The clash of steel echoed through the corridor again. Cael’s sword swept forward in a wide arc, heat roaring behind the blade like an open furnace. The air warped around the strike. Raizō stepped past it. The sword passed inches from his shoulder as he slipped forward. His glove struck the flat of the blade and forced it aside while his other hand drove toward Cael’s chest. Cael twisted away. The punch struck along his side instead of landing cleanly, but the impact still forced him back a step. Seris was already there. Her sword flashed toward his shoulder. Cael managed to block it. The instant their blades met, her sword moved again, sliding downward toward his arm before rising again toward his neck. The attacks came too fast to comfortably follow. Cael deflected the second strike, but the third forced him to turn. That turn exposed his side. Taren stepped in and drove a hard strike toward him before retreating again as the heat surged outward.

  The fight never stopped moving. Raizō watched carefully. Every surge of Cael’s magic followed the same pattern. The heat spiked whenever he attacked with full force. Then it dipped for a brief moment before rising again. The inconsistency was obvious now. Raizō stepped forward again. Cael swung. Raizō didn’t block, he simply moved. The blade cut through empty air, hitting an afterimage as he slipped around the strike, his body already shifting before the motion finished. His steps were smoother now, controlled and deliberate.

  He had adapted. His fist slammed into Cael’s chest. The impact forced the man back again. Seris followed instantly. Her sword flashed three times in quick succession. Cael blocked the first, barely deflected the second, but the third slipped past his guard and sliced through the sleeve of his coat. Cael glanced down briefly at the cut. Then his eyes returned to Seris.

  “You’re Seris Thynes.”

  Seris froze for half a second. Cael smiled faintly.

  “Arden was right,” he said. “You couldn’t help yourself. You had to come back and see what your father died protecting.”

  Seris’s grip tightened. Her sword trembled slightly. Raizō stepped in immediately and forced Cael’s blade aside before he could swing again. But Cael kept talking.

  “In the end,” he said calmly, “you’re going to suffer the same fate he did.”

  Seris stared at him.

  “…What did you say?”

  Cael tilted his head slightly.

  “I burned him to ash.”

  The words landed like a hammer. Seris’s eyes widened. For a moment she couldn’t move, but then her sword lifted again. She stepped forward, resuming her attacks. Her strikes came quickly again, the flowing rhythm of Dancing White Iris returning as she forced Cael to defend. But something had changed. Her eyes were wet. Raizō noticed it immediately.

  “Seris,” he said sharply.

  She didn’t answer. Her sword struck again. Cael blocked.

  “You should’ve seen him,” Cael said as he turned aside from another strike.

  Seris’s sword faltered for a fraction of a second.

  “He fought harder than most.”

  Her jaw tightened. Raizō stepped forward and knocked Cael’s blade away again.

  “Don’t listen to him,” Raizō said.

  Seris forced herself to breathe. Her sword steadied. She stepped again. Now the pressure turned against Cael. Raizō moved through his attacks almost effortlessly. Every swing missed by inches as he slipped past them. Seris’s attacks forced Cael to defend constantly. Taren struck whenever the man turned. The heat continued to surge around Cael, but the strain was obvious now. Raizō stepped inside another swing and drove his fist forward again. The impact forced Cael back.

  “He’s predictable now!” Raizō shouted.

  Cael’s blade cut toward him again. Raizō slipped around it easily.

  “He can’t keep this up!” Raizō continued. “It’s only a matter of time!”

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  Taren circled behind them.

  “He’s finished!” Taren shouted toward Seris. “Don’t fall for his bait!”

  Seris nodded faintly. Her breathing steadied. Her sword lifted again. Then Cael spoke again.

  “I almost felt bad for him.”

  Seris’s eyes flickered.

  “He was a strong opponent, but not good enough to compete with magic.”

  Her eyes began to well with tears again. Raizō saw it.

  “Seris,” he warned.

  But Cael wasn’t finished.

  “I felt bad for him,” Cael continued casually.

  “So I had Arden put him out of his misery before I incinerated him.”

  The corridor went silent. Seris’s tears spilled down her face. The words echoed in her mind. She knew Arden had something to do with it, but she didn’t think to this extent. The man she had worked beside. The man she had trusted at one point. Raizō saw her posture change instantly.

  “Seris—”

  But she was already moving. Her sword exploded forward.

  “SERIS!” Raizō shouted.

  Taren’s voice joined his.

  “He’s done!” Taren yelled. “Don’t listen to him!”

  But it was too late. Seris stepped forward and saw what looked like an opening. Cael’s guard shifted slightly as he turned from Taren’s strike. Seris committed to a straight thrust. Cael smirked faintly. He caught it on the flat of his blade. Then he shoved forward. The force broke her stance and pushed her back half a step. And Cael surged past her. The heat exploded outward as he drove toward the stairwell. Raizō’s voice thundered down the corridor.

  “Shizume!”

  Shizume had been watching the fight carefully from the edge of the corridor. The heat alone made it impossible for her to enter the fight properly. But when Cael rushed toward her, she moved. The first swing came fast. She slipped to the side. The blade slammed into the stone floor. Cael swung again. Shizume ducked beneath it and staggered backward. The heat burned her lungs. A third attack came immediately. She twisted away again, but the next swing came downward. Her body reacted on instinct. She lifted her dagger to block.

  “DODGE!” Raizō shouted.

  It was too late. The blade crashed down. The impact shattered her dagger instantly. Fragments of metal exploded outward as the weapon broke apart. The broken hilt slipped from her hand. Shizume stared at her broken hilt in disbelief. The corridor burned as Cael lifted his sword again. Shizume tried to step back but her injuries refused to allow her to move any further. The blade came down. Raizō moved without thinking, his body simply reacting. He crossed the distance between them in a single motion and stepped directly in front of her. The strike landed. The sound was violent. The blade slammed across Raizō’s side with enough force to drive him to one knee immediately. The heat behind the sword tore through the reinforced glove and cut across his torso. The burn hit first, then the pain. It exploded through his body so suddenly that his vision blurred. The heat from the blade felt like molten metal had been poured into his side. Every nerve screamed at once.

  Raizō gasped rough and uneven. Behind him, Shizume froze. Seris stopped moving and Taren halted completely. For the first time since the fight began— Everyone stood still. Raizō’s hand pressed against the floor. The stone felt cool compared to the fire spreading through his body. His breathing turned uneven. Each inhale dragged heat deeper into his chest. Seris stared at him.

  “…Raizō.”

  Her voice barely came out. Taren said nothing. The smell of burned cloth and scorched flesh filled the corridor. Raizō tried to stand. Pain tore through his side immediately. His body refused. Across from him, Cael slowly lowered his sword. He watched Raizō carefully, then his expression hardened.

  “…Pathetic.”

  The word echoed softly through the corridor. Raizō barely heard it. His vision swam as he struggled to breathe. Cael stepped forward.

  “You were the strongest one here.”

  His voice carried irritation rather than mockery.

  “And yet you threw yourself into that strike.”

  Raizō lowered his head as another wave of pain spread through his torso. Cael’s gaze shifted briefly. It landed on Seris. The look in his eyes carried open disdain.

  “This one lost control,” he said.

  His voice was calm, but cutting.

  “You let her anger guide the fight.”

  Seris didn’t respond. Her sword remained lowered. Cael looked back at Raizō.

  “And you paid the price for it.”

  Raizō tried to push himself up again. The movement failed. Cael continued.

  “You had already adapted to me.”

  His voice sharpened slightly.

  “You were moments away from forcing this fight to end.”

  Raizō’s breathing remained uneven, but Cael kept speaking.

  “And yet you chose this.”

  His eyes flicked briefly toward Shizume now.

  “You chose to suffer for someone weaker.”

  The temperature around him pulsed.

  “This is why men like you lose.”

  Raizō barely heard the words through the pain flooding his body. Cael’s voice hardened further.

  “You protect the weak.”

  “You carry their mistakes.”

  “You bleed for their failures.”

  His gaze moved again. First to Seris, then to Shizume.

  “And when they falter…”

  “…you suffer for them.”

  His attention returned to Raizō.

  “You had the strength to win.”

  His voice carried open frustration now.

  “But instead…”

  He gestured toward the wound.

  “…you threw it away.”

  Raizō forced himself to lift his head slightly. The movement sent another surge of pain through his side. Cael watched him carefully. Then he spoke again.

  “Remember this moment.”

  His voice dropped lower.

  “If you continue walking this path…”

  “…this will be your future.”

  His gaze moved toward the others again.

  “Protecting the weak. Bleeding for their mistakes. Dying for their failures.”

  The heat around him surged again.

  “And in the end…”

  “…you will lose everything.”

  The corridor remained silent. The moment stretched longer. No one spoke. The fight had stopped, because the price of that strike had been too high.