Next to him, Rize and Claval faced the same direction, weapons drawn. Behind them were Roa and Naz, and Agama and the Master. Hanara prepared magic in the rear, a high-level barrier spell, her arm glowing white.

  “We're not losing in numbers.” Naz said lightly, spinning his sword, but his eyes shone sharply.

  “Numbers don't matter to me. —This body is the world itself.” TP laughed. The moment the black-purple light flashed, numerous magic circles were deployed behind TP. Ten. Fifty. A hundred. —as if the night sky itself had been inverted and aimed at them.

  “Hanara! Deploy defensive barriers! The first one is coming!! It’s a bombardment!” Roa sensed it instantly and shouted. In the next instant— Beams of light covering the uninhabited island poured down like a thunderstorm. Sand evaporated. Ground burned. The ocean boiled. However, amidst the hellscape, they did not fall. Hanara's defensive magic—a golden dome—rivaled the beams. It cracked, but it held.

  Blue and gold lights crossed, spreading as if to support the sky. Claval stepped forward and readied her sword.

  “I'll cut the root of those circles! Cover me!”

  “Roger!”

  Rize ran. Legs clad in lightning tore the ground, flashing white in vision. The echo of [Lightning] scorched the air. She moved in zig-zags, faster than the targeting systems of the magic circles, drawing TP’s fire.

  Chasing Rize's back, Naz charged from an angle. Agama's roar overlapped, and dragon fire ran in a straight line, punching a hole in the barrage. TP's array of magic circles was disturbed for a moment.

  “[Bind!]” Yu didn't miss that opening. He changed the mana sword into a spear. He compressed the mana until it sang. He threw it at TP.

  “Leave it to me, Yu! [Maximize] density! Go!” Naz shouted, jumping onto the spear’s path, hitting the back of it with his own weapon to accelerate it.

  The blue arrow was released into the sky, hitting TP directly in the chest. THWACK. But— TP was laughing. He didn't even flinch. The spear shattered against his skin like glass against steel.

  “Nice. You're the best after all, Yu Shiro! You entertain me!” TP's right hand was thrust out.

  “Everyone, get back! Counter!” Claval shouted.

  But it was too late. A black-purple shockwave was released from TP's right arm. It expanded in a perfect sphere. It blew everyone away at once.

  Sand and light mixed, and the sky cracked. The heroes were scattered like toys.

  ?

  EWS Headquarters. Traffic was enduring the collapse at the very limit. The servers were smoking. Kaori Mamiya took off her headset. Her hands were shaking.

  “Shiro…” She just stared at the monitor.

  None of the operators spoke anymore. The world held its breath, watching the conclusion. There was nothing left to do but pray.

  Yu stood up. His hair was scorched. His vision was hazy. His ears rang. Every bone in his body ached. Still, he raised his face. His hand created a sword.

  Rize stood up. Her armor was gone, but her [lightning] remained.

  Claval stood up, leaning on her broken sword.

  The three of team Jask stood up. And finally, the Master and Agama rose.

  “…Truly, you don't bore me.?” Seeing their figures, battered but unbroken, TP smiled thinly.

  ?

  The sky roared again. The sound of the world creaking could be heard. The fabric of reality was tearing. Torrents of light and darkness were about to face the moment of collision again.

  “—I'll decide it with the next one!” Yu gripped his sword again and raised his voice.

  Centering on the two wills of Yu and TP, space trembled slightly.

  Rize looked at Yu.

  “Yu... I believe in you.” Her eyes were not perfect yet. But they harbored light. She was holding onto her mind, which had nearly collapsed to a vegetative state, solely with the will to make it in time.

  “You can surpass Grandpa. I know you can. He’s just a ghost. You are alive.” Claval stood next to him. Thrusting her sword into the ground like a cane, she vomited blood and laughed.

  Yu slowly readied his sword. He took a deep breath. His breathing settled. The world slowed down. He closed his eyes for a fraction of a second, connecting to the voice inside.

  “Mana-chan.”

  “It's an improvised pattern, but it's okay. It'll hold once. Turning on the fire!”

  Magic circles and patterns began to glow blue from all over Yu's body. Blue light ran through Yu's veins. Mana and Yu himself fused. The outline of his body began to waver, losing its human definition. He was no longer "human." He was an existence clad in blue flames—the embodiment of Creation.

  “Interesting! A human ascendancy? ...Then, let's go full power here too?” TP saw it and sneered. The black-purple patterns covering TP's body pulsed all at once. While the Returnee's body screamed in agony, something awakened inside. “Receive the retribution for distorting providence.”

  Yu let go of the sword he was holding without answering. The sword vanished into particles.

  “…?”TP's reaction stopped.

  Now a Blue Performer, Yu raised his left arm. He pointed at the sky. Next he pointed at TP.

  ?

  “[Bind.]”

  Blue-white light became a frame. The void opened its mouth. Instantly, a gigantic object passed through. It didn't make a sound. It was moving too fast for sound. It was traveling at 8 kilometers per second. 28,800 kilometers per hour. A dense, heavy armed satellite. A weapon of mass destruction from Earth, summoned into the heart of a magical duel. ORBITAL TRANSFER.

  TP, unable to react, froze. The object occupied the space where his right side existed.

  No cut. No burn. TP's right half—arm, shoulder, hip, leg—was gouged out instantly. Vaporized by kinetic impact. The satellite crashed into the ocean behind him, creating a tidal wave that swallowed the horizon and a plume of water that touched the clouds.

  “Wha... t...?” TP stumbled, staring at the empty space where his body used to be. The regeneration couldn't even begin to comprehend the damage.

  “Did you see that!? That's the world's richest bullet!” The CEO raised his voice involuntarily in his office, knocking over his chair.

  When TP looked at Yu, fear finally entering his eyes—the fear of the unknown—Yu had already raised his right arm.

  “Hanara-san. I'm borrowing your magic skill.”

  “Blow him away with it! Yu!”

  Yu clenched his palm. He focused everything—the blue flame, the mana, the will of the world, the love of his friends—into a single point.

  "Single Number 008 —[T.O.R.]" Yu’s voice dropped to a whisper that carried more weight than a scream, vibrating with the power of an invoked law. White erupted. Not light, not darkness. It was absent. A rushing flood of "deletion" stripped logic itself away from the world. Color peeled off reality like old paint. Sound was swallowed. Only the act of “shaving” remained—the incarnation of destruction.

  That impact crossed the boundaries of worlds— And painted screens all over the real world White.

  ?

  EWS Headquarters.

  “What happened—” Kaori Mamiya stood up, losing her voice.

  Only pure white light remained on the screen. None of the operators could move. The data stream was flat. The connection was gone.

  “…Is it over?” Someone muttered.

  ?

  In the white light— On the island that was no longer an island, but a blank slate in the ocean.

  Yu stood. The blue flames were gone. The outline of his body was almost translucent, flickering like a bad signal. He was fading.

  In front of him, TP was also crumbling. His regeneration couldn't keep up with Deletion. Logic couldn't fix what had been erased from logic. His legs turned to dust. His chest turned to mist.

  “…Truly, you are…” TP's voice cut off. He laughed. A soft, genuine sound of admiration. And then, he vanished.

  Yu looked up at the heavens. The white world began to fade, colors bleeding back in. A single streak of blue light flowed into the sky, stitching the reality back together.

  …Is this… the end? There was no answering voice. Mana was quiet.

  ‘You made it in time, Yu.’ Only faintly. Rize's voice echoed somewhere in the distance, soft and sweet.

  Yu smiled— And quietly closed his eyes. His body tipped backward, falling into the white void.