--- ROOFTOP ---
Narami's voice echoed across the rooftop, dripping with sarcasm. "Ooooh, why the long face? Someone steal your lunch money? Or are you just thinking about all your life choices?" She burst out laughing. "Hahahahaha!"
Suzuki just tilted his head, staring at her with a bored expression. "Ohhh, it's you. I thought you were one of those idiot HUNTER DEVILS... or maybe from my faction?"
Narami doubled over, clutching her stomach. "Your faction is still hunting me? What'd they send you for this time?"
Suzuki answered with a dry smirk. "A girl with a boy's name. Funny, right?"
Narami's laugh exploded across the entire rooftop, loud enough to echo off nearby buildings. She was crying, tears streaming down her face, gasping for air. "Good, good! But you do know the Six Heads have ordered us to kill you, right?"
Suzuki raised an eyebrow. "Look who's talking. You don't even have a rank. Why? Because nobody knows how powerful you actually are. And then you talk about us?"
Narami took a step back, her smile fading into something sharper. "Wait, wait. What does that have to do with anything? Don't tell me you're still stuck in the fake world. You haven't left yet?"
Suzuki shrugged. "Nope. I just like changing the subject. You, on the other hand... clearly haven't left either."
Narami tapped her foot, smirking. "Yeah, yeah, you're that guy who changes the subject with everyone. I forgot." She waved her hand dismissively. "Forget it. What are you staring at? You look like you just saw your girlfriend's ghost."
She walked to the edge of the rooftop and looked down. Her eyes went wide.
A massive hole—huge, dark, and swirling—was torn open in the sky above the city. "Ozone hole," she muttered. "That's not good."
Suzuki walked up beside her, his voice flat and tired. "That's a DEVIL MONSTER. Looks like it's getting ready to spit out hundreds of demons. They're going to attack."
He shoved his hands in his pockets, completely unimpressed. "I'm just waiting. Bored out of my mind, honestly."
Narami tilted her head, a sly grin spreading across her face. "Hmm, I get it now. That guy was one of the CONQUERORS GRADE. Good, good."
Suzuki stared at her, his expression unreadable. "Why do you sound so calm? I heard chaos not far from here—ten buildings falling from the sky, lightning everywhere. All that destruction..."
Narami waved her hand dismissively. "Oh, that? Just some dumb demon who could double everything. Believed in absolute freedom, blah blah blah. You know the type." She smirked. "Anything else you want to know?"
Suzuki's eyes narrowed. "Do you know where Tenji is?"
Narami snapped. Her fist clenched, her jaw tightened, and she exploded. "YOU OLD BASTARD! STOP ASKING ME QUESTIONS AND THEN CHANGING THE SUBJECT SO FAST!"
Suzuki shrugged, completely unfazed. "Okay, okay. But how's the other one? Narami? We heard—"
"I CAN'T STAND YOU!" Narami cut him off, veins popping in her forehead. "Just shut up! Got it?!"
Suzuki raised an eyebrow. "But... you came to me."
Suddenly—a sound. A low rumble from the ozone hole above.
Demons started pouring out. Dozens of them. Then hundreds. A black wave of twisted, screeching creatures flooded the sky.
Two of them turned and looked straight at the rooftop. Straight at Narami and Suzuki.
Narami's grin returned, wider than before. "Well. Looks like the party's just getting started."
Suzuki pushed himself off the edge of the rooftop, dusting off his coat. He twisted his head 180 degrees. A sarcastic grin splitting his face. "I've been waiting for this for a while now."
He turned toward the demon horde flooding the sky, then glanced back at Narami. "What was that you said about a contest? A little competition to see who kills more demons?"
Narami's eyes lit up. "Ehh, I see what you're up to. Old times, huh?" She cracked her knuckles, bouncing on her heels. "Alright, you independent sorcerer bastard. You're on."
Both of them stood up, ready to face the demon horde. But suddenly, Suzuki turned to Narami with a twisted grin.
"UNIVERSE ZONE."
Narami froze. Her jaw dropped, eyes wide with shock and fury. "We didn't agree to this, you old bastard!"
Suzuki's grin widened, his voice dripping with arrogant delight. "I've been waiting for this for a long time. Akos has the strongest Universe Zone in history—no one can even imagine it. So tell me... how do you think mine compares?"
He raised his arms—not a single hand gesture—just pure, absolute will. "Activate: Lithovrehos of SPREAD SPACE."
The world shattered.
Lava erupted from everywhere—massive, boiling waves of red and yellow molten rock flooding the streets, consuming buildings, and erasing everything in its path. There was no ground anymore. No solid earth. Just an endless, churning ocean of fire that hissed and popped and never stopped burning.
Then the floor thickened. Solidified into a crust of cooled magma—like a frozen lake made of stone.
Giant volcanoes burst through the surface. Huge, jagged craters opened up, spitting molten rivers in every direction. The heat was unbearable—the air itself felt like it was on fire.
Suzuki threw his head back and laughed, his voice echoing across the hellscape. "This temperature... I love it! Hahahahaha!"
He spread his arms wide, embracing the destruction. "All of you will be erased! According to MY rules! Under MY light!"
--- NARRATOR'S EXPLANATION ---
< This is one of the most powerful universe zones in history—a manifestation of absolute rules that bend reality itself. It is directly connected to the planet K2-141b, a hellish world where the laws of nature are twisted into pure destruction.
Everything within this Zone follows the same rules as that nightmare planet.
RULE 1: Heat
Temperatures inside the zone soar to an unimaginable 3,000°C. The air itself burns your lungs the moment you breathe, before you even take a breath.
RULE 2: Atmosphere of Stone
The Zone consumes all oxygen within a 150-meter radius. The atmosphere is made of vaporized rock—you are literally breathing gaseous stone. Every inhale is like swallowing fire and glass.
RULE 3: Supersonic Winds
Hurricane-force winds rage across the Zone at impossible speeds, hot enough to melt skin to bone. These winds carry a rain of molten stone, pelting everything in their path with deadly precision.
RULE 4: Unstoppable Speed
All of these rules—the heat, the stone atmosphere, the winds—activate at a terrifying velocity. A single, full-force attack in this zone lasts only 0.000001 seconds. Faster than thought. Faster than survival>>
The demons disintegrated in fractions of a second. Anything that emerged from that portal vanished instantly under the unbearable heat. The entire 150-meter radius had been erased—nothing left but molten rock and ash.
Narami wiped sweat from her forehead, smirking through the heat. "So you opened an oven for these demons, huh? Bah! That's one way to cook 'em."
Suzuki watched the chaos around him, his eyes cold and calculating. "You know all this chaos? The destruction? We're both going to be punished by the Faction for this."
Narami waved her hand dismissively, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Bah, that doesn't apply to us. I'm always thinking, always hunting for answers about this energy. And I'll tell you something—there's no way this energy is limited to just Japan."
Suzuki raised a finger, wagging it at her with a mocking grin. "Enough with your theories, old woman."
Narami shot back, her voice sharp and confident. "I'm right. You'll see. I know it—this whole thing is connected to a core we can't even see. You're all just wandering around blind." She pointed at him. "Now shut off this oven. I'm starting to sweat."
The area had been wiped clean. Black clouds formed above, thick and heavy, and a rain of molten lava began to fall, melting the ground itself as it hit.
Narami looked up, her smirk vanishing. "Look. The Devil Monster is closing the Hole."
Suzuki followed her gaze. "It's withdrawing. This is instinctual—it's afraid."
"Afraid of your Universe Zone," Narami muttered. "It doesn't want to break one of the Seven Laws... and get all of nature punishing us."
Suzuki deactivated the Zone. Instantly.
The hellscape vanished. But the area remained destroyed—scarred and blackened, like a glimpse of hell had bled through for a few seconds. The ground was still smoking. The air still burned.
Suzuki climbed down from the edge of the building, brushing ash off his shoulders. "Time to rest. I don't know what happens next, and honestly? I don't care."
He glanced toward the horizon, his voice dropping. "Akos is out there somewhere. From what I can see, his fight with Devil End has escalated to insane levels. Could get worse. Much worse."
Narami crossed her arms, her face grim. "I hope you realize Tokyo won't be the same in a few hours. Thirteen percent of the city is already destroyed. And multiple Universe Zones have been activated by different people."
She paused, rubbing her temples. "The worst part? The ones who activated them are independent sorcerers, like us."
She looked at Suzuki, her voice softer now, almost vulnerable. "You know something? I rarely ask for help. But things have changed. Yesterday and today—they're different. And they're going to change even more."
She stared at the smoke rising in the distance. "All our hopes are riding on one man now. Akos. If he loses... it's the worst outcome for us. If he wins?" She let out a bitter laugh. "It's even worse. Both scenarios lead to the same thing—PRIVATE HIGH: NINJUTSU EDUCATION will collapse. I know it. The ripples will be massive."
Suzuki turned his head toward her, his expression cold and final. "That topic was closed ten years ago. I'm not getting involved in a dirty system like that. I'm not meant for participation."
He met her eyes, his voice steady. "I know you and your group can't be ranked properly because you're too powerful. That's why everyone calls you the CONQUERORS OF THE 21ST CENTURY: Independent Sorcerers. I get it."
He looked away, his jaw tightening. "But I don't want to be part of that system. I have my own ideas. Different goals. That system doesn't fit me. It never did."
He took a step back, his voice dropping to barely a whisper. "So... sorry, Narami."
He turned and walked down the stairs and left the area