The street did not breathe.
Not after Futakuchi-onna fell.
Not after that final cut.
For one long second—
Everything froze.
Yuki-onna stood motionless.
Her white sleeves no longer drifted.The cold around her had stopped spreading.
Nozuchi's body had gone rigid.
Its coils locked in place—
As if even the act of moving had become dangerous.
Behind them—
The remaining yokai stared.
At the blood.
At the shattered road.
At the body that had just fallen.
At him.
Lie Hunter stood at the center of it all.
White mask.
Red lines faintly glowing.
Blade dark at his side.
Still.
Cold.
Unreachable.
Then—
He raised one hand to the mask.
The air changed.
Not with sound.
Not with force.
With pressure.
A deep… invisible pressure.
It slipped into the battlefield.
Wrapped itself around every trembling yokai still standing.
Not crushing them.
Claiming them.
The weaker ones moved first.
Not because they wanted to.
Because their bodies no longer belonged to them.
Their hands shook.
Their breathing broke.
Their eyes widened in silent horror.
One yokai tried to step back—
But its arm rose instead.
Another opened its mouth to scream—
And clawed at its own throat.
A third turned its own blade toward itself—
Whimpering.
Begging.
Trying to stop—
But unable to.
The street filled with broken cries.
Panic.
Disbelief.
Terror.
Some tried to run—
Only for their legs to collapse beneath them.
Some begged—
Only for their voices to twist into choking gasps.
Lie Hunter watched.
Without a word.
Without movement.
Then his voice fell over them.
Low.
Ancient.
Absolute.
"…End yourselves."
That was all.
No force followed.
No visible attack.
Just a command.
And it sank into them—
Like something already decided.
The weaker yokai broke.
One after another.
The street twisted into chaos.
Bodies fell.
Claws tore into flesh.
Voices shattered into screams that never finished.
Some slammed themselves into broken stone.
Some collapsed mid-motion.
Some whispered apologies—
To no one.
This was no longer a battle.
It was judgment.
Yuki-onna's pale face lost what little calm remained.
"…Stop…"
Her voice came out thin.
Small.
Nozuchi hissed violently—
But even that sounded wrong now.
Unsteady.
Afraid.
Several yokai dropped to their knees.
Shaking.
Hands pressed together.
Foreheads nearly touching the bloodstained ground.
"…Please…"
"…Mercy…"
"…We'll never return…"
Lie Hunter took one slow step forward.
And all of them flinched.
Even those already kneeling.
Even those who could barely move.
Then he spoke again.
"…Never dare crawl out of that hellhole again."
A pause.
His gaze passed over the shattered street.
Over the bodies.
Over the trembling creatures that no longer resembled hunters.
Only prey.
"…If you do…"
The red lines on the mask glowed slightly brighter.
"…Remember me."
Silence followed.
Heavy.
Dead.
Absolute.
Even the wind refused to move.
Then—
Footsteps broke it.
Slow.
Casual.
Almost insulting.
Kenta.
Blood on his face.
Shirt torn.
Breathing rough.
And somehow—
Still smiling.
Not wide.
Not confident.
But there.
Maru's eyes narrowed.
"…Oi…"
Daichi muttered under his breath.
"…This idiot…"
Tatsuma tensed.
"…Boss…"
But Kenta kept walking.
Past the bodies.
Past the survivors.
Past the fear still clinging to the street.
Until he stopped—
A few steps away from Lie Hunter.
The masked figure did not turn.
Did not react.
Kenta let out one tired breath.
Then grinned.
"…So."
A pause.
"…You're the Lie Hunter."
No answer.
Kenta's smile stayed.
"…Join me."
He raised one hand slightly.
"…I'll help you."
The silence after that—
Felt heavier than anything before.
Maru stared.
Daichi frowned.
Tatsuma looked like he didn't know whether to panic or laugh.
Lie Hunter remained still.
For one second.
Then—
He moved.
One step.
One punch.
THUD
The strike buried itself into Kenta's stomach.
All the air left him instantly.
His body folded.
Eyes widening—
Then losing focus.
He collapsed before he could even process what happened.
No second strike.
No follow-up.
Just an answer.
Tatsuma froze.
Daichi blinked.
Maru stared at Kenta's unconscious body—
Then back at Lie Hunter.
Lie Hunter looked down at him once.
Then spoke.
"…Respect your elders next time, kid."
He turned.
His cloak shifted softly in the cold air.
Then—
With one light motion—
He leapt.
To the rooftop.
And by the time anyone looked up—
He was gone.
No sound.
No trace.
Only absence.
No one moved.
No one spoke.
Then—
A pale blue glow spread across the dark sky.
Soft at first.
Then clearer.
A system screen appeared.
Cold.
Precise.
Final.
[HYAKKI YAGYŌ EVENT HAS ENDED]
[CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL SURVIVING PLAYERS]
The words hovered above the ruined city.
No one smiled.
No one cheered.
Because what remained—
Was not victory.
It was fear.
Confusion.
And the shadow of something that had stood before them—
Only to vanish with the night.
Leaving behind a single truth—
The hunter had returned.
End of Chapter 40