[WHISPERS OF THE NIGHT]

[RhythmThief]

Chapter 40 - Mizuko Shirogetsu

Hollow Night

“Was that necessary?”

Ignoring Cunningham’s protest, I stabbed my naginata into the ground, eyes fixed on Eiji and the game’s newest addition disappearing down the road toward the Scramble Crossing. Their potential routes were already mapped out in my mind, analyzed and locked down.

I turned to Cunningham, my voice cold and measured.

“If you have a problem with the way I discipline our…contemporaries, you are most welcome to leave.” I cautioned, my gaze unyielding. “In fact, I don’t remember asking for your assistance to begin with. Why are you here with my sister and I?”

His expression showed hurt, a flicker of vulnerability that I couldn't ignore. I needed to know now more than ever if he was someone I – we – could trust. Trust was becoming a rare commodity.

“Because I care about your wellbeing,” he replied, his voice strained as he struggled to contain his frustration. “What good will breaking our bonds do? We’ve already lost one person – “

“And you’ll join him if you continue to think so naively,” I interrupted, my tone sharp. “If you’re as ‘caring’ as you say, then follow my lead and keep your suggestions to yourself.”

He opened his mouth to reply but, seeing the hardness in my glare, shook his head slowly and fell silent. Junko watched us quietly, tension palpable in the air. Suddenly, the billboards and monitors around us buzzed to life.

The sovereign of this dark world had returned.

“Greetings, my brave soldiers,” they intoned, their voice devoid of warmth. “Welcome back to the Hollow Night. Before we begin, allow me to remark on the developments thus far.”

We stood in silence, the weight of their words pressing down on us.

As if we weren’t already painfully aware of the ‘developments.’

As if those ‘developments’ hadn’t already twisted our perceptions, forcing us to question everything and everyone around us. A dark rage simmered within me.

“I understand that one of you did not survive to see the end of the last night. My condolences especially to his previous partner, Resolution. May you live on to embody your fallen comrade’s strength and integrity in their final moments.”

Hollow, meaningless platitudes. They spoke of someone they knew nothing about – someone’s friend, someone’s son, condemned to death in this twisted game. My fists clenched harder than I could control.

Juno must pay.

But first, survival. We needed a strategy. No creature, no organization, no entity is without a flaw. Not even Juno. I had to believe that, regardless of whether or not I truly found it plausible.

“Indeed, I have enlisted a new warrior to take their place in this battle for survival. To you, my newest recruit, may you awaken the strength you require to thrive in this valley of death. To the others, this decision was made to keep the game more interesting; I do not plan on repeating such an action in future cases, so tread carefully.”

‘More interesting’? For Juno? Was this game solely for their amusement? I had considered the possibility of others watching, but what did that mean? That somewhere, people were observing us, trapped in this endless cycle, fighting for our lives?

I pushed those thoughts aside as the moment I’d been waiting for arrived.

“With that now taken care of,” Juno continued, their voice cutting through the tension. “Allow me to introduce tonight’s mission.”

Here it was.

I stood with bated breath, glancing at the others before the game master began their exposition. My heart skipped a beat when I caught Rusuban glancing back at me, his eyes resolute but his appearance betraying some kind of weakness or illness.

This was strange; any real-world maladies shouldn’t carry over to our forms in this realm.

As if reading my thoughts, he gave a simple yet firm nod and turned his direction back to the billboard. I nodded back. For a moment, I thought I saw Kozuki’s scarlet eyes dart in my direction, but when I blinked, her attention was also on Juno.

I fought against the frown forming on my lips, pushing my paranoia aside in favor of rationality. Rationally, I had no doubt that Kinoko would keep the promise we made on the rooftop that day.

He would if he valued his wellbeing, at any rate.

I settled my gaze back onto Juno as their distorted, static-filled tone began to reverberate through the shadowed streets.

“Tonight, I am afraid that one person among you is being hunted.”

I took a sharp, involuntary inhale. Hunted? Just where was this going?

“A deadly group of Noise has infiltrated this realm and is banding together to assassinate one of you in particular, though they are prepared to eliminate any and all who get in their way,” Juno continued.

“These Noise are nothing like what you’ve encountered thus far, my brave warriors. They are cunning, ruthless, and will stop at nothing to achieve their goal of ending one of your lives tonight.”

I didn’t like this one bit.

We’d been struggling more and more as the nights progressed, getting by only through tactics and teamwork. I could only imagine things getting more difficult as time went on.

Tonight would’ve been the opportunity to level up our abilities, but if Arthur or, even worse, Junko ended up being the ‘target’ here, what hope did we have of surviving?

“Before I inform you who has been randomly selected as the target, please familiarize yourselves with the current leaderboard standings.”

Juno’s shrouded likeness dissipated, replaced by the current rankings on the leaderboard:

1. Yuki no Yūrei & Reaper – 66 Points

2. Resolution & Rush – 55 Points

3. The Twisted & Scarecrow – 41 Points

4. Cordyceps & Red – 39 Points

5. Kumo & Fenrir – 26 Points

There was no joy in my heart at seeing I had made first place alongside my partner.

While Juno hadn’t explicitly stated their criteria for awarding points, anyone could tell that my high placement was due to Reaper, who had likely been working with Daisuke to kill as many Noise as possible and level up their abilities since the game began, further evidenced by the latter’s rise from last place to third in a single night.

I was kicking myself for not following suit. I had relied too much on others. A mistake that would not be repeated.

Still, I had to wonder – what was the point of showing us the leaderboard now, of all times? So far, it had had no impact on anything and only served as secondary motivation at best…

I closed my eyes and allowed myself to fall deep, deep in thought.

We’re in a game – a game whose purpose is to be ‘entertaining’ or ‘interesting’ rather than ‘fair.’

We’ve just been told that one person among us is to be hunted, and then shown this leaderboard that ranks each pairing based on points.

We asked about these very same ranks before, hadn’t we? What did Juno say about the rankings on that first night?

“Based on your actions during each night…” I caught onto the thread and began to follow it, recalling each and every detail of Juno’s words on the first night.

“There are various ways to earn ‘points,’ such as slaying more powerful Noise, completing the assigned mission, and so on…”

The picture became fuzzy from that point onward, though I was certain they had mentioned something about including their own judgment in how they awarded points. I had no way of knowing exactly what this meant, but that didn’t matter.

Think.

If you were Juno, how could you incorporate the leaderboard to make things more—

My heart dropped violently like a stone sinking miles into dark, impregnable waters. In that moment, there was nothing I wanted more than to escape. To take her hand and leave this all behind.

But we’d learned the hard way that escape wasn’t an option. It never had been, and never would be.

I turned to Junko.

“We need to leave,” I commanded.

She wore an understandably confused expression as I grabbed her forearm.

Despite what she’d have you believe, my baby sister was naïve to a fault. She didn’t see the world the same way I did, never believing it was out to get her like I feared.

Whenever I’d caution her about her fashion choices or staying out too late – pointless things I now missed dearly – she’d dismiss it as the ramblings of an overprotective older sibling.

But now, more than ever, I needed her to trust her ‘doting older sister’ and do as I said.

Her life – both our lives – depended on it.

“H-Huh? Stop, you’re hurting me –“

She tried to pull her arm away, but I wasn’t taking no for an answer.

“We’re in trouble,” I explained without slowing down. “Just trust me. We need to go!”

By this point, we’d drawn confused looks from Arthur and the others, who either hadn’t figured it out yet or weren’t concerned. Arthur was trudging behind us, deliberating whether or not to interfere, when Juno’s voice began to drone, and I realized it was too late.

“Now that you have hopefully familiarized yourselves with the condition of this realm,” they began, “I will be implementing this leaderboard in its fullest capacity, to reward the strongest among you, and motivate the others to… improve their situation.”

My teeth began to grind. How could I not have seen this coming earlier? I didn’t even have the strength left to grip Junko’s forearm, and she took advantage.

Yanking herself away, her confused gaze alternated rapidly between me, the screen, and Arthur, whose expression slowly began to mirror my own.

It seemed he was also beginning to understand our dire situation.

We stood deathly still and waited for Juno to deliver the news.

“For this mission of cat and mouse, I will be introducing special rules based on the placement of pairs on the leaderboard. For the current number one pairing, I am pleased to inform you that both of you will be exempted from being chosen as the ‘target.’ Rejoice in the freedom you have earned through your strength.”

Even though I was staring at the ground, I could detect the slightest change in Junko’s body language.

The twitch of her hands, the drooping of her shoulders, the avoidance of eye contact – all idiosyncrasies I’d come to know well.

She had now put the pieces together.

If those at the top were being rewarded, then those at the bottom...

As if finishing my thought, Juno’s voice rang out, “Inversely, for the pairing at the bottom…”

The silence that followed was deafening.

Each word Juno spoke after that was another nail in our coffin, revealing the true horror of our situation.

 

[RhythmThief]

Chapter 41 - Junko Shirogetsu

Hollow Night

By the time I noticed my difficulty in breathing, it felt like the world had flipped on its axis.

“Careful!” someone warned. A firm but gentle pressure settled on my upper back. “J-Just breathe, okay?”

I tried to heed the advice, but only panicked, involuntary gasps escaped me, as if a valve inside was blocked. I closed my eyes and forced myself to inhale deeply, gradually feeling life return to my bones.

“Thanks, Cunningham…” I whispered as he set me upright. He nodded but didn’t reply, his eyes glued to the screen. I followed suit, both of us knowing what was coming next.

“Inversely, for the pairing at the bottom, I am saddened to say that your chances of being selected as the target are doubled compared to your peers. May luck be on your side; I fear you will need it.”

There it was – the final nail in the coffin. I couldn’t trust in the slim chance that someone else would be picked. I knew that, as surely as the sun would rise tomorrow for the rest of the world, either Arthur or I would be marked for death.

This is what Mizuko was trying to warn me about. She knew that, one way or another, our last-place standing would come back to bite us – and in this case, that bite was a death sentence.

I glanced at Mizuko. While she looked back at me, her eyes held no recognition or awareness. A vacant lifelessness clouded her face as though she were somewhere else entirely.

I turned back to the screen, steadying my breaths as I awaited the confirmation.

“Without further delay, I will now reveal the identity of the hunted.”

Juno’s image vanished, replaced by a display with the fields ‘Name’ and a square border underneath, likely for a picture. Within seconds, the previously blank space began to cycle rapidly through names and images.

Arthur’s name and picture flashed by, followed by Hoshino, Kozuki, and more. The speed at which the options cycled gradually slowed. I couldn’t bear to watch anymore.

I closed my eyes, biting my bottom lip until the taste of iron filled my mouth.

The cycling sounds suddenly stopped, followed by a collective gasp.

Slowly, I opened my eyes to take in the horrifying sight.

I turned to Arthur, whose face was eerily pale. He was frozen in a mix of shock and anger, still processing what his eyes were telling him.

Rusuban, from a distance, frowned but didn’t look away from the screen. I couldn’t see Kozuki’s face from where I stood, though she remained rigid and completely still.

Finally – finally – I turned to look at my older sister.

A sudden impact struck the back of my head, and my vision faded to black.

The air was colder when I came to, the terrain beneath me smooth and unfamiliar. My head pounded. As my faculties returned, so did my recollection of the last events I had witnessed.

H-Had I been captured already?!

Wasting no time to survey my surroundings, I leapt to my feet, gripping my odachi’s handle. I quickly released it.

“S-Sis?” I muttered, confusion clouding my thoughts. “What just happened? One second I was watching the selection and then…”

She leaned against the railing of the high-rise building we were on, arms folded, eyeing me without a flicker of anxiety. I knew that look. Contrary to appearances, this was the most stressed I’d seen her in a long while.

The wind whispered against her jacket, swaying it softly. The sky was so clear up here, it almost alleviated the deep uneasiness I felt, as if the moon itself was watching me.

“I had to make sure you would comply this time,” she said nonchalantly. “Your life depended on it, after all.”

She’d knocked me out! Anger surged in my stomach but dissipated immediately upon hearing the latter half of her sentence. She was right. I saw whose name was on that screen.

I swallowed my anger and focused on the urgent matters at hand.

“Where is he?” I asked. Her eyes darted to a spot just behind me, at my four o’clock. I followed her gaze.

Arthur’s broad, suited back was turned to us, his fur sashaying with the breeze. He stood deathly still.

I glanced back at Mizuko, who nodded in Arthur’s direction as if to say, “Make it quick. We need to move.”

Sighing, I trudged over to Arthur’s side, laying a hand on the railing. I looked up at him to see that he was closing his eyes, his chest rising and falling steadily. I couldn’t help but envy how peaceful he looked, given the circumstances.

“I’m sorry,” I managed eventually. “You didn’t deserve it.”

His eyes remained closed. For a moment, I thought he either hadn’t heard me or was ignoring me.

“If it wasn’t me, it would have been someone else,” he responded coolly. “None of us deserve to die. We’re all victims here. Remember that.”

I sensed unspoken words, but there was no time to explore further. We were being hunted, after all.

I heard Mizuko’s footsteps before her voice. When I turned, she was standing with her arms folded, looking directly at us. Cunningham still hadn’t moved a muscle from his meditative stance.

“Let’s move. It isn’t safe to stay in one spot for too long.”

Arthur and I nodded in agreement. Now that we were being hunted, nowhere was safe. We had to keep moving. But ‘hunted’ was such a broad term; what exactly were we up against?

“Sis.”

I called her just as she raised a foot onto the railing, gazing down into the barren nighttime avenues. No doubt she had already charted a course for us. Running would only get us so far, though.

“Did Juno say anything about what type of enemies are after us? What kind of attacks can we expect?”

She stared at me wordlessly for a few moments, then returned her gaze to the streets below.

“Nothing,” she said quietly, as if she’d asked herself those questions a thousand times. “Once they confirmed Arthur was the target, they left us to our own devices. We fled right after that.”

I shook my head but said no more. We were up against an enemy who likely knew everything about us, and yet we knew next to nothing about them. An enemy who could strike hard, fast, and ruthlessly before we ever realized they were there.

The more I heard, the more I was convinced we were in over our heads.

“..Hey, why don’t we get the others?” I suggested tentatively.

Mizuko grew still as a statue. An inexplicable feeling that I’d annoyed her punched my heart, and like a child caught with their hand in the cookie jar, I began to babble inanely.

“W-We’ve survived by sticking together so far, right?” I ventured shakily, my eyes drifting elsewhere. “I know we’re last on the leaderboard right now, but if we ask Rusuban and Kozuki, maybe even Hoshino for help, they w-wouldn’t…they wouldn’t leave us to die, right?”

I heard her before I saw her. The rapid tip-tap of footsteps against the floor seized my attention, and by the time my eyes caught up, Mizuko was sprinting toward me at full speed, an arm outstretched in panic.

Oh god, what was—

A heavy, unstoppable force slammed into my back just as a deafening BANG resounded through the air.

For the second time that night, I had been caught off-guard and practically manhandled. As I scrambled to my feet, I vowed there wouldn’t be a third time.

The saying had some truth after all – if you hear the bullet, it wasn’t meant for you.

Regaining my composure, I saw our environment had been flipped on its head.

Arthur, panting hard and glaring upwards, had just saved me from something. Following his gaze, I recognized where we were: the rooftop of Vegelovers. I’d only been here once, dragged by Emiko and some friends trying a fad diet.

As we left that day, my purse lighter and my stomach unimpressed, I thought, If I ever step foot near here again, it’ll be too soon. I couldn’t have known how right I was.

There was one more thing. So subtle and slight, you had to squint to see it: a red light coming from the top of Towa Records across the road. I’d always imagined the view from a building that tall, but as understanding dawned on me, I prayed my imaginings were incorrect.

“I thought I felt a subtle pulse in EXS nearby!” Arthur cried, springing to his feet and rushing toward me. A red dot, like a laser pointer, snaked across the ground in his wake. “It’s got some kind of long-range projectile weapon, and it’s perched way up there! We need to find cover!”

Before he finished his sentence, Mizuko took the lead. With no time to judge our upgraded physical abilities in this world, we leapt over the railing just as another powerful shot burst through the air, ricocheting off the floor with a clang.

As we descended in free-fall, we slid down the building walls before leaping off, landing on another rooftop nearby. From there, we scampered over ceilings, jumped over alleyways, slid under water towers, and even swung off traffic lights in a desperate attempt to maintain our momentum with shots ever-present on our tail.

If not for the life-threatening danger, I might have enjoyed the increasing fluidity of our movement through the landscape.

By the time we passed Cadul City, even our upgraded physiques struggled to keep up with the constant vigorous movements. As if on cue, Mizuko performed an alarmingly swift right turn into Usumizu Street.

I now had a good idea of where we were headed, and we were so, so close – if not for the nightmarish spectacle that awaited us just before the finish line.

Usumizu Street was in flames. The intensity of the fire formed a wall, blocking the path like a barricade. A fire of this magnitude on asphalt, which had little volatile compound content, was impossible. But alas, this was no ordinary fire.

In the infernal scene, the fire was an impermeable pitch black.

I saw him there at the hellfire’s base, sitting on a toppled-over feline-esque creature as it made pained, twitchy movements.

We locked eyes.

“End of the road,” Katoru declared gravely.

And just like that, the three of us knew we’d escaped the frying pan only to tumble into hell itself.

 

[RhythmThief]

Chapter 42 - Daisuke Kurogane

Hollow Night

I let my mind wander as my body glided, ducked, and weaved through the silent nighttime streets, Juno’s voice ringing loudly through the alleyways and avenues. I didn’t know what they were talking about, and I didn’t care.

My mind was on other things.

Soon enough I’d reached the underpass underneath the train tracks right outside the station.

In the daytime, you’d used to find homeless people congregating around their ragged tents, talking amongst themselves animatedly. Nowadays though, they’d just be shivering around a trashcan fire, hands outstretched like they were performing some kind of ritual.

Sometimes when I had nothing to do with myself during the holidays or on weekends, I’d wander around forgotten places like these, filled with equally forgotten people, and wonder how things would turn out for them both a decade or so from now.

Would they still be here, huddling around a burning barrel with no prospects, no hope? Nothing to ever look forward to but more bumbling around until something irretractable happened?

Thinking about it never did me any good, so at some point, I stopped. Eventually, I avoided walking by altogether. I didn’t have that luxury in this place.

Running away here would only get you killed, after all.

Once I was sure the place was clear of any Noise, I hid behind one of the cracked stone pillars and took the journal I’d gotten from that Rabbit Noise last night.

I remember giving it to Reaper after they…helped me out last night, but I didn’t get the chance to meet them after-school today to find out what was in it. I’m sure I don’t need to explain why.

Instead, as soon as we appeared tonight they’d returned the journal and, to my surprise, the lighter we’d been given all the way back on the first night. If I remembered correctly, that Furusawa guy was in possession of it until he died. Why did they have it now?

I was about to ask them what they’d discovered, and maybe even share some of what I discovered yesterday, but before I knew it, sparks were flying and the idiots had started fighting already.

Reaper went off to defend the Vice-Prez, who I think was her Pact partner or something, leaving me alone there with the items.

I remember staring the journal for a long while before I felt someone’s eyes on me too. I didn’t need to look up to know it was him. Aware that he was watching my every move, I raised my head, feigned a chuckle, and locked eyes with my ‘partner’.

I felt like I was staring into a soulless mirror. Any other bozo might have been shaking in his boots right about now – but this wasn’t one of those situations. After all, this guy and I weren’t so different. Perhaps that’s why we’d been matched.

I smiled, narrowing my eyes and maintaining eye contact. We remained like that for a while until words that I hadn’t premeditated nor anticipated began to spill out of me, low enough that only he could hear.

“I’ll be waiting for that rematch,” I heard myself taunt, recalling my failure during that first night. “Until then, try not to get yourself killed, weak-ass.”

Seeing that the group’s ‘festivities’ in the centre of the space had reached a standstill, I decided to take my leave. Just as I was turning my back to exit, I found myself frozen from head to toe. There was a chill on my neck that was unlike the gust that occasionally blew down the streets.

I didn’t even hear him walk up to me when he said, “Consider your days numbered.”

When I finally turned around, he was gone.

This time, my laughing was real.

The Hollow Night was fucking amazing.

Dragging my focus back to the present, I took a sharp inhale before opening the journal to the first page.

The writing was scrawny and rushed, as if the author had penned the whole damn thing on a rollercoaster. The state of the actual pages didn’t help either, with entire sections containing blank pages in the middle of hastily written entries.

I supposed that was where the lighter came in.

Scanning the area once more, I calmed my pounding chest and began reading from the first page onwards.

With enough squinting, I could just about make out that the journal had been written by someone, or something, called Anxiety. Who names their kid Anxiety? Is that one of the lame-ass codenames they gave us that appeared on the leaderboard or whatever?

I thought back to visions I saw last night after defeating that ghost-like Noise, courtesy of that gemstone thingy it dropped. As if it could read my thoughts, I felt the object begin to rattle slightly in my pouch.

I opted to ignore it for now and get back to my investigation.

Could the author have been Kenjiro, Minami’s partner from the last game? Or maybe someone else from the list of players I managed to put together? Either way, I reasoned that reading the contents would help me suss out the identity of the writer.

So, with lighter in hand, I read from cover to cover of the dusty, aged journal, raising my head every minute and a half to check that the coast was still clear.

Whenever I came across a blank page, holding the blue flame of the lighter near the paper caused the words hidden within to manifest in deep, inky black blots. My surprise was palpable.

I wasn’t sure how Reaper figured this out, but I had the feeling they knew a lot more about all this than they were letting on.

Anyway, the first half or so of Anxiety’s journal was useless. Just entries about the stuff it got up to, most of which was feeling scared about the situation and running away from Noise.

The only useful parts were where it mentioned other people’s names, and thankfully, a lot of the names mentioned here had also featured in the list I’d curated. I was on the right track.

It appeared Anxiety wasn’t the only one with shitty parentage though, since they mentioned a bunch of other emotions like Anger and Courage and Love like this was some new Super Sentai series.

But whenever they mentioned an emotion, a specific name would always crop up not long before or after; Kin.

Takeda Kin.

Was he their master, or something? I knew he was a student at Kasumi, just like the rest of the players, who’d suddenly passed while in a comatose state. Shit, was that what was happening to that Furusawa guy now?

I kept my questions on standby as I continued through the journal.

If Anxiety’s information was to be trusted, then the rules of their game were alarmingly similar to ours. The basic structure was identical – with the Kasumi students also being spirited away each night, given missions, and they had powers too.

Theirs seemed pretty out there, though.

Take Kenjiro, for example. Apparently the dude could form his own damn psychic creations; like blasts or weapons. Imagine the damage you could do with that!

Kenjiro seemed kind of wimpy in the vision I saw of him though, so I guess maybe he used it mainly for defence.

That was only scratching the surface, too. One girl named Asuna could generate steam, which sounds shit at first, but apparently she got pretty creative with it and turned fights around that they otherwise would’ve lost.

Another girl named Inja, apparently Asuna’s Pact partner, had some kind of ‘glitch’ ability that allowed her to practically break the game. I’m sure Juno had accounted for that, so there probably weren’t any major vulnerabilities she could’ve leveraged against them, but still…just imagine the havoc they could’ve wreaked.

It looked like the progression of theirs worked differently, though. Not to mention some of the later missions got…real interesting. Otherwise, they were playing the exact same game.

The main difference came in how they handled it.

While all it took for us to break down was one weakling biting the dust, these guys managed to get through most of the week without losing anyone.

My guess? That classic Japanese collectivism.

From what I read and saw of Kasumi High, the students there were stupidly friendly, like they’d all been children’s TV presenters in a past life.

Even though most of the students there didn’t really hang around in the same groups, most were on good terms, which was more than I could say for our ragtag entourage.

Of course, you had your outliers like Minami or this Reihai girl (who apparently gave Anxiety the creeps), but for the most part, these guys were so close-knit in the game I almost threw up.

That is, until I got about halfway through the journal.

Turns out these guys weren’t that much better than us, after all. A chain is only as strong as its weakest – or in this case, most calculating – link.

By the time they’d gotten to the sixth night, it looked like these guys were pretty optimistic about everything. Until one person decided to speak up. You probably already know who I’m referring to.

According to one of the later entries, Minami believed that their troubles were far from over. In fact, he argued that this would be the time that they needed to be on guard the most, now that they were almost at the finish line.

Not all of Anxiety’s transcriptions were all that legible since Minami was known to speak in terms of mathematical lexicon (which might explain why nobody took him seriously), but it was clear that he was pretty worried about something.

The last they saw of him, he took Kenjiro and walked off, muttering something about how they’ll all suffer for not having solved for x, whatever that meant.

That was the last normal entry in the diary.

Everything else, even with the revealing power of the lighter, was just a bunch of panicked scribbles. I was only able to make out sentences such as:

Kemono’s dead!

Is it true that Ren was killing us?

We can’t find Asuna!

Inja’s missing!

Now that I thought about it, this sounded just like the crazy whispers of that Noise I fought yesterday. What was the link between the Noise and the previous players? Why were we getting their items from these random –

‘Random’? It wasn’t random though, was it? Rabbits are known for being particularly frightful and, well, anxious creatures. Could Anxiety have been…?

In any case, whatever had gone down on the last two nights was what caused the Kasumi students to all fall apart.

In the end, Minami seemed to be the only one who made it out, and even then, he seemed extremely nervous that something was coming after him in the real world. Not to mention he knew my name.

There was also Kenjiro, whose had been completely missing from the reports, even though Minami was apologizing to him in that video. Where was he? Did he make it out too? Did Minami silence him in the real world to stop him talking?

Kenjiro had also been concerned about something in that vision the gemstone had shown me. Had Minami really been behind the deaths of all those other players?

As I read the journal’s final pages and shut it, all these questions and more began to swirl around my mind. For every new piece of information I discovered, five more questions followed.

I was going in circles. I needed some time to gather up all of our leads and figure this all out.

In fact, I was so deep in thought that I hadn’t noticed the steady footsteps encroaching from behind. How could I have been so ignorant? In one swift movement, I rolled away from the pillar, brandished my kusari, and had my eyes ready.

Just a few meters down the road, I met eyes with the last person I wanted to see right now, and it looks like he’d got himself a new lacky.

“Oh! You startled me, Kurogane!” Rusuban smirked without a hint of jumpiness. ‘Startled’ my ass. He knew I was here. It didn’t take a genius to figure out how, given the ability of the person stood next to him.

Rusuban’s eyes wandered to the journal and lighter, which I’d dropped onto the floor mid-roll, and I practically saw him pulsing with greed.

“…What do you have over there, Kurogane? May we take a look?” Rusuban asked without taking his eyes off of the items.

I got right to point.

“Fuck off. You and your sidekick – before I make good on that promise from earlier.”

I hadn’t forgotten what he’d said.

I know I’d vowed to save him for last, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t rough him up a bit as a little taster of what’s to come. Think of it like an appetiser, if you will…

His sheepish grin vanished, and for a while he just stared at me emptily. I didn’t know how to interpret that, so I stared back.

As if he’d understood that I wasn’t interested in playing his mind games any further, he wordlessly nodded to the redhead, Kozuki or whatever, who now brandished a new yet somehow familiar-looking white sword in addition to her own rapier.

She started walking towards me.

With a sigh, I put the lighter in my pouch and scooped up the journal in my left arm.

This was going to be a long night.

 

[RhythmThief]

Chapter 43 - Ryota Nakamura

Hollow Night

Too much was happening too damn quickly.

You’re telling me I got whizzed away to some fantasy world where we have powers and missions and monsters? None of it was making any damn sense, no matter how you sliced it.

The only reason I was even going along with any of this was because of what Akio wrote in that note. I couldn’t believe what he’d written there when I first read it, so I didn’t mention it to anyone, but now I’m regretting that choice.

Everything was true. These guys were being forced to play some sick game – and what’s more, Akio knew he wouldn’t make it. He’d left it addressed to me, as if he knew I would get roped in next.

Had his Dad read it? After mulling it over, I doubted it. He was always one to respect his son’s wishes, even if he never entirely understood them. Just remembering the emptiness of his eyes, the deadness in his voice, was taking me back to a place I never wanted to return to again.

It was still tearing me up inside. While I was off drooling over Junko or training for the next competition, just how much was my buddy going through? After we promised to always be there for each other…

But I couldn’t afford to get so caught up in regrets. I didn’t deserve that luxury. Not now, when he needed me most. If he’d known that I would get dragged in, then I could trust that everything else written in the note would come to fruition too – which meant I had to be prepared for the worst.

Hoshino was watching me quietly from the corner of my eye, but I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the screen. Akio said that, as the newcomer, I’d be likely to get targeted especially by the game’s master, Juno, so I needed to be careful.

After some more of their blabbering, they revealed this leaderboard-looking thingy.

Everybody’s names were coded, but Hoshino suddenly chimed in and revealed who everybody was, which saved me some guesswork.

She was ‘Resolution’, which made me ‘Rush’. Maybe I could’ve laughed at the pure cheese of the whole thing if the situation wasn’t so grave.

Rush, though? The name had the strangest sense of familiarity, like meeting an old childhood friend. It felt like my entire being, everything that made me me, could’ve been summed up by that one word - and it scared me.

Based on what Hoshino’d told me, you had a general inkling or intuition for what your power was before you’d even use it; like the lyrics to a song you haven’t listened to for years.

I think I understood what she meant now. Throughout my body there was a kind of pulsing feeling, like something urging me to explode and take off like a rocket. I didn’t know what would happen once I did, but I’ll admit a part of me was looking forward to it.

Heck, the prospect of just letting loose was so appealing that I hadn’t noticed the spinning names and images on the screens. Looks like the ‘target’ was being chosen.

I glanced over at Hoshino. She was gritting her teeth, her skin moist as though she’d just ran 5 kilometres in the space of 3 minutes. I guess she was just as nervous as I was, and had good reason to be. If I really was picked, she’d be in danger too thanks to this Pact business we got going on.

“Hey,” I called. Her gaze snapped to me, and though she tried to play it cool afterwards, for a split second I noticed her eyes were wide with alarm. I smiled.

“We’ll be alright. You’ve got me on your team, for Pete’s sake. Did I mention the time I led a comeback of –“

“25 points across the 3rd and 4th quarter of the boys’ basketball regional finals, leading the Tensei Twisters to victory in the decade’s greatest high school level upset?” She interrupted, clearly not as enthused about the story as I was.

“…Yeah, actually. You have. About a million damn times. Heck, I was there. Or did you forget how the girls’ team was the first in the association’s history to not drop a single game in their journey to getting the trophy?”

I scowled comically.

“Show off.”

“Look who’s talking.”

We turned away then, our attention back onto the screen. The rate at which names were being cycled through was slowing down, and it wouldn’t be long now until we knew who the target would be.

Despite all this, I couldn’t fight the smile that fought its way onto my lips. It looked like Hoshino couldn’t either.

Which made it all the more heartbreaking when it was revealed who was being hunted tonight.

It didn’t sink in at first, I’ll admit.

When they showed the name ‘Fenrir’ with the picture of that one English transfer in third-year, with the cool blue eyes and chestnut brown hair, I was more surprised that it hadn’t been me picked.

Judging from what I’d been told, it seemed pretty on-brand for this ‘Juno’ person to increase the chances of the bottom pairing getting selected, only to choose someone entirely different; say, the new kid on the block.

It was when the relief and (fine, joy) finally faded that I recalled who his partner was.

“…Oh shit.” I remember exclaiming. “W-Wait, isn’t he…?”

Hoshino turned toward me slowly, holding her palms out with stern eyes as if she already knew where this was going. It didn’t matter if she knew or not. She wasn’t going to stop me.

“I’m going after them, right now.” I declared, marching off in the direction of Center Street. As I was moving, there was a flash of light behind me before Hoshino appeared in front of me.

So that was her special sauce, eh?

“Just wait, damnit!” She instructed through gritted teeth. “It isn’t that simple!”

I hoped my facial expression did a good job of displaying my exasperation.

“What? Hell yeah it is that simple! This Fenrir guy being targeted means that Junko’s in danger now too. I don’t know how strong they are, but from what this masked guy said, they’re in some deep shit, Hoshino. If we don’t get over there and help, they could – “

“Just think about it for a second, you idiot!” She screamed. The sudden explosion caught me slightly off guard, but I had the feeling this had been long overdue.

Like she’d even surprised herself with the sudden outburst, she briefly broke eye contact, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath before continuing.

“Look, Mizuko’s gonna be with them.” She began, the constraint evident in her tone. “You know, the one who almost stabbed you in your fucking throat a few minutes ago? Yeah, her. And I don’t have time to go into this with you right now, but I want you to know one thing.”

She looked me dead in the eye.

“She’d sooner kill us and absorb our EXS if it gave her even the smallest chance of doing a better job protecting her sister. Even you can see that much, right?”

Even me? This girl didn’t know half of what I did. The truth was that no matter who’d been picked, I would’ve gone to help them anyway. That was what I’d been instructed to do. But now that Junko was in the line of fire, there was no way in hell I’d be leaving her to die. I’ll never make that mistake again.

“I don’t give a shit what she does to me,” I spat. “Junko needs me, and that’s final. I’m going.”

I had barged past her, and was about to sprint off back to the others when I felt something grip my collar, holding me in place. Before I could even react, I was flying backwards, past Hoshino and tumbling onto the ground. Jesus, what was that strength?

“You’re staying here, Nakamura.” Hoshino’s face was unlike anything I’d ever seen. “I did not get a second chance at this only to have you fuck it all up.”

I had a feeling it might have come to this. As I got back onto my feet, I weighed up my options. I didn’t actually need to beat her, come to think of it – just make it past her and get enough distance so she couldn’t catch me. Simple.

It was meant to be simple anyway. Until Juno started calling our names.

“Resolution, Rush – my apologies. Was I interrupting something?”

Was the broadcast still going on? What was there even left to say? But then, if this was going out to everybody, why call our names specifically?

We were both silent, likely because I was looking for an opportunity to blow past her and she was watching me like a hawk in response.

“…Regardless, there is something the two of you should be aware of.” Juno continued, ignoring the room’s atmosphere. “There is a secret opportunity I wish to make the players outside of the target pairing aware of.”

Okay, now they had my attention. Secret opportunity? Where were they going with this?

“You see, I understand that after…recent events, you are all beginning to realize the importance of seeking your own strength and not becoming excessively reliant on one another.” They noted.

“Thus, in spirit of this newfound philosophy, I have mandated the following rule: if the target is eliminated by a fellow player instead of by the Noise, that player – and their partner – will receive double the amount of EXS from the killing, as opposed to the normal amount.”

I don’t think my jaw could have dropped any further down. What in the actual fuck? So you’re telling me that, in addition to this mercenary group of monsters lurking about somewhere in the city, we have to worry about other players too?

Eiji had warned me – she’d warned me that, with Akio’s ‘elimination’, relations between everyone had grown all kinds of tense.

Shit, now that I think about it, I remember seeing social media stories mentioning that Katoru and Kurogane had gotten into some kind of scrap. Had that been about what went down here the night before?

Either way, I’d learned first-hand that the other players weren’t friends anymore, and that was putting it lightly. I think at this point, even Eiji would –

I glanced over in her direction, and my heart stopped. Just like that.

“Naturally, I’ve kept this a secret from the targeted pair, and Yuki no Yurei, who seems to be in allegiance with them. But do be wary, my young warriors…” Juno croned onwards.

I started to run.

“For the Noise and the target pairing will surely only be the beginning of your troubles tonight.”

They were right.

Eiji was gone.

 

[RhythmThief]

Chapter 44 - Arthur Cunningham

Hollow Night

I stood at the brink of another confrontation. Another moment where my actions could decide whether someone’s son, daughter, sister, or brother would see another sunrise.

The image of Edvard Munch's tortured figure in The Scream flashed in my mind; that raw, distorted face perfectly mirrored the turbulence in my heart.

The pain was excruciating. Knowing that your very existence threatened the wellbeing of others, especially the ones you cared for most. Yet, giving up your life would only hasten the outcome you desperately wished to avoid.

Still, as unwelcome as this situation was, it wasn't entirely unfamiliar. No. I had been a burden since the day I was born. The stakes had simply risen higher.

As a child, I imagined myself as a knight in shining armor, strong and unyielding, protecting those I loved. But reality was far grimmer. My worthless, sickly body had betrayed me time and again, and my mother’s tired eyes were a constant reminder of the burden I placed on her. Now, it seemed, I had transferred that burden to Mizuko and Junko.

With a leaden weight in my chest, I trailed slightly behind the sisters as they took a sharp right into Usumizu Street, just as we had planned while Junko was unconscious. Mizuko was leading us to the Shibu Department Store. Being out in the open was too risky, and the store’s supplies offered more possibilities than roaming the streets.

And, while she'd never admit it, the store’s proximity to Center Street allowed easier access for other players to come to our aid. Though, given our cohort’s earlier interactions tonight, the likelihood of that was slim. Despite that, Rusuban had assured us that he and Miharu would come to our aid as soon as they could.

Of course, he hadn't mentioned how he would find us, or what was holding them up. I hadn’t forgotten the events on the rooftop hours before – now, more than ever, I was certain Rusuban was not who we thought he was. I prayed I would live long enough to expose that truth to my comrades.

These thoughts swirled in my mind as I dodged the steady fire of projectiles from the red light in the distance, focusing my essence on the rise and fall of EXS with each shot. I barely noticed when Mizuko and Junko came to a sudden halt.

For a split second, relief washed over me as I saw Katoru appear ahead. But then I noticed he was blocking our path with a terrifying black wall of flame. The air grew colder despite the heat, the night pressing in around us like suffocating darkness.

He did not come as an ally.

To his right, across the road, lay the back entrance to Shibu Department Store. I leaped at the brick wall of a jewelry shop, digging my claws into the gaps in the cement to survey the situation. I had only five seconds before the next shot.

What did Katoru want with us? We’d done him no harm and had our own problems.

Four seconds.

Had he become selfish? Maybe he wanted our EXS for himself. But in that case, wouldn’t there be easier targets than us?

Three seconds.

How could he guarantee that the Noise hunting us wouldn’t see him as a nuisance too?

Two seconds.

Too many unknowns, but a decision had to be made before things worsened.

One second.

Right on cue, I leapt from my perch as the bullet zoomed past, clanking into the wall. Landing softly, I set my eyes on Katoru and rushed toward him. With my heightened EXS perception, I could hold him off long enough for Mizuko and Junko to get to safety.

But what I didn’t expect was Mizuko speeding off in front of me to confront Katoru herself.

“GO!” Mizuko cried as I hesitated behind her. “Take Junko and run, you fool!”

No. No, no, no. I wouldn’t allow it.

Sensing my refusal, Mizuko spun around, her arm outstretched. The tips of her fingers became enveloped in a snowy white essence as a solid blue began to fill her palm.

I halted in my tracks, a few paces in front of her. I couldn’t look away.

“I can take care of this riffraff,” she said firmly, nodding towards Liu. In the distance, I saw him perched atop a black mass, completely still.

“Take Junko and run. Stick to the plan. I will rendezvous with you once I’m done here.”

My shoulders began to shake. Katoru was strong – too strong. Especially with the Tainted, Mizuko would be—

An ear-splitting boom shocked me back to my senses. I turned around too late. The bullet sailed through the air, heading straight for me. I had let my guard down.

If not for the dazzling slice of silver that swept down in front of me, blocking the bullet with a clang, the night would have been over.

“Pay more fucking attention, idiot!” Junko snapped, panting and raising her sword off the concrete. I stood in stunned silence. I didn’t know how she learned the firing pattern, but if she hadn’t…

Suppressing a sigh, Mizuko turned back to Katoru.

“I won’t ask you again,” she reminded. “Leave. NOW.”

This time, I wouldn’t let myself get distracted. Regaining my composure, I offered a solemn nod to Junko, who grit her teeth in response.

“…Fine,” she groaned. I couldn’t imagine how she felt. “Just make sure you take care of him quickly.”

Mizuko began to walk into the inferno.

“Naturally,” she responded.

As we scurried towards the Shibu Dep. Store backdoor, dodging another sniper shot, I swung the door open and Junko rushed inside. The last thing I saw was Mizuko readying her naginata and Liu rising to his feet before I had to shut the door.

“W-What now?” Junko inquired shakily as I barricaded the door with a nearby drawer. I flicked on the lights and surveyed the area.

The hall was dark and damp, a stillness in the air setting my hairs on end. Down the hall were doors labeled ‘Storage’ and ‘Staff’ on either side, with a final door at the end likely leading to the main shopping space.

We needed to proceed carefully.

“Keep watch,” I instructed. “I’ll investigate.”

Crouching down, I closed my eyes and concentrated, paws gliding across the roughly carpeted floor. My nose got to work.

Katoru’s EXS was so uncontrolled it was hard to ignore its scent, even from here. It was like a jagged splash of paint on the Night’s canvas. Mizuko’s, on the other hand, was calm and steady. Calculated. Unwavering.

Junko’s was somewhere in between, like a ticking time bomb. The stress of the situation was getting to her. I’d have to make sure she was taken care of, even though I could barely keep myself together.

Strangely enough, I found more of Katoru’s EXS inside the hall. Specifically on the floors. Following the trail, I noticed a massive black burn mark on the carpet beneath the drawer. This wasn’t like Liu’s current shade of EXS; it was much more desperate. And it wasn’t recent. Whatever had occurred here happened a while ago.

Upon further investigation, I found the slightest remnants of a certain someone’s EXS, piecing together what had happened.

Junko must have noticed the graveness in my expression. “What did you find?”

I stood up. “Nothing,” I lied. “W-We should get a move on.”

Junko remained silent, but I could feel her glare burning into my back as I crept further into the hall. I knew that if I told her what I discovered – what I believed happened here last night – she would run right out that door to Mizuko’s side.

I was struggling to stop myself from doing the same.

Shibu Department Store, for the uninitiated, was an upscale department store right next to Shibuya Station. Dominated by well-known, famous brand names, they sold just about everything your average person would need on a day-to-day basis – clothing, tools, stationery, and recently even food items (to mixed reception). Despite the fact that the department store was only a single part of a bigger shopping complex, the location had become so popular that people began using it to reference the entire shopping center.

Like old Greenwater back home in Kent, there were multiple different stores available in this building, from jewelry stores to opticians. I’d heard rumors of there even being a new maid café on one of the upper floors, which made sense given the absolute hustle and bustle the place had been getting recently.

As we stalked through the silent department store, however, the only sound echoing through the barren halls was our footsteps. It was dark, save for some very frugal lighting emanating from panels on the ceiling.

“Are we alone?” Junko whispered as we snuck through the empty aisles. Her grip on her odachi was tight enough to affect blood flow.

I kept my nose active to alert us to any potential threats, though nothing was coming up on my radar.

“I think so,” I offered cautiously, before adding, “Stay on your guard, however. We don’t know when that’s going to—”

The world suddenly became drenched in red. The hypermarket’s fire alarm had been sounded. Immediately, I backed up against Junko, who also sidled up against me, eyes darting in hypervigilance.

“What’s going on?!” Junko cried, her voice barely audible over the constant ear-piercing screeches of the alarms. I couldn’t focus. There were too many external stimuli for me to access my EXS detection. We were, for all intents and purposes, blind.

Deciding to trust my eyes instead, Junko and I rotated in back-to-back formation, ready for a confrontation at any given moment. We remained that way for several moments, and I became acutely aware that we were being watched.

Suddenly, I heard a mechanical clunking from above, followed by the sound of something like a fire extinguisher echoing from the ceiling. I looked up to find that a strange yellow gas was being distributed by the sprinkler system above.

“Jun..ko!” I strained, now beginning to cough hard. “Need…to…run…!”

Covering her mouth with her hand, she led the way as we scrambled back toward the main entrance to the store from the shopping center’s plaza. In the distance, I could see a grey screen slowly covering the front doors and adjacent windows.

They were bringing down the fire shutters!

Pushing past the painful irritation of my throat, I got on all fours and leaped toward the entrance, grabbing the bottom of the rapidly descending shutters and keeping them in place.

In another world, I would’ve simply broken through the shutters; but whatever this gas was, I could feel it sapping my strength the more I was exposed to it. I couldn’t rely on my physical strength anymore.

I couldn’t even open my mouth to tell Junko to hurry. I didn’t know how long I could keep this up, let alone with my breath suspended. After a few horribly arduous moments, I heard Junko’s rapid footsteps break into a smooth slide below the shutters and back into the plaza.

“I..I have an idea!” she sputtered, inhaling haggard breaths and latching onto the bottom of the shutter.

An 'idea'? Now?

I grunted, irritated as if to say, “Now isn’t the time!” but she was stubborn.

“Just hold on a sec, damn it!” she replied as though having understood. “This might sting a little!”

The other side was silent for a few moments, before I felt a stinging shock at my paws that caused me to recoil in agony. As I quickly withdrew my hands, I was surprised to see that the shutter was frozen in place.

Not only that, but the fire alarm and sprinklers had both turned off. The gas was no longer being distributed. I took quick, sharp inhales with my snout covered to avoid getting any of the remaining gas in my system.

“I think it worked!” I heard Junko call from the other side. The lights were beginning to flicker on. “Most shutters are made of steel or iron, right? I figured if I could conduct enough electricity through them, it might short-circuit whatever control system it’s connected to and cause a failure.”

I rose to my feet slowly, equal parts amazed and relieved by her display of quick thinking.

“G-Good work!” I tried to cheer, but it was taking a while to find my voice. I surveyed the area. All of the windows had been barricaded by the same steel fire shutters, the small gap awarded to us being my only point of contact with the outside.

“Just give me a minute to recuperate my strength, and I’ll—”

I became aware of a subtle rumbling, unlike the tremors that rose to the surface just before a serious earthquake. Junko must have, too, for I saw her feet become deathly still. We stood there for a few moments, listening as the rumbles grew louder and louder, until I just about heard Junko scream, “GET DOWN!”

With a desperate leap, I jumped over the shelves and across the aisles as a giant crash erupted from the ceiling above, into the middle of the store. As the ceiling caved in, massive shards of debris flew in all directions as though a bomb had been detonated in the middle of the store. I ducked behind the nearest aisle shelf, bracing as various objects went flying past.

Eventually, when the projectiles ceased, I clawed my way back up the shelf to see what was at the epicenter of the crash.

A broad, armor-clad mass almost as tall as the store’s ceiling (or rather, where it used to be) stood erect, with piercing yellow eyes that sliced into my soul.

As the lights began to flicker on and off, casting the figure into and out of shadow, only then did it seriously begin to occur to me that I may never get a chance to say goodbye to my mother.

 

[RhythmThief]

Chapter 45 - Kinoko Rusuban

Hollow Night

Things were going even better than expected.

Not only had I been spared of Mizuko, Junko, and that insolent mutt, but it seemed our entourage’s ‘alliance’ had been torn apart by Furusawa’s unfortunate (but appreciated) departure.

As such, Kozuki was practically a freebie. To have a partner so willing to obey, and serve…not so bad on the eyes, either. I had undoubtedly emerged from last night’s dumpster fire as the clear victor, and I had no intentions of stopping here.

Not until I’d reached the very top. Not until these plebians recognized me for who I was; a shining star, risen above the filth and muck.

But before that day came to pass, there was work to be done, and as this deteriorating body of mine kept reminding me, time was absolutely of the essence.

As soon as the target had been picked, and I made my empty promises of coming to assist them (dream on), Red and I got to work. There was a certain someone who had had the nerve to threaten me with their filthy mouth, and they would soon learn I didn’t take threats lightly.

“I’m not gonna warn you again,” Daisuke groaned, clutching that strange tome even tighter. “Get the fuck out.”

While I’d expertly filtered the information I’d received from ‘Inja’ to just myself, I had no way of knowing how much Kurogane knew. About what had transpired here before we came - about what had been transpiring here years before we were even in the picture.

In fact, the truth about our situation here was so outlandish that I thought I was still dreaming.

It was just yesterday, during our first (and only) meeting on the rooftop. As you know, I had arrived late, but not for the reasons I gave. In fact, I would argue I arrived right on time.

As I silently crept through the flights of stairs to the rooftop, careful so as to not even allow my breathing to make a sound, I found him there.

The school janitor, whose name I had no reason to know up until then, was peering out into the space through the ever so slightly ajar door, a sharp ray of yellow sunlight shooting through the gap and illuminating his aged features.

My theory had been spot on.

“Don’t move a muscle.” I instructed, low enough so that those outside couldn’t hear. I noticed the man’s muscles begin to tense.

“Back away slowly from the door, and come downstairs. We’re going to have a little chat.”

Making sure the hallways were absolutely clear, I gestured the janitor into an empty classroom. The way he sauntered in, as though he’d been picked for some kind of prize, sent a chill down my spine.

After turning the lock and pulling down the blinds on the windows, I turned around and audibly gasped. He was stood less than six feet away from me, staring me down. Was he always this tall?

Against my will, I retreated back only to collide against the door with a rattle.

“G-Get back!” I demanded. He continued to stare. Was he going to kill me here? If so, I’d fallen right for his trap.

“They’re going to ask, you know.” He said suddenly. I was losing control of my breathing.

“…Ask what?”

He remained silent for a few seconds, observing me before finally creating distance and moving toward the other side of the classroom, re-arranging some of the desks and chairs whilst humming a tune to himself.

Relieved, involuntary breaths began to pour out of me. I had almost bitten off more than I could chew.

I wouldn’t be repeating that mistake again.

“Calm down,” He sighed upon watching me searching for the classroom keys I’d taken from him. “I’m not going to kill you. Not here, anyway.”

His eyes were patronizing, as though he thought of me as some kind of amateur. A spark began to light in my chest, though I halted my scrolling through the key collection.

“As I was saying, they’re going to ask what your ability is at some point, you know. “

In that moment, I knew for certain that I had guessed correctly. Juno themselves was stood directly in front of me.

“I know.” I replied, keeping my voice even.

“After that stunt you pulled yesterday, we can both agree that telling them the truth is no longer an option, yes?”

I stayed silent, keeping my eyes on him as he meandered between rows of desks, straightening them and wiping off any debris.

Now that I considered it, it was strange that Tensei had a full-time janitor in the first place. Most schools hire maintenance staff, yes, but a lot of the cleaning would get done by the students on duty and some of the staff.

What made this school so special?

“What do you plan on doing about that?”

“None of your business,” I reminded.

In response, he laughed a laugh so hearty and carefree I began to genuinely fear for my life. As ashamed as I am to admit, I wished the others were here.

“If you insist, Cordyceps.”

There it was. That name again. Oh God. I had gone over again and again what I would do, what I would say, if I ended up being correct in my assumptions that Juno was at our school and watching us; yet in the moment, I was more useless than a sitting duck.

I took a deep breath and started again from the top.

“You’re Juno, aren’t you?”

They gave me a look that was difficult to decipher - equal parts puzzlement and amusement, with a dash of…pride? Either way, they remained silent.

“I figured out your identity before anyone else,” I continued. “ And after only one night. For such a display of initiative and astuteness, I believe a reward is in order.”

I waited for any sort of recognition at my words, but they kept looking at me with that strange expression. I needed to do some more convincing – luckily for me, I was quite the skilled negotiator.

“Don’t you want someone like me, who can make the game more interesting?” I offered, recalling Juno’s unsettling words from yesternight. “I can bring a new kind of intensity to the Hollow Night; if only you’ll let me.”

Finally, Juno raised an eyebrow curiously, a small smirk playing at their lips. Despite finding out their identity, I was still in the deep end and they knew it.

Even if I reported my findings back to my ‘comrades’, who would believe us? Blackmail was out of the question.

I had to appeal to Juno’s twisted sense of showmanship in order to make something out of this discovery.

After what felt like an eternity, they finally replied, “State your terms.”

I wasted no time and held out my index finger.

“First, I ask that you provide me with a secondary power.” I demanded. “I’m sure I don’t need to explain why.”

They stroked their chin curiously, closing their eyes and nodding to themselves as though they were weighing up the request.

“And second?”

I took a deep breath and let loose the words that had been forming themselves in my chest. I flexed my middle finger.

“I want to know the truth about the Hollow Night. Everything there is to know about it.”

At that request, Juno displayed a grin so wide and sinister I immediately regretted asking.

“I accept your terms.” They whispered.

It was then that I was given my second ability – the very same that had been ravaging my body and fighting for dominance. According to Inja, this was the ability – the EXS - of Asahi Yoshida, one of the previous game’s players.

As of recent, I’d even been hearing voices. Murmurings and whispers that vanish into thin air the moment I focus on them. By harbouring his EXS, I had introduced a tug-of-war between my soul and his, with my body suffering collateral damage all the while.

Of course, I had also been told the haunting truth about the Hollow Night.

About why we had been brought here to suffer so. It was that knowledge that kept me going, and hastened me to carry out my plan quickly – before it was too late.

With my attention back on the present, I continued watching as Miharu advanced toward Daisuke.

“Fine…” He spat as a distinct red glow radiated from his direction. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

As if in response, Kozuki’s body also began to glow a faint red. Ah, to have an ability as convenient as that, to predict the very future! Even more fortunate to have the user of said ability as an underling.

I began to ready my abilities – both of them – and kept an eye on the book that Kurogane was clinging to so dearly. It was the key to everything, and I was determined to claim it, no matter the cost.

Soon, I would stand on the brink of destiny, ready to seize control of my fate and carve out my dominion.

The greatest act was about to begin.

 

[RhythmThief]

Chapter 46 - Mizuko Shirogetsu

Hollow Night

With the back entrance to the shopping complex firmly shut, I gave Liu my full attention.

He was sat still, and the black mass underneath him that had been supporting his weight twitched with agony.

The last I’d heard of him, he’d gotten into a scuffle with Kurogane, of all people. Of course, I hadn’t forgotten the absolute state of him the night before, trapped inside that strange golden obelisk, and the…hysterics that followed afterward.

I would have expected him to be upset, but this was far beyond anything I could’ve justified. Just what had he done to that Noise?

“What’s the meaning of this, Katoru?” I inquired evenly.

He rose slowly to his feet, never breaking eye contact.

“Aren’t you aware that Cunningham’s being hunted? This is no time for – “

I was cut off by an ear-piercing screech. Liu had placed a hand on the dark shape underneath him - I could recognize now that it was some kind of panther-like creature – and it was writhing with pure agony.

Soon enough, its entire body was engulfed in black flame. Katoru looked back at me.

“Catch.”

He gave me no time to decipher the meaning of such an imperative, for before I knew it, Liu had picked up the burning creature and tossed its charring remains toward me. I raised my naginata’s tip skyward as it sailed toward me, my left hand gripping towards the bottom of the pole, and my right hand clamped around the top of the handle like a vice.

With one fell swoop, I brought the weapon down, the icicles from my polearm’s blade bursting from the point of impact. The two halves of the beast’s carcass dropped either side of me, still and lifeless.

I gazed forward to find Katoru still standing where he had been previously, a distinctly unimpressed expression looming across his haggard face.

“I’ll ask again,” I threatened. “Why are you distracting us, Katoru?”

He was suddenly having trouble maintaining eye contact. Jarring, considering he’d been the one to start this mess. I had no time for immature stunts like this – I was needed elsewhere.

I was about to tell him as much when, almost imperceptibly, his lips moved.

“I’m going to fix it.”

…What? I sighed.

“I don’t have time for this.” I admitted, walking toward the door that Junko and Arthur had rushed through. When Liu wanted to function like an actual human being, maybe I’d acknowledge his existence.

I shifted my thoughts toward our actual adversaries, the ‘group of Noise’ Juno had stated were after the Cunningham, as I lowered my weapon and headed toward the door. It was very likely that the sniper from earlier wouldn’t be the last of our problems tonight.

Speaking of, the shots from said Noise had ceased completely; meaning it not only had no interest in either myself or Katoru, but it had likely moved to a new spot to survey its targets from. Would it be regrouping with its allies? If so, I needed to hurry. There was no guarantee that Shibu Department Store was completely safe, even if it was a sanctuary comparative to the rest of the Hollow Night.

I was reaching for the doorknob when some kind of projectile slammed into the wooden door, causing it to erupt into flame. I span around to find Liu doubling over and holding his head in his hands, and much closer to me than I was comfortable with.

“You dOn’t…walk aWAy from me…” I heard him mutter in a voice I didn’t recognize, now dropping to his knees and clutching his hair with such ferocity I expected it to come off. “…when I’m talking tO YOU.”

Ignoring the slight shaking in my right hand, I stepped back several feet, seeking to create some distance. If Liu refused to stop distracting us, then he only had himself to blame for what happened next.

I had no mercy left to spare him.

“You’ve delayed me long enough, Katoru.”

I frosted the tip of my naginata and held it in position. It was truly a shame. Katoru and his alter-ego had made for mighty allies indeed.

“Farewell – and good riddance to that partner of yours. I look forward to his absence.”

My heart started to race. I took a deep breath, and steeled my resolve, but my arms refused to move. Annoyed by their cowardice, I thought of Mother, and her last words to me on that fateful day at Molco.

That gave me all the courage I needed.

Closing my eyes, I thrust my naginata forward, and felt the delectable, horrifyingly satisfying sensation of a blade sinking into flesh.

Had I done it? Had I really done it?

Ending the life of another human being is a line that, once crossed, you can never return from. You will have to carry the weight of that sin as a burden for the rest of your life.

Every night, before I inevitably closed my eyes and descended into this tenebrous warzone, I found myself repeating those same questions over and over again.

Are you prepared to kill? To murder? To end the life of another for the sake of your own?

My answer would often change depending on circumstance. But tonight, I didn’t have the luxury of lip service and introspection. All I had available was action, and it seemed that through this action alone, I had discovered who I truly was.

It was equal parts liberating and frightening.

My eyes slowly opened, unravelling and picking apart the scene before me. Liu was deathly still, my naginata remaining upright and sticking out of his left shoulder even after I had let go of its pole.

I wouldn’t stop shaking.

“K-Katoru…?”

I was, ashamedly, so distraught that I hadn’t noticed my naginata slowly rising out of his body, until it had fallen completely onto the ground with a clank. Immediately, my heart had began to pound like a drum. I was making a desperate grab for my naginata when I saw it.

A massive, hulking black arm had arisen out of the spot where I’d stabbed Liu, and was gripping onto the blade. Stopping in my tracks, I watched as the hand squeezed the metal blade until it had been crushed and folded into itself like a discarded can of soda.

By the time I’d returned to my senses, Katoru was on his feet, rivers of red running down his left arm. Despite the shadow his hair was casting over his eyes, I knew he was looking right at me.

Like a rabbit picking up on the low growl of a starving coyote, I scrambled to my feet as my survival instinct took over. I didn’t look back. Pacing now, I heard a shout behind me, but didn’t look back, not even as I heard the rapid pounding of footsteps that weren’t my own.

In the distance, where I had originally been stood, a singular white glow emanated from the ground. Instantly, my heart overflowed with joy. Realizing that this was perhaps my only chance at making it out of this nightmare alive, I poured all of my strength into my legs, the wind rushing against me even more violently as I sped.

I was only a few paces away from the orb that the panther Noise had dropped when a scorching heat had suddenly engulfed my right leg, tossing me off balance. The world was spinning as I felt my body bounce across the asphalt, each thud more violent than the last.

When I’d finally suspended movement, the sphere taunted me with its seductive glow a few yards ahead, just out of reach. I couldn’t hold back my screams of agony as my right leg had been enveloped with dark hellfire.

Gritting my teeth, I reached back with my right arm, resting it on the top of my thigh. A thick, frigid ice was beginning to spread down, painfully but surely covering the ferocious flames. As I did so, I raised my left elbow, before slamming it down hard on the ground to drag the rest of my heavy body forward.

If I could just get to the sphere and consume it – if I could just get more power-

By the time I’d gotten close enough to touch it with my fingertips, my hand was pummelled into the ground with a fierce stomp. I cried with both pain and disappointment as Liu looked down at me.

For the first time since my attempt at his life, I met his eyes, and instantly regretted doing so. While still coloured a piercing yellow, there were wisps of black smoke emanating from his irises like an open flame.

In that moment, I realized that Katoru’s body was literally burning out with hatred.

“nO more RuNNING.” He garbled as his head twitched. “…gIvE mE yoUR...YOUR….”

Liu’s right hand had spread out, and was reaching toward me, practically dripping with shadowy vitriol. I struggled and struggled, summoning my other hand to beat and pound away at his foot, but to no avail.

Sensing a searing heat begin to approach my face, the despair became too great for me to fight any longer. I had lost.

I laid there, like a deer in headlights, waiting for my painful annihilation to come. In just a moment’s time, there would be nothing left of me but ashes.

All that was left was to close my eyes, and pray that my sister would not suffer the same fate.

After a few moments, the heat had reached a standstill, refusing to increase any further. Hesitantly, I opened my eyes, and involuntarily widened them at the scene I had come to witness.

Liu’s hand was shaking, struggling, as if being held back by something. Gripping his forearm tightly was the same mighty black limb that had crushed my naginata, only this time, it was holding Liu back?

“S-STOP!” Katoru groaned, equal parts confused and frustrated. “WhY woN’t YoU leT ME GO?!”

To my absolute shock, a head covered in messy white hair and glowering white eyes sprouted out of Liu’s wound. The rivulets of blood flowing down his arm had turned pitch black. I gasped, refusing to believe what I was seeing.

“NO!” The Tainted cried, struggling to contain its master. “Once you cross this line, there’s no turning back! This isn’t what he wanted, you shithead!

He? There was too much happening at once, but there was one thing I was clear on. For whatever reason, the Tainted was at odds with its lord, and was protecting me.

I’d been given a second chance. That was all I needed to know.

Most of my EXS had been used to temper the fire ravaging my leg, but with the last of my reserves, I formed a small but lethally sharp shard, ramming it straight into Katoru’s calf.

Both he and the Tainted shrieked in pain, stumbling backwards into the wall. My hand was free! With one final, desperate surge of energy, I dived over the white orb and held it close as its power washed over me and bathed me in a deep white luminescence.

My despair, my pain, and my fear – I felt them all begin to wash away as the world was enveloped in white.

When the light faded, I felt renewed. The pain in my right leg was gone, my EXS restored, and instantly I knew I’d gained some kind of strength that was begging to be unleashed.

Taking deep breaths, I slowly rose to my feet, the trepidation from earlier a distant memory. I turned to find Liu being physically contained and held back by his own servant, who had now fully materialized, arms wrapped around Liu’s body like a coiled snake.

The Tainted’s head suddenly snapped in my direction.

“GO, GET OUTTA HERE!” It screamed, its voice straining. “I-I don’t know how much longer I can – “

Its sentence was cut off by its own shouts and screams.

“EnOuGh! YOU BELONG TO ME!” Liu slurred. “TO ME!!”

The Tainted’s body was then violently dashed to the floor, before being absorbed into Liu’s, dragging across the ground and screaming until nothing remained.

Silence.

Then, Liu’s eyes slowly turned toward me, his gaze piercing and pointed. Two grotesque arms of The Tainted emerged from either side of his back, giving him a monstrous, four-armed appearance. He met my eyes with a perilous edge in his voice, his tone dripping with malice.

"No mOrE... rUnNIng."

A few moments ago, such a declaration would have sent a spark of terror into my very soul. But the situation was different now. I could feel a newfound strength surging through me, awakening something that had long been dormant.

Concentrating, I clenched and opened my fists repeatedly until I felt a subtle click, a connection to an untapped well of power.

Slowly, a frosty, double-edged longsword materialized in my right hand, its blade shimmering with an icy aura. In my left hand, a broad, crested shield of the same material formed, solid and unyielding – just as I had visualized.

This was only scratching the surface of what I was truly capable of. I could feel it, a burgeoning part of me stirring to life, ready to be unleashed.

“Interesting,” I smiled, admiring my creations before locking eyes with my foe. My heart pounded with a mix of anticipation and adrenaline, each beat echoing in my ears like a war drum.

“I was just about to say the same thing.”

The air around us crackled with tension, the oppressive weight of the imminent clash pressing down on everything like a storm about to break.

Liu's eyes flickered with a sinister glee, his monstrous form towering over me, yet I stood my ground, the frosty glow of my weapons illuminating the darkened space.

In that charged silence, time seemed to stretch, and each heartbeat felt like an eternity.

The world around us faded into insignificance as we focused solely on each other, two titans about to collide.

 

[RhythmThief]

Tsuneo Furusawa

Wednesday, October 18th, 23:49

I’m not sure why I’m even bothering. I learned long ago that alcohol never mended a broken heart – only made you too numb to feel its pain.

You’re gone.

Just like that, the one thing I had left in this world, that I could lay claim to and call my own, is gone.

I can’t get the hellish scene out of my head – waking up to find that you hadn’t made breakfast like you usually do, thinking you’d mistakenly slept in, only to walk into your room and find –

My eyes – they just won’t stop stinging. What kind of father have I been? Even nine years later, I’m still not over Shiori and what she did to us.

I knew you were hurting too. You loved your mother more than anything back then, always saying you’d grow up big and strong to protect her from ‘the bad guys.’ It was unbearable to see the confusion, the hurt on your face all those years ago when she said she was ‘going away for a while.’

That was when you needed me most, wasn’t it? You needed someone to step up and support you. To band the fort together and tell you that everything was gonna be okay. You needed your father.

But he wasn’t there.

How could he have been when he was drowning in grief too, with no hope of ever resurfacing?

Oh, Akio. Look at me. I’m a mess. I’ve been given leave from work, but that was the last thing I needed. All I have now are these thoughts for company. The house, the world, my life – it all feels so empty and meaningless without you here with me.

If there is a God out there, why did he have to make us suffer so? What did we do wrong to deserve such treatment? The more I try and look for answers, the darker the path ahead grows.

Ryota came to visit you today. I saw the note you left for him on the table. Don’t worry – I didn’t peek. I know how you boys get about having your own space. Ryota’s a good kid, and I know he’d sooner chop off his left pinky than put you in serious danger, so why the note? What did you think was going to happen to you? Were you in some kind of danger?

If so, why couldn’t you tell me or the others?

The nurses told me a girl came to see you today too, right after Ryota. Was she your girlfriend? You never mentioned any girls before. I hope what happened between your mother and me didn’t sour the prospect for you.

My son.

The more I think of the little things, your little idiosyncrasies and habits, the more this pain inside amplifies. You looked so tired these past few days. And whenever I walked past your room during the night, I swore I could hear your panicked breaths and mumbles, your tossing and turning. What had you been dreaming about that had you so distressed?

My phone is buzzing. It’s your mother.

I just saw your text. I’m so, so sorry. Can we talk tomorrow lunchtime? X

A sudden anger is flaring up in my chest. I tried calling her about fifty-five times this morning. Straight to voicemail. Her own flesh and blood is in a coma, yet she only finds time to text back now?

I’m tired of making excuses for her, Akio, and I’m tired of sitting back and watching as everything I hold dear is taken from me. I won’t sit back any longer.

I’m going to find out what happened to you, son. I’m going to find out who is responsible. I’m going to do what I must.

Hang in there. Your father’s on his way.

 

[RhythmThief]

Chapter 47 - Junko Shirogetsu

Hollow Night

“Arthur!”

I beat my fist against the half-closed metal shutters, the gap at the bottom now blocked by debris from the explosion on the other side. I screamed as loud as I could for him to find cover as soon as I realized what was happening, and I was praying I wasn’t too late.

“Arthur! Are you in there?!” I cried. “Say something, damnit!”

Please don’t be dead.

Please don’t be dead.

Please don’t –

“I-I’m fine!” A familiar voice on the other side of the shutters called out. My legs almost gave way from the pure relief at hearing his voice. But the fear still present in Arthur’s tone brought me back to my senses.

“There’s something in here with me,” Arthur spoke carefully, confirming my suspicions.

“W-What? What do you mean?”

“I think it’s some kind of Noise. It’s... quite large. Heavily armoured with some kind of bludgeon, but it isn’t making any moves.”

“Shit!” I muttered under my breath, heart sinking.

Arthur was strong, but not invincible. Plus, we didn’t know if that sniper Noise from earlier or even other enemies we hadn’t encountered yet were making their way – no doubt the explosion caused by this new Noise could’ve been seen and definitely heard from a mile away. Not the kind of attention we wanted right now.

“We need to leave!” I commanded, kicking the rubble piled beneath the shutters to no avail. “Can you get out through the hole it made in the roof?”

There was a pause. After a few seconds, Arthur replied, but he spoke words that made my hairs stand on end.

“Junko, it’s not alone!”

I felt another one of those tingles in my spine.

Now, for some context; ever since childhood, I’ve had pretty good senses.

Tracking small flying insects - especially the fast, annoying ones - was a breeze.

I could tell when it was about to rain simply by feeling the subtle change in humidity, a talent that the weather-report-ignorant like Emiko had endless amounts of approbation for.

These days, I was even able to tell who was walking around the house based solely on the tempo, weight, and drag of their footsteps. Then again, I only had Mizuko and my step-father to test it out on regularly, so the jury was still out on that.

But perhaps the one facet of my gift that had proved most useful, time and time again, was that I could tell when I was being watched.

It often started as a dull pulse in the back of my head, meandering down my neck and finally reaching my spine as a sharp tingle. By then, I’d know who the culprit was. I’d make a few acted out, seemingly innocent glances around, not making it obvious I was scanning a completely different direction via my peripherals.

Normally it wasn’t of any real concern. Maybe some dreamy-eyed boy or another letting their gaze linger for a bit too long, often on parts of my body they had no business with.

Occasionally, they’d even be with their girlfriends, which made the unrequested attention even more unwelcome.

This gaze, however, was of lethal intent, and when I immediately span round to see a sharp silver edge flying right toward me, I mentally added another use case for this peculiar gift of mine.

An involuntary gasp and a side-step later, a sushi knife had narrowly made its way past my head, sinking right into the metal shutters.

“Uhh, Arthur…?!” I began to murmur as I took a look at my newest opponent. “I have company!”

For a monster, this Noise was unsettlingly humanoid, standing tall and lean. Its form was almost seeming to flicker and shift with every movement, as if the very air around it was in a constant state of flux.

It had hair of a silvery white, flowing like a mane caught in an eternal breeze, each strand dancing with a life of its own. Sharp, piercing eyes of stormy gray darted about, vigilant, and filled with a relentless intensity that suggested an acute awareness of his surroundings.

The creature was even wearing some kind of garment reminiscent of a kannushi - it was both practical and regal, a blend of tight-fitting armor and flowing garments that likely allowed for maximum mobility without sacrificing protection.

The armor, gleamed with a metallic sheen, reflecting the ambient light in a dazzling display. It covered his chest, shoulders, and limbs, intricately etched with swirling patterns that mimicked the currents of what looked like a mighty gale.

“Curses!” Cunningham yelled. By his volume, it sounded like he’d moved closer to the shutter than before. “I’m on my way!”

This was bad. Yes, they were after Arthur, but it looked like these creatures were smart enough to realize that they could get to him through me. Even so, they had him dead to rights in that room. Why didn’t they just –

As if to answer my question, there was a slow but loud movement in Shibu Department Store. From the way the ground beneath began to rumble, and debris from the crash began to shift and shake, I knew what was happening.

“Wait! It’s making a move!” Arthur cried.

They were trying to separate us. Together, we were stronger and more tenacious, but alone, just picking off one of us would take care of the other.

As far as they were concerned, Arthur and I were both the targets.

“Keep that Noise at a distance, and try to survive!” I advised, not taking my eyes off of my new adversary. It was giving me an off-puttingly studied look.

“I’ll take care of this new one quickly and join you in there, okay?!”

There was a tense silence as the graveness of the situation became clear to us both. I think that, deep down, we both knew that without the others’ help, this might’ve been it for us.

Even so, Arthur replied with a stoic “Very well. I believe in you, Junko!” before I heard his paws sprint off deeper into the department store. At least that made one of us.

Drawing my odachi and appraising my new foe, I offered a silent prayer for strength.

I had a bad feeling I would soon need as much of it as I could get.

There was one thing that had been bugging me. No doubt, this Noise looked a bit more sophisticated than most of the others we’d come across so far, dressed to the frills in the finest Hogwarts cosplay, but things weren’t adding up.

How did something so slender manage to throw that knife hard enough to piece an entire steel shutter?

I intended to find out.

With a deft spin, I reached for the knife’s handle, yanking it with force out of the shutters. Once I’d rotated back to my starting direction, I surged the tool with a slight jolt and sent it right back to its sender.

To be honest, I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect. Maybe a martial arts move or two? The summoning of some kind of spirit or familiar?

Instead, what I got was a formidable gust of wind that almost swept me off my feet – literally. Struggling to regain balance, I allowed myself to drop to the ground right as the knife was sent back - straight over my head, returning into its new home.

“Just perfect,” I muttered under my breath as I rose to my feet. “Wind.”

Already, my winning vision was being thrown into the gutter. Given my skillset, I needed to get in reasonably close to do any damage to someone, either with my odachi or with some lightning. Preferably both.

I met eyes with the creature, who I’d decided would be called Zephyr, as it crossed its arms condescendingly. It was still strange to see these monsters perform movements that felt so…human. If anything, the gesture reminded me slightly of that Noise from last night – Inja, was the name it gave?

Though it was likely a ruse, it was a shame it was killed instantly by our joint attack. It may have been useful to us if we’d interrogated, or more likely, dissected it to see what was making it tick.

Luckily, I’d have the opportunity to do that today with Zephyr here – but I’d need to earn that right first, and that’s exactly what I’d planned to do.

“Very well!” I spoke with more passion than intended, feeling a competitive spark begin to light in my stomach. “Let’s see if you can – “

I ceased my speech completely when I noticed Zephyr’s left arm raised and extended behind it, winding up as if about to slap something. Or someone.

Reflexively, I jumped just as it swung the arm back around. I heard it much sooner than I saw it, but out from the arc of its swing came a sharp ark of startlingly high pressure air that sliced through the now empty space beneath me, leaving a deep gash in the wall.

My heart sank as my feet made contact with the ground.

With my odachi in hand, and a seemingly bottomless anxiety having ripped into my heart, I started to run.

 

[RhythmThief]

Chapter 48 - Arthur Cunningham

Hollow Night

Sounds like clashing metal and the booming of a jet ripped through the otherwise silent Shibu Department Store. The noise was coming from outside – likely from whatever Junko was fighting.

I gritted my teeth in self-restraint as I galloped further away from the metal shutters. I couldn’t believe I’d let the two of us get separated. This was exactly what they wanted.

For now, I sensed only two EXS signatures – the ironclad golem inside with me and whatever was outside with Junko. Both signatures were unsettling and ruthless, but what scared me most was their familiarity. I couldn’t put my finger on why, but ruminations would have to wait.

Desperation clawed at me as I hit the back wall of the store’s interior. I scaled a nearby aisle sign, pulling myself up to get a better view of my destroyed surroundings. Swinging from its chains, I scoped the harrowing scene unfolding on the other side of the space.

Like a scene from a sci-fi film, the massive Noise, Ironclad, was slowly approaching, each step a deliberate and destructive display of might. Standing as tall as the supermarket roof, Ironclad’s immense form filled the entire space, a towering monolith of metal and muscle. Its golem-like body was terrifying, each movement causing the very ground to tremble.

Every step it took left a trail of destruction in its wake; shelving units were crushed underfoot, and merchandise was sent flying in all directions. The air was thick with dust and the acrid scent of burnt metal, remnants of the explosion lingering in the confined space.

My breath came in ragged gasps as my fingers dug into the sign. My mind raced for a plan. The distance between us was closing alarmingly fast, each step echoing like thunder in the hollow silence of the supermarket. Escape routes were blocked by debris and twisted metal. There was no way out – aside from the massive hole that lay past Ironclad, its towering presence beginning to block out its light.

The oppressive atmosphere pressed in on me, each heartbeat a countdown to the inevitable confrontation. This monster’s methodical approach left no room for doubt – it was a relentless force, and I was its target.

I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath and coming to terms with what my next move would invariably have to be. In the face of such overwhelming power, what I had to do next to survive would demand every ounce of my cunning and resolve. Steeling myself, I gripped the sign tightly, preparing for my first move.

In that fleeting moment, standing on the precipice of confrontation, it was as if the entire ruined department store held its breath, awaiting the inevitable clash between man - no, beast - and metal giant.

Time stood still as I met Ironclad’s gaze. It loomed an aisle or two ahead of me, its immense form casting me in its shadow. Its head dipped in a subtle nod, as if to say, “Your move.”

Understanding that this might be the last sight I was ever awarded, I took my time. I recalled all the precious places, things, and people that I kept sheltered in my heart – from the first time Mother took me to the National Gallery back home to the summer days spent marching through the fields and meadows.

Will they be forgotten along with me? When all is said and done, years from now, will the future National Gallery goers know that I, too, walked those storied halls? Will the birds and butterflies know that, at one point, I too admired their beauty and meandered along those quiet country roads?

I doubted I would ever reach a conclusion in the short time I had left, but the simple recollection of those treasured days was enough to put my soul at ease.

With a final brace, I leapt off the sign, landing on the dilapidated tile flooring with a hard plod. In an instant, I was off, darting towards the source of the hellish shadow that drowned me.

As I sprinted down the main walkway between what was once the aisles, over the crushed pile of debris, around the messily pooling liquids that lay underneath caved-in squares of roofing, and barging straight through toppled-over shelving units, Ironclad remained eerily still.

It was only when I was mere meters away from its feet that I heard the shifting of metal. I looked up from my intense focus to see a cylindrical iron shape, like a terrific missile, zooming towards me.

Just as I’d planned – if I got close enough to it, it wouldn’t be able to use its bludgeon effectively. It’d need to resort to other, more manageable forms of attack!

I waited until the fist was just a few paces away before deftly lunging to the side, just about retaining my balance. With the opening before me, I changed direction to skitter through the beast’s brassbound legs, making sure it noticed.

Once I had just about passed through, I jumped with a great leap backward, turning mid-air and landing on the lower part of its back. Having lost sight of me, its movements became somewhat agitated, but only as fast as its heavy adornments would allow.

I hung on for dear life as I was swung to and fro, digging my claws into its armor as lightly as possible for grip. I scaled the golem slowly but surely, keeping my movements surreptitious and untraceable – quite the challenge given my size in this hulking form.

Still, with the lives of those around me on the line, I was willing to endure any discomfort required to see them home safely to their beds. No matter what it cost me.

As the golem’s movements suddenly began to slow to a disturbing halt, I continued to ascend its metallic figure. It was a universal rule in nature that no being was without its weakness, no blessing without its burden, and in my time fighting, fearing, and surviving the perils of this tenebrous realm, that had undoubtedly remained true – for better or worse.

It was that observation that had kept the small flame of hope lit within me, even as an enormous shadow descended over me, washing my vision in darkness.

Before I could even register what was happening, my muscles seized control, and I found myself leaping off my perch at the border between Ironclad’s latissimus dorsi and teres major as its own hand clapped against its back, sending it stumbling forward with its own force.

I was still airborne, having just reached the apex of my vertical travel and about to descend when a distinct yet subtle yellow swelling on the Noise’s nape commanded my attention.

Honing my senses in on the Noise’s EXS makeup, I allowed myself to ignore the desperate situation of my rapidly encroaching descent and dug my perception as deep as it would go. It was in those murky, unfamiliar extents of my senses that I came to a startling realization – one that shocked me back to reality.

Not waiting for Ironclad to raise itself up from its nigh doubled-over position, I dove through the air like a plummeting missile finding its mark. In one reckless fell swoop of my arm, I clawed through the protuberance, a sinister satisfaction washing over me as my nails penetrated and ran through the uncomfortably wet interior of the hump, sending splashes of liquid pouring from the creature’s neck.

I landed on my feet and ran on all fours as Ironclad’s pained groans chased me. Once I’d judged I was a safe enough distance away from the beast, I spun on my paws and slid around until I was facing the goliath once more.

I struggled to keep the relief from dulling my senses, but drank in the small victory. Ironclad was crouched down, kneeling on one knee and covering the now oozing wound on the nape of its neck with one of its mighty hands. Past the practical waterfalls of yellow liquid spilling down onto the destroyed tiled floors, I could feel it glaring at me with such animosity I almost gulped.

Taking quick breaths, my composure began to return in small increments as I pondered my next move, but Ironclad never broke eye contact with me, remaining still as a statue. If my theory was correct, then Ironclad was on borrowed time, now that I’d heavily interrupted the flow of its EXS. In fact, if I could simply avoid it and keep my distance, that would be best.

However, in a space this enclosed, how long would I be able to keep it up before I was eventually cornered? No – I needed to end this with my own two hands, but I needed to be careful. Any animal is at its most dangerous when driven into a corner.

With my thoughts laid solely on Junko and her sister, I launched into a sprint right as Ironclad rose to its feet with frightening speed. When I looked closely, I could see its normally grey complexion beginning to darken into an inky black, with yellow bumps and grooves spreading like a virus throughout its body.

I couldn’t observe for too long, however, as I opted to take a sudden right, vanishing underneath the debris.

Like a mole navigating a complex underground labyrinth, I scurried and skittered through the cavernous tunnels of destruction that had now formed, feeling a rising sensation of incoming victory with every false, frustrated punch being thrown above in a desperate attempt to guess my location.

Soon enough, an eerie silence had swept over the surface, and I could no longer hear Ironclad’s heavy thudding above.

Similarly, tapping into my senses yielded no results. Now feeling a suffocating wave of dread washing over me, I counted to three before leaping up into the air with a jump powerful enough to break holes through the debris that had acted as a roof.

At first, there was nothing at all. The space was bereft and empty as though nothing had been here at all, save for a slightly rippling pool of yellow liquid that had formed where Ironclad once stood.

The movement I heard next was so incredibly subtle, that if not for the fact that it was followed by the most hellish pain I had ever experienced ripping through my stomach like the skewering of meat, I might have died just there and then.

 

[RhythmThief]

Chapter 49- Miharu Kozuki

Hollow Night

“Scarecrow attempts to lock eyes with Red, his kusarigama slicing through the air as he launches it toward her, downstage-centre.”

The words guiding me danced across my vision like autumn leaves cascading in the breeze, their elegance masking the dire weight of their meaning.

At first, these directions frightened me. The notion of surrendering all control over my fate, my actions dictated by unseen forces, living each second on the razor's edge of life and death—it was no small feat to accept.

The image of tiptoeing through a minefield, where the slightest misstep could mean a gruesome end, often haunted my thoughts. There would be no second chances.

But tonight… tonight, I began to see this foresight as a gift, something to be cherished and wielded with purpose. With the favor of the gods on my side, who could possibly hope to challenge me?

As I stood motionless, something within me stirred. The power my ally and I had acquired from a roaming beast on the way here was awakening, vibrant and potent.

Instantly, a new hue burst to life beneath the crimson directions.

"[Perform a clockwise 90° side-step, pivoting on your left foot, with your eyes fixed on the kusarigama.]"

Before I could even register the words, my muscles responded with uncanny precision. My body moved with meticulous efficiency, my feet stepping lightly as the billhook flew past me.

My gaze followed the kusarigama, the metal chain linking the sickle on one end to the heavy iron weight on the other. In its slight reflection, I noticed a gentle blue tint staring back at me.

I recalled being told that my body pulsed red whenever my foresight was in play—perhaps executing these new directives would alter that pulse to blue?

No matter. I was preparing to strike when I realized with a jolt who was directly behind me—the sickle's next target. My hand shot out, seizing the chain and halting its deadly arc.

A metallic clatter echoed as something fell to the ground behind me. I glanced back to see Cordyceps, cowering with his hands raised. He lowered his arms cautiously, peering over them to see the threat neutralized.

"Impressive as always, Red," he croaked, clearing his throat. "Good work."

"Stay vigilant," I warned, my gaze snapping back to Scarecrow. The red glow in his eyes had faded, but his smirk remained.

"Aww, did the little council prez get scared?" he jeered. "If not for your little sidekick here, you'd be—"

The crow's taunt was cut short by the sharp whistle of something slicing through the air.

In the time it took him to boast, I had hurled the kusarigama back at him, the sickle aimed squarely at his head.

His eyes widened briefly, but he quickly masked his surprise with an impassive expression. Without even looking, he caught the sickle's handle.

"...Yeah, stick to the whole Musketeer thing you got going on, redhead. The kusarigama's not your style."

I met his taunt with a confident smirk, deciding to save my retort until after I'd retrieved the enigmatic journal and uncovered its secrets.

I unsheathed my rapier and the blade I’d won from last night’s battle against the Samurai, and subsequently Reaper. My rapier’s slender gray steel gleamed with the reflection of my crimson eye, complementing the fractured yet lethal edge of the new white blade in my right hand.

"As you wish," I said, raising both blades, their pointed edges aimed at Scarecrow.

Scarecrow’s reaction to my rapid charge was unexpected—he ran straight at me. We were mere centimetres apart when I swung my blades forward, meeting his taut metal chain with a resounding clank!

A powerful gust tore through the underpass, knocking over bins and sending patches of grass swaying toward the road, as though fleeing from the epicenter of our clash.

In the corner of my eye, I noticed the moon gazing down at us, a silent witness to our duel.

"You're stronger than you look," Scarecrow grunted, struggling to hide his exertion as he searched my eyes. "Why stick with that wet wipe? You know he's just using you!"

I ignored his misjudgement, focusing instead on the new strings of red and blue hovering above him.

"Scarecrow activates his powers and attempts to make eye contact with Red."

"[Headbutt Scarecrow.]"

I pulled my head back and closed my eyes, then launched forward with reckless abandon. A searing pain exploded in my skull as I collided with his head, stumbling backward from the impact while he groaned in agony.

When I opened my eyes, a small rivulet of bright, viscous liquid trickled from his nose. I realized I had aimed slightly lower than intended.

His teeth clenched, his face contorted in rage. But his gaze wasn’t focused on me—it was directed past me, at someone else. Whatever Cordyceps was doing, it was only fuelling Scarecrow’s anger.

With a wordless growl, Scarecrow began spinning his chain in a circular motion, like a tornado gathering strength. He then hurled the bladed edge at me. As the bloodthirsty weapon streaked toward me, I gripped my blades tight and read the directions that appeared.

Dodging with precision, I felt a sinking realization as the kusarigama curved back toward me, its terrifying speed threatening to cleave my chest open.

I left the ground with a small leap, leaning back into a flip and watching the kusarigama retract beneath me, strands of my hair caught in its wake.

Landing steadily, I wasted no time and shot off into another sprint.

Scarecrow, assessing that he had no time for a counterattack, hooked onto a nearby streetlight. The journal was tucked under his arm, illuminated by the amber light.

Seizing the moment, I leaped forward, guiding my white blade into a quick slash as he ascended. Landing on the ground, I spun around to assess the damage.

Before my eyes even reached him, I noticed red droplets raining down into the streetlamp’s spotlight, forming scarlet pools on the concrete. The sight was eerily beautiful, holding me in a trance.

A pained groan, tinged with surprise, snapped me back to reality. I looked up to find Scarecrow, still clutching the journal despite the open gash on the left side of his stomach. His grimace of pain confirmed that my strike had hit true.

"Relinquish the tome this instant," I demanded, my voice cold. "And no further harm shall come to you."

If he heard me, he gave no indication. Instead, he simply released his grip on the kusarigama and dropped down into the pool of his own blood. The kusarigama clinked to the ground, its chain unfurling with a miserable clatter.

A shiver ran down my spine, though I couldn’t tell if it was from the crisp wind blowing through the backstreets or the unnerving, blank stare Scarecrow now directed at me.

"Where did you get that sword?" he asked flatly, as though the last few minutes had not occurred. He now stood at his full height. "I don't remember seeing it on you before."

I exchanged a puzzled glance with Cordyceps, who furrowed his brow but remained silent. I took stock of the situation before replying.

"That does not concern you, Scarecrow. Release the tome. Now."

At my command, he shrugged, sighing flippantly.

"Oh, brother. Haven't you realized by now?"

His behaviour at that moment was strange, and perhaps it was due to this confusion and my momentary hesitation that he managed to do what he did next.

I blinked—just a simple, involuntary blink—and Scarecrow vanished, leaving the tome to plop onto the concrete.

An equally involuntary gasp escaped me as I desperately scanned the area. The underpass was eerily silent, with only my rapid breaths breaking the quiet. The pillars holding the train tracks above were cracked, worn by neglect and torment. Vines and undergrowth crept along the shadows, silently expanding their reach.

A sudden impact slammed into my right shoulder, sending me crashing against something metal. I fought the urge to succumb to the sleepiness that threatened to overwhelm me, forcing myself to my feet. I had collided with a bin, but no one was there—except for Cordyceps, who stood a few meters away, his expression a mix of shock, concentration, and fear. He was reaching for something in his cloak, though I couldn’t tell what.

Again, I was hurled back into the road, tumbling like a discarded ragdoll. But this time, I caught the slightest glimpse of him.

My foresight had abandoned me! The only times the directions would cease were when there was nothing I could do to change what was about to happen.

No more directions, no more warnings, no more guidance. I had been thrown into the lion's den, with no hope of escape.

By the time I noticed the kusarigama was no longer on the ground, it was too late. A cold breath brushed against my ear.

"...Did you really think that was a fight?" Scarecrow’s voice was a venomous whisper. "I just wanted to see how far along you were—but boy, are you sorry."

I felt the cold, silent rustle of the metal chain as it coiled around my neck, the scythe’s razor-sharp edge hovering just millimetres from my throat. In my mind’s eye, I could already see it cutting through my flesh.

"Looks like someone skipped the instruction manual before playing with their shiny new toys. That fancy little sword of yours? It didn’t do a damn thing."

Suppressing a gasp, I forced my gaze downward to where Scarecrow had bled moments ago—only to see that the blood had transformed into a dark, effervescent mixture, bubbling and evaporating into the night air.

"EXS," Scarecrow sneered, as if answering the unspoken question burning in my mind. "You didn’t spill my blood—you spilled my EXS. Though even then, these aren’t really our bodies, so none of us are actually bleeding. But you get the picture, don’t you? That sword of yours seems to drain EXS."

I stayed silent, my grip tightening around my weapons. What I had believed to be a victory was now revealed as a bitter defeat.

"But your speed—"

"Oh, that?" he drawled, his tone dripping with condescension. "To someone as weak as you, it must look like I’m vanishing. I bet you wish you’d spent time mastering your powers instead of playing dress-up. Too bad it’s too late."

Bored of our exchange, Scarecrow yanked his arm against my throat, and in a moment of weakness, I dropped my weapons, my hands scrambling to pry his arm away. My lungs burned as I struggled to breathe.

"Now do you get it?" he shouted across the space to Cordyceps, who stood several meters away, eyes wide with a mix of fear and focus.

"You can’t win against me, weakass. Now leave, and take your little toy with you. The sword stays with me. I’ll come for you both when I’m good and ready."

Cordyceps didn’t hesitate. "And what if I refuse?"

"Then your little pet over here dies," Scarecrow snapped. "And a few minutes later, so do you."

Cordyceps didn’t respond, but his gaze didn’t waver.

"You better think fast, Prez," Scarecrow taunted. "Who knows what I might do if you take too long?"

I couldn’t see Cordyceps, but I could feel the weight of his silent despair. My heart sank as I realized the gravity of our situation. Was this how my tale would end? As a helpless victim, utterly defeated?

I grit my teeth, cursing the fate that had so cruelly abandoned me. But then, like an answer to my desperate prayers, a familiar pulse of red and blue flared before my eyes.

My breath hitched as I glanced at the hovering red directions, a cold sweat trickling down my forehead. The situation was dire, but my foresight had never failed me. If this was the best course of action, then there was only one thing to do.

[Buy time.]

I exhaled slowly, accepting the role fate had handed to me. It was time to act.

 

[RhythmThief]

Chapter 50 - Mizuko Shirogetsu

Hollow Night

I was still formulating my plan of attack when Katoru lunged at me. My shield shot up instinctively. Sailing through the air like a missile, two of his arms collided and made deadly contact, causing me to slide a few yards back.

“COME ON!” He taunted, having pursued my kickback from his blow with a flurry of several more.

His fists drummed on the shield’s surface like rainfall against a window, each impact deepening the crevasse stretching across the makeshift barrier’s surface. My stance was low, head cowering.

In that moment of pure focus, it was as though I could deconstruct each vibration that travelled along the buckler’s slippery surface, denoting the exact moment it crossed the border into the bones of my increasingly weary forearm.

It was one such moment, just as I felt another strike crash against the shield, that I drove my shield-arm against it. At some point, my right arm had coiled by my side and was gripping the longsword with so much force I felt my upper arm tremble.

I only got to see Katoru’s expression for a split second before I ran him through.

His hair had become wispier and thinner, on the verge of emaciation. The flesh from his right cheek up towards the right side of his forehead was sickly pinkish and raised. I wondered if he’d had an accident with fire at some point in his life.

Regardless, I noticed this characteristic in particular because the area had slowly begun to burn with his signature blackish flame once I felt the tip of my blade rip through his lower stomach. It almost distracted from the look on his face. I read the sensation of incredulous pain being conveyed by his eyes.

“Yield,” I said, “Yield, now.”

At the same time Liu was raising his head to look at me, I lowered mine to re-inspect the stab site.

Much to my dismay, it wasn’t his body I had stabbed through, but his two shadowy auxiliary limbs that were now circled around his waist. Their palms were out, slowing the progress of my sword until it attained a full, final halt. The blade’s apex was inches away from drawing Liu’s blood.

I had the strange feeling Katoru had intentionally allowed me to get exactly that close. No closer, but also no further away.

Liu first hammered his fist down my forearm, breaking my contact with my weapon. I watched my arm drop toward the ground uselessly before a hard knuckle crashed against my nose. My vision blurred and I sensed my feet were no longer on the ground. There was a faint whistling noise followed by a splash of pain enveloping my back, having been slammed against some kind of surface.

I opened my eyes and my vision steadied. My nose was throbbing. A few metres below me I could see the street I was just stood on, scorch marks and holes in the tarmac dotted along the surface. Shards of glass and debris belonging to the building I had crashed into drizzled down onto the pavement below.

Liu was in the process of melting my weapons and only then did I realize my hands were once again empty. Plumes of dust and smoke then began to rise from behind me and I coughed. Katoru had disappeared behind them.

Despite fighting a desperate inward battle to keep panic from settling in, I had not lost my faculties of strategic thinking.

Think! I remember pleading to myself. If I were him in this scenario, how would I –

Another whistling noise shot through the derelict avenues, and for a split second I thought I saw something like a bullet launch into the sky. I lowered both my arms in front of me. Soon after, a squall like the aftershock of a titan jumping wafted around the space, but I fought to keep my eyes open.

I heard him before I saw him. Looking up, a bulky black mass was plummeting from directly above me. I gritted my teeth. Katoru was drawling something, but I no longer had interest in what he was saying. He was only a few metres above me when I drove my heels against the wall, causing my body to jerk forwards out of the crater I’d created.

I increased the grip in my hands to an inhumane amount, and in mid-air spun back around to face my origin point, just as Katoru was reaching my previous location.

“Checkmate,” I whispered.

I pulled the icy bludgeon I’d manifested and sent it hurtling into Liu’s downward trajectory. I involuntarily closed my eyes and inwardly winced at the bone-rattling thunk that then swept across the area.

My mid-air trajectory began to slope downwards just as the sheer force of my blow, in addition to his downward momentum, sent Liu careening straight through the building I had just leapt off of, creating several circular, noisy ruptures through the structure until his tumbling mass shot out onto the other side.

I, on the other hand, landed squarely on my feet, though I was in no shape to give chase just yet. In my right hand, all that remained of my hammer beyond its handle were cracked shards of ice. Thanks to the tarmac’s temperature, a wispy stream of water vapour rose upwards, disappearing somewhere beyond my perception.

A smudge of crimson painted the back of my hand after brushing it against my philtrum, and I sighed.

I got back to work after that.

The building appeared to have been some kind of office space – at one point, anyhow.

Columns of desks were laid out with even spacing in rows and columns. Black leather computer chairs were assigned to each one. Each desk had its own separation screen in front, and the desks at either end of each row contained a screen to block out the passageway at the centre of the room. This gave the property an intense quality, as though the work being undergone here required the upmost concentration.

Further down into the distance I noticed a poster that began with the words ‘What is technical data?’ as its header, with various diagrams and illustrations residing underneath.

In the wake of our scuffle, however, dust and debris from the collapse of several walls scattered across the floors, splashes of sandy brown powder staining the once perfectly navy carpets. Loose bricks had smashed through desk surfaces and monitors, leaving wooden shards intermingling with glass fragments as their only remains.

Each step I took through the cavernous breaches summoned a hollow echo that sauntered through the building. I began to feel a poignant sense of aloneness as I reached the other end of the building and moonlight spilled in to illuminate the utter destruction caused.

Katoru was just getting to his feet when I dropped down a few metres away. We had ended up at a side street a few clicks away from AMX.

I remembered the first night here as though it happened years ago, when our situation was still bizarre and outlandish enough to dull the danger, and we were still one contingent. We’d been sent out to several locations to light those lamps, and AMX was the first.

We were told they would ward off Noise and act as safe zones.

Yet, despite our recent travels all across the plane, I had yet to see lamps lighted anywhere but Center Street. Furusawa was the last to have the lighter before he –

A pained, paroxysmal cough interrupted my ruminations, accompanied by a splash of red against the tarmac in front of Liu. He was struggling to his feet, legs shaking and trembling. His extra arms had vanished, and one of his arms hung limp at his side.

“Stop,” I appealed softly, spurred by a sudden twang of guilt. “All this infighting avails us nothing. It’s exactly what they expect from us. ”

He looked up at me then, and I had to bite down the gasp that threatened to escape my lips.

Liu was crying, but not out of sorrow, guilt, regret, or even pain. In the millisecond that his eyes met mine, I knew in my heart that the only reason for his tears was that Katoru wanted me dead in that moment more than anything else in the world – and I had defied him grievously by continuing to live.

Behind us in the direction of the Shibu Department Store complex, the sound of a sudden explosion, like the collapse of a tower, reverberated in the wind and met our ears.

With every second that passed away from my sister, my anxiety grew, but I could not rip my eyes from Liu. Something had changed, and was continuing to change in him even now.

I got the sense that from here onward, I had no allowances for mercy - if I was still interested in seeing the sun rise, that is.

Practically snarling at me, Katoru found a shaky balance as I prepared my armaments.

We had come to a wordless agreement that we’d only stop once one of us had ceased to continue breathing, and I had no choice but to oblige. If I let him go here, he would come after me either in this world or, worse, reality.

He would pose a constant threat to Junko and I, and that could not be allowed to pass.

I had deduced an important aspect of Liu’s EXS ability at that stage, and that was this simple fact: the more anger, or perhaps hatred he harboured, the wilder and mightier his powers became.

However, as he would soon come to learn, the brightest flames leave only ashes.

This time I would be the one to engage. I was needed elsewhere, and time was absolutely of the essence.

In response to my closing of the gap between us, Liu remained stationary but once again summoned two auxiliary arms to aid him in combat, only this time, their appearance had changed.

The limbs had grown markedly thinner, but longer and sharper like the legs of a spider. Solid wisps of black smoke rose from their sharp tips, and I could feel them practically begging to shred through my flesh.

Still, with a new resolve, I continued to close the distance. As I got closer, I become aware that Katoru was standing unevenly, one knee bent awkwardly whilst the other was buckling at just the effort of standing.

Similarly, his right elbow was pointing at his one o’clock and still dangling limp by his side.

I took note of these observations as I began my final assault.

Once I’d reached a few paces away from Liu, I reached into my haori and gripped onto several of the throwing knives I’d fashioned earlier. Three in each hand, I flung them toward my quarry and watched in satisfaction as they circled around him.

With movement not an option, Katoru was forced to remain stationary and defend against the onslaught. With the precise thrusts, sweeping motions, and shielding of his black appendages, seemingly all of the projectiles had either been deflected on to the ground, or sunk and vaporized out of the dark fires of the limbs.

Alas, I was directly front of him by the time he’d finished.

I hit him two, three, four times across his torso, my makeshift knuckledusters rattling against his bone with a sub-zero impact. I ended my combination with a step back, guiding my right shin into Liu’s stomach after reinforcing it with a thick verglas shin guard.

Katoru stumbled backwards, drooling small rivulets of red essence as one of his new arms lunged at me. I weaved to the left quickly enough to escape with a scratch to my left cheek, that stung with a searing heat so painful I made a commitment to keep my distance from then onwards.

Unfortunately, I had not been watching the position of the other leg, and noticed it far too late as it was poised to carve directly through my skull. That was when I heard a bloody thunk as a curved flying object found Liu’s back.

The sudden pain and shock had brought my execution to a welcome halt, and I fought the urge to smirk as I leaped back. Unbeknownst to Katoru, my hail of throwing knives was simply a distraction for the true payload – a boomerang hidden amongst them that surreptitiously flew past, circling back just in time to find its mark.

This opening was all I would need to bring the battle to a close, and to that end, I had just the tactic in mind.

In both hands, I formed ice bolas, frosty weights connected by glacial interconnected cords. I pulled my left arm back and released, sending one hurtling toward Liu’s feet.

Gritting his teeth and still reeling from the boomerang affront, he rolled clumsily to his left, which is when I released the other bola in a crescent-like trajectory, still aiming for his feet.

As if in concession, Katoru’s appendages briefly elongated, piercing into the ground before lowering briefly, and then thrusting upwards, lifting Katoru into the air.

Once again, he had moved just as I predicted. Still in mid-air, the slight grimace on his expression had devolved into a distraught scowl now that he was looking in my direction.

With one hand I held the bow straight, and with the other I pulled the string hosting the triplet of spiked ice arrows toward my cheek.

"Let's see you dodge this."

Just as Katoru was approaching the apex of his upwards momentum, I let the arrows soar. Helpless, he attempted to brace himself by raising his one functioning arm, but it was no use. All three arrows had found their mark – one in the bicep of his raised arm, one in the front of his left thigh, and one on the right side of his upper chest. Puddles of red began to pool under his dusty tattered shirt.

A cautious relief was starting to spread over my body as I dropped my longbow, and I exhaled wearily.

It’s finally over, I remember thinking, regrettably failing to notice the fact that Liu’s spider-like arms had not retracted from their ground. In truth, they hadn’t helped him to jump at all. They had only extended and raised him upwards continuously, for even now, Katoru was still suspended in mid-air, the arrows melting into vapour.

These findings had only been made clear to me when two sharp, unbearably burning pointed edges ripped out of the ground and met my right leg and left arm, tearing through them like paper.

I screamed as they did so, and felt their burning surfaces travel in and out of my body like worms burrowing through earth.

Immediately I dropped to my knees just as Katoru fell to the ground, still.

Hearing my own panicked, anguished shouts, the searing pain shot through my body like wildfire, each movement of Liu's flaming appendages having tore deeper into my flesh.

My scream was lost to the night air, but I could not afford to be consumed by the agony at such a crucial junction. My mind raced, and instinct took over.

Ice. I needed ice.

Without hesitation, I focused on the areas where the fiery spikes had pierced me. I forced the ice to flow, encasing the wounds with a layer of crystalline frost. The cold bit into my skin, but it was a welcome relief compared to the blistering heat. The ice hissed as it made contact with the flames, steam rising where the two elements met. I gritted my teeth and pushed harder.

The burning subsided as the ice cooled the wounds, the bleeding slowing to a trickle as the cold constricted the torn blood vessels. I could feel the edges of the icy casings solidifying, forming a protective barrier around the punctures. The pain was still there, throbbing beneath the surface, but it was muted now. Controlled.

As my breathing settled alongside my heart rate, I resolved to finish Liu while he was seemingly knocked out. I would need to get to a location with a vantage point and take him out from afar, to avoid anything like this happening again.

It was when I was solidifying the details of Katoru’s capital punishment that I noticed a flicker of light in of the corner of my eye, like the briefest flashing of a faulty lightbulb. In fact, the gesture was so familiar that I did not even turn my head in its direction – but I could not help but sigh.

She didn’t bother hiding either. With steady, measured steps, she walked out into the silent battlefield and approached until I could practically hear her breathing.

“Have you come to finish the job?” I offered. My eyes were closed.

At this, I could sense her pause. Then, I felt something heavy being lifted up into the air, just over my head. It did not take me very long to surmise exactly what.

“Well,” Hoshino began calmly, “I guess you were right. There might just be a killer in me after all.”

At that, I smiled.

 

[RhythmThief]

Chapter 51 - Junko Shirogetsu

Hollow Night

Action had always been my favourite genre of movie. Even as a child, I had little tolerance for sappy love stories, or feel-good family adventures.

What peaked my interest was conflict.

I recalled the warm weekend afternoons spent sitting cross-legged, mesmerized by the martial splendour of the performers onscreen. Back when my dad – my actual dad – was around, he’d walk into the living room and grin at my wide-eyed enthusiasm.

I always knew when he was home because of his cologne.

Honeyed mandarin. A fragrance so unique and out of the box, you’d be hard pressed to find it sold anywhere, and believe me, I’ve looked.

Even when I thought the excitement playing out in front of me was too good to turn away, just hearing the clunk of the front door opening in partnership with the scent of that orangey aroma, was all the excuse I’d need to get distracted.

Sometimes he would trudge in, mouth stretching and tightening comically as if to make a show of the heavy-looking dull white grocery bags wrung over each of his fingers.

“Hey, Lightning!” He’d cheer in my direction as I watched him from my perch.

He would smile this grand, heroic smile as if to say ‘Life is beautiful, isn’t it?’, and I would wonder how painstakingly he went about his dental care to get teeth like his, white as polished pearls.

After disappearing behind the kitchen corner and depositing the goods, he would stretch his arms while walking toward me. Every so often he would catch me in an ill-tempered mood, likely due to something happening at school or with Mizuko, so I would pretend I couldn’t see his shape moseying up to me out of the corner of my eye and keep my attention fixed on the screen.

Otherwise, I’d run up to meet him halfway. But regardless of my moods, the story always ended the same way. I’d end up nestled against his chest, settled within his strong arms.

The memory felt so distant, like a hit song I’d long forgotten the lyrics to, I questioned if I had even really lived it. I’ll admit it was a strange moment to be thinking about that faraway period of my life.

Looking back, it might’ve been because I had finally gotten the chance to put all those flashy, extravagant manoeuvres I’d picked up from those flicks into action, but definitely not under the circumstances I desired.

A boom like the clap of thunder ripped me from my reverie, and instinctively I performed a quickstep to the right as a powerful gust ripped past my left side, storming further down the upper level walkway.

My heartbeat was making its best attempt at mimicking the rapid pitter-patter of my feet. I couldn’t run forever, I knew that much. But what good was a plan or strategy when I could barely even see my opponent long enough to form one?

That’s generally where my head was at when, in the corner of my eye, I noticed a red rectangle cruising out into my view. It was emerging from a destroyed storefront window, fragments of shattered glass and various kids’ toys laid like a minefield around the object.

Though Zephyr’s attacks were missing their intended target, it seemed they were still leaving these pockets of destruction in their wake – a consequence it would soon pay dearly for.

With a spark of inspiration hugging and lifting my heart, I lowered my stance and held out my hand until the smooth wooden texture of the red skateboard, a black bolt of lightning painted menacingly on its underside, was caught in my vice grip.

At first, I was apprehensive. It had been a few years since I’d last skated, and considering the stakes of the situation at hand, it wouldn’t have been an exaggeration to say my life depended on how quickly I picked the motions back up.

Thankfully, your life being under threat tends to have a way of getting you in the zone.

Like I said, I hadn't stepped on a skateboard in years, but as soon as my foot touched the deck, it felt like reuniting with an old friend.

The weight of the board beneath me, the wheels rolling under my control—it was all so familiar, so natural. If this bozo wanted my life, I wasn’t about to make it easy for it.

With a push, I was off, the board gliding smoothly across the polished tile floor of the mall. Zephyr’s first strike came fast—a sharp discharge of wind aimed right for me—but I kicked off the ground, flipping the board beneath me as I sailed over the crackling gust. I landed with a sharp click of the wheels, feeling myself grinning as I picked up speed.

In the rapidly passing windows’ reflections I saw it lunging again, this time with a wide arc of his arm meant to catch me off guard. I crouched low, letting the board carry me into a grind along the edge of a nearby bench, the metal trucks sparking as they kissed the steel. The grind carried me out of his reach, and I leapt off the end, spinning in mid-air before landing back on the board in a perfect 180.

"You're gonna have to do better than that!" My voice called out, heart racing with exhilaration.

Zephyr made a sound lime a snarl and sent another blast my way, but I kicked the tail of the board, launching myself up to an even higher level of the mall. I grabbed the edge of a balcony with one hand, flipping the board up with the other before dropping back down, catching it under my feet with seamless precision. The blast sailed harmlessly past, slicing at the ground where I’d just been.

It came at me again, its speed increasing, but I was already in motion. I kicked the board into a manual, balancing on just the back wheels as I weaved through the remains of kiosks and overturned tables.

His attacks were relentless, but I danced through them, spinning into a pop-shove-it to dodge a wide sweep, then sliding into a powerslide that sent me careening sideways just in time to avoid another sweeping strike.

The mall was my playground, and the board felt like an extension of myself.

I hit a rail and ollied onto it, grinding down as Zephyr tried to follow, but it was too slow. I flipped off the rail and over a shattered display case, using the momentum to launch myself into the air, tucking my knees as I spun, landing in a perfect kickflip.

Zephyr’s frustration was palpable, its attacks growing wilder, but I was already in its head. I saw it throw a final punch, the air crackling under the sheer force of the blast, but I slid under it, spinning the board in a perfect 360 as I zipped right under it, coming to a stop behind it.

Breathing heavily, I kicked up the board, catching it in one hand as I spun to face it. “Come on,” I said, smirking. “I thought you were supposed to be fast.”

Zephyr spun around, its frustration evident in the way its eyes sparked with fury. It was faster than I’d anticipated, but that didn’t matter—I’d already decided how this was going to end.

I pushed off the ground again, gaining speed as I weaved through the debris. Zephyr followed, closing the distance with another flash of lightning, but I was ready for it.

I skated toward a nearby escalator, its metal handrails gleaming under the mall's fluorescent lights, and with a quick hop, I jumped onto the rail, grinding up the incline with a burst of speed.

As I reached the top, I launched myself off the rail, spinning the board beneath me as I flipped through the air. Zephyr charged at me, his fist pulsing with energy, but this time, I didn’t aim to avoid it.

Instead, I twisted my body mid-air, positioning myself directly above it.

With a quick flick of my ankle, I sent the skateboard rocketing downwards. The board struck Zephyr square in the chest, the force of the impact amplified by my momentum. Its eyes widened in shock as the air was knocked out of it, the flowing energy around its fist flickering out as he staggered backward.

I landed smoothly on my feet, grabbing the board as it bounced off Zephyr and flew back toward me. The moment its guard was down, I spun on my heel and kicked the tail of the board with all the strength I could muster. The impact sent the board crashing into its midsection like a hammer, forcing it back even further.

Zephyr stumbled, struggling to regain its balance, and that’s when I saw my opening.

With a quick pivot, I dashed forward, closing the distance between us. Before he could react, I planted the board against the ground and used it as a springboard, vaulting myself up. My knee collided with its jaw in a sharp, upward strike, sending it reeling back. But before he could go all the way back, I reached behind for my odachi’s handle, finding it and swinging it down viciously against its unsettlingly doughy body.

He hit the ground hard, skidding across the polished floor. I landed a few feet away, my ōdachi sheathed and the board back in my hand as I stood over it, breathing heavily.

It was clutching its side as it tried to push itself up, but I was already moving.

With a final, determined step, I swung the board down like a hammer, aiming straight for its chest. The impact reverberated through the mall, and Zephyr let out a pained gasp as he collapsed back onto the ground, defeated.

I flipped the surprisingly intact board one last time, catching it under my arm as I looked down at it. “I see now,” I said, my voice steady despite the adrenaline coursing through me. “You never stood a chance at beating me to begin with.”

I’d had my fun – it was time to seal the deal. Dropping the board on the floor, I reached for my ōdachi and stationed it over Zephyr’s rapidly heaving torso.

Then the ground began to move, as though it were the first rumblings of an earthquake. Trashed benches, overturned cylindrical bins and other pieces of debris dispersed around the area began to judder. Drizzles of brown dust rained down steadily as the fluorescent lights continued to scintillate.

“Arthur…” I found myself muttering, my chest aching with concern. I looked up upward in the direction I had fled from, and only now noticed I was on the complete other side of the shopping centre now.

“Hang on, I’m on my – “

My promises were interrupted by a sudden force slamming me against a far wall, face-first, much to the displeasure of my nose. Still reeling from the pain, I peeled myself from the wall and slowly turned around.

Zephyr was now levitating as before, only its shape was noticeably more battle-damaged and worn than previous. There was a hollow gash across its torso from where I slashed it, both its arms were shaking with exertion, and its head was tilted forward droopily as if on the verge of passing out.

Its breath, if it was even accurate to call it that, was ragged, each inhale coming in short laboured bursts. For a moment, it looked like he might finally stay down, its energy spent. But then something in the air changed—a subtle, eerie shift that sent a shiver down my spine.

The lights above us flickered again, and the faintest breeze began to stir, swirling the debris on the ground in lazy circles. I took a step back and felt the wall barricading me in, my instincts screaming that something was wrong.

The breeze was growing stronger, the air thickening with static as small objects—shards of glass, loose papers, bits of metal—began to rise from the ground, circling slowly around Zephyr.

Its body began to glow with a faint, greenish light, the static energy crackling around it as its power grew. The debris circling it sped up, forming a miniature cyclone that whipped around its figure, lifting it higher off the ground. My hair whipped around my face, and I could feel the pull of the vortex tugging at me, the sheer force of it unlike anything I’d felt before.

The wind reached a fever pitch, the cyclone around him expanding, pulling in everything within its reach. I gripped my ōdachi tighter, my mind racing as I tried to figure out how to counter this.

But before I could make a move, the cyclone exploded outward, filling the entire arena with a swirling, chaotic tempest that lifted everything off the ground.

I planted my feet, struggling to stay upright as the wind threatened to tear me off my feet. Zephyr’s figure was barely visible now, hidden within the eye of the storm, but I could still see the faint, ominous glow of his power intensifying.

This was it. Its final, desperate move. And if I didn’t act fast with a last-ditch effort of my own, then I’d be seeing Arthur – and my dad - again a lot sooner than I’d bargained for.

 

[RhythmThief]

Chapter 52 - Arthur Cunningham

Hollow Night

The sunlight dappled through the canopy of leaves, casting gentle patterns on the path ahead.

I could hear the soft crunch of gravel under our feet as we walked through the familiar park in Kent, the scent of freshly cut grass mingling with the faint aroma of blooming flowers.

My hand was warm, securely clasped in my mother’s as we strolled side by side, her soft hums blending with the chorus of birdsong that filled the air.

It was one of those rare days when everything seemed perfect, the world holding its breath in a moment of serenity. My heart was swelling with a simple, unspoken love. I glanced up at her. Her smile was radiant, her eyes bright with the kind of joy that made me believe, if only for a moment, that everything was right in our world.

"How are you feeling today, love?" she asked, her voice tender, a tone that wrapped around my heart like a protective blanket.

"I'm good, Mum," I replied, trying to sound as cheerful as possible. And for once, I almost believed it.

We reached the small pond in the center of the park, where the ducks paddled lazily, their ripples disturbing the still surface of the water. My mother knelt down beside me, producing a bag of breadcrumbs from her pocket. We tossed them into the water, watching as the ducks eagerly swam over, quacking in delight.

But then, as I threw another handful, the ripples on the pond didn’t settle. They spread wider, faster, the surface of the water distorting, and with it, the world around me.

The birdsong turned dissonant, their chirps stretching into a jarring, haunting melody that grated against my ears. I looked up at my mother, only to find her smile had vanished, replaced by a look of quiet despair.

"I’m sorry, Arthur," she whispered, her voice cracking, "I’m so sorry."

The park around us began to twist and blur, the vibrant greens and blues bleeding into a sickly, greyish hue. My mother’s hand slipped from mine, and I reached out, desperate to hold onto her, but my fingers grasped at empty air. I blinked, and suddenly I was standing alone in the middle of the park, the trees gnarled and twisted, their branches clawing at the sky. The pond had turned into a murky, black pool, its surface bubbling ominously.

And then I heard it—a whisper, soft but insistent, carried on the breeze. "A burden... a weight... dragging everyone down..." The voice was everywhere and nowhere, seeping into my thoughts like poison.

"No," I murmured, shaking my head, but the voice persisted, growing louder, more accusatory.

"Your father’s gone because of you. Your mother’s life, wasted on keeping you alive. Every breath you take is another chain around her neck, another step closer to the grave."

I spun around, trying to find the source of the voice, but the park had transformed into a twisted maze of shadows and echoes. My legs felt heavy, my chest tight, the familiar ache of illness gnawing at my insides. And there, in the midst of it all, I saw her—my mother, standing on the edge of the pond, her back to me.

"Mum!" I cried, but she didn’t turn. She just stood there, staring into the abyss, her shoulders slumped in defeat.

The voice continued, relentless, each word a dagger to my heart. "She can’t keep doing this, Arthur. You’re killing her, just like you killed your father."

"No!" I shouted, but my voice was swallowed by the darkness closing in around me. My feet were rooted to the spot, the weight of the accusations pulling me down, down into the earth, suffocating me.

My mother turned to me, finally, her face pale and gaunt, eyes hollow with exhaustion. "I love you, Arthur," she said, her voice barely more than a breath, "but I’m so, so tired."

The ground beneath me cracked open, and I fell, plummeting into the void, the echoes of her voice chasing me into the depths. "You’re a burden... a curse... a dead weight..."

And then, with a jolt, the illusion shattered.

I gasped, the breath ripped from my lungs as the searing pain in my side yanked me back to reality.

The park, my mother, the twisted shadows—all gone, replaced by the cold, harsh reality of the battle. I was back in the Shibu department store, sprawled on the tiled floor, the metallic taste of blood in my mouth.

My vision swam, but I could just make out the silhouette of a lizard-like form looming over me, the tip of its bladed tail gleaming with a deadly light.

The illusion had been just that—a cruel trick of the mind. But the pain in my body, the sting of the wound—it was real. And so were the tears it had dredged up, the doubts it had forced me to confront.

"Arthur...?" a voice called out, distant but familiar, cutting through the fog in my mind.

I blinked, struggling to focus, to fight off the lingering tendrils of the illusion that clung to my thoughts.

But I couldn’t let it end like this—not here, not now. For my mother, for everyone who had fought to keep me alive... I had to get up.

I had to keep fighting.

Despite every breath I took hammering my stomach with agony, I rose to a shaky standing position, blotches of red clinging to my tattered shirt. My frame was too small, hands too smooth to be of any effect – it seemed that in my stupor I’d released my werewolf form, and I was struggling to trigger it once more.

As if understanding my begrudging powerlessness, the shadowy, curvy form of my attacker prowled in a circle around me, glowing flaxen eyes never once leaving mine.

My faculties of vision had returned to the point where I was able to see what exactly had been obscuring my vision all this time – a mustard yellow haze that swathed the department store like some kind of miasma.

It had to have been the same gas that Junko and I had narrowly escaped, only this time, I hadn’t been so fortunate.

I didn’t understand. I thought I had hit Ironclad’s weak spot. In fact, I was sure I had pierced and destroyed that yellow, wart-like hump stationed at the nape of its neck. That sickening sensation of liquid puss dripping down my claws isn’t easily forgotten.

So who – or what – was this creature that was now skulking behind the miasma, watching and waiting?

The pain was making it unbearably bothersome to even stand, let alone reason, but instinctively I knew the next time I fell down would be the last. I had to move.

With sharp and rushed breaths, I strained each of my muscles into action, shuffling along with agonizing movements. An acute sense of magnetism was attracting me, pulling me to where I’d last seen Ironclad, hunched over and disintegrating. I felt that whatever I discovered there would decide my fate.

As I was beckoned closer by this strange gravitational pull, I almost didn’t notice the shadows flourishing in the distant corners of my vision. A cough swept through my chest, bringing with it a torrent of viscous red rivulets and searing pain against my stomach. I stumbled, but managed to hold onto my balance for dear life and continued down my path.

At first, the pitter-patters of my hunter were quiet and subdued, surreptitious as a whisper in the night. Had I not been accustomed to straining my ears for the tiniest of sounds, I likely wouldn’t even have heard its feet leave the ground.

The next few moments were a blur. Before I could deny my instincts, I was thrown onto the floor by my own reflexes, crashing against the scattered tiles with a hard thud.

Almost simultaneously, the glossy reptilian outline of my pursuer sailed overhead. At some point, perhaps even before I’d hit the ground, my right arm had shot into the space above and spawned long, pearly white claws whose whetted edges sliced through the lizard’s underside like a knife to butter as it passed over me.

Its shrill screams burst out against my eardrums, and only increased in intensity as it vanished into the darkness. I could hear the impact of its limbs skittering against the floor in shocked agony.

I launched back up to my feet and hastened my hobbling once I’d noticed the gas was getting thicker. It couldn’t have been a coincidence. This creature had to be the source of the strange fume wafting about the place, and now that its life was in danger, it was upping the intensity, perhaps even unconsciously.

My goal remained the same either way, only now I had less time than ever.

Driving through the steadily rising pain, exhaustion, and fear assaulting my senses in a joint attempt to resign me to my fate, I was rewarded with a faint, white pulse in the distance. It was still a few metres off, and I had no way of knowing what lay beyond it, but my heart cooled with the smallest splashes of relief.

“Arthur…?”

I froze. Suddenly, I was back in that hellish world of my own mind’s machination. The gentle kiss of the sunlight, the caress of the wind, the rustle of autumn leaves – my mother’s virescent jewels staring lovingly into me.

I watched her cerulean sundress whip recklessly against the growing gust, paralyzed by the serenity of the scene before me, as though I’d woken up from a bad dream.

She stepped forward. I remained still. She continued to close the gap until I should have been able to feel her breath brush against my skin, but there was nothing. Unease crept into my chest, intensifying my own laboured breathing.

“Shhh…”

As if sensing my distress, she lowered her forehead against mine, never once breaking eye contact, with a smile so soft and caring that I almost missed what she said next.

“Just lay down and die for me, okay honey…?”

And for a moment, I almost did.

A large gasp then erupted from my body, as though I was desperately resurfacing above water, and the illusion of my mother once again faded away.

Only this time, it was replaced by the open jaw of a hungry beast.

Far too fatigued and disoriented to avoid it in time, the creature’s jaw clamped like a vice against my right shoulder, evoking an involuntary shout of pain.

In response, I managed to morph my left hand into a thick, clawed paw, digging it into the monster’s spine and tossing it back into the darkness, watching as rivers of my blood trailed its fangs as it departed.

The anguish at this point was too great for even words to describe. I plummeted down on one knee, unable to find the strength to carry on. As I did so, distorted images and voices assaulted my senses on all fronts, each carrying the exact same message.

These visions only grew increasingly more visceral, and it was only then that I’d made the connection between the gas and these ghoulish apparitions. I was never dreaming to begin with. This miasma had to have been the source of these mirages from the very start.

I stifled a mirthless chuckle, supposing it was ironic, in the end, that my death would be caused by the belief that I could ever truly be loved at all.

An odd sense of peace washed over me then, and the area became strangely quiet. It was as though I’d finally stopped running away from something that had been pursuing me for years.

My head hung in acquiescence. I was drowning in my own thoughts, far too lost in the sea of contorted faces and voices, to recognize the series of steady thuds approaching from the far distance.

Once I’d realized that they were footsteps, I slowly raised my head to find a slender, silhouetted figure looming over me. Even through the miasma, their posture and cadence exhibited a grace that I couldn’t possibly misplace.

“I thought I told you,” They began, crouching down to match my level. Their voice was unlike the others – it was smooth and soothing, carrying an unmistakable quality of coherence.

In fact, now that I had heard their voice for the first time, it was like I was peering straight through the shadows cast by their hood and into their eyes, seeing them for who they really were - who they had been all this time.

“Death is no fun unless you’ve seen its beauty.”

Before I could respond, a blazing white light beamed between us and wrapped me in its warm embrace.

 

[RhythmThief]

Chapter 53 - Daisuke Kurogane

Hollow Night

I’ll admit, I was starting to get impatient. I had his partner dead to rights, demonstrated that these two didn’t stand a rat’s chance in hell of beating me if I got serious – and yet, there he was, turning up his nose at me. Like he always fucking has.

“I warned you,” I spat, and I felt the redhead struggling more than ever against my forearm now that I’d seemingly run out of lenience. “Say goodbye, dickhead.”

I pulled my forearm down on the redhead’s neck hard, hard enough that I could feel the throbbing of her neck against my wrist. My eyes never left Rusuban as I slowly brought the kama’s razor-sharp edges mere millimetres from the underside of his partner’s chin.

Okay.

All I had to do was sink it in and let it rip. Easy as slicing a cake.

So simple. I just had to push a little harder, let the blade carve its way into her throat. I could already imagine the warm spray of blood, the gurgled scream she'd make—Rusuban would break. He’d have to. He'd finally see me, not as some reject, but as the goddamn nightmare I am. The monster he’s been too stuck up his own ass to acknowledge.

And yet, my arm… it wouldn’t move.

I gritted my teeth, trying to force my hand, my entire body, to obey. I could feel the cold steel of the kama pressing against Kozuki’s skin, my fingers tensed to drive it deeper—but it was like some invisible force held me back, chaining me to the moment, keeping me from crossing that final line.

What the hell was this?

I tried again, applying pressure. Nothing. My arm trembled slightly, and the frustration bubbled up, hot and bitter in my throat. My mind screamed to finish it, to end her, to show them what despair really looked like. This should’ve been easy, just another casualty in a world that had never given a damn about me. Why couldn’t I—

Do it!

But the blade stayed hovering, so close to tearing through her flesh, yet something—something I couldn’t explain—kept me from following through.

I felt a knot tighten in my chest, like a chokehold squeezing the life out of me instead of her. My grip slackened just a fraction. Her breath, ragged and strained, grazed my skin, and I hated how aware I was of it. Hated the way my own breath felt heavier, like I was suffocating instead of her.

Why the hell was this happening? I wanted to see the fear in Rusuban’s eyes, wanted to hear him beg. I wanted to hear the life drain out of her.

But I couldn’t.

I clenched my jaw so tight I thought I’d break my teeth. I wanted to scream. This was supposed to be easy!

"Say goodbye," I growled again, but even I could hear the falter in my voice. My own words, meant to sound menacing, hung limp in the air. There was no conviction in them.

I was trembling now, the kama’s blade still poised but unmoving. It was infuriating, maddening. This was my moment to make him suffer, to make her pay for just existing, for everything that’s wrong. So why… why couldn’t I do it?

The voice inside me, the one that always screamed at me to make them hurt, was suddenly... quiet. And in its place, all I could feel was the weight of the blade, the tension in my arm, and the shallow, desperate gasps from Miharu beneath me.

I swallowed hard, my throat dry. My fingers were losing their grip, and not just on the blade.

“…please.”

In the middle of my damn near breakdown, the words erupted like a squeak. I looked down to meet her pleading eyes, wet streamlets trailing down her cheeks. Had they always been that round?

“He’s holding me against my will,” She whimpered after I’d foolishly loosened my grip without even noticing. “I have no choice but to obey him, or he’ll…he’ll kill me.”

Shit. This is what I got for hesitating. But I wasn’t going to buy into it that easily.

Firstly, she seemed pretty eager to have a go at me a few moments ago, when she wasn’t on the brink of death. Even if she couldn’t risk giving away too much in front of her ‘captor’, you can tell a lot about a person by the way they fight – and she was giving me everything she had, I’ll tell you that much.

Not to mention I'm pretty sure the two of them were 'Partners' in respect to game. If Kozuki bit it, so would Rusuban - unless he had some way of circumventing that fact.

Anyway, like we’ve already established, Rusuban was weak as shit. I wasn’t even sure what his powers were. I hadn’t stuck around long enough to see.

But this is Rusuban of all people – whatever it was, it had to be the most pansy power of all time. Definitely something to do with getting others, like the pretty redhead here, to do all his dirty work for him. He doesn’t know any other way of living.

I levelled my gaze back at the coward in question, only to find he wasn’t even watching. Rather, I noticed his eyes calmly darting back and forth across the underpass, like he was expecting something.

…Or someone.

My heart then practically took a nosedive when, In the bottom corner of my eye there was a brief flash of red, followed by a steady blue. I glanced back down to the illumination’s origin, Kozuki, and almost missed the eerie shift in her expression.

“Farewell,” she offered finally with a grin so satisfied that I had to blink twice. A sudden hiss filled the air, sharp and violent like a boiling kettle about to explode. Before I had time to process it, a rush of some kind of searing mist surged out from underneath us.

"Shit!" I jerked back, releasing Kozuki as my arms instinctively shielded my eyes. The heat was unbearable, like it was trying to peel the skin right off my fucking bones.

I staggered backward, disoriented, the world around me turning into a blinding, white haze. I could barely make out the redhead slipping from my grasp, a silhouette lost in the cloud of burning vapor.

The hiss grew louder, surrounding me, trapping me in this thick, suffocating fog. Sweat rolled down my face in heavy beads, mixing with the stinging sensation on my skin. My vision was blurring, the edges all softening into some kind of shapeless haze. I could just about hear my own labored breaths, shallow and panicked, as I stumbled like a drunk old man through the smoke.

My hand found my kama and started slashing at the air, trying to clear it, trying to find some sign of where the other two had gone. But it was like the steam was everywhere at once, pressing in from all sides, and with every step I took I was sinking deeper into a trap I hadn’t even seen coming.

“Come on!” I snarled, my voice barely cutting through the dense cloud. "Is this how you fight?! Hiding in smoke?!"

But there was no response. Just the relentless hissing of the steam and my own heart pounding in my ears.

I spun around, eyes darting in every direction, but I couldn’t see a damn thing. I could feel my frustration bubbling up again, choking me, just like the heat. I wanted to lash out at something, anything, but there was nothing but this suffocating, smouldering mist.

And then, just as quickly as it had appeared, the steam began to thin.

The air cleared, slowly, revealing the world in these fragmented, shifting glimpses. My feet stopped moving as the shapes around me started to take form—tall, dark, hunched figures, one after another, creeping out from the smoke.

My stomach twisted as I realized what I was looking at.

Noise.

A hell of a lot of them.

I backed up instinctively, my heart racing. The twisted forms of the Noise seemed to come from everywhere, their ugly-ass bodies flickering in and out of the lingering fog. I tightened my grip on my kama, trying to calculate just how many of them were surrounding me. Too many. Way too many.

My pulse quickened, but I wasn’t about to show any fear. Not now. Not in front of them.

Through the dissipating steam, I caught sight of Kozuki and Rusuban, standing just beyond the gang of creatures, their faces shadowed, watching me. The redhead’s face had changed from the scared shitless hostage I held just moments ago. She looked almost... collected. Calm, even. The glint of some kind of silver steam pack glinted on her back, but it was her eyes that unsettled me—cold, calculating.

I spat onto the ground, ignoring the searing pain still buzzing across my skin. "You think this changes anything?" I growled, glaring at the two of them, though I could feel the weight of the Noise closing in around me.

Neither of them said a word. They didn’t have to. The small army that now surrounded me said it all.

They’d planned this.

I flicked the kama in my hand, keeping my gaze locked on them, but the weight of the situation was settling heavy in my gut. I was surrounded. They had me dead to rights now.

And judging by the ominous silence from Miharu and Rusuban as they watched me from the edge of the arena, they knew it too.

The moment I realized just how many of them there were, my mind screamed for me to run. But I was cornered. Trapped in this circle of nightmare figures with Miharu and Rusuban watching from beyond like damn puppeteers pulling the strings.

The faint smile playing on Rusuban's lips was infuriating. I’d tear it off his smug face, but I had to get through this swarm first.

The closest Noise lunged at me, claws slashing toward my throat. I sidestepped just in time, swinging my kama with all the force I could muster.

The blade sank into its neck, thick black ooze spraying out as it fell. But for every one I cut down, two more seemed to slither out of the darkness, gnashing their jaws, closing in.

"Out of my fucking way!" I snarled, darting left and slashing downward, cutting a Noise in half at the torso. The swarm didn't relent. I swung wildly, taking them down in bursts, but they came faster and faster, overwhelming me.

This wasn’t a fight—it was a desperate scramble. My eyes shot over to my audience, still standing calmly on the far side, almost taunting me with their lack of concern.

I needed to get to them. I needed an opening.

I spun on my heel, looking for an escape route, and that’s when the realization hit me: these things weren’t just blindly attacking. Their movements were...too focused, too coordinated.

As I ducked under a pair of slashing claws, my eyes caught something. A flicker, subtle but unmistakable.

Green.

The Noise’s eyes—every single one of them—were glowing a soft, unnatural green.

My heart clenched in my chest.

Fucking Rusuban.

I had to think fast. I might not be able to brute-force my way through all of them, but there was something else. Something new. I let a twisted grin creep across my face.

These bastards wanted to play mind games?

They had no idea who they were dealing with.

I backed up, raising both hands. The air crackled, a cold sweat breaking out on my skin as I tapped into that darkness inside me. My power. I didn’t need eye contact anymore. That was the beauty of it. I could project fear anywhere, infect anything within my reach.

A thick, oppressive wave radiated out from me, seeping into the air around us like a growing storm cloud. The swarm of Noise faltered, their glowing green eyes flickering for a split second before their movements became... sluggish. Hesitant.

I could feel it. The fear setting in. Not just for one or two of them—all of them. Their minds were mine now.

They saw what I wanted them to see: visions of their worst nightmares. A full-blown frenzy overtook them and they started turning on one another, shrieking and clawing at their own flesh, ripping into their fellow Noise like they’d been trapped in a maze of horrors.

I didn’t stop. The illusions grew stronger, warping reality around us. The entire underpass shifted under my command. Shadows stretched and warped, and for a moment it felt like the very air was suffocating with terror. I could hear their distorted cries—cries of confusion, agony.

And they were delicious.

I slashed through another Noise, then another, creating a path through the chaos. My legs were screaming, but I was getting closer. Closer to the redhead. Closer to him.

Rusuban’s face twisted slightly as I closed the distance. Finally, that cocky grin of his was starting to slip.

"That's right, bastard. Your pets aren’t going to save you," I growled through gritted teeth, breaking through the last of the crowd. Only a few more meters. I could see Miharu’s eyes widen slightly in surprise. I was almost there. Almost—

Thwack!

Out of nowhere, something heavy smashed into my ribs. My breath caught in my throat as pain exploded through my side, sending me sprawling to the ground. I wheezed, barely able to process what had hit me. I forced myself to look up.

Rusuban was lowering his arm, a strange, twisted smirk pulling at his lips.

"You really think I’d let you reach us?" His voice was soft, mocking. "You always overestimate yourself, Daisuke."

The green light in the Noise's eyes pulsed, and I realized in horror that they weren’t just his minions—they were an extension of him. He wasn’t watching the fight. He was the fight.

Before I could react, several of the creatures I'd thought I’d bested rose back to their feet, their movements now more purposeful, more driven. Rusuban’s influence tightened, guiding them like marionettes. They descended on me, faster than I could get up.

I fought back, slashing, kicking, anything to get free—but it wasn’t enough. Claws grabbed my arms, pinning me to the ground. My legs buckled as I struggled to breathe. The Noise piled on top of me, forcing me down, overwhelming me with sheer numbers.

I barely had time to scream before the weight of them crushed me to the cold floor, and the world went dark.

 

[RhythmThief]

Chapter 54 - Eiji Hoshino

Hollow Night

In, hold, count to four, out. Come on. I can do this.

Mizuko suddenly looked up at me now, her cool blue eyes bereft of any kind of fear. If I didn’t know any better, I would think she was enjoying this.

“Still, If I go, so does Reaper,” She reminded, as if I hadn’t been ruminating over all of this a million times already. “Wouldn’t you rather be rid of Katoru and Kurogane?”

Her stare snapped briefly to a point behind me, and I had to fight hard to resist following her gaze. In situations like these, even the oldest tricks in the book can prove effective.

But after a few tense moments, I judged it was safe to take my eyes off of her, at least for now. I’d seen what Katoru’d done to her – even with the makeshift first aid she’d given herself, Mizuko wouldn’t be leaping into somersaults anytime soon.

Taking a deep breath, I turned around and I scanned the scene, my stomach knotting. The tarmac beneath our feet was ripped open, jagged cracks running like veins through the concrete. Some parts had caved in entirely, leaving deep craters, still steaming from the sheer amount of energy – EXS - unleashed.

Buildings that once towered over us in their silent oppression were just crumbling shells now. Windows were shattered, and glass littered the streets like stars fallen from the sky, glittering coldly under the dim light of the Night’s moon.

The lampposts, which used to line the street in neat, familiar rows, now looked bent and twisted, like metal skeletons trying to crawl out of the wreckage.

My unsettled gaze landed on the remains of a storefront nearby. The sign was charred and hanging by a thread, the walls splintered like something massive had crashed through them. There were deep gouges in the pavement, marks where ice had spread, frozen solid in some places, shattered in others. In a way, it was a testament to Mizuko’s power, but also to whatever the hell she’d had to fight to be pushed this far.

As if answering my thoughts, twin plumes of dark smoke rose up from further down the avenue. From where I was, I could just about make out his trademark threadbare shirt, as well as the newly placed splotches of red growing underneath. To think that just yesterday we’d all been fighting alongside each other, and now...

This wasn’t just mindless destruction, or collateral damage—it was a warning. A stark reminder of what could happen if we kept clashing like this, unchecked.

The Hollow Night had a way of making you feel insignificant, like the world itself was indifferent to the chaos unfolding within it. You could lose everything here, and the Hollow would swallow it without so much as a whisper.

I knew that feeling all too well already.

This wasn’t just some back-alley scuffle. This was war—silent, unspoken, and fought in the shadows of a world that didn’t even know it existed.

And that realization hit harder than any blow. Because if fights like this continued… there wouldn’t be much of the Hollow Night left standing.

I shifted my gaze back to Mizuko, knelt over and still eying me. Her ice had melted away in places, leaving damp patches on the cracked street, but the chill lingered in the air, biting at my skin.

“No,” The words left my mouth automatically, in response to her question. “I’m not here for either of you, really.”

Her eyebrows shot up, and, instantly, any semblance of amusement vanished from her face. I swallowed hard, tightening my grip on my hammer.

I needed to pick my next words very carefully.

“Mizuko,” I began with as much resolve as I could muster, “I need to know where your sister and Cunningham are.”

The moment the names left my mouth, something changed in Mizuko. Her eyes, which had been calculating and sharp, darkened with a dangerous edge. Her lips curled back in a silent snarl, and I saw her fists clench so tightly that her knuckles turned white.

“You…” she hissed, barely above a whisper. “You’re after them.”

I blinked, momentarily thrown off. “Wait, no, that’s not what I—”

But she wasn’t listening. In an instant, the air around her seemed to drop another ten degrees. The chill that had lingered before now transformed into an icy storm, swirling around her like a vengeful spirit. I could feel the cold biting into my skin, clawing its way into my bones. The cracks in the pavement beneath her feet glistened, frost creeping out from the damp patches left behind by her earlier attacks.

“I won’t let you touch them!” she screamed, her voice breaking as sharp splinters of ice surged toward me, jagged spikes forming in midair like frozen spears.

Instinct took over. I dove to the side, narrowly avoiding the barrage as it shattered against the ground where I’d been standing. I could feel shards of ice scrape past my arm, leaving shallow cuts, but I didn’t have time to focus on that. I rolled back to my feet, heart pounding, and swung my hammer up defensively.

“Mizuko, stop!” I shouted, my voice lost in the howling storm of her fury. She was already launching another attack, this one even more desperate, a blinding wall of sharp crystalline daggers. They shot toward me in a wild arc, her emotions reigning.

I didn’t want to hurt her. This wasn’t what I’d come for. But she wasn’t giving me a choice.

I gritted my teeth and swung my hammer. The force of the strike collided with her ice attack, shattering it into glistening dust that scattered through the air. For a moment, I thought she would relent, but when I looked up, she was still preparing another attack, reckless and furious.

I couldn't risk it. I reacted on pure reflex.

My hammer swung down, heavier than I’d meant, and I connected with her shoulder. The force sent her sprawling backward, crashing against the ground with a pained gasp.

I froze.

I hadn't meant to hit her that hard.

But before I could take another breath, I heard footsteps—rushed, urgent, closing in fast. I barely had time to turn when Nakamura came charging in from the alley, his eyes wide with rage.

“Hoshino!” he shouted, his voice full of accusation. “What the hell are you doing?”

“Nakamura, wait—”

But he wasn’t listening, either. His gaze flickered to Mizuko, lying on the ground and clutching her shoulder, and then back to me. And in that moment, I could see the decision solidify in his mind.

“You’re trying to kill her!” His gauntlets curled into tight fists, fury radiating off him. “I knew it! You’re no different from the rest of them!”

“No, I’m not! This isn’t what it looks like!” I tried to explain, stepping back as his body pulsed with an orange surge, but I could see the mistrust in his eyes.

It was too late.

Before I could say another word, he lunged.

Nakamura’s gauntlet-clad fists sparked with kinetic energy as he flew past me, his muscles twitching, ready to explode into motion. His eyes, wild with anger, stayed locked on me.

“You think you can take her down just like that?” Nakamura barked, his voice raw with emotion. “I won’t let you!”

Before I could speak, he span around on his feet shockingly quickly and lunged once again. It was like watching a coiled spring release. He moved faster than I anticipated, his trench coat flaring behind him like an orange banner as he closed the distance.

I barely managed to dodge to the side as his right fist, glowing with some kind of charge, whistled past my face.

His momentum carried him forward, but instead of stumbling, he spun on his heel with grace, building up more speed as his gauntlets sparked violently. He was like a whirlwind of power, every step, every move feeding his growing energy.

I had no time to waste.

With a quick burst of light, I launched myself backward, my hammer spinning in my grip. “Nakamura, listen to me! This isn’t what it looks like—”

“I’m done listening!” he roared, charging again, this time even faster. His fists collided with the pavement where I stood seconds before, shattering the ground. Dust and debris flew into the air as his body whipped around, his movements getting faster, stronger, more precise. Each blow hit harder, and I could’ve sworn his momentum – or maybe his kinetic energy - was compounding with every missed strike.

Realising that I needed to stay ahead, I shifted into my light form, my body shimmering and becoming intangible just as Nakamura’s fist shot past me. I could feel the air ripple with the force of his punch. If that had connected, they would’ve had to scrape me off the walls.

I floated backward, reforming into my tangible state just a few feet away, but Nakamura was already rushing me again. His body was a blur, the gauntlets glowing bright orange from the stored kinetic energy, crackling with raw power.

He wasn’t thinking. Like Mizuko, he was just attacking, overwhelmed by emotion.

And that’s what I had to exploit.

“Stop running!” he growled, and this time he didn’t miss. His left gauntlet grazed my side, sending a jolt of force through my body. I gritted my teeth as the blow sent me skidding across the cracked street, my shoulder slamming into the wall of a nearby building.

Pain bloomed in my ribs. He was getting stronger, faster. But you can’t throw haymakers with force like that behind them without burning through your energy reserves with every hit.

“I’m not running, Nakamura,” I said, slowly getting to my feet. I gripped the handle of my hammer tight, feeling the prismatic core hum as it stored up the energy from each of his missed attacks.

“I’m just waiting for you to run out of gas.”

His eyes narrowed, but I could see the frustration boiling beneath his scowl.

“Shut up!” he yelled, launching forward again, his fists moving faster than I could follow. He was a blur of punches and kicks, each one more powerful than the last. Every step he took cracked the earth beneath him, and I was forced to stay on the defensive, ducking and dodging as best I could.

But I was thinking.

With each step he took, he was feeding me more and more information about how his power worked. I could see how his movements built up his kinetic charge, the way his speed and strength increased exponentially the longer he kept moving. But I could also see the strain it was putting on him. His muscles were twitching unnaturally, his breathing getting heavier. And his strikes, though powerful, were becoming more erratic, less controlled.

“Keep going, Godzilla,” I muttered under my breath. “Just a little longer.”

He was close now, charging at me with everything he had. His gauntlets were glowing white-hot from the energy build-up, sparks flying as he wound up for a massive punch.

And then—he swung.

But I was ready.

In one fluid motion, I shifted into my light form just before his fist could make contact. He stumbled, his momentum carrying him forward as his punch missed completely.

Now!

I reformed behind him, my hammer glowing bright with stored energy. In one swift motion, I swung the handle up, releasing a concentrated blast of light straight into his back. The impact was immediate—his body jerked forward, and he crashed into the ground, skidding across the broken pavement.

But it wasn’t over. He was already struggling to get back to his feet, his gauntlets flickering with the last vestiges of stored kinetic energy. His movements were slower now, less precise. He was reaching his limit.

“Nakamura,” I called out, my voice firm. “You’re running on fumes. Stop this.”

“Shut up,” he spat, staggering to his feet. His body was trembling, his gauntlets sparking weakly. He was still trying to charge me, but his movements were sluggish, his legs barely keeping him upright.

I sighed, gripping my hammer tightly. “You’re not giving me a choice.”

Before he could react, I dashed forward, closing the distance between us in a flash of light. With one powerful swing, I brought the hammer down, not on Nakamura, but on the ground in front of him. The prismatic core released a pulse of kinetic energy, and the shockwave sent him flying backward, his body crashing into the side of a nearby building.

He groaned, trying to stand, but his body gave out, the strain from overusing his power finally catching up to him. He collapsed onto the ground, his gauntlets flickering off, the energy completely spent.

I stood over him, breathing heavily, my hammer resting against the cracked pavement.

“You’re strong, Nakamura,” I said quietly, watching as he struggled to move. “But strength alone won’t win every fight. Not here. You have to think.”

For a moment, there was only the sound of his labored breathing, and then—finally—he went still.

 

[RhythmThief]

Chapter 55 - Junko Shirogetsu

Hollow Night

The wind. It tore through everything—the walls, the ground, even my skin. The kind of force that made breathing feel like drowning.

A whole shopping mall turned into a tornado’s playground, and I was smack in the middle of it.

Zephyr was beyond desperate now, spinning into a frenzy, whipping up this typhoon to keep me off it. Destruction everywhere, and the only thing keeping me grounded was my board and the crackling charge beneath my skin.

Electricity hummed through my body, tracing sharp paths along my arms and legs, crackling off my weapon and into the storm like a live wire. I could feel it sizzling in the air around me, merging with the typhoon’s wild winds, making the hairs on my arms stand on end.

But Zephyr wasn’t just strong—it was smart. It wasn’t planning to let me get anywhere close unless I came up with something.

The brute force approach wasn’t working; it was using the storm to keep me out of range, letting the wind do the heavy lifting while it conserved its energy.

And me? I was running on scraps.

There has to be a way, I thought, gripping the hilt of my Odachi tightly. The sword was practically buzzing with the electrical charge I’d poured into it, silvered edges glowing with crackling sparks that leaped from the blade like lightning bolts.

Think, Junko. Come on. You’ve handled worse, right?

A sharp gust nearly knocked my board out of my grasp, and I stumbled, barely catching myself before slamming into a support pillar. I winced, pain shooting through my side as I hit the ground and rolled back to my feet. The storm wasn’t letting up—it was building. Zephyr was turning this place into a full-on hurricane.

But as I struggled back onto my board, something caught my eye.

Amid the swirling mess, I could make out the outline of Zephyr’s body, flickering in and out of the storm. There was something off about the way it moved. The winds were whipping around it, but there—right in the center—it was still, like it wasn’t inside the storm. It was the storm.

That’s it, I realized, eyes narrowing. It’s not just controlling the storm. It’s being forced to hide inside it.

The winds were Zephyr’s cover, but they also seemed to be its body—a defense mechanism that made it impossible to hit. But I had something Zephyr didn’t: electricity. If wind was intangible, electricity wasn’t. And if I could reach the storm’s core, I could disrupt its very flow. It was like a circuit, and I had the power to overload it.

I crouched low, breathing through the sting of the wind cutting my face, and focused. I let my EXS surge, electricity flooding through my limbs, lighting up the edges of my body like a neon sign. The Odachi crackled to life in my grip, silver and blue sparks dancing up and down its long blade. I wasn’t going to fight the storm anymore.

I was going to conduct it.

I pushed off hard, skating through the gale-force winds as the charge from my sword sent electricity shooting through the air. The wind screamed around me, but I could feel the current—the raw power Zephyr had summoned. And now, I was moving with it, not against it.

Zephyr screeched, its winds becoming more erratic, the storm surging as it realized what I was doing. It tried to throw me off, whipping up debris and tossing furniture in my path, but I was already there, electricity arcing off me and blasting through the air. I dodged, weaving through the chaos like a live wire. I could feel the storm bending around me, the winds tingling with the charge in the air.

The storm screamed, but I was faster.

Alright, Zephyr. Let’s see how you like this.

I launched myself into the air, flipping my board mid-jump, my eyes locked on the flickering center of the storm. My power surged, electricity crackling through the air like a bolt of lightning. I wasn’t just reacting anymore—I was part of the storm. The faster I moved, the more the electricity built up, the hum of raw power filling my veins.

And there—at the heart of the chaos—I saw Zephyr’s form. Flickering, distorted, but solid. For the first time, I could feel it.

This is it! I thought, gritting my teeth as I raised the Odachi high above my head. My whole body was charged, every muscle tingling with energy. I could feel the power surging through me, crackling at the edges of my skin.

I twisted mid-air, bringing the blade down hard, lightning arcing off it like a thunderclap. The moment my sword made contact with Zephyr’s form, the electricity exploded outward, an intense burst of power surging through the storm.

Zephyr shrieked, not just in rage—but in pain.

The storm collapsed, winds exploding outward in a massive shockwave as Zephyr’s body crumbled. I hit the ground hard, skidding across the shattered floor, but I was already pushing myself up, eyes scanning the wreckage.

The winds had died down, the debris settling. Zephyr was gone, with only a milky white sphere traipsing up and down in its memory.

I took a deep breath, soon interrupted by a fit of heaving coughs erupting from my chest. The air crackling faintly around me as the last remnants of electricity dissipated from my body. My body and blade were still humming with the charge, but I could feel the exhaustion creeping in. That last strike had taken everything I had.

But I wasn’t quite out of the woods yet.

In the distance, I heard a rumbling noise, but not from where I’d previously left Arthur. This time, it came from lower down, almost level with the ground floor of the mall where I was currently stood.

My eyes darted to the far end of the shattered mall and I sighed, picking up the white orb my defeated rival had left behind.

No rest for the beautiful, as they say.

I really didn’t like that sound.

It was heavy, rumbling, but too deliberate to be just another piece of debris falling from the mall’s wreckage. Something else was happening, and it wasn’t Arthur.

For a split second, I thought about ignoring it. I wasn’t really in the mood to deal with some random disaster, not after I’d just sent Zephyr packing. But something gnawed at the back of my mind, something nagging.

I glanced back toward the floor where Arthur was fighting.

"He’ll be fine," I muttered to myself. Arthur could handle whatever mess he’d gotten into—he always did. And if not, he would find a way. Right now, there was something closer, something that felt… personal. I couldn’t shake the feeling pulling me toward the noise.

With a deep breath, I shifted my odachi over my shoulder and started toward the sound. The air still crackled with the remnants of Zephyr’s typhoon, the aftermath of the storm strewn across the mall in broken glass, bent metal, and toppled store displays. I had to navigate around the wreckage, hopping over broken escalators and collapsed walls, but my gut kept leading me forward.

As I stepped outside the mall’s shattered entrance, the Hollow Night greeted me with its eerie calm. That strange mixture of darkness and twilight stretching out in every direction. No time to get distracted, though. I kept moving, scaling the crumbling structure of the mall’s outer wall with ease, my legs still buzzing with the leftover charge from the fight – and the exhilarating sensation that the power-up I’d absorbed had unlocked something new within me.

When I rounded the corner, I finally saw what had made that rumble.

I stopped short, my breath catching in my throat.

On the ground, laid out cold like discarded dolls, were Mizuko and Ryota.

“What the...?”

My pulse quickened. Mizuko, with parts of her body wrapped in ice-slick armor that cracked in places, steam still rising from the patches of ice that hadn’t melted away. And Nakamura... his stupid orange trench coat torn, gauntlets scorched. Both of them unmoving, and neither of them looked like they were getting up anytime soon.

And standing over them, hammer in hand, was Hoshino.

My stomach twisted, a chill creeping up my spine despite the fact that my EXS still buzzed under my skin.

"What the hell just happened here?" My voice felt smaller than I wanted it to be. There was this sinking feeling in my gut, a sick sort of dread, especially seeing Mizuko like that—vulnerable, hurt.

I couldn't remember the last time I'd seen her look so... human.

Hoshino jumped and span toward me, her expression surprised but still sharp—like she might’ve been expecting me.

"You," I hissed, stepping forward, a surge of electricity sparking around my blade.

The second I moved, my mind started racing. I knew Hoshino. She wasn’t the kind of person to just attack without reason. But Mizuko? Nakamura? Both of them down, and only her standing? My heart pounded in my chest, the electricity sparking across my blade growing wilder with every breath. She’d hurt them. She’d hurt Mizuko.

I could feel the anger bubbling up inside me, the heat mixing with the leftover adrenaline from the fight with Zephyr. Everything in me screamed to charge, to go after Hoshino and make her pay for what she did.

"Junko, don’t." Hoshino’s voice was calm, way too calm for the storm that was brewing inside me. If anything, she looked relieved to see me. "This isn’t what it looks like."

I narrowed my eyes. “Then explain it to me. Why the hell is my sister on the ground?”

I wanted to trust her—Hoshino had always been one for logical, level-headed reasoning.

But standing here, with Mizuko laid out like that, and Ryota... I couldn’t stop the anger bubbling up inside me.

Hoshino sighed, lowering the hammer just a little. “I wasn’t out to hurt anybody, okay? There was a misunderstanding – she thought I was after you and Arthur - so she attacked me first, and then—”

I cut her off.

"Bullshit! You expect me to believe that? What, and Ryota just tripped and fell too?"

My hand tightened on the hilt of my Odachi, and sparks crackled up the silvered blade. I could feel the charge building in my body, faster now, angrier. The electric energy coursing through me wanted out, wanted to strike.

The charge crackled through me, lighting up my fingertips. I didn’t care what she had to say. She wasn’t getting another shot at Mizuko. Not if I could help it.

Just as I readied myself to launch forward, a sharp laugh pierced the air—a laugh that didn’t belong to either of us.

Both Hoshino and I froze.

The temperature in the Hollow Night plummeted, the very air itself growing tense, as if something malignant was seeping in from the shadows.

"Should we give you two a minute to sort this out, or..?"

The voice was feminine, laced with venom and amusement, and it echoed from nowhere in particular. I blinked, scanning the street. Steadily, a shroud of darkness crept along the edges of my vision—long, flowing tendrils of shadow swirling toward us like a living mist.

At that moment, I heard it—the familiar, distinct click of a sniper locking in.

From above. High up, on a vantage point.

"Shit." My heart sank.

It was the sniper from earlier.

Hoshino must’ve noticed it, too. She whirled her hammer in the air, summoning a glow around us just as a streak of energy—a sniper shot—blazed through the night sky.

The beam of light collided with Hoshino’s surprise makeshift protective barrier in an explosion of sparks, scattering across the ground like shattered glass. Since when could she…? Didn’t matter.

Without another word, Hoshino shifted, moving to Mizuko and Nakamura's side, her brow furrowed. She was tense now. The situation had changed. The air was too still, too quiet.

And then—

BAM!

The street beneath us erupted as tendrils of solid shadow shot from the ground. One coiled around my leg, another struck at Hoshino, and I was yanked sideways as a figure darted from the shadows, twin daggers flashing with lethal intent.

The assassin, its numble figure lithe and curved, moved like liquid darkness, sliding in and out of the environment like it belonged to them.

"I was wondering when I’d get to see one of you kids again,” It purred, her form barely visible as she slashed through the air. “Pity about ‘old Windfall. I’m guessing you took care of him, huh? But, the game’s not over yet."

I barely blocked her strike with my Odachi, the force pushing me back. My mind was in complete disarray. Not only was this Noise talking to us, there was something startlingly humanoid about its sleek body and long, silvery white hair.

"W-Who are you?!” I demanded, the electricity in my body surging forward to meet her shadows.

They laughed again, twirling in a dance of shadows, their daggers igniting with black energy. Its eyes glinted with the thrill of the fight, but before I could counter, another shot rang out.

BZZT! CRACK!

Deadeye’s sniper shot grazed past my shoulder, narrowly missing me, but the heat from it singed my skin.

This was bad. I reckoned I could just about handle whoever this lady-thing was in close quarters—but not with Deadeye up there firing at us from the rooftops.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Hoshino’s body lowering to the ground, her stance becoming more focused. She shimmered faintly with light, the hammer in her grip ready to strike.

"Can’t you see I’m trying to protect them?" Hoshino muttered through gritted teeth.

I glared at her, the shadows closing in on both of us, tendrils creeping toward Mizuko and Nakamura’s unconscious bodies.

"And what, you expect me to trust you?" I growled back, dodging another swipe from a dagger. "You think I’m just gonna let you walk away?"

"Trust me or not, we’re both screwed if we don’t take them down first,” Hoshino snapped, smashing her hammer against the ground. A burst of radiant light shot from the prism core, scattering the shadows for a moment. “Now stop talking and move.”

The sniper fired again, the shot tearing through the air as I dodged and spun to avoid it, my thoughts racing. For once, Hoshino was right.

I clenched my teeth, glancing at her with a fire of determination in my eyes.

“Fine,” I muttered, sparking my blade to life once more, “But if you even think about double-crossing me, it’ll be the last thing you ever do.”

Her lips curled into a smirk. “Whatever. Let’s just focus on surviving.”

And with that, the shadows lunged at us again, but this time I - we - were ready.

With Hoshino at my side, and perhaps the two deadliest Noise left to take down, we had to make this work.

Whether I liked it or not.

 

[RhythmThief]

Chapter 56 - Arthur Cunningham

Hollow Night

A feeling I could only describe as a burning sensation seized me upon waking. The sharp slice of agony that had infiltrated my stomach, that had clawed up through my ribs and besieged my chest, had disappeared.

All that remained in its place was the inkling that I was different. In some fundamental yet invisible, intangible way, the canvas that depicted my spiritual makeup had been altered. Ameliorated. There was a flicker, deep inside, that hadn’t been there before.

A warmth now lingered – that blinding light I’d seen before blacking out, burning like embers under my skin. The strangest part wasn’t the heat itself, but how right it felt. Like it belonged solely to me. I imagined this was how Daisuke and Rusuban felt after absorbing those strange white spheres.

It was undoubtedly something raw, something primal.

I blinked and clenched my fist, watching as the air around my knuckles shimmered and sparked, a faint glow licking the tips of my fingers. I wasn’t sure if I’d imagined it or not, but then it happened again—a brief, barely-there flame. The heat crawled up my veins, coiling beneath my skin, waiting.

I didn’t understand it fully, but I had no intention of questioning such a gift handed to me in the jaws of death.

Death.

My mind flashed back to the hooded figure, their voice as clear as the fire inside me.

"Death is no fun unless you've seen its beauty."

I couldn’t believe I hadn’t realized it sooner. But why go to such lengths to hide their identity?

I took a breath and pushed myself up, my mind in two worlds. My limbs felt heavier, but stronger.

Scanning my surroundings, I re-acquainted myself with the collapsed walls and crumbled ceiling of the ruined department store looming around me like the carcass of some forgotten beast.

Dust swirled in the dim light, the debris-strewn floor still thick with that unnatural miasma. The entire place felt like a half-formed nightmare, caught between reality and something darker.

But the oppressive weight that had gnawed at me before was gone. The fear—the uncertainty—was replaced by a quiet, smouldering confidence. Something in me had changed, and I could feel the fire still simmering in my blood, a steady pulse of power waiting to be unleashed.

I took a step forward, the crunch of broken glass and shattered tile echoing in the silence, and stopped in my tracks.

My hunter was still here.

I could feel its presence like a whisper on the back of my neck, slipping between the shadows. Watching. Stalking me from the darkness, waiting for another opening, another chance to strike.

For a brief moment, a flash of movement even caught my eye—a figure darting between the toppled shelves, barely more than a shadow in the fog. I tracked the movement, knowing what it was doing; trying to stay hidden, still playing the same old tricks.

For the last few moments, I had still been questioning the sudden disappearance of Ironclad, under the assumption that it and this lizard-like creature were one in the same.

Only now could I see where I had gone wrong. Only now, did I see that I truly did fell Ironclad with that strike. What hadn’t crossed my mind was that, perhaps, Ironclad was never one entity only.

Rather, it was being worn as a shell, as a second skin, a suit of armour. The "Ironclad" I'd been fighting was a Noise worn as a set of armour, a decoy for another, until I’d hit the core – and inside, this “Mirage” had been hiding, waiting for the second its compatriot was shattered, to strike against me.

I took a sharp breath, and there was another flicker—closer this time. The faintest movement in the mist, Mirage slipping between the shattered remains of mannequins and display racks, now a predator that didn’t realize its prey had grown teeth.

I narrowed my eyes and took a step toward the movement.

The mist parted for a second—just long enough for me to catch the briefest glimpse of it. Mirage was darting between broken shelves, their form flickering as they moved. But it wasn’t enough. They couldn’t hide anymore, not from me.

I let the fire surge.

In one swift motion, I raised my fist, and the flames roared to life, igniting my clenched hand with a searing flame. With a swipe at the air, a crescent-shaped wave of heat shot out, streaking toward the shadowy figure in the mist. The fire cut through the miasma, burning away the fog and revealing Mirage in the open.

I could practically see their dagger-like eyes widen, just for a second, as the flames seared past them.

It had underestimated me - a mistake it would never get the chance to correct.

The heat in my veins surged, roaring louder than the chaos around me. The flames licking at my claws were eager, hungering for release, for a target to tear through.

And there it was—slithering through the shadows like a wisp of smoke, its bladed tail gleaming in the faint light.

I snarled, my muscles tensing, my height from the ground skyrocketing as the raw power of the transformation vibrated under my skin. My breath steamed in the cold air, mixing with the remnants of the creature's yellow mist. It thought it could outwit me, outmanoeuvre me like before, slipping into the fog, making me second-guess every step.

No longer.

I felt the primal fire surging inside me, an untameable force that burned brighter than anything else. The mist? It was laughable now, barely a nuisance. My senses cut through it like the sizzling heat in my claws. I could smell the creature’s sweat, feel its fear.

It darted left, vanishing behind a fallen display rack, but I was already there. In an instant, my claws sliced through the metal frame, sending sparks into the air. The thing hissed and recoiled, slashing its tail at me with deadly precision, but I caught it mid-swing, my flaming fist closing around the bladed appendage.

It writhed, twisting its body to break free, but I held firm, the heat from my grip scorching its scales. The creature released a guttural shriek, and I could see the panic in its glowing eyes.

"Not so fast," I growled, yanking it forward and slamming it into the ground.

The impact sent tremors through the cracked floor, shattering what remained of the tiles. It hissed, a cloud of that yellow mist spilling from its maw, enveloping me in a thick haze.

But this time, I didn’t hesitate.

I plunged my claws through the fog, feeling the searing heat ripple outward. The mist sizzled, and I heard the creature dart away, desperate. Fine. Let it run.

I took a breath, the flames dancing across my skin, and felt my body settle into a rhythm—an instinctual pulse of the hunt. It was trying to lead me into another illusion, to disorient me, but I could see through the trick now. My eyes caught the faint shimmer in the mist, the subtle bending of light as it moved between pillars and overturned shelves.

The creature dashed behind a half-collapsed column, thinking itself safe. I didn’t even need to look.

I leapt high into the air, flames trailing behind me as I came down with a crushing blow, my claws carving through the stone and scattering debris in every direction. I heard it cry out, its thin, brittle legs scrambling to escape the rubble. It was quick, I would allow it that, but I could feel the fear radiating off it like a stench.

I bared my fangs, a low growl escaping my throat. It had become a game.

I launched myself at the creature again, my claws glowing red-hot, the fire burning deep into the marrow of my bones. I could see the panic in its movements now—the erratic swipes of its tail, the wild lunges that missed by miles. Every time it tried to vanish into the mist, I was already there, ripping through the illusion before it even had a chance to form.

It slashed at me, claws aimed for my throat, but I caught its wrist in mid-air, squeezing until what felt like bones cracked under the pressure. The flames spread from my grip, scorching the creature’s arm as it shrieked in agony.

“Is this it?” I snarled, tossing it aside like it was nothing. “All that sneaking around, all those tricks—this is what you’ve got?”

It scrambled to its feet, desperate now, tail whipping through the air like a frenzied whip. But I wasn’t interested in playing anymore. The thrill of the hunt had already faded.

I took a step forward, and the heat beneath my skin flared, a firestorm roaring to life. The creature's bladed tail slashed toward me one last time, but I didn’t bother dodging. I raised my hand, letting the flame engulf my arm, and grabbed the tail mid-strike. The flames shot up its length, engulfing the creature in a wave of red-orange light.

It thrashed wildly, screeching as the fire consumed it, its shadowy form flickering like a dying flame. I tightened my grip, dragging it toward me until it was eye level.

“No more games,” I said, my voice a low growl.

With one final, searing burst of fire, I clenched my fist and felt the creature’s body disintegrate in my grasp, its form dissolving into ash and smoke as a familiar snowy sphere bounced on the floor. The yellow mist evaporated around me, leaving only the smell of scorched earth and molten metal.

I stood there, breathing heavily, the flames simmering down. My body felt heavier now, the adrenaline wearing off, but the sense of power—of control—still lingered. The primal fire inside me was still there, crackling just beneath the surface, waiting for the next time I called upon it.

But for now, the fight was over.

The burning heat of victory still lingered in my veins as I stared at the small orb left behind in the ashes of the creature’s demise. Its glow pulsed faintly, like a dying ember waiting for the right breath to reignite it.

For a moment, I felt the pull of it, the whisper of power that it promised. Another surge of strength to carry me through the chaos.

I crouched down, reaching for it, my fingers hovering just over the surface. It would be so easy to take it, to absorb the orb just like the one I had before. But this time… I hesitated.

I clenched my fist, pulling my hand back. No. There was someone else who might need it more than I did. Junko. If she was hurt, this could help her.

The thought of her, bloodied and weakened, pushed the idea of taking the orb out of my mind. I stood, pocketing it instead.

My gaze shifted upward to the massive hole in the ceiling, the place where Ironclad had torn through the building like a falling meteor. Light streamed through, casting jagged beams down into the ruined department store, illuminating the destruction we’d left behind. It was my only way out.

I took a deep breath, feeling the primal energy simmering just beneath my skin. My muscles tensed, and with a powerful leap, I launched myself upward, landing with a quiet thud on the floor of what had to be a half-destroyed perfume shop, if the soft scent if strawberries and vanilla were any indication.

The flames still whispered inside me, urging me to go faster, push harder, but I kept them at bay, using my werewolf agility to navigate the collapsed architecture instead.

I weaved through the broken beams and shattered glass, my claws digging into the metal framework for stability as I swung to another ledge. The weight of my body felt lighter now, as if my new abilities had sharpened everything—my movements, my reflexes, even my balance. Every leap felt effortless, every swing natural, instinctual.

In moments, I had cleared the debris and found myself outside. The mall parking lot sprawled out beneath me, littered with the remains of destroyed cars and cracked asphalt.

I paused, inhaling deeply. The air was thick with the Hollow Night’s unnatural pressure, but beneath it, I could sense something else. The hum of EXS, pulsing faintly in the distance.

I closed my eyes, letting the scents and energies wash over me. There—just beyond the parking lot—I could feel a cluster of familiar signatures. Eiji, Junko, Mizuko, and a fresh, dynamic splash of warm hues. It must have been Nakamura. In the background, lay a dark mixture of furious black splotches – it must’ve been Katoru. They were fighting, and there were two other strong concentrations of EXS nearby, one of which felt particularly unique.

Unfamiliar, and yet structurally identical to all of ours.

I furrowed my brow, focusing on that strange energy. It was sharp, cutting through the air like a blade. Powerful. Precise.

Whatever—or whoever—it was, they were unlike anything I had encountered thus far. The sheer strength of that EXS sent a ripple of unease through me, but also curiosity.

I’d never felt anything like it before, and from the way it pulsed, I was unsure if the others would be able to handle it alone.

I was about to leap in their direction, to help them, when something else hit me—another scent, dark and sinister, lurking in the opposite direction. I froze, my muscles tensing instinctively.

This one was different. A sinister smudge of EXS, thick and oppressive, drowning out everything around it. There were others nearby—I recognized Miharu and Daisuke’s signatures, faint but there. But they were overshadowed by something… darker. Stronger. Familiar, in the worst possible way.

In my mind, there could have only been one person capable of an essence that disquieting.

A growl rumbled in my chest, my claws digging into the ground. The idea of confronting him again sent a jolt of anger and dread through me. But… if that really was him, Miharu and Daisuke could be in serious danger.

I stood at the crossroads, my mind racing. I could feel the heat of the flames stirring again, eager for a fight, for the hunt. Eiji and the others were already locked in combat, and I wasn’t sure how long they could hold out against that unknown force. But on the other side, Miharu and Daisuke could have been facing something even more dangerous.

I cursed under my breath, my hands tightening into fists. Two battles. Two choices. Either way, people I cared about were in danger. But I couldn’t be in two places at once.

The wind howled through the broken mall behind me, its icy fingers cutting through the air, sharp and bitter. Carried within it was the unmistakable scent of blood and conflict—two battlefields, both equally desperate. Junko, Eiji, Mizuko… I could smell them, feel their presence burning through the distance like beacons. They were locked in their fight, pushing themselves to the limit. Every second mattered.

But then there was the other place.

It was subtle at first, that pull. The dark, smothering weight of it crawled across my senses, making the hair on the back of my neck stand up. Rusuban was one thing, but before long I noticed that Daisuke’s presence was slowly becoming unrecognizable. His aura, once laden with equal parts determination and pain, had twisted into something volatile, dangerous. His EXS surged—so violent and warped and uncontrolled it felt like I was staring into a void.

A black hole ready to consume everything around it.

I tried to focus on it, tried to separate his presence from the two-toned swirl of madness that Rusuban was emanating. They both bled into the same space—two dark auras, both vicious and suffocating. One, a spiralling pit of menace I could already imagine grinning in its vile amusement, and yet elsewhere, quietly rising in the periphery, there was something else entirely. The lines between them blurred, but the more time that passed, the more rampant this rising felt. The worse it felt.

It was as if the air itself recoiled, twisting and pulling in the wrong direction. Whatever was happening in that other location, it wasn’t just a struggle anymore—it was a storm about to break loose, a raw and terrifying force. The energy felt as though it was splintering, exploding into something monstrous, alien. And I had the gnawing sense that once it started, there’d be no turning back.

My throat tightened. My gut told me something horrible was about to emerge from that place. Something none of us might have been ready for.

A slight tremor ran through the earth beneath my feet, a rumble of EXS clashing against EXS in the distance. It was hard not to run toward Junko and Eiji—everything inside me screamed to help them, to protect them.

But that presence, that suffocating darkness clawing its way across the Hollow Night, pulled me in, deeper and deeper into its black maw. Whatever was happening over there, it wasn’t natural. It wasn’t right – and I just might’ve been the only person able to see it.

I knew what I had to do.

I turned on my heel, my muscles tensing as I launched myself toward that crushing aura, tearing through the night as fast as my body would allow. The decision weighed on me, but my instincts couldn’t shake the feeling that if I didn’t get there in time, the person I once called my friend would be lost to something none of us could stop.

I had allowed Rusuban to sway her heart and corrupt her ideals. I had stood by and watched on that rooftop as another innocent soul was claimed by the whim of a madman.

And now, it was my responsibility to see her out of it.

I could only hope I wasn’t already too late.

 

[RhythmThief]

Chapter 57 - Ryota Nakamura

Hollow Night

“Keep your stance low. Shift your weight. Don’t let me see you screw this up.”

Kazuya’s voice wasn’t how it used to be.

Where it used to be all calm and encouraging, now it was just this sharp bark, like he was about two seconds away from snapping. I sucked it up, keeping my mouth shut, trying not to roll my eyes as I squared up.

Back in the day, training with him used to be kinda fun. Now? It was more like a chore—something I had to get through without pissing him off.

Ever since she died, everything had gone to hell.

I shifted my stance, putting my weight forward like he drilled into me, arms up in a half-assed guard. Kazuya, though? He wasn’t having it. I could see that scowl on his face a mile away. Didn’t even let me throw a punch before he was already on me—fist smacking mine away like it was nothing, then shoving me in the chest so hard I nearly face-planted in the dirt.

I stumbled back, barely catching myself, hands on my ribs. It didn’t hurt that much—he wasn’t even trying to mess me up—but it stung in all the other ways. Why was he being such a prick? My throat tightened as I looked at him, standing there like some kinda drill sergeant, all stiff and pissed off.

What happened to the brother who’d actually, I dunno, cared?

The one who used to give me pointers without making me feel like garbage?

But that was before. Before everything fell apart.

“Do it again,” he growled, taking another step toward me, his face hard like stone. “And quit screwing around.”

I threw a jab—if you could even call it that—more out of habit than anything else. Just trying to get it over with. Didn’t even see it coming when he smacked my hand away and shoved me again, harder this time. My feet slid out from under me, and I went down, scraping my knee on the ground.

I gasped for breath, more from shock than pain. What the hell is wrong with him? I wanted to yell at him. To ask why he was like this now—why he wasn’t the same guy I used to look up to. But my tongue was tied, words choking me before they could come out.

Kaz towered over me, eyes blazing.

“You think the world’s gonna take it easy on you, Ryota? You think the bad guys’ll stop just ’cause you’re scared to hit back?”

I swallowed hard, trying to keep the tremble out of my voice. “Nii-san... what’s going on with you? Why are you—”

“Why am I what?” His voice cracked like a whip, and his eyes—man, they weren’t the same eyes I remembered. They were cold, angry, like he was looking at someone else.

“Why am I teaching you how to survive? ‘Cause if you don’t learn, you’re gonna get chewed up and spit out by the world, just like she did.”

I flinched, his words hitting like a gut punch. Just mentioning her was enough to make me feel like her memory hung in the air between us, like a ghost. Kazuya’s fist tightened, his knuckles white as he leaned in close, his breath hot on my face.

“You wanna stay alive, Ryota? Then quit screwing around and learn how to fight.”

I wanted to yell, to push him away, tell him he wasn’t my enemy. But nothing came out. My fists clenched, knuckles burning with frustration, but no words. Just silence. He turned his back and walking away like he couldn’t even stand to look at me.

“Go ahead, stay soft if you want,” he muttered, voice barely above a growl. “But if you can’t handle this, you sure as hell won’t survive out there.”

I stood there, fists shaking, teeth grinding, staring at the dirt. The weight of everything pressing down on me, heavier than ever. Kazuya’s shadow swallowed me up, and all I could think was...

Why?

Why the hell was he acting like this? What happened to the brother who was supposed to have my back?

The memory faded like smoke, replaced by real sounds. Distant, but clear as day. Metal clashing. Shouts, some frantic, others angry. The kind of stuff you only hear when everything’s going to crap. Blood. I could smell it in the air, mixed with something sharp—like burning rubber.

I blinked my eyes open, the dream melting away as I sat up. The Hollow Night’s glow flickered all around me, real bizarre and unnatural, casting weird shadows over the broken walls. The echoes of a fight were getting louder. Junko’s voice cut through, fierce and desperate, followed by the unmistakable slam of Eiji’s weapon hitting something solid.

My pulse kicked up. They were in trouble. And they weren’t alone.

I could feel it now—the other presences, thick and dark, like fog pressing down on my chest. One of them was... wrong. Cold, deadly, like a predator sizing up its next meal. It made my stomach twist.

Whoever or whatever it was, they weren’t screwing around.

I pushed myself to my feet, muscles tight as I shook off the last of the unconsciousness. I heard a shuffle to my right, and found Mizuko there. She was crouched on one knee, completely still.

It was only once I’d inched closer that I realized how active her eyes were, darting up and down the fight unfolding in front of us like she was producing a play-by-play to an invisible audience in her head.

“Did Hoshino get you too?” she asked way too cooly. She didn’t even send a glance my way. But thanks to that, the memories of what went down before I was knocked out came rushing back like a flood.

“Yeah,” I admitted after a few seconds. “I guess she did.”

Looks like I’d been wrong – if Eiji were really out to kill Mizuko, we wouldn’t be having this conversation. If you could call it that, anyhow. Junko must’ve arrived at some point after, cuz now they were both throwing down with some shadowy figure I was having trouble making out.

Whatever, I couldn’t just stand here. Not when my friends needed me.

“Think you can move?” I asked Mizuko, feeling my energy starting to return. Enough to knock around a few heads, you can be sure of that.

She gave me one hell of a look then, the kind of exasperated side-eye my mom’d give me whenever she caught me sneaking some extra snacks into the grocery cart. The kind of look that let you know that, whatever the heck you just said, it was dumb, and now you look dumb too.

“…sorry.” I offered, realizing just how stupid of a question it was. This was Junko’s older sister for crying out loud. It should’ve gone unsaid that even if she had to fucking hobble, she’d be over there fighting alongside her.

First she almost stabs me in the throat, and now she thought I was a dumbass. As far as impressing Junko’s sister went, I was crashing and burning and she knew it. A hint of a smile played on her lips, like she could read my nervousness, before she set her attention back toward the sounds of clashing steel.

I was thinking of following the action myself, looking for a good time to jump in, just as a stupidly loud crack erupted through the air, like the collapse of some scaffolding. Nah, more like the shot of a sniper –

“LOOK OUT!”

I couldn’t tell if it was the screaming, Mizuko’s wide-eyed shock, or just one too many action movies, but before I knew it I was diving forward, scooping Mizuko in my arms. Something whizzed right above me so sharply that it made my damn spine tingle, and then I met concrete.

When I pushed myself back up, the bright gleam of something on the rooftops above snatched my attention. I’ll be damned – it actually was a sniper.

“Y-You okay?!” I extended a hand but couldn’t afford to look away in her direction. There was no response for a few seconds, and my heart sank like a rock once I started thinking I’d been too late. A firm tug at my right gauntlet set me straight, and a wave of cautious relief swept me over.

“Fine,” she replied in that eerily nonchalant tone I might have to start getting used to. “How did you do…that?”

I shrugged. In all honesty, I hadn’t quite figured out what that sensation was yet – that feeling of having all this energy piling up, like a bomb counting down to explosion.

All I knew was that the more I moved, the more the energy built up, and then I could unleash it all at once, moving so fast I’m snapping from one position to the next, like some kind of fighting game character.

And if this was some kind of video game, you could bet your ass I wasn’t stopping til’ I – we - won.

Akio’d never forgive me otherwise.

"Ryota!"

A familiar voice called out to me. It wasn’t just familiar—no, this was the voice that stuck with me even when I wanted to shut everything out. The one that lingered in my head when the Hollow Night and all its craziness faded to the back. My heartbeat kicked up, like I’d just taken a punch to the gut.

I whipped around toward the sound, and my senses went numb.

Just like that, I couldn’t pry my eyes away from her—the girl who’d somehow gotten tangled up in every thought I had lately. Her hair swayed with each movement, like the world was slowing down just to make sure I didn’t miss a second of it.

Then there were her eyes— these deep pools of ice-blue, locked on me, and yet somehow not quite seeing me. It was like she was looking right through me, and I couldn’t figure out if that made me wanna pull her closer or just shrink into nothing.

Her lips, slightly parted as she called my name, had this natural pout that made my heart twist in all the wrong ways. The way her fingers tightened around her weapon—her whole stance radiating this strength that made me wanna be better, stronger, for her—everything about her felt so far out of reach, but damn if I didn’t keep stretching for it anyway.

Junko Shirogetsu. The girl I didn’t deserve, but the one I just couldn’t stop chasing.

For her, I’d take on the entirety of this Hollow Night if it meant just a second of that icy gaze warming up for me.

Just as I opened my mouth to say something—anything—my moment with her was yanked away, like a needle pulling from a scratchy old record.

“Ryota! Move your ass!”

Junko’s shout ripped through the haze, and I was snapped back to reality with a jolt. The soft light I’d been drowning in flickered out, and all that was left was the chaos of the fight. Steel clashing. Footsteps pounding. That eerie silhouette behind the gleam in the distance still loomed like a bad dream.

“Take Mizuko and run!” she barked, her voice sharp and filled with urgency as she whipped her blade around in an arc to block something—a strike from another shadowy figure maybe, though I couldn’t be sure in all the madness.

Eiji took the opportunity to flank, but whoever they were fighting ducked super low, practically sinking into the floor before taking a few swipes at Hoshino now.

I glanced back at Mizuko, who was already pushing herself to her feet, her calmness a sharp contrast to the storm brewing right in front of us. Her gaze was locked, reading the chaos like it was nothing more than background noise. But even she had to know things were spiralling out of control.

“I... I—” I stammered, wanting to argue, wanting to tell Junko that I could fight too. That I could stay and have her back, like I always wanted to.

But her eyes cut through me like a blade, sharp and full of determination.

“Go, Ryota. Now.”

And just like that, I knew there wasn’t time for whatever it was I wanted to say. No more hesitation. I clenched my fists and nodded, turning to Mizuko, kneeling down and stretching my arms out behind me with enough force to show I wasn’t gonna take no for an answer.

“C’mon,” I muttered, my heart racing. Not from fear, but from the reality that hit me like a truck. This fight? It wasn’t mine. At least not yet. Junko... she needed to finish it without me. And even though that thought ate me alive, I knew better than to stay.

The second I felt Mizuko’s weight shift onto my shoulders, I took off running, heart heavy, mind a mess, and Junko’s voice ringing in my ears.

The streets blurred around me, my legs pounding against the pavement. Mizuko’s weight was nothing compared to the weight of what I was leaving behind. Junko, Hoshino... they'd keep fighting without me.

But as I turned the corner, that gut-wrenching feeling wouldn’t go away. Something was wrong—worse than I could even begin to grasp. My instincts screamed for me to keep running, but another voice—the reckless, dumbass part of me—whispered to check it out.

I didn’t have time to argue with myself, though, because just ahead I spotted a trio of familiar figures backing up—fast. They were practically tripping over themselves as they moved away from something around the corner.

“Arthur!” Mizuko yelled out suddenly, gripping my right shoulder with force. I took it as a command to close the distance.

Arthur, who I remembered was the English transfer in the year above, snapped his head towards me, eyes wide.

“Shirogetsu and… you?! What are you doing?!”

He looked at me like I’d lost my mind, but I wasn’t the only one. Another face, who I’d now recognized as our student council rep, was twisted in terror—something I didn’t think was even possible for someone like him. The spacey redhead I shared a few classes with, Kazuko or something like that, just kept her gaze locked on whatever was behind the corner, her trembling hand half-raised, as if she didn’t even know what to do.

“Both of you need to run,” Arthur barked, voice tight and frantic. “GET AWAY! As far away as you can!”

Run? Again? No. Something was off, way off. They didn’t look like they were running from a fight—they looked like they were running from a nightmare.

“What the hell’s going on?!” I shouted, slowly dropping Mizuko back to her feet. She stayed quiet, but her eyes narrowed toward the same direction as theirs.

“Just go!” Arthur’s voice cracked—like he was barely holding it together. I’d never heard anyone like this. Never seen a genuine look this… scared.

But curiosity—stupid, self-destructive curiosity—got the better of me.

I glanced at Mizuko, but she gave me nothing, as usual. It was like she knew this wasn’t her moment either. My pulse pounded in my ears as I steeled myself and took a few steps toward the corner.

“No! Don't—” Arthur’s warning was cut off by a low, unnatural growl from around the bend. It vibrated through the concrete beneath my feet, crawling up my legs like the sound itself wanted to drag me under.

Every instinct screamed at me to stop, but I didn’t. I couldn’t.

I rounded the corner.

My heart stopped. What stood before me was a grotesque, hulking silhouette twisted beyond recognition. Tendrils of dark energy spilled out from every pore of its body, warping it into something monstrous. Its skin, if you could even call it that , pulsed with malevolent EXS energy, veins bulging and burning like living shadows.

I felt my knees go weak. This wasn’t like anything I’d ever seen before. I thought I was ready to fight. To do good on the task Akio left me.

But then its eyes met mine.

The pure malice that radiated from them hit me like a freight train. I wanted to scream, wanted to run, but I was paralyzed, stuck in place like my body had forgotten how to move.

Arthur staggered beside me, barely able to keep his voice steady.

“Rusuban... what on earth have you done?”

The question hung in the air like a death sentence.

 

[RhythmThief]

Chapter 58 - Kinoko Rusuban

Hollow Night, 28 minutes earlier

Oh, this was far too good to be true. It had to be.

Victory wasn’t just intoxicating—it was divine. I could feel it swelling inside me, threatening to lift me off the very ground, as though the world itself had recognized my rightful place above all.

My vines, once thin and brittle, now surged with renewed vitality, weaving through the cracked concrete like veins of life. Under my command, they breathed existence back into this decaying arena.

Behind me, my underling Noise—the loyal, wretched creatures—staggered to their feet, their bodies slowly reassembling from the battle’s remains. Each twisted figure took a step back, reverently parting as I began my approach. It was as if they, too, acknowledged my undeniable triumph.

Daisuke’s broken form, a grotesque smear of blood and flesh, clung desperately to life beneath me. He crawled across the ground, barely breathing, his body reduced to little more than an insect struggling underfoot. I watched him writhe, his defeat so absolute, so laughably pitiful, that I couldn’t help but let the sound escape.

A ripple of laughter—light and carefree—bubbled out of me, filling the air.

Daisuke’s mangled body was hoisted up, vines coiling and tightening around his limbs, his blood trickling down like a sacrifice offered to the earth. His head dangled toward the ground, arms limp, while his tatty weapon, his lighter, and that intriguing journal, sat beneath him, waiting.

Behind the tome, however, lay some kind of stone with pinkish glow so soft I would’ve mistaken it for some kind of gem.

My rewards, so generously laid at my feet.

My hand shot out, and with the flick of my fingers, two thick vines sprang from the earth, wrapping themselves delicately around the lighter, journal, and that intriguing new item. They slid toward me as though revering their master, stopping just a few paces ahead.

A third vine quietly circled around the ebony chain of Daisuke’s kusarigama, dragging it away into the shadows cast by the overpass ahead – for safekeeping, of course.

Before me, the Noise had split apart, the rabble falling back, creating a path. Each creature lowered its grotesque, malformed body in reverence, bowing as I approached.

If you felt so poetically inclined, I supposed you could say their devotion to me was a mirror of this decrepit world – no, the universe itself slowly bending to my will, perhaps finally recognizing my dominance.

I strolled forward with slow, deliberate steps, savouring the moment, my grin stretching wide. This – this is what power felt like. This was my birthright.

Kozuki shuffled behind me as I approached my quarry, her palpable discomfort growing with every step closer I took.

"Allow me," I said, holding up the back of my palm to silence her, my voice dripping with authority. “I’ll be fine.”

A moment of pause, then a begrudging groan from her lips.

“…As you wish.”

Of course, as I wished. I always got what I wished.

The vines lowered the lighter, journal, and gemstone before me, as though they were offering tribute to a king. I accepted my prizes, taking the lighter and treasure in my left hand, the journal in my right. My vines, my servants, retreated back into the earth, with even the ground swallowing them with the same obedience.

I stood there, basking in the glory of it all. I could feel the night air itself humming with my power. The vines, the creatures, the earth—they all knew.

And soon, so would everyone else.

Some moments later, once I’d finished my interrogation of the record, I snapped my fingers, again arousing my servants to action. With a flick of my index finger, a particularly strong vine found Kurogane’s left cheek, smacking it with such force he began to swing to the right.

If not for misfortune of having known Daisuke for too long a period of time, I may not have picked up on the vitriolic scowl he immediately sent my way, concealed underneath the ruffled black thatches of hair washed over with runnels of viscous red essence.

He was straining to say something. I could just about make it out.

“Fuck…you…”

I sighed.

“Good morning to you too, Daisuke.”

It wasn’t very long until he’d realized that he’d been out for quite some time already, with his weapon, the journal, and the lighter all in my possession. I didn’t miss the panic begin to set in his eyes. I recognized it – the look of a cornered animal, of one who’d just understood their final moments were no longer drawing near, but rather, unforgivingly playing out right in front of them.

I beckoned one of my twisted underlings to my side, and its grotesque form doubled over on the ground, offering its back as my seat. I graciously accepted the offer.

“You…” He began, watching my descent onto my temporary stool. “You..can control them. The Noise…”

“There’s no fooling you, eh old friend?” I replied with a smile.

I then opted to remain silent, allowing the dusty cogs in his traumatized head to whir, realization eventually falling across his features.

“On that first night…the group that ambushed us near Tipsy Tose…the thing that bit me…”

His eyes found mine. It was the first time I’d seen him look at me with more shock than disgust, and in all honesty, I found it rather endearing – like performing a magic trick to a toddler.

“That was all you.”

A wave of silence washed over the underpass, as though being brought in by the cool night breeze, as Daisuke and I dared one another to break eye contact.

Eventually, his gaze settled weakly on something behind me.

“What…what else have you done? Does she know?” There was an undeniable edge to his tone, though I couldn’t quite place it as anger or concern.

I leaned forward, growing slightly tired of his incessant babbling.

“What do you know about this journal?”

As expected, silence.

“I had a feeling you’d do that.” I sighed, and then lifted a few fingers.

Behind Daisuke, a dark shape twitched. A sickening crack shot out from behind him then, and he screamed in equal parts pain and shock, recoiling.

I waited for his whimpers and whines to calm down before trying again.

“…Perhaps you didn’t hear me the first time. I asked you, what do you know about this journal, Daisuke?”

The look he gave me then cemented it. It was like he was looking at me for the first time all over again, realizing just who, or what, I was. That was the exact moment I knew there was no turning back for either me or him from that point onward – not until one of us died.

Fortunately for him, I didn’t plan on keeping him long.

Still reeling from the love tap of my servant, Daisuke began to speak.

…..​

“My, my,” I smiled, offering a lazy clap in his direction. He didn’t look me in the eye. It was easy to deduce that, in this moment, the only person he hated more than me was himself.

It was just as I thought. The journal’s author was one of our predecessors, and the contents delineated the events that occurred in the last ‘Hollow Night’.

Not only that, it corroborates the identity of that Noise from last night, ‘Inja’, as a previous player, as well as revealing the identities of the previous cohort.

There are even mentions of Asahi Yoshida, the soul who originally owned this EXS ability of manipulating plant life.

Indeed, now just hearing or reading his name seems to elicit the same reaction in me as the calling of my own. I imagine I don’t have long left until I…well, no need to go into that for now. There was still plenty of work at hand to be done before that could happen.

Truthfully, the journal only seemed to confirm what Juno had already revealed to me in secret – the truth about our reason for being here. About what the Hollow Night really was.

Yes, there were small pieces that still needed to be fit into place. Why, for example, had Inja remained here as a Noise? Who had been responsible for that, and to what end?

I looked back at Daisuke, who was once again meeting my eye, his self-hatred now only serving to further fuel his vendetta against me.

“…And that’s all you know?” I sought to verify.

To nod would have been too submissive, too agreeable, so Daisuke opted for silence once more. A smirk crept across my face.

It was time to for the two of us to say goodbye.

I leaned in, savouring the thrill of this final moment. Daisuke's broken form dangled helplessly in front of me, suspended in the grasp of my vines, his blood dripping sluggishly onto the shattered ground beneath us. His eyes were dull, the fire I'd seen in him just minutes ago all but extinguished.

Pathetic.

“Well! Let’s not drag this out any longer than we need to, hmm?" I cooed, my voice honeyed with mockery.

"I’ll make this quick, for your sake. Does that sound good?” I paused, tilting my head in feigned consideration, as if I really cared. “Though, before we end this little game, I do have to ask...”

I grinned. The words came to me effortlessly, as they always did when it came to tormenting the weak.

“What’s her name again? Chinami? Sweet little thing, isn’t she?”

Daisuke's body twitched. A faint reaction, but one I caught instantly. Ah, there it was!

The weak spot.

"I had one of my…friends look into her for me. I believe you both went to the same elementary school?” I continued. “I bet you’ve been pining after her for years. Poor little Daisuke. Don’t tell me that’s what’s been driving you this whole time?”

I clicked my tongue in pity, watching as his breathing hitched ever so slightly.

“Fighting so hard just to survive…all for a fantasy. A delusion of a chance with a girl who probably forgot you existed up until a few days ago. Or worse...” My smile twisted, my tone growing darker.

"Maybe she’s just waiting for someone stronger to come along. Someone... well, no need to sugarcoat it. Someone like me."

I circled around him, relishing the way his muscles stiffened at every word. I could almost see the images forming in his mind. The way she’d look at me. The way she’d melt under my charm, just like all the others. Girls like her always did.

“Rusuban…” He growled, as though warning me to back away. The gesture was laced with a danger that only made me want to continue further, if only to see how much it would take to break him.

“It’s a shame she’s used goods, though. Did you see the meatheads she was with that day at Tipsy Tose?” I feigned a thinking pose. “…Ah, wait. Sorry, dumb question. Of course you did. One of them did use you like a punching bag after all. Didn’t that claw machine game even end up broken because of what he did to you?”

No external reaction, but that was exactly the sign I’d been looking for. Looks like I’d finally broken him.

“You know, I’m actually planning to pay her a visit after all this is over. Let her experience what a real man can do – maybe even keep her for myself. It would save her from those losers she was with. I think you’d like that, wouldn’t you?”

I leaned down, lifting his chin with the tip of my finger until our eyes met. His eyes, lifeless and hollow, stared back at me.

"Of course you would," I whispered.

For a moment, there was nothing but silence. And then, it happened – something so unexpected even I was, momentarily, caught off guard.

A low, gut-wrenching sob escaped Daisuke’s throat. His eyes, no longer empty, began to fill with tears. His entire body trembled, not with anger, but with fear and sadness.

"P-Please," he choked out, his voice trembling, breaking as the tears spilled down his cheeks. "Don't... don't touch her... Please... she doesn’t deserve..."

I blinked, thrown off by the sudden shift. I expected anger—rage, maybe—but not this. The sight of him, hunched over, broken, crying like a child, almost made me pause.

Almost.

“She doesn’t deserve…?” I repeated mockingly, shaking my head in disbelief. “Daisuke, you can barely protect yourself. How exactly do you plan on protecting her?”

His body jerked at my words, and he clenched his fists so tightly that his knuckles turned white. The sobbing quieted, but the shaking didn’t stop.

In fact, it seemed to get worse.

His breath hitched, sharp and erratic, and that’s when I felt it. A shift. A cold, malevolent presence coiling itself around us, tightening.

"Why...?" Daisuke’s voice cracked again, but this time it was different—darker, deeper. "What did I ever do to…? You…all you people do is take from me. “

His tears dripped down, staining the ground, but his voice was gaining strength, turning jagged, scraping at the air like nails on a chalkboard.

“You take…and take… and take and take and take…” He began to babble. I took a single step backwards.

Without warning, a low, guttural sound like a roar tore from Daisuke’s throat, raw and primal, as though something deep within him had snapped. The temperature dropped, and the air around us grew unnaturally still.

I blinked, taken aback. What was—?

“…No more.” Daisuke's voice, ragged with fury, trembled in the air. There was a strange distortion to it, a vibration that I couldn’t place.

Something was wrong. His voice—no, his entire presence—had changed. His breath grew louder, harsher, like a beast struggling to speak through a human throat. His body trembled, muscles flexing unnaturally, veins pulsing beneath his skin. His eyes—those eyes I’d mocked just moments before—now burned with a strange, unnatural light.

“You’ll never… take anything…from anyone… ever again! I’m going to…to…”

Before he could finish, the vines that bound his broken body trembled, quivering under some unseen force. A strange, violent energy pulsed through him, radiating outward in jagged, invisible waves. My Noise skittered backward, an uneasy shuffle passing through their ranks.

“What—?”

A sickening crack echoed through the air. Daisuke’s limbs began to jerk and spasm unnaturally, his head snapping even further up as a blinding surge of EXS exploded outward from him. The vines restraining him snapped like twine.

My heart dropped.

“No...” I muttered, falling several steps back instinctively. “This can’t be...”

Daisuke’s form contorted, shadows seeping from his skin, swirling like a living nightmare around him. His face was hidden now, consumed by the darkness twisting and writhing around his body, warping him into something monstrous.

The sheer weight of his EXS was unbearable—crushing, oppressive. It clawed at my mind, filling every corner of my consciousness with an overwhelming sense of...no.

It couldn’t be.

Despair. It was despair in the truest, rawest form I had ever felt it.

“No... no, no, no!” I stammered, scrambling backward as the vines I’d controlled moments ago shrivelled and died. God, I could feel the life force being drained from them, as if his very presence was devouring everything around him.

I reached into my pocket, my trembling fingers fumbling as I pulled out the cracked pair of multicolour goggles. Inja’s artifact.

“Work, damnit!” I cursed, jamming them over my eyes.

Through the shattered lens, a plethora of data in the form of charts, diagrams, and rapidly recalculating digits scrambled across my vision. I desperately scoured each quickly shifting figure as though they held the answer to the bottomless pit of anxiety expanding in my chest, but in my heart I already knew well what was happening.

Daisuke’s EXS—it wasn’t just swelling. It was skyrocketing, climbing higher and higher until it defied any scale I could comprehend. His body, once mimicking that of his human form, was becoming something far worse.

“…Impossible.” I croaked, backing away as I felt the air grow heavier, as though the gravity around him had intensified tenfold.

My Noise, my only hope, began to die off one by one, their forms crumbling to ash as my time limit with them reached its end. I was losing my numbers. My strength. But what did it matter?

What could possibly be my answer to this?

Before me, Daisuke’s body grew, his skin melting away into pitch-black darkness, limbs elongating, warping, twisting into something inhuman. His skin, once pale and bruised from our battle, dissolved into a writhing mass of pitch-black darkness, like ink bleeding through the fabric of reality itself. The substance dripped from his form in thick, tar-like tendrils, which coiled and writhed like serpents slithering over one another, consuming what remained of his human flesh.

His limbs elongated unnaturally, his bones audibly cracking and shifting beneath the swirling darkness. His arms stretched, becoming grotesque, sinewy appendages ending in claws—long, jagged talons that gleamed with a sickening, glossy sheen.

His torso was swelling and expanded, his once slender frame now a hulking monstrosity, rippling with an unnatural musculature that seemed to pulse with every beat. Grotesquely, his spine gradually arched backward, jutting out from his skin in cruel, sharp ridges, each one lined with spiked protrusions that ran the length of his back.

His face—heavens, his face—was no longer recognizable as anything remotely human.

There was only a swirling, endless void where his flesh had once been.

His mouth stretched grotesquely wide, lips splitting into a jagged grin that was all wrong, revealing rows of jagged teeth that seemed to shimmer as if coated in oil.

And then, there were his eyes. Those dull, broken eyes that had once begged for death now gleamed with an ethereal, unnatural glow—a piercing, burning light that cut through the suffocating darkness around him.

They were not the eyes of a man; they were hollow, vacant, like two beacons of pure despair burning through the night. Looking into them felt like staring into the void itself, as though they held the power to rip the hope straight from your soul.

I stumbled, almost tripping over my own feet as I stared at the creature before me, my chest heaving with panic.

This wasn’t just power. This was terror.

“Wha-?” I rasped, my voice weak, breathing rapid, almost drowned out by the roaring energy pouring from his form.

It didn’t answer. Instead, its monstrous figure turned slowly toward me, its once human face now completely consumed by the shadows, glowing eyes staring straight through me.

I could feel my heart racing, thudding painfully against my chest. Damnit! DAMNIT! This wasn’t supposed to happen. This wasn’t how things were supposed to go!

His form shifted again, and I could see the tendrils of darkness swirling around him like smoke, thickening, growing. Pathetically, the rising anger swelling in my chest was swiftly evicted by a visceral, instinctual fear I had never felt before.

And then, with a low, guttural growl, Daisuke stepped forward.

I froze, paralyzed.

This... This was wrong. This was all wrong. I had beaten him! I had won!

For the first time in as long as I could remember, I felt something clawing at me. Not anger. Not irritation.

It was fear.

“RETREAT!”

A gruff, yet panicked voice cut through the chaos, a sharp command that snapped me out of my frozen state. I snapped around to see Cunningham on all fours, hauling toward us, but I could make out the anguish in his expression, as though he’d much rather be running in the opposite direction.

Still, it was only when I felt a sharp sting spread across my left cheek, causing my vision to shift to the right, that I arose from my stupor.

“AWAKEN!” Kozuki cried, withdrawing her palm. She grabbed my arms with a strength I’d judged her wholly incapable of, and dragged me onto my feet.

“Haste! We taketh our leave!!”

I didn’t need to be told thrice.

With a last panicked glance toward the twisted, monstrous thing that had once been Daisuke, I shook free of Kozuki’s grip and ran.

I didn’t dare look back.