Killing was bad enough, but Shuo had a talent for breaking hearts, too.
Even if Yuma herself seemed unfazed, she was still Chitose Aya's creation—her "daughter" in every sense that mattered. Hearing Shuo's offhand suggestion about making both of them his bedwarmers, Aya's face went deathly pale, nearly fainting from rage.
She realized, with a sinking heart, that she was powerless to stop him. Her years of scheming, her escape plan—all shattered with a single gesture.
"Heh. So this is the real Shuo Nangong—living up to his reputation as a first-class pervert," Aya spat, her voice trembling.
Suddenly, Natsuki stirred on her crimson chair, sapphire eyes snapping open. She fixed Shuo with a look of pure contempt.
"Whoa—Natsuki-chan, you're awake?" Shuo blinked, caught mid-tease, his bravado faltering into an awkward grin.
Natsuki rolled her eyes. "If I didn't wake up, who knows what sort of nonsense you'd get up to next?"
Her tone was all scorn, but beneath it lay a heavy truth. As the architect of the Prison Barrier, her awakening destabilized the dream realm, threatening to unravel the entire structure. If she let herself become fully conscious, the barrier would collapse, and the worst of the inmates would break free.
But with Shuo's group having summoned the barrier themselves, she knew resistance was pointless. So she chose to wake—and face whatever came next.
"You're all reckless. This is going to cause chaos," Natsuki sighed, casting a glance at Shuo, then at Asagi, Nagisa, Yukina, and the others. Their sheepish smiles said it all: they weren't worried in the slightest.
When Natsuki's gaze landed on Aya, her expression turned complicated.
"Aya… I never thought you'd still be clinging to your old obsessions."
Years ago, Aya's twisted conviction—that magic had no place in the world—had led her to scheme the destruction of all sorcery. In the end, it was Natsuki herself who sealed her best friend away in the Prison Barrier.
Aya met her eyes, face unreadable. "And I never expected you to wake yourself."
Shuo cut in, voice decisive. "Let's put this on hold. First, I'll break Natsuki-chan's devil contract. After that, we deal with the aftermath."
He knelt beside Natsuki. "Are you ready?"
Natsuki hesitated, torn. Breaking the contract meant giving up her witch's powers—she'd become a magician again, able to walk under the sun as a human. But it also meant losing half her strength, and the barrier itself would vanish, releasing every monster inside.
Shuo would be branded an enemy of the world. She didn't want that for him.
But the choice was already made. She nodded. "Since I can't stop you, let's see what you've got."
Shuo smiled and summoned his magic, searching for the devil bound to Natsuki's soul.
A ripple of danger swept the room. Sensing its own demise, Natsuki's Guardian—a golden-armored figure, forged by the gods—materialized, wielding the Chains of Commandment.
It tried to resist, but Shuo's "Collapse" spell shredded it in an instant. The Guardian roared in fury, then vanished into oblivion.
Shuo's Mystic Eyes of Death Perception flared, revealing a jagged crimson crack behind Natsuki. Inside lurked a snarling, blood-red demon.
Without hesitation, Shuo severed its death line. The demon dissolved, gone as if it had never existed.
With that, the devil contract snapped. Natsuki's body trembled, her magic draining away—half her power lost in a heartbeat.
Aya's face, once hopeless, lit up with manic excitement. She'd never believed Shuo could actually break the contract and restore Natsuki's magician status. With the witch's power gone, the Prison Barrier would soon collapse—and she'd finally be free.
A low hum filled the air. The prison walls flickered, growing insubstantial. The dream began to crumble.
With a thundering roar, the barrier vanished. Screams echoed as criminals plunged into the dark ocean below.
Shuo's group, along with Aya, found themselves standing on the coastal docks, untouched by the chaos.
Aya didn't hesitate—she tried to run. But her body froze, locked in place by Shuo's power. His mocking smile met her terrified eyes, and she felt cold dread seep into her bones.
"This is the ocean? I'm out?!"
"Freedom! I'm finally free!!"
"That damned Gap Witch is dead at last!"
Cries of triumph and curses filled the air as the criminals thrashed in the sea, desperate and vengeful.
Shuo's eyes glinted with icy resolve. The time for mercy was over.
"Shuo-kun… are you okay?" Asagi whispered, startled by the sudden shift in his aura.
Even Aya, standing at a distance, broke into a cold sweat under the pressure.
Shuo turned to Nagisa, Asagi, and Kanon. "You three—turn around and close your eyes. Things are about to get ugly. I don't want you having nightmares."
He handed Natsuki to Furia and Yukina, making sure she was safe.
Then he locked onto every criminal in the water, lifting them with telekinetic force into the sky.
Their panic was palpable. A crushing pressure swept through their bodies—they coughed blood, organs twisting, bones snapping with sickening cracks.
"Ahhhhhh!"
"Damn you, brat! I'll kill you! Kill you!!"
The prisoners writhed in agony, teetering on the edge of madness.
But Shuo didn't let them die quickly. In the original timeline, these monsters had hunted the amnesiac Natsuki and tried to murder Asagi. Now, Shuo's vengeance was cold and methodical.
His eyes grew even colder, magic intensifying. He singled out Kiriga Guilica—the one who'd hunted Asagi—and tortured him relentlessly, healing his wounds just enough to prolong the suffering.
Hell itself had come to the prison's survivors, and Shuo made sure they felt every second of it.
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