The wind held its breath. The trees dared not rustle. Even the light felt afraid to fall.
Asmoth rises from the rubble, silent, his cloak in tatters but his presence more suffocating than ever. The crack in his mask glowed faintly—mocking his pride.
He steps forward.
Nobori doesn't move.
The weight of his golden aura pulses with restrained fury, swirling around him like a beast barely leashed. His claws gleam in the sunlight, muscles tensed. His calm expression belied the storm building behind his eyes.
"You don't understand what you've done," Nobori says, his voice low, steady—dangerous. "You touched my daughter. You tried to kill my students. You brought this darkness here…"
Asmoth sneers. "Another mongrel protector. You think because you're faster than a falling spear that you can—"
Nobori vanishes —and reappears mid-air with a savage hook to Asmoth's ribs, sending him flying across the field in a golden blur.
Before Asmoth hits the ground, Nobori is already behind him.
A hammering elbow to the back.
Asmoth slams into the ground, dirt exploding in every direction.
The earth trembles.
Houki's eyes widen. "I can't… even track him."
Shiku, still groggy, mutters, "This is beyond anything we've trained for." The ground shakes with each hit, a testament to the immense power unleashed by their sensei.
Kasumi says nothing.
She knew exactly what he was.
He was Nobori.
Her father. The Silver Fang of Sura.
And he was done holding back.
Asmoth staggers to his feet from the crater, his mask now cracked even further, the fractures spiderwebbing across its surface: his chest heaves, black mana leaking from his wounds like smoke.
For the first time—true rage flickers in Asmoth's glowing red eyes.
"You will regret this," Asmoth hisses.
Without hesitation, he unleashes a torrent of dark magic, summoning six spears around himself, aiming to pierce Nobori.
But Nobori doesn't flinch.
As the spears fly toward him Nobori dodges almost all of them, catching the last one and hurling it back at Asmoth with incredible speed.
The thrown spear whistles through the air like a comet.
Asmoth barely tilts his head aside, the spear grazing his mask and carving a fresh crack through the bone-like surface. A thin spray of black mist spurts from the wound.
Nobori is already moving again—relentless, inescapable.
He closes the distance in a single bound, slamming his clawed fist into Asmoth's gut. A shockwave rips outward, flattening the surrounding trees in a wide circle.
Asmoth coughs violently, black ichor spilling from beneath his mask.
Houki shields Kasumi and Shiku from the force of the impact, gritting his teeth. "He's not just overwhelming him—he's breaking him."
Kasumi watches, her heart pounding. "So this is the real strength of a Guardian of Sura…"
Nobori doesn't let up.
Golden energy surges along his body, his movements a blur too fast for the eye to follow. He weaves around Asmoth's desperate counterattacks—shadowy tendrils, jagged spears, blasts of corrupt mana—dodging and countering like a wolf tearing apart a wounded beast.
Each strike is surgical.
Each blow is punishment.
Asmoth staggers, forced back step by step, for the first time in the battle clearly outmatched.
Nobori finally stops, standing tall, his fur rippling in the residual storm of mana.
"You're finished," Nobori says coldly.
He raises one claw to the sky.
Kasumi and Houki stand transfixed by the sheer intensity and grace of Nobori as he fought. For Kasumi, this was a particularly profound moment; it was the first time she had witnessed her father unleash his full potential in battle. The awe she felt was overwhelming, mingling with admiration as she absorbed every movement, every strike, and every display of skill.
Golden energy surges upward, gathering into a spinning, massive spiral above his palm—crackling, wild, beautiful.
Houki's breath catches.
"That… That's…"
Kasumi's voice is almost a whisper.
"His ultimate technique… Heavenbreaker Fang."
Asmoth roars and throws everything he has into one last desperate attack—a tidal wave of black death energy racing toward Nobori.
But Nobori's eyes gleam, full of certainty.
He brings down his claw—and the Heavenbreaker Fang crashes into Asmoth's magic like a divine hammer.
The impact is cataclysmic.
A blinding pillar of golden light pierces the heavens, the earth shuddering under the collision.
Shiku, through half-opened eyes, can only murmur, "Cool…" before passing out completely.
As the light fades, a crater spans the battlefield—vast, smoking, silent.
And in the center…
Asmoth lies broken, his mask completely shattered, his body motionless.
Nobori stands over him, his aura dimming, the fury in his posture finally relaxing.
He turns back to his daughter and her friends, offering a tired but reassuring smile.
"It's over," he says softly.
"For now."
❧
Nobori stands tall in the smoking crater, golden energy still crackling faintly around him. The trio stares in awe, hardly able to process what they've just witnessed.
Kasumi rises to her feet, still cradling Shiku, her voice trembling.
"Father… you did it…"
But then—
A pulse.
A ripple of cold, foreign mana tears through the air.
Houki stiffens. "Wait… something's coming."
The sky above them warps—like a sheet of glass bending under unbearable pressure.
From the distortion, a new figure descends.
Silent.
Ominous.
A towering demon clad in obsidian armor, with four black wings that oozed shadow. His face is hidden beneath a sharp, angular mask of crimson and black. His very presence makes the air feel wrong—like the world itself recoils from him.
Nobori's eyes narrow, his body instantly returning to battle readiness. "Tch. Reinforcements."
The armored demon lands beside Asmoth's broken form without a sound.
He doesn't look at Nobori.
He doesn't look at the trio.
He simply kneels beside Asmoth, placing a hand over his chest.
Asmoth, with a shudder, the defeated demon coughs weakly—still alive.
Houki grits his teeth. "No way…"
Finally, the demon speaks—his voice low, emotionless, ancient.
"You weren't authorized to fight them, Asmoth. Recklessness has cost you."
Asmoth barely lifts his head, hatred burning in his ruined eyes.
"These humans—"
The newcomer glances at Nobori, measuring him.
"…Silence."
Without another word, he spreads his four wings wide. A chaotic red aura explodes outward, temporarily blinding Nobori and the others.
Kasumi shields her eyes. "Father!"
When the mist clears—
Asmoth and the masked demon are gone.
The battlefield is silent, save for the howling of distant winds.
Nobori lowers his hand, teeth clenched. "Coward."
Houki steps forward. "Who… Who was that?"
Nobori stares at the fading mist where the demon vanished, his golden aura flickering around him like dying embers.
Nobori's voice is grim, weighted by recognition.
"That was Veydrith."
Kasumi blinks, her heart sinking. "You know him?"
Nobori slowly nods, his fists tightening at his sides.
"One of the Four Horsemen. A general under the Demon King himself… and one of the most dangerous beings to ever taint this world."His eyes are narrow, sharp, and dangerous. "If he's moving personally…then war has already begun."
The words hit harder than any blow. A cold silence falls over the clearing.
Kasumi clutches Shiku closer, her healing magic weak but steady. Houki stands rigid, fists trembling, not from exhaustion—but from the sheer magnitude of what Nobori's words meant.
Shiku groans faintly in Kasumi's arms, blinking up at the shattered sky.
"What… what's happening…?"
Houki swallows hard, forcing the words out.
"The world's about to change."
Nobori turns to them fully now, his golden aura flickering out, revealing the sheer exhaustion he hid beneath his fierce presence.
He kneels beside Kasumi, placing a steady hand on her shoulder.
"You three survived today because you had heart. Because you fought." His gaze hardens. "But heart alone won't be enough next time."
Kasumi looks up, her voice barely a whisper.
"Next time…?"
Nobori stands, his expression grave.
"The demon Kingdoms know you now. Veydrith knows you. They'll come again—and they'll come stronger."
He stares out over the broken battlefield, the wind swirling the last remnants of black ash.
"We have time," Nobori says. His voice is steady, a promise more than a reassurance.
"But not much."
He turns back to them, fire rekindling in his eyes.
"That means from this moment on—"
He lifts his clawed hand, pointing at the trio.
"—Your real training begins."
Houki's legs threaten to collapse from fatigue, but he straightens. Shiku, even half-conscious, grins weakly. Kasumi wipes her tears and nods fiercely.
Because even though the threat was greater than anything they had ever imagined—
They aren't alone.
Not anymore.
And they would be ready.
The three of them stand quietly, the weight of Nobori's words sinking into their bones.
A breeze drifts through the ruined forest, carrying ash and broken leaves. The battlefield is silent, but their futures roar in their ears.
Nobori's gaze hardens as he took a step closer, towering over them, his golden aura still faintly flickering around his fur.
"You need to understand something."
His voice was calm — but it carried the weight of steel.
"The world you knew is gone. This war isn't just between humans and demons. It's between existence and annihilation."
Houki clenches his fists tightly. Kasumi's healing magic falters for a second before she re-centers herself. Shiku stirs faintly in Kasumi's arms, mumbling incoherently.
Nobori's eyes are distant for a moment, almost as if he saw something far beyond the horizon.
Then he spoke, voice low.
"Veydrith… is only one of them. And the one he answers to — the Demon King — isn't just trying to conquer."
He pauses.
"He's trying to erase."
The trio stiffens.
"Erase kingdoms. Erase humanity. Everything."
Houki grits his teeth, a silent fire lighting behind his eyes.
Kasumi feels her heartbeat pounding in her ears.
Even Shiku, half-conscious, opens one eye and mutters, "That's… cheating…"
Nobori gives a tired smile at that — but his voice never wavered.
"That's why you will train. Harder than you ever thought possible. Stronger than you've ever dared to dream."
He points at each of them, one clawed finger at a time.
"You, Houki. You will master your void before it consumes you."
"You, Kasumi. You will heal faster than destruction can spread."
"You, Shiku…" — he smirks slightly — "you'll learn how to think before you punch."
Shiku made a tiny sound of protest before slumping unconscious again.
Nobori chuckles softly, just for a moment.
But then he grew serious again.
"And listen closely."
They did.
"If you ever stand against someone like Veydrith again… or worse…"
The golden aura around him dims, and for the first time — they saw exhaustion, even fear, creep into their invincible father and mentor's expression.
"…You may have to fight without me."
The words hit harder than any blow.
Kasumi's mouth opens to protest — but she couldn't find the words. Houki's throat tightens. Even Shiku shifts weakly.
Nobori straightens again, fierce once more.
"But you won't be alone."
He turns toward the shattered field, scanning the ruined earth as if seeing a map no one else could see.
We'll prepare. And when they come again…"
He bares his fangs in a grim, wolfish grin.
"…they'll find out we aren't prey."
Reverting back into his human form Nobori begins to lead them back toward Athedon, Houki stumbles forward to walk beside Kasumi. Shiku slung over her shoulder, gave a soft snore.
Houki exhales shakily, half-smiling.
"Well…"
He nudges Kasumi.
"At least we've got the world's coolest dad backing us up."
Kasumi wipes her eyes, smiling through the tears.
"Yeah… we do."
Behind them, Nobori glances back once — a rare, proud gleam in his sharp blue eyes.
And though war looms on the horizon…
For the first time that day,
Hope rose too.
❧