The night groaned under the pressure of two titans.
Yuta's breath was ragged. Blood streaked down his cheek. His hands trembled from the strain of fighting. Rika hovered beside him, her monstrous form glowing with cursed rage—unleashed, unchecked.
Suguru Geto cracked his neck.
"I was going easy on you," he muttered, voice laced with disdain. "But I've seen enough."
He spread his arms wide.
A dense pressure sucked the air from the battlefield.
And then—
"Ryoiki Tenkai: Hyakki Yagyō (Night Parade of a Hundred Demons)."
The sky itself split open.
From the void spilled an army—spirits, beasts, phantoms of agony—all controlled by Geto's will. They screamed into the night, clawing the world apart around them.
Within the chaos, a second wave of energy collapsed in.
A black curtain closed around the field.
Yuta's eyes widened. He knew what it was.
A Domain.
Inside the shimmering darkness, Yuta could hardly breathe. Time bent. The air thickened with killing intent. Cursed spirits lashed toward him with jaws like blades and eyes full of hatred.
Rika roared, swatting them away with unholy strength. But even she began to falter.
And from above—
Geto descended like a god of calamity.
"You should feel honored," he sneered. "No one's seen this Domain and lived to speak of it."
He cast his hand outward, conjuring a cursed net—dense and shimmering—and threw it toward Rika.
She screamed.
The net struck, wrapping around her like iron chains.
Yuta's heart seized.
"RIKA!!"
She snarled in defiance, but the net pulled tighter.
Geto floated above, smirking. "Once I bind her—her power is mine."
But—
Yuta's voice rang out.
"No."
With blood trailing from his mouth, he surged forward, throwing himself into the net. His katana pierced it midair, cursed energy bursting from his soul like fire.
The chains snapped, the cursed net tore apart—
BOOM!!
An explosion of light erupted as Rika broke free with a howling cry.
They stood back-to-back now. Man and curse. Bound not by fear… but by love.
But even with that, the Domain threatened to consume them.
Until—
A voice cut through the suffocating dark.
"I was wondering when I should step in."
The Domain... shivered.
A single figure strode into the Domain like it was made of paper.
A woman. Cloaked in white. Hair tied up. A sharp glint in her eyes.
She raised her hand and with a flick of her wrist—
The Domain cracked.
Geto staggered, whirling around. "You—!"
The woman smiled. "You remember me, Geto? Or did you think I'd sit quietly while you went on playing god?"
Yuta stared at her.
"Who… are you?"
She turned, and her expression softened as she looked at him.