Yuu-kun fumbled around in the pouch on his belt.

Come on, keep yammering for a few more moments, knight girl.

There. One here, one here, one more there, let down the fuses. This should do it.

---

Seeing this memory in her mind, Shiori smiled.

A shinobi is no good without his explosive ordnance, right, Yuu-kun?

True, Shiori. You instantly got what I meant, huh? That's a clear sign we were meant for each other.

Ehehe~

The last bits of the ceiling crumbled and fell onto the pile of rubble covering the flame [Inhuman]. Shiori felt her legs give out under her.

---

Cinder was gone.

She couldn’t believe it.

They were supposed to be together until her family was finally avenged.

Wait.

She could still feel it.

That thin rope between them.

It was still there. And it was growing.

Rina.

Cinder?

My fire. Take it for the last time.

---

Yuudai felt the strength of the knight’s blows increase.

How was that possible?

He was forced to jump back onto the largest chunk of ceiling on the rubble heap. The knight followed suit and struck again, and again, relentlessly pushing him back, when suddenly…

A voice yelled with the last of its strength.

“Rina! This is the last of my [Magic]!”

Flames burst out from amongst the rubble.

Knight and shinobi were surrounded by walls of orange-green flames. Just one, small patch of concrete remained amongst a sea of flames.

Yuudai could only hope Shiori was out of harm’s way.

He could still feel the [Soul Link], but she wasn’t responding to him.

“This is for my family, Saito! Just let me kill you and this will be over!”

“I have to live! For Shiori!”

Metal clashed and sparks flew amongst a sea of fire. Both weapons bounced off each other at speeds that shouldn’t be possible for a human to produce.

“Why must you make things so difficult for me? All I ever wanted was to avenge my family!”

“Why would I sit around and let you kill me? It would be weird if I didn’t resist!”

“SHUT UP AND DIE!”

The knight’s insults were becoming increasingly juvenile. However, the power behind her blows was only becoming stronger by the moment.

How on earth…

The lance thrust forward at a speed beyond human perception, becoming a faint golden blur. It struck metal.

The Guandao bounced behind its user’s back. Wide open.

The knight hopped back a step, then made her final charge. To kill.

“You’re wide open, Saito!’

“Don’t underestimate us.”

The red-hot Guandao blade came slicing horizontally.

This time, it cut through everything, and the orange-green flames flickered out of existence.