"His flame is beautiful."
That was Rinko's first thought as she felt its warmth wash over her. It soothed her mind, and in its gentle glow, she saw the image of a sunset: Calm, radiant, and whole. She had sparred with many Fire Arts users during her training as a Taimanin, but never before had she encountered a flame that felt… peaceful.
Now, that same flame roared to life as a massive, shimmering barrier, separating them from Shiranui.
"All of you, leave now! I'll handle her myself." The stranger commanded them to leave. 'Was he planning to take her on alone?'
"W-wait! You plan to fight her alone, senpai?!" Rinko's brother voiced the same fear she felt. 'Wait… senpai?'
"Y-yeah! Are you planning to die?!" Yukikaze's shout was raw with concern, a stark contrast to her earlier hostility.
He turned his focus to Rinko. "If it's to save your lives, then yes." His voice held no hesitation. "You've seen how hopeless this is since you three fell victim to her illusion. Use your Void Art and go. In your state, you can't teleport far, so I'll stay and keep her busy."
"I… understand." The words left Rinko's lips softly, heavy with reluctance. She didn't know who he was, but at that moment, she couldn't help but feel respect for him. He was willing to risk his life, or possibly suffer a worse fate. She would not let that resolve turn to nothing.
"Rinko-nee!"
"Rinko-senpai!"
Both Tatsurou and Yukikaze stared at her, shocked by her answer.
"He's right," Rinko said, her voice regaining its steady command. "We can't help him in this state. Staying would only make us burdens. Our priority now is to regroup and call for help."
Before another protest could form, Ryuji's focus shifted to Tatsurou. "You still have that bracelet, Tatsurou? Hold on to it until you reach the door. You still remember where it is, right?"
"B-but what about you?"
Ryuji almost smiled. "Good grief, we just met today, and you're already this worried about me? Fine. I'll do my best to make it out alive. Now go."
With a steadying breath, she raised her hand and began to trace a circle in the air. Energy shimmered from her fingertips, leaving a trail of faint light. As the final arc closed, the circle ignited, and a portal sprang to life before them.
"Tatsurou, Yukikaze, now!"
"B-but, Rinko-nee! We can't just leave him!" Tatsurou protested, his feet rooted to the floor.
"We must," Rinko said, her voice leaving no room for debate. "We will not let his resolve be for nothing."
"You better make it out alive!" Yukikaze shouted over her shoulder, her voice cracking between anger and desperation. "You hear me?!"
And with that, the three of them passed through the shimmering portal. It sealed behind them with a soft, final sigh.
The room fell silent, empty save for the flickering wall of flame, and the two figures left to face each other: Ryuji and Shiranui.
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The flames began to die down, revealing them to one another.
"Oh my," Shiranui purred, her voice a soft-spoken threat. "How heroic. Once this is over… I'll reward you properly~."
"I'm honoured, but I'll have to decline. I'm planning to win this fight."
"What makes you so confident?" she cooed, tilting her head. "You could barely keep up before. What chance do you have now… especially in your condition?"
"Two reasons," he said calmly, his eyes sharp with calculation. "First, that illusion you used must've taken a lot of energy. Damaging the mind is no simple trick."
Shiranui's smirk tightened almost gradually. She couldn't deny it; the technique had drained her. That this man had been entirely unaffected was unexpected. Still, she had more than enough power left to deal with one poisoned man.
"And second, you haven't seen everything I can do."
"Are you saying you've been holding back?"
Ryuji didn't answer. Instead, he planted his right foot forward, stretched his left back, and dropped into a sprinter's stance, his left fist pulled back, ready to deliver a punch.
The assassin answered with stillness, settling into a guarded posture with her claw blades held close. She gave a soft, dismissive snort. His stance was obvious, he meant to close the distance and throw a straight punch. Predictable.
Then, impact.
A crushing force suddenly slammed into her ribs before she could even register the movement. The world became a blur of sound and shattering brick as she was hurled backward, crashing through one wall, then another, before finally skidding to a stop in the lavish interior of a VIP room.
Screams erupted as VIPs and prostitutes scrambled away from the sudden explosion of debris. Dust and smoke spread through the ruined space.
'Kuh…' She coughed out blood, her body sprawled on the floor. 'What just happened? That sudden burst of speed… How did he do it?'
Then, before her eyes, the mage was already above her. He had closed the distance and now hung in the air, both hands raised up. A burst of flame erupted from his palms, rocketing him downward. He dropped like a meteor, one knee pulled tight to his chest, the other leg extended for a devastating diving strike.
Instinct screamed. Shiranui twisted into a frantic backflip, putting vital distance between them just as he struck. The floor where she had lain exploded inward, fracturing into a web of fissures with a thunderous crack.
'What happened to him? Where did this boost of power originate?' The truth came to her mind: he had undergone some kind of transformation. Not only does he received a power boost, his demeanour was altered— sharper, more focused. It just what kind of power does he have?
Discarding her poisoned claw blades, she summoned her true expertise, conjuring the weapon using her Water Art, she had wielded this weapon her entire life as a Taimanin: her naginata.
Shaking off her shock, Shiranui seized the offensive. She dashed forward, her naginata aimed with lethal precision. Channelling her Water Art, a sheath of pressurized water spiralled around the blade, amplifying both her speed and the weapon's piercing force into a single, devastating thrust.
Yet Ryuji evaded it, sidestepping to the left with minimal movement. In the same fluid motion, he launched a counterattack, his elbow snapped upward, cracking into her face with brutal precision.
The blow stunned her, but she recovered instantly, converting her momentum into a spinning pivot. Channelling her Water Art, she unleashed a horizontal slash. Pressurized water extended from her blade in a wide, lethal arc, aiming to cut through everything in its path.
Yet he dodged again. This time, a burst of flame from his hands shot him upward, and a second jet from his palms angled his descent into a devastating, fire-wreathed axe kick.
She managed to evade, darting backward with a fluid step. His heel slammed into the floor where she had stood, cracking the tiles. 'Using his flames for mobility,' she analysed, her mind racing. 'But that still doesn't explain his evasion. My attacks are executed at point-blank range. He isn't just fast, he's moving before I commit, as if he can see the strike before it even begins.'
For a tense moment, they stood frozen, gazes locked in a silent contest. Neither moved, each waiting for the other to strike first. Then, without signal or cue, they dashed forward as one.
Flame met water in a furious impact, erupting into a thick cloud of steam that swallowed them both. Visibility vanished, but the battle did not stop. Blows were exchanged through the haze, each fighter reading the other by sound, instinct, and the shift of pressure in the air. They clashed, parted, and wove around one another in a relentless, fluid dance, visible only in fleeting glimpses through the swirling mist.
Yet within that chaotic rhythm, a detail sharpened in Shiranui's mind: 'He isn't using his sword.' Every block, every counter, was made with his hands, forearms, or the controlled burst of his flames. 'Does this power require both hands to be free? Is the sword now a limitation?'
Suddenly, guards poured into the ruined chamber, forming a ragged circle around the chaotic fight. Yet none dared advance, as they watched the blurred forms clash within the veil of steam, terrified that intervening would mean instant death.
'Real, you cheapskate,' Shiranui thought with icy contempt, 'you hired a pack of useless watchdogs.' Her eyes narrowed within the mist. 'Fine. I'll give them a little push.'
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The mist began to expand, not merely a byproduct of their clash, but a deliberate, creeping tide summoned by Shiranui's Water Art. It spilled outward from their duel, swallowing the ruined chamber and seeping into every corner until the entire room was veiled in a thick, haze.
Ryuji noted the shift immediately. 'What is she planning? Another illusion?' He dismissed the thought just as quickly. 'No, she knows illusion won't work on me. Is she shaping the mist itself into a weapon? Something larger than her naginata?' His eyes narrowed behind the vapour. 'But a technique this expansive would drain her severely.'
He sensed it, a sharp, sudden spike of hostility materializing right behind him. Instinct overrode thought. He tilted his head just as a blade of condensed mist whistled past his ear, missing him by a breath.
He turned and found himself facing one of the surrounding guards, the man's face now contorted with mindless rage, eyes becoming red. The feeling of hostility didn't stop there, it multiplied, closing in from all sides as more guards began to stir, their expressions twisting into the same bloodthirsty look.
'The guards wouldn't interfere before, but now they've entered a state of unnatural rage.' Ryuji's gaze swept the thickening mist. 'The mist, the illusion, it wasn't aimed at me. It was directed at the guards. She's using it as a form of hypnosis, pushing their minds into a frenzy.'
The mage dodged and wove through their frenzied attacks, landing precise counterstrikes to thin their numbers. But slowly, inevitably, the tide turned. As Shiranui re-entered the fight, her Water Art now manifesting as whips of pressurized water and swarm of bubbles. The combined assault overwhelmed his defences. Blades and elemental strikes slipped through: a cut across his shoulder, a heavy blow to his side.
'I can't keep this up. I need to escape… get above them.'
With a sharp pivot, he planted his feet, channelled energy downward and his hands, and unleashed a burst of flame from the palms. It launched him upward through the choking mist, leaving the swarm of guards slashing at empty air as he ascended toward the ceiling.
'I need to reduce their numbers.' Drawing a handgun, he took aim at the figures below. Flame coiled down his arm and into the weapon, channelling through the barrel as he prepared to fire.
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A sharp, predatory grin cut across Shiranui's face as she watched him flee upward. The sight of him, bruised, bleeding, and finally overwhelmed. Sent a thrill of satisfaction through her. Every cut and bruise he bore was a testament to her dominance. Now, driven to the ceiling like cornered prey, he wasn't escaping. He was just buying seconds.
'Run all you want,' she thought, her fingers tightening around the haft of her naginata. 'Once I captured you, I'll make you my personal pet.'
Then she noticed the weapon in his hand. A handgun? The intent was clear: he meant to thin the ranks from his aerial perch. A stupid plan. He'll run out of bullets long before he runs out of enemies.
But when he pulled the trigger, her assumption shattered. A flame-covered bullet tore from the barrel and struck the floor below.
BOOM, BOOM, BOOM.
On impact, it erupted, not into a simple gunshot, but into a concussive blast of heat and force that threw guards off their feet and scattered them like broken dolls.
'It wasn't this powerful before!' Before the thought fully formed, the weapon's barrel swung toward her. A cold certainty cut through her: 'My water barrier won't hold. I have to move!'
She threw herself aside just as another explosive round struck where she had stood. The world erupted into heat, shrapnel, and a deafening concussion that tore through the mist and scattered the remaining guards.
After she dodged a final, heated round, Ryuji dropped back to the ground. As he landed, Shiranui's eyes locked not on him, but on his weapon, the barrel now glowing dull red, warped and melted beyond use.
Before she could act, Ryuji convulsed. "Kuh… Blurgh!" A violent, wet cough he makes, and he kneels over, vomiting a torrent of dark blood onto the broken tiles beneath him.
'What just happened? Have his injuries finally caught up to him?' Her eyes scanned his battered form. 'No, nothing major. Only cuts and bruises.' Then her gaze shifted to the melted ruin of his gun barrel, still smoking in his grip. A cold clarity dawned. 'Then this isn't injury… It's backlash. His body is reaching his limits by overusing his power.'
Then a new plan emerged from her. She started summoned her clones and bubbles to begin swarming Ryuji.
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Ryuji noticed the attack and managed to dodge, raising an arm to block what he couldn't avoid. But his movements were growing slower, sloppier with each passing second. Worse, the intense heat within his body was returning. A feverish wave that meant his suppression of the aphrodisiac poison was fading, and its disorienting effects were beginning to seep back into his veins.
'I can't keep this up. And she isn't even trying to finish me with a decisive strike, she's swarming me with numbers. Dammit! She's turning this into a battle of attrition. I need to turn this around, One final attack…'
As he dodged and blocked, as blows landed and fresh cuts opened on his skin, he began concentrating his flame into his right arm. The heat gathered, swirling and compressing, even as his defences wavered. His fist began to glow.
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Shiranui continued her offence, pouring her energy into her clones and the swarm of bubbles to slowly grind the man down until he reached his limit. She noticed his movements growing slower and managed to land several more hits and cuts on him. This made her smile as she began to see that the battle was about to end in her favour.
Then she noticed the flame concentrating in his right hand. Despite her continued aggression, he kept dodging her attacks, all while focusing that gathering power. Recognizing this as his final, desperate gambit, she pressed on, confident in her skill to evade whatever he could muster.
It happened. He thrust his right hand forward.
Her instincts flared, a primal warning that something immense was coming. Then she saw it: a wave of flame so vast it consumed her entire view. Her clones and bubbles evaporated into nothing. Furniture and corpses were swept aside by the concussive force. She tried to escape, but the radius was too wide, the expansion too swift. There was no outrunning it. All she could do was brace for the impact.
The force of the blast hurled her through the wall, sending her crashing to the ground outside the brothel. Though the wave of flame had washed over her, she had suffered only first-degree burns, her true damage came from the devastating physical impact and the severe fatigue of having expended so much power.
She couldn't move, could only lie there in agony. Then, she heard footsteps approaching. The possibility of death appeared in her mind. She had failed her beloved Incubus King, and yet, from some deep and forgotten place within her, something else began to surface. Memories of her daughter, during a wonderful time, shimmered into focus.
'Yukikaze… please forgive your mother. I never wanted our reunion to be like this. If only… Only I could see you one last time. To say sorry for being a failure of a mother.'
Ryuji appeared before her. Blood streamed from his eyes, nose, and mouth, the violent backlash of his final attack. He knelt and placed a hand gently against her face; his palm was covered in a faint, warm flame.
Shiranui braced for searing pain, but instead felt an unexpected peace. The storm of pain, fury, and regret within her slowly stilled, then dissolved, as she slipped into a deep slumber.
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"What a troublesome woman you are." Using the calming effect of his flame, he had put her into an unconscious state. "Bringing you back are going to be such a pain, especially in the state my body's in."
Then he sensed multiple hostile presences closing in on them. He looked up to see them, whether men or demons, they wore thick armour and carried heavy firearms and crackling batons.
The armoured soldiers were not alone. They brought beasts with them, monstrously large creatures that towered over him with brutish frames, their skin a blue and grey. They possess an orcish look to them. The air grew heavy with the scent of ozone, blood, and raw predatory instinct.
"Ugh…" Gritting his teeth against the pain, he pulled his last handgun and leveled it at them. A weak, sputtering flame flickered to life around the barrel. "Still got some fire left in me."
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[The Sanctuary: The House]
"Hey, Tatsurou-kun… what is this place?" Yukikaze lay on the couch, exhausted from the night's ordeal.
"I don't know. He didn't explain it to me. He just said it was a safehouse." Tatsurou sat down beside her.
"Tatsurou," Rinko began, her voice steady as she sat at the small dinner table, "who is he and what is he doing here?"
"I'm sorry Rinko-nee, He didn't really explain about himself. All I know is his name, Miyatake Ryuji, and that he was forced to come to the city. Probably abducted."
"Abducted?" Yukikaze said with disbelief. "I saw him fight my mother toe-to-toe, and you're telling me he was abducted?"
"It's possible Shiranui was simply holding back against him," Rinko offered, though her tone was thoughtful.
"But you saw it, Rinko-senpai," Yukikaze pressed, frustration sharpening her tone. "He shrugged off her illusion like it was nothing and managed to fight her without any problem. And that flame of his…" She shook her head, the memory seeming to unsettle her anew. "It didn't feel like an actual flame. It felt… calm. Does any of that sound like some random guy who just got kidnapped?"
A heavy silence settled over the safehouse. Rinko's eyes, analytical and weary, shifted from Yukikaze to her brother.
"Tatsurou." she said, her voice leaving no room for evasion. "Explain everything. Start from the beginning. Everything you know about him."
Tatsurou took a steadying breath, then began. He recounted the first, startling meeting in the streets, the unexpected offer of food, the mundane trip to the ramen shop where they had talked, and the final, tense moments before the infiltration of Under Eden.
His story trailed off, and he looked down at his hands. "Hey," he asked, his voice quiet and strained. "Do you think… I should have stayed behind to fight with him?"
Rinko was the first to respond, her tone gentle but firm. "Tatsurou, I can't let you think that way. You fell victim to Shiranui's illusion. In that state, you would have been a liability to him, and a target for her."
Yukikaze shifted on the couch, her expression caught between genuine worry and her natural sharpness. "She's right," she added, her voice unintentionally edging toward a familiar, biting tone. "You were paralysed back there. You couldn't move. And even if you had overcome the illusion, what makes you think you could've helped him? Why would this time be any different?"
Tatsurou stood up abruptly, His hands were clenched at his sides, knuckles white. "I know that," he said, his voice tight and low. "Don't you think I know that?" He then approaches the door to the outside of the house.
"Tatsurou-kun, where are you going?" Yukikaze reached out, her earlier tone replaced by concern. She felt a pang of guilt for how she'd spoken.
"I'm going to look for Ryuji," Tatsurou said, his voice firm but strained. He didn't turn around. "I'm the only one who came out of that fight unscathed. I can't just sit here. I need to make myself useful."
Before Rinko could intervene, an unexpected knock cut through the tension.
'KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK'
All three of them froze, staring at the door in confusion. No one should have known this location. Without hesitation, Tatsurou strode forward and yanked it open.
Ryuji managed a faint, bloody smile. He was covered in blood, bruises, and wounds, with Shiranui's unconscious form on his back. "I'm home." Then his strength finally gave out. In the safety of the doorway, his eyes closed, and he collapsed.