"Several days have passed since the appearance of the Spirit wearing the black veil…"
The image of that figure crossed Shido's mind again. Long white hair, a black crown resting elegantly on her head, and dark fabric covering her face like a night that offered no answers.
"Yet… just like Ash, that woman…"
Shido let out a long breath.
"They can't be tracked," he murmured softly. "I hope… they're doing okay."
Right now, Shido stood in a metal-walled room where bright white light reflected cleanly off every surface.
In front of him, a large mirror showed his own figure— a neat black suit over the gray shirt he was wearing.
His hands were busy adjusting his collar for what felt like the hundredth time.
Click.
Kotori's voice came through the intercom in his ear. "Shido. If you stare at yourself in that mirror for more than ten seconds, I'm officially transferring you to the girls' magazine model department."
Shido jolted. "Huh?! I'm just—"
"—taking way too long getting dressed," Kotori cut in quickly. "And stop making that melancholic face like you're the lead actor in a 2 a.m. soap drama."
A soft snort came from the other end of the line.
"As for the black Spirit veil, the codenames Winters and Ash the Mist are not a priority for now. Neither of them are the impulsive type. If they wanted to cause trouble, this city would've been destroyed yesterday."
Her tone turned firmer.
"So don't stress over things that are out of your reach."
A brief pause.
"Your focus today is obvious," Kotori continued. "A double date. Tohka and Nightmare. That alone is enough to raise your chances of social death by 300% instantly."
Shido stared at his reflection in the mirror, then scratched his cheek awkwardly.
"It sounds reassuring and terrifying at the same time when it comes from you…"
Kotori gave a small snort. "Good. Fear makes you more careful."
Shido took a breath, then nodded at his own reflection.
"Okay… date first. Mysterious Spirits later."
"But if they really are out there alone…" he added more quietly, "I just hope they don't feel alone for too long."
Kotori fell silent for a moment on the other end of the line.
"…You really can't stop worrying about other people, can you?"
But this time, there was no irritation in her voice.
"That's why we're sending you, you kind-hearted idiot. Now move. They're waiting."
***
Meanwhile, at almost the exact same moment, far from Tengu City and its surrounding regions, Gabriel let out a small sneeze.
"Hah-chi…!"
He rubbed his nose with his left hand, his expression as flat as ever.
"The wind's cold?" he murmured quietly. "No… that's not it…"
He was sitting along a gray, dim coastline, casually seated upon a throne he had formed from dark matter in the middle of natural chaos.
All around him, the world seemed to be losing its stability.
The wind howled, whipping sand and seawater into the air. Splintered wood, shattered furniture from who-knows-where, branches, even trees near the shoreline were ripped from the ground and hurled about like toys.
The waves no longer moved as waves, but like walls of water forced upright, only to be smashed apart over and over again.
Yet Gabriel remained seated, completely undisturbed. Even his cloak barely fluttered—as if the space around him rejected ordinary physical laws.
Above the sea, lifted and split apart by crushing air pressure, two identical girls faced each other.
Their orange hair lashed wildly in the wind, each of them bearing a long strand at the side of her head that curled like a tiny spiral of air. Their eyes shone a sharp, luminous silver-blue.
Kaguya Yamai.
Her body was slender, almost fragile-looking, as if a hug held too tightly might break her. Her hair was neatly braided, and her expression burned with fierce determination.
The purple Astral Dress she wore was adorned with chains on her right arm and right leg, while a half-circle skirt hung to her knees, parted at the thigh.
Opposite her stood Yuzuru Yamai.
Her figure was proportioned like a model's—defined, yet balanced. Her hair was braided into three sections, and her face was nearly expressionless, her half-lidded eyes forming an unshakable poker face.
Her Astral Dress shared the same design as Kaguya's, tinted in blue-violet with a short mantle, but the chains bound her left arm and left leg instead.
They moved.
No—they vanished and reappeared at different points, the gusts from each clash slicing through the air like colossal invisible blades.
Tornadoes were born and died within seconds.
The sea split apart, and even the sky seemed to fracture under the pressure.
To human eyes, it was nothing but flashes and formless explosions.
But to the Gigan, everything was clear.
Every trajectory, every shift in air pressure, even the killing intent trembling between them shone as brightly as constellations in the night sky.
The two Spirits were completely unaware of Gabriel's presence.
Not because they were careless—
but because Gabriel had erased his own "presence" from spatial perception using the Gigan.
In this world, he was merely a spectator unrecorded by reality.
Gabriel rested his chin against the back of his hand.
"An existential struggle between fragments of the same root…" he murmured softly. "Wind devouring wind."
His eyes, hidden behind dark bangs, remained fixed on them.
Calm. Observing. Waiting.
A few moments later, the two of them stopped midair. Wind spiraled violently around them, lifting their hair in the pressure vortex of Spirit power.
Kaguya smiled in triumph, raising her right hand to cover part of her face like a noble in a stage play.
"Fufufu…"
Her voice rang high and theatrical.
"Behold, Yuzuru! Even the storm sides with me. The universe itself has chosen Yamai Kaguya as the superior one!"
Yuzuru hovered more steadily, her expression as flat as ever.
"Analysis: statement lacks evidence. Wind blows due to air pressure, not because of Kaguya's excessive ego."
Kaguya clicked her tongue. "Excessive? That is called natural charisma, you charm-deficient imitation!"
"Correction: Yuzuru is the more efficient original version. Kaguya is merely a copy with dramatization bugs."
Kaguya's eyes widened. "B-Bugs?! This is not a bug! This is the grandeur of a soul beyond your comprehension!"
"Conclusion: symptoms of mid-level delusion."
"How dare you insult the greatness of your own elder sister?!"
"Fact: we appeared simultaneously."
"That is a minor detail!"
"Not minor."
The wind around them suddenly spun faster, the pressure of Reiryoku surging.
Kaguya pointed at Yuzuru in dramatic fashion.
"Very well! Then let us decide once more—who among the Yamai deserves to be called the greatest!"
Yuzuru raised her hand calmly, her expression still emotionless.
"Agreement: Yuzuru will win."
Kaguya grinned wide, blazing with competitive fire.
"Fufufu… don't cry later, Yuzuru."
"Note: the one who usually cries is Kaguya."
"THAT IS SLANDER!"
Wind exploded outward from both sides—two storm pressures colliding in the sky, tearing through clouds and smashing into the ocean's surface until it split into a churning white vortex.
Yet, in the split second before they lunged at each other again—
A voice echoed.
Distant. Deep. As if it came from the edge of a directionless void.
"Daughters of the storm, your beautiful dance makes even the wind scream."
Kaguya and Yuzuru turned at the same time toward the source of the voice.
There, a figure stood as though he did not fully belong to the same world.
His body was veiled in a thin, pale mist that drifted slowly, like the breath of something unseen. A black robe traced with silver framed his form, and white hair fell over his eyes, leaving his face half-hidden from reality itself.
He walked on the wind.
Not floating—stepping.
Each footfall sent ripples through space and air, like a stone dropped into a still lake—except the ripples spread across the sky.
Kaguya's eyes immediately lit up.
"Are you a being from another dimension, drawn to witness this grand duel!?"
Her voice burned with excitement, like an actor who had found a worthy audience.
On the other side, Yuzuru remained steady in the air, expression flat as ever.
"Analysis: subject displays high-level dramatic syndrome. Behavioral pattern similarity with Kaguya detected."
She tilted her head slightly.
"Question: your identity."
The figure stopped when only five steps remained between them. The mist around him turned slowly, as if bowing to his presence.
A faint smile touched his lips.
"A name is the root of existence," he said calmly, his voice gentle yet echoing strangely through the chaotic air.
"I am known as Ash—the sovereign of the pale mist, the one who watches over the stars."
Kaguya's grin widened, as if she had just discovered a brand-new reason to live.
She stepped forward in midair.
Her right hand stretched out toward Gabriel, while her left covered part of her face in her signature dramatic pose—like a noble of darkness inviting fate itself.
"If you are the watcher of the stars, then forge a contract of Wind der Dunkelheit with us! Become the judge between us!"
___
Author's Note:
It's only fitting that two Chuuni characters meet, right? 😌