(Present day)
The wind had changed.
But the courtyard hadn't.
Lionel stood opposite Amari—posture loose, gaze unreadable, the same grin carved lightly across his face like no blade had dared scrape it off. The man who had once built a kingdom from dust and divine departure didn't look tired. Didn't look afraid. He was moving fast, striking clean—but not seriously. Not yet.
And Amari knew it.
Every time their blades clashed, every time the Kusarigama hissed through air and Lionel redirected the arc with wrist and shoulder alone, it wasn't just defense. It was evaluation.
Behind them, the orchestra of war kept playing—
Milo froze time again—twice in quick bursts—stacking clone formations around collapsing soldiers.
Johnny deflected another spear barrage with rod sweeps that bent physics in bursts.
Maverick issued commands that cracked through skulls and folded lungs into silence.