Yuto’s stomach twisted at the sound.

For a split second he simply stared, as though the world had failed to align properly and would correct itself if he waited long enough.

Maya lay motionless on the ground.

Then everything inside him snapped forward.

Rage hit like impact rather than emotion.

"TAMI!"

He surged across the distance in a single burst and slammed into Tami before he could bring his arm down again. Both of them crashed hard against the polished stone floor, the sound of their impact echoing through the chamber like a struck bell.

Yuto didn’t hesitate.

He grabbed Tami by the front of his shirt and yanked him upward, forcing him back against the pressure of his own grip.

"Why?" Yuto demanded.

His voice came out low, tight, dangerous in a way even he didn’t fully recognize.

"Why would you do that?"

Tami looked at him.

Calm.

Not shaken.

Not angry.

Just tired in a way that felt deeper than exhaustion.

"It isn’t something I enjoy," he said quietly. "But unfortunately it has to be done."

Yuto’s eyes widened slightly.

The words did not make sense in the way they were meant to. They fit together, but the meaning behind them felt detached from anything rational.

Before Yuto could respond, Tami’s gauntlet moved.

No warning.

No buildup.

Just motion.

It struck Yuto square in the chest.

The impact detonated through him.

Air vanished from his lungs as his body was thrown backward, dragged through space before slamming into the far wall. Stone cracked under the force, and Yuto grunted as pain rippled through his ribs in sharp, immediate waves.

For a moment he stayed there, pinned by the force of the impact, breathing hard.

Then he pushed himself off the wall.

Fast.

Refusing to stay down.

Both swords were already in his hands by the time his feet found balance again.

He leveled them toward Tami.

"You’ll pay for that."

Tami didn’t even look at him properly anymore.

His attention had already shifted back toward Maya’s motionless form.

That alone made Yuto’s grip tighten.

Tami started forward again.

Not toward Yuto.

Toward her.

Yuto reacted instantly.

Not happening.

He moved.

Their clash was immediate.

His sword cut through the air where Tami had been a heartbeat earlier, forcing him to abandon his advance and jump back. The blade carved a clean line through empty space, separating him from Maya by force rather than intention.

Tami clicked his tongue.

"Stay out of this."

"No."

His voice was sharper now, steadier.

"This involves powers far above any of us."

Yuto frowned slightly despite the tension.

"What are you talking about?"

Tami lifted a hand to his forehead, rubbing it once in visible irritation, as if the situation itself was exhausting him in a different way than combat.

"Just leave," he said.

The words were strained now.

Almost pleading beneath the surface.

"Go through the portal. Return to the real world. This doesn’t concern you."

Yuto’s gaze flicked briefly to Maya.

Still.

Unmoving.

Then back to Tami.

Something inside him settled into place.

"Maya is my friend."

The words came out without hesitation, without calculation.

"I’m not leaving her."

His grip tightened on both blades.

"And what kind of higher power wants a kid dead?"

That finally changed something.

Tami’s expression darkened.

The calm cracked.

"Shut up."

His voice dropped, rougher now, stripped of its earlier control.

A frustrated sound left him, almost a groan, as his composure slipped further.

"Why do you have to make this difficult?"

His shoulders dipped slightly, as though something heavy had been set on them.

Then he straightened again.

"I was hoping only one person would have to die today."

A faint, tired smile formed on his face, but it didn’t reach his eyes. It looked more like something worn than something felt.

"But if you won’t leave..."

He lifted both gauntlets.

"I’ll have to kill two."

The air between them tightened.

Even the portal behind them seemed to hum more deeply, as if reacting to the shift in intent. The chamber no longer felt empty. It felt focused.

Yuto lowered his stance.

Weight dropped into his legs.

Both swords angled forward.

Across from him, Tami settled properly for the first time since the fight began. Not casual anymore. Not conflicted. Something more defined had taken its place.

A line had been drawn.

The silence before the next movement stretched thin.

Yuto’s eyes locked onto him.

"You don’t know who you’re fighting."

Tami raised an eyebrow slightly.

"I’m serious."

Yuto pointed one blade forward, the tip steady despite the tension running through his arms.

"I’m stronger than you."

For the first time, Tami smiled properly.

Not mockery.

Not dismissal.

Something closer to recognition of inevitability.

"No."

He shook his head once.

"You’re the clueless one here."

They moved at the same moment.

Tami exploded forward.

Yuto met him head-on.

A gauntleted fist came in fast, aimed directly at his face. Yuto shifted, intercepting the strike with the flat of his blade and redirecting its trajectory just enough to break its line. The force still traveled through his arms, sharp and heavy, but it no longer landed cleanly.

Tami followed immediately.

A second strike chained into the first.

This time, energy gathered around his gauntlet, forming a tightening distortion in the air, a vortex that warped the space around his fist. The blow clipped Yuto’s shoulder as he tried to evade.

The impact shoved him backward several steps.

Yuto recovered instantly.

No hesitation.

He answered with both swords.

One high, one low.

Tami dropped beneath the upper strike and caught the lower blade on his gauntlet. The collision produced a metallic shriek that echoed across the chamber, sharp enough to vibrate through bone.

Yuto pivoted.

Changed angle.

Slashed toward Tami’s legs.

Tami jumped cleanly over the sweep.

He landed and drove forward immediately, fist aimed at Yuto’s chest.

Yuto crossed both blades.

The punch hit the intersection of steel.

The force rang through both weapons and into his arms, but he held firm.

Neither of them gave ground.

They broke apart at the same time.

Then closed distance again immediately.

Yuto thrust forward.

Tami knocked the blade aside with a sharp deflection and answered with a straight punch that cut through the opening.

Yuto twisted his body just enough to avoid the direct hit and brought one sword across in a fast arc.

The blade caught Tami’s arm.

A thin line of blood opened instantly.

Tami paused, glancing at it.

Then he smiled.

"Fair play, Yuto."

He raised both gauntlets again.

The distortion around them intensified, the air bending faintly as if reacting to pressure building beneath it.

Yuto didn’t wait for it to finish forming.

He attacked again.

A surge of motion.

Sword strikes fell in rapid succession.

Left.

Right.

High.

Low.

Tami met each one.

Deflected.

Blocked.

Redirected.

Metal rang out continuously through the chamber, each impact layering over the last until the sound became almost continuous. Sparks burst between steel and enchanted gauntlet, scattering briefly before fading into the dim light.

Neither of them slowed.

Neither of them broke rhythm.

The chamber itself seemed to hold its breath around them.