■ Execution Fragment Gamma: "Red Saint Kairo"
Reincarnation Origin: Japan
Age at Death: 19
Class: Sword Saint (System-Enhanced)
Cause of Failure: "System Rebellion: Mass Annihilation"
Abilities:
– Null Edge: Ignores defense, erases concepts upon strike
– Zero-Step Flash: Teleports without triggering spatial sensors
– EX: Severance Realm: Creates a field where all cause and effect are inverted
The cathedral crumbled into static.
And in the center of a new arena—an infinite plain of white—stood a lone swordsman.
Hair white. Eyes crimson. A long katana rested on his shoulder like it weighed nothing.
The air warped around him—not from magic, but from intent.
"You're the last?" Yuto asked.
Kairo nodded once.
"They wanted me to be a hero."
"So I became the villain."
Yuto felt it immediately.
This wasn't a fight for purification.
This was survival.
Nyx's tone was grave.
[His thread is frayed on purpose. He's not aligned with life or death—he's beyond the loop.]
[He cut his soul from the system and made it a blade.]
[Do not let him strike you—not even once.]
Kairo moved.
Yuto barely had time to shift—
The space where he stood sliced in half, as if time itself had bent around the blow.
Kairo appeared behind him.
"You're interesting," he said.
"You hesitate. That means you'll die."
Yuto activated [Bug Phase Reversal]—his form flickered into intangible strands, reforming five meters away.
"I hesitate… because I still care."
"You gave that up, didn't you?"
Kairo didn't answer.
He just walked—slowly, deliberately.
Yuto noticed it then.
Every step the Saint took left cracks in the world.
Even this artificial layer of reality bent to his presence.
"I killed my companions first," Kairo said calmly.
"They wanted to fix the system. I wanted to escape it."
"So I cut the system open."
Yuto flared his threads—burned through stored MP, activating [Unravel Mode: Seraphim Weave]—his strongest technique yet.
A lattice of light and memory extended behind him like wings.
"I'm not like you," Yuto said.
"I'll break this system too… but I won't do it by becoming a monster."
They clashed.
Thread and edge.
Code and will.
Yuto's constructs were sliced—instantly erased. His left arm vanished—concept severed.
But his right hand remained.
And it struck.
He grabbed the blade.
"I'll be the bug in your perfect rebellion," he growled.
■ Emergency Skill Triggered: [Threadlock – Absolute Bind]
Target: Conceptual Weapon
Effect: Delays execution of slash command for 2.5 seconds
Kairo blinked.
For the first time, hesitated.
Yuto used that moment—
To stab his thread directly into the Saint's heart.
Not to kill.
But to connect.
A memory pulsed through Yuto's mind—
A world burning.
A young man standing alone.
Screaming: "Why was I the only one who woke up?!"
Yuto whispered:
"You didn't want to kill the world."
"You just wanted someone to stop you."
Kairo's blade dropped.
His body cracked, light spilling out.
And he smiled.
"Guess you were stronger than me after all… bug."
He faded—finally allowed to die.
■ Execution Fragment Gamma: Resolved
Trial of the Third Floor: Cleared
System Node Unlocked:
– Final Class Branch Revealed
→ [Evolution: Devourer Sovereign]
→ [Evolution: Threadbreaker Monarch]
→ [Evolution: Origin System Error]
Yuto fell to one knee, drained.
Nyx's voice returned, proud and quiet.
[You did it, Yuto.]
[Three ghosts of failure. And you buried them all with compassion—not cruelty.]
Aegis-Null spoke one last time from above.
"Impressive."
"You've earned the right to ascend."
"But I will be waiting."
"Because no matter what you choose next—your next enemy… will be you."