Darkness.
At first, that was all Hiroshi saw.
An endless void.
No trees.No sky.No ground beneath his feet.No sound — not even his own heartbeat.
Just nothing.
But then…A voice.
Deep.Cold.Ancient.
"You disappoint me, Hiroshi."
The vast darkness pulsed.
Hiroshi's eyes shot open.
He wasn't standing anymore.He was floating, suspended in a sea of black mana like a puppet on strings.
His body was torn, bleeding, slashed open across the chest.
Haruto's final attack — the seventy percent cut — had destroyed him.
But how was he still conscious?
A black silhouette formed before him.Tall.Impossible.It had no face… only the shape of a crown and two glowing golden eyes.
The God of Dominion.
Hiroshi's voice cracked.
"Why… why didn't I win…?"
The god looked down at him, expression unreadable.
"Because you believed the world would bend to you simply because you believed it should."
Hiroshi trembled.
"But… I am the protagonist."
The god laughed — quiet, cruel.
"In your imagination."
Suddenly, the void shifted, revealing scenes from the battle behind them like distorted mirrors:
Haruto moving faster than light.Haruto breaking Daichi's ribs with one strike.Haruto cutting space itself.
The god's voice echoed:
"He does not believe he is the protagonist.""He simply acts."
Hiroshi's breath hitched.
The god extended his hand, pressing a finger to Hiroshi's forehead.
"And that is why he won."
Black lightning surged into Hiroshi's body.
He convulsed.
"No… no please… give me another chance… please…"
The god leaned close, golden eyes burning.
"Then earn it.""Show me the price you are willing to pay."
Darkness swallowed Hiroshi whole.
His scream faded.
And the void disappeared.
CUT TO FOREST — HARUTO POV
Silence.
The battlefield was nothing but a wasteland of dust and scattered mana.
The cut Haruto made didn't just slice air —it carved open the land itself.
Dozens of massive gouges tore through the earth, stretching like scars.
Haruto stood in the middle of the devastation.
Calm.Breathing softly.
His sword was lowered, mana fading from his body like ash.
It's over.
Or so he thought.
Lunara approached first, expression unreadable.
"You ended it."
Frost smirked.
"That was… excessive."
Lyria smiled gently, placing a hand on Haruto's shoulder.Her eyes softened — something dangerously close to admiration.
"You protected your home."
Haruto didn't respond.
His gaze was somewhere else.
I am stronger because I have something to protect.
For a moment, he felt pride.
But then—
The ground shook.
A thin needle of dark mana shot into the sky.
Haruto's expression shifted from neutrality to pure instinct.
"…no."
A figure rose from the crater.
Hiroshi.
But not the Hiroshi from a moment ago.
His body was covered in total darkness — like liquid night crawling beneath his skin.Golden cracks glowed across his arms like molten veins.His eyes… were gone.
Replaced by two burning golden lights.
No sanity.No ego.Only hatred and hunger.
Haruto exhaled slowly.
"He sold everything."
Lunara took a step forward, tail flicking.
"That thing is no longer human."
The corrupted Hiroshi tilted his head…
…and smiled with a mouth way too wide.
"Haruto."
The voice echoed like multiple beings speaking at once.
"Round two."
AETHERIA — POV
Airi waited at the entrance of the village.
She clutched Haruto's scarf against her chest.
Her lower lip trembled.
Onii Chan… please be safe…
A small ball of light rested beside her — Lyria's magical messenger.
It pulsed.
Airi flinched.
Then the message spoke.
"Airi. Haruto is still fighting."
Her legs shook.
No.No no no.
This isn't what she wanted.
She didn't want him to fight alone.
She wanted a peaceful life with him.
She wanted Haruto to smile.Not bleed.
She whispered, voice cracking.
"I am coming."
She took one step forward.
Frost's magic barrier instantly activated, blocking her path.
Airi slammed her small fists against the invisible wall.
"Let me go!"
No answer.
Her breathing broke into sobs.
"Let me go to him! He needs me!"
Her mana flared unintentionally.
White feathers of pure spirit energy scattered around her.
Airi's eyes burned gold.
I will not lose him again.
BACK TO BATTLEFIELD
Hiroshi's corrupted form blurred.
He vanished from sight.
Haruto didn't bother looking around.
"…behind me."
He parried without turning.
CLANG.
The collision created a sonic boom.
Haruto slid back only half a step.
Hiroshi's grin stretched.
His voice cracked.
"This body… is not mine anymore."
Haruto narrowed his eyes.
Possession? No… merger.
The God of Dominion's power had taken root inside Hiroshi's soul.
"You are no longer fighting as Hiroshi," Haruto said quietly.
"You are a corpse wearing a wish."
Hiroshi screeched, leaping again.
Multiple hands of darkness erupted behind him, all reaching toward Haruto.
Luria and Lunara jumped in simultaneously.
Lyria fired a barrage of spirit chains.Lunara unleashed a blast of celestial fire.
Hiroshi laughed, ripping through them without slowing.
Haruto stepped forward.
Mana surged.
One hundred percent?
No.
Something beyond.
His hair floated.Eyes turned silver.The air froze.
Haruto spoke one sentence:
"I am done holding back."
He vanished.
This time, even the world couldn't follow him.
And Hiroshi — or whatever controlled him — finally trembled.
FINAL SCENE
A flash of silver.
A burst of black.
A shockwave.
Then—
Silence.
Haruto stood behind Hiroshi.
His sword lowered.
A massive, perfectly clean slash tore through Hiroshi's torso.
The corrupted hero fell to his knees.
Golden cracks splintered across his body like breaking glass.
He whispered, voice returning for a moment.
"…why… couldn't I be the protagonist…?"
Haruto answered quietly.
"You were too busy believing the world owed you something…"
He stepped past him, eyes still silver.
"…while I fought to protect someone."
Hiroshi shattered into thousands of golden fragments.
Each piece dissolved into the night sky like dying stars.
Cut to Airi.
She looks up at the same sky.
Tears fall down her cheeks.
"Onii Chan…"
Fade out.
END OF CHAPTER 15