"Gah... gugh...! Damn it, damn it...!"
Turning his back on Zaraki, who directed a look of pure hatred toward him, Ryuga walked back to his companions.
Staggering as they moved, Setsuna and Sakura called out the name of the dear friend he held in his arms.
"Raiha! Raiha!"
"Stay strong, Raiha!"
"Nn... Setsuna-chan? Sakura-chan...?"
Raiha slowly opened her eyes as if responding to her friends' voices. After a brief moment of confusion, she gradually grasped the situation and looked at the two with a startled expression.
"Why...? I was supposed to be sealed by Koumaru...!"
"Lord Ryuga saved you! He defeated Zaraki and rescued you, Raiha!"
"Ryuga-san did...?"
Realizing for the first time that she was being carried by Ryuga, Raiha’s eyes widened. She looked up at his face, her voice trembling with bewilderment.
"Why...? Even though I killed your father...!"
"...Don't ask me."
Ryuga gave his trademark response. Even now, he likely didn't know how he was supposed to treat her.
Raiha looked as if she were about to burst into tears, her head shaking in a similar state of uncertainty. Ryuga continued bluntly.
"...Don't say such absurd nonsense about this being for the best."
"Eh...?"
"You have friends who were willing to risk their lives because they were worried about you. Don't ignore their feelings and treat your own life so carelessly."
Raiha’s eyes went wide with shock at Ryuga’s rebuke, which threw back the very words she had uttered just before being sealed.
Looking around, she saw not only Setsuna and Sakura, but also Marcos and the others who were battered and bloodied from fighting to save her. Tears welled in her eyes as she nodded.
"Yes...! Thank you... Thank you so very much...!"
"...Those aren't the words you should be saying to me. Say them to your friends."
With that curt remark, Ryuga handed Raiha over to Sakura. While Sakura rejoiced at seeing her friend—who was weak but fortunately not in mortal danger—Ryuga turned his gaze back toward the groaning Zaraki.
"Gufu! Gah... guaaaah!!"
"...It seems his body can no longer withstand the overwhelming Dragon Power."
"Yes... Now that he's lost the Orb, he's lost control over that strength."
Zaraki had taken the power of the Half-dragon Raiha and the two Dragon-powered Magic Items into his own flesh. However, without the Orb to regulate it, that energy was now an agonizing poison. The power was potent enough to instantly heal the wounds he’d received from Yugo, but with nowhere to go, it was rampaging through his system. The pain was likely beyond imagination.
Everyone expected Zaraki’s body to simply collapse under the strain, but then...
"Don't mock me...! Not... me...! There's no way it ends like this!!"
"!?!?"
A roar, followed by a visceral scream.
Ryuga and the others gasped in horror as Zaraki, driven by an explosion of raw emotion, stood up and hacked off both of his own arms.
At first glance, it appeared to be a final act of self-destructive madness. However, Melt noticed something as she looked at the severed limbs and pointed at them with a shout.
"L-Look! Those arms... they're changing shape!!"
Following Melt’s finger, they saw Zaraki’s severed arms moving of their own accord. They bloated and shifted, sprouting legs and wings, rapidly transforming into human-sized dragons.
"Did he prevent his body's collapse by concentrating the overflowing Dragon Power into his arms and cutting them off...!?"
"What a monster...! To even think of doing such a thing...!!"
This was Zaraki’s desperate gamble to purge the excess Dragon Power. While he could no longer maintain his Reinforced Dragon-man Form, he had managed to evade death. Utilizing his regenerative ability to its absolute limit, he regrew his arms and glared at Ryuga’s group.
"I won't forgive you...! I'll kill every last one of you right here!!"
"Persistent bastard. He should have just stayed down!"
Marcos groaned in irritation as he watched the weakened Zaraki stand alongside the two dragons born from his flesh. One was a Flying Dragon with massive wings, and the other was a Four-legged Dragon—beings that were more akin to true Monsters than simple beasts.
Though the group was stunned that the sore loser had managed to bolster his forces, no one flinched.
"Everyone! You can still fight, right!?"
"Of course! I'm not going to let Ryuga take all the credit!"
"I was just thinking I hadn't rampaged enough! I'm glad to have a decent target!"
"The current Zaraki is weakened! Even without Dragon Power, our attacks should land now!"
"We finally have our Magic Items back! We have no intention of losing now!"
"Everyone...!"
Raiha whispered, struck by the sight of her companions who refused to give up despite being at death's door. As Jinba stood protectively by her side, Zaraki shouted in a fit of rage.
"What is wrong with you people...?! How can you say that?! Every single one of you is at your breaking point!!"
"Hmph...! Unlike Ryuga, we are generous, so I suppose I shall answer that question for you."
"There is only one reason we won't give up! Because that is a Hero's Condition!!"
Their logic and their spirit were utterly incomprehensible to him. Zaraki’s irritation only grew at their words, unable to fathom how they could keep their hearts so strong.
"Die! Die! Dieeeee!! All of you, just rot and die!!"
As if responding to his scream, the two dragons lunged at the group.
Marcos and the others took their stances to intercept the beasts, but just before the clash... a black shadow leaped over their heads with a thunderous neigh.
"Pffft! Hieeeen!!"
"Gyurorororo!?"
"Zabbaa!?"
"Wait... Skull!? Why is he here!?"
Melt’s eyes widened as she recognized the shadow. The jet-black equine body was suddenly engulfed in fire. Clad in Crimson Lotus Flames, Skull slammed into the two dragons, sending them flying before skidding to a halt. From the horse's back, a cheerful, energetic voice rang out.
"Everyone! Sorry I'm late! But it looks like I managed to make it in time for the climax!"
A powerful, bright voice called out to his companions as the young man leaped down from his partner's back. Seeing him, Ryuga couldn't help but smile.
With a soft snort of amusement, Ryuga spoke to his partner with a voice full of trust and gratitude.
"Hahaha...! You really do have a knack for perfect timing, Yugo!!"