"Perfect," Idoku said, admiring the regrown limb. "The Gift even exceeds my expectations."
"Not only did it regrow my arm, it even strengthened it."
For a heartbeat, no one moved.
The air was thick with tension.
Kouji's eyes widened in disbelief. A man this talented with medicine… with everything… he thought, Why did he have to be on the wrong side?
Keisuke broke the silence with a sharp pull of the trigger.
The bullet shot past Kyouma and slammed into Idoku's shoulder, snapping everyone back into reality.
Idoku stumbled back a step, then laughed.
Kyouma was already on him, closing the distance in a blur.
His knife is already mid-motion, swung right at Idoku.
Idoku caught the knife mid-swing.
The edge hit against his palm but didn't cut through.
"You two alone," Idoku said with a calm voice, "are no match for me."
Kyouma's eyes widened — he was open — but before Idoku could grab him, his legs buckled for half a second, as if the ground had tilted.
Yumi's curse.
"Move!" she yelled, as she ran towards Kouji.
Kyouma twisted free and leapt back, panting.
Idoku steadied himself again, annoyance all over his face.
"That little trick again…" he muttered, looking at the space where Yumi stood on Kagami's back. "Annoying."
He lifted the fragments of the knife, "What?", he looked closer, "Devil aura… interesting. I've never seen weapon enhancement like this before."
Then, almost casually, he clenched his fist — and the knife broke.
Yumi sat on her knees next to Kouji, "Are you okay?"
Kouji tried to stand up, his hands trembling as he pushed against the floor with his sword.
I feel dizzy, I can't stand up like this.
Come one, I need to get up.
His legs gave way again. He fell to his knees.
Damn it… not now, they need me, we can't win like this.
Idoku turned toward Kyouma again, "I'll deal with you next."
Kouji's head dropped, his breathing heavier. Then—he remembered.
The strings.
Kyouma's words in his mind. "I just imagine strings pulling me."
Kouji exhaled, closing his eyes. He imagined his body being lifted — like a puppet under invisible control.
A faint shimmer appeared around him — thin, threadlike trails of light connecting from the air to his limbs.
His fingers twitched.
Then — he stood.
He dashed forward, faster than before.
The strings on his limbs weren't visible anymore, but he was moving with an immense precision.
Idoku threw a punch — Kouji ducked under it and slashed upward.
The sword grinding against Idoku's hardened skin, causing a small cut.
Kouji stepped in closer, kicked Idoku in the gut, sending him back a few feet.
"Your kicks got stronger?"
His sword began to corrode instantly from the contact.
It's rusting again, Kouji thought. But I can't stop now.
He pulled in a deep breath.
He sprinted forward, throwing the rusting sword toward Idoku.
But Idoku only smirked and sidestepped the throw
"Is this your final attempt to—"
"No," as Idoku quickly turns his head around.
But Kouji had already pulled the sword back mid-air, pulling it with his aura strings.
The blade spun through the mist and stabbed Idoku clean through the back.
Idoku's body jolted.
He turned — and Kouji was already there, punching him across the face.
For a moment, their eyes locked.
This kid has really sharp eyes.
Idoku went for a punch to counter, but Kouji was already gone, slipping to the side and backing off.
He ripped the sword out of his back and threw it aside — just as a gunshot cracked through the air.
The bullet slammed into his leg.
Keisuke stood on the rooftop, his eyes behind the shining lenses of his glasses. "Don't move."
Yumi's curse activated again, Idoku's body freezing for half a heartbeat — enough for Kouji to rush in, sword glinting.
He sliced across Idoku's torso — a deep, horizontal cut that sprayed blood all over.
Idoku staggered — then grinned, the wound knitting itself back together almost instantly.
Keisuke shot again — the other leg this time — then again.
Idoku's body twitched, blood gushing from every hit, but his steps never faltered.
Kyouma appeared from behind, slamming his fist into Idoku's back, before being caught by a powerful backhand that sent him flying.
"Kyouma!" Kagami shouted.
He coughed, rolling to the side, barely conscious.
Kouji ran forward again, his body covering his arms..
Idoku prepared to deflect, but paused—Kouji had no weapon.
"What—?"
Kouji raised his hands to the sky. "I'll end it now, Idoku."
He pulled.
A sword — rusted, but still somewhat whole, came flying down from above.
In the same instant, Yumi triggered her curse.
Idoku froze.
Keisuke fired — one, two, three bullets into Idoku's head.
And Kouji came down with the blade — a single, clean motion.
The sword cleaved through Idoku, from shoulder to hip.
Idoku staggered back, blood spilling.
He reached out toward Kouji, hand trembling — but Keisuke fired again. Then again.
Each shot tearing more apart until the body finally dropped.
Blood filled the floor in a pool of blood.
Silence.
The air was still, nobody moved.
Yumi was kneeled on the side, Kagami standing next to her.
Kyouma was lying on the floor, bleeding hard but still alive, Keisuke next to him.
And —
— Kouji just stood there, looking at the battlefield and the sky.
The sunrise in front of him almost finished.
The rusty sword, that fell apart, in his right hand dropped to the floor.
"…It's over."