The cycle of endless pain had begun. Heaven or Hell—it didn't matter anymore. One would consume them.
Sweat dripped down Yushi's forehead as he swung his blade, splitting through another faceless monster. His voice cracked with frustration.
"Damn it… what the hell did we get ourselves into!? These things… they don't stop—what the fuck ARE they!?"
From behind him, Weller's voice came, calm yet heavy with thought.
"Yushi… I think I know. And I think I know the solution."
Yushi's eyes widened. "What are you talking about? We don't have time for your riddles, they're coming again!"
The faceless creatures swarmed—skinless, twisted, crawling with too many hands. Yushi swung wildly, cutting one down, only for another to crawl out of the shadows.
Weller stood unmoving, his eyes half-shut.
"Look at them carefully. No faces. Hollow eyes. Broken forms. They are not real monsters. They're failed replicas."
"Failed… replicas?" Yushi hissed, slashing through another. "Replicas of WHAT!?"
Weller's voice dropped, almost like he was reciting forbidden knowledge.
"They are imitations of a creation that once tried to conquer the heavens… and was annihilated for it."
Yushi froze mid-swing, the weight of those words hitting harder than any monster. "…So you're saying these things are—"
"Yes," Weller said grimly. "They're experiments. Replicas of God's rebellion."
Yushi snarled, swinging again and again, desperation spilling into his voice. "Then who the hell would dare… who would be insane enough to recreate THAT!?"
Weller finally opened his eyes, calm yet filled with dread.
"Waren Warlord. He was the one."
---
Meanwhile, Hakari and Kage were caught in a nightmare of their own.
Each time they opened their eyes, they were back at the Tree of Blessing. Each time, the faceless monster would appear. Each time, it slaughtered them. And each time… they awoke again.
Hakari's voice trembled as he staggered to his feet, blood dripping from his lips.
"Kage… listen to me. I think we're in a loop. This isn't real immortality—it's torture. The true Tree of Blessing grants eternal life. This fake one only traps us in endless death."
Kage's breath grew shallow, his voice shaking. "Then… we're stuck? Dying over and over? Forever…?"
Hakari clenched his fists, forcing himself to stay upright.
"No. I have a plan. But you're the one who has to do it."
"Me? Why!?"
"Because you're special." Hakari's eyes locked onto him, dead serious. "You've already used a Command once before—without a Code, without Hai-Key. I can't. But you… you can."
Kage's face twisted in fear and doubt. "But if I do… you'll—"
Hakari cut him off with a rare, bitter smile.
"Don't worry about me. Just believe in yourself. I already do."
The monster appeared again, its grotesque form looming, faceless and hungry. It roared and lunged at Hakari.
Hakari didn't move. He let it come.
A massive hand slammed into him, bones cracking like dry wood. The beast grabbed his legs and twisted until they snapped, screams tearing out of his throat. It ripped his tongue with a sharpened stone, smashed his skull with boulders, tore his body apart and hurled him into fire.
A moment later Hakari revived completely.
The monster came again.
And this time—Hakari shouted with the last of his strength.
"Hai-Key… miracle!"
A blur descended. Kage appeared above the monster's head, his eyes burning with fury.
Hakari's voice roared through the loop.
"Do it, Kage! NOW!"
Kage's eyes gleamed, his rage boiling into his voice as he screamed his Command.
"COMMAND—VANISH!"
The monster screeched as its body dissolved, skin melting, muscles tearing apart like paper. And within the decay… something shone.
A small, glowing stone dropped from its collapsing body. The faceless abomination let out one last scream—then vanished completely.
Hakari's chains shattered. His body collapsed, falling toward the flames—until Kage caught him, dragging him back.
Both of them, broken but alive, stared at the radiant stone lying where the monster had stood.
The loop had ended.
Or… had it?
---
Yushi and Weller stood back-to-back, blades dripping with dark ichor as the swarm of monsters refused to relent. Their roars shook the cavern walls, the ground trembling beneath their feet.
"Weller!" Yushi shouted between swings, parrying a claw that nearly ripped across his chest. "What about your plan?! When is the time?!"
Weller's face remained eerily calm, his voice low even amidst chaos.
"Not now."
Yushi's eyes widened with fury. "Then when?! When I'm already dead?!"
"I said not now," Weller repeated, his tone final.
The words hit Yushi harder than the monsters. For a moment, his blade faltered. He remembered the conversation they had before.
"So the plan is… I distract them," Yushi had asked back then.
"And then, what?"
"Then what happens is my problem, not yours. Just do what I say."
And now, here he was, fighting for his life, tears of frustration nearly blurring his vision. His voice cracked as he swung his sword wildly.
"What the hell did I get myself into?! Why, God?! Why me?!"
His cries to heaven echoed in the endless dark, but no answer came—only more monsters. And yet… something inside him shifted. His anger, his helplessness, all of it turned into something sharper. His face twisted, then straightened. Rage… turned into exhilaration.
Yushi's sword struck with newfound force, each slash carrying weight that made the creatures recoil in fear. He laughed—actually laughed—as the blood sprayed.
"This… this is getting fun," he whispered, then roared louder. "I thought it was boring. I thought I was a better man now, far from fighting. But I guess not… I guess this is my nature!"
Raising his blade high, Yushi shouted:
"Code Lion! Command Three—"
But before he could finish, Weller's voice cut sharply through the chaos.
"It's done. Yushi, no need to fight anymore."
Yushi froze mid-swing, eyes flashing with confusion. "What? No! This was getting fun. The hell are you talking about? You can't order me around!"
"Quiet," Weller snapped, his voice suddenly carrying an authority Yushi had never heard before. His lips moved, and then—
"Code X. Command One—Fool."
The cavern itself seemed to tremble at those words. Yushi's blade lowered in shock. His voice cracked.
"Wh… what did you just say? Fool? You mean… Code X?"
He staggered back, staring at Weller as if he had seen a ghost. "I've known you for five years, Weller. And now you're telling me… you're the Code X holder?!"
The suffocating darkness around them shifted. The atmosphere twisted, colors flashing wildly—blue, then green, then red—shuffling like divine judgment. Until at last… it landed. Crimson.
Weller's voice cut through the pulsing air, deadly serious.
"Yushi. Activate Command Four. Now."
Yushi's hands trembled. "Wh… what?!"
"Do it!" Weller roared, blood streaming down his face.
Without thinking, Yushi obeyed.
"Code Lion! Command Four—Lion's Teeth!"
Suddenly!
An endless barrage of spectral fangs and strikes erupted, consuming everything. Monsters, stone, shadows—all torn apart by a power beyond comprehension. Yushi barely with the help of,lions teeths,shielded his body as the cavern collapsed in chaos.
Then—silence.
Yushi gasped, blinking against the sunlight that now streamed into the ruined cave. The ceiling was gone, torn open, revealing the outside sky. Dust floated in the air like snow.
Bodies—no, remnants—were everywhere. Every creature, every obstacle, annihilated. Only two remained standing.
Weller, bloodied but unbroken, his face glowing faintly in the red light that still lingered.
And Yushi, frozen, staring at the devastation with wide eyes.
His voice shook.
"What… what the hell… did just happened?"