The giant ray gun continued charging.
The entire factory trembled.
Heat poured from the weapon.
Workers fled in panic.
The glowing barrel pointed toward the horizon.
Toward the territories beyond Gaira.
Toward countless people.
Scrapper smiled.
"Now..."
He spread his arms.
"You get to witness your territory being destroyed."
Then—
SHHK!
A white blur flashed through the room.
The tentacles wrapped around Saito were sliced apart.
Metal pieces crashed onto the floor.
Saito dropped to one knee.
Finally free.
Scrapper's eyes widened.
"...Shiro."
The White Hat leader stood between them.
Sword in hand.
His expression was calm.
Tired.
Sad.
He looked directly at his old friend.
Then quietly said:
"...Mina misses you."
For a brief moment—
Scrapper's expression changed.
Then it vanished.
"Did she?"
He laughed.
"How pitiful."
He began walking toward Shiro.
Step by step.
Neither looked away.
Years of history stood between them.
Finally—
Scrapper stopped.
Only a few feet away.
"You know..."
His voice lowered.
"You're about to die by the hand of your old friend."
Shiro didn't move.
Didn't draw back.
Didn't raise his weapon.
Instead—
he smiled faintly.
"Then I don't mind."
Scrapper blinked.
For the first time—
he looked genuinely surprised.
Then—
"Heh."
A small laugh escaped him.
But suddenly—
his tentacles twitched.
The smile disappeared.
"What?"
The machine limbs spasmed violently.
One crashed into a wall.
Another struck the floor.
Then—
they all went limp.
The tentacles collapsed around him.
Dead.
Silent.
Scrapper immediately fell to one knee.
"What?!"
He looked around frantically.
Then toward the control room.
The door stood open.
Inside—
the girl stood beside the main console.
And Kaito was there.
The systems had been shut down.
Scrapper's eyes widened.
"You dare—!"
Shiro looked relieved.
"It's over."
But Scrapper immediately shook his head.
"No."
He slowly stood.
"No, it isn't."
Shiro frowned.
Then followed Scrapper's gaze.
Toward the ray gun.
Still glowing.
Still charging.
Still alive.
The weapon continued humming.
Louder.
Hotter.
More unstable.
Scrapper laughed.
A broken laugh.
"This thing runs on heat."
He pointed at the weapon.
"There is no shutting it down."
The realization hit everyone at once.
Kaito.
Saito.
Bomb.
Rin.
Shiro.
The control systems were dead.
But the weapon wasn't.
The heat inside it had already reached critical levels.
Shiro stepped forward.
"For God's sake, shut it down!"
Scrapper looked at him.
Then slowly smiled.
A smile filled with bitterness.
A smile that had been building for years.
And he answered with one word.
"...No."
Behind them—
the ray gun's glow became even brighter.
The ray gun's glow intensified.
The metal frame groaned under the pressure.
Heat poured from every part of the weapon.
The air itself felt like it was burning.
Everyone could feel it.
Something was about to happen.
Something catastrophic.
Shiro stared at the weapon.
Then lowered his head.
Thinking.
Calculating.
Finally—
he spoke.
"Saito."
Saito looked at him.
"Evacuate everyone."
The room fell silent.
"What?"
Shiro didn't look away from the weapon.
"Get your members out of here."
Saito frowned.
"How about we just blow it up?"
Bomb immediately nodded.
"Now that's a plan."
Shiro shook his head.
"No."
The answer came instantly.
"If it explodes now..."
He pointed at the weapon.
"The nearby villages will suffer the consequences."
Saito froze.
The realization hit him.
This wasn't just a giant machine anymore.
It was a disaster waiting to happen.
One powerful enough to affect entire regions.
Shiro stepped forward.
Toward the glowing ray gun.
Toward the unbearable heat.
Toward the danger.
"Go."
His voice left no room for argument.
Saito clenched his fists.
"...Shiro."
But Shiro was already moving.
One step.
Then another.
The white auris around him began to appear.
Soft at first.
Then brighter.
Brighter.
Brighter.
Until his entire body was wrapped in white light.
The room became quiet.
Even Scrapper stopped talking.
Watching.
The White Hat leader raised his hand.
And a strange mist began flowing from his palm.
White.
Pure.
Cold.
The opposite of the weapon's heat.
The mist spread across the room.
Swirling around the giant ray gun.
Wrapping around its frame.
Its barrel.
Its core.
Trying to smother the energy building inside.
Trying to break it apart before it could fire.
The machine trembled.
The mist thickened.
The struggle had begun.
Shiro stood alone before the weapon.
White auris blazing around him.
Doing everything he could to stop the catastrophe from happening
The giant ray gun continued shaking.
White mist from Shiro's auris swirled around its frame.
Trying to cool it.
Trying to stop it.
But the weapon was still glowing.
Still building heat.
Still dangerous.
Saito looked at Kaito.
"We need to go now."
Kaito nodded.
No arguments.
This wasn't the time.
Bomb finally climbed down from the ray gun.
Covered in soot.
The rescued girl stood beside him.
Kaito rested a hand on both of them.
Then activated his technique.
WHOOSH.
The three vanished.
A moment later—
Rin smirked.
"See you later."
And disappeared as well.
Soon only four people remained in the chamber.
Saito.
Shiro.
Scrapper.
And the unstable weapon.
Saito looked at Shiro.
Then started walking toward him.
Shiro immediately noticed.
"Saito."
The White Hat leader kept his hand raised toward the ray gun.
His face was covered in sweat.
"I don't have time for soft advice."
Saito smiled faintly.
"I'm not here for advice."
He stopped beside him.
Yellow auris began flowing around his body.
"I'm here to help."
Shiro stared at him for a moment.
Then laughed.
A tired laugh.
"Of course you are."
The golden auris spread outward.
Joining the white mist.
The two powers intertwined.
White and yellow.
Cold and light.
Flowing into the weapon together.
The ray gun trembled violently.
The glow began flickering.
For the first time—
it looked like they might actually stop it.
Nearby—
Scrapper watched silently.
Not attacking.
Not speaking.
Just watching.
The sight before him felt strangely familiar.
Two people standing together.
Protecting someone.
Helping someone.
Refusing to leave someone behind.
And suddenly—
he remembered.
A younger Shiro.
A younger Mina.
A frightened boy cornered by wild dogs.
Shiro charging in without hesitation.
Mina punching one of the animals away.
Both reaching out a hand.
Both offering friendship.
The memory struck harder than any weapon.
Scrapper's expression slowly changed.
The anger.
The bitterness.
The hatred.
For just a moment—
it all cracked.
And he stood there silently.
Watching the two people struggle together against the weapon that he had built.
The white mist and golden auris continued pouring into the ray gun.
The weapon shook violently.
Metal groaned.
Steam burst from its sides.
But it wasn't enough.
The glow kept growing.
Brighter.
Hotter.
More unstable.
Beside the weapon—
Shiro's mind drifted.
Back to a conversation from days ago.
Inside White Hat headquarters—
Shiro sat alone.
Staring at the floor.
Mina stood nearby.
Watching him.
"You should help Saito."
Shiro immediately shook his head.
"I can't."
Mina sighed.
Then walked over.
Without warning—
she grabbed his face with both hands.
Shiro blinked.
"M-Mina?"
She forced him to look at her.
"Yes."
"You can."
Shiro looked away.
"I can't fight Scrapper."
Mina's expression softened.
For the first time—
she understood.
Not the leader of White Hat.
Not the warrior.
Just Shiro.
The boy who lost his best friend.
Then she smiled.
"If you can't bring him back..."
Her hands remained on his face.
"...at least change his heart."
Shiro stared at her.
Unable to answer.
Back in the present—
The memory vanished.
The roar of the ray gun returned.
The weapon suddenly flared.
WHOOOOOOOM!
A blinding light erupted from its barrel.
The entire factory shook.
Saito instinctively shielded his eyes.
The heat became unbearable.
Shiro's expression hardened.
He already knew.
The weapon was too far gone.
Too much energy.
Too much heat.
Too late.
He looked at Saito.
Then at the glowing barrel.
And quietly said:
"...We can't stop it."
Saito clenched his jaw.
The words hurt.
But he knew Shiro wasn't lying.
The White Hat leader continued pouring auris into the machine.
White mist swirling around the weapon.
Holding it together.
Holding it back.
For as long as possible.
Then Shiro smiled.
A small tired smile.
"But..."
He looked toward the exits.
Toward the city beyond.
Toward everyone escaping.
"We can hold it long enough for everyone to leave."
The weapon roared again.
The light growing brighter.
And side by side—
Shiro and Saito continued fighting against the inevitable.