𝙀𝙡𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙮 𝙨𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙙
𝘼𝙧𝙘 𝟭: 𝙁𝙞𝙧𝙚 𝘼𝙬𝙖𝙠𝙚𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝘼𝙧𝙘
𝘾𝙝 𝟭𝟰 – 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙃𝙚𝙧𝙤’𝙨 𝙆𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨
𝗔𝗸𝗶𝗿𝗮 slowly exhaled.
The smell of blood, smoke, and burning flesh filled the air around him.
The battlefield that had once been hidden deep inside Aokigahara Forest now looked like a scene from a nightmare.
Broken trees.
Scorched earth.
Monster corpses scattered everywhere.
Witches struggling to heal the wounded.
Mages using the last of their mana to extinguish flames threatening to spread further into the forest.
Warriors sitting on the ground, exhausted and injured.
And standing at the center of all that destruction…
Akira smirked.
He slowly lifted his katana and stepped into his fighting stance.
Across from him, 𝗩𝗮𝗿𝗼𝗸 stared in disbelief.
Then his expression twisted.
His face became ugly with rage.
“𝘕𝘰…”
His voice trembled.
“𝙉𝙊…”
His grip tightened around his sword.
“𝙉𝙊! 𝙉𝙊, 𝙉𝙊, 𝙉𝙊!!”
His scream echoed throughout the burning battlefield.
Everyone froze.
Varok looked around himself.
At the burned remains of monsters.
At the injured witches.
At the exhausted mages.
At the dead warriors who would never stand up again.
At everything.
𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴.
Ruined.
Destroyed.
His perfect plan…
Gone.
His eyes slowly returned to Akira.
Pure hatred burned inside them.
“𝘠𝘰𝘶…”
His voice cracked.
Then he roared.
“𝘠𝘖𝘜!!”
He lunged forward.
His sword cut through the air with terrifying speed.
Straight toward Akira’s throat.
But Akira moved.
It wasn’t forced.
It wasn’t desperate.
He simply tilted his head slightly.
His feet shifted.
The blade missed him completely.
Effortless.
Too effortless.
Akira blinked.
Then looked at his own hand.
“𝘞𝘰𝘢𝘩..”
He flexed his fingers.
“𝘐 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘴𝘰 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵.”
He clenched his fist.
“𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨.”
Before Varok could recover—
Akira stepped forward.
𝗕𝗢𝗢𝗠!!
His fist crashed into Varok’s ribs.
𝗖𝗥𝗔𝗖𝗞!!
The sound made everyone flinch.
Varok’s eyes widened.
All air escaped his lungs.
His body flew backward before crashing into the burning corpse of the giant monster.
The impact sent flames exploding around him.
“𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩…!”
Blood spilled from Varok’s mouth.
His entire body trembled.
The fire surrounding the battlefield continued spreading.
It had already begun reaching nearby trees.
Smoke rose into the sky.
The entire forest was beginning to burn.
Varok slowly pushed himself back up.
Shaking.
Bleeding.
“𝘠𝘰𝘶…”
He spat blood.
His hatred never faded.
“𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘮𝘰𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘭𝘺…”
His voice trembled.
“𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘰 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦…”
He lowered his head.
“𝘚𝘰 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥…”
Akira slowly walked toward him.
His katana rested on his shoulder.
His expression became serious.
No jokes.
No teasing.
No smug remarks.
Only truth.
“𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯 we 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺.”
Silence.
Behind him, Indra let out a tired sigh while sitting against a tree.
Then he smirked.
“𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳?”
He pointed at Varok.
“𝘒𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘪𝘮.”
Immediately, voices rose.
“𝘠𝘦𝘴!”
“𝘒𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘪𝘮!”
“𝘌𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘸!”
“𝘏𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘵!”
“𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦!”
Even some injured witches shouted.
After everything they had lost…
After everything they had seen…
Mercy felt impossible.
Varok slowly stood.
His legs shook beneath him.
He forced his arm upward.
Dark mana gathered around his blade.
Then—
𝗦𝗪𝗜𝗦𝗛!!
A slash of black energy shot toward Akira.
Akira stepped sideways.
Clean.
Effortless.
The attack passed beside him.
He didn’t even look surprised.
It was as if his body already knew.
As if something guided him.
Watched with him.
Protected him.
Inside his mind—
Flames danced.
The Fire Fragment observed silently.
Its burning eyes narrowed.
The world around Akira appeared slower.
Clearer.
More obvious.
Danger itself became visible.
Akira stopped walking.
He raised his blade.
Pointing it directly at Varok.
“You are a villain.”
His voice remained calm.
“𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘪𝘦.”
Another step.
“𝘉𝘶𝘵…”
His eyes met Varok’s.
“𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯.”
Everyone froze.
The battlefield became silent.
Even the crackling fire seemed quieter.
Akira looked directly into Varok’s eyes.
“𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯’𝘴 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥.”
Nobody spoke.
Not Indra.
Not the witches.
Not the warriors.
Not even the Fire Fragment.
Inside Akira’s mind—
The Fire Fragment exploded.
“𝘈𝘠𝘈𝘛𝘖!!”
Its fiery voice echoed like thunder.
“𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵?!”
Flames erupted around its humanoid figure.
“𝘑𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘪𝘮!”
It pointed furiously toward Varok.
“𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴!”
Akira frowned.
“𝘕𝘰.”
He accidentally said it aloud.
Everyone blinked.
He lowered his gaze toward Varok.
Varok had collapsed to one knee.
His hands glowed weakly.
He was trying to heal himself.
Too slow.
Too weak.
Too desperate.
Akira stared quietly.
“𝘏𝘦 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧.”
His voice softened.
“𝘏𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨.”
Varok remained silent.
His jaw tightened.
He kept trying to heal.
Still refusing to answer.
Akira crouched slightly.
“𝘕𝘰𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯”
Silence.
“𝘛𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘦.”
Varok didn’t respond.
Akira continued.
“𝘐𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘺…”
His voice became gentler.
“𝘞𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵.”
Inside his mind—
The Fire Fragment grabbed its flaming head.
“𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴.”
It groaned.
“𝘐 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘶𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴.” Find the original chapter at g.com.
It pointed accusingly at Akira.
“𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘯𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦.”
It crossed its arms.
“𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘭𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘸𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘰𝘵.”
Flames burst behind it.
“𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘺?!”
Akira ignored it.
He looked only at Varok.
Varok stared back.
Confusion slowly replaced hatred.
Because Akira’s eyes held no mockery.
𝗡𝗼 𝗽𝗶𝘁𝘆.
𝗢𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆.
𝗛𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱.
𝗔 𝘄𝗼𝗺𝗮𝗻’𝘀 𝗹𝗮𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗲𝗿.
𝗕𝗿𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗻.
𝗪𝗮𝗿𝗺 𝘀𝘂𝗻𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁.
Tiny fingers wrapping around his own.
𝗔 𝘀𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻-𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵-𝗼𝗹𝗱 baby girl smiling.
“𝘋𝘢𝘥𝘢…”
𝗛𝗼𝘀𝗽𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀.
𝗗𝗼𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀.
𝗕𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘀.
𝗗𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗿.
𝗙𝗲𝗮𝗿.
𝗛𝗲𝗹𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀.
Then…
𝗗𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀.
𝗔 𝗱𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗲.
𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗱.
𝗗𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿𝗼𝘂𝘀.
“𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘺𝘰𝘶.”
A demon stood before him.
“𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘫𝘰𝘣 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘦.”
Varok remembered himself standing there.
𝗕𝗿𝗼𝗸𝗲𝗻.
𝗗𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲.
𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗻𝗼𝗱𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴.
𝗬𝗲𝘀.
𝗛𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝗻𝗼𝗱𝗱𝗲𝗱.
Back in reality—
His eyes trembled.
Akira slowly extended a hand.
“𝘛𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘦.”
“𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘴𝘰 𝘣𝘢𝘥𝘭𝘺…”
His voice softened.
“… 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴?”
Inside Akira’s mind—
The Fire Fragment sighed dramatically.
“𝘐 𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘳…”
It shook its head.
“𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘦𝘴.”
Its flaming eyes narrowed.
“𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦.”
Still—
Akira’s hand remained extended.
𝗣𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁.
𝗚𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝗲.
𝗞𝗶𝗻𝗱.
For the first time since the battle began…
Varok didn’t know what to do.
Because 𝗵𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗱…
𝗙𝗲𝗮𝗿…
𝗩𝗶𝗼𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲…
Those things were familiar.
He understood them.
But kindness…
From the same person he had tried to kill twice…
Felt far more terrifying.
Varok stared at the hand extended toward him.
A hand that should have been holding a blade.
A hand that should have been ending his life.
Instead…
It was offering help.
The battlefield around them fell silent.
Only the crackling of burning trees and distant groans of the wounded remained.
Varok lowered his head.
His breathing was uneven.
“… 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶.”
The words were so quiet that Akira almost didn’t hear them.
Varok clenched his fists.
Memories flooded through him once more.
𝗔 𝘀𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗮𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁.
𝗛𝗼𝘀𝗽𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝗮 𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲.
𝗔 𝘄𝗼𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗶𝗻 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗲𝘆𝗲𝘀.
𝗔 𝘀𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻-𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗵-𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝗯𝗮𝗯𝘆 𝗴𝗶𝗿𝗹 𝘀𝗹𝗲𝗲𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗲𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿’𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗺𝘀.
Then doctors.
Apologies.
“𝘞𝘦’𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘺.”
“𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘷𝘦.”
“𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦.”
And finally—
Darkness.
A demon’s voice.
“𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮.”
“𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘫𝘰𝘣 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘦.”
Varok slowly closed his eyes.
Then reopened them.
His expression hardened.
The hesitation vanished.
His choice…
Remained the same.
He suddenly forced every last drop of mana into his injured arm.
The damaged muscles screamed.
His healing spell accelerated.
Then—
𝗦𝗟𝗔𝗦𝗛!!
His sword shot forward.
𝗙𝗮𝘀𝘁.
𝗗𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲.
Straight toward Akira’s chest.
Everyone’s eyes widened.
“𝘼𝙆𝙄𝙍𝘼!!”
Indra shouted.
Akira barely reacted in time.
He raised his arm instinctively.
The blade cut deep.
Blood splashed across the scorched earth.
Akira staggered backward.
Pain shot through his body.
For a brief second—
Silence.
Then flames erupted around the wound.
The Fire Fragment answered.
Burning fire wrapped around Akira’s injured arm.
The flesh repaired itself.
𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗰𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱.
𝗦𝗸𝗶𝗻 𝗰𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗱.
Within seconds—
The injury disappeared.
Akira stared quietly at Varok.
𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗿𝘆.
𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗳𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀.
Just…
Disappointed.
Varok lowered his sword.
He looked exhausted.
𝗕𝗿𝗼𝗸𝗲𝗻.
“𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘈𝘬𝘪𝘳𝘢.”
His voice was soft.
Sincere.
“𝘉𝘶𝘵…”
A sad smile appeared on his face.
“𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵.”
He slowly raised one hand.
Dark mana gathered around him.
Akira’s eyes widened.
𝗧𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.
“𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘺.”
Black particles began surrounding Varok’s body.
“𝘏𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘥𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯.”
Immediately—
The surviving witches reacted.
“𝘖𝘩 𝘯𝘰, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵!”
Magic circles illuminated beneath their feet.
“𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙃𝙚𝙖𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙨!”
Mana surged into the sky.
A massive sphere of light formed overhead.
From within it—
Gigantic glowing chains descended.
They shot downward like divine punishment.
Racing toward Varok.
𝗙𝗮𝘀𝘁.
𝗖𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗿.
𝗖𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗿.
Almost—
𝗔𝗹𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁.
But black particles consumed him completely.
The chains slammed into empty ground.
𝗕𝗢𝗢𝗢𝗠!!
Silence followed.
Varok…
Was gone.
Only burning trees remained.
𝗕𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀.
𝗦𝗺𝗼𝗸𝗲.
𝗦𝗵𝗼𝗰𝗸.
Akira stood frozen.
His healed arm hung at his side.
He stared at the place where Varok had disappeared.
𝗦𝗮𝗱𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀.
𝗥𝗲𝗴𝗿𝗲𝘁.
𝗙𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘂𝗿𝗲.
He had wanted to save him.
And failed.
“…”
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗵𝗶𝗺.
𝗙𝗹𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿.
𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗮 𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗳-𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗼𝗶𝗱 𝗳𝗶𝗴𝘂𝗿𝗲.
Everyone jumped.
Several witches instinctively aimed spells at it.
The fragment crossed its arms.
Smug.
“𝘛𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶.”
His eyes looked completely exhausted.
“… 𝘚𝘩𝘶𝘵 𝘶𝘱.”
The fragment grinned.
“𝘐 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶.”
“𝘚𝘩𝘶𝘵 𝘶𝘱.”
“𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵.”
“𝘗𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘶𝘵 𝘶𝘱.”
One witch, her clothes still partially torn from battle, awkwardly raised her hand.
“𝘜𝘮…”
Everyone looked toward her.
“𝘋𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦’𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘴?”
Silence.
Everyone slowly looked around.
𝗗𝗼𝘇𝗲𝗻𝘀.
𝗛𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗿𝗲𝗱𝘀.
𝗕𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗽𝘀𝗲𝘀.
𝗠𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀.
𝗘𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲.
A terrifying 𝗮𝗺𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲.
One mage laughed nervously.
“𝘞𝘦…”
He scratched his cheek.
“… 𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮?”
Everyone stared.
Another mage immediately shook his head.
“𝘈𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘦?!”
“𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘴!”
“𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘧 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮?”
Indra finally pushed himself up from the ground.
His body ached.
“𝘞𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮.”
Everyone looked at him.
A witch frowned.
“𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘴?”
Indra nodded.
“𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝙎𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙝𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙙𝙚𝙜𝙧𝙚𝙚𝙨 𝘾𝙚𝙡𝙨𝙞𝙪𝙨.”
Silence.
Then—
As if light bulbs switched on simultaneously—
Everyone slowly turned.
Toward Akira.
Then toward the Fire Fragment.
At exactly the same time.
The fragment blinked.
“… 𝘞𝘩𝘺…”
It slowly looked around.
“… 𝘈𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵?”
Akira sighed.
The sigh of a man defeated by society.
He pointed.
“𝘖𝘪.”
The fragment narrowed its eyes.
“… 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵?”
Akira pointed toward the mountain of corpses.
“𝘉𝘶𝘳𝘯 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨.”
The fragment froze.
“… 𝘌𝘹𝘤𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘮𝘦?”
“𝘉𝘶𝘳𝘯 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨.”
Its fiery face twisted with outrage.
“𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶.”
It pointed accusingly.
“𝘚𝘰 𝘭𝘢𝘻𝘺!”
One witch nervously smiled.
“𝘞𝘦’𝘳𝘦 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘥.”
“𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘰𝘰!”
Another mage raised his hand.
“𝘞𝘦 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬.”
The fragment looked horrified.
“𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘧𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘤𝘦!”
Indra smirked.
“𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦.”
“… 𝘐 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘮 𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵.”
Akira patted the fragment’s shoulder.
“𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴.”
“… 𝘋𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘮𝘦.”
Despite its complaints—
𝗙𝗹𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀 eru𝗲pted.
An inferno unlike anything the survivors had ever witnessed spread across the battlefield.
Monster corpses turned to ash.
Dark blood evaporated.
Evidence disappeared.
The witches sealed the wormhole completely.
The forest fire itself gradually came under control.
Hours passed.
Exhaustion settled over everyone.
Yet—
They were alive.
𝗙𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗛𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀 𝗟𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿.
Firefighters finally arrived.
The worst had already ended.
The remaining flames had been contained.
There were no monsters.
No evidence.
No wormhole.
Only a forest fire.
Convenient.
Very convenient.
Everyone slowly walked away from the battlefield.
𝗘𝘅𝗵𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱.
𝗦𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁.
𝗔𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲.
Akira walked beside Indra.
He stared down at the katana in his hand.
He tilted it slightly.
𝗦𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗳𝘂𝗹.
𝗦𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗹𝘆.
…
And Still looked incredibly illegal.
“… 𝘈𝘩.”
He scratched his cheek.
“𝘈𝘯𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘢 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘐’𝘮 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘤 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥?”
Indra glanced back.
Smug.
“𝘛𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧.”
He proudly patted the pouch hanging at his waist.
“𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘰𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘧𝘪𝘵 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘭𝘺.”
Akira deadpanned.
“𝘖𝘧 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘰𝘯.”
Indra smirked.
“𝘈𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴.”
Akira sighed.
Then looked down at his katana again.
He gently placed a hand against its sheath.
Today 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝘀𝘂𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱.
𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗱.
𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗱 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝗲.
𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝗻𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝗹𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴.
But they survived.
And now—
They had answers.
Or at least…
The path toward answers.
Master would know.
Master always knew.
All they had to do now…
Was find him.
And honestly—
After surviving today—
That should have been the easy part.
𝗥𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁?
…
𝗥𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁?
𝗠𝗲𝗮𝗻𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗲 —
𝗜𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗠𝗮𝗴𝗲𝘀.
Evening had fallen.
Moonlight illuminated the quiet halls of the Estate.
Unlike the chaos inside Aokigahara Forest…
Peace existed here.
For now.
Inside Master’s chamber—
A soft knock echoed.
“𝘌𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳.”
The door slid open.
A witch stepped inside before bowing respectfully.
She was the same witch who had picked up 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸 within 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲 hidden in Osaka’s mountains.
“𝘎𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘔𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳.”
Master slowly turned toward her.
His expression remained calm.
“𝘋𝘪𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳?”
The witch nodded.
“𝘠𝘦𝘴.”
She reached into the pouch hanging from her waist.
Then carefully removed 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸.
Its cover was worn.
𝗔𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁.
Time itself seemed etched into its surface.
She held it out with both hands.
Master accepted it carefully.
His fingers brushed against the cover.
Silence filled the room.
“… 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘔𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳.”
The witch hesitated.
“𝘐𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙪𝙖𝙜𝙚.”
She lowered her gaze.
“𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘥𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵’𝘴?”
Master narrowed his eyes.
He quietly examined the faded symbols decorating the cover.
The room remained still.
Then—
He gently brushed his hand across the ancient text.
His voice broke the silence.
“𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘦 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥…”
He slowly lifted his gaze.
Eyes filled with quiet determination.
“… 𝘛𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙘𝙝𝙤𝙡𝙖𝙧𝙨.”
The witch’s eyes widened slightly.
Outside—
The night wind passed through the Estate.
Far away—
Akira and the others continued their journey home.
Varok remained missing.
And somewhere within the shadows—
The demons continued moving.
The battle had ended.
But the war…
Had only just begun.