Mr. Oliver sighed, rubbing his temples.
"Looks like we'll have to interrogate them. We need to know who distributed those guns."
He turned to Mr. Simon.
"This'll need your... expertise."
Simon raised a brow. "Isn't that a bit much?"
They exchanged a look.
Simon groaned. "Fine. I'll go prepare it."
He walked off, coat fluttering slightly in the breeze.
Mr. Oliver turned toward the students. Many still looked shaken.
How do I calm them? he thought.
Then he raised his voice.
"Classes are over for the day. Go enjoy yourselves."
A few moments of silence—then the children cheered and scattered.
Oliver sighed again.
I hope the upperclassmen are safe.
Meanwhile, on the mission...
Akira and Yukiko approached Mikage.
"Did you finish off those Nightwalkers?" Mikage asked.
Akira shrugged. "Shouldn't I be asking you two that? You guys can sense them better."
Yukiko answered, "Sometimes they're too weak to detect. But none are reacting to my mana. I think we're clear."
"Alright," Mikage nodded. "Let's head back. The driver's waiting outside the Phantom World."
He raised his hand. "Let me bring it down—"
A scream shattered the air.
All three turned sharply. A woman was running toward them, clutching her shoulder.
"Help me! It's coming—it's coming!" she wailed.
Akira's brows furrowed. "What the hell is coming?"
He glanced at Mikage. "Didn't you say normal humans can't enter here?"
"I did," Mikage replied, grim.
Yukiko stepped forward, tightening her grip on her katana.
"Look at her neck," she said. "Black veins... they've spread to half her face. Even her left eye's gone."
Mikage's expression darkened. "She's infected. Hallucinating."
"Ma'am," he called gently, "please calm down. Nothing's chasing you. You're just affected by—"
She halted.
Her eyes glazed over. "It's too late... it's all over..."
Then she turned and sprinted the other way, screaming again.
Mikage started to step after her—
—but something slammed into the woman from above.
Dust exploded into the air. When it cleared, her body lay limp in the hands of a towering Nightwalker—female, nearly seven feet tall—already tearing into her corpse.
The trio froze.
Akira's breath caught. "The air... it's so dense. I can't move..."
Yukiko whispered, "Why didn't I sense it?"
Mikage muttered, "Shit. I've never seen one like this..."
Then, without warning—
—it turned.
And in a blink—
—it was in front of Akira, its claws flashing toward his chest.
In that split moment, as the creature's claw began to sink into Akira's chest, Mikage and Yukiko acted on instinct. They shoved Akira back—just in time—saving him from being torn apart.
With a sharp motion, Mikage unleashed a stream of fire at the creature's side, forcing it to stagger. Yukiko followed up immediately, slicing her blade upward and releasing a wave of frost that sent the Nightwalker flying several feet away.
Akira fell to the ground, trembling, his back against the wall.
"We can't win… We're going to die... I don't want to die..." he muttered, his voice breaking.
As the dust settled, the Nightwalker stood tall—completely unscathed.
Yukiko's eyes widened.
"Not even a scratch… Are we really that far apart?" she thought.
Suddenly, the Nightwalker twitched. Its body shuddered. Then, in a screeching, broken voice, it whispered:
"I... beg you... kill me... No more... of this torture..."
Yukiko blinked.
"Did it just speak?" she whispered.
The Nightwalker inhaled sharply. Its chest expanded unnaturally, glowing with a purple light.
Mikage's eyes narrowed. "Brace yourselves!"
Yukiko reacted first, forming an ice wall as tall as a building.
Akira, still trapped in his panic, muttered to himself.
"Pull yourself together!" Mikage shouted. "This behavior will get us killed!"
Akira's eyes snapped into focus. He clenched his fists. His shadow began to spread like black ink across the floor—rising, twisting, and reinforcing Yukiko's wall.
Then the Nightwalker screamed.
A sonic blast erupted from its throat. Buildings shattered. The ice wall and shadow fortification were obliterated in an instant. The force sent all three of them flying in different directions. Akira crashed into a building, gasping for air. Yukiko slammed into concrete, blood pouring from her head.
The Nightwalker appeared in front of her in a blink, still whispering in that broken voice:
"Please... kill me..."
Yukiko's ears rang violently. Blood trickled from them. She couldn't hear anything—not even her own breath.
"I can't hear anything at all... I'm scared... but—" she gasped, crawling toward her blade. Her legs were shaking. "—but I don't intend on dying here."
She forced herself to her feet, swaying, barely able to balance. Her grip on the katana tightened. She swung—and missed—falling to one knee.
"My balance is gone… but I won't give up. I won't die here…"
The Nightwalker lunged, claws aimed at her face.
At that moment, Mikage burst through the side of the building like a flaming jet. His fist collided with the Nightwalker's face, slamming it back with explosive force.
"I made it just in time," Mikage thought, panting.
"Hot Spot!"
His fist ignited with intense heat. A second later, the fire exploded across the Nightwalker's skull, blasting it through another wall. Before it could recover, a barrage of shadow spears rained down from the sky—Akira's doing.
Mikage dropped to the floor beside Yukiko, blood leaking from his ears.
"Yukiko, are you okay?" he asked.
Yukiko stared at him blankly.
He frowned, then smiled gently.
"She can't hear me… Damn."
Still smiling, he raised his hand, shaping mana between his fingers. Then, he pointed to her ears.
Yukiko understood. She channeled her mana to accelerate her healing, focusing it into her ears.
As she worked, she looked at Mikage—bloodied but smiling—and thought:
"He can barely stand and he still found it in him to help me… And Akira… he's fighting too."
After a few seconds, Yukiko staggered to her feet and said, "Let's get to Akira. He won't be able to keep firing those shadow spears for long."
Mikage nodded but held up a hand. "Just a second."
A glowing, magma-like exoshell began to crawl over his body, hardening over his skin like armor. As it locked into place, he rolled his right arm with a quiet grunt.
"Alright. Let's go," he said.
Then he added with a smirk, "Oh—and try not to get hit by that thing again."
"Why?" Yukiko asked.
"When I punched it earlier, I hurt it," Mikage said, flexing his trembling right hand, "but it messed me up too. I felt the impact deep in my bones."
Yukiko glanced at his shaking arm and gave a soft nod. "I'll remember that."
"Good," Mikage muttered, then leapt down from the building.
Yukiko followed, creating a slide of ice that carried her smoothly to the ground.
Mikage approached Akira, who was kneeling with one hand to his head. "You holding up?"
"I'm fine," Akira replied. "But I can't hear with my left ear... It's slowly coming back."
"Glad to hear it. But take this advice—don't fight it up close."
Akira gave a half-hearted laugh. "I'd have to be high to think I could take it in close combat."
Yukiko added, "We aren't safe at any range. Its scream messes with everything—long-range, close-range, doesn't matter. And Akira can't keep up that barrage forever. Sooner or later, it'll—"
Before she could finish, the Nightwalker flashed forward, appearing directly in front of her with a twisted snarl. It raised its claw to swat her like a fly.
In that instant, Akira appeared in front of her, shoving her back and taking the full force of the blow. His body was launched like a missile, smashing through several buildings.
"Akira!" Yukiko shouted.
"Bastard!" Mikage snarled, launching himself forward with a dropkick that smashed into the Nightwalker's chest. The creature stumbled, and Yukiko immediately followed up with a wide arc of her sword, slashing ice across its side.
"Akira! Are you okay?!" Mikage yelled.
From within the rubble, Akira's voice rang out, hoarse but defiant. "Don't let it scream! Keep fighting! Find a way to kill that damn thing!"
Mikage and Yukiko exchanged a quick look. Then, without a word, they charged in from opposite sides, launching a flurry of coordinated attacks—fire and ice clashing with the darkness of the Nightwalker under the blood-red sky.
Akira coughed violently, blood splattering the ground as his vision blurred. Damn… Mikage wasn't joking about not letting that thing hit us. Yukiko could probably handle it better than me or Mikage… Should I just run?
He hesitated—then clenched his jaw.
No. My conscience would haunt me forever… and I doubt I'd ever get to live in peace anyway.
He forced himself to stand, legs trembling as rocks crumbled around him.
Shit. I can barely walk, and I used my shadows to cushion the impact... Still this badly hurt. I'll need to use Shadow Step to its max. Doesn't drain much—and might help with my weak leg.
With a sudden flash, he vanished—reappearing behind the creature with a blade formed around his arm. He tried to impale it, but the weapon shattered on impact.
The Nightwalker turned and lashed out, but Akira vanished again just in time.
Mikage lunged from the side. "Hey! Ignoring me? That's pretty rude."
He punched the creature square in the face—an explosive burst burned through its skin.
Akira reappeared beside him.
"You alright?" Mikage asked.
"I can barely see... and everywhere hurts."
"You should rest."
"No way," Akira said through gritted teeth. "I hate feeling like a liability. Besides—more the merrier."
The smoke cleared, revealing half of the Nightwalker's face scorched and blackened. Mikage blinked in surprise, then gave a slight grin.
"Looks like it's getting weaker. I might have a plan to kill it—but I'll need you and Yukiko fully on board. Speaking of which… where is she—?"
Suddenly, five ice shards whizzed past them and tore through the Nightwalker's raised hand.
Yukiko's voice echoed. "Guess I was the last to figure out it's weakened. I saw you whispering—so I assume there's a plan?"
She landed beside them, panting. "Let's make it quick. I'm almost out of mana. Mikage, I know you are too."
From both sides, ice shot from the ground, trapping the creature in jagged spears. It thrashed, but the ice dug deeper, making it bleed black blood.
Above it, a massive block of ice—half the size of a building—formed and hovered.
"This should suffice," Yukiko muttered. She sharpened its edges and dropped it on the beast, smashing it under the weight.
"What's the plan?" she asked.
Mikage gave a small grin.
Akira, watching her, thought, She's a badass.
Mikage turned to them. "You two keep it busy. I'll pour all my mana into one final attack. When I'm ready, keep it from blocking."
Yukiko sighed. "I don't have a better plan. But if it doesn't work, I'll kill you before it does."
"Deal."
She looked at Akira. "You okay?"
Akira tapped his foot, flexing. "I'm doing fine."
"Good. I want you to run first. Use Shadow Step to confuse it and draw its attention. I'll attack from behind. Any objections?"
"I'm cool with that."
The ice holding the Nightwalker cracked—then shattered.
"That's our cue," Akira said.
The creature roared and charged.
Akira dashed forward, vanishing and reappearing in flashes. He landed on its shoulder, formed an enhanced shadow leg, and kicked it in the face.
It recovered quickly and swung. Ice shards slammed into it—Yukiko's follow-up.
Akira hit the ground and began bouncing around with Shadow Step, striking from different angles. As the Nightwalker countered, Yukiko struck with her blade and bursts of ice.
Akira vanished behind it—but the beast instinctively kicked backward, slamming him into rubble. He gasped in pain.
Then it turned and kicked Yukiko. She slid back, her blades shattering, hands trembling violently.
"Damn… I'm out of mana," she whispered. "I can't move…"
She dropped to her knees.
"Legs… don't give out… not now…"
The Nightwalker lunged—jaws open to rip her apart.
But glowing chains wrapped around its neck, yanking it back.
Akira, gasping for breath, screamed, "HEY! Say your prayers before every meal!"
"I'm ready!" Mikage shouted.
"Finally…" Akira muttered.
He summoned dozens of chains, tightening them around the creature. Every time it broke one, it reassembled.
The Nightwalker suddenly began inhaling deeply—charging an attack.
"Shit—" Akira growled.
Yukiko, trembling, raised her hand. She formed an icy ring and fired it at the creature's mouth—freezing it shut.
Akira appeared above, formed whips, and began choking the Nightwalker from behind.
Mikage charged, aura blazing.
"Akira! Get Yukiko out of here!"
Without hesitation, Akira grabbed her, formed a shadow whip, and swung them both to safety.
Mikage hovered in front of the restrained monster.
"So… it's just the both of us." He grinned.
He raised his arm, now burning like molten magma.
"Cataclysm!"
A blinding explosion engulfed the battlefield. Buildings melted from the sheer heat.