"The fate between you and the maiden ends here!"
Light flared across Yume's body, bright enough to drown the cave in a pale gold glow. In that radiance, she saw flashes — echoes of all the Mikos before her: their rituals, their pain, their final moments. Their chakra surged toward her, a torrent of inherited resolve.
Boom!
The cavern shook. Cracks split through the floor as Yume's chakra reached its peak. The sheer pressure was suffocating — ancient, heavy, divine. The Sprite shrieked as its body twisted under the strain.
"Wh-what is this?!" the Sprite roared. Its power recoiled inward, sealed by an invisible force. For the first time, fear crept into its voice.
"Kill her! Now!" it howled.
Hayato-san and Misaki-san exchanged grim looks and rushed toward Yume — but before they could reach her, the entire cave quaked. The ground beneath them heaved, splintered, and collapsed.
Both enemies skidded to a stop as the earth gave way, swallowing Yume and the Sprite into the abyss below.
Yume fell with the crumbling stone, hands still weaving seals even as her body tumbled. Glowing lines etched themselves across her skin, forming ancient sigils. Her hair, once short and dark, now streamed behind her like a river of light.
The Sprite screamed, its body splitting apart under the assault of divine chakra. Waves of corrupted energy burst outward, colliding against Yume's barrier in sparks of violet and gold.
"You think sealing me means victory? Foolish child! Even if you seal me, you'll die!"
"Then I'll die with you," Yume answered, voice steady. "But you'll never hurt anyone again."
The air convulsed with chakra. The explosion of power consumed everything, and for a moment, even the earth seemed to hold its breath.
When the light faded, Yume and the Sprite were at the bottom of a collapsed pit. The walls pulsed with energy — her barrier had closed, locking both inside. No matter how the Sprite clawed or screamed, the seal wouldn't budge.
Yume looked around, exhaustion eating at her limbs. The space was shrinking, sealing itself completely. "Once this closes," she murmured, "neither of us will get out."
"MIKO!" the Sprite bellowed, thrashing against the invisible walls.
Yume smiled faintly, blood on her lips. "If I die, no one will even be sad for me," she whispered. The words came out hollow — half confession, half acceptance. She thought of her mother's sacrifice, the villagers' distant reverence, the loneliness that came with being "sacred."
Her vision blurred.
Then —
"Hey," a voice said lightly, right by her ear. "Didn't I tell you to call my name when it gets dangerous?"
Yume's eyes widened. A hand grabbed her arm, pulling her upward.
Raizen stood before her, framed by the collapsing seal, his expression calm yet fierce, like he'd just walked into hell by accident.
"What are you doing?!" Yume shouted, tears welling again. "You'll die if you stay!"
"I said I don't die that easily," Raizen grinned, his tone rough but confident.
He heaved her upward with a single motion, chakra flaring through his arm. Yume was hurled up toward the mouth of the pit, light swallowing her form. Below, the Sprite roared — its movement returning now that Yume's focus was gone.
"Raizen!"
He didn't look up. "You're still too young to die here. The world's not done with you yet."
The Sprite's chakra surged — an avalanche of black and violet light crashing toward him like a tidal wave. Raizen exhaled, blood dripping from his chest as the energy tore through him.
Still, he smiled. "Go live… in the name of a Miko."
Yume screamed as the explosion erupted beneath her. The force lit up the cave like a newborn sun.
Raizen's voice cut through the roar — calm, defiant.
"Flying Thunder God!"
A flash.
And just as the light swallowed everything, his body vanished from where the Sprite's chakra struck.