Riku surged upward, light trailing from his limbs like comet tails.
His daggers spun once, then vanished into his belt, he did not need them for this strike.
His body was a missile of radiant fury, legs coiled, eyes locked on Izumi's skull.
Izumi, still crouched from the last impact, sensed the incoming danger.
His wings snapped open, catching the realm's ambient light like obsidian sails.
Just as Riku's heel descended, a strike that could have shattered bone and pillar alike, Izumi launched himself backward in a blur of motion.
Riku's kick sliced through empty air, detonating a shockwave that cracked the floor beneath. Light Pillars nearby flickered, some collapsing into shards, others bending away from the force.
Izumi landed on a vertical column, crouched like a gargoyle, wings flared wide.
Riku spun mid-air, landing in a crouch, eyes never leaving his opponent.
Izumi's chest heaved, not from exhaustion, but from anticipation. His true form was faster, stronger, but Riku was the realm's chosen, and the realm bent to his rhythm.
They launched again, no pause, no breath. Riku dashed up the pillar Izumi perched on, daggers drawn once more. Izumi leapt sideways, wings slicing through the light, claws extended.
They collided mid-pillar, a blur of limbs and steel, spiralling downward in a cyclone of fury.
Izumi lunged, wings flaring wide, claws gleaming like obsidian scythes.
With a savage roar, he slashed downward, aiming to carve through Riku's chest in a single, decisive arc.
The air hissed as his claws tore through it, the force alone cracking the floor beneath them.
But Riku was already gone.
A flash of light, and Riku twisted sideways, the claws grazing only the afterimage of his movement.
He slid low beneath the strike, one hand bracing against the ground, the other gripping a dagger that pulsed with radiant heat.
As he passed under Izumi's outstretched arm, he slashed upward, aiming for the exposed ribs.
Izumi twisted mid-motion, wings folding in to shield his flank.
The dagger scraped across leathery membrane, sparks flying, but no wound drawn. They separated again, Riku flipping backward into a ready stance, Izumi landing in a crouch, claws extended, eyes burning.
The Light Pillars trembled, reacting to the clash of essence and will.
The realm pulsed with tension, as if holding its breath.
Riku's stance shifted, his daggers raised high, light coiling around his body like a solar storm.
The realm responded instantly, pillars trembled, their glow intensifying, vibrating with anticipation.
This was no ordinary strike. It was a command.
Realm Technique: Light Pillar Burn.
The Light Pillars ignited.
Dozens, hundreds, flared to life, their bases erupting with radiant fire.
Beams of high concentrated light surged upward, forming a gigantic cage of burning blue brilliance around the demonic vampire king Izumi.
The temperature spiked, the air shimmered, and the ground beneath Izumi cracked under the pressure.
Riku dashed between the pillars, each step syncing with their pulses.
He became a blur of motion, his daggers absorbing and redirecting the energy.
With a final leap, he hurled both blades toward Izumi, each trailing a comet's tail of burning light.
Izumi reacted instantly.
Wings folded tight, he twisted through the air, narrowly avoiding the twin strikes.
The daggers detonated on impact, sending shockwaves of light that rippled across the realm.
Izumi landed hard, claws digging into the floor, his form scorched but intact.
The Light Pillars continued to burn, their fury unrelenting.
Riku stood at the centre, eyes glowing, body pulsing with the realm's power.
Izumi snarled, rising once more, wings flared, claws ready.
Riku stood at the centre of the Light Pillars, his body glowing with the full fury of the realm's power.
His daggers hovered beside him, suspended in radiant energy.
The air thickened, the pillars trembled, and the light itself seemed to hold its breath.
Full Power, Realm Technique: Light Pillar Crucifixion.
The pillars surged, forming a perfect circle around Izumi.
Beams of concentrated light erupted upward, locking him in place, arms spread, wings pinned, claws reaching but unable to move.
The light was not just radiant, it was judgment incarnate, forged by the realm itself.
Izumi roared, struggling against the bindings.
His true vampire form writhed, wings thrashing, claws slashing at the air.
But the realm had spoken. No magic. No immortality. No escape.
Riku raised his hand, and the pillars responded.
Each beam intensified, burning through shadow, through essence, through centuries of power.
Izumi's body convulsed, light piercing him from every angle, until his roar faded into silence.
Then, stillness.
The Light Pillars dimmed, returning to their eternal glow.
Riku lowered his hand, daggers returning to his grip.
The realm pulsed once, acknowledging the end.
Izumi Morningstar, Vampire King, was no more.
But the realm remained.
And Riku stood alone, warrior of light, bearer of judgment.
***
The infinite Light Pillars, once towering and eternal, collapsed inward like dying stars.
Radiance folded into itself, leaving behind a scorched arena bathed in silence.
The sky above flickered, then dimmed, revealing the vast coliseum beyond, its stands filled with stunned spectators, their eyes locked on the lone figure at the centre.
Riku stood alone, his body scorched, armour cracked, light flickering weakly around him.
Beside him, a pile of fine ash, Izumi Morningstar, the Vampire King, reduced to nothing by the realm's final judgment.
The silence was deafening, broken only by the distant echoes of battle.
Then, Riku's gaze shifted.
Rajin still fought.
Far across the arena, locked in brutal combat against Rika, his strikes fierce but slowing.
Riku's instincts screamed. His heart surged.
His mind whispered: Help him. Move. Fight.
But his body betrayed him.
Riku's knees buckled, blood and light dripping from open wounds.
His lungs burned, his vision blurred.
The realm had taken everything, his strength, his speed, his fury. He tried to step forward, but his legs refused.
His daggers pulsed faintly at his sides, sensing his desperation.
He clenched his fists.
He gritted his teeth.
But he could only watch.
The crowd watched too, their breath held, witnessing a hero now broken but yet still unyielding.
Riku's eyes never left Rajin, his will burning even as his body failed as he wanted to go and help him.
The ashes of Izumi scattered in the wind, and the arena trembled with the weight of what had been lost, and what still remained.
The battle was not over.
But Riku could no longer fight.
Not yet.
Not now.