The wind howled against the cliffs as the three warriors faced off.
The ocean crashed below them, a roaring symphony that seemed to urge them into battle.
Todo stood still, his cloak fluttering, calm as stone.
Before him, Dai grinned wildly, fire already dancing in his hands, while Dante silently tightened his grip on a purple-formed greatsword that shimmered into existence.
"You sure you wanna do this, old man?" Dai taunted, fire flying from his fingertips.
"You might not walk away in one piece."
Todo's golden Sphere Eyes gleamed faintly.
"If you want to refuse Kenshin's call, then prove you're worthy of ignoring it."
Dai laughed — then launched forward like a meteor.
The ground beneath him cracked as he surged toward Todo, a torrent of flames erupting from his fists.
Todo stepped aside in a blur, summoning a massive, jagged tower shield from an alternate dimension — the shield slammed into the ground with a weighty boom, blocking the fire.
Dante moved next.
His purple energy swirled around him, forming twin pistols. He opened fire with precise, controlled shots — the bullets humming with raw energy.
Todo's eyes flashed.
A rift opened beside him, and a mirror-like shield absorbed the bullets and redirected them back at Dante.
Dante cursed under his breath, forming a thick energy wall to absorb his own attack.
"This guy's no joke," Dante muttered.
Dai didn't seem to care. He grinned wider, pushing his flames hotter — bright blue now, the air warping from heat.
He charged again, spinning and hurling a burning spear toward Todo.
Todo summoned a massive, spiked mace from a dimension of battlefields long forgotten, swinging it in a perfect arc and smashing the spear midair.
"Your power is raw," Todo said calmly.
"But raw fire alone won't win a war."
"You talk too much!" Dai shouted, slamming his hands into the ground.
Flames exploded upward in a wave, racing toward Todo.
Todo narrowed his eyes.
In an instant, he summoned a gale cannon — a weapon designed to control storms — and blasted a massive burst of wind that extinguished the flames mid-surge.
While the smoke clouded the battlefield, Dante moved.
Silent. Deadly.
He manifested a sleek purple dagger and aimed it straight at Todo's back.
But Todo was ready.
Without even turning, he summoned a crimson chain from another dimension, the chain wrapping around Dante's wrist mid-strike.
Todo spoke without malice.
"You both are strong. But you fight as individuals."
He pulled Dante forward and tossed him aside like a ragdoll — but gently enough to show he meant no real harm.
Dai, furious, hurled another firestorm at Todo — but this time Todo summoned an ancient gauntlet from a timeline where humans fought dragons.
The gauntlet absorbed the fire into its metal veins and discharged the energy harmlessly into the sky.
Todo stood unmoved. Untouched. Unbroken.
(Flashback interlude: Todo's Past)
Todo remembered the day he awakened his Sphere Eyes.
He had been a boy — weaker than his peers, mocked for not being special.
But on the day demons attacked his home, something inside him broke free.
His Sphere Eyes awoke — golden like the sun, with the rare gift of Summoning From the Infinite dimensions .
Not just summoning common weapons.
No, he could summon objects, relics, and tools from infinite possibilities across dimensions — the power to adapt infinitely to any threat.
Though he could still only see five seconds into the future like most, this random summon made him an unpredictable force of nature.
And under Kenshin's guidance, Todo grew into the Fortress Palace's second strongest warrior — second only to the great Kenshin himself.
Now, standing here, he wielded that strength not to dominate Dai and Dante — but to show them that strength could have purpose.
(Return to Present)
Breathing heavily, Dai wiped blood from his lip.
Dante stood slowly, his purple energy swirling defensively around him.
Todo released a breath.
"I do not wish to fight you," Todo said.
"But if you cannot stand beside someone stronger... then you will fall when the true war begins."
Dai looked at Dante.
Dante looked at Dai.
For a moment, silence stretched between them.
Then, Dai snorted.
"Tch... damn it. I hate politics."
Dante gave a slight smirk.
"But we hate demons more."
They turned back to Todo.
"We'll hear your offer," Dante said coolly.
Dai crossed his arms.
"But we're not joining because we trust you."
Todo chuckled softly — the first real smile he'd shown all day.
"That's fine," he said.
"Trust is earned in battle."
And with that, the first cracks of alliance began to form — an alliance that would soon shake the world itself.
end of chapter 17