Casanova stands before Mitsuya , confidently combing his fingers through his hair. His golden embroidered mask sits perfectly on his face as he tries his best to show his most mysterious qualities. Any sane person might think that he is reenacting a scene from the Phantom of the Opera. He turns around to Mitsuya , his gigantic smile , but bloodshot eyes looking straight towards him. Mitsuya struggles to utter words , but then composes himself. He stands up to face Casanova , who at this point has reached out a hand to him. Mitsuya stares at him for several moments before reluctantly grabbing it and pulling himself up. He wipes the dust off of his shirt and pants , still staring at Casanova. " Casanova Vanguard , nice to meet you." He furiously shakes Mitsuya's hand in excitement. " Mitsuya Nieto." Although he can barely stand right now , Mitsuya tries to be nice. He observes Casanova's appearance from head to toe. He must think that he's weird. Meanwhile , Casanova is doing the same. Casanova observes the blood on his shirt. He reaches his other hand to Mitsuya's stomach , and a purple light emits into the atmosphere. Mitsuya closes his eyes tightly in confusion , not knowing what the boy is trying to do to him. Suddenly , he hears Casanova's voice. The voice of an excited but somewhat confident teenage boy : " Okay , you can open your eyes now." Mitsuya opens his eyes and looks down. The blood of his wound is gone. He no longer feels any pain. He becomes frantic. " Wha - what did you just do ?! I'm not bleeding anymore. You cursed me , didn't you ?" Casanova simply laughs and pats his hand on Mitsuya's shoulder - " No , my new friend. I healed you. Before you ask , I'll answer your question. I have a unique type of shadow. I can store potential energy and exert it into multiple different forms when I need it the most. In some cases I can use them to fortify weapons , but this time I used it to heal you." He chuckles and grins. Mitsuya is still confused " Hang on , mystery boy. Doesn't that put a strain on your body." Casanova steps back and takes a seat on the floor. He stares directly at Avery. His eyes are completely focused on her. " No , not at all." He closes his eyes and calls upon his shadow. Suddenly a gigantic spear appears out of the dark mass that had resided in his hand." My magic is limitless." He throws the spear at Avery , who creates her own spear and cancels it out. Mitsuya stands in amazement as the dust settles. He thinks to himself - " What is he ? I would expect that of Avery , but his magic is too fast for me to see. That must have been faster than light."
Avery summons three additional spears and sets them aside. Casanova and Mitsuya watch her every movement. Suddenly , she calls out to them from across the room. " Mitsuya , that child possesses shadow magic , doesn't he ? I expect that he's come to help you." Mitsuya doesn't respond. Instead he engages in a fierce staring contest with Avery. She sighs and shakes her head. " I'll give you another 5 minutes. You can tell him all of your observations. This is no longer a fight to the death. I can't risk all of these children being hurt." Mitsuya nods his head at her , and she takes a seat on the ground. Mitsuya tells Casanova everything. " She's dangerous , Casanova. I don't know how experienced you are with shadow craft , but you're gonna have to be-'' He is interrupted when Casanova puts up a hand for him to stop. For the past three and a half minutes , he has been sitting on the floor as well , with his fingers on his temples , as if he was in deep thought about something. He looks up at Mitsuya - " From what you said , I now understand that she can manipulate dark matter , command shadows and derive energy from somewhere." He points to Avery. " But could it be possible that her magic relies on taking spiritual energy away from herself and others. That's why you're so tired. She's been draining your life energy this entire time." Mitsuya looks at him frustratingly - " If that's so , then why aren't you tired yet ?" Casanova stands to his feet. " You probably haven't felt it yet because your magic is so weak." Mitsuya gets heated , but Casanova tries to calm him down. " At least that's what I heard from Himura." He sighs and shakes his head. " Anyways , when I got here , I put a commanding boundary on this building. Not only do we no longer have a natural being in this city , we are almost non-existent to this universe as of right now. It is highly probable that some universes don't have boundaries such as this one. But there are multiple chances that some universes simply aren't incapable of holding magical powers. In simple people terms, I nullified all magical powers except for ours." Mitsuya is still confused. Casanova sighs - " It's okay. Whatever she hits me with , I can probably create it with several times the force."
Casanova stands up and begins to walk towards the center of the room. Mitsuya stops him by grabbing his shoulder as he starts moving. " Casanova , I know that I said that Avery is dangerous , but please don't kill her. She has to get out of here. She didn't choose this life." Casanova removes his hand and stares at Mitsuya with heartfelt eyes. " I don't kill my opponents. I never inflict mortal injury unless it is absolutely necessary. You don't have to worry." Mitsuya understands his words , but still thinks that he looks stupid with that golden opera mask on. " Do you have to where that stupid mask ?" Casanova laughs quietly - " No , it just makes me look cooler." He turns back to Avery , who at this point is standing as well. Casanova reaches talks to Avery : " I know everything about you now. I don't plan to kill you." Avery shouts- " Neither do I to you. No one shall be killed in this battle." Casanova whispers to himself - " Well , let's see who's shadow is stronger." He talks to Mitsuya - " I assume Himura told you. My shadow magic didn't develop. I was born with it. The shadow is responsible for my creation. But in simple terms , I have no memories before the age of 3. I was adopted into a mage family. But , I must remind you. The shadow knows no limits. Such as this." Suddenly the dark black wings appear on Casanova's black. He clenches his fists , and enters a unique karate stand. " BEGIN." Within a split second , he's already on the other side of the room to Avery. He's too fast for her to react. Avery gets punched right in the stomach. A normal punch would have caused her to fall to her knees. A punch with energy might have pushed her back to the wall.But it seems like Casanova's punches are something else. Avery flies back to the wall , but she keeps going. The entire wall is smashed in , and the one of the room behind that one , and the room behind that one , and so on. She went flying through 6 walls. Before Mitsuya can see , Casanova is already after her. He flies at almost lightspeed , quickly catching her before she falls to the ground outside. Casanova punches her again , but this time she is sent flying upwards to the sky. He calls down to Mitsuya , who is observing through the roof. " GO FIND HIMURA AND MAYOMI." Mitsuya stands in awe , as he sees the shadowy sky of Casanova's spell. The sky is consumed by colors of darkness , of chaos - black , purple , red. To Mitsuya , he would probably call this the Shadow Realm. But he has no time to think of a name for it. He runs back to the elevator , and quickly runs to the second floor. He encounters Himura , who is still fighting Alexander. By the time he gets there, he's out of breath. Mitsuya observes that Himura finally has the upper hand in the battle. Himura stands before Alexander , who is currently levitating in the air. Himura punches the air in Alexander's direction , and he is instantly sent back to the wall. The force of that punch was so strong that it broke through the wall , and Alexander fell into a powerful thump in the floor of the room underneath him. Himura kicks in his direction , and suddenly the floor splits. The entire room is falling apart at Himura's command. The sudden split moves straight towards Alexander , cutting everything in his path. Only by a small margin , it manages to hit him. In an instant , his entire foot is cut off. He lets out an enormous yell , and his face becomes redder than before. It seems as if Himura doesn't care at all though. Suddenly , he pushes the ground beneath him , and everything begins levitating. Throughout this entire battle , Himura has touched everything in this hallway. He lifts every piece of rubble , every large chunk of rock , every shard of class and faces an open palm towards Alexander. All of these things go flying at him.He can't escape them. Everything hits him , all at once. He's mortally injured. However , he continues to fight. He runs fast at Himura , shattering the ground beneath him. The echo of his steps booms throughout the building. He lunges at Himura , who quickly dodges. Almost in no time at all , Himura draws a transmutation circle on the ground. As he puts his hand on it , a blue light emerges from its patterns. Suddenly , large rocks begin surrounding Alexander. In his unconscious state , he fails to understand what's happening. Suddenly Himura shouts - " Sacred Earth Technique : Imprisonment Seal !" The rocks begin to form a prison around Alexander , trapping him. He can't move. Mitsuya runs out to HImura , and he begins to form several hand signs. He knows that Himura is about to do his affinity magic. He also knows that Himura will do it quickly , so he won't reach him in time.
" HIMURA ! DON'T KILL HIM ! HE WASN'T FORCED TO DO THIS ! WE NEED TO HELP HIM AND HIS SISTER GET OUT OF HERE !" But Himura is already into the final stages of his incantation - " KAGU-TSUCHI - HIDDEN PHOENIX ARROW." Suddenly , a large ball of fire emerges before him. Himura engulfs it in his hand , and opens his palms after several moments. The heat has consumed the room , and Mitsuya begins to sweat from afar. A large bow and arrow have appeared from the transformed flames. He concentrates,aiming it directly at the prison. " RELEASE." The arrow flies straight at Alexander. Suddenly , his eyes return back to normal. But it's too late. He becomes engulfed in flames.
After several moments , Himura runs back to Mitsuya. Mitsuya is in a panic , but Himura soon calms him down. " Listen , Mitsuya , he's not going to die. I already know everything about his past. The one you were fighting upstairs is his sister. The fire that I casted on him won't harm him , it'll only drain his energy. He'll be unconscious in a few minutes." Mitsuya sighs in relief , but his face is still one of concern. Himura grabs his shoulder - " Look , I'll need you to go find Mayomi. I'll stay here and keep watch on him. Okay ?" Mitsuya nods his head and begins running down the hallway. But Himura shouts to him - " Wait , where's Casanova ?" Mitsuya turns around - " Somewhere in the sky." Himura chuckles - " Do you still remember the room ?" Mitsuya shouts back to him and continues running - " Yeah , room 665. There isn't a sixth floor , so it must be hidden somewhere." He runs down the hallway , up to the 3rd floor.
On the third floor , he continues running. It seems as if his stamina has increased since Casanova healed him. He feels like his physical endurance is in peak condition. He doesn't see room 665 there. He goes down to the 1st floor again. Still no room 665. He has no idea where the room could be. But suddenly , he comes up with an idea. What if , by some means , there was a secret underground tunnel constructed. There must have been a way that the mages escaped once they began their rebellion 80 years ago. It wouldn't have been convenient if they were just able to walk out of the front door. Mitsuya goes down to the basement again , to the place where he and Avery fought. Casanova still isn't back yet. He looks at the layout of the room. There doesn't look like there would be another level under here. But what if he made one. He has another idea. Mitsuya sits on the ground , and draws a transmutation circle with a piece of chalk. He thinks to himself " My magic is weak , but then again I haven't used it in over 2 years. What if , in some way , my powers are slowly coming back." It takes him awhile to create a sufficient pattern. One would think that after so many years he would forget how to transmute all together. But after 10 minutes or so of erasing and redrawing , he finally did it. One gigantic circle - symmetrical lines within , triangles overlapping within the circle. This should take him deep underground. But there's only one way for it to work - If he has a clear goal , and if he actually tries it. He puts his hands on the circle and takes a deep breath. " Here goes nothing -" The circle lights up in a blue flash. Suddenly , the circle becomes a hole. He struggles to see what's in it above the light. A few moments pass, and he sits up frantically , peering into the hole - " Did I do it ?" It's dark down there , but he can see. He makes out a path. It's leading somewhere. After moments of frantically shouting " YES" , he calms down. He knows where Mayomi is. But most of all , his magic , despite being weak , still works. He jumps in.
But what he sees is horrific. Bones , and ashes. Decaying limbs , old teeth. Discarded needles , blood spattered on the wall. The small green light illuminates the blood , creating a gory pattern. He slowly walks further down , and is confronted by a swarm of flies coming his way. " There must be something dead down here ," he says to himself. He runs faster down the tunnel , only to see... He shields his eyes. He can't take it any longer. The smell is horrible , and the image is terrifying. The bodies of about a dozen children sit sprawled on the floor , all perfectly in line. They each , despite being dead , have full grins upon their faces. Mitsuya observes the cuts and bruises on their bodies. They're still warm. They haven't been here for long. He turns his flashlight to the top wall. Something is there. He looks in horror. The average reader couldn't comprehend how much. On the ceiling , an X shaped scar is drawn. In blood. He is in shock , but continues walking. Down several long paths , twists and turns , there seems to be no end. But then , here's something. Something dripping near him. He looks up , only to see blood dripping from the ceiling. His shirt is stained , crimson red. And he hears a growling noise. He turns his flashlight down - only to see a dark shadow moving towards him. As the image becomes clearer , he realizes that it's a wolf. A pitch black one with yellow eyes , at that. He can't move. The wolf chases him , but he accidentally falls down. Mitsuya is staring fear straight in the eye. He's going to die. But just then , he hears another growling- what could it be ?
Meanwhile , up in the sky , Casanova and Avery have been going at it for about 10 minutes. Throughout the entire ordeal , Avery managed to almost cut off Casanova's leg with her trident. She's been on defense the entire time , while Casanova is steadily attacking her. This is always his plan during combat. To attack the enemy until their energy is drained enough that they can no longer continue fighting. Then he lands the finishing blow. They're moving too fast for an average person , even the fastest mage to see. It is almost as if they are gifted with speeds of the gods themselves. Avery finally has a chance to do something. When Casanova attacks her , finds an opening and stabs him directly in the ribs with her trident. Casanova falls down , back to the building. Avery sighs in relief - " That's not going to kill him. It'll only incapacitate him." She commands her shadow to take her back down. But as she floats down , she stops. A chill runs down her spine. Casanova isn't down. She can feel something behind her. He's still up there , surrounded by a dark cloud. His wings are reminiscent of those of a fallen angel. Suddenly , he calls up from the sky- " It looks like your shadows haven't been developed to their full potential. If you knew how to utilize your powers better , I'd say that you would be able to create shadow clones. At your level , maybe about 20 at a time. But then again , they wouldn't be as powerful as mine." He disappears , suddenly standing before Avery. He moved too fast for us to see. " I think it's time for our finale , don't you ?" Casanova punches her , and she falls to her knees. He flies backwards , then turns to face her. Avery is on the roof , panting. She looks up , only to see more dark shadows surrounding Casanova. He lifts his hand to the sky , and about 50 or so purple shadow portals open up. He shouts down to Avery , who doesn't find it easy to speak right now. " This is my final product. I will end this with excitement." Suddenly , an array of spears and swords and daggers appear from each portal. He points towards Avery , and they all go rushing towards her. Avery points her finger out as well , and in an instant the same number of portals opens up. She shouts to Casanova - " This is my final product as well. I'll end this on equal terms." Casanova's eyes become heartfelt - " Shadow Imitation. Neat. But they won't be as powerful as mine." As they collide ,most of Avery's weapons disappear. Those that make it to Casanova are instantly blocked by his barrier. Meanwhile , Avery has no defense. They head straight for her. After the dust settles , Avery is barely standing. She shouts to Casanova - " I can still fight !" Casanova sighs , and closes his eyes. " Then I'll have to end this fast." He opens his palm , and a shadow appears. It undergoes a transformation. At the end , a spear stands. Casanova aims it at Avery. She creates her own and does the same. He shouts " EREBUS SPEAR , PURGER OF EVIL" and throws it. Avery throws hers. The impact of the throw breaks his arm. But instead of canceling each other out , they go past each other. Casanova and Avery are both hit.
Mitsuya , who by now is crying , can see the dark figure growling at a distance. He's scared. It might be here to eat him too. But when he realizes what it is , he's confused. Before him is a large , crimson fox , with nine tails , each waving in the air. Its fangs are humongous , and its mouth is drooling with saliva. It's hungry for something , and its ferocious eyes are a dead giveaway. The fox begins running , faster and faster. The only thing Mitsuya can do is shield his eyes. But it doesn't go for him. Instead , it pounces on the wolf. Mitsuya observes as they engage in a brawl , clawing at each other. In the end , the fox cawed out the wolf's eyes. It approaches Mitsuya , who is up against the wall. He wants to run , but he's afraid. He closes his eyes , only peeking a little bit. But what he sees is mindblowing. The fox isn't there anymore. Instead , a woman stands before him. She's familiar. He gets up to his feet and shouts " MAYOMI , YOU'RE A FOX ???!!!!" She tells him to shut up , and puts her hand over his mouth. With serious eyes , she begins laughing. " Nice to meet you, Mitsuya. You're better looking than I thought you would be." Mitsuya is confused - " Excuse me , are you hitting on a 13 year old." Mayomi laughs. " Not at all , kid. Your dad wasn't too good looking , so I thought you would turn out the same way." For some reason , Mitsuya laughs with her. " But we can talk about this another time. We have to get out of here." Suddenly , a voice comes from down the tunnel. " How exactly are you going to do that ?" Nara stands in front of them , with a grin on his face. And he's holding something. A clock. Mitsuya and Mayomi both say at the same time - " Oh , great."