The wind had stilled.
Kagami quickly crouched beside Ryo's collapsed body, her fingers pressed gently to his neck. His pulse was faint but steady.
Her expression softened.
His aura, however, was utterly gone—burnt out by the timestop. She breathed out, the adrenaline leaving her in one long, quiet exhale.
Tires crunched against gravel behind her. A convoy of black hunter vehicles rolled to a stop near the warehouse's scorched remains, with Hanzo in the backseat.
From them stepped the support team, eyes wide as they took in the wreckage. At their lead, an older man with a commanding presence stepped toward Kagami.
"Is this the target?" he asked, gesturing to the calm man standing nearby, his arms loosely bound in aura-sealing cuffs.
Akechi smiled at the question but said nothing.
Kagami rose to her feet, giving a single nod. "He's the one."
As they approached him, Akechi turned slightly to her, his voice quiet but clear. "You're truly frightening Kagami"
Kagami didn't reply. She simply watched him—expression unreadable—as he was led toward the transport vehicle.
Meanwhile, down the road and near the far end of the warehouse ruins, Kouji sat quietly on a broken step. His arm was in a sling, dried blood still visible along the bandages wrapped over his shoulder. Sora stood nearby, arms crossed as she watched the horizon.
Yuusuke was seated on a crate nearby, his shirt torn, bruises darkening his jaw. Ketsu stood, leaning against the wall, expression unreadable as he stared at the corpse of the last demi-human, its head slumped to the side.
"So they slowly turn into dust after being killed" he quietly said.
"So this is the punishment for a contract."
For a long while, no one spoke.
Kouji broke the silence first, his voice low. "So it's really over."
Yuusuke exhaled, eyes half-lidded from exhaustion. "I don't think it is"
Kouji's gaze drifted toward the sky—orange now with the creeping sunset. Something settled heavily in his chest, a blend of relief and unease.
Engines hummed again as the black vehicles returned—this time with familiar faces.
The convoy stopped just ahead, and the side door of the lead vehicle swung open.
Kagami stepped out first.
Kouji stood slowly, his body still aching, but his eyes immediately sought what mattered most—Ryo.
Inside the van, he saw him. Laid out on the back seat, unconscious, pale, but breathing.
Kouji moved toward the car, gripping the frame tightly as he leaned in.
"He burned out all his aura," Kagami said, joining him. "This idiot won't die so easily"
Kouji's fists clenched slightly, knuckles whitening. "Because I failed."
Kagami shook her head. "He chose to protect you. Don't waste that."
Kouji looked at her—really looked—and nodded silently.
Behind them, Yuusuke and Ketsu began approaching the convoy too. The tension, which had gripped them for so long, began to loosen, even if only slightly.
In the back of a separate vehicle, Akechi and Hanzo sat alone—their cuffs glowing faintly with embedded runes.
He looked out the barred window as the scenery passed, eyes distant but calm.
A thought crossed his mind—not one of regret, but of reflection.
"If you truly are what he meant to create… you'll change everything."
His lips curled faintly, though whether it was a smile or something else, even he couldn't say.
Kouji turned to the others now gathered near him. Yuusuke cracked his neck and gave a tired nod. Sora stood to his side, quiet but attentive. Ketsu looked forward, arms folded as he waited for the next step.
Kouji's expression firmed, gaze fixed not on the past, but on the path ahead.
"Let's keep pushing forward."