It's been only minutes since Ketsu's death but the Association's main hall was unnervingly quiet, by the loss of one of their strongest Hunters.
Kouji sat slumped in one of the chairs, his knuckles white, still trembling. Yuusuke's silence felt unreal, like the calm before a storm.
Sora hadn't moved since they returned, Ketsu's body laid out in front of her. Her hands hovered above his chest as if she could will his heart to start again.
But she can't.
It was the autopsy room.
The door creaked.
Kouji rushed out expecting Ryo to stand there— but then came the sound of boots dragging across stone, and a copper scent rushed into the room.
It was Blood.
When the doors fully opened, several figures in coats entered.
Bodies of slain hunters were scattered in the hallway behind them, and the intruders walked through without shame.
At their head was a tall man with long, black hair tied back with only a strand of hair in front of his face.
His presence radiated confidence and calm.
His name was Kamina.
"Your hunters don't seem to be that skilled, at their jobs," Kamina said, with a calm voice. "We'll make it quick for you."
Behind him, three underlings dragged their weapons across the floor, sparks flashing. Their laughter was low and distorted, like jackals waiting for a kill, "What's the order Kamina?"
Yuusuke was the first to move. He shot forward, cardridges materializing in his fingers made by his blessing, "Sora, take Ketsu and leave! Kouji, handle the underlings!"
Sora flinched. "But—"
"GO!" Yuusuke screamed.
Kamina grinned, catching Yuusuke's strike with his bare hand. Their aura clashed, sparks bursting like fireworks.
Then Kamina asked, "Are you their leader?"
"I'm not", he smirked.
One of the underlings lunged for Sora. Kouji was already there, intercepting, his blade screeching as it deflected the attack. He shoved the enemy back, teeth clenched. "You're not touching her."
The hall erupted into chaos. Yuusuke fought Kamina head-on, he dances around Kamina always touching him for a second and then throwing objects imbued with Target-Cards, while he simultaneously attacked, his movements fast and sharp but every strike slid off Kamina as though he were untouchable.
Kouji, meanwhile, fought three underlings at once. Their blades slashed toward him, forcing him into a backstep.
"I don't want to kill humans," Kouji muttered. His aura focused.
Kouji blocks their strikes, with a sword he had created, but they keep pressuring him.
As Kouji held back the underlings, Yuusuke was still fighting Kamina.
He threw his Target-Cards and looked for openings, but he noticed quickly that something was off.
Everytime an object would have hit, it feels like it doesn't do any damage. It's not Kamina's defense that is too strong for him to damage him, it's something else.
Yuusuke had thought about fresh tricks, he could pull with his ability, since their way back from the fight against Idoku.
And he came up with, "trajectory forcing".
By recording a card mid-battle and delaying its action by seconds, he can create a defense against openings and counter.
Since the start of their fight he had created multiple recordings.
He swung his sword at Kamina again, missing by only a hair-length.
Suddenly the tracjectory of his sword changed inwards, Kaminas eyes widening but it didn't have an effect again.
But he could also record events.
When he blocked one strike he could record the block and block another one, with certainty.
But none of this helped, as Kamina still had the upper hand.
"Enough of your playing," Kamina said and before Yuusuke could even answer, he was cut deeply in his leg, dodging last second to avoid more damage.
Kouji quickly turned his head towards Yuusuke, who staggered to the ground, bleeding from his leg.
"Yuusuke!", he screamed and added "Shit."
In a burst, his legs twisted with devil-amp, power rippling through his muscles.
He vanished from the underling's sight, reappearing behind the first underling. One clean cut — the man dropped before he knew he'd been cut.
The second raised his weapon in panic, but Kouji was already mid-motion, his blade rising from below, a strike up the underling's torso, slicing it open.
Without losing momentum, he swung his sword right at the neck of the last one, slicing his head clean off.
Kouji didn't stop.
He didn't even realise what he had done just now.
The amp at his legs carried him forward in a flash. He rushed at Kamina, His blade cutting through the air — the strike perfect, aimed straight for Kamina's neck.
For a moment, time seemed to freeze. Kamina's eyes widened.
Kouji's sword is about to hit his neck, way faster than Kamina could even react.
The momentum stopped.
A hand caught the sword.
Not Kamina's.
Someone else stood there, fingers clamped around the edge of Kouji's blade. The pressure was immense, breaking the blade with only his fingers.
"...W-What—" Kouji stammered, looking up, as the broken parts of steel drop to the floor.
He didn't even sense him.
The man's eyes glowed faint gold, his grip casual. His aura was suffocating, pressing down on the hall like gravity itself.
Behind him came more underlings, everyone went silent.
He tilted his head, studying Kouji. "So you're Kouji."
Kouji froze, sweat dripping down his forehead.
Shinji had arrived.
"This is… disappointing," Shinji said, his voice calm, almost polite. "I thought you were a bit more devilish. But I see nothing but trembling flesh."
He shoved the rest of Kouji's broken blade aside with a flick, making Kouji stumble. Then his voice hardened, a command echoing through Kouji's bones.
"Kneel before me."
Kouji's knees buckled before he even realized what was happening. He fought it, every muscle resisting, but his body obeyed anyway. Forced into submission.
The hall went silent but for Kouji's ragged breath.
"Tax is due, Kouji," as he lifts his feet from the ground.
Shinji stepped closer, resting a hand on his head. "I demand your tribute. Hand over your blessing to me."
His palm burned against Kouji's skull. Kouji gasped as something inside him was torn away — his aura collapsing, his blessing vanishing.
His power bled out like water from a shattered cup.
Shinji paused. His hand twitched, smoking slightly. He withdrew it,"Hmph" studying Kouji's face. "Perhaps not disappointing after all."
He leaned down, whispering with a smile. "I couldn't sense the devil before. But now I see… it's definitely inside you."
The words cut deeper than any blade.
"But it's irrelevant, I already took your Curse of Change."
Shinji straightened. "Every ability in this world belongs to me. And by combining your Curse with the Curse of Past I took from the red-hair" He raised his hand, eyes gleaming. "I will lead you all into a new world."
Kouji's heart pounded in his ears. Curse of the Past?
"The girl with the present-plus, where is she," he asked.
Before Kamina could explain to him, Yuusuke shouted, charging from behind.
He didn't hear what Shinji just said.
"Get away from him!" Kouji's eyes widened, "YUUSUKE!"
The last thing Kouji saw was Shinji hand raising, his aura gathering in front of his hand reaching towards Yuusuke.
From Yuusuke's hand with the sword raised towards Shinji, to the left hand that was behind his back, Yuusuke's body disintegrated in an instant.
Not even a single piece of ash.
Nothing remained.