Charles could hear the undulating cadence of the incantations—the Twelve Heavenly Generals had already begun activating the Celestial-Yama Ceremony.

Spiritual and spell energy from the surrounding area were all being channeled into Kurumiya Tenma at the very center.

Charles glanced at the now fully-formed pentagram, then turned his gaze toward Anmu and the gorilla-like Filth.

"Then let's not waste time—I'll finish you both before the Dragon Black Spot is sealed."

"Fire Dragon's Sword Horn!"

The instant the words left his mouth, Charles became a streak of flame, piercing straight through the chest of the gorilla Filth.

As he emerged from its body, he had Sanmon—face frozen in disbelief—firmly in his grasp.

Behind them, a giant pentagram flared on the Filth's body, and Charles soared into the sky, dragging Sanmon with him.

The ridiculous toad-shaped sunglasses had long since flown off, revealing Sanmon's panicked eyes.

He beat against Charles's arm and body in desperation, his fists soon reduced to mangled flesh. The blood that splattered on Charles's armor was instantly purified by the flames of the Dragon Flame Combat Gear, making a hissing sound as it vaporized.

But Charles's arm didn't budge an inch as he carried Sanmon into the sky by the throat.

"Time to turn into fireworks."

Sanmon's body abruptly swelled in a grotesque manner. Beneath the stretching skin, one could faintly see orange flames flickering from within.

Just as Charles had said, Sanmon exploded in the sky like a massive firework.

The flaming remnants scattered like petals—but even this dazzling display failed to illuminate the shadowed expression on Anmu's face.

Charles slowly descended, looking down on Anmu like a deity from the heavens.

That lofty posture enraged Anmu completely. He growled, "Don't think you've won. This world is destined to descend into darkness—you can't stop it!"

As he spoke, his cloak was torn away by the surging spell power. Charm patterns spread across his body as black spell energy solidified into armor, especially on his arms, which transformed into two massive bone claws.

"What happens to this world is no longer your concern. Because you won't live to see it."

Charles charged forward and threw a punch.

Anmu brought his bone claws together to form a shield. Charles's fist struck it directly, but failed to break through.

Meanwhile, Anmu's other claw came swinging from the side, carving five deep slashes through the air.

Charles backed off. In the original timeline, Anmu had never used this ability—it seemed desperation had forced him to reveal his true strength.

Without hesitation, Anmu launched at Charles, the twin claws slashing relentlessly.

Charles dodged the first two attacks, but Anmu pressed the assault even harder.

Charles wasn't about to let that continue. He stopped retreating, raised his hand, and began countering.

"Fire Dragon's Splinter Fangs!"

Charles's fists clashed with the bone claws as Anmu bared his teeth, determined to tear Charles apart.

But then, Anmu noticed shards flying past his eyes.

"What… is that?"

Only then did he realize—his bone claws were developing cracks from the repeated impacts. Part of one claw had even been forcibly broken off by Charles.

Charles clenched his hand and snapped off an entire segment. The break triggered a chain reaction—cracks spidered across both claws until they shattered completely.

With his bone claws destroyed, Anmu lost both his primary weapons and his strongest defense.

Charles, of course, didn't waste the opportunity. He gathered magic into his throat and unleashed:

"Fire Dragon's Roar!"

A massive column of fire engulfed Anmu. But Anmu pushed his spell power to the limit, conjuring one final shield.

The black aura was slowly purified by Charles's holy flames, but Anmu—giving everything he had—managed to endure the roar.

But it changed nothing. Even if he blocked one attack, he was powerless to stop the next.

"Fire Dragon's Crushing Fist!"

Charles's punch crashed through Anmu's defense like cracking an eggshell, blasting a hole straight through his chest.

Anmu collapsed to the ground. As the most powerful of the Basara, he didn't vanish instantly despite the fatal wound—but Charles knew, even for him, this was a death sentence. There was no surviving it.

At the same moment Charles's fist pierced Anmu, the Celestial-Yama Ceremony reached its final stage.

Kurumiya Tenma raised his staff, unleashing a towering beam of spell energy that struck the Dragon Black Spot.

Charles could clearly sense the wound in space healing. The miasma and Filth were being sucked back into the Black Spot.

Just as Charles allowed himself to exhale in relief, a familiar presence caught his attention.

Looking down, he saw a school-uniformed boy standing beside Anmu.

Anmu, like a dying candle flame, struggled to open his eyes.

"Ishikagami Yukito… Was all of this part of your plan?"

The boy wore an eye patch and his sleeve hung limp—none other than Ishikagami Yukito, missing for two years.

Wearing a wicked grin, Yukito said, "What a pity. You were such a useful pawn. But in the end, you still did me a huge favor."

Charles narrowed his eyes. "I nearly forgot about you."

Yukito looked up at Charles and even waved. "I knew that trap wouldn't hold you forever. It's been two years—how've you been?"

"I'll be much better after I take care of you," Charles replied as flames surged around him once more.

But before Charles could make a move, the nearly-closed Dragon Black Spot began to pull both Yukito and Anmu into the air.

"No need to rush! This is just a friendly reunion after so long. We'll meet again soon enough!"

Charles started to pursue, but under the power of the Celestial-Yama Ceremony, the Dragon Black Spot closed completely after swallowing them both, revealing the clear blue sky once more.

Charles retracted the Dragon Flame Combat Gear. At least now he could be certain—Anmu was finished.

Even if such a wound could be healed, Yukito wouldn't allow Anmu to live.

And that was exactly what worried Charles. Ishikagami Yukito wouldn't take Anmu's corpse without a reason.

With the plot now completely off the rails, no one could predict what Yukito was planning.

Compared to him, Anmu fell short in both intellect and power. His only strength had been his vast spell energy—and now even that was in Yukito's hands.

It was clear: Yukito was about to set something big in motion. And Charles had a hunch that the one who ambushed him before—Abe no Seimei—might soon make another move. Whether the two were connected remained to be seen.

But whoever the next enemy was…

Charles clenched his fist.

…he would crush them just the same.

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