Vex stood in a massive hall, facing three giant demons of the third rank. "Blood Raven, huh?" he asked, his voice calm and confident.

Nerith wanted to reply, but before she could, Vex suddenly turned and sliced off the neck of one of the demonic servants standing nearby with his own hand.

Rhegor, Var'kesh, and Nerith stared in disbelief as blood poured from the servant's neck. "Ghlgghh…" it gurgled, trying to breathe, but its lungs were already filled with blood.

The servant collapsed to the floor, dead, as his blue blood formed a puddle around him.

From that same puddle, a shape began to form — the shape of a bird.

Vex walked toward the bird as it was still generating, then crushed it under his boot, splattering it into a small red pool mixing with the blue blood.

"Was that really so hard?" he asked, his voice laced with disgust as he looked at Nerith.

"Well…" Nerith began, lightly biting her nails. "You are the superior man here…" she added, unconsciously pushing her chest forward.

Vex glanced down at her breasts. "I'm going to exterminate the Ghoul Mantises. After that, you'll give me what you promised," he said, raising his hand — and vanished.

Nerith smiled faintly.

⬛ ⬛ ⬛

Kai, Mei, and Lily were riding in a carriage toward Varell.

Lily looked over at Mei, who was sitting there in her orange underwear. "Do you have to ride in your underwear?" she asked, cheeks tinted red.

Mei looked her in the eyes, then gently squeezed her breasts. "Why? Jealous?" she asked with a teasing smile.

Lily turned her face away as Mei started playing with her bra, her blush deepening. "N-no!" she stammered.

Right then, the carriage came to a stop. Kai and Mei exchanged a glance before deciding to step outside.

With a light motion of her fully exposed arm, Mei opened the carriage door and stepped out, Kai following close behind.

In the distance, an enormous stag moved slowly across the ground, its entire body forged from ancient, gnarled wood. Trees and dense underbrush seemed to grow along its massive back, forming a living forest that swayed with each step.

The ground trembled beneath its hooves, cracking the earth and sending clouds of dust into the air. Grass and flowers wilted instantly where it passed, smoldering into ash and leaving behind scorched black scars.

Lily's mouth hung open as she watched, while Kai and Mei stared in silence, calculating something in their heads.

"Did you bring the talisman?" Kai asked, shifting his gaze toward his sister.

Mei looked at her brother, then down at her hand. "Yeah…" she said, opening her palm to reveal the same talisman Miyuki had given her.

"Then let's go…" Kai said, starting toward the stag that was slowly moving ahead. He stopped for a moment and turned toward Lily. "Did you find Kitty?" he asked.

Lily blinked a few times, surprised by the sudden question. "N-no," she said, looking down.

Kai sighed, then continued walking. "I want to see that creature up close," he said, glancing briefly at his sister. "You coming?"

"I'm right behind you…" Mei said, walking toward him with slightly slower steps.

Lily watched them, torn between chasing after them or staying put. In the end she stayed. She turned to the driver, her voice laced with worry. "Do you think they'll make it?"

The driver glanced at her, expression blank. "Make what?" he asked.

"They… you know… survive?" Lily clarified.

He shrugged and let the reins rest lazily in his lap. "Not my department. I just drive," he said.

Lily groaned, realizing she was asking existential questions to someone whose biggest concern was keeping the horses on the road.

Lily turned her eyes back to Kai and Mei. "Be careful…" she whispered, her gaze flickering between them and the giant creature.

"Put on the talisman," Kai said, looking at his sister.

"Already did," Mei replied, having already read her brother's plan without a word. She started jogging to catch up to him. "Why are you walking so fast?" she asked.

"So we can finish this faster…" he answered, speeding up even more.

Mei looked down, struggling to keep pace. "K-Kai…" she murmured, her voice trembling.

Kai looked back at her. "Yeah?"

"W-what are we gonna do when this is over?" she asked nervously, her hands shaking slightly in the cold wind.

Kai's senses immediately picked up on it — she was shivering. He stopped and looked at her. "You're cold?" he asked, taking off his uniform jacket and wrapping it around her shoulders.

Mei blushed softly and turned her head away. "W-why are you still wearing your school uniform anyway?" she asked, trying to hide her red face.

Kai shrugged lightly. "I don't know… I just like it," he said honestly, kneeling down to button it up for her.

Mei's blush deepened as Kai reached the level of her panties. "N-not that close!" she yelled.

"Sorry…" Kai muttered, turning his head away. He finished buttoning her up without looking, then stood and smiled. "Let's see what you can do with that talisman."

Mei held the talisman in her hand and stared at it. "But… I don't even know how to activate it…" she said as the color returned to her cheeks.

"Well… When Kitsuna used it, she was really mad. So maybe if you get angry enough, it'll activate too…" Kai said, trying to think of a way to make her mad.

"You think that'll work…?" Mei asked, staring at the talisman hanging from her neck.

"We have to try… or we won't be able to kill that thing," Kai said, pointing toward the massive stag trampling everything in its path.

"But how are you going to make me mad…?" she asked.

"Am I not the one who understands people?" Kai said with a smirk — then punched his sister right in the face.

The hit snapped Mei's head to the side. "Was that—" she began, slowly turning her head back, but before she could even look at him again, Kai's fist slammed into her stomach.

Mei gasped as the blow knocked the air from her lungs. She clutched her stomach, struggling to breathe, then whimpered softly. "If I can't have kids after this, it'll be your fault…"

Kai grabbed her chin, lifting her face so their eyes met. "Kids? With who? No one wants you…" he said, smirking.

Mei glared at him, wanting to respond, but he spoke first. "Mom and Dad left us. Kitsuna and Yuki betrayed us. We've got no one — no one loves us."

"K-Kai… You're going too far…" Mei whispered, unable to look him in the eyes anymore. That look of his made her sick.

"Too far?" Kai asked, voice cold. "We caused the deaths of three billion people!" he shouted, his grin widening.

He grabbed her by the neck and squeezed. "You… you're the one who pushed me to start World War Three… and I did it," he said, leaning close to her ear. "Now the lives of all those people rest on our shoulders…"

"N-no… I'm sorry…" Mei whispered, her eyes filling with tears. Though Kai's goal was only to anger her, his act was too convincing — even for him.

He tightened his grip until his knuckles turned white — then suddenly released her. "But I don't care…" Kai said quietly. "Death… it's inevitable. A debt everyone pays, sooner or later."

He turned his back to her.

Then, slowly, he looked over his shoulder — his eyes cold, steady, unreadable. "I mean," he said with a faint, bitter smile. "someone has to die first. Better them than us."

"W-what…?" Mei asked, confused.

"I mean… our parents are dead. They died so we could sit around watching anime all day," Kai said, pressing a finger to his lower lip. "Mom and Dad died so we could survive — and be lazy for the rest of our lives."

"Stop it!" Mei shouted suddenly, but Kai didn't stop.

"Oh… Mom, Dad, I'm so glad you're dead!" he yelled, looking up at the sky.

"STOP!" Mei screamed again, louder this time.

"Mom, Dad… I'm glad you went to hell!" Kai shouted with a grin.

"I SAID STOP!!!" Mei screamed, her voice piercing the air. The ground beneath her trembled violently, cracks spider-webbing across the stone as if the very earth feared her wrath.

Dark energy erupted from her body and surged toward the talisman with a force that bent the air itself.

She lifted her head, and for a moment, the world seemed to pause. Her eyes were engulfed in a swirling black mist, deep and endless, hiding any trace of humanity.

Strange markings glowed faintly across her face, twisting and pulsating, casting eerie shadows that danced over her skin. The air around her shimmered with uncontainable power.

Her body tensed violently, then suddenly relaxed as a massive sphere of writhing dark energy erupted from her chest. It surged forward hurtling straight toward the colossal stag.

The Forest Stag let out a bone-chilling cry. The sphere struck with unrelenting force, tearing a jagged hole straight through the creature's majestic body.

But the energy didn't stop — it continued onward smashing into the distant mountain with a thunderous impact. Rock and earth exploded outward, a crater forming in its wake.

The stag collapsed with a thunderous crash, the impact sending a rolling wave of dust and debris swirling over Kai and Mei.

"That was… easier than I thought," Kai murmured, brushing his hands clean of dirt and ash. His eyes quickly found his sister lying motionless on the ground.

He knelt beside her, careful not to jostle her fragile form, and lowered himself to sit beside her. "You did great…" he whispered.

Gently he brushed a stray lock of hair from her face.

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