The night shuddered as Geto pressed his palm to the cracked pavement. Lines of cursed energy spread outward like veins, weaving through rubble, snapping into place with a sharp metallic hum.
A Curtain dropped over the entire block.
The city's neon glow vanished, replaced by suffocating black. The sounds of distant traffic, sirens, and nightlife were cut away like severed threads. Only the wet snarls of curses and the ragged scrape of Kishibe's breathing remained.
Kishibe froze mid-step, a knife trembling in his grip. His eyes darted around the sudden void. "…You bastard."
Geto twirled Playful Cloud lazily, his expression as calm as ever. "Don't bother. No one can see. No one can hear. This is your coffin."
The swarm closed in tighter, their bodies scraping over concrete, teeth clattering like wind chimes in a storm. Kishibe lashed out with his blade, cutting down a pair of winged curses, but four more took their place, jaws snapping at his limbs.
Every strike cost him blood. Every dodge left him gasping. His legs buckled, the weight of exhaustion crushing him under the Curtain's suffocating stillness.
"Too slow," Geto said, and Playful Cloud smashed down like a hammer. Kishibe barely raised his knife in time—the impact split the steel, the broken edge embedding into his arm. Pain tore through him, white-hot.
He staggered back, curses swarming from every side. For the first time, his grin faltered.
Geto advanced, eyes sharp with predatory focus. "Do you understand now? The difference between a sorcerer—" His voice dripped with quiet certainty as Playful Cloud spun to his side. "—and a monkey scrambling in the dark?"
Kishibe coughed, blood dripping from his lips. His vision blurred, yet his smile crawled back across his face, ragged and cruel.
"Kid… I've fought devils that could end the world. I've buried friends younger than you, older than you, better than you. You ain't special."
He raised his shaking blade, broken edge gleaming under the Curtain's dim glow. His arm trembled, but his eyes burned like flint.
"Question is…" Kishibe rasped, spitting blood. "…can you finish me before I finish you?"
Geto paused—not from fear, but calculation. The swarm around them shifted, restless, as though even the curses sensed the tension.
Then Geto's smile widened, serene and merciless. "We'll see."
The Curtain pulsed, and the jaws of the horde descended.