The Moment After – Fight or Flight?
Shikoku's words hang in the air—a death sentence wrapped in calm. The three hunters react instantly, falling into battle stances. Oboro grins, cracking his knuckles. Yukimaru exhales sharply as frost crawls up his fingertips. Kusuri doesn't move but her grip tightens around something hidden beneath her sleeve—waiting for an opening.
Meanwhile, Ryo and Kyou tense beside Yua… but she doesn't step back. (She knows better.)
"Run?" Kyou scoffs. "I don't remember taking orders from you." (Arrogant even now.)
Ryo steps forward, fists clenched—no weapon needed when fury fuels him.
Yua stays silent... but Shikoku's gaze locks onto her with eerie precision.
Then—
A blade flashes.
And chaos erupts.
Mei and Hiroshi freeze at the sound of distant fighting down the street—exchanging panicked glances before running toward it (against all survival instincts). Satoshi barely has time to grab Mei's sleeve before—
CRACK.
A wall shatters nearby as one of them gets thrown through it (unclear who yet), debris spraying outward in slow motion…
(No running now.)
Ryo's body reacts before his mind can even process—his friends are in danger. His instincts scream at him to move, but Shikoku's presence is a suffocating weight pinning them all down.
Yua grabs his arm, her voice razor sharp with urgency:
"Forget them—we need to go now." (She knows who's coming for Mei and Hiroshi—and it's worse than hunters.)
Kyou hesitates, glaring back at Oboro's group still locked in combat with Shikoku.
"And just leave those idiots to die?" (Gritted teeth.)
Yua doesn't answer. The look in her eyes says everything: They aren't the priority.
A beat of silence—then Ryo swears under his breath and sprints toward Mei's location without another word (because screw logic when friends are involved). Yua curses but follows, Kyou hot on their heels as explosions rock the street behind them…
Mei stumbles backward as three ominous figures emerge from swirling dust—each wielding weapons dripping with cursed energy. Their masks bear the sigil of a serpent coiled around a blade… Seishiro Temple Executioners.
One laughs lowly, adjusting their grip on a jagged sickle:
"Strays shouldn't wander where they don't belong."
Mei's heart sinks as the figure steps forward, confirming Satoshi's suspicion:
"Well, well, well… Look what we have here." (A mocking tone.)
Koharu pushes back her hood as she strides forward, her gaze flickering over to Mei and Hiroshi (recognizing them instantly). She smiles… and it's anything but friendly.
The other two girls tug their hoods back—revealing the faces of Mei's classmates: Hikari and Tsukiko. Their eyes, once bright with laughter in the homeroom, now gleam with predatory amusement.
Koharu twirls her sickle lazily as she steps closer.
"Bet you didn't expect this when you sat behind us in class, huh?" (Mockpitying.)
"Should've picked better friends." (A glance at Ryo's approaching figure.)
Hiroshi frowns, confused as he looks at the newcomers:
"...What even is this?" (Trying to understand the situation.)
"...Some kind of cosplay?" (Mei, not entirely taking the situation seriously.)
Satoshi, on the other hand, watches the three hunters with a very different understanding…
Mei tilts her head, utterly baffled.
"Wait... Hikari? Tsukiko?? Why are you dressed like—oh my god, is this some weird LARP thing?!" (Genuinely thinking this is a game.)
Hiroshi squints at their weapons, still not processing the threat.
"Those look way too real for cosplay—did you steal those from a museum or something?" (Halfamused, halfconcerned for entirely the wrong reasons.)
Satoshi pales, gripping Mei's sleeve as he steps back—his instincts screaming at him that this isn't pretend. But before he can even open his mouth to warn them—
Koharu laughs, cold and sharp.
"Ohhhh, you sweet little fools." (Pitying. Dangerous.)
"...I almost feel bad for what comes next."
Blue vapor erupts around Ryo as he burns Seishu energy through his limbs, every muscle propelled forward like a comet. The air cracks in his wake—Yua barely has time to shout before he's already past them, a streak of cerulean light tearing toward Mei and the others.
Kyou Ren stumbles back from the shockwave, coughing out:
"WHAT THE HELL, IDIOT—?!" (Half furious, half impressed against his will.)
Yua just grits her teeth and follows because damn it, if he's charging into death, she's not letting him go alone.
Koharu's sickle glints under the fading sunlight—too sharp, too polished, too real. Mei's playful skepticism evaporates in an instant.
"Wait…" Her voice shakes slightly. "That's—that's not a prop."
Hiroshi stumbles back a step, eyes widening. "No way… No way you guys are actually—?!"
Too late. Koharu tilts her head with a smile that doesn't reach her eyes.
"Took you long enough to notice." (Her grip tightens.) "...Now hold still."
The attack happens so suddenly that it takes a moment for anyone to even register what transpired.
Satoshi crumples, eyes wide but glassy... and blood trickles from a wound in his stomach, staining his white school uniform. The only sound is the faint, wet, gargling exhale as he chokes on his own blood.
Mei freezes—
"SSatoshi?!"
Hikari steps forward—a gleam in her eyes.
"Looks like the little mouse just got caught in the claws." (Cruel.)
"...That's what happens when weak little mortals meddle in matters they can't comprehend." (Mocking.)
Meanwhile, Hiroshi stammers, staring between Satoshi's crumpled form and the newcomer in disbelief.
"MMei... Wwhat's going on...? Is this... is she...?"
But his voice trails off as his wide eyes land on the blood staining Satoshi's shirt... real blood.
"Is... is that... real?!" (Terror in his tone.)
"I warned you, didn't I? Humans aren't made to meddle in the world of Hunters." (Mocking, cold.)
Tsukiko's blade streaks for Mei's chest—but stops short.
"What—?!" (Surprise and confusion.)
Ryo's arrival is a whirlwind of motion, his body a whir of cerulean vaporlaced fury. He blocks Tsukiko's attack—arms burning with Seishu power.
"Touch her and I'll end you." (Cold as steel.)
Tsukiko staggers back a step as she processes the sudden upheaval of events. Her eyes widen slightly, caught off guard by the unexpected intervention.
Hiroshi finally finds his voice, though it's a mixture of panic and anger.
"Wwhat the hell is going on?!" (Exclamation.)
"And why is everyone suddenly pulling out real swords?!" (Accusatory.)
Ryo stays focused on the hunters—body tensed, stance protecting Mei.
Hikari watches him with a calculating glint in her eyes.
Mei's hands tremble as she drops to her knees beside Satoshi, pressing against his wound in a futile attempt to stop the bleeding. Her vision blurs—whether from panic or tears, she doesn't even know.
"HHiroshi...!" Her voice cracks. "FOCUS! WE HAVE TO HELP HIM!" (Pure desperation.)
Hiroshi snaps out of his shock, sprinting over—hands shaking as he tries to assess the damage. The reality of the situation sinks in like a knife: This isn't some game. People are dying. And now? They're caught in the middle of something far beyond them.
Kyou Ren and Yua round the corner, only to stop short as they take in the scene. Blood, blades, the hunters—and Satoshi bleeding out on the asphalt. For a second, everything freezes.
Then Yua's eyes narrow, taking in the three hunters—all dressed in their hunter gear, eyes gleaming with bloodlust.
"...What the hell is going on?" (Cool, controlled tone.)
Kyou Ren's fingers twitch—itching for a fight. His smirk is gone, replaced by something darker as he locks eyes with Koharu.
"You girls always seemed off," he mutters. (Mismatched eyes blazing.) "Should've gutted you when I had the chance."
Yua steps forward, stands low and lethal despite her lack of weapon—a silent warning. She doesn't speak yet… but the message is clear: Touch Mei or Hiroshi again, and there will be blood.
Hikari giggles, twirling a dagger between her fingers.
"Aw~ You finally figured it out!" (Mockpouting.) "And here we thought humans were blind little mice."
Tsukiko's grin widens as she adjusts her grip on the Kizugami blade—hungry for another strike. The air crackles with tension… just waiting for someone to make the first move.
Suddenly, a powerful, suffocating energy bombards the area. The intensity forces everyone to their knees—even the experienced fighter in Koharu.
The air itself seems to press down, making it hard to breathe, move, do anything. It's like a physical weight that pins them all in place—a warning.
The sky splits.
A black rift tears open above them, warping the very air like fractured glass—then, from its depths, he steps forward.
Kairos.
His silhouette drifts downward, wreathed in crackling violet energy—each step against empty air sending ripples through reality itself. His oncewhite robes are now threaded with obsidian veins, the Eschaton artifact pulsing at his chest like a second heartbeat. Shadows coil around him as he lands with the weight of an executioner's axe striking earth. The moment his boots touch the ground…
Everything stills. Even time seems to hesitate.
His presence alone makes Koharu and her squad freeze midmovement—terror instinctive.
Ryo snarls but can't lift a finger; Kyou barely manage to keep breathing under the pressure.
Yua locks eyes with him… and for once? She looks afraid.
Then Kairos speaks:
"You play at war while gods decide your fates." (Softly spoken. Apocalypse given voice.)
A flick of his wrist sends Hikari and Tsukiko crashing into nearby walls without so much as touching them (bones audibly crack).
Unique among Sword Born Apostles... is one who transcends even their rules? Their limits?)
"You are a distraction... one I should've strangled long ago." (Softly spoken... almost gentle for how utterly terrifying.)
Then, as a final act of cruelty, he adds:
"But I never was fond of killing birds. So I have decided: I will take what you cherish... instead." (A glance at Kyou Ren—then at Ryo's friends and Ryo—then, finally, back at Yua)
"You. You are my target."
He glides forward—one step, two—and time seems to fracture.
Even Ryo can't get a read on his movements; one moment he's there... then a blink, and he's not.
Then... the blow.
Kairos' hand sinks into Yua's stomach. She freezes, breath stuck in her chest... and doesn't make a single sound.
The world stops... and then Kyou's voice shatters it.
"Yua!!!" (A scream of complete agony.)
Yua doesn't gasp. Neither does she scream.
She just looks down—eyes wide but strangely calm—as Kairos withdraws his hand, trailing crimson that drips onto the cracked pavement. A slow, shuddering breath escapes her lips… and then her knees buckle.
Ryo moves before thought catches up—but he already knows he won't make it in time (he never does). Kyou is screaming something raw and broken, surging forward even as the world feels like it's collapsing under them all. Mei is sobbing, Hiroshi can't process anything beyond the blood (so much blood), Satoshi is barely clinging to consciousness…
And Yua? She hits the ground—a fallen storm. The last thing she sees before darkness swallows her is Kairos turning away like she was never worth his time to begin with.
🌀 End Of Chapter Forty