A few moments earlier...
From Kagerou's perspective, he had spent what felt like hours wandering within the illusion.
Every step felt real.
Every voice carried warmth.
Every memory breathed like a living thing.
But in reality... Only a few seconds had passed.
But for Kanae, those few seconds felt suffocatingly intense.
"Rengoku-san!!"
Kanae screamed with everything she had, her voice tearing through the battlefield.
But no matter how loudly she called out... Kagerou never reacted.
His eyes remained unfocused as he continued walking forward slowly, as though entranced.
Toward the shadow.
Toward the woman wearing a gentle face Kanae had never seen before.
A face filled with affection. Warmth... Sadness.
And from the way Kagerou reached toward her without hesitation…
Kanae immediately understood one thing.
That woman was someone deeply important to him.
"Damn it…!"
She tried to move forward, but the shadows intercepted her instantly.
Dozens of them surged from the darkness like a tidal wave.
"Tch!"
Kanae clicked her tongue as she slashed apart another relentless shadow rushing toward her.
They moved without fear.
Without hesitation.
Every single one of them carried the same purpose... To stop her from reaching Kagerou.
"...Second Form: Honorable Shadow Plum"
The moment the words left her lips, her blade moved.
Not with overwhelming force.
Not with explosive speed.
But with endless continuity.
Her katana flowed through the darkness like falling plum petals caught within a storm, each strike connecting seamlessly into the next. One slash became five. Five became ten. Ten became countless arcs of silver that bloomed around her without pause.
The shadows lunged from every direction.
Above.
Behind.
Below.
Yet Kanae's technique left no opening.
Every attack that entered her range was intercepted instantly, shredded apart by the unending rhythm of her swordsmanship. The battlefield became filled with flashing crescent slashes, elegant and merciless at the same time.
*Shhk!*
Another shadow split apart.
*Slash!*
A second dissolved before it could even scream.
Still, they came.
Relentless. Endless.
As if they were willing to throw away infinite bodies just to buy a few more seconds.
Kanae's expression hardened.
"They're stalling me…" she muttered quietly.
And that realization made her chest tighten.
Because if these creatures were this desperate to keep her away, then, whatever was happening to Kagerou... Was far worse than she imagined.
Kanae threw another quick glance toward him.
Far ahead, Kagerou continued walking toward his end without stopping, his figure disappearing deeper into the sea of shadows as though nothing around him mattered anymore.
Her brows furrowed immediately, irritation flashing clearly across her face before she forced her focus back toward the enemies surrounding her.
Her blade moved again.
Elegant. Precise. Relentless.
*Slash!*
Another shadow fell apart.
Yet then... A figure rushed toward her.
And for the briefest instant, Kanae's movements halted.
Because the shadow wore Shinobu's face.
Not merely similar.
It was perfect.
The same eyes.
The same small frame.
The same expression.
Kanae's sword stopped for only a fraction of a second before instinct took over.
*Shhk!*
The blade cut cleanly through the false Shinobu.
The shadow dissolved instantly.
It was brief. Very brief... But that was enough.
Because the shadows already understood.
They had felt it.
... Seen it.
A hesitation so small most warriors would never notice it themselves.
But for creatures born from doubt and weakness... That single moment was more than enough.
They had planted the seed.
And shadows only needed a tiny crack to spread.
Another one lunged toward Kanae.
Then another.
... Then another.
This time, every single shadow wore Shinobu's face.
Dozens of them rushed toward her from every direction.
Kanae knew they were fake.
She understood that completely.
But understanding something and feeling it... were two entirely different things.
Every time her blade swung... It felt wrong.
Every slash felt as though she was cutting down Shinobu herself.
*Slash!*
Another false body split apart.
Her eyes closed slightly during the strike.
*Shhk!*
Another dissolved.
Her grip tightened harder around the handle.
The uneasiness continued building little by little with every attack.
And without realizing it... Her movements began to slow.
Not enough for ordinary enemies to notice.
But enough for the shadows.
Because no matter how strong a warrior became... Nno matter how disciplined their heart was... Humans were still beings with emotions.
And emotions were terrifying things.
They could become strength.
But they could also become chains... A weakness.
Kanae suddenly widened her eyes slightly as another attack barely brushed past her sleeve.
In that instant, she realized it.
The moment she allowed hesitation into her heart... She had already fallen.
Another shadow attacked immediately.
But this time... Kanae was too slow.
*THUD!!*
The strike landed directly against her side with overwhelming force.
Her eyes widened as the impact sent her body flying violently through the forest before crashing hard against a massive tree trunk behind her.
The entire tree shook from the collision.
"Cough!"
Blood spilled from Kanae's mouth as pain exploded through her body.
Her breathing became uneven instantly.
Still, she forced herself to move.
Her trembling hand reached toward her fallen Nichirin Blade lying several meters away across the ground.
But it was already too late.
The shadows had surrounded her completely.
One after another, they emerged silently from the darkness between the trees.
Kanae slowly raised her head.
And for the first time since the battle began... Fear almost entered her heart.
Because although they possessed Shinobu's appearance... Their expressions were wrong.
Terribly wrong.
The smiles stretched far too wide.
The eyes lacked warmth.
They stared at her with an unnatural stillness no human being could ever possess.
Those were not human eyes.
They were the eyes of predators staring at wounded prey.
Kanae's fingers tightened weakly against the dirt beneath her.
Then slowly... She closed her eyes.
Not because she feared death.
But because she could not bear the thought that the final thing she would see in this world... Would be the face of the person she loved most twisted into something so horrifying.
The shadows moved closer.
Closer.
... Closer.
"...I'm sorry, Shinobu," Kanae whispered softly.
There was no resistance left in her voice anymore.
Only regret.
Not regret for dying.
But regret that she would leave Shinobu alone again.
Yet then... Something strange happened.
The attack never came.
No claws tore through her body.
No shadows swallowed her whole.
There was only silence.
Kanae's brows slowly furrowed.
Then cautiously, she opened her eyes.
And what she saw immediately stunned her.
The shadows surrounding her had already dissolved.
Not wounded.
Not retreating.
Gone.
Their bodies scattered apart into black ash that drifted silently through the air before disappearing completely.
Kanae's breathing stopped for a moment.
Then her gaze slowly moved forward.
And finally, she saw him.
Kagerou stood several meters away from her.
His back faced her quietly amidst the dissolving remains of the shadows.
But something about him was wrong.
No... Everything about him felt wrong.
The atmosphere around him had completely changed.
The Kagerou she knew always carried a sense of restraint, even in silence.
Even at his coldest, there was still humanity within him.
But the figure standing before her now felt empty.
Like something wearing Kagerou's shape.
The forest itself had gone unnaturally quiet.
No wind moved.
No leaves rustled.
Even the shadows no longer approached.
As if the entire battlefield had instinctively realized something terrifying had appeared.
Slowly, Kagerou turned his head slightly.
And Kanae's eyes widened.
His expression was calm.
Too calm.
There was no anger.
No sadness.
No madness.
Nothing.
His eyes no longer resembled those of a human being.
They looked distant.
As though the person called Kagerou had already walked too far away for anyone to reach anymore.
Then he spoke.
"... I'll end it quickly"
His quiet voice spread through the forest like a whisper.
And the instant those words were spoken, every remaining shadow froze in place.
"Just wait a minute, Kanae"