Kaze stood motionless as Sora looked down at him, gloating over his apparent victory. Blood dripped from the corner of Kaze's mouth where Sora's last attack had connected.

"Not so high and mighty now, are you?" Sora sneered, his mismatched eyes alight with excitement.

Kaze said nothing, merely spit a glob of blood onto Sora's boot in defiance.

Sora's face contorted in anger and he barked to his allies Saki and Miyu,

"Give me the suppressor!"

The two hurried over, handing Sora a sleek, metallic gun.

"This will deactivate his abilities for five minutes," Saki explained.

"More than enough time to finish him off."

Sora grinned wickedly, leveling the gun at Kaze's head.

"Say goodbye to your anolity."

There was a click, then a flash of blue light.

Kaze jerked as the beam hit him square between the eyes.

For a moment, nothing seemed to happen.

Then a wave of weakness washed over him, accompanied by a hollow ache in his core.

Dr. Keito watched with bated breath.

“I've never seen technology like this before.What else has the Eclipse been developing while I’ve been away?”

Slowly, Kaze rose to his feet, swaying slightly as he adjusted to the absence of his Anolity.

He gingerly touched his forehead where the suppressor had struck. There was no mark or blood, only a lingering headache and that unsettling hollowness inside.

"What the hell...?" Kaze muttered, a mix of confusion and frustration in his voice.

"This doesn't make any sense. Since when do they have this kind of tech?" Kaze clenched.

Sora let out a sharp laugh.

"Not so tough now, are you? For the next five minutes, you're just a normal human." His smile turned savage.

"I've waited years for this moment. To finally beat you, the so-called S-rank prodigy. Once I kill you, I'll take my rightful place as the top agent!"

Sora nodded to Saki and Miyu. "Report Kaze's death to Hiroto Nagasaki. I'll handle the clean up here."

As the two hurried off, Sora turned his full attention back to Kaze.

"I've replayed this a thousand times in my head. Taking you down, proving once and for all that I'm the strongest."

Kaze regarded him coldly as Sora ranted, his mind racing.

The suppressor's effects were undeniable, leaving him weakened and exposed. He had to act quickly, before Sora seized the opportunity to end him.

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Dr. Keito spoke urgently from the sidelines.

"Kaze, you must flee! Without your anolity, he is too strong for you now!"

Kaze ignored the doctor, reaching instead for the suppression bracelet on his wrist, the device that had dampened his abilities since childhood.

With effort, he wrenched it free, feeling a hint of his anolity trickle back as the bracelet clattered to the ground. It wasn't much, but it was something.

Sora paused, eyeing Kaze curiously.

Then he threw back his head and laughed. "Oh, I see! You've managed to tap into some of your anolity again. Doesn't change a thing. I'm still way more powerful than you."

As he spoke, Sora began to cough violently.

“What?!” Sora said.

Blood flecked his lips as he dropped to one knee, his right eye flickering from gray back to solid black.

Kaze watched impassively as Sora's body spasmed.

"What...what's happening?" Sora choked out.

"I thought your victory seemed way too easy," Kaze said coldly.

"Making me believe the shadows would tilt the odds in your favor against me? Laughable.

You really thought I wouldn't notice? It's not the darkness you're banking on; it's the S-23 experimental drug that Rin is on.

You've been juicing up on that stuff, haven't you?" Kaze’s stare became more intense.

Sora bared his teeth, blood dripping from his chin. "You don't know anything!"

Kaze met his furious gaze unflinchingly. "I've got the picture. It's pretty sad, you know, leaning on chemicals to scrape together some semblance of strength.

And it looks like that boost of yours is just a fleeting high, Nothing lasting, not like with Rin. That drug actually meshed with her system."

With a primal roar, Sora burst forward, his shadow blade materializing in his grip.

Sora watched as Kaze dodged his Umbral Blade.

Kaze speed blitz and covered his fist in gravity spheres.

But before Kaze could counterattack, Sora already knew his plan.

"I knew you'd do that," Sora said, dodging the gravity-infused fist as he slashed Kaze across the gut with his blade.

It was a shallow cut, but blood still flowed from the wound.

Kaze gasped for air, realizing this battle could end in his death if he didn't act fast.

He had to stall for two more minutes until his anolity fully came back. Pressing his hand against the gash on his stomach, Kaze turned and fled from Sora.

Sora laughed in disbelief as the mighty Kaze retreated from him.

"I can't believe my eyes - you, the strongest, running from me? How the mighty have fallen."

Sora slid his hands into his pockets and melted into the shadows, effortlessly pursuing Kaze.

Kaze reached a nearby lake and dove into the water.

Sora emerged from the darkness at the lake's edge, puzzled by this tactic.

"What is he planning?" Sora wondered. Then it dawned on him - Kaze was trying to stall until he regained his full powers.

"I can't let him do that," Sora said.

Charging up a massive sphere of darkness, Sora aimed both hands at the lake.

「Eclipse Strike.」He shouted, unleashing the full force of the attack. The resulting explosion vaporized the lake in an instant.

Sora scanned the devastated landscape.

"Where are you, Kaze?" Sora muttered.

After a few minutes, Sora sensed some kind of energy behind him.

He turned quickly and found Kaze standing right there, badly burned but alive.

Kaze was breathing heavily, but he smiled—his anolity had returned.

"You damn cockroach!, you just won't stay down, will you?

Terror gripped Sora, who began shaking uncontrollably.

"I-I lost. How did he survive that attack?"

Sora glanced at a tunnel beneath the remains of the lake and realized Kaze must have created an escape route from the blast.

"What a monster," Sora thought.

Kaze raised his right hand, charging up a finishing blow.

"Any last words?" Kaze asked coldly.

Sora laughed nervously. "Nah, I'm just happy I was able to overpower you, even for a few minutes. I'm glad to die by the strongest hand." He closed his eyes, ready to accept his fate.