Yuto Ijika realized he had made a mistake—he should never have engaged Charles in close combat.

Though he appeared to be a fourteen-year-old boy, Yuto had long since become a full-fledged Impurity. His physical strength and jūryoku level were far beyond what any onmyōji could match.

That's how he managed to defeat even members of the Twelve Guardians. But Charles was a different matter entirely.

In every aspect, Charles outclassed him. Their battle skills and combat experience were on completely different levels.

Charles grabbed Yuto's wrist with one hand and drove three heavy punches into his gut with the other.

Yuto's eyes widened—despite his fully Impurity-transformed body, the searing pain flooding his nerves sent his mind blank.

By the time he regained his senses, he saw Charles's flame-wreathed fist flying straight toward his face.

He was knocked away, rolling across the ground. When he stood back up, what everyone saw sent chills down their spines.

Where Charles's punch had landed, there were no ordinary bruises or cuts. Instead, aside from the scorched marks from the flames, Yuto's face showed cracks—strange, unnatural fissures.

Yuto reached up to touch his face, and with the lightest tap, pieces fell off. It wasn't skin—it was like his face was a mask.

"Looks like using this body to fight you is nearing its limit," Yuto muttered. "If I keep suppressing my power, I'll be in real trouble."

Charles wasn't surprised in the slightest. He had long since understood Yuto's true nature.

Assuming a combat stance, he said, "Then stop hiding and show me what you've got. Don't expect me to just kill you off half-transformed."

Yuto let out a crazed laugh. "That's exactly it! You really are amazing! That's why I want you so badly!"

His jūryoku erupted, kicking up violent winds that forced Rokuro and Benio, watching nearby, to shield their faces just to breathe properly.

What stood before them was no longer human. With no grid-patterned markings but otherwise indistinguishable from an Impurity, Yuto revealed his true form.

"Yuto… you bastard, you've really become an Impurity?" Rokuro growled, pained.

"Big brother…!" Benio covered her mouth, her face filled with disbelief.

Charles frowned. "Don't tell me… you two still think there's a way to save him?"

He looked coldly at them. "Yuto didn't become an Impurity when his body changed. He became one the moment he threw away his humanity."

Yuto clapped, laughing. "Well said! Rokuro, Benio—you know what I hate most about you two? You still haven't accepted the need to kill me! Don't tell me you're clinging to some 'it must be a misunderstanding' fantasy?"

Charles's voice turned icy. "Are you done talking? Then sit still and let me exorcise you."

His aura surged, and waves of magic and force coiled around his body. In the blink of an eye, Charles vanished—and reappeared right in front of Yuto.

"So fast!"

Yuto instantly realized that Charles hadn't been going all out before either.

But now, Charles's techniques had changed entirely.

After battling Acnologia, Charles had recognized the need to synthesize his skills. Magic, martial arts, jujutsu—he knew he would encounter more and more systems of power in different worlds.

But simply stacking them had limited returns.

By integrating them, he could achieve exponential amplification. That had been his goal lately.

And Yuto had become the unlucky guinea pig to test the results.

The Dragonblood Mode was a technique Charles developed when he first awakened his dragon powers—letting that power flow through his body, greatly boosting strength and granting regenerative ability.

Now, he had combined it with Kirin Gong, his inner martial art.

Kirin Gong amplified his internal energy several times over, making the dragon power circulating within even more potent. As a result, Charles's body showed clear signs of draconification.

Fine dragon scales grew on his cheeks. His pupils became vertical slits. His arms transformed—bone structure twisting into something more beast-like, claws extending from his hands.

"Secret Technique—Dragon King War Form!"

Unlike his other fusion techniques, the Dragon King War Form combined both of Charles's self-enhancement abilities. And with future upgrades, he could integrate more.

Now like a humanoid tyrant dragon, Charles launched Yuto into the air with a brutal punch.

Yuto landed in a crouch, shattering a chunk of uplifted terrain. Gritting through the pain, he launched himself forward again.

Charles looked unimpressed. The Dragon King War Form was performing just as he'd envisioned. And Yuto? He couldn't even fight back.

Charles caught his arm—now practically a dragon's claw—and crushed it.

Yuto's face contorted in pain—but even then, he grinned.

Charles's eyes widened in shock as Yuto's mangled arm melted into several black chains of jūryoku that coiled around his body.

Charles frowned. His limbs suddenly stiffened, and his internal magic ground to a halt.

What the hell? Wasn't this supposed to be the part where his new form let him steamroll the opponent?

But Charles ignored the embarrassment of that misstep. What he couldn't understand was how Yuto was managing to restrain him at all.

That's when a black shadow appeared behind him.

A five-pointed star spread out beneath Charles's feet. The shadow extended toward him, turning into a tar-like mire that began to swallow him whole.

And then Charles remembered—wasn't this the trap Dark Void had originally laid for Arima? Why was it being used on him?

One-armed, Yuto now appeared in human form again, walking over.

"Dark Void, you finally made it! I had to bet my entire arm just to hold him in place!"

Dark Void nodded. "What now? He doesn't use jūryoku—so I can't just kill him outright."

Yuto smiled. "It's fine. As long as he's sealed, he can't interfere with our plans."

Charles, however, laughed. "You really think this can seal me?"

A crackling noise rang out. The chains wrapped around Charles's body began to break. The jūryoku-based restraints disintegrated to ash under the heat of Charles's flames.

Dark Void and Yuto both tensed. This trap had been designed for onmyōji—if one was caught, their jūryoku would be drained completely, making resistance impossible.

But Charles was no onmyōji. He was a Dragon Slayer Mage. Sealing him was a whole different matter.

If Charles broke free now, the battle's outcome would be anyone's guess.

Just as Charles was on the verge of shattering the last of his restraints, he saw something—a pair of glowing eyes opening in the dark.

In the next instant, the nearly broken black chains reconnected—and tightened with crushing force.

"You're…!"

Charles didn't even finish the sentence. His body was completely swallowed by the darkness.

------------------

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