Far above the destruction consuming the lower districts of the Coastal Kingdom, the third layer remained quiet for only a little while longer.
The night sky still hung over the Coastal Kingdom when Yuki Kyosei’s eyes opened. The faint glow of moonlight slipped through the curtains of the inn room, casting pale silver across the floor while the city outside remained trapped in that quiet hour before dawn where most of the kingdom should have been asleep.
At first, she wasn’t fully sure what had woken her. Everything should have been peaceful after the festival-filled nights the kingdom was known for.
But something felt off. A faint vibration ran beneath the floorboards, subtle enough that she might have ignored it under normal circumstances, yet wrong enough to immediately put her on edge.
Yuki slowly sat up in bed, her long blonde hair falling over one shoulder as her sharp blue eyes narrowed slightly. For a brief moment she simply listened.
The kingdom wasn’t quiet.
There were screams outside.
Distant.
Panicked.
Then another tremor shook the building harder than before.
Yuki immediately stood.
“…Boys,” she called toward the other side of the suite. “Wake up.”
No response.
Yuki sighed once before grabbing the nearest pillow and launching it directly across the room.
It smacked Ryota in the face instantly.
“Agh-what-who died?!” Ryota shot upright dramatically, his orange hair sticking out wildly in every direction.
“Possibly several people,” Yuki answered calmly.
“…Oh.”
Another violent tremor shook the building.
That woke the others.
Lars slowly opened one eye from where he had been sleeping against the wall, his spiked black hair completely disheveled while his red eyes adjusted lazily toward the shaking room.
“…That doesn’t sound ideal,” he muttered.
Meanwhile, Sora looked deeply offended that reality itself had interrupted his sleep.
“What,” he said flatly, sitting up slowly in his white robes, silver hair a complete mess, “is making that noise at this ungodly hour?”
Then the kingdom shook again.
This time hard enough for glasses to rattle off nearby shelves.
The entire room went silent.
Lars stood first.
“…That wasn’t normal.”
Yuki had already moved toward the balcony doors. The moment she pulled them open, ocean wind rushed violently into the room alongside distant smoke and the sounds of chaos spreading through the kingdom below.
And then they saw it.
Far beneath the third layer-
The Shore Reaver towered over the Coastal Kingdom.
Even from this height, the sea beast looked enormous. Fires spread throughout sections of the lower and middle layers while floodwaters surged through ruined streets. Buildings collapsed beneath the creature’s movements as flashes of spiritual energy exploded throughout the battlefield around it.
Ryota stared blankly for several seconds.
“…That,” he said slowly, “is significantly bigger than I expected.”
Sora walked onto the balcony beside him, took one look at the Shore Reaver, and immediately lost whatever arrogance remained from waking up moments earlier.
“…What in the world…”
Another roar echoed across the kingdom loud enough to shake the third layer beneath their feet.
Lars narrowed his eyes toward the battlefield below. Even from here he could make out flashes of lightning, explosions of fire, floating debris-
And familiar spiritual signatures.
“…Someone’s already fighting it,” he realized.
Yuki’s expression sharpened immediately. “You recognize them?”
“…Yeah.”
A faint grin crossed Lars’ face despite the situation.
“Illumina.”
Ryota instantly lit up. “No way! Shrimpy’s fighting THAT?!”
Sora crossed his arms immediately. “First of all, don’t call him that. That’s my thing.”
“Second of all,” Ryota continued while ignoring him completely, “there’s no way they survive this.”
Lars looked toward the kingdom below again.
The flashes of combat happening throughout the lower districts were intense enough that even from the third layer he could feel the pressure from some of the attacks.
“…They’re not alone,” he said quietly.
Yuki noticed it too.
Another group’s spiritual energy moved through the battlefield beneath the Shore Reaver.
Much stronger.
“The Titans Guild,” she realized.
Sora’s eyes widened slightly. “…Even they’re struggling?”
No one answered because the answer was obvious.
The Shore Reaver suddenly unleashed another violent roar before smashing through part of the middle layer district below. The shockwave reached all the way to the third layer moments later.
Ryota immediately grabbed his gi jacket. “Alright. We’re going down there, right?”
“Obviously,” Yuki replied.
Sora sighed dramatically while standing up fully. “Wonderful. Nothing says vacation like potentially dying before breakfast.”
Lars rested his odd-shaped sword over one shoulder while staring down toward the battlefield below.
Then his expression hardened.
“…Let’s move.”
The Mars Guild left the inn moments later and immediately found chaos spreading throughout the third layer streets.
Civilians flooded the roads trying to evacuate farther uphill while kingdom guards attempted desperately to maintain order. Panic spread quickly now that the Shore Reaver had reached the middle layer.
Children cried.
People shouted over one another.
Smoke drifted upward from below.
And through it all, the distant sounds of the battle continued echoing through the kingdom.
Ryota looked toward the staircases leading downward. “…Should we just jump in?”
“No,” Lars answered immediately.
Ryota blinked. “…You say that like I asked something unreasonable.”
“You did ask something unreasonable.”
Yuki pointed farther uphill toward a crowd of civilians struggling to move elderly people through the packed streets. “We help them first.”
Sora groaned softly. “Responsible decisions are exhausting.”
But despite his complaints, he still moved first.
The Mars Guild spread through the crowded streets helping civilians evacuate toward safer sections of the third layer. Yuki froze sections of damaged roads to stabilize collapsing pathways while Lars used his magnetic pull to clear debris blocking evacuation routes.
At one point, an entire collapsed market cart trapped several civilians beneath wreckage near one of the staircases.
Lars simply held out one hand.
The metal supports bent violently.
Then ripped upward into the air.
The civilians beneath stared in shock.
Ryota grinned proudly. “Cool, right?”
“That wasn’t even slightly necessary,” Lars muttered.
Meanwhile, Sora adapted quickly to the chaos around him despite clearly hating every second of it.
By the time they finally reached the staircase leading down toward the second layer the battlefield below looked even worse than before.
They had to move now.
Every second they spent standing still was another second the kingdom below continued falling apart.
Lars pushed himself off the railing first. “Come on,” he said. “If the creature reaches the upper layer, this place is finished.”
The Mars Guild moved immediately.
They rushed down through the crowded stairways connecting the third layer to the second, passing terrified civilians fleeing upward as smoke rolled through the kingdom from below. Guards shouted directions through the chaos while sections of the lower districts still burned beneath the dark night sky.
Then the entire kingdom shook violently.
A deafening crash thundered upward from below, followed by screams echoing through the middle layer streets.
Ryota nearly lost his footing on the staircase. “What was that?!”
Lars looked downward sharply.
Far below them the Shore Reaver fell.
The massive sea beast crashed backward into the lower layer amidst an explosion of floodwater, shattered buildings, and smoke. Even from this distance, the impact looked catastrophic.
“…No way,” Yuki whispered.
Sora narrowed his black eyes toward the battlefield below. “…Did they actually bring it down?”
For a brief second, hope spread through the fleeing civilians around them too. People stopped moving just long enough to stare downward toward the lower layer where the Shore Reaver had disappeared beneath smoke and rubble.
Then the panic resumed.
Because even now the kingdom still wasn’t safe.
The Mars Guild reached the second layer shortly afterward and immediately realized how bad things had become.
Floodwater surged through the streets nearly ankle deep now while fires spread uncontrollably across sections of the district. Entire buildings had collapsed inward, trapping civilians beneath debris while guards and adventurers desperately tried to pull survivors free.
The Shore Reaver might have fallen but the destruction it left behind continued swallowing the kingdom.
Yuki immediately moved toward a burning structure near the center street. Spiritual energy gathered around her hand before ice exploded outward across the building’s support beams, slowing the collapse long enough for trapped civilians to escape.
“Hurry!” she shouted.
Ryota blasted apart debris blocking evacuation routes while Lars ripped twisted metal supports away from flooded streets using his magnetic pull. Nearby civilians stared in shock every time entire chunks of wreckage suddenly flew upward into the air.
Sora looked deeply annoyed the entire time.
“…This kingdom is exhausting.”
“You’re helping people while complaining about helping people,” Ryota pointed out.
“Yes.”
“That feels emotionally unhealthy.”
“Thank you for your concern.”
Time passed strangely amidst the chaos.
Nobody knew how long they spent helping civilians escape the flooding second layer. The battle below had gone eerily quiet after the Shore Reaver’s fall, but the tension throughout the kingdom remained suffocating.
Something still felt wrong.
Eventually, the four members of the Mars Guild regrouped atop one of the few intact buildings overlooking the lower districts below.
Smoke drifted upward endlessly from the ruined city while moonlight reflected faintly across the flooded streets beneath them. Far in the distance, figures moved through the wreckage.
Illumina.
The Titans.
Still standing.
Lars perched himself casually on the edge of the rooftop, resting one arm across his knee while staring down toward the devastated lower layer beneath them.
“…Wow,” he muttered quietly.
Ryota walked beside him. “What?”
Lars smirked faintly.
“They actually did it.”
Below them, even from this distance, they could see the aftermath of the battle clearly now.
The kingdom looked destroyed.
But alive.
Yuki folded her arms quietly as ocean wind moved through her blonde hair. “…Illumina really fought that thing?”
“With another guild, apparently,” Lars answered.
Sora clicked his tongue softly. “…They get more annoying every time I see them.”
Ryota grinned immediately. “You sound jealous.”
“I am not jealous.”
“You sound very jealous.”
Before Sora could argue further, the ocean exploded.
Every member of the Mars Guild snapped toward the shoreline instantly.
The Shore Reaver surged back out of the water violently.
But something was wrong.
Very wrong.
The creature wasn’t roaring triumphantly.
It wasn’t attacking.
The massive sea beast crashed desperately through the flooded harbor district, blood pouring from the catastrophic injuries across its face while its remaining eye darted frantically toward the ocean behind it.
Like something was chasing it.
Ryota’s grin vanished instantly. “…What the hell?”
Even Lars stood fully now.
The Shore Reaver stumbled onto land again, smashing through ruined buildings while looking back repeatedly toward the dark ocean behind it.
Then a red light pierced the sky.
It happened so fast nobody fully understood it at first.
One instant the Shore Reaver was moving.
The next a massive crimson beam tore across the night sky from horizon to horizon.
Silence.
The beam passed cleanly through the Shore Reaver’s body.
And kept going.
The entire kingdom froze.
For one horrifying second, nothing happened.
Then the Shore Reaver split apart.
Its enormous body separated cleanly down the middle as blood exploded outward across the flooded harbor district. The two halves collapsed apart violently into the ruined streets below, floodwater instantly turning dark red around the corpse.
No roar.
No resistance.
Just death.
The crimson light faded slowly from the sky.
And nobody understood what they had just witnessed.
Ryota stared blankly at the corpse below. “…What…”
Yuki’s blue eyes widened slightly for the first time all night. “…That wasn’t an attack…”
Sora’s expression had gone completely serious now. “…No.”
His voice lowered slightly.
“That was execution.”
Far below them, the reactions weren’t any better.
The Titans Guild stood frozen amidst the ruined middle layer streets while Illumina stared down toward the split corpse of the Shore Reaver in complete horror.
Nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
The creature that had nearly destroyed the Coastal Kingdom killed effortlessly.
Tetsuo was the first to finally break the silence.
“…Nope,” he said immediately. “I hate that.”
Aiko stared toward the corpse with narrowed eyes. “…Where did that even come from?”
Yoshinori’s expression had darkened heavily now as lightning crackled faintly around his fingertips again. “I didn’t sense anyone…”
“That’s impossible,” Rei said quietly.
Even she sounded unsettled.
Then Akima suddenly stiffened.
Everyone looked toward her immediately.
The elf girl’s expression had gone pale.
“…Akima?” Aira asked carefully.
Akima’s eyes remained fixed toward the shoreline below where the Shore Reaver’s corpse bled into the ocean.
“…The creature,” she whispered.
“What about it?” Daichi asked sharply.
Akima swallowed once.
Then slowly looked up.
“…It wasn’t attacking anymore.”
Silence.
Akima’s voice trembled slightly now.
“It was running.”
The silence that followed felt unnatural.
The Shore Reaver’s corpse lay split apart across the flooded harbor district below, blood pouring endlessly into the ocean while the two halves of its body slowly drifted apart in the water. Fires still burned throughout the kingdom and buildings still collapsed in the distance from earlier destruction, yet somehow all of it suddenly felt smaller.
Like the entire Coastal Kingdom itself had frozen.
Nobody could process what they had just witnessed.
Shunjiro stared toward the shoreline without blinking, his chest still heaving from exhaustion after the battle. Just moments ago, the Shore Reaver had been the single most terrifying thing he had ever faced. The creature had nearly destroyed the kingdom. Nearly killed all of them.
And something had erased it instantly.
His stomach tightened.
“…That wasn’t normal,” he said quietly.
Beside him, Itsuki unconsciously grabbed tighter onto her staff. Her hands trembled slightly now, not from exhaustion anymore, but from something deeper. Instinct. Every part of her body suddenly felt cold despite the fires burning around them.
She couldn’t explain why.
The moment that red beam crossed the sky, something inside her chest tightened painfully for just a second before vanishing again.
And she hated the feeling immediately.
Yoshinori’s eyes remained fixed toward the ocean while lightning crackled faintly around his fingertips out of pure reflex. His instincts were screaming at him to prepare for another attack, but he had no idea where to even look anymore.
He hadn’t sensed anyone.
Not before the beam.
Not during it.
Nothing.
That was impossible.
“There’s someone out there,” Tetsuo muttered quietly, staring toward the dark water beyond the harbor. For once, there wasn’t even a hint of excitement in his voice anymore. “Something strong enough to make that thing run away.”
Aiko’s expression had completely changed now. The smugness and sarcasm she usually carried so casually were gone, replaced instead with narrowed eyes locked toward the ocean.
“That wasn’t spiritual energy,” she said quietly.
Yoshinori looked toward her immediately. “What?”
Aiko shook her head slowly. “No… it was. But it felt wrong.”
That word settled heavily over the group.
Wrong.
Because that was exactly what it felt like.
Farther ahead, the Titans Guild looked even more unsettled.
Rei Tatsuki stood perfectly still overlooking the flooded lower districts while pieces of broken stone still floated faintly around her from lingering spiritual control. Normally her expression remained calm regardless of the situation, but now there was visible tension in her eyes.
She had fought powerful threats before.
Corrupted creatures.
Dungeon catastrophes.
Even high-ranking adventurers capable of devastating entire battlefields.
But this… this felt different.
Because whatever had killed the Shore Reaver had done it effortlessly.
Hikari slowly lowered her warhammer from her shoulder while staring at the corpse below. “…No way,” she muttered. “No actual way.”
Roki’s grip around his cleaver tightened slightly. Flames no longer burned around the weapon now, but his posture remained tense.
“The attack was too clean,” he said quietly.
Daichi landed atop the ruined street beside them moments later, wind swirling faintly around him before slowly dying down. His usual irritated expression had disappeared entirely now.
“…Did any of you sense where that came from?” he asked.
Nobody answered.
Because nobody had.
Even Akima looked disturbed now, her pale face illuminated faintly by the fires still burning throughout the kingdom.
“I couldn’t hear thoughts,” she admitted quietly.
That immediately got everyone’s attention.
Daichi frowned sharply. “What do you mean?”
Akima swallowed once before continuing. “When the beam appeared… there was nothing.”
Aira looked confused. “…Nothing?”
Akima nodded slowly. “It was like the moment it happened… everything disappeared for a second.”
Silence followed again.
That answer only made the atmosphere worse.
Then the ocean shifted.
Everyone’s eyes snapped back toward the shoreline instantly.
The Shore Reaver’s blood had begun spreading farther through the water now, dark crimson waves moving slowly across the harbor beneath the moonlight. The corpse itself remained motionless, split perfectly down the center.
Too perfectly.
Like it had never stood a chance.
Shunjiro felt it then.
Pressure.
Not spiritual energy exactly.
Just the overwhelming feeling that something nearby was watching them.
Itsuki felt it too.
Her breathing slowed slightly as unease crawled up her spine. The same tight feeling in her chest returned again, stronger this time, though she still didn’t understand why.
Tetsuo stepped closer toward the group now instead of farther ahead toward danger for once.
“…I really don’t like this,” he admitted.
“That makes two of us,” Ryuji muttered.
Something began happening to the blood.
At first, nobody understood what they were seeing.
The water surrounding the Shore Reaver’s corpse had turned dark crimson after the creature’s death, its blood spreading throughout the ruined harbor district in slow waves beneath the moonlight. But now the color itself was fading.
Not naturally.
The blood was moving.
Streams of crimson slowly pulled upward out of the water, defying gravity as they rose into the air in twisting spirals. The ocean beneath them gradually returned to its natural color while more and more blood lifted skyward like strands being drawn toward an unseen force above the harbor.
Nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
They simply watched as the blood continued rising higher into the darkness.
The atmosphere itself had become suffocating.
Itsuki stared upward, unable to pull her eyes away from the spiraling crimson streams. That same tightness in her chest returned harder now, enough to make her unconsciously grab the fabric near her collarbone.
Nearby, Akima suddenly grabbed tightly onto her own arm.
Aira noticed immediately.
“Akima?”
The elf girl’s breathing had become uneven now, her pale face visibly tense as she stared toward the shoreline.
“…There’s someone there.”
Yoshinori’s eyes sharpened instantly. “Where?”
Akima slowly raised a trembling hand toward the harbor below.
“…Above the corpse.”
Everyone looked.
And finally they saw it.
A figure stood suspended silently above the Shore Reaver’s split remains amidst the drifting streams of blood. A black robe covered its entire body, the hood shadowing its face completely while crimson currents spiraled around it endlessly before disappearing into the darkness beneath the cloak one after another.
The figure looked small.
Tiny compared to the devastation surrounding the ruined harbor.
And somehow that made it worse.
Nobody had sensed the arrival.
Nobody had seen it approach.
It was simply there.
Like it had appeared from nowhere.
The blood continued flowing upward into the figure steadily while the Shore Reaver’s corpse visibly began losing color, the flesh itself drying unnaturally as more blood disappeared into the hovering silhouette above it.
Tetsuo slowly took a step backward.
“…Nope,” he muttered quietly. “Absolutely not.”
For once, nobody argued with him.
Even Hikari’s grip around her warhammer had tightened now while flames flickered faintly around Roki’s cleaver again out of pure instinct.
Daichi narrowed his eyes sharply toward the figure. “…I still can’t feel its energy.”
“That’s impossible,” Rei said quietly.
And yet it was true.
The figure floated there openly above the harbor and still none of them could properly sense its presence. It was like staring directly at something that shouldn’t exist.
Itsuki’s chest tightened harder.
Her pulse had started racing now for reasons she couldn’t understand. The moment she looked at the figure, a wave of unease crashed through her so suddenly it almost made her dizzy.
Beside her, Yoshinori had already stepped slightly in front of Illumina without even realizing it himself.
“…Everyone,” he said quietly, eyes locked onto the figure above the corpse, “be ready to move.”
Shunjiro immediately noticed the difference in his voice.
Yoshinori was scared.
That realization alone made the situation feel even worse.
The darkness around the robed silhouette began distorting strangely as crimson energy gathered around it in slow spiraling currents. The blood it had absorbed from the Shore Reaver no longer flowed visibly now, yet the air itself had started to feel heavier, almost difficult to breathe beneath the growing pressure spreading across the kingdom.
Nobody attacked.
Nobody even spoke.
Every fighter present instinctively understood the same thing at once.
If they made the wrong move here people would die.
The figure slowly raised one arm toward the sky.
And then it happened.
A crimson orb appeared high above the Coastal Kingdom.
The light bloomed silently against the night sky, hanging impossibly far overhead like a second moon drenched in blood-red light. At first it looked small from this distance, barely larger than a star.
Then it expanded.
The orb pulsed once.
A wave of crimson light spread outward across the sky instantly, moving faster than anyone could react. The air trembled violently as enormous walls of red energy erupted downward from the orb itself, curving across the horizon in every direction.
Yoshinori’s eyes widened. “…Move!”
But it was already too late.
The crimson walls crashed into the ocean far beyond the kingdom with a deafening roar before curving inward overhead, sealing together into a massive dome surrounding the entire western side of the Coastal Kingdom.
Everyone froze.
The barrier stretched impossibly high above the city, glowing faintly against the darkness while crimson patterns slowly pulsed throughout its surface like veins carrying blood through living flesh.
The kingdom had been sealed inside.
Aira stared upward in disbelief. “…What is that…?”
Rei’s expression darkened immediately. “A barrier.”
“No kidding,” Daichi snapped. “The problem is I’ve never seen one this massive.”
Far above them, even the Mars Guild had stepped back from the rooftop edge while staring at the crimson dome now encasing the kingdom.
Ryota pointed upward slowly. “…Please tell me barriers aren’t supposed to look evil.”
“They’re not,” Yuki answered quietly.
Sora’s eyes narrowed sharply while spiritual energy rose around his body instinctively. “…That thing covered the entire district instantly…”
Lars immediately reached one hand outward toward the barrier overhead. Spiritual energy surged around his arm before he suddenly activated his pull ability toward a loose metal sign nearby.
The sign launched upward violently and slammed directly into the crimson barrier.
The moment it touched the surface, the metal instantly dissolved into red particles and disappeared.
Ryota’s face paled slightly. “…Oh.”
Lars lowered his hand slowly. “…Yeah,” he muttered quietly. “That’s bad.”
Below them, panic had already begun spreading through the surviving civilians again as more people finally noticed the dome overhead. Guards shouted desperately for everyone to remain calm while fires continued burning throughout sections of the kingdom beneath the eerie red glow now hanging over everything.
Itsuki stared upward toward the barrier while unease twisted harder in her chest.
The red light covering the kingdom felt oppressive somehow.
Alive. And worse, that figure had created it effortlessly.
Tetsuo looked around nervously now, his earlier confidence from the Shore Reaver battle completely gone. “…So uh… anyone else getting the feeling we’re trapped with something horrible right now?”
Nobody answered.
Because everyone felt it.
Akima suddenly stiffened again.
Daichi noticed immediately. “…What?”
The elf girl’s eyes darted sharply toward the ruined harbor below.
“…It’s gone.”
“What do you mean gone?” Hikari asked.
Akima’s voice trembled slightly. “…I can’t find it anywhere.”
A chill spread through the group instantly.
The figure had vanished again.
No footsteps.
No energy spike.
Nothing.
One moment it stood above the Shore Reaver’s corpse.
The next it was nowhere.
And somehow that terrified them more than if it had attacked immediately.
Because now every shadow throughout the ruined kingdom suddenly felt dangerous.
Every rooftop.
Every alleyway.
Every dark street beneath the red barrier overhead.
Shunjiro slowly clenched his fists while scanning the burning lower districts around them. “…It’s still here.”
Yoshinori nodded slightly, lightning beginning to crackle faintly around his fingertips again despite the exhaustion in his body.
“It’s waiting.”
Aiko crossed her arms tightly now, though even she looked unsettled. “For what exactly?”
No one had an answer.
The kingdom fell strangely quiet beneath the crimson dome as everyone waited for the robed figure to appear again.
The Mars Guild didn’t stay on the rooftop long.
The moment the crimson barrier finished sealing itself over the kingdom, Lars pushed himself away from the ledge and rested his sword against one shoulder again, though the earlier relaxed confidence in his posture was gone now.
“We need to regroup with the others,” he said. “If that thing attacks again, splitting up is the worst thing we can do.”
Ryota nodded immediately despite still looking unsettled from what they had witnessed in the harbor below. “Yep. Agreed. Very agreed. Super agreed.”
Sora clicked his tongue softly before stepping toward the street below. “You’re acting pathetic.”
Ryota pointed dramatically at the crimson dome overhead. “A giant sea monster just got sliced in half by a laser from God! I think I’m handling this pretty reasonably!”
Yuki ignored the argument entirely and leapt from the rooftop first.
The others followed.
They landed in the empty second-layer streets one after another as cold ocean wind swept through the ruined district around them. Floodwater still moved slowly through the roads while smoke drifted between damaged buildings beneath the red glow of the barrier overhead.
The kingdom felt dead now.
No civilians remained in this section anymore. Only distant fires crackling somewhere farther downhill and the occasional sound of collapsing debris breaking the silence.
Even Ryota had stopped talking.
The four members of the Mars Guild moved carefully through the ruined streets toward Illumina and the Titans’ last known location, their eyes constantly scanning rooftops and alleyways now.
Then Yuki stopped walking.
“…Wait.”
The others turned toward her immediately.
Yuki slowly pointed upward toward the center of the district. “…There’s someone up there.”
Everyone followed her gaze.
At the top of the old clocktower overlooking the flooded streets, a figure stood silently beneath the moonlight.
Ryota squinted upward. “…Was that person there before?”
“No,” Lars answered quietly.
The figure stood near the edge of the tower looking down toward the kingdom below without moving even slightly. The crimson barrier overhead painted the cloak in faint red light while ocean wind moved through the surrounding streets beneath it.
Yuki stepped forward slightly and cupped her hands near her mouth.
“Hey!” she called upward. “Do you need help? It’s dangerous down here!”
The figure didn’t respond.
For a brief second, nobody moved.
Then slowly the figure raised one hand.
The moonlight caught pale skin beneath the cloak. Slender fingers. Almost unnaturally pale against the darkness surrounding them.
Then the figure dragged one sharp nail across its opposite wrist.
Blood spilled immediately.
Not a small cut.
A deep one.
Crimson poured from the wrist and hung suspended in the air instead of falling, twisting unnaturally before condensing together into the shape of a dagger made entirely from blood.
Ryota’s face immediately twisted in disgust.
“…Okay,” he said weakly, “that is seriously messed up.”
The figure tilted its head slightly.
Then stepped off the clocktower.
The black cloak flowed behind the figure as it descended face-first toward the streets below unnaturally fast. Wind exploded outward the moment the figure landed, creating a small shockwave that blasted debris across the ruined road.
Smoke rose around the impact point.
And the moment Sora saw it he understood.
His expression hardened instantly.
“Move.”
Sora vanished forward.
His spiritual energy exploded around him as he dashed through the smoke toward the figure faster than the others could react. The cracked streets beneath his feet shattered from the force of his acceleration while his fist drew back for a direct strike.
The smoke parted.
Sora swung.
And missed.
The figure moved elegantly.
Not fast in the way fighters normally moved.
Effortless.
The cloaked figure leaned slightly sideways beneath Sora’s punch before the blood dagger flashed once through the air.
Sora felt something warm run down his hand.
He landed several feet away and looked down.
A deep red line had opened cleanly across his palm and fingers.
His spiritual coating had been sliced through instantly.
So had his flesh.
Sora’s eyes widened.
“…What?”
The figure hadn’t even struggled.
It had cut through his spiritual energy like it wasn’t there.
And in that single exchange Sora immediately understood the difference between them.
This thing outclassed him completely.
Ryota reacted next.
“Get away from him!”
A massive blast of pure spiritual energy erupted from Ryota’s hands and tore through the street toward the cloaked figure. The attack illuminated the ruined district bright orange-white as it closed the distance instantly.
Then the figure turned calmly.
And held out one hand.
The blast hit.
But instead of exploding the energy collapsed inward unnaturally.
The attack folded into the figure’s palm like water spiraling down a drain before disappearing completely into darkness beneath the cloak.
Ryota froze.
“…No way.”
The figure vanished.
A blur crossed the street.
Then pain exploded across Ryota’s chest.
The blood dagger carved diagonally through him from shoulder to waist in a violent slash that sprayed blood across the street. Ryota crashed backward onto the flooded stone road hard enough to skid several feet through the water before collapsing.
“Ryota!” Yuki shouted.
Blood spread rapidly beneath him.
Sora immediately stepped in front of the others now, his earlier arrogance completely gone.
“…This thing is leagues above us,” he said sharply.
And then the figure’s hood slipped back.
Long black hair spilled down over dark fabric as crimson eyes reflected faintly beneath the barrier’s glow.
A girl.
She looked around their age.
Maybe older by only a few years.
And somehow that made the situation far worse.
Because her expression wasn’t angry.
Wasn’t excited.
It looked detached.
Before anyone could react further, the girl lifted one hand slightly.
The blood spilled from Sora’s hand and Ryota’s chest suddenly rose into the air.
The crimson liquid twisted together violently before condensing into a spinning disc of razor-sharp blood rotating fast enough to scream through the air.
Then she flicked her fingers.
The disc launched straight toward Lars.
Lars reacted instantly, raising his sword defensively while activating his magnetic pull simultaneously to redirect the attack.
The blood disc hit the blade.
And tore it from his hands anyway.
The spinning blood sliced through the air past the weapon and slammed directly into Lars’ chestplate hard enough to launch him backward through the flooded street. He crashed violently into the stone road and rolled several times before stopping.
The disc hadn’t pierced the armor but the impact still knocked the breath completely out of him.
“Lars!” Yuki shouted.
She immediately thrust both hands forward.
Massive ice spears erupted from the flooded streets around the girl and launched toward her from every direction, sharp enough to impale stone walls clean through.
The girl looked at them calmly.
Then held out her hand.
The ice melted.
Instantly.
Not shattered.
Not blocked.
Melted.
The giant spears collapsed into harmless water before they could even touch her.
Yuki stared in shock.
“…My ice…”
Then her blood ran cold.
Because the girl had already moved again.
She now stood directly over Ryota’s body.
One pale hand extended downward toward his chest.
And his blood began rising out of him.
Ryota gasped weakly as streams of crimson pulled from the wound across his torso and spiraled upward into the girl’s hand. The amount wasn’t enough to kill him immediately but it was increasing.
Fast.
Sora’s eyes widened. “Stop her!”
Lars forced himself upright despite the pain crushing his ribs while Yuki immediately prepared another attack, desperation finally beginning to overpower shock.
Because they all understood the same terrifying truth now. If they couldn’t stop this girl Ryota was going to die.
The moment the spiritual pressure erupted across the second layer streets, both Illumina and the Titans moved instantly.
They sprinted through the ruined district beneath the crimson barrier overhead while floodwater splashed violently beneath their feet. Fires still burned throughout nearby buildings and smoke rolled endlessly through the streets, but none of them slowed down.
Because they could feel it.
A violent clash of spiritual energy nearby.
And something about it felt wrong.
Very wrong.
Akima suddenly stumbled slightly mid-run.
Rei noticed immediately. “Akima?”
The elf girl grabbed the side of her head tightly, her breathing uneven again as voices flooded through her mind all at once.
“…There’s five of them,” she whispered.
Daichi’s eyes sharpened. “Who?”
Akima swallowed hard.
“…The Mars Guild.”
Shunjiro’s stomach dropped instantly.
“What happened?!” he asked.
Akima’s expression twisted further as more thoughts crashed into her mind. Fear. Pain. Panic. Confusion.
And underneath all of it… something broken.
“One of them is dying,” she said shakily. “The other three are fighting desperately…”
Yoshinori immediately understood. “…Which means the fifth person is attacking them.”
Akima nodded weakly.
Rei’s expression darkened instantly. “Can you hear what the attacker is thinking?”
Akima froze for a second.
Then slowly her face paled.
“…No.”
Everyone looked toward her sharply.
“What do you mean no?” Hikari asked.
Akima’s voice trembled slightly now. “I can hear it but… it’s wrong.”
The group kept running while Akima struggled to explain through uneven breathing.
“It isn’t normal thoughts,” she whispered. “It’s like… emotions crashing into each other over and over. Grief. Excitement. Rage. Sadness. It keeps changing too fast.”
A chill spread through the group.
Akima lowered her eyes slightly.
“…I think this person might be corrupted.”
Nobody spoke after that.
Because every single one of them already understood how horrifying that possibility was.
They reached the ruined street moments later.
And immediately saw the destruction.
Floodwater exploded across shattered stone roads while entire sections of nearby buildings had been carved apart by razor-sharp attacks. Ice melted into steam throughout the battlefield while blood stained the streets crimson beneath the barrier overhead.
The Mars Guild looked devastated.
Ryota lay collapsed near the center of the street surrounded by blood while Lars struggled to stand farther back clutching his chest. Sora stood protectively in front of Yuki despite blood still dripping from the deep cut across his hand.
And standing across from them was the girl.
Long black hair.
Bright crimson eyes.
Blood floated around her slowly like living creatures beneath the moonlight.
The moment Illumina arrived, Sora immediately shouted toward them without taking his eyes off the girl.
“She absorbs blood! Don’t let her touch anyone!”
Itsuki moved before anyone else could react.
She sprinted directly toward Ryota’s collapsed body, horror flooding her chest at the sight of how pale he looked already. Blood still poured from the slash across his torso while Aira rushed beside her immediately, gripping her staff tightly despite obvious exhaustion.
“I’ll help!” Aira shouted.
Itsuki dropped to her knees beside Ryota and immediately pressed glowing hands against the wound, healing energy pouring desperately into his body.
Then she looked up.
And locked eyes with the girl standing across the ruined street.
Everything stopped.
Itsuki’s breath caught violently in her throat as memories flashed through her mind in broken fragments.
Long black hair.
A warm hand brushing through hers.
A voice humming softly late at night.
A girl smiling down at her while snow fell outside a window.
Then blood.
Screaming.
Darkness.
Itsuki’s eyes widened slowly.
“…S-Suzu?”
The entire battlefield froze.
Shunjiro looked toward Itsuki immediately in confusion. “…What?”
The girl froze too.
Her crimson eyes widened the moment she heard the name.
For the first time since appearing, real emotion crossed her face.
Heavy enough that it almost physically hurt to look at.
“…Itsuki…?” she whispered softly.
Itsuki slowly stood from beside Ryota, though her hands trembled violently now.
No.
No no no.
This doesn’t make sense.
Itsuki stared at the girl through widening eyes while her heartbeat pounded painfully against her chest.
The face.
The eyes.
The voice.
Older.
Changed.
“…Big sister…?”
Suzu’s expression shattered.
The blood floating around her suddenly destabilized violently as tears welled instantly in her crimson eyes.
“Itsuki…” she whispered again.
Then suddenly Suzu began crying.
Not calmly.
Not quietly.
Her breathing broke apart violently as tears streamed down her face beneath the crimson glow of the barrier overhead. One hand gripped tightly against her chest while the other still held the blood dagger loosely at her side.
Everyone around them stood frozen in confusion.
Because none of them understood what was happening anymore.
Itsuki stared at her sister helplessly, her own voice shaking now.
“…Suzu…”
Suzu looked at her like she was seeing a ghost.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
Itsuki blinked through rising tears herself. “…What?”
Suzu cried harder.
“I’m sorry,” she repeated brokenly. “I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry-”
“Sorry for what?” Itsuki asked desperately.
Suzu’s body shook violently beneath the black cloak while blood spiraled uncontrollably around her feet now in response to her unstable emotions.
Then finally she looked directly at Itsuki.
And spoke the words that shattered her world.
“…I killed them.”
Itsuki froze.
“…What?”
Suzu covered part of her face with trembling fingers, tears pouring endlessly through them now behind a broken smile.
“I murdered our parents.”
Silence consumed the street.
Itsuki’s knees gave out instantly.
She collapsed onto the flooded stone road hard enough to splash water around her while her mind simply stopped processing the world around her.
No.
No no no no-
That wasn’t possible.
Her breathing became uneven immediately as memories crashed violently through her mind.
Her mother smiling softly while brushing her hair.
Her father carrying her through snow as a child.
Warm dinners.
Laughter.
Home.
Gone.
Itsuki stared at Suzu like she couldn’t recognize reality anymore.
“…No…” she whispered weakly.
Suzu cried harder.
“I didn’t mean to,” she choked out. “I didn’t-I didn’t want to-”
“Stop…” Itsuki whispered.
“But I did,” Suzu continued desperately, almost like confessing physically hurt her. “I killed them. I killed everyone. I couldn’t stop myself anymore.”
“STOP!”
Itsuki’s scream echoed through the ruined streets.
Everyone around her froze.
Itsuki’s tears finally broke free completely now as she shook violently on the flooded ground.
“No…” she whispered again, voice collapsing entirely now. “No… you’re lying…”
But deep down she already knew Suzu wasn’t lying.
Because the moment she saw her-
Some part of Itsuki had recognized the truth immediately.
The blood.
The horror.
The feeling in her chest.
This wasn’t some stranger.
This was her sister.
And her sister had become a monster.
Suzu looked at Itsuki with unbearable grief in her eyes.
Then slowly her expression changed again.
The crying remained.
But something else surfaced beneath it now.
Something unstable.
Broken.
Dangerous.
The blood around her began rising violently once more.
“…I’m sorry, little sister,” Suzu whispered through tears.
Yoshinori immediately stepped forward protectively.
“Everyone back-”
Suzu lifted her head slowly.
Her crimson eyes no longer looked human beneath the barrier’s glow.
“But now…”
The blood spiraled faster.
The pressure flooding the street became suffocating.
And Suzu smiled weakly through tears.
“…I’m going to kill all of you.”